old groans and new songs being meditations on the book of ecclesiastes by f. c. jennings, new york. glasgow: pickering & inglis, printers & publishers, the publishing office, bothwell street. london: s. bagster & sons, ltd., paternoster row, e.c preface. the chief object of a word of preface to the following notes is that the reader may not expect from them more, or other, than is intended. they are the result of meditations--not so much of a critical as a devotional character--on the book, in the regular course of private morning readings of the scriptures--meditations which were jotted down at the time, and the refreshment and blessing derived from which, i desired to share with my fellow-believers. some salient point of each chapter has been taken and used as illustrative of what is conceived as the purpose of the book. as month by month passed, however, the subject opened up to such a degree that at the end, one felt as if there were a distinct need entirely to re-write the earlier chapters. it is, however, sent forth in the same shape as originally written; the reader then may accompany the writer, and share with him the delight at the ever-new beauties in the landscape that each turn of the road, as it were, unexpectedly laid out before him. there is one point, however, that it may be well to look at here a little more closely and carefully than has been done in the body of the book, both on account of its importance and of the strong attack that the ecclesiastical infidelity of the day has made upon it: i refer to its authorship. to commence with the strongest position of the attack on the solomon authorship--necessarily the strongest, for it is directly in the field of verbal criticism--it is argued that because a large number of words are found in this book, found elsewhere alone in the post-exilian writers, (as daniel or nehemiah,) therefore the author of the book must surely be post-exilian too. it would be unedifying, and is happily unnecessary, to review this in detail--with a literature so very limited as are the hebrew writings cotemporary with solomon: these few, dealing with other subjects, other ideas, necessitating therefore another character of words, it takes no scholar to see that any argument derived from this must necessarily be taken with the greatest caution. nay, like all arguments of infidelity, it is a sword easily turned against the user. as surely as the valleys lie hid in shadow long after the mountain-tops are shining in the morning sun, so surely must we expect evidences of so elevated a personality as the wise king of israel, to show a fuller acquaintance with the language of his neighbors; and employ, when they best suited him, words from such vocabularies--words which would not come into general use for many a long day; indeed until sorrow, captivity, and shame, had done the same work for the mass, under the chastening hand of god, as abundant natural gifts had done for our wise and glorious author. thus the argument of zöckler--"the numerous aramaisms (words of syriac origin) in the book are among the surest signs of its post-exile origin"--is really turned against himself. were such aramaisms altogether lacking, we might well question whether the writer were indeed that widely-read, eminently literary, gloriously intellectual individual of whom it is said, "his wisdom excelled the children of the east country and all the wisdom of egypt, for he was wiser than all men." surely, that solomon shows he was acquainted with words other than his own hebrew, and made use of such words when they best suited his purpose, is only what common-sense would naturally look for. there is no proof whatever that the _words themselves_ were of late date. christian scholars have examined them one by one as carefully, and certainly at least as conscientiously, as their opponents; and show us, in result, that the words, although not familiar in the hebrew vernacular, were in widely-current use either in the neighboring persian or in that family of languages--syriac and chaldaic--of which hebrew was but a member. the verdict of impartiality must certainly be "not proven," if indeed it be not stronger than that, to the attempt to deny to solomon the authorship of ecclesiastes based on the _words_ used. the next method of argument is one in which we shall feel ourselves more at home, inasmuch as it is not so much a question of scholarship, but ordinary intelligent discernment. time and space forbid that i attempt here a full or detailed exhibit of the sentences, thoughts, ideas in the book itself which are taken as being quite impossible to king solomon. i will, however, attempt to give a representative few that may stand for all. in the body of the book i have touched, in passing, on the argument deduced from the words in the first chapter, "_i was king;_" so need only to ask my readers' attention to it there. that "he says of himself that he was wiser and richer than all before him in jerusalem points, under enlightened exposition, clearly to an author different to the historical solomon." indeed! if my readers can appreciate the force of such an argument, they do more than can i. that the writer should seek that his words should have the full force, his experiences have the full weight that could only attach to one in every way gifted to test all things to their uttermost, is taken as clear proof, "under unbiased exposition," that the only one who was _exactly thus gifted was not the author_! the claim to freedom from bias is in almost ludicrous harmony with such reasoning. again, "that also which is said--chap. vii. --of the depravity of the times accords little with the age of solomon, the most brilliant and prosperous of israelitish history." another lovely example of rationalistic "freedom from bias"! for what is this that is said of the "depravity of the times" so inconsistent with the glory of solomon's reign in chap. vii. ? "say not thou, what is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not inquire wisely concerning this." and this is proof of the "depravity of the times"!--not proof, mark, of just that very thing that is the heart and soul of the book: the weary, unsatisfied, empty heart of poor man looking backward or forward for the satisfaction that the present always fails to give "under the sun," and which he, who was wiser than all who came before him, solomon, warns his readers _against_! oh, poor blind rationalism! missing all the beauties of god's word in its own exceeding cleverness, or--folly! how would the present application of such reasoning sound! the victorian era is certainly one of the most "brilliant and prosperous of" english "history"; hence no one can ever speak now of "the good old times." such language is simply impossible; we never hear it! so if some astute reasoner of the future comes across such allusion in any writings, it will be clear proof that the author was _post-victorian_! far more so if, as here, such writer _rebukes_ this tendency! "altogether unkingly sound the complaints in chap. iii. ('i said in my heart god shall judge the righteous and the wicked; for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work'); iv.; x. - (let my reader refer for himself to these), concerning unjust judges," etc. "these are all lamentations and complaints natural enough in a suffering and oppressed subject; but not in a monarch called and authorized to abolish evil." it is most difficult to deal seriously with what, if the writer were not so very learned, we should call nonsense unworthy of a child. look at the verse to which he refers, and which i have quoted in full; and extract from it, if your "biased" judgment will permit, an "unkingly complaint" in any word of it! and it is at such formidable arguments as this that some of us have been trembling, fearing lest the very foundations must give way under the attack! a little familiarity is all that is needed to beget a wholesome contempt. here is one more interesting illustration of the "unbiased," "scientific" reasoning of rationalism. the object is, you know, to "determine exactly the epoch and writer of the book;" and this is how it must be done. "according to chaps, v. , and ix. , the temple worship was assiduously practised, but without a living piety of heart, and in a hypocritical and self-justifying manner; the complaints in this regard remind us vividly of similar ones of the prophet malachi--chap. i. , etc." what then is the basis for all this verbiage about the temple worship? here it is: "keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of god, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil." this sentence shows that it is impossible that solomon wrote the book: there were no "fools" in _his_ time, who were more ready to give a careless sacrifice than to hearken: all fools only come into existence _after the exile_, in the days of malachi! and this is "higher criticism"! enough as to this line. we will now ask our learned friends, since solomon has been so conclusively proved not to have written it, who did? and when was it written? ah, now we may listen to a very medley of answers!--for opinions here are almost as numerous as the critics themselves. united in the one assurance that solomon could not have written it, they are united in nothing else. one is assured it was hezekiah, another is confident it was zerubbabel, a third is convinced it was jesus the son of joiada--and so on. "all opinions," as dr. lewis says, "are held with equal confidence, and yet in every way are opposed to each other. once set it loose from the solomon time, and there is no other place where it can be securely anchored." this brings us then to the positive assertion that from the evident purpose of the book, the _divine_ purpose, no other than solomon could be its author. he must be of a nation taken out of the darkness and abominations of heathendom;--there was only one such nation,--he must then be an _israelite_. he must live at an epoch when that nation is at the summit of its prosperity;--it never regained that epoch,--he must then have lived _when_ solomon lived. he must, in his own person, by his riches, honor, wisdom, learning, freedom from external political fears, perfect capacity to drink of whatever cup this world can put into his hand to the full--represent the very top-stone of that glorious time; and not one amongst all the sons of men answers to all this but _solomon the son of david, king in jerusalem_. to him who is "greater than solomon"--to him who is "above the sun"--to him whom it is the divine purpose of the book to highly exalt above all--would i commit this feeblest effort to show that purpose, and, as his condescending grace permits, further it. f. c. j. old groans and new songs; or, _meditations on ecclesiastes._ perhaps there is no book within the whole canon of scripture so perplexing and anomalous, at first sight, as that entitled "ecclesiastes." its terrible hopelessness, its bold expression of those difficulties with which man is surrounded on every side, the apparent fruitlessness of its quest after good, the unsatisfactory character, from a christian standpoint, of its conclusion: all these points have made it, at one and the same time, an enigma to the superficial student of the word, and the arsenal whence a far more superficial infidelity has sought to draw weapons for its warfare against clear revelation. and yet here it is, embedded in the very heart of those scriptures which we are told were "given by inspiration of god, and which are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of god may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." then with this precious assurance of its "profitableness" deeply fixed in our hearts by a living faith, and in absolute dependence on that blessed one who is the one perfect teacher, let us consider the book. first, then, let us seek to get all the light we can from all the exterior marks it bears before seeking to interpret its contents. for our primary care with regard to this, as indeed with regard to every book in the bible, must be to discover, if possible, what is the object of the book,--from what standpoint does the writer approach his subject. and first we find it in that group of books through which the voice of man is prominent--job, psalms, proverbs, canticles. in these is heard the music of man's soul; often--nay, mostly--giving sorrowful and striking evidence of discord, in wail and groan, in tear and sigh; and yet again, in response evidently to the touch of some master hand, that knows it well,--a tender, gracious, compassionate touch,--rising into a song of sweetest harmony that speaks eloquently of its possibilities, and bears along on its chords the promise and hope of a complete restoration. but we shall search our book in vain for any such expression of joy. no song brightens its pages; no praise is heard amid its exercises. and yet perfectly assured we may be that, listened to aright, it shall speak forth the praise of god's beloved son; looked at in a right light, it shall set off his beauty. if "he turns the wrath of man to praise him," surely we may expect no less from man's sorrows and ignorance. this, then, we may take it, is the object of the book, to show forth by its dark background the glory of the lord, to bring into glorious relief against the black cloud of man's need and ignorance the bright light of a perfect, holy, revelation; to let man tell out, in the person of his greatest and wisest, when he, too, is at the summit of his greatness, with the full advantage of his matured wisdom, the solemn questions of his inmost being; and show that greatness to be of no avail in solving them,--that wisdom foiled in the search for their answers. this, then, we will conclude, is the purpose of the book and the standpoint from which the writer speaks, and we shall find its contents confirm this in every particular. it has been well said that as regards each book in holy writ the "key hangs by the door,"--that is, that the first few sentences will give the gist of the whole. and, indeed, pre-eminently is such the case here. the first verse gives us who the writer is; the second, the beginning and ending of his search. and therein lies the key of the whole; for the writer is the son of david, the man exalted by jehovah to highest earthly glory. through rejection and flight, through battle and conflict, had the lord brought david to this excellence of glory and power. all this his "son" entered into in its perfection and at once. for it is that one of his sons who speaks who is _king_, and in _jerusalem_, the city of god's choice, the beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth. such is the story of verse . nothing could possibly go beyond the glory that is compassed by these few words. for consider them, and you will see that they ascribe "_wisdom_, and _honor_, and _riches_, and _power_" to him of whom they are spoken; but it is human wisdom and earthly power, all "under the sun." and now listen to the "song" that should surely accompany this ascription; note the joy of a heart fully and completely satisfied now that the pinnacle of human greatness is attained. here it is: "vanity of vanities," saith the preacher, "vanity of vanities; all is vanity!" the word _hahvehl_ is always translated, as here, "vanity." it is sometimes applied to "idols," as deut. xxxii. , and would give the idea of emptiness--nothingness. what a striking contrast! man has here all that nature can possibly give; and his poor heart, far from singing, is _empty_ still, and utters its sad bitter groan of disappointment. now turn and contemplate that other scene, where the true son of david, only now a "_lamb as it had been slain_," is the center of every circle, the object of every heart. tears are dried at the mention of his name, and song after song bursts forth, till the whole universe of bliss pours forth its joy, relieves its surcharged heart in praise. "vanity of vanities," saith the preacher. that is the _old_ groan. "thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed to god by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, and hast made them kings and priests, and they shall reign over the earth." that is the _new_ song. oh, blessed contrast! does it not make him who himself has replaced the groan by the song precious? has it, then, no value? and this is just the purpose of the whole book, to furnish such striking contrasts whereby the "new" is set off in its glories against the dark background of the "old,"--rest against labor, hope against despair, song against groan; and so the third verse puts this very explicitly,--"what profit hath a man of all his labor which he taketh under the sun?" the wisest and the greatest of men is seeking for an answer to this question. and this verse is too important in its bearing on the whole book to permit our passing it without looking at that significant word "profit" a little closer. and here one feels the advantage of those helps that a gracious god has put into our hands in these days of special attack upon his revelation, whereby even the unlearned may, by a little diligence, arrive at the exact shade of the meaning of a word. the word "profit," then, is, in the hebrew, _yithrohn_, and is found in this exact form only in this book, where it is translated "profit," as here, or "excellency," as in chap. ii. . the septuagint translates it into a greek one, meaning "advantage," or perhaps more literally, "that which remains over and above." in eph. iii. it is rendered "exceeding abundantly above." hence we gather that our word intends to convey to us the question, "after life is over, after man has given his labor, his time, his powers, and his talents, what has he received in exchange that shall satisfy him for all that he has lost? do the pleasures obtained during life fully compensate for what is spent in obtaining them? do they satisfy? and do they remain to him as "profit" over and above that expenditure? in a word, what "under the sun" can satisfy the longing, thirsting, hungering heart of man, so that he can say, "my heart is filled to overflowing, its restless longings are stilled, i have found a food that satisfies its hunger, a water that quenches its thirst"? a question all-important, surely, and it will be well worth listening to the experience of this seeker, who is fitted far above his fellows for finding this satisfactory good, if it can be found "under the sun." first, then, the preacher, like a good workman, takes account of what material he has to work with. "have i," he says, "any thing that others have not had, or can i hope to find any thing that has not been before?" at once he is struck with that "law of circuit" that is stamped on every thing: generation follows generation; but no new earth, _that_ remains ever the same; the sun wheels ceaselessly in its one course; the winds circle from point to point, but whirl about to their starting-place; the waters, too, follow the same law, and keep up one unbroken circuit. where can rest be found in such a scene? whilst there is unceasing change, nothing is _new_; it is but a repetition of what has been before, and which again soon passes, leaving the heart empty and hungry still. again, then, let us use this dark background to throw forward another scene. see, even now, "above the sun" him who is the head and perfect exponent of the creation called the _new_. is there any law of constant unsatisfying circuit in him? nay, indeed, every sight we get of him is _new_; each revelation of himself perfectly satisfies, and yet awakens appetite for further views. "no pause, no change those pleasures shall ever seek to know; the draught that lulls our thirsting but wakes that thirst anew." or, again, look at that blessed "law of circuit" spoken of in another way by one who has indeed been enlightened by a light "above the sun" in every sense of the word, in cor. ix. it is not the circling of winds or waters, but of "grace" direct from the blessed god himself. mark the perfection stamped upon it both by its being a complete circle--never ending, but returning again to its source,--and by the numerical stamp of perfection upon it in its seven distinct parts (or movements) as shown by the sevenfold recurrence of the word "all," or "every," both coming from the same greek word. . "god is able to make _all_ grace abound unto you." there is an inexhaustible _source_. we may come and come and come again, and never find _that_ fountain lowered by all our drafts upon it. sooner, far sooner, should the ocean be emptied by a teacup than infinite "power" and "love" be impoverished by all that his saints could draw from him. _all_ grace. . "that ye _always_." there is no moment when this circle of blessing need stop flowing. it is ever available. no moment--by day or night, in the quiet of the closet or in the activities of the day's duties, when in communion with friends or in the company of foes,--when that grace is not available. at _all_ times. . "having _all_ sufficiency"--perfect competence to meet just the present emergency. a sufficiency, let us mark, absolutely independent of nature's resources,--a sufficiency beautifully illustrated by "unlearned and ignorant" peter and john in the presence of the learned sanhedrim. let us rejoice and praise god as we trace these three glorious links in this endless chain of blessing. _all_ sufficiency. . "in _all_ things" (or "in every way"). it is no matter from what side the demand may come, this precious grace is there to meet it. is it to deal with another troubled anxious soul, where human wisdom avails nothing? divine wisdom and tact shall be supplied. courage if danger presents itself, or "all long-suffering with joyfulness" if afflictions tear the heart. in _all_ things. . "may abound to _every_ good work." now filled to the brim, and still connected with an inexhaustible supply, the vessel _must_ overflow, and that on every side. no effort, no toil, no weariness, no drawing by mechanical means from a deep well; but the grace-filled heart, abiding (and that is the only condition) in complete dependence upon its god, naturally overflows on every side--to _all_ good work. . "being enriched in _every thing_" (we omit the parenthesis, although full of its own divine beauty), (or, "in every way"). this is in some sort a repetition of no. , but goes as far beyond it as the word "enriched" is fuller than the word "sufficient." the latter fills the vessel, as we have said, up to the brim; the former adds another drop, and over it flows. in view of these "exceeding great and precious promises," we may say,-- "oh wherefore should we do ourselves this wrong, or others, that we are not always strong?" since we may be enriched in _all_ things. . "to _all_ bountifulness." this stream of grace is never to stagnate, or it will lose all its character of blessing, as the manna hoarded for a second day "bred worms, and stank." thus every single christian becomes a living channel of blessing to all around, and the circle is now completed, by once more returning to the point whence it started, "which causeth through us thanksgiving to god," and closes with no weary wail of "all things are full of labor," but joyful songs resound on every side, and at every motion of this circle of blessing ascends "thanksgiving to god." for just exactly the same full measure is seen in the thanksgiving ascending at the end as in the grace descending in the beginning. there it "abounded," filling the vessel full till it overflowed in the same measure, "abounding" in blessings to others who needed, and these forthwith pass on the stream in "abounding" thanksgiving to god. the apostle himself, as if he could not suffer himself to be excluded from the circle of blessing, adds his own note at the close with "thanks be unto god for his unspeakable gift." and shall we not, too, dear brother or sister now reading these lines, let our feeble voice be heard in this sweet harmony of praise? has not this contrast between the new song and the old groan, again we may ask, great value? having, then, seen in these first few verses the purpose of the book and the standpoint of the writer, we may accompany him in the details of his search. first he repeats, what is of the greatest importance for us to remember (v. ), "i, the preacher, was king over israel in jerusalem." he would not have us forget that, should he fail in his search for perfect satisfaction, it will not be because he is not fully qualified both by his abilities and his position to succeed. but infidelity, and its kinsman rationalism, raise a joyful shout over this verse; for to disconnect the books of the bible from the writers whose name they bear is a long step toward overthrowing the authority of those books altogether. if the believer's long-settled confidence can be proved vain in one point, and that so important a point, there is good "hope" of eventually overthrowing it altogether. so, with extravagant protestations of loyalty to the scriptures, they, joablike, "kiss" and "stab" simultaneously, wonderfully manifesting in word and work that dual form of the evil one, who, our lord tells us, was both "liar and murderer from the beginning." and many thousand professing christians are like amasa of old, their ear is well pleased with the fair sound of "art thou in health, my brother?" and they, too, take "no heed to the sword" in the inquirer's hand. judas, too, in his day, illustrates strongly that same diabolical compound of "deceit and violence," only the enemy finds no unwary amasa in jesus the lord. "betrayest thou the son of man with a kiss" tears the vail from him at once; and in the same way the feeblest believer who abides in him, is led of that same spirit; and "good words and fair speeches" do not deceive, nor can betrayal be hidden behind the warmest protestations of affection. but to return: "how could," cries this sapient infidelity, which today has given itself the modest name of "higher criticism,"--"how could solomon say, 'i _was_ king,' when he never ceased to be that?" ah! one fears if that same lord were to speak once more as of old, he would again say, "o fools and blind!" for is it not meet that the writer who is about to give recital of his experiences should first tell us what his position _was_ at the very time of those experiences? that at the very time of all these exercises, disappointments, and groanings, he _was_ still the highest monarch on earth, king over an undivided israel, in jerusalem, with all the resources and glories that accompany this high station, pre-eminently fitting _him_ to speak with authority, and compelling _us_ to listen with the profoundest respect and attention. yes, this glorious monarch "gives his heart"--that is, applies himself with singleness of purpose "to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven." no path that gives the slightest promise of leading to happiness shall be untrodden; no pleasure shall be denied, no toil be shirked that shall give any hope of satisfaction or rest. "this sore travail hath god given to the sons of men to be exercised therewith." that is, the heart of man hungers and thirsts, and he _must_ search till he does find something to satisfy; and if, alas! he fail to find it in "time," if he only drinks here of waters whereof he "that drinks shall thirst again," eternity shall find him thirsting still, and crying for one drop of water to cool his tongue. but then with what bitter despair ecclesiastes records all these searchings! "i have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit," or rather, "pursuit of the wind." exactly seven times he uses this term, "pursuit of the wind," expressing perfect, complete, despairing failure in his quest. he finds things all wrong, but he has no power of righting them; "that which is crooked cannot be made straight, and that which is wanting cannot be numbered." but perhaps we may get the secret of his failure in his next words. he takes a companion or counselor in his search. again exactly seven times he takes counsel with this companion, "_his own heart_,"--"i communed with my own heart." that is the level of the book; the writer's resources are all within himself; no light from without save that which nature gives; no taking hold on another; no hand clasped by another. he and his heart are alone. ah! that is dangerous as well as dreary work to take counsel with one's own heart. "fool" and "lawless one" come to their foolish and wicked conclusions there (ps. xiv. ); and what else than "folly" could be expected in hearkening to that which is "deceitful above all things"--what else than lawlessness in taking counsel with that which is "desperately wicked"? take not, then, for thy counselor "thine own heart," when divine love has placed infinite wisdom and knowledge at the disposal of lowly faith in the lord jesus christ, "who of god is made unto us wisdom," and "in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." but does our preacher find the rest he desires in the path of his own wisdom? not at all. "for in much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow." "grief and sorrow" ever growing, ever increasing, the further he treads that attractive and comparatively elevated path of human wisdom. nor has solomon been a lonely traveler along that road. thousands of the more refined of adam's sons have chosen it; but none have gone beyond "the king," and none have discovered anything in it, but added "grief and sorrow"--sorrowful groan! but the youngest of god's family has his feet, too, on a path of "knowledge," and he may press along that path without the slightest fear of "grief or sorrow" resulting from added knowledge. nay, a new song shall be in his mouth, "_grace_ and _peace_ shall be multiplied _through the knowledge of god and jesus our lord_." ( pet. i. ). blessed contrast! "sorrow and grief" multiplied through growth in human wisdom: "grace and peace" multiplied through growth in the knowledge of god and of jesus our lord! my beloved reader, i pray you meditate a little on this striking and precious contrast. here is solomon in all his glory, with a brighter halo of human wisdom round his head than ever had any of the children of men. turn to kings iv. :-- "and god gave solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore. and solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of egypt. for he was wiser than all men; than ethan the ezrahite, and heman, and chalcol, and darda, the sons of mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. and he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. and he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. and there came of all people to hear the wisdom of solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom." is it not a magnificent ascription of abounding wisdom? what field has it not capacity to explore? philosophy in its depths--poetry in its beauties--botany and zoology in their wonders. do we envy him? then listen to what his poor heart was groaning all that time: "in much wisdom is much grief, and he that increaseth knowledge increaseth sorrow"! now turn to _our_ portion above the sun--"the knowledge of god and of jesus our lord": infinitely higher, deeper, lovelier, and more wondrous than the fields explored by solomon, in constant unfoldings of riches of wisdom; and each new unfolding bringing its own sweet measure of "grace and peace." have not the lines fallen to us in pleasant places? have we not a goodly heritage? take the feeblest of the saints of god of today, and had solomon in all his glory a lot like one of these? chapter ii. the wise man, having found that wisdom brought with it but increased sorrow, turns to the other side--to all those pleasures that the flesh, as we speak, enjoys. still, he gives us, as in chap. i., the result of his search before he describes it: "i said in my heart, 'go to now; i will prove thee [that is, i will see if i cannot satisfy thee,] with mirth; therefore enjoy pleasure:' and behold, this also is vanity. i said of laughter, 'it is mad;' and of mirth, 'what doeth it?'" for he now has tried wine, the occupation of laying out of vinyards, gardens, parks, the forming of lakes, and the building of houses, all filled without stint, with every thing that sense could crave, or the soul of man could enjoy. the resources at his command are practically limitless, and so he works on and rejoices in the labor, apparently with the idea that now the craving within can be satisfied, now he is on the road to rest. soon he will look round on the result of all his work, and be able to say, "all is very good; i can now rest in the full enjoyment of my labor and be satisfied." but when he does reach the end, when every pleasure tried, every beauty of surrounding created, and he expects to eat the fruit of his work, instantly his mouth is filled with rottenness and decay. "then i looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labor that i had labored to do; and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit; and there was no profit under the sun." thus he groans again,--a groan that has been echoed and re-echoed all down the ages from every heart that has tried to fill the same void by the same means. ah! wise and glorious preacher, it is a large place thou art seeking to fill. "free and boundless its desires." deeper, wider, broader than the whole world, which is at thy disposal to fill it. and thou mayest well say, "what can the man do that cometh after the king?" for thou hadst the whole world and the glory of it at thy command in thy day, and did it enable thee to fill those "free and boundless desires"? no, indeed. after all is cast into that hungry pit, yawning and empty it is still. look well on this picture, my soul; ponder it in the secret place of god's presence, and ask him to write it indelibly on thy heart that thou forget it not. then turn and listen to this sweet voice: "if any man thirst" (and what man does not?) "let him come unto me, and drink. he that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." thirst not only quenched, but water to spare for other thirsting ones,--the void not only filled, but running over with a constant flow of blessing. who can express the glories of that contrast? pause, beloved reader: turn your eyes from the page, and dwell on it in thy spirit a little. what a difference between "no profit under the sun" and "never thirst"!--a difference entirely due simply to coming to him--jesus. not a coming once and then departing from him once more to try again the muddy, stagnant pools of this world: no, but to pitch our tents by the palm-trees and the springing wells of christ's presence, and so to drink and drink and drink again of him, the rock that follows his people. but is this possible? is this not mere imaginative ecstasy, whilst practically such a state is not possible? no, indeed; for see that man, with all the same hungry longings of solomon or any other child of adam; having no wealth, outcast, and a wanderer without a home, but who has found something that has enabled him to say, "i have learned, in whatsoever state i am, to be content. i know both how to be abased, and i know how to abound: everywhere, and in all things, i am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. i can do all things through christ, who strengtheneth me." (phil. iv. - .) what, then, is the necessary logical deduction from two such pictures but this: the lord jesus infinitely surpasses all the world in filling the hungry heart of man. look, oh my reader, whether thou be sinner or saint, to him--to him alone. this, then, brings us to the twelfth verse of chapter two, which already, thus early in the book, seems to be a summing up of his experiences. "i turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness, and folly:" that is i looked "full face," or carefully considered, these three things that i had now tested; and whilst each gave me only disappointment and bitterness as to meeting my deepest needs, yet "i saw that there was a profit in wisdom over folly, as light is profitable over darkness." this then is within the power of human reason to determine. the philosophy of the best of the heathen brought them to exactly the same conclusion. socrates and solomon, with many another worthy name, are here in perfect accord, and testify together that "the wise man's eyes are in his head, but the fool walketh in darkness." not that men _prefer_ wisdom to folly; on the contrary; still even human reason gives this judgment: for the wise man walks at least as a _man_, intelligently; the spirit, the intelligence, having its place. but how much further can reason discern as to the comparative worth of wisdom or folly? the former certainly morally elevates a man _now_; but here comes an awful shadow across reason's path: "but i myself perceived also that one event happeneth to them all. then said i in my heart, as it happeneth to the fool, so it happeneth even to me: and why was i then more wise? then i said in my heart, that this also is vanity." ah! in this book in which poor man at his highest is allowed to give voice to his deepest questions, in which all the chaos, and darkness, the "without form and void" state of his poor, distracted, disjointed being is seen; death is indeed the king of terrors, upsetting all his reasonings, and bringing the wisdom and folly, between which he had so carefully discriminated, to one level in a moment. but here, death is looked upon in relation to the "works" of which he has been speaking. wisdom cannot guarantee its possessor the enjoyment of the fruits of his labors. death comes to him as swiftly and as surely as to the fool, and a common oblivion shall, after a little, swallow the memory of each, with their works. this thought the preacher dwells upon, and as he regards it on every side, again and again he groans, "this also is vanity." (_vv._ , , .) "therefore i hated life, yea, all my labor which i took under the sun," and "therefore i went about to cause my heart to despair of all my labor which i took under the sun." for what is there in the labor itself? nothing that satisfies by itself. it is only the anticipation of final satisfaction and enjoyment that can make up for the loss of quiet and ease now; prove _that_ to be a vain hope, and the mere labor and planning night and day are indeed "empty vanity." thus much for labor "under the sun," with self for its object, and death for its limit. now for the contrast again in its refreshing beauty of the "new" as against the "old" "therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the lord, forasmuch as ye know your labor is not in vain in the lord." ( cor. xv. .) "all my labor vanity" is the "groan" of the old, "for death with its terrors cuts me off from my labor and i leave it to a fool." "no labor in vain" is the song of victory of the new, for resurrection with its glories but introduces me to the precious fruit of those labors, to be enjoyed forever. oh my brethren, let us cherish this precious word, "not in vain;" let us be indeed "persuaded" of it, and "embrace" it, not giving up our glorious heritage, and going back, as the christian world largely is in this day, to the mere human wisdom that solomon the king possessed above all, and which only led then, as it must now and ever, to the groan of "vanity!" but "_not_ in vain" is ours. no little one refreshed with even a cup of cold water but that soon the fruit of even that little labor of love shall meet its sweetest recompense in the smile, the approval, the praise of our lord jesus; and that shall make our hearts full to overflowing with bliss; as we there echo and re-echo our own word: it was indeed, "not in vain." the chapter closes with the recognition that, apart from god, it is not in the power of man to get any enjoyment from his labor. our translation of verse seems quite out of harmony with the preacher's previous experiences, and the verse would better read (as in dr. taylor lewis' metrical version): "the good is not in man that he should eat and drink and find his soul's enjoyment in his toil; this, too, i saw, is only from the hands of god." chapter iii. chapter three may be paraphrased, i think, somewhat in this way: yes, life itself emphasizes the truth that nothing is at one stay here;--all _moves_. there is naught abiding, like the winds and waters that he has noted in chapter one; man's life is but a wheel that turns: death follows birth, and all the experiences between are but ever varying shades of good and evil, evil and good. (let us bear in mind this is not faith's view, but simply that of human wisdom. faith sings a song amidst the whirl of life: "with mercy and with judgment, my web of time he wove; and aye the dews of sorrow were lustred with his love.") but then if nothing thus rests as it is, it becomes a necessary deduction that, if wisdom has collected, and labored, and built, folly will follow to possess and scatter, what profit then in toiling? for he sees that this constant travail is of god who, in wisdom inscrutable, and not to be penetrated by human reasoning, would have men exercised by these constant changes, whilst their hearts can be really satisfied with no one of these things, beautiful as each may be in its time. so boundless are its desires that he says, "eternity" has been placed in that heart of man, and naught in all these "time-changes" can fill it. still he can see nothing better for man, than that he should make the best of the present, for he cannot alter or change what god does or purposes, and everything he sees, speaks of his purpose to a constant "round," a recurrence of that which is past (as verse should probably read.) but still man's reason can make one more step now, one further deduction from the _law of circuit_, as soon as god, even though he be known only by nature's light, is introduced; and that is, the present wrong and injustice so evident here, must in some "time" in god's purposes, be righted; god himself being the judge. this seems to be a gleam of real light, similar to the conclusion of the whole book. yes, further, this constant change--is there no reason for it? has god no purpose in it? surely to teach men the very lesson of their own mortality: that there is naught abiding--men and beasts are, as far as unaided human wisdom can see, on one level exactly as to that awful exit from this scene. it is true there may be--and there are strong grounds for inferring that there _is_--a wide difference between the spirit of man, and the spirit of beasts, although the bodies of each are formed of, and return to the dust; but who can tell this absolutely? who has seen and told what is on the other side of that dread portal? none. so then, again says the wise preacher, my wisdom sees only good in enjoying the present, for the future is shrouded in an impenetrable cloud, and none can pierce it. precious beyond expression becomes the glorious bright beam of divine revelation, as against this dense and awful darkness of man's ignorance on such a question. how deep and terrible the groan here, "for all is vanity." yet the pitch-dark background shall serve to throw into glorious relief, the glory of that light that is not from reason, or nature; but from him who is the father of lights. yes, he bids us look on this picture of the wisest of men, tracing man and beast to one end and standing before that awful door through which each has disappeared, confessing his absolute inability to determine if there be any difference between them. death surely triumphs here. it is true that there may be a possible distinction between the "breath," or vital principle of each; but this uncertainty only adds to the mystery, and increases a thousand fold the agonizing need for light. god be thanked that he has given it. the darkest problem that has faced mankind all through the weary ages, has been triumphantly solved; and the sweetest songs of faith ever resound about the empty tomb of the lord jesus--nay rather, about the glorious person of that risen christ himself, for he is himself the leader of the joy. "in the midst of the congregation will i praise thee." so then, in sharp and blessed contrast to the wise man and his groaning, let us lift our eyes up and ever up, past the tombs and graves of earth; yea, past thrones and principalities, and powers in the heavens; up and still up, even to the "_throne of the majesty on high_" itself; and look on one sitting even there, a _man_--oh mark it well, for he has been of woman born--a _man_,--for of that very one it was once said, "is not this the carpenter?"--now crowned with glory and honor; and listen, for he speaks: "i am he that liveth, and was dead, and behold i am alive for evermore." consider him! and whilst we look and listen, how does that word of the preacher sound, "a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast!" and this is our portion, beloved reader. he might indeed have had all the glory of that place, without the agony of the garden, without the suffering and shame of the cross, had he been content to enjoy it alone. but no--he must have his own with him; and now death has been abolished as to its terror and power, so that the groan of old is replaced by the triumphant challenge: "o death, where is thy sting? o grave, where is thy victory?" ( cor. xv. .) the resurrection of jesus not only makes possible--not only makes probable--but absolutely assures the glorious triumphant resurrection of his own who have fallen asleep: "christ the firstfruits, afterward they are christ's at his coming." but further, is this "falling asleep" of the saint to separate him, for a time, from the conscious enjoyment of his saviour's love? is the trysting of the saved one with his saviour to be interrupted for awhile by death? is his song "not all things else are half so dear as is his blissful presence here" to be silenced by death? then were he a strangely conquered foe, and not stingless, if for one hour he could separate us from the enjoyed love of christ. but no, "blessed be the victor's name," not for a moment. "death is ours" and "absent from the body" is only "present with the lord." so that we may answer the preacher's word, "a man hath no pre-eminence above a beast," with the challenge, to which of the _beasts_ said he at any time, "this day shalt thou be with me in paradise"? let the preacher groan, "all is vanity;" the groan is in perfect--if sorrowful--harmony with the darkness and ignorance of human reason; but "_singing_" alone accords with _light_; "joy cometh _in the morning_," and if we but receive it, we have in "jesus risen" light enough for perpetual, unending, song. chapter iv. but we must follow our preacher, who can only turn away with bitterness from this closed door of death, once more to take note of what is "under the sun." and sad and sorrowful it is to him to mark that the world is filled with oppression. he has already, in the previous chapter, noted that "wickedness was there in the place of judgment and iniquity in the place of righteousness," and the natural consequence of this is oppression. wherever men have _power_ they use it to bring forth _tears_; therefore far better, cries solomon, to be out of such a scene altogether; yea, better still, never to have come into it at all. have we no sympathy with the preacher here? does he not give expression to one sad "touch of nature that makes the whole world kin"? do we not recognize that he, too, was traveling through exactly the same scene as we find ourselves to be in? that tears were raining on this crust of earth in that far-off time, exactly as they are to-day? yes, indeed, it was a tear-soaked earth he trod, as well as we. but then that other man was also in the same scene exactly, who said, too, that it was certainly "far better" to be out of it; but--precious contrast! _that_ was because of the loveliness and sweet attraction of one known outside of it; whilst the very needs of others in the scene--those "tears," in a way, of which the wise man speaks, and which he knew no way of stopping--alone kept him in it, and made him consent to stay. for paul had "heard a sweeter story" than solomon had ever in his wisdom conceived; had "found a truer gain" than all solomon's wealth could give him; and his most blessed business it was to proclaim a glad tidings that should dry the tears of the oppressed, give them a peace that no oppressor could take away, a liberty outside all the chains of earth--a spring of joy that tyranny was powerless to affect. now let us, by the grace and loving kindness of our god, consider this a little closer, my readers. we have concluded that we find this book included in the inspired volume for this very purpose, to exalt all "the new" by its blessed contrast with "the old." we may too, if we will, look around on all the sorrows and tears of this sad earth, and groan "better would it be to be dead and out of it; yea, better never to have been born at all." and a wise groan, according to human wisdom, this would be. but when such wisdom has attained to its full, it finds itself far short of the very "foolishness of god"; for, on the other hand we may, if we will, praise god with joyful heart that we are at least _in the only place in the whole universe, where tears can be dried, and gladness be made to take their place_. for is there oppression, and consequent weeping, in heaven? surely not. tears there are, in plenty, in hell; for did not he who is love say, "there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth"? but, alas! those tears can be dried--_never_. but here love can have its own way, and mourning ones may learn a secret that shall surely gild their tears with a rainbow glory of light, and the oppressed and distressed, the persecuted and afflicted, may triumphantly sing, "who shall separate us from the love of christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? nay, in all these things we are _more than conquerors_, through him that loved us." ah, is there not, too, a peculiar beauty in those words "more than conquerors"? what can be more than a conqueror? a ship driven out of its course by the tempest, with anchor dragging or cable parted, is no "conqueror" at all, but the reverse. that ship riding out the gale, holding fast to its anchorage, is truly a conqueror; but that is all. but the vessel being driven by the very tempest to the haven where it would be, is better off still, and thus "more than conqueror." so it is with the saint now; the tempest drives him the closer to him who is indeed his desired haven, and thus he is more than conqueror. is not, then, this earth a unique place?--this life a wonderful time? a few years (possibly a few hours) more, and we shall be out of the scene of sorrow and evil forever; nor can we then prove the power of the love of christ to lift above the sorrow either ourselves or others. o my soul, art thou redeeming the time--"ransoming from loss" (as it might literally be worded) the precious opportunities that are around thee on every side, "because the days are evil"? the very fact that the days are evil--that thou art in the place of tears--gives thee the "opportunities." when the days cease to be evil, those special opportunities, whatever may be the service of the redeemed, will be gone forever. but the preacher still continues his search "under the sun," and turns from oppression and tears to regard what is, on the surface at least, a comparatively happy lot--"right work," by which a man has attained to prosperity and pre-eminence. but as he looks closer at a case which, at first sight, seems to promise real satisfaction, he sees that there is a bitter sting connected with it,--a sting that at once robs it of all its attraction, and makes void all its promise of true rest,--for "for this a man is envied of his neighbor." his success is only cause of bitter jealousy, and makes him the object not of love, but of envy, to all about him. success, then, and a position of pre-eminence above one's competitors, gained by skillful toil, is rather to be avoided as vanity and pursuit of the wind,--a grasping at an empty nothingness. is the opposite extreme of perfect idleness any better? no; for plainly the idler is a fool who "eateth his own flesh"; that is, necessarily brings ruin upon himself. so human wisdom here closes the meditation with--what human wisdom always does take refuge in--the "golden mean," as it is called, "better a single handful with quiet rest, than both hands filled only by wearying toil and vexation of spirit." and true enough this is, as every man who has tested things at all in this world will confirm. accumulation brings with it only disappointment and added care,--everything is permeated with a common poison; and here the wisdom of the old is, in one sense, in full harmony with the higher wisdom of the new, which says "godliness, with contentment, is great gain," and "having food and raiment, let us be therewith content." if we look "above the sun," however, there is a scene where no sting lurks in all that attracts, as here. where god himself approves the desires of his people for more of their own, and says to them with gracious encouragement, "covet earnestly the best gifts." yes; but mark the root-difference between the two: the skillful, or right labor, that appears at first so desirable to the preacher, is only for the worker's own advantage,--it exalts him above his fellows, where he becomes a mark for their bitter envy; but these "gifts" that are to be coveted are as far removed from this as the poles. in that higher scene, the more a gift exalts "self," the less is that gift. the "best"--those which god calls "best"--are those that awake no envy in others; but bring their happy owner lower and ever lower to the feet of his brethren to serve them, to build _them_ up. the corinthians themselves had the lesser gifts in the more showy "tongues," and "knowledge"; but one family amongst them had the _greater_,--"the household of stephanas," for it had addicted itself to the _service_ of the saints. but let us not leave this theme till we have sought to set our hearts a-singing by a sight of him who is, and ever shall be, the source as well as the theme of all our songs. we but recently traced him in his glorious upward path till we found him resting on the throne of the majesty on high. but "he that ascended, what is it but that he also descended?" so, beloved readers, though it may be a happily familiar theme to many, it will be none the less refreshing to look at that "right work" of our blessed lord jesus, "who, being in the form of god, thought it not robbery to be equal with god." that is the glorious platform--as we might, in our human way of speaking, say--upon which he had abode all through the ages of the past. he looks above--there is none, there is nothing higher. he looks on the same plane as himself--he is equal with god. there is his blessed, glorious place, at the highest pinnacle of infinite glory, nothing to be desired, nothing to be grasped at. he moves; and every heart that belongs to that new creation awakens into praise (oh, how different to the "envy" of the old!) as he takes his first step and makes himself of no reputation. and as in our previous paper we followed him in his glorious upward path, so here we may trace his no less glorious and most blessed path down and ever lower down, past godhead to "_no reputation_"; past authority to _service_; past angels, who are servants, to _men_; past all the thrones and dignities of men to the manger at _bethlehem and the lowest walk of poverty_, till he who, but now, was indeed rich is become poor; nay, says of himself that he has not where to lay his head. no "golden mean" of the "handful with quietness" here! yes, and far lower still, past that portion of the righteous man, endless life,--down, down to the humiliation of _death_; and then one more step to a death--not of honor, and respect, and the peace, that we are told marks the perfect man and the upright, but the death of lowest shame, the criminal slave's death, the _cross_! seven distinct steps of perfect humiliation! oh, consider him there, beloved! mocked of all his foes, forsaken of all his friends! the very refuse of the earth, the thieves that earth says are too vile for her, heaping their indignities upon him. "behold the man," spat upon, stricken, and numbered with transgressors; and, as we gaze, let us together listen to that divine voice, "let this mind be in you which was also in christ jesus," for that is _our_ "right work," and there is no fear of a man being "envied of his neighbor" for right work of that kind. but time and space would fail us to take up in detail all these precious contrasts. all solomon's searches "under the sun" tell but one story: there is nought in all the world that can satisfy the heart of man. the next verse furnishes another striking illustration of this. he sees a solitary one, absolutely alone, without kith or kin dependent on him, and yet he toils on, "bereaving his soul of good" as unceasingly as when he first started in life. every energy is still strained in the race for those riches that satisfy not at all. "vanity" is the preacher's commentary on the scene. this naturally leads to the conclusion that solitude, at least, is no blessing; for man was made for companionship and mutual dependence, and in this is safety. (verses to .) verses to the end are difficult, as they stand in our authorized version; but they speak, i think, of the striking and extraordinary vicissitudes that are so constant "under the sun." there is no lot abiding. the king on his throne, "old and foolish," changes places with the youth who may even step from the humiliation of prison and chains to the highest dignity: then "better is the poor and wise youth than the old and foolish king." but wider still the preacher looks, and marks the stately march of the present generation with the next that shall follow it; yea, there is no end of the succession of surging generations, each boastful of itself, and taking no joy in--that is, making little account of--that which has gone before. each, in its turn, like a broken wave, making way for its successor. boastful pride, broken in death, but still followed by another equally boastful, or more so, which, in its turn, is humbled also in the silence of the grave. it is the same story of human changes as "the youth" and "the king," only a wider range is taken; but "vanity" is the appropriate groan that accompanies the whole meditation. in this i follow dr. lewis's version:-- better the child, though he be poor, if wise, than an old and foolish king, who heeds no longer warning; for out of bondage came the one to reign-- the other, in a kingdom born, yet suffers poverty. i saw the living all, that walked in pride beneath the sun, i saw the second birth that in their place shall stand. no end to all the people that have gone before; and they who still succeed, in them shall find no joy. this, too, is vanity,--a chasing of the wind. chapter v. with the opening of this chapter we come to quite a different theme. like a fever-tossed patient, ecclesiastes has turned from side to side for relief and rest; but each new change of posture has only brought him face to face with some other evil "under the sun" that has again and again pressed from him the bitter groan of "vanity." but now, for a moment, he takes his eyes from the disappointments, the evil workings, and the sorrows, that everywhere prevail in that scene, and lifts them up to see how near his wisdom, or human reason, can bring him to _god_. ah, poor bruised and wounded spirit! everywhere it has met with rebuff; but now, like a caged bird which has long beaten its wings against its bars, at length turns to the open door, so now ecclesiastes seems at least to have his face in the right direction,--god and approach to him is his theme,--how far will his natural reason permit his walking in it? will it carry him on to the highest rest and freedom at last? this, it strikes me, is just the point of view of these first seven verses. their meaning is, as a whole, quite clear and simple. "keep thy foot,"--that is, permit no hasty step telling of slight realization of the majesty of him who is approached. nor let spirit be less reverently checked than body. "be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools." few be thy words, and none uttered thoughtlessly, for "god is in heaven and thou upon earth," and many words, under such an infinite discrepancy in position, bespeak a fool as surely as a dream bespeaks overcrowded waking hours. oh fear, then, to utter one syllable thoughtlessly or without meaning, for one listens to whom a vow once uttered must be paid, for not lightly canst thou retract the spoken vow with the excuse "it was unintentional,--it was not seriously meant." his messenger or angel is not so deceived; and quickly wilt thou find, in thy wrecked work and purposes astray, that it is _god_ thou hast angered by thy light speech. then avoid the many words which, as idle dreams, are but vanity; but rather "fear thou god." after weighing the many conflicting views as to verses and , the context has led me to the above as the sense of the words. nor can there be the slightest question as to the general bearing of the speaker's argument. its central thought, both in position and importance, is found in "god is in heaven and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few,"--its weighty conclusion, "fear thou god." now, my beloved readers, there is a picture here well worth looking at attentively. regard him: noble in every sense of the word,--with clearest intellect, with the loftiest elevation of thought, with an absolutely true conception of the existence of god. who amongst men, let thought sweep as wide as it will amongst the children of adam, can go or has gone, beyond him? what can man's mind conceive, he may ask, as well as man's hand do, that cometh after the king? yea, let our minds go over all the combined wisdom of all the ages amongst the wise of the world, and where will you find a loftier, purer, truer conception of god, and the becoming attitude of the creature in approaching him than here? for he is not a heathen, as we speak, this solomon. he has all that man, as man, could possibly have; and that surely includes the knowledge of the existence of god,--his power eternal, and his godhead, as romans i. clearly shows. the heathen themselves have lapsed from that knowledge. "_when they knew god_" is the intensely significant word of scripture. this is, indeed, diametrically contrary to the teaching of modern science--that the barbarous and debased tribes of earth are only in a less developed condition--are on the way _upward_ from the lowest forms of life, from the protoplasm whence all sprang, and have already passed in their upward course the ape, whose likeness they still, however, more closely bear! oh, the folly of earth's wisdom! the pitiful meanness and littleness of the greatest of modern scientific minds that have "come after the king" contrasted even with the grand simple sublimity of the knowledge of ecclesiastes. for this preacher would not be a proper representative _man_ were he in debased heathen ignorance. he could not show us faithfully and truly how far even unaided human reason could go in its recognition of, and approach to, god, if he had lost the knowledge of god. low, indeed, is the level of man's highest, when in this state, as the greeks show us; for whilst they, as distinct from the jews, made wisdom the very object of their search, downward ever do they sink in their struggles, like a drowning man, till they reach a foul, impure, diabolical mythology. their gods are as the stars for multitude. nor are they able to conceive of these except as influenced by the same passions as themselves. is there any reverence in approach to such? not at all. low, sensual, earthly depravity marked ever that approach. that is the level of the lapsed fallen wisdom of earth's wise. how does it compare with solomon's? we may almost say as earth to heaven,--hardly that,--rather as hell to earth. solomon, then, clearly shows us the _highest possible conception of the creature's approach to his creator_. this is as far as man could have attained, let him be at the summit of real wisdom. his reason would have given him nothing beyond this. it tells him that man is a creature, and it is but the most simple and necessary consequence of this that his approach to his creator should be with all the reverence and humility that is alone consistent with such a relationship. but high indeed as, in one point of view, this is, yet how low in another, for is one heart-throb stilled? one tormenting doubt removed? one fear quieted? one deep question answered? one sin-shackle loosened? _not one_. the distance between them is still the distance between earth and heaven. "god is in heaven, and thou upon earth." nor can the highest, purest, best of human reason, as in this wise and glorious king, bridge over that distance one span! "fear thou god" is the sweetest comfort he can give,--the clearest counsel he can offer. consider him again, i say, my brethren, in all his nobility, in all his elevation, in all his bitter disappointment and incompetency. and now, my heart, prepare for joy, as thou turnest to thy own blessed portion. for how rich, how precious, how closely to be cherished is that which has gone so far beyond all possible human conception,--that wondrous revelation by which this long, long distance 'twixt earth and heaven has been spanned completely. and in whom? jesus, the greater than solomon. we have well considered the less,--let us turn to the greater. and where is that second man to be found? afar off on earth, with god in heaven? no, indeed. "for when he had by himself purged our sins he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high"; and "seeing, then, that we have a great high priest, that is passed _through the heavens_, jesus, the son of god, let us hold fast our confession." oh, let us consider him together, my brethren. in holiest light our representative sits. he who but now was weighted with our guilt, and made sin for us, is in that light ineffable, unapproachable. where, then, are the sins? where, then, the sin? gone for all eternity! nor does his position vary at all with all the varying states, failings, coldness, worldliness, of his people here. with holy calm, his work that has perfected them forever perfectly finished, he _sits_, and their position is thus maintained unchanging. clearly, and without the shadow of the faintest mist to dim, the infinite searching light of god falls on him, but sees nought there that is not in completest harmony with itself. oh, wondrous conception! oh, grandeur of thought beyond all the possibility of man's highest mind! no longer can it be said at least to one man, woman-born though he be, "god is in heaven, and thou upon earth"; for he, of the seed of abraham, of the house of david, is himself in highest heaven. but one step further with me, my brethren. we are in him, there; and that is our place, too. the earthward trend of thought--the letting slip our own precious truth--has introduced a "tongue" into christendom that ought to be foreign to the saint of heaven. no "place of worship" should the christian know--nay, _can_ he really know--short of heaven itself. for, listen: "having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter _into the holiest_ by the blood of jesus, by the new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through the vail,--that is to say, his flesh,--and having a high priest over the house of god, let us draw near," etc. we too, then, beloved, are not upon earth as to our worship, (let it be mixed with faith in us that hear). israel's "place of worship" was where her high priest stood, and our place of worship is where our great high priest sits. jesus our lord sowed the seed of this precious truth when he answered the poor sinful woman of samaria, "the hour cometh when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at jerusalem, worship the father. but the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the father in spirit and in truth, for the father seeketh such to worship him." but, then, are not "words to be few"? good and wise it was for solomon so to speak; "few words" become the far-off place of the creature on earth before the glorious majesty of the creator in heaven. but if infinite wisdom and love have rent the vail and made a new and living way into the holiest, does he now say "few words"? better, far better, than that; for with the changed position all is changed, and not too often can his gracious ear "hear the voice of his beloved"; and, lest shrinking unbelief should still hesitate and doubt, he says plainly "in _everything_, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto god." for he has shown himself fully, now that vail is down,--all that he is, is revealed to faith; and a heart we find--with reverence and adoring love be it spoken--filled with tenderest solicitude for his people. letting them have cares only that they may have his sympathy in a way that would not otherwise be possible; and thus again he invites "casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you." nor is there a hint in the holiest, of weariness on god's part in listening to his people, nor once does he say "enough; now cease thy prayers and supplications." how could he so speak who says "_pray without ceasing_"? then if, as assuredly we have seen, solomon shows us the highest limit of human thought, reason, or conception, if we go even one step beyond, we have _exceeded_ human thought, reason, or conception; (and in these new testament truths how far beyond have we gone?) and what does that mean but that we are on holy ground indeed, listening to a voice that is distinctly the voice of god,--the god who speaks to us, as he says, in order "_that our joy may be full_." but the preacher continues to give, in verses and , such counsel as he can to meet the discordant state of things everywhere apparent. "when thou seest violent oppression exercised by those in authority," he says, "marvel not; think it not strange, as though some strange thing were happening; thou art only looking on a weed-plant that everywhere flourishes 'under the sun,' and still thou mayest remember that these oppressors themselves, high though they be, have superiors above them: yea in the ever-ascending scale of ranks and orders thou mayest have to go to the highest--god himself; but the same truth hold good, and he shall yet call powers and governors to answer for the exercise of their authorities. this for thy comfort, if thou lookest _up_; but, on the other hand, look _down_, and thou shalt see that which goes far to humble the highest; for even the king himself is as dependent as any on the field whence man's food comes." true, indeed, all this; but cold is the comfort, small cause for singing it gives. our own dear apostle seems to have dropped for a moment from his higher vantage-ground to the level of solomon's wisdom when smarting under "oppression and the violent perverting of judgment," he cried to the high priest, "god [the higher than the highest] shall smite thee, thou whited wall." but we hear no joyful singing from him in connection with that indignant protest. on the contrary, the beloved and faithful servant regrets it the next moment, with "i wist not, brethren." not so in the silent suffering of "violent oppression" at philippi. there he and his companion have surely comfort beyond any that solomon can offer, and the overflowing joy of their hearts comes from no spring that rises in this sad desert scene. never before had prisoners in that dismal jail heard aught but groans of suffering coming from that inner prison, from the bruised and wounded prisoners whose feet were made fast in the stocks; but the spirit of god notes, with sweet and simple pathos, "the prisoners heard them"; and oh, how mighty the testimony to that which is "above the sun" was that singing! it came from the christian's proper portion,--your portion and mine, dear fellow-redeemed one,--for jesus, our lord jesus, our saviour jesus, is the alone fountain of a joy that can fill a human heart until it gives forth "songs in the night," even in one of earth's foul abodes of suffering and oppression. he is the portion of the youngest, feeblest believer. rich treasure! let us beware lest any spoil us of that treasure, for we can only "sing" as we enjoy it. but once more let us listen to what the highest, purest attainment of the wisdom of man can give. and now he speaks of wealth and the abundance of earthly prosperity which he, of all men, had so fully tested. "he that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver, nor he that loveth abundance, with increase"; and again there is the sorrowful groan, "this is also vanity." "if goods increase," he continues, "the household necessary to care for them increases proportionately, and the owner gets no further satisfaction from them than their sight affords. nay, he who toils has a distinct advantage over the wealthy, who is denied the quiet repose the former enjoys." carefully the preacher has watched the miser heaping up ever, and robbing himself of all natural enjoyment, until some disaster--"evil travail"--sweeps away in a moment his accumulations, and his son is left a pauper. and such, at least, is every man he marks, be he never so wealthy, when the end comes. inexorable death is, sooner or later, the "evil travail" that strips him as naked as he came; and then, though he has spent his life in selfish self-denial, filling his dark days with vexation, sickness, and irritation, he is snatched from all, and, poor indeed, departs. such the sad story of solomon's experience; but not more sad than true, nor confined by any means to scripture. world-wide it is. nor is divine revelation necessary to tell poor man that silver, nor gold, nor abundance of any kind, can satisfy the heart. hear the very heathen cry "_semper avarus eget_"--"the miser ever _needs_"; or "_avarum irritat non satiat pecunia_"--"the wealth of the miser satisfies not, but irritates." but more weighty and far-reaching is the word of revelation going far beyond the negation of the king. "they that desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition, for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows." but let us pass to the last three verses of the chapter. the preacher here says, in effect, "now attend carefully to what i tell thee of the result of all my experience in this way. i have discerned a good that i can really call comely or fair. it is for a man to have the means at his command for enjoyment, and the power to enjoy those means. this combination is distinctly the 'gift of god.' from such an one all the evils that make up life pass off without eating deep into his being. a cheerful spirit takes him off from the present evil as soon as it is past. he does not think on it much; for the joy of heart within, _to which god responds_, enables him to meet and over-ride those waves of life and forget them." this is in perfect conformity with the whole scope of our book: and it is surely a mistake that the evangelical doctors and commentators make when they seek to extract truth from solomon's writings that is never to be attained apart from god's revelation. on the other hand, a large school of german rationalists see here nothing beyond the teaching of the epicure: "let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." rather does it show the high-water mark of human reason, wisdom, and experience,--having much in common with the philosophy of the world, but going far beyond it; and then, at its highest, uttering some wail of dissatisfaction and disappointment, whilst the majestic height of divine revelation towers above it into the very heavens, taking him who receives it far above the clouds and mists of earth's speculations and questionings into the clear sunlight of eternal divine truth. so here solomon--and let us not forget none have ever gone, or can ever go, beyond him--gives us the result of his searchings along the special line of the power of riches to give enjoyment. his whole experience again and again has contradicted this. look at the th verse of this very chapter. "the sleep of the laboring man is sweet, _but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep_." no, no. in some way to get _joy_, he confesses he must have _god_. he combines in these verses these two ideas--"joy" and "god." look at them. see how they recur: four times the name of god, thrice a word for joy. now this raises solomon far far above the malarial swamps of mere epicureanism, which excluded god entirely. it shows how perfect the harmony throughout the whole book. it is again, let us recall it, the high-water mark of human reason, intelligence, and experience. he reasons thus: ( ) i have proved the vanity and unsatisfactory character of all created things in themselves, and yet can see no good beyond getting enjoyment from them. ( ) the power, therefore, for enjoyment cannot be from the things themselves. it must be from god. he must give it. ( ) this assumes that there must be some kind of accord between god and the heart, for god is the spring, and not the circumstances without. so far the power of human reason. high it is, indeed; but how unsatisfactory, at its highest. consider all that it leaves unsaid. suppose this were where you and i were, my reader, what should we learn of the way of attaining to this "good that is fair"? shall we ask ecclesiastes one single question that surely needs clear answer in order to attain it? i am a sinner: conscience, with more or less power, constantly accuses. how can this awful matter of my guilt in the sight of that god, the confessed and only source of thy "good," be settled? surely this is absolutely necessary to know ere i can enjoy thy "good that is fair." nay, more: were a voice to speak from heaven, telling me that all the past were blotted out up to this moment, i am well assured that i could not maintain this condition for the next moment. sin would well up from the nature within, and leave me as hopeless as ever. i carry _it_--that awful defiling thing--with me, in me. how is this to be answered, ecclesiastes?--or what help to its answer dost thou give?... and there is silence alone for a reply. once and only once was such a state possible. adam, as he walked in his undefiled eden, eating its fruit, rejoicing in the result of his labor, with no accusing conscience, god visiting him in the cool of the day and responding to all his joy,--there is the picture of ecclesiastes' "good that is fair." where else in the old creation, and how long did that last? no; whilst it is refreshing and inspiring to mark the beautiful intelligence and exalted reasoning of ecclesiastes, recognizing the true place of man in creation, dependent, and consciously dependent, on god for "life and breath and all things," as paul spoke long afterwards, appealing to that in the heathen athenians which even they were _capable_ of responding to affirmatively; yet how he leaves us looking at a "good that is fair," but without a word as to how it is to be attained, in view of, and in spite of, sin. that one short word raises an impassable barrier between us and that fair good, and the more fair the good, the more cruel the pain at being so utterly separated from it; but then, too, the more sweet and precious the love that removes the barrier entirely, and introduces us to a good that is as far fairer than solomon's as solomon's is above the beasts. for we, too, my dear readers, have our "good that is fair." nor need we fear comparison with that of this wisest of men. survey with me a fairer scene than any lighted by this old creation sun can show, and harken to god's own voice, in striking contrast to poor solomon's portraying its lovely and entrancing beauties for our enjoyment. "blessed be the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in christ, according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by jesus christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved: in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace." dwell a little on this our own fair good; mark its sevenfold perfection; go up and down the land with me. let us press these grapes of eshcol, and taste their excellence together. _first: chosen in him before the foundation of the world_.--a threefold cord, that is, indeed, not soon broken. "chosen," god's own love and wisdom is the fount and spring whence all flows. and that in blessed connection with the dearest object of his love--"in him." "before the foundation of the world." in the stability and changelessness of eternity,--before that scene that is, and ever was, characterized by change, began,--with its mirth and sorrow, sunshine and shadow, life and death. blessed solid rock-foundation for all in god and eternity. _second: to be holy_.--separated from all the defilement that should afterwards come in. thus his electing love is always marked first by separation from all evil. it can never allow its object to be connected with the slightest defilement. the evil was allowed only that he might reveal himself as love and light in dealing with it. _third: without blame_.--so thoroughly is all connected with past defilement met that not a memory of it remains to mar the present joy. the defilement of the old creation with which we were connected has left never a spot nor a stain on the person that could offend infinite holiness. clean, every whit. bless the lord, oh my soul! _fourth: in love_.--thus separated and cleansed from all defilement not mere complacency regards us. not merely for his own pleasure, as men make a beautiful garden, and remove everything that would offend their taste, but active love in all its divine warmth encircles us. my reader, do you enjoy this fair good? if you be but the feeblest believer it is your own. _fifth: adoption of children_.--closest kind of love, and that so implanted in the heart as to put that responsive home-cry of "abba, father," there, and on our lips. yet nothing short of this was the "good pleasure of his will. _sixth.--taken into favor in the beloved_: the wondrous measure of acceptance "in the beloved one." look at him again. all the glory he had in eternity he has now, and more added to it. infinite complacency regards him. that, too, is the measure of our acceptance. _seventh_.--but no shirking that awful word,--no overlooking the awful fact of sin's existence. no; the foundation of our enjoyment of our own fair good is well laid "in whom we have redemption through his blood, _even the forgiveness of sins_." sin, looked at in infinite holy light,--thoroughly looked at,--and blood, precious blood, poured out in atonement for it, and thus put away forever in perfect righteousness. now may the lord grant us to realize more fully, as we progress in our book, the awful hopelessness that weighs on man's sad being, apart from the blessed and infinitely gracious revelation of god. chapter vi. remembering how far the writer of our book excels all who have ever come after him, in ability, wisdom, or riches, his groans of disappointment shall have their true weight with us, and act as lighthouse beacons, warning us from danger, or from spending the one short fleeting life we have in treading the same profitless pathway of groaning. so chapter six opens, still on the same subject of wealth and its power to bless. a sore evil, and one that weighs heavily on man, has solomon seen: riches, wealth, and honor, clustering thick on the head of one person, and yet god has withheld from him the power of enjoying it all. as our own poet, browning, writes that apt illustration of king saul: "a people is thine, and all gifts, which the world offers singly, on one head combine! high ambition, and deeds which surpass it, fame crowning them all, brought to blaze on the head of one creature--king saul." so sorrowful is this in our preacher's eyes, and so thoroughly does it bespeak a state of affairs under the sun in confusion, that solomon ventures the strongest possible assertion. better, he says, an untimely birth, that never saw light, than a thousand years twice told, thus spent in vanity, without real good having been found. how bitter life must show itself to lead to such an estimate! better never to have been born than pass through life without finding something that can satisfy. but this is not looking at life simply in itself, for life in itself is good, as the same poet sings: "oh, our manhood's prime vigor! no spirit feels waste, not a muscle is stopped in its playing nor sinew unbraced. oh, the wild joys of living! the leaping from rock up to rock, the strong rending of boughs from the fir-tree, the cool silver shock of the plunge in a pool's living water! how good is man's life--the mere living! how fit to employ all the heart and the soul and the senses forever in joy!" it is because man has, of all the creation of god, an awful shadow hanging over him--"death and darkness and the tomb," with the solemn, silent, unknown "beyond" lying before him, robbing him of rest. angels have present pure delight, with no such shadow possible--they die not. the beast may enjoy his pasture, for no thought of a coming death disturbs him. life may be full of a kind of enjoyment to such; but man, poor man, when awake to the possibilities of his own being, as it surely becomes man to be (and that is just the point of this book--we are not looking upon man as a mere animal, but as a reasoning creature, and as such he), is robbed of present rest and enjoyment by an inevitable fate to which he is hastening, and from which there is no possible escape. do not all go to one place?--that vague "sheol," speaking of the grave, and yet the grave, not as the _end_, but an indefinite shadowy existence beyond? all, all go there; and with no light on _that_, better, indeed, "the untimely birth which came in vanity and departs in darkness;" for this, at least, has the more rest. bitter groan this, indeed! for the preacher continues: "does man's labor satisfy him? can he get what is really 'good' from it?" no. for never is his appetite filled so that it desires nothing more. the constant return of its thirst demands constant toil; and fool and wise must alike obey its call. this is not confined to bodily food, but covers that bitter hunger and thirst of the heart, as the use of the word soul (margin) shows. the longings of the wise may be for a higher food. he may aim above the mere sensual, and seek to fill his soul with the refined, but he _fails_, as indeed do all, even "the poor man who knows to walk before the living;" that is, even the poor man who, with all the disadvantages of poverty, has wisdom enough to know how to live so as to command the respect of his fellows. wise indeed must such be; but he, no more than the fool, has found the "good" that forever satisfies hunger and thirst, and calms to rest the wandering of the soul, which, like the restless swallow, is ever on the wing. man is made up of desire, and one glimpse with the eyes, something seen, is at least something secured, and it is better than all mere longing, which is vanity and the pursuit of the wind. for everything has long ago been named _from its own nature_; and in this way its name shows what it is. thus man, too, (adam,) is, and ever has been, known from his name, from "adamah," earth; his name so showing his mortality. if thus he has been made by his creator, how vain for him to hope to escape his fate, for with him no contention is possible. what use, then, in many words (not things) since they afford no relief as against that end? they only increase vanity. then the last sad wail of this subject: "who knoweth what is really _good_--satisfying for man--during the few fleeting years of his vain life here, which he passes as a shadow; and when he is gone, who can tell him what shall be after him under the sun"? let that wail sink down deep into our ears. it is the cry that has been passed, in ever increasing volume, from heart to heart--every empty hollow heart of man echoing and re-echoing, "who will show us any good?" now turn and listen to one who came to answer that fully, and in his word to mary, the sister of lazarus, he does distinctly, in words, answer it. she had chosen the portion that he could call "good." and was that travail and toil, even in service for himself? no, that was rather her sister's portion; but a seat--expressive of rest--(consider it), a listening ear, whilst the lord ministered to her;--and that is all that is needful! what a contrast between this poor rich king, communing with his own heart to find out what is that good portion for man; and the rich poor saint in blessed communion with infinite love, infinite wisdom, infinite power, and resting satisfied! surely, solomon in all his glory had no throne to be compared to hers, as she sat lowly "at his feet." and mark carefully, for thy soul's good, that word of tender grace that the lord said, this is "needful." he who had listened to the groan of man's heart through those long four thousand years, and knew its need fully and exactly, says that this good portion must not be regarded as any high attainment for the few, but as the very breath of life--for all. if he knows that it is needful for thee, then, my soul, fear not but that he will approve thy taking the same place and claiming mary's portion on the ground of thy _need alone_. yes, but does this really answer the root cause of the groan in our chapter? is the shadow of death dispelled by sitting at his feet! is death no longer the dark unknown? shall we learn lessons there that shall rob it of all its terrors, and replace the groan with song? yes, truly, for look at the few significant foot-prints of that dear mary's walk after this. see her at that supper made for the lord at bethany. here martha is serving with perfect acceptance--no word of rebuke to her now; she has learned the lesson of that day spoken of in the tenth of luke. but mary still excels her, for, whilst sitting at his feet in that same day of tenth of luke, she has heard some story that makes her come with precious spikenard to anoint his body for the burial! strange act! and how could that affectionate heart force itself calmly to anoint the object of its love for burial? ah! still a far sweeter story must she have heard "at his feet," and a bright light must have pierced the shadow of the tomb. for, look at that little company of devoted women around his cross, and you will find no trace of the no less devoted mary, the sister of lazarus, there. the other marys may come, in tender affection, but in the dark ignorance of unbelief, to search for him, in his empty tomb on the third day. she, with no less tender affection surely, is not there. is this silence of scripture without significance, or are we to see the reason for it in that "good portion" she had chosen "at his feet"?--and there did she hear, not only the solemn story of his cross leading her to anoint his body for the burial, but the joyful story of his resurrection, so that there was no need for _her_ to seek "the living amongst the dead;"--she _knew_ that he was risen, and she, as long before, "_sat still in the house_"! oh, blessed calm! oh, holy peace! what is the secret of it? wouldst thou learn it! sit, then, too, "at his feet," in simple conscious emptiness and need. give him the still more blessed part of ministering to thee. so all shall be in order. thou shalt have the good portion that shall dispel all clouds of death, and pour over thy being heaven's pure sunlight of resurrection; and, with that light, song shall displace groan, whilst thy lord shall have the still better part--his own surely--of giving; for "more blessed it is to give than to receive." chapter vii. but whilst the king has not that most blessed light, yet there are some things in which he can discriminate; and here are seven comparisons in which his unaided wisdom can discern which is the better:-- . a good name is better than precious ointment. . the day of death " " " the day of birth. . the house of mourning " " " the house of feasting. . borrow " " " laughter. . the rebuke of the wise " " " the song of fools. . the end of a thing " " " the beginning. . the patient in spirit " " " the proud in spirit. lofty, indeed, is the level to which solomon has attained by such unpopular conclusions, and it proves fully that we are listening in this book to man at his highest, best. not a bitter, morbid, diseased mind, simply wailing over a lost life, and taking, therefore, highly colored and incorrect views of that life, as so many pious commentators say; but the calm, quiet result of the use of the highest powers of reasoning man, as man, possesses; and we have but to turn for a moment, and listen to him who is greater than solomon, to find his holy and infallible seal set upon the above conclusions. "blessed are the pure in heart,--they that mourn,--and the meek," is surely in the same strain exactly; although reasons are there given for this blessedness of which solomon, with all his wisdom, had never a glimpse. let us take just one striking agreement, and note the contrasts: "it is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart. sorrow is better than laughter; for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." that is, the loftiest purest wisdom of man recognizes a quality in sorrow itself that is purifying. "in the sadness of the face the heart becometh fair." in a scene where all is in confusion,--where death, as king of terrors, reigns supreme over all, forcing his presence on us hourly, where wickedness and falsehood apparently prosper, and goodness and truth are forced to the wall,--in such a scene of awful disorder, laughter and mirth are but discord, and grate upon the awakened spirit's ear with ghastly harshness. whilst an honest acceptance of the truth of things as they are, looking death itself full in the face, the house of mourning not shunned, but sought out; the sorrow within is at least in harmony with the sad state of matters without; the "ministration of death" has its effect, the spirit learns its lesson of humiliation; and this, says all wisdom, is "_better_." and yet this very level to which reason can surely climb by her own unaided strength may become a foothold for faith to go further. unless wrong, discord, and death, are the normal _permanent_ condition of things, then sorrow, too, is not the normal permanent state of the heart; but this merely remains a question, and to its answer no reason helps us. age after age has passed with no variation in the fell discord of its wails, tears, and groans. generation has followed in the footsteps of generation, but with no rift in the gloomy shadow of death that has overhung and finally settled over each. six thousand years of mourning leave unaided reason with poor hope of any change in the future,--of any expectation of true comfort. but then listen to that authoritative voice proclaiming, as no "scribe" ever could, "blessed are they that mourn, _for they shall be comforted_." ah, there is a bright light breaking in on the dark clouds, with no lightning-flash of added storm, but a mild and holy ray,--the promise of a day yet to break o'er our sorrow-stricken earth, when there shall be no need for mourning, for death no more shall reign, but be swallowed up in victory. but turn over a few pages more, and the contrast is still further heightened. the sun of divine revelation is now in mid-heaven; and not merely future, but present, comfort is revealed by its holy and blessed beam. come, let us enter now into the "house of mourning," not merely to clasp hands with the mourners, and to sit there in the silence of ecclesiastes' helplessness for the benefit of our own hearts, nor even to whisper the promise of a future comfort, but, full of the comfort of a present hope, to pour out words of comfort into the mourners' ears. tears still are flowing,--nor will we rebuke them. god would never blunt those tender sensibilities of the heart that thus speaks the hand that made it; but he would take from the tears the bitterness of hopelessness, and would throw on them his own blessed light,--a new direct word of revelation from himself,--love and light as he is,--till, like the clouds in the physical world, they shine with a glory that even the cloudless sky knows not. _first_, then, all must be grounded and based on faith in the lord jesus. we are talking to those who share with us in a common divine faith. _we believe that jesus died_: but more, _we believe that he rose again_: and here alone is the foundation of true hope or comfort. they who believe not or know not this are as absolutely hopeless--as comfortless--as ecclesiastes: they are "the rest which have no hope." true divine hope is a rare sweet plant, whose root is found _only_ in his empty tomb, whose flower and fruit are in heaven itself. based on this, comforts abound; and in every step the living lord jesus is seen: his resurrection throws its blessed light everywhere. if one has actually risen from the dead, what glorious possibilities follow. for as to those who are falling asleep, is _he_ insensible to that which moves us so deeply? nay; he himself has put them to sleep. they are fallen asleep [not "in," as our version says, but] _through_ (_dia_) jesus. he who so loved them has himself put them to sleep. no matter what the outward, or apparent, causes of their departure to _sight_, faith sees the perfect love of the lord jesus giving "his beloved sleep." sight may take note only of the flying stones as they crush the martyr's body; mark, with horror, the breaking bone, the bruised and bleeding flesh; hear the air filled with the confusion of shouts of imprecation, and mocking blasphemy; but to faith all is different: to her the spirit of the saint, in perfect calm, is enfolded to the bosom of him who has loved and redeemed it, whilst the same lord jesus hushes the bruised and mangled form to _sleep_, as in the holy quiet of the sanctuary. let our faith take firm hold of this blessed word, "fallen asleep through jesus," for our comfort. so shall we be able to instil this comfort into the wounded hearts of others,--comforting them with the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of god. what would solomon have given to have known this? _second_, the mind must be gently loosened from occupation with itself and its own loss; and that by no rebuke or harsh word, so out of place with sorrow, but by the _assumption_, at least, that it is for the loss that the departed themselves suffer that we grieve. it is because we love them that our tears flow: but suppose we know beyond a question that _they_ have suffered no loss by being taken away from this scene, would not that modify our sorrow? yea; would it not change its character completely, extracting bitterness from it? so that blessed lord himself comforted his own on the eve of his departure: "if ye loved me, ye would rejoice because i go unto my father, for my father is greater than i." the more you love me, the less--not the more--will you sorrow. nay; you would change the sorrow into actual joy. _the measure of the comfort is exactly the measure of the love_. that is surely divine. so here, "you are looking forward to the day when your rejected lord jesus shall be manifested in brightest glories: your beloved have not missed their share in that triumph. god will show them the same "path of life" he showed their shepherd (ps. xvi.), and will "bring them with him" in the train of their victorious lord. _third_. but is that triumph, that joy, so far off that it can only be seen through the dim aisles and long vistas of many future ages and generations? must our comfort be greatly lessened by the thought that while that end is "sure," it is still "very far off,"--a thousand years may--nay, some say, _must_--have to intervene; and must we sorrowfully say, like the bereaved saint of old, "i shall go to him, but he shall not return to me"? not at all. better, far better than that. for faith's cheerful and cheering voice is "we who are alive and remain." that day is so close ever to faith that there is nothing between us and it. no long weary waiting expected; and that very _attitude_--that very hope--takes away the "weariness" from the swift passing days. those dear saints of old grasped and cherished this blessed hope that their saviour lord would return even during their life. did they lose anything by so cherishing it? have we gained by our giving it up? has the more "reasonable" expectation that, after all, the tomb shall be our lot as theirs, made our days brighter, happier, and so to speed more quickly? has it made us more separate from the world, more heavenly in character, given us less in common with the worldling? has this safe "reasoning" made us to abound in works of love, labors of faith, and in patience of hope, as did the "unreasonable" and "mistaken" hope of his immediate coming the dear thessalonians of old? for look at the first chapter, and see how the "waiting for the son from heaven" worked. again i ask, have we improved on this? _can_ we improve upon it? was it not far better, then, for them--if these its happy accompaniments--to hold fast, even to their last breath, that hope; and even to pass off this scene clasping it still fondly to their hearts, than our dimmed and dull faith with--it may be boldly said--all the sad loss that accompanies this? hold it fast, my brethren, "_we who are alive and remain_." let that be the only word in our mouths, the only hope in our hearts. it is a cup filled to the brim with comfort. how they ring with life and hope in contrast with the dull, heavy, deathful word of poor ecclesiastes--"for that is the end of all men"! oh, spring up brighter in all our hearts, thou divinely given, divinely sustained hope! _fourth_.--"for the lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of god: and the dead in christ shall rise first." another sweet and holy word of comfort. we have seen jesus putting his saints to sleep, as to their bodies; and here we see the same lord jesus himself bidding them rise. no indiscriminate general resurrection this: "the dead in christ" alone are concerned: they rise first. he who died for them knows them; and they, too, have known his voice in life: that same voice now awakens them, and bids them rise as easily as the little damsel at the "talitha cumi"! how precious is this glorious word of the lord! how perfect the order! no awe-inspiring trumpet, "sounding long and waxing loud," as at sinai of old, awakening the panic-stricken dead, and bidding them come to an awful judgment. such the picture that man's dark unbelief and guilty conscience have drawn. small comfort would we have for mourners were that true. god be thanked it is not. their saviour's well-known voice that our dead have loved shall awaken them, ringing full and true in every tone and note of it with the love he has borne them. then the voice of the archangel michael, the great marshal of god's victorious hosts shall range our ranks. this accomplished, and all in the perfect divine order of victory, the trumpet shall sound and the redeemed shall begin their triumphant, blissful, upward flight. _fifth_.--but the spirit of god desires us to get and to give the comfort of another precious word. in no strange unknown company shall we who are alive and remain start on that homeward journey, but "together with them." who that has known the agony of broken heart-strings does not see the infinitely gracious tender comfort in those three words, "together with them"? there is reunion. once more we shall be in very deed with those we love, with never a thought or fear of parting more to shadow the mutual joy. in view of those three words it were simple impertinence to question whether we shall recognize our dear saints who have preceded us. not only would such a question rob them of their beauty, but of their very meaning. they would be empty and absolutely meaningless in such case. sure, beyond a peradventure, is it that our most cherished anticipations shall be far exceeded in that rapturous moment; for we can but reason from experience, whilst here the sweetest communion has ever been marred by that which there shall not be. how sweet the prospect, my sorrowing bereaved readers! we shall, as god is true, look once more into the very faces of those we have known and loved in the lord on earth. they awake to recognition as magdalene at the word "mary;" not to a renewed earthly companionship, nor to a relationship as known in the flesh, as poor mary thought, but to a sweeter, as well as higher; a warmer, as well as purer communion; for the tie that there shall bind us together is that which is stronger, sweeter than all others, even here,--jesus christ the lord. but stay! does this really meet fully the present sorrow? does it give a satisfying comfort? is there not a lurking feeling of disappointment that certain relationships with their affections are never to be restored; therefore, in certain ways, "recognition" is not probable? for instance, a husband loses the companion of his life. he shall, it is true, meet and recognize with joy a saint whom he knew on earth, but never again his _wife_. that sweet, pure, human affection, is never to be renewed. death's rude hand has chilled that warmth forever. the shock of death has extinguished it forevermore. is that exactly true? is that just as scripture puts it? let us see. we may justly reason that if, in the resurrection, relationships were exactly as here, sorrow would necessarily outweigh joy. to find broken families there would be a perpetuation of earth's keenest distresses. to know that that break was irreparable would cause a grief unutterable and altogether inconsistent with the joy of the new creation. marriage there is not, and hence all relationships of earth we may safely gather are not there. but the natural affections of the soul of man have they absolutely come to nothing? that soul, connected as it is with that which is higher than itself--the spirit--is immortal, and its powers and attributes must be in activity beyond death. it is the seat of the affections here, and, surely, there too. why, then, shall not these affections there have full unhindered play? let us seek to gather something from analogy. knowledge has its seat in the spirit of man, and here he exercises that faculty; nor does the spirit any more than the soul cease to exist; nor are its attributes therefore to be arrested. yet we read of knowledge in that scene, "it shall vanish away." and why? is it not because of the perfect light that there shines? human knowledge is but a candle, and what worth is candlelight when the noonday sun shines? it is overwhelmed, swallowed up, by perfect light. it "vanishes away,"--is not extinguished, any more than is human knowledge, by the shock of death or change; but perfection of light has done away with the very appearance of imperfection. now is this not equally and exactly true of that other part of the divine nature--love? _here_ we both know in part and love in part. _there_ the perfection of love causes that which is imperfect--the human affection of the soul--to "vanish away." the greater swallows up the less. the infinite attraction of the lord jesus--that "glory" which he prayed that we might see (john xvii.)--overwhelms all lower affections with no rough rude shock as of death, but by the very superabundance of the bliss. his glory! what is it but the radiant outshining of his infinitely blessed, infinitely attractive, divine nature,--love and light, light and love,--each swallowing up in their respective spheres every inferior imperfect reflection of them that we have enjoyed here in this scene of imperfection, leaving nothing to be desired, nothing missed; allowing perfect play to every human faculty and affection,--crushing, extinguishing none. death has not been permitted to annul these faculties. the perfect love of the lord jesus has outstripped them, swallowed them up in warmer affections, sweeter communion. the coming of that precious saviour is close: just as close is the fulfillment of those words, "together with them." "he maketh the clouds his chariots," and in those chariots we are taken home "together." _sixth_.--"to meet the lord in the air." another word of divine comfort, again. how bold the assertion! its very boldness is assurance of its truth. it becomes god, and god only, so to speak that his people may both recognize his voice in its majesty and rest on his word. no speculation; no argument; no deduction; no reasoning; but a bare, authoritative statement, startling in its boldness. not a syllable of past scripture on which to build and to give color to it; and yet _when_ revealed, _when_ spoken, in perfect harmony with the whole of scripture. how absolutely impossible for any man to have conceived that the lord's saints should be caught up to meet him "_in the air_." were it not true, its very boldness and apparent foolishness would be its refutation. and what must be the character of mind that would even seek to invent such a thought? what depths of awful wickedness it would bespeak! what cruelty thus to attempt to deceive the whole race! what corruption, thus to speak false in the holiest matters, attaching the lord's name to a falsehood! the spring from which such a statement, if false, could rise must be corrupt indeed. but, oh, how different in fact! what severe righteousness! what depths of holiness! what elevated morality! what warmth of tender affection! what burning zeal, combined with the profoundest reasoning, characterize every word of the writer of this same statement! every word that he has written testifies that he has _not_ attempted to deceive. there is, perhaps, one other alternative: the writer may have _believed himself_ thus inspired, and was thus self-deceived but in this case far gone in disease must his mind have been; nor could it fail constantly to give striking evidence of being thus unhinged in other parts of his writings. this is a subject with which unbalanced minds have shown their inability to be much occupied without the most sorrowful evidences of the disease under which they suffer. let there be independence of the scriptures (as there confessedly is in this case), and let man's mind work in connection with this subject of the lord's second coming, and all history has but one testimony: such minds become unbalanced, and feverish disquietude evidences itself by constant recurrence to the one theme. find, on the other hand, one single instance, if you can, in which such a mind makes mention _once, and only once_, of that subject that has so overmastered every other as to have deceived him into the belief that falsehood is truth, his own imagination is the inspiration of the spirit of god! have you not wondered why this wondrous word of revelation occurs thus in detail once and only once? is it not one of the weapons of those who contend against this our hope that we base too much on this isolated scripture text? not that that is true, for all scripture, as we have said, is in perfect harmony and accord with it; but what a perfect, complete, thorough answer, this fact gives to the other alternative--that the writer was self-deceived. this is impossible; or, like every other self-deceived man that ever lived, he would have pressed his one theme in every letter, forced it on unwilling minds every time he opened his mouth or took up his pen. "no wild enthusiast ever yet could rest till half mankind were like himself possessed." 'tis an attractive theme. long could we linger here, but we must pass on; but before leaving, let us see if we were justified in saying that whilst this word is based on no previous scripture, yet, when spoken, it is in harmony with all. first, then, is it not in perfect accord with the peculiar character and calling of the church? israel, as a nation, finds her final deliverance on the earth. her calling and her hopes have ever been limited to this scene. fitting then, indeed, it is that she be saved by her deliverer's _feet standing once more on the mount of olives_ (zach. xiv. ), and the judgment of the living nations should then take place. but with the church, how different: her blessings heavenly; her character heavenly; her calling heavenly. is it not, then, in accord with this that her meeting with her lord should be literally heavenly, too? israel, exponent of the righteous government of god, may rightly long to "dip her foot in the blood of the wicked." nor can she expect or know of any deliverance except, as of old, in victories in the day of battle. the church, exponent of the exceeding riches of his grace, is of another spirit; and our deliverance "in the air" permits--nay, necessitates--our echoing that gracious word of our lord, "father, forgive them." then too, how beautifully this rapture follows the pattern of his whom the lord's people now are following even to a dwelling that has no name nor place on earth (john i. , ). the clouds received him: they, too, shall receive us. unseen by the world he left the world, too busy with its occupations to note or care for the departure of him who is its light. so the poor feeble glimmer of the lord's dear people now shall be lost, secretly, as it were, to the world in which they shine as lights, leaving it in awful gloomy darkness till the day dawn and the sun arise. nor is illustration or type lacking. in enoch, caught up before the judgment of the flood, surely we may see a figure of the rapture of the heavenly saints before the antitype of the flood, the tribulation that is to try "the dwellers upon the earth," as in noah brought through that judgment, a picture of the earthly ones. in this connection, too, what could be more exquisitely harmonious than the way in which the lord thus presents himself to the expectant faith of his earthly and heavenly people? to the former the full plain day is ushered in by the sun of righteousness arising with healing in his wings: for that day they look. to the latter, who are watching through the long hours of the night, the bright and morning star shining ere the first beams of the sun are thrown upon the dark world is the object of faith and hope. is not the word that believers shall, "meet the lord in the air" in absolute accord with these different aspects of the lord as star and sun? most certainly it is. more than at any other time, a solid foundation for comfort is needed in times of deep grief. then the hosts of darkness press round the dismayed spirit; clouds of darkness roll across the mental sky; the sun and all light is hidden; in the storm-wrack the fiery darts of the wicked one fall thick as rain. every long-accepted truth is questioned; the very foundations seem to dissolve. a firm foothold, indeed, must we have on which to stand at such a time. faith must be seen not at war with her poor blind--or at least short-sighted--sister reason, but in perfect accord, leading her, with her feebler powers, by the hand. but here is where the world's efforts to comfort--and, indeed, alas, the worldly christians too--lack. sentimentalism abounds here; and the poor troubled heart is told to stand fast on airy speculations, and to distil comfort from wax-flowers, as it were,--the creations of the imagination. how solid the comfort here given in contrast with all this. _god_ speaks, and in the _light_, that with clear yet gentle ray, exactly meets the needs of our present distress,--in the _love_ that in its infinite tenderness and beautiful delicacy knows how to heal the wounded spirit,--in the grand _authority_ that rests on no other word or testimony for proof,--and yet in the perfect, absolute _harmony_ with the whole scope of his own holy word, we, his children, recognize again his voice; for never man could speak thus, and we are comforted, and may comfort one another. _it is true_. _it is divine_. we shall meet the lord in the air. happy journey that, in such a company to such a goal,--to meet the lord! who can picture the joy of that upward flight? what words extract the comfort of that meeting,--the lord,--our lord,--alone with him,--"together with them,"--in the quiet chambers of the air! _seventh_.--"and so shall we ever be with the lord." there is an eternity of unmingled bliss. how short the time of separation, oh ye mourning ones, compared with this! the pain is but for a moment, whilst there is a far more exceeding and eternal weight of comfort. what a contrast! death is the sad, gloomy, mysterious, unknown boundary for all, groans ecclesiastes, "for that is the end of all men." there is no end to the joy of the redeemed, says revelation; and faith sings "forever with the lord." what deep need of himself has this man's heart, that he has made. if in this sad scene we get one ray of true comfort it is when "with him"; one thrill of true joy it is when "with him"; one hour of true peace it is when "with him." we were intended, meant, created, _to need him_. let us remember that, and then see the sweet comfort in that word, "so shall we _ever_ be with the lord." man is at last, may it be said, in his _element_. his spirit gets the communion that it needs--with him forever; his soul, the love it needs, in him forever; his body the perfection it needs--like him forever! is not this revelation self-evidently of god--worthy of him--possible only to him? again, let us ask what would solomon have given for a song like this, instead of his mournful, groan "for death is the end of all men"! alas, as he goes on, he finds that even this is not the case, except as regards the scene "under the sun." he finds it impossible to escape a conclusion, as startling as it is logical, that there is another scene to which death may introduce, from which there is no escape. our writer, ignorant as he confessedly is of this glorious light of divine revelation, still speaks in praise of the feeble glimmer that human wisdom gives. from his point of view, wealth and wisdom are both good,--are a "defense" or "shadow" to their possessors; but still that which men generally esteem the most--wealth--is given the second place; for knowledge, or wisdom, has in itself a positive virtue that money lacks. it "gives life to them that have it," animates, preserves in life, modifies, at least in measure, the evils from which it cannot altogether guard its possessor; and, by giving equanimity to a life of change and vicissitude, proves, in some sort, its own life-giving energy. how infinitely true this is with regard to him who is absolute infinite wisdom, and who is our life, it is our health and joy to remember. the preacher continues: ponder the work of god, but you will find nothing in anything that you can _see_ that shall enable you to forecast the future with any certainty. adversity follows prosperity, and my counsel is to make the best use of both,--enjoy this when it comes, and let that teach you that god's ways are inscrutable, nor can you straighten out the tangle of his providences. evidently he _intends_ these vicissitudes that still follow no definite rule, so that man may recognize his own ignorance and impotence. in one word, reason as you may from all that you can _see_, and your reason will throw no ray of light on god's future dealings. and there again, having brought us face to face with a dense, impenetrable cloud, ecclesiastes leaves us. how awful that dark cloud is, it is difficult for us now to realize, so accustomed are we to the light god's word has given. but were it possible to blot out entirely from our minds all that word has taught us, and place ourselves for a moment just by the side of our "preacher," look alone through _his_ eyes, recognize with him the existence of the creator whose glorious being is so fully shown in all his works, and yet with nothing whereby to judge of his disposition toward us except what we _see_,--in the physical world the blasting storm sweeping over the landscape that but now spoke only in its beauties and bounties of his love and benevolence, leaving in its desolating track, not only ruined homesteads and blighted harvests; but, far worse, the destruction of all our hopes, of all the estimates we had formed of him. in the world of providences the thoughts of his love, based on yesterday's peace and prosperity, all denied and swept away by to-day's sorrows and adversities,--awful, agonizing uncertainty! and, since all is surely in his hand, to be compelled to recognize that he _permits_, at least, these alternations "_to the end that_ (with that express purpose) man should find nothing of what shall be after him"! reason, or intelligence, with all her highest powers, stands hopeless and helpless before that dark future, and wrings her hands in agony. but look, my beloved reader, at that man who speeds his way with fleet and steady footfall. his swift tread speaks no uncertainty nor doubt of mind. mark the earnest, concentrated, forward look. his eye is upward, and something he sees there is drawing him with powerful magnetic attraction quite contrary to the course or path of men at large. he presses against the stream: the multitude are floating in the other direction. as with the kine of bethshemesh, some hidden power takes him in a course quite contrary to all the ties or calls of mere nature. look at him,--irrespective of anything else, the figure itself is a grand sight. the path he has chosen lies through the thorny shrubs of endurance, afflictions, necessities, distresses, stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watchings, and fastings. no soft or winsome meadow-way this, nor one that any would choose, except he were under some strong conviction,--whether true or false,--that will surely be admitted. for men have at rare times suffered much even in the cause of error; but never for that which they themselves _knew_ to be false, and which at the same time brought them no glory,--nothing to feed their vanity, or pride, or exalt them in any way. admit, then, for a moment, that he is self-deceived, under some strong delusion, and that the object of which he is in pursuit is but a phantom. then mark the path in which that phantom leads: it has turned him from being a blasphemer, persecutor, and an insolent, overbearing man ( tim. ), into one of liveliest affections, most tender sympathies, a lowly servant of all; it has given him a joy that no wave of trouble can quench, a song that dungeons cannot silence, a transparent truthfulness which permits a lie nowhere; and all this results from that which is in itself a delusion,--a lie! oh, holy "delusion"! oh, wondrous, truth-loving, wonder-working "lie"! was ever such a miracle, that a falsehood works truth?--that a delusion, instead of leading into marsh, or bog, or quicksand, as other will-o'-the-wisps ever and always have, leads along a morally elevated path where every footstep rings with the music of divine certainty, as though it trod upon a rock! such a miracle, contrary to all reason, is worthy of acceptance only by the blind, childish, credulity of infidelity. whatever the object before him, then, it is _real_; his convictions are soberly and well founded; he runs his race to no visionary, misty goal; but some actual reality is the lode-star of his life. let us listen to his own explanation: "forgetting those things that are being, reaching forth unto those that are before, i press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of god in christ jesus." but solomon, the wisest of the wise, groans no man can find out "that which shall come after him"; or, in other words, that future of which paul sings: i have heard a voice that has called from heaven, and looking up i have seen a light that has darkened every other. one in beauty and attraction infinite,--to him i press. _he is before me_, and not till him i reach will i rest. blessed contrast! now, my dear reader, let us also seek to keep our eye on that same object, for the man at whom we have been looking is one just like ourselves, with every passion that we have, and the one who drew him can draw you and me,--who satisfied him can satisfy us, for he who loved and died for him has loved and died for us. and since we are not now contemplating the wondrous cross, but his glory, let us sing together:-- oh, my saviour glorified! now the heavens opened wide show to faith's exultant eye one in beauteous majesty. worthy of the sweetest praise that my ransomed heart can raise, is that man in whom alone god himself is fully known. for those clust'ring glories prove that glad gospel "god is love," whilst those wounds, in glory bright, voice the solemn "god is light." holy light, whose searching ray brings but into perfect day beauties that my heart _must_ win to the sinless once made sin. hark, my soul! thy saviour sings; catch the joy that music brings; and, with that sweet flood of song, pour thy whisp'ring praise along. for no film of shade above hides me now from perfect love. deep assurance all is right gives me peace in perfect light. find i then on god's own breast holy, happy, perfect rest, in the person of my lord,-- "ever be his name adored!" oh, my saviour glorified, turn my eye from all beside. let me but thy beauty see,-- other light is dark to me. but the preacher's experiences of anomalies are by no means ended. these alternations of adversity and prosperity, he says, whilst there is no forecasting _when_ they will come, so there seems to be no safeguard, even in righteousness and wisdom, against them. they are not meted out here at all on the lines of righteousness. the just man dies in his righteousness, whilst the wicked lives on in his wickedness: therefore be not righteous overmuch; do not abstain, or withdraw thyself, from the natural blessings of life, making it joyless and desolate; but then err not on the other side, going into folly and licentiousness,--a course which naturally tends to cut off life itself. it is the narrow way of philosophy: as said the old latins, "medio tutissimus ibis," "midway is safety"; but solomon is here again, as we have seen before, on a far higher moral elevation than any of the heathen philosophers, for he has one sheet-anchor for his soul from the evils of either extreme, in the fear of god. as for the despairing, hopeless groans of "vanity," we, with our god-given grace, learn to feel pity for our author, so for his moral elevation do we admire him, whilst for his sincerity and love of truth we learn to respect and love him. see in the next few verses that clear, cold, true, reason of his, confessing the narrow limits of its powers, and yet the whole soul longs, as if it would burst all bars to attain to that which shall solve its perplexity. "thus far have i attained by wisdom," he says, "and yet still i cry for wisdom. i see far off the place where earth can reach and touch the heavens; but when, by weary toil and labor, i reach that spot, those heavens are as inimitably high above me as ever, and an equally long journey lies between me and the horizon where they meet. oh, that i might be wise; but it was far from me." now, in our version, the next verse reads very tamely and flat, in view of the strong emotion under which it is so clear that the whole of the book was written. "that which is far off and exceeding deep, who can find it out?" the revised, both in text and margin, gives us a hint of another thought, "that which is, or hath been, is afar off," etc. but other scholars, in company with the targum and many an old jewish writer, lift the verse into harmony with the impassioned utterances of this noble man, as he expresses in broken ejaculatory phrase his longings and his powerlessness: "far off, the past,--what is it? deep,--that deep! ah, who can sound? then turned i, and my heart, to learn, explore. to seek out wisdom, reason--sin to know-- presumption--folly--vain impiety. he _must_ unravel the mystery, and turns thus, once more, with his sole companion, his own heart, to measure everything,--even sin, folly, impiety,--and more bitter even than that bitter death that has again and again darkened all his counsel and dashed his hopes, is one awful evil that he has found. one was nearest adam in the old creation. taken _from_ his side, a living one, she was placed _at_ his side to share with him his wide dominion over that fair, unsullied scene. strong where he was weak, and weak where he was strong, how evidently was she meant of an all-gracious and all-wise creator as a true helpmeet for him: his complement--filling up his being. but that old creation is as a vessel reversed, so that the highest is now the lowest,--the best has become the worst,--the closest may be the most dangerous; and foes spring even from within households. intensified disorder and confusion! when she who was so clearly intended by her strength of affection to call into rightful play the affections of man's heart, whose very weakness and dependence should call forth his strength--alas, our writer has found that that heart is too often a snare and a net, and those hands drag down to ruin the one to whom they cling. it is the clearest sign of god's judgment to be taken by those nets and bands, as of his mercy, to escape them. thus evil ever works, dual--as is good--in character. opposed to the light and love of god we find a liar and murderer in satan himself; corruption and violence in man, under satan's power. the weaker vessel makes up for lack of strength by deception; and whilst the man of the earth expresses the violence, so the woman of the earth has become, ever and always, the expression of corruption and deceit, as here spoken of by our preacher, "her heart snares and nets; her hands as bands." but further in his search for wisdom, the preacher has found but few indeed who would or could accompany him in his path. a man here and there, one in a thousand, would be his companion, but no single woman. this statement strongly evidences that the gospel is outside his sphere; the new creation is beyond his ken. he takes into no account the sovereign grace of god, that in itself can again restore, and more than restore, all to their normal conditions, and make the weaker vessel fully as much a vessel unto honor as the stronger, giving her a wide and blessed sphere of activity; in which love--the divine nature within--may find its happy exercise and rest. naturally, and apart from this grace, the woman does not give herself to the same exercise of mind as does the man. but then, is it thus that man came from his maker's hands? has he, who stamped his own perfection on all his works, permitted an awful hideous exception in the moral nature of man? does human reason admit such a possible incongruity? no, indeed. folly may claim license for its lusts in the plea of a nature received from a creator. haughty pride, on the other hand, may deny that nature altogether. the clearer, nobler, truer, philosophy of our writer justifies god, even in view of all the evil that makes him groan, and he says, "lo, this only have i found, that god hath made man upright, but they have sought out many inventions." interesting as well as beautiful it is to hear this conclusion of man's reason, not at all in view of the exceeding riches of god's grace, but simply looking at _facts_, in the light that nature gives. man neither is, nor can be, an exception to the rule. god has made him upright. if not so now, it is because he has departed from this state, and his many inventions, or _arts_ (as luther translates the word significantly), his devices, his search after new things (but the word "inventions" expresses the thought of the original correctly), are so many proofs of dissatisfaction and unrest. he may, in that pride, which turns everything to its own glory, point to these very inventions as evidences of his progress; and in a certain way they do unquestionably speak his intelligence and immense superiority over the lower creation. yet the very invention bespeaks need; for most truthful is the proverb, "necessity is the mother of invention"; and surely in the way of nature _necessity_ is not a glory, but a shame. let him glory in his inventions, then; and his glory is in his shame. adam in his eden of delights, upright, content, thought never of invention. he took from god's hand what god gave, with no need to make calls upon his own ingenuity to supply his longings. the fall introduces the inventive faculty, and human ingenuity begins to work to overcome the need, of which now, for the first time, man becomes aware; but we hear no singing in connection with that first invention of the apron of fig-leaves. that faculty has marked his path throughout the centuries. not always at one level, or ever moving in one direction,--it has risen and fallen, with flow and ebb, as the tides; now surging upward with skillful "artifice in brass and iron," and to the music of "harp and organ," until it aims at heaven itself, and the lord again and again interposes and abases by flood and scattering,--now ebbing, till apparently extinct in the low-sunken tribes of earth. its activity is the accompaniment usually of the light that god gives, and which man takes, and turns to his own boasting, with no recognition of the giver, calling it "civilization." the lord's saints are not, for the most part, to be found amongst the line of inventors. the seed of cain, and not the seed of seth, produces them. the former make the earth their home, and naturally seek to beautify it, and make it comfortable. the latter, with deepest soul-thirst, quenched by rills of living water springing not here; with heart-longings satisfied by an infinite, tender, divine love, pass through the earth strangers and pilgrims, to the rest of god. let us glance forward a little. the church is not found on earth; but the earth still is the scene of man's invention; and with that surpassing boast "opposing and exalting himself above all that is called god, or is worshiped; so that he sitteth in the temple of god showing himself that he is god," he heads up his wickedness and ingenuity together, in calling down fire from heaven and in making "the image of the beast to breathe." (rev. xiii. , .) 'tis his last crowning effort,--his day is over,--and the flood and the scattering of old shall have their awful antitype in an eternal judgment and everlasting abasing. but the heavenly saints have been caught up to their home. is there invention there? does human ingenuity still work? how can it, if every heart is fully satisfied, and nothing can be improved? but then is all at one dead level? no, surely; for "discovery" shall abide when "invention" has vanished away,--constant, never-ceasing "discovery." the unfoldings, hour by hour, and age by age, of a beauty that is infinite and inexhaustible,--the tasting a new and entrancing perfection in a love in which every moment shows some fresh attraction, some new sweet compulsion to praise! discovery is already "ours," my reader--not invention; and each day, each hour, each moment, may be fruitful in discovery. every difficulty met in the day's walk may prove but its handmaid; every trial in the day's path serve but to bring out new and happy discoveries. nay, even grief and sorrow shall have their sweet discoveries, and open up to sight fountains of water hitherto altogether unknown, as with the outcast egyptian mother in the wilderness of paran, till we learn to glory in what hitherto was our sorrow, and to welcome infirmities and ignorance, for they show us a spring of infinite strength and a fountain of unfathomable wisdom, that eternal love puts at our service! oh, to grow in faith's discoveries! philip had a grand opportunity for "discovery," in the sixth of john; but, poor man, he lost it; for he fell back on creature resources, or, in other words, "invention." brought face to face with difficulty, how good it would have been for him to have said, "lord jesus, i am empty of wisdom, nor have i any resources to meet this need; but my heart rests in thee: i joy in this fresh opportunity for thee to display thy glory, for thou knowest what thou wilt do." oh, foolish philip, to talk of every one having a _little_, in that presence of infinite love, infinite power. do i thus blame him? then let this day see me looking upward at every difficulty, and saying "lord, thou knowest what thou wilt do." the morning breaks, my heart awakes, and many thoughts come crowding o'er me,-- what hopes or fears, what smiles or tears are waiting in that path before me? am i to roam afar from home, by babel's streams, in gloom despondent? on sorrow's tree must my harp be to grief's sad gusts alone respondent? the mists hang dank, on front and flank, my straining eye can naught discover; but well i know that many a foe around that narrow path doth hover. nor this alone would make me groan,-- alas, a traitor dwells within me; with hollow smile and heart of guile the world without, too, plots to win me. thus i'm beset with foes, and yet i would not miss a single danger: each foe's a friend that makes me wend my homeward way,--on earth a stranger. for never haze dims _upward_ gaze,-- oh, glorious sight! for there above me upon god's throne there sitteth one who died to save--who lives to love me! and like the dew each dayspring new that tender love shall onward lead me: my thirst shall slake, yet thirst awake till every breath shall pant:--"i need thee." no wisdom give; i'd rather live in conscious lack dependent on thee: each parting way i meet this day then proves my claim to call upon thee. no strength i ask, for thine the task to bear thine own on shepherd-shoulder. then faith may boast when helpless most, and greater need make weakness bolder. then lord, thy breast is, too, my rest; and there, as in my home, i'm hidden,-- where quiet peace makes groanings cease, and zion's songs gush forth unbidden. yes, e'en on earth may song have birth, and music rise o'er nature's groanings,-- whilst hope new born each springing morn dispel with joy my faithless moanings. chapter viii. still continues the praise of "wisdom." for if, as the last verses of the previous chapters have shown, there be but very few that walk in her paths, she necessarily lifts those few far above the thoughtless mass of men; placing her distinguishing touch even on the features of her disciples, lighting them up with intelligence, and taking away the rudeness and pride that may be natural to them. "man's wisdom lighteth up his face--its aspect stern is changed." if this, then, the result, listen to her counsels: "honor the king," nor be connected with any conspiracy against him. it is true that authorities are as much "out of joint" as everything else under the sun; and instead of being practically "ministers of god for good," are but too often causes of further misery upon poor man; yet wisdom teaches to wait and watch. everything has a time and season; and instead of seeking to put matters right by conspiracy, await the turn of the wheel; for this is most sure, that nothing is absolutely permanent here--the evil of a tyrant's life any more than good. his power shall not release him from paying the debt of nature; it helps him not to retain his spirit. this too i saw,--'twas when i gave my heart to every work that's done beneath the sun,-- that there's a time when man rules over man to his own hurt. 'twas when i saw the wicked dead interred, and to and from the holy place (men) came and went. then straight were they forgotten in the city of their deeds. ah, this was vanity! thus our preacher describes the end of the tyrant. death ends his tyranny, as it does, for the time being at least, the misery of those who were under it. men follow him to his burial, to the holy place, return to their usual avocations--all is over and forgotten. the splendor and power of monarchy now show their hollowness and vanity by so quickly disappearing, and even their memory vanishing, at the touch of death. and yet this retributive end is by no means speedy in every case. sentence is often deferred, and the delay emboldens the heart of man to further wickedness. still, he says, "i counsel to fear god, irrespective of present appearances. i am assured this is the better part: fear god, and, soon or late, the end will justify thy choice." beautiful and interesting it is thus to see man's unaided reason, his own intelligence, carrying him to this conclusion: that there is nothing better than to "fear god;" and surely this approves itself to any intelligence. he has impressed the proofs of his glorious being on every side of his creature, man. "day unto day uttereth speech;" and the sun, that rejoiceth as a strong man to run his race, voices aloud, in his wondrous adaptations to the needs of this creation on which he shines, his being--his eternal power and godhead. not only light but warmth he brings, for "there is nothing hid from the heat thereof," and in this twofold benevolence testifies again to his creator, who is love and light. further, wherever he shines he manifests infinite testimonies to the same truth. from the tiny insect that balances or disports itself with the joy of life in his beams, to the grandeur of the everlasting hills, or the majesty of the broad flood of ocean--all--all--with no dissentient, discordant voice, proclaim his being and utter his creative glory. nor does darkness necessarily veil that glory: moon and stars take up the grand and holy strain; and what man can look at all--have all these witnesses reiterating day and night, with ever-fresh testimonies every season, the same refrain, "the hand that made us is divine," and yet say, even in his heart, "there is no god!" surely all reason, all wisdom, human or divine, says "fool!" to such. thus, step by step, human wisdom treads on, and, as here, in her most worthy representative, "the king," concludes that it is most reasonable to give that glorious creator the reverence due, and to "fear" him. but soon, very soon, poor reason has to stop, confounded. something has come into the scene that throws her all astray: verse -- "'tis vanity, what's done upon the earth; for so it is, that there are righteous to whom it haps as to the vile; and sinners, too, whose lot is like the doings of the just. for surely this is vanity, i said." yes, man's soul must be, if left to the light of nature, like that nature itself. if the sky be ever and always cloudless, then may a calm and unbroken faith be expected, when based on things seen. but it is not so. storm and cloud again and again darken the light of nature, whether that light be physical or moral; and under these storms and clouds reason is swayed from her highest and best conclusions; and the contradictions without, are faithfully reflected within the soul. "and so i commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry: for that shall abide with him of his labor the days of his life, which god giveth him under the sun." here we get the heralds of a storm indeed. they are the first big drops that bespeak the coming flood that shall sweep our writer from all reason's moorings; the play of a lightning that shall blind man's wisdom to its own light; the sigh of a wind that soon shall develop into a very blast of despair. what a contradiction to the previous sober conclusion, "it shall be well with them that fear god"! now, seeing that there is no apparent justice in the allotment of happiness here, and the fear of god is often followed by sorrow, while the lawless as often have the easy lot,--looking on this scene, i say, "eat, drink, and be merry;" get what good you can out of life itself; for all is one inextricable confusion. oh, this awful tangle of providences! everything is wrong! all is in confusion! there is law everywhere, and yet law-breaking everywhere. how is it? why is it? is not god the source of order and harmony? whence, then, the discord? is it all his retributive justice against sin? why, then, the thoroughly unequal allotment? here is a man born blind. surely this cannot be because he sinned before his birth! but, then, is it on account of his parents' sinning? why, then, do the guilty go comparatively free, and the guiltless suffer? sin, surely, is the only cause of the infliction. so the disciples of old, brought face to face with exactly this same riddle, the same mystery, ask, "master, who did sin--this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?" "neither." another--higher, happier, more glorious reason, jesus gives: "neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of god should be made manifest in him." so the afflicted parents weep over their sightless babe; so they nurse him through his helpless, darkened childhood, or guide him through his lonely youth, their hearts sorely tempted surely to rebel against the providence that has robbed their offspring of the light of heaven. neighbors, too, can give but little comfort here. why was he born blind? who did _the sin_ that brought this evident punishment? oh wait, sorrowing parents! wait, foolish friends! one is even now on his glorious way who shall with a word unravel the mystery, ease your troubled hearts, quell each rebellious motion, till ye only sorrow that ever a disloyal thought of the god of love and light has been permitted; and, whilst overwhelming you with blessing, answer every question your hearts--nay, even your intelligences--could ask. oh wait, my beloved readers, wait! we, too, look on a world still all in confusion. nay, ourselves suffer with many an afflictive stroke, whose cause, too, seems hidden from us, and to contradict the very character of the god we know. one only is worthy to unlock this, as every other, sealed book--wait! he must make himself known; _and, apart from things being wrong, this were impossible_. "the works of god must be made manifest." precious thought! blessed words! sightless eyes are allowed for a little season, that he--god--may manifest _his_ work in giving them light--accompanied by an everlasting light that knows no dimming. tears may fall in time, that god's gentle and tender touch may dry them, and that for ever and ever. nay, death himself, with all his awful powers shall be made to serve the same end, and, a captive foe, be compelled to utter forth his glory. lazarus is suffering, and the sisters are torn with anxiety; but the lord abides "two days still in the same place where he" is. death is allowed to have his way for a little space--nay, grasp his victim, and shadow with his dark wing the home that jesus loves; and still he moves not. strange, mysterious patience! does he not care? is he calmly indifferent to the anguish in that far-off cottage? has he forgotten to be gracious? or, most agonizing question of all, has some inmate of that home sinned, and chilled thus his love? how questions throng at such a time! but--patience! all shall be answered, every question settled--every one; and the glorious end shall fully, perfectly justify his "waiting." let death have his way. the power and dignity of his conqueror will not permit him to hasten. for haste would bespeak anxiety as to the result; and that result is in no sense doubtful. the body of the brother shall even see corruption, and begin to crumble into dust, under the firm and crushing hand of death. many a tear shall the sisters shed, and poor human sympathy tell out its helplessness. but the victor comes! in the calm of assured victory he comes. and the "express image of the substance" of the living god stands face to face as man with our awful foe, death. and lo, he speaks but a word--"lazarus, come forth!"--and the glory of god shines forth with exceeding brightness and beauty! oh, joyous scene! oh, bright figure of that morn, so soon approaching, when once again that blessed voice shall lift itself up in a "shout," that shall be heard, not in one, but in every tomb of his people, and once more the glory of god shall so shine in the ranks upon ranks of those myriads, that all shall again fully justify his "waiting"! it was indeed a blessed light that shone into the grave of lazarus. such was its glory, that our spirits may quietly rest forever; for we see our lord and eternal lover is conqueror and lord of death. nor need we ask, with our modern poet, who sings sweetly, but too much in the spirit of ecclesiastes, where wert thou, brother, those four days? there lives no record of reply, which, telling what it is to die, had surely added praise to praise. the resurrection of lazarus does tell us what it is for his redeemed to die. it tells that it is but a sleep for the body, till he come to awaken it,--that those who thus sleep are not beyond his power, and that a glorious resurrection shall soon "add praise to praise" indeed. but do not these blessed words give us a hint, at least, of the answer to that most perplexing of all questions, why was evil ever permitted to disturb the harmony and mar the beauty of god's primal creation, defile heaven itself, fill earth with corruption and violence, and still exist even in eternity? ah, we tread on ground here where we need to be completely self-distrustful, and to cleave with absolute confidence and dependence to the revelation of himself! the works of god must be manifested; and he is light and love, and nothing but light and love. every work of his, then, must speak the source whence it comes, and be an expression of light or love; and the end, when he shall again--finding everything very good--rest from his work to enjoy that eternal sabbath, never to be broken, shall shew forth absolutely in heaven, in earth, and in hell, that he is light and love, and nothing but that. light and love!--blending, harmonizing, in perfect equal manifestation, in the cross of the lord jesus, and--light now approving love's activity--in the righteous eternal redemption of all who believe on him; banishing from the new creation every trace of sin, and its companion, sorrow; whilst the lake of fire itself shall prove the necessity of its own existence to display that same nature of god, and naught else--love then approving the activity of light, as we may say. as isaiah shows, in the millennial earth, in those "scenes surpassing fable, and yet true-- scenes of accomplished bliss"-- there is still sorrowful necessity for an everlasting memorial of his righteousness in "the carcases of those men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and (mark well the _sympathies_ of that scene) they shall be an abhorring to all flesh." love rejected, mercy neglected, truth despised, or held in unrighteousness, grace slighted,--nothing is left whereby the finally impenitent can justify their creation except in being everlasting testimonies to that side of god's nature, "light," whilst "love," and all who are in harmony therewith, unfeignedly _approve_. all shall be right. none shall then be perplexed because "there be just men, unto whom it happeneth according to the work of the wicked; again, there be wicked men to whom it happeneth according to the work of the righteous." all shall be absolutely right. no whisper shall be heard, even in hell itself, of the charges that men so boldly and blasphemously cast at his holy name now. god is all in all. his works are manifested; and whilst it is his strange work, yet judgment _is_ his work, as every age in time has shown; as the eternal age, too, shall show--in time, this judgment is necessarily temporal; in eternity, where character, as all else, is fixed, it must as necessarily be _eternal_! solemn, and perhaps unwelcome, but wholesome theme! we live in a time peculiarly characterized by a lack of reverence for _all_ authority. it is the spirit of the times, and against that spirit the saint must ever watch and guard himself by meditation on these solemn truths. fear is a godly sentiment, a just emotion, in view of the holy character of our god. "i will forewarn whom ye shall fear," said the lord jesus: "fear him which, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell; yea, i say unto you, fear him." the first christians, walking in _the fear of the lord_ as well as the comfort of the holy ghost, were multiplied; and when annanias and sapphira fell under god's judgment, great _fear_ came on all the _church_; whilst apostasy is marked by men feeding, themselves without fear. all shall be "_right_." it is the wrong and disorder and unrighteous allotment prevailing here that caused the groans of our writer. let us listen to them. their doleful, despairing sound shall again add sweeter tone to the lovely music of god's revelation, speaking, as it does, of one who solves every mystery, answers every question, heals every hurt; yea, snatches his own from the very grasp of death; for all is _right_, for all is _light_, where jesus is, and he is coming. patience! wait! chapter ix. the last two verses of chapter viii. connect with the opening words of this chapter. the more ecclesiastes applies every faculty he has to solve the riddle under the sun, robbing himself of sleep and laboring with strong energy and will, he becomes only the more aware that that solution is altogether impossible. the contradictions of nature baffle the wisdom of nature. there is no assured sequence, he reiterates, between righteousness and happiness on the one hand, and sin and misery on the other. the whole confusion is in the sovereign hand of god, and the righteous and the wise must just leave the matter there, for "no man knoweth either love or hatred by all that is before them." what discrimination is there here? do not all things happen alike to all? yes, further, does not time, unchecked by any higher power, sweep all relentlessly to one common end? love cannot be inferred from the "end" of the righteous, nor hatred from the "end" of the sinner; for it is one and the same death that stops the course of each. oh, this is indeed an "evil under the sun." darker and darker the cloud settles over his spirit; denser and still more dense the fogs of helpless ignorance and perplexity enwrap his intelligence. for, worse still, do men recognize, and live at all reasonably in view of, that common mortality? alas, madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead; and then all hope for them, as far as can be seen, is over forever. dead! what does that mean? it means that every faculty, as far as can be seen, is stilled forever. the dead lion, whose majesty and strength, while living, would have even now struck me with awe, is less formidable as it lies there than a living dog. so with the dead among men: their hatred is no more to be feared, for it can harm nothing; their love is no more to be valued, for it can profit nothing; their zeal and energy are no more to be accounted of, for they can effect nothing; yea, all has come to an end forever under the sun. oh, the awfulness of this darkness! "then i will give," continues ecclesiastes, "counsel for this vain life in conformity with the dense gloom of its close. listen! go eat with joy thy bread, and merrily drink thy wine; let never shade of sorrow mar thy short-lived pleasure; let no mourning on thy dress be seen, nor to thy head be oil of gladness lacking; merrily live with her whom thy affection has chosen as thy life-companion, and trouble not thyself as to god's acceptance of thy works--that has been settled long ago; nor let a sensitive conscience disturb thee: whatsoever is in thy power to do, that do, without scruple or question;[ ] for soon, but too soon, these days of thy vanity will close, and in the grave, whither thou surely goest, all opportunities for activity, of whatever character, are over, and that--_forever_!" strange counsel this, for sober and wise ecclesiastes to give, is it not? much has it puzzled many a commentator. luther boldly says it is sober christian advice, meant even now to be literally accepted, "lest you become like the monks, who would not have one look even at the sun." hard labor indeed, however, is it to force it thus into harmony with the general tenor of god's word. but is not the counsel good and reasonable enough under certain conditions? and are not those conditions and premises clearly laid down for us in the context here? it is as if a whirlwind of awful perplexities had swept the writer with irresistible force away from his moorings,--a black cloud filled with the terrors of darkness and death sweeps over his being, and out of the black and terrible storm he speaks--"man has but an hour to enjoy here, and i know nothing as to what comes after, except that death, impenetrable death, ends every generation of men, throws down to the dust the good, the righteous, the sober, as well as the lawless, the false, and the profligate; ends in a moment all thought, knowledge, love, and hatred;--then since i know nothing beyond this vain life, i can only say, have thy fling;--short, short thy life will be, and vain thou wilt find this short life; so get thy fill of pleasure here, for thou goest, and none can help thee, to where all activities cease, and love and hatred end forever." this, we may say, based on these premises, and excluding all other, is reasonable counsel. does not our own apostle paul confirm it? does he not say, if this life be all, this life of vanity under the sun, then let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die? yea, we who have turned aside from this path of present pleasures are of all men most miserable, if this vain life be all. and are we to expect poor unaided human wisdom to face these awful problems of infinite depth without finding the strongest evidence of its utter incapacity and helplessness? like a feather in the blast, our kingly and wise preacher (beyond whom none can ever go) is whirled, for the time being, from his soberness, and, in sorrow akin to despair, gives counsel that is in itself revolting to all soberness and wisdom. nothing could so powerfully speak the awful chaos of his soul; and--mark it well--_in that same awful chaos_ would you and i be at any moment, my reader, if we thought at all, but for one inestimably precious fact. black like unto the outer darkness is the storm-cloud we are looking at, and the wild, despairing, yet sad counsel, to "live merrily" is in strict harmony with the wild, awful darkness, like the sea-gull's scream in the tempest. let us review a little the path of reasoning that has led our author to where he is; only we will walk it joyfully in the light of god. "no man knoweth love or hatred by all that is before him." we have looked upon a scene where a holy victim--infinitely holy--bowed his head under the weight of a judgment that could not be measured. it was but a little while, and the very heavens could not contain themselves with delight at his perfect beauty, his perfect obedience; but again, and yet again, were they opened to express the pleasure of the highest in this lowly man. now, not only are they closed in silence, but a horror seems to enwrap all creation. the sun, obscured by no earth-born cloud, gives out no spark nor ray of light; and in that solemn darkness every voice is strangely hushed. from nine till noon the air was filled with revilings and reproaches--all leveled at the one sinless sufferer; but now, for three hours, these have been absolutely silent, till at last one cry of agony breaks the stillness; and it is from him who "was oppressed and afflicted, yet opened not his mouth; was brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearer is dumb, so opened he not his mouth:"--"eli, eli, lama sabachthani"--"my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me!" there, my beloved readers, look there! let that cross be before us, and then say, "no man knoweth love or hatred by all that is before them." are not both revealed there as never before? hatred! what caused the blessed god thus to change his attitude towards the one who so delighted him that the heavens burst open, as it were, under the weight of that delight? there is but one answer to that question. _sin_. sin was there on that holiest sufferer--mine, yours, my reader. and god's great hatred of sin is fully revealed there. i know "hatred" when i see god looking at my sin on his infinitely holy, infinitely precious, infinitely beloved son. * * * * let us meditate upon, without multiplying words over this solemn theme, and turn to the love that burns, too, so brightly there. who can measure the infinity of love to us when, in order that that love might have its way unhindered, god forsakes the one who, for all the countless ages of the eternal past, had afforded him perfect "daily" delight, was ever in his bosom--the only one in that wide creation who could satisfy or respond, in the communion of equality, to his affections--and turns away from him; nay, "it pleased the lord to bruise him"; "he hath put him to grief." ponder these words; and in view of who that crucified victim was, and his relationship with god, measure, if you can, the love displayed there, the love in that one short word "so"--"god _so_ loved the world that he gave his only begotten son;"--then, whilst viewing the cross, hear, coming down to us from the lips of the wise king, "no man knoweth love or hatred." hush! ecclesiastes, hush! breathe no such word in such a scene as this. pardonable it were in that day, when you looked only at the disjointed chaos and tangle under the sun; but looking at that cross, it were the most heinous sin, the most unpardonable disloyalty and treason, to say now, "no man knoweth love." rather, adoringly, will we say, "in this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that god sent his only begotten son into the world, that we might live through him. herein is love, not that we loved god, but that he loved us, and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. and _we have known and believed the love that god has to us_." yea, now let "all things come alike to all:"--that tender love shall shed its light over this stormy scene, and enable the one that keeps _it_ before him to walk the troubled waters of this life in quiet assurance and safety. death still may play sad havoc with the most sensitive of affections; but that love shall, as we have before seen, permit us to weep tears; but not bitter despairing tears. further, it sheds over the spirit the glorious light of a coming day, and we look forward, not to an awful impending gloom, but to a pathway of real light, that pierces into eternity. the day! we are of the day! the darkness passes, the true light already shines! then listen, my fellow-pilgrims, to the _spirit's_ counsel: "but ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. therefore, _let us not sleep_, as do others, but _let us watch and be sober. for they that sleep, sleep in the night; and they that are drunken, are drunken in the night. but let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation_." our poor preacher, in the darkness of the cloud of death, counsels, "merrily drink thy wine." and not amiss, with such an outlook, is such advice. in the perfect light of revelation, lighting up present and a future eternity, well may we expect counsel as differing from this as the light in which it is given differs from the darkness. _"the night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envy. but put on the lord jesus christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof_." _amen and amen_. but once again our preacher turns; and now he sees that it is not assuredly possible for the advice he has given to be followed, and that even in this life neither work, device, knowledge, nor wisdom, are effective in obtaining good or in shielding their possessor from life's vicissitudes. the swift--does he always win the race? are there no contingencies that more than counterbalance his swiftness? a slip, a fall, a turned muscle, and--the race is not to the swift. the strong--is he necessarily conqueror in the fight? many an unforeseen and uncontrollable event has turned the tide of battle and surprised the world, till the "fortune of war" has passed into a proverb. the skillful may not be able at all times to secure even the necessaries of life; nor does abundance invariably accompany greater wisdom, whilst no amount of intelligence can secure constant and abiding good.[ ] time and doom hap alike to all, irrespective of man's purposes or proposings, and no man knows what his hap shall be, since no skill of any kind can avail to guide through the voyage of life without encountering its storms. from the unlooked-for quarter, too, do those storms burst on us. as the fishes suspect no danger till in the net they are taken, and as the birds fear nothing till ensnared, so we poor children of adam, when our "evil time" comes round, are snared without warning. absolutely true this is, if life be regarded solely by such light as human wisdom gives: "time and doom happen alike to all." the whole scene is like one vast, confused machine, amongst whose intricate wheels, that revolve with an irregularity that defies foresight, poor man is cast at his birth; and ever and anon, when he least expects it, he comes between these wheels; and then he is crushed by some "evil," which may make an end of him altogether or leave him for further sorrows. all things seem to work confusedly for evil, and this caps the climax of ecclesiastes's misery. here is the sequence of his reasoning: firstly, there is no righteous allotment upon earth; the righteous suffer here, whilst the unjust escape. nay, secondly, there is an absolute lack of all discrimination in the death that ends all; and, thirdly, so complete is that end, bringing all so exactly to one dead level, without the slightest difference; and so impenetrable is the tomb to which all go, that i counsel, in my despair, "eat, drink, and be merry, irrespective of any future." fourthly, but, alas! that, too, is impossible; for no "work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom," can assure freedom from the evil doom that haps, soon or late, to all. intensified misery! awful darkness indeed! and our own souls tremble as we stand with ecclesiastes under its shadow and respond to his groanings. for the same scene still spreads itself before us as before him. mixed with the mad laughter and song of fools is the continued groan of sorrow, pain, and suffering, that still tells of "time and doom." a striking instance of this comes to my hand even as i write; and since its pathetic sadness makes it stand out even from the sorrows of this sad world, i would take it as a direct illustration of ecclesiastes's groan. at nyack on the hudson a christian family retire to rest after the happy services of last lord's day, the st of october--an unbroken circle of seven children, with their parents. early on the following morning, before it is light, a fire is raging in the house, and four of the little children are consumed in the conflagration. the account concludes: "the funeral took place at eleven o'clock to-day." that is, in a little more than twelve hours after retiring to sleep, four of the members of that family circle were in their graves! here is an "evil time" that has fallen suddenly indeed; and the sad and awful incident enables us to realize just what our writer felt as he penned the words. with one stroke, in one moment, four children, who have had for years their parents' daily thought and care, meet an awful doom, and all that those parents themselves have believed receives a blow whose force it is hard to measure. now listen, as the heathen cry, "where is now their god?" why was not his shield thrown about them? had he not the power to warn the sleeping household of the impending danger? is he so bound by some law of his own making as to forbid his interfering with its working? worse still, was he indifferent to the awful catastrophe that was about to crush the joy out of that family circle? if his was the power, was his love lacking? oh, awful questions when no answer can be given to them;--and nature gives no answer. she is absolutely silent. no human wisdom, even though it be his who was gifted "with a wise and understanding heart, so that none was like him before him, neither after him should any arise like unto him," could give any answer to questions like these. and think you, my reader, that nature does not cry out for comfort, and feel about for light at such a time? nor that the enemy of our souls is not quick in his malignant activity to suggest all kinds of awful doubt? every form of darkness and unbelief is alive to seize such incidents, and make them the texts on which they may level their attacks against the christian's god. but is there really no eye to pity?--no heart to love?--no arm to save? are men really subject to blind law--"time and doom"? hark, my reader, and turn once more to that sweetest music that ever broke on distracted reason's ear. it comes not to charm with a false hope, but with the full authority of god. none but his son who had lain so long in his father's bosom that he knew its blessed heart-beats thoroughly, could speak such words--"are not five sparrows sold for two farthings." here are poor worthless things indeed that may be truly called creatures of chance. "time and doom" must surely "hap" to these. indeed no; "not one of them is forgotten before god." ponder every precious word in simple faith. god's _memory_ bears upon it the lot of every worthless sparrow; it may "fall to the ground," but not without him. he controls their destiny and is interested in their very flight. if it be so with the sparrow, that may be bought for a single mite, shall the _saint_, who has been bought at a price infinitely beyond all the treasures of silver and gold in the universe, even at the cost of the precious blood of his dear son,--shall _he_ be subject to "time and doom"? shall his lot not be shaped by infinite love and wisdom? yes, verily. even the very hairs of his head are all numbered. no joy, no happiness, no disappointment, no perplexity, no sorrow, so infinitesimally small (let alone the greatest) but that the one who controls all worlds takes the closest interest therein, and turns, in his love, every thing to blessing, forcing "_all to work together for good_," and making the very storms of life obedient servants to speed his children to their home. faith _alone_ triumphs here; but faith _triumphs_; and apart from such tests and trials, what opportunity would there be for faith _to_ triumph? may we not bless god, then, (humbly enough, for we know how quickly we fail under trial,) that he _does_ leave opportunity for faith to be in exercise and to get victories? god first reveals himself, and then says, as it were, "now let me see if you have so learned what _i am_ as to trust _me_ against all circumstances, against all that you see, feel, or suffer." and what virtue there must be in the light of god, when so little of it is needed to sustain his child! even in the dim early twilight of the dawning of divine revelation, job, suffering under a very similar and fully equal "evil time," could say, "the lord gave, and the lord hath taken away, blessed be the name of the lord:" accents sweet and refreshing to him who values at an unknown price the confidence of this poor heart of man. and yet what did job know of god? _he_ had not seen the cross. _he_ had not had anything of the display of tenderest unspeakable love that have we. it was but the _dawn_, as we may say, of revelation; but it was enough to enable that poor grief-wrung heart to cry, "though he slay me, yet will i trust him." shall we, who enjoy the very meridian of revelation light;--shall we, who have seen _him slain for us_, say _less_? nay, look at the wondrous _possibilities_ of our calling, my reader,--a song, nothing but a song will do now. not quiet resignation only; but "strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with _joyfulness_,"--and that means a song. how rich, how very rich, is our portion! a goodly heritage is ours. for see what our considerations have brought out: a deep _need_ universally felt; for none escape the sorrows, trials, and afflictions, that belong, in greater or less degree, to this life. the highest, truest, human wisdom can only recognize the need with a groan, for it finds no remedy for it--time and doom hap alike to all. god shows himself a little, and, lo! quiet, patience, and resignation take the place of groaning. the need _is_ met. god reveals his whole heart fully, and no wave of sorrow, no billow of suffering, can extinguish the joy of his child who walks with him. nay, as thousands upon thousands could testify, the darkest hour of trial is made the sweetest with the sense of his love, and tears with song are mingled. oh, for grace to enjoy our rich portion more. but to return to our book. its author rarely proceeds far along any one line without meeting with that which compels him to return. so here; for he adds, in verses to the end of the chapter, "and yet i have seen the very reverse of all this, when apparently an inevitable doom, an 'evil time,' was hanging over a small community, whose resources were altogether inadequate to meet the crisis--when no way of escape from the impending destruction seemed possible--then, at the moment of despair, a 'poor wise man' steps to the front (such the quality there is in wisdom), delivers the city, comes forth from his obscurity, shines for a moment, and, lo! the danger past, is again forgotten, and sinks to the silence whence he came. but _this_ the incident proved to me, that where strength is vain, there wisdom shows its excellence, even though men as a whole appreciate it so little as to call upon it only as a last resource. for let the fools finish their babbling, and their chief get to the end of his talking; then, in the silence that tells the limit of their powers, the quiet voice of wisdom is heard again, and that to effect. thus is wisdom better even than weapons of war, although, sensitive quality that it is, a little folly easily taints it." can we, my readers, fail to set our seal to the truth of all this? we, too, have known something much akin to that "little city with few men," and one poor man, the very embodiment of purest, perfect wisdom, who wrought alone a full deliverance in the crisis--a deliverance in which wisdom shone divinely bright; and yet the mass of men remember him not. a few, whose hearts grace has touched, may count him the chief among ten thousand and the altogether lovely; but the world, though it may call itself by his name, counts other objects more worthy of its attention, and the poor wise man is forgotten "under the sun." not so above the sun. there we see the poor one, the carpenter's son, the nazarene, the reviled, the smitten, the spit-upon, the crucified, seated, crowned with glory and honor, at the right hand of the majesty in the heavens; and there, to a feeble few on earth, he sums up all wisdom and all worth, and they journey on in the one hope of seeing him soon face to face, and being with him and like him forever. [ ] i believe this is distinctly the bearing of these words, and not as in our version. [ ] there seems lo be an intensive force to these words, constantly and in each phase becoming stronger, in evident antithesis to the "work, device, knowledge, and wisdom," that ecclesiastes had just counseled to use to the utmost in order to obtain "good" in this life. chapter x. the climax of ecclesiastes' exercises seems to have been reached in the previous chapter. the passionate storm is over, and now his thoughts ripple quietly along in proverb and wise saying. it is as if he said "i was altogether beyond my depth. now i will confine myself only to the present life, without touching on the things unseen, and here i can pronounce with assurance the conclusion of wisdom, and sum up both its advantages and yet inadequacy." the proverbs that follow are apparently disjointed, and yet, when closely looked at, are all connected with this subject. he shows, in effect, that, take any view of life, and practically wisdom has manifold advantages. ver. . the least ingredient of folly spoils as with the corruption of death the greatest wisdom. (there is only one whose name is as ointment poured forth untainted.) ver. . the wise man's heart is where it should be. he is governed by his understanding, (for the heart in the old testament is the seat of the thought as well as of the affections, as the same word, "_lehv_," translated "wisdom" in the next verse shows), a fool is all askew in his own being. his heart is at his left hand. in other words, his judgment is dethroned. ver. . nor can he hide what he really is for any length of time. "the way," with its tests, soon reveals him, and he proclaims to all his folly. ver. . yielding to the powers above rather than rebelling against them, marks the path of wisdom. this may be an example of the testing of "the way" previously spoken of, for true wisdom shines brightly out in the presence of an angry ruler. folly leaves its place,--a form of expression tantamount to rebelling, and may throw some light on that stupendous primal folly when angels "left their place," or, as jude writes, "kept not their first estate, but left their habitation," and thus broke into the folly of rebelling against the highest. for let any leave their place, and it means necessarily confusion and disorder. if all has been arranged according to the will and wisdom of the highest, he who steps out of the place assigned him rebels, and discord takes the place of harmony. the whole of the old creation is thus in disorder and confusion. all have "left their place." for god, the creator of all, has been dethroned. it is the blessed work of one we know, once more to unite in the bonds of love and willing obedience all things in heaven and in earth, and to bind in such way all hearts to the throne of god, that never more shall one "leave his place." vers. - . but rulers themselves under the sun are not free from folly, and this shows itself in the disorder that actually proceeds from them. orders and ranks are not in harmony. folly is exalted, and those with whom dignities accord are in lowly place. it is another view of the present confusion, and how fully the coming of the highest showed it out! a stable, a manger, rejection, and the cross, were the portion under the sun of the king of kings. that fact rights everything even now, in one sense, to faith for the path closest to the king must be really necessarily the _highest_, though it be in the sight of man the lowest. immanuel, the son of david, walking as a servant up and down the land that was his own--the lord jesus, the son of man, having less than the foxes or birds of the air, not even where to lay his head,--christ, the son of god, wearied with his journey, on the well of sychar,--this has thrown a glory about the lowly path now, that makes all the grandeur of the great ones of the earth less than nothing. let the light of his path shine on this scene, and no longer shall we count it an evil under the sun for folly and lawlessness to have the highest place, as men speak, but rather count it greatest honor to be worthy to suffer for his name, for we are still in the kingdom and patience of the lord jesus christ,--not the kingdom and glory. that shall come soon. vers. - . but then, ecclesiastes continues, is there complete security in the humbler ranks of life? nay, there is no occupation that has not its accompanying danger. digging or hedging, quarrying or cleaving wood,--all have their peculiar difficulties. although there, too, wisdom is still evidently better than brute strength. vers. to turn to the same theme of comparison of wisdom and folly, only now with regard to the use of the tongue. the most gifted charmer (lit. master of the tongue) is of no worth _after_ the serpent has bitten. the waters that flow commend the spring whence they issue. grace speaks for the wise: folly, from beginning to end, proclaims the fool; and nowhere is that folly more manifested than in the boastfulness of assertion as to the future. "predicting words he multiplies, yet man can never know "the thing that shall be; yea, what cometh after who shall tell? "vain toil of fools! it wearieth him,--this man who knoweth naught "that may befall his going to the city." this seems to be exactly in line with the apostle james: "go to now, ye that say, to-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy, and sell, and get gain: ye who know not what shall be on the morrow." vers. - . the land is blessed or cursed according to her head. a well-marked principle in scripture, which has evidently forced itself on the notice of human wisdom in the person of ecclesiastes. a city flourishes under the wise diligence of her rulers, or goes to pieces under their neglect and sensual revelry. for the tendency to decay is everywhere under the sun, and no matter what the sphere,--high or low, city or house,--constant diligence alone offsets that tendency. ver. . the whole is greater than its part. money can procure both the feast and the wine; but these are not, even in our preacher's view, the better things, but the poorer, as chapter vii. has shown us. we, too, know that which is infinitely higher than feasts and revelry of earth, and here money avails nothing. "wine and milk," joy and food, are here to be bought without money and without price. the currency of that sphere is not corruptible gold nor silver, but the love that gives,--sharing all it possesses. there it is love that answereth all things:--the more excellent way, inasmuch as it covers and is the spring of all gifts and graces. without love, the circulating medium of that new creation, a man is poor indeed,--is worth nothing, nay, _is_ nothing, ( cor. xiii.) he may have the most attractive and showy of gifts: the lack of love makes the silver tongue naught but empty sound,--a lack of love makes the deepest understanding naught; and whilst he may be a very model of what the world falsely calls charity, giving of his goods to feed the poor, and even his body to be burned, it is love alone that gives life and substance to it all,--lacking love it profits nothing. he who abounds most in loving, and consequent self-emptying, is the richest there. the words of the lord jesus in luke xii. confirm this: "so is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward god." the two are in direct contrast. rich here--laying up treasure for one's self here--_is_ poverty there, and the love that gives _is_ divine riches. for he who loves most has himself drunk deepest into the very nature of god, for god is love, and his heart fully satisfied with that which alone in all the universe can ever satisfy the heart of man, filled up,--surely, therefore, rich,--pours forth its streams of bounty and blessing according to its ability to all about. how thoroughly the balances of the sanctuary reverse the estimation of the world. but, then, how may we become rich in that true, real sense? to obtain the money that "answereth all things" under the sun, men _toil_ and _plan_. perhaps as the balances of the sanctuary show that selfish accumulation here is poverty there, so the means of attaining true riches may be, in some sort, the opposite to those prevailing for the false--"quietness and confidence." the apostle, closing his beautiful description of charity, says: "follow after charity." ponder its value--meditate on its beauties--till your heart becomes fascinated, and you press with longing toward it. but as it is difficult to be occupied with "love" in the abstract, can we find anywhere an embodiment of love? a person who illustrates it in its perfection, in whose character every glorious mark that the apostle depicts in this th chapter of corinthians is shown in perfect moral beauty--yea, who is in himself the one complete perfect expression of love. and, god be thanked, we know one such; and, as we read the sweet and precious attributes of love, we recognize that the holy spirit has pictured every lineament of our lord jesus christ. wouldst thou be rich, then, my soul? follow after, occupy thyself with, press toward, the lord jesus, till his beauties so attract as to take off thy heart from every other infinitely inferior attraction, and the kindling of his love shall warm thy heart with the same holy flame, and thou shalt seek love's ease--love's rest--in pouring out all thou hast in a world where need of all kinds is on every side, and thus be "rich toward god." so may it be for the writer, and every reader, to the praise of his grace. amen. where are we, in time, my readers? are we left as shipwrecked sailors upon a raft, without chart or compass, and know not whether sunken wreck or cliff-bound coast shall next threaten us? no; a true divine chart and compass is in our hands, and we may place our finger upon the exact chronological latitude and longitude in which our lot is cast. mark the long voyage of the professing church past the quiet waters of ephesus, where first love quickly cools and is lost; past the stormy waves of persecution which drive her onward to her desired haven, in smyrna; caught in the dangerous eddy, and drifted to the whirlpool of the world in pergamos, followed by the developed papal hierarchy in thyatira, with the false woman in full command of the ship; past sardis, with its memories of a divine recovery in the reformation of the sixteenth century:--philadelphia and laodicea alone are left; and, with mutual contention and division largely in the place of brotherly love, who can question but that we have reached the last stage, and that there is every mark of laodicea about us? this being so, mark the word of our lord jesus to the present state of the professing church: "thou sayest i am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing, but knowest not that thou art poor, and blind, and naked, and wretched, and miserable." yes, in the light of god, in the eyes of the lord, in the judgment of the sanctuary, we live in a day of _poverty_. it is this which characterizes the day in which our lot is cast,--a lack of all true riches, whilst the air is filled with boastings of wealth and attainment. further, i can but believe that we whose eyes scan these lines are peculiarly in danger here. thyatira goes on to the very end. sardis is an offshoot from her. sardis goes on to the end. philadelphia is an offshoot from her. philadelphia goes on to the end, and is thus the stock from whence the proud self-sufficiency of laodicea springs. if we (you and i) have shared in any way in the blessings of philadelphia, we share in the dangers of laodicea. yea, he who thinks he represents or has the characteristics of philadelphia, is most open to the boast of laodicea. let us have to do--have holy commerce--with him who speaks. buy of him the "gold purified by the fire." but how are we to buy? what can we give for that gold, when he says we are already poor? a poor man is a bad buyer. yes, under the sun, where toil and self-dependency are the road to wealth; but above the sun quietness and confidence prevail, and the poor man is the best--the only--buyer. look at that man in mark's gospel, chapter x., with every mark of laodicea upon him. _blind_, by nature; _poor_, for he sat and _begged; naked_, for he has thrown away his garment, and thus surely _pitiable, miserable_, now watch him buy of the lord. "what wilt thou that i should do unto thee?" "lord, that i might receive my sight." "go thy way; thy faith hath made thee whole." and the transaction is complete; the contract is settled; the buying is over. "immediately he received his sight, and followed jesus in the way." yes; there is just one thing that that poor, naked, blind man has, that is of highest value even in the eyes of the lord, and that is the quiet confidence of his poor heart. all scripture shows that that is what god ever seeks,--the heart of man to return and rest in him. it is all that we can give in the purchase, but it buys all he has. "all things are possible to him that believeth." in having to do with the lord jesus we deal with the rich one whose very joy and rest it is to give; and it is surely easy _buying_ from him whose whole heart's desire is to _give_. nothing is required but need and faith to complete the purchase. "need and faith" are our "two mites." they are to us what the two mites were to the poor widow--all our "living," all we have. yet, casting them into the treasury, god counts them of far more value than all the boasted abundance of laodicea. they are the servants, too, that open all doors to the lord. they permit no barriers to keep him at a distance. that gracious waiting lord then may enter, and sweet communion follow as he sups with poor "need and faith"--himself providing all the provender for that supper-feast. chapter xi. we are drawing near the end, and to the highest conclusions of true human wisdom; and full of deepest interest it is to mark the character of these conclusions. reason speaks; that faculty that is rightly termed divine, for its possession marks those who are "the offspring of god." he is the father of _spirits_, and it is in the spirit that reason has her seat; whilst in our preacher she is enthroned, and now with authority utters forth her counsels. here we may listen to just how far she can attain, mark with deepest interest, and indeed admiration, the grand extent of her powers; and at the same time their sorrowful limit,--note their happy harmony up to that limit, with her creator; and then, when with baffled effort and conscious helplessness, in view of the deepest questions that ever stir the heart, she is able to find no answer to them, and groans her exceeding bitter cry of "vanity," _then_ to turn and listen to the grace and love of that creator meeting those needs and answering those questions,--this is inexpressibly precious; and with the light thus given we must let our spirits sing a new song, for we are nigh to god, and it is still true that "none enter the king's gate clothed with sackcloth." joy and praise have their dwelling ever within those boundaries; for he inhabiteth the praises of his people. in the first eight verses of our chapter we shall thus find man's reason running in a beautiful parallel with the divine, and yet in marked contrast with the narrow, selfish, short-sighted policy of the debased wisdom of this world. their broad teaching is very clear; look forward,--live not for the present; but instead of hoarding or laying up for the evil day, cast thy bread--that staff of life, thy living--boldly upon the waters, it shall not be lost. you have, in so doing, intrusted it to the care of him who loseth nothing; and the future, though perhaps far off, shall give thee a full harvest for such sowing. but, to be more explicit, give with a free hand without carefully considering a limit to thy gifts ("a portion to seven and also to eight" would seem to have this bearing), for who knows when, in the future, an evil time to thee may make thee the recipient of others' bounty. can we but admire the harmony, i say again, between the voice of poor, feeble, limited human wisdom and the perfect, absolute, limitless, divine wisdom of new testament revelation: "for i mean not that other men be eased and ye burdened; but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality." this is very closely in the same line. but solomon continues: nay, see the lessons that nature herself would teach (and he is no wise man, but distinctly and scripturally "a fool," who is deaf to her teachings, blind to her symbols). the full clouds find relief by emptying themselves on the parched earth, only to receive those same waters again from the full ocean, after they have fulfilled their benevolent mission; and it is a small matter to which side, north or south, the tree may fall, it is there for the good of whoever may need it there.[ ] the accidental direction of the wind determines which way it falls; but either north or south it remains for the good of man. in like manner watch not for favorable winds; dispense on every side, north and south, of thy abundance; nor be too solicitous as to the worthiness of the recipients. he who waits for perfectly favorable conditions will never sow, consequently never reap. results are with god. it is not thy care in sowing at exactly the right moment that gives the harvest; all _that_ is god's inscrutable work in nature, nor can man tell how those results are attained. life in its commencements is as completely enshrouded in mystery now as then. no science, no human wisdom has, or--it may be boldly added--ever can throw the slightest glimmer of clear light upon it. thy part is diligence in sowing, the harvest return is god's care. "in the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand" is wisdom's counsel here, just as a higher wisdom teaches "preach the word: be instant in season and out of season." thus human reason and divine wisdom "keep step" together till the former reaches its limit; and very soon, in looking forward, is that limit reached. for listen now to her advice, consequent on the foregoing. therefore she says, let not the enjoyment of the present blind thee to the future; for alas there stands that awful mysterious exit from the scene that has again and again baffled the preacher throughout the book. and here again no science or human reason ever has or ever can throw the faintest glimmer of clear light beyond it. that time is still, at the end of the book, the "days of darkness." as poor job in the day of his trial wails: "i go whence i shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death; a land of darkness as darkness itself, and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness." so ecclesiastes says, "let him remember the days of darkness, for they shall be many." oh sad and gloomy counsel! is _this_ what life is? its bright morning ever to be clouded,--its day to be darkened with the thoughts of its _end_? oh sorrowful irony to tell us to rejoice in the years of life, and yet ever to bear in mind that those years are surely, irresistibly, carrying us on to the many "days of darkness." yes, this is where the highest intellect, the acutest reason, the purest wisdom of any man at any time has attained. but where reason fails, with all her powers, there faith prevails and love adores. where the darkness by reason's light is deepest, there love--infinite and eternal--has thrown its brightest beam, and far from that time beyond the tomb being "the days of darkness," by new testament revelation it is the one eternal blessed day lit up with a light that never dims; yes, even sun and moon unneeded for "the glory of god enlightens it, and the lamb is the light thereof." think of a christian with that blessed hope of the coming of his saviour to take him to that well-lighted home--his father's house--with the sweet and holy anticipations of seeing his own blessed face,--once marred and smitten for him; of never grieving him more, of sin never again to mar his communion with him, of happy holy companionship for eternity with kindred hearts and minds all tuned to the one glorious harmony of exalting "him that sits upon the throne and the lamb,"--of loving him perfectly, of serving him perfectly, of enjoying him perfectly,--think of such a christian saying, as he looks forward to this bliss, "all that cometh is _vanity_," and we may get some measure of the value of the precious word of god. but now with a stronger blow our writer strikes the same doleful chord: "rejoice, o young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know thou, that for all these things god will bring thee into judgment." one would think that there could be no possible misunderstanding the sorrowful irony of the counsel "to walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes,"--expressions invariably used in an evil sense (compare num. xv. ; isa. lvii. ); and yet, to be consistent with the interpretation to similar counsel in other parts of the book, expounders have sought to give them a _christian_ meaning, as if they were given in the light of revelation and not in the semi-darkness of nature. but here the concluding sentence, "know thou, that for all these things god will bring thee into judgment," is quite unmistakable. but here is indeed a startling assertion. where has our writer learned, with such emphatic certainty, of a judgment to come? have we mistaken the standpoint whence our book was written? has the writer, after all, been listening to another voice that has taught him what is on the other side of the grave? does revelation make itself heard here at last? or may, perhaps, even this be in perfect harmony with all that has gone before, and be one step further--almost the last step--along the path that unaided (but not depraved) human reason may tread? in a word, does nature herself give reason sufficient light to enable her, when in right exercise, to discover a judgment-seat in the shadows of the future? this is surely a question of deepest--yes, thrilling--interest; and, we are confident, must be answered in the affirmative. it is to this point that our writer has been climbing, step by step. nature has taught him that the future must be looked at rather than the present; or, rather, the present must be looked at in the light of the future; for that future corresponds _in its character_ to the present, as the crop does to the seed, only exceeds it _in intensity_ as the harvest exceeds the grain sown. thus bread hoarded gives no harvest; or, in other words, he who lives for the present alone, necessarily, by the simplest and yet strongest law of nature, must suffer loss: _this is judgment by nature's law_. this, too, is the keynote of every verse--"the future," "the future"; and god, who is clearly discerned by reason as behind nature, "which is but the name for an effect whose cause is god,"--god is clearly recognized as returning a harvest in the _future_, in strict and accurate accord with the sowing of the _present_. this is very clear. then how simple and how certain that if this is god's irrefragable law in nature, it must have its fulfillment too in the moral nature of man. it has been one of the chief sorrows of the book that neither wrong nor confusion is righted here, and those "days of darkness" to which _all_ life tends are no discriminative judgment, nor is there anything of the kind in a scene where "all things come alike to all." then surely, most surely, unless indeed man alone sows without reaping,--alone breaks in as an exception to this law,--a thought not consonant with reason,--there must be to him also a harvest of reaping according to what has been sown: in other words a _judgment_. although still, let us mark, our writer does not assume to say anything as to where or when that shall be, or how brought about, this is all uncertain and indefinite: the fact is _certain_; and more clear will the outline of that judgment-seat stand out, as our writer's eyes become accustomed to the new light in which he is standing,--the fact is already certain. solemn, most solemn, is this; and yet how beautiful to see a true reason--but let us emphasize again not _depraved_, but exercising her royal function of sovereignty over the flesh, not subject to it--drawing such true and sure lessons from that which she sees of the law of god in nature. it is a _reasonable_, although in view of sin, a fearful expectation; and with exactness is the word chosen in acts: paul _reasoned_ of judgment to come; and reason, with conscience, recognized the force of the appeal, as "felix trembled." thus that solemn double appointment of man: death and judgment has been discerned by nature's light, and counsel is given in view of each. we said that our writer had reached the climax of his perplexities in view of death in chap. ix. when he counseled us to "merrily drink our wine"; but now judgment discerned, death itself even not necessarily the end, at length soberness prevails; and with an evident solemn sincerity he counsels "therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh, for childhood and youth are vanity." [ ] the current interpretation of this clause, that it speaks of the future state of man after death, seems hardly in keeping with the context, and certainly not at all in keeping with the character and scope of the book. ecclesiastes everywhere confesses the strict limitation of his knowledge to the present scene. this is the cause of his deepest groanings that he cannot pierce beyond it; and it would be entirely contrary for him here, in this single instance, to assume to pronounce authoritatively of the nature of that place or state of which he says he knows nothing. chapter xii. our last chapter concluded with the words, "for childhood and youth are vanity": that is, childhood proves the emptiness of all "beneath the sun," as well as old age. the heart of the child has the same needs--the same capacity in kind--as that of the aged. _it needs god_. unless it knows him, and his love is there, it is empty; and, in its fleeting character, childhood proves its vanity. but this makes us quite sure that if childhood can feel the need, then god has, in his wide grace, _met the need_; nor is that early life to be debarred from the provision that he has made for it. there are then the same _possibilities_ of filling the heart and life of the young child with that divine love that fills every void, and turns the cry of "vanity" into the song of praise: "yea, out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou hast perfected praise." but our writer is by no means able thus to touch any chord in the young heart that shall vibrate with the music of praise. such as he has, however, he gives us: "remember now thy creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, i have no pleasure in them." this counsel must not be separated from the context. it is based absolutely and altogether on what has now been discerned: for not only is our writer a man of the acutest intelligence, but he evidently possesses the highest qualities of moral courage. he shirks no question, closes his eyes to no fact, and least of all to that awful fact of man's compulsory departure from this scene which is called "death." but following on, he has found that even this cannot possibly be all; there must be a _judgment_ that shall follow this present life. it is in view of this he counsels "remember thy creator in the days of thy youth," whilst the effect of time is to mature, and not destroy, the powers he has given thee: for not forever will life's enjoyment last; old age comes surely, and he who made thee, holds thy spirit in his hand, so that whilst the body may return to dust, the spirit must return to him who gave it. we will only pause for a moment again to admire the glorious elevation of this counsel. how good were it if the remembrance of a creator-god, to whom all are accountable, could tone, with out quenching, the fire and energy of youthful years, and lead in the clean paths of righteousness. but, alas, how inadequate to meet the actual state of things. solomon himself shall serve to illustrate the utter inadequacy of his own counsel. what comfort or hope could he extract from it? his were now already the years in which he must say "i have no pleasure in them." a more modern poet might have voiced his cry,-- "my age is in the yellow leaf, the bud, the fruit of 'life,' is gone: the worm, the canker, and the grief, remain alone!" his youth was no more: its bright days were forever past, never to be restored. what remains, then, for solomon, and the myriads like him? what shall efface the memory of those wasted years, or what shall give a quiet peace, in view of the fast-coming harvest of that wild sowing? can reason--can any human wisdom--find any satisfactory answer to these weighty questions? _none_! verses to beautifully and poetically depict the fall of the city of man's body under the slow but sure siege of the forces of time. gradually, but without one moment's pause, the trenches approach the walls. outwork after outwork falls into the enemy's hands, until he is victor over all, and the citadel itself is taken. verse .--first, clouds come over the spirit: the joyousness of life is dulled,--the exuberance of youth is quenched. sorrow follows quickly on the heel of sorrow,--"clouds return after rain." those waves that youth's light bark rode gallantly and with exhilaration, now flood the laboring vessel and shut out the light--the joy--of life. verse .--then the hands (the keepers of the house) tremble with weakness, and the once strong men (the knees) now feeble, bend under the weight of the body they have so long borne. the few teeth (grinders) that may remain fail to do their required service. time's finger touches, too, those watchers from the turret-windows (the eyes): shade after shade falls over them; till, like slain sentinels that drop at their posts, they look out again never-more. verse .--closer still the enemy presses, till the close-beleaguered fortress is shut out from all communication with the outer world; "the doors are shut in the streets"; the ears are dulled to all sounds. even the grinding of the mill,[ ] which in an eastern house rarely ceases, reaches him but as a low murmur, though it be really as loud as the shrill piping of a bird, and all the sweet melodies of song are no longer to be enjoyed. verse .--time's sappers, too, are busily at work, although unseen, till the effect of their mining becomes evident in the alarm that is felt at the slightest need of exertion. the white head, too, tells its tale, and adds its testimony to the general decay. the least weight is as a heavy burden; nor can the failing appetite be again awakened. the man is going to his age-long home[ ]; for now those four seats of life are invaded and broken up--spinal-cord, brain, heart, and blood,--till at length body and spirit part company, each going whence it came;--that, to its kindred dust; this, to the god who gave it. thus to the high wisdom of solomon man is no mere beast, after all. he may not penetrate the beyond to describe that "age-long home," but never of the _beast_ would he say "the spirit to god who gave it." but his very wisdom again leads us to the most transcendent need of _more_. to tell us this, is to lead us up a mountain-height, to a bridgeless abyss which we have to cross, without having a plank or even a thread to help us. to god the spirit goes,--to god who gave it,--to whom, then, it is responsible. but in what condition? is it conscious still, or does it lose consciousness as in a deep sleep? where does it now abide? how can it endure the searching light--the infinite holiness and purity--of the god to whom it goes? how shall it give account for the wasted years? how answer for the myriad sins of life? how reap what has been sown? silence here--no answer here--is awful indeed,--is _maddening_; and if reason does still hold her seat, then "vanity of vanities, all is vanity," is alone consistent with the fearful silence to such questions, and the scene is fitly ended by a groan. deep even unto the shadow of death is the gloom. every syllable of this last sad wail is as a funeral knell to all our hopes, tolling mournfully; and, like a passing bell, attending _them_, too, to their "age-long home"! oh, well for us if we have heard a clearer voice than that of poor feeble human reason break in upon the silence, and, with a blessed, perfect, lovely combination of wisdom and love, of authority and tenderness, of truth and grace, give soul-satisfying answers to all our questionings. then may we rejoice, if grace permit, with joy unspeakable; and, even in the gloom of this sad scene, lift heart and voice in a shout of victory. we, too, know what it is for the body thus to perish. we, too, though redeemed, still await the redemption of the body, which in the christian is still subject to the same ravages of time,--sickness, disease, pain, suffering, decay. but a gracious revelation has taught us a secret that ecclesiastes never guessed at; and we may sing, even with the fall of nature's walls about us, "though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." yea, every apparent victory of the enemy is now only to be answered with a "new song" of joyful praise. it is true that, "under the sun," the clouds return after the rain; and, because it is true, we turn to that firmament of faith where our lord jesus is both sun and star, and where the light ever "shineth more and more unto perfect day." _let_ the keepers tremble, and the strong men bow themselves. we may now lean upon another and an everlasting arm, and know another strength which is even _perfected_ in this very weakness. the grinders may cease because they are few; but their loss cannot prevent our feeding ever more and more heartily and to the fill on god's bread of life. _let_ those that look out of the windows be darkened: the inward eye becomes the more accustomed to another--purer, clearer--light; and we see "that which is invisible," and seeing, we hopefully sing-- "city of the pearl-bright portal, city of the jasper wall, city of the golden pavement, seat of endless festival,-- city of jehovah, salera, city of eternity, to thy bridal-hall of gladness, from this prison would i flee,-- heir of glory, that shall be for thee and me!" _let_ doors be shut in the streets, and _let_ all the daughters of music be brought low, so that the babel of this world's discord be excluded, and so that the lord himself be on the _inside_ of the closed door, we may the more undistractedly enjoy the _supper of our life_ with him, and he (the blessed, gracious one!) with us. then naught can prevent his voice being heard, whilst the more sweet and clear (though still ever faint, perhaps) may the echo to that voice arise in melody within the heart, where god himself is the gracious listener! _let_ fears be in the way, we know a love than can dispel all fear and give a new and holy boldness even in full view of all the solemn verities of eternity; for it is grounded on the perfect accepted work of a divine redeemer--the faithfulness of a divine word. the very hoary head becomes not merely the witness of decay, and of a life fast passing; but the "almond-tree" has another, brighter meaning now: it is a figure of that "crown of life" which in the new-creation scene awaits the redeemed. if appetite fail here, the more the inward longing, and the satisfaction that ever goes hand in hand with it, may abound; and the inward man thus be strengthened and enlarged so as to have greater capacity for the enjoyment of those pleasures that are "at god's right hand for evermore." till at length the earthly house of this tabernacle may be dissolved. dust may still return to dust, and there await, what all creation awaits--the glorious resurrection, its redemption. whilst the spirit--yes, what of the spirit? to god who gave it? ah, far better: to god who loved and redeemed it,--to him who has so cleansed it by his own blood, that the very light of god can detect no stain of sin upon it, even though it be the chief of sinners. so amid the ruins of this earthly tabernacle may the triumphant song ascend above the snapping of cords, the breaking of golden bowls and pitchers, the very crash of nature's citadel: "oh, death, where is thy sting? oh, grave, where is thy victory? the sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. but thanks be to god that giveth us the victory through our lord jesus christ." this meets--meets fully, meets satisfactorily--the need. now none will deny that this need is deep,--_real_. hence it can be no mere sentiment, no airy speculation, no poetical imagination, no cunningly devised fable that can meet that need. _the remedy must be as real as the disease, or it avails nothing_. no phantom key may loosen so hard-closed a lock as this: it must be real, and be made for it. for suppose we find a lock of such delicate and complicated construction that no key that can be made will adapt itself to all its windings. many skilled men have tried their hands and failed,--till at length the wisest of all attempts it, and even he in despair cries "vanity." then another key is put into our hands by one who claims to have made the very lock we have found. we apply it, and its intricacies meet every corresponding intricacy; its flanges fill every chamber, and we open it with perfect facility. what is the reasonable, necessary conclusion? we say--and rightly, unavoidably say--"he who made the lock must have made the key. his claim is just: they have been made by one maker." so by the perfect rest it brings to the awakened conscience--by the quiet calm it brings to the troubled mind--by the warm love that it reveals to the craving heart--by the pure light that it sheds in satisfactory answer to all the deep questions of the spirit--by the unceasing unfoldings of depths of perfect transcendent wisdom--by its admirable unity in variety--by the holy, righteous settlement of sin, worthy of a holy, righteous god--by the peace it gives, even in view of wasted years and the wild sowing of the past--by the joy it maintains even in view of the trials and sorrows of the present--by the hope with which it inspires the future;--by all these we know that our key (the precious word that god has put into our hands) is a reality indeed, and as far above the powers of reason as the heavens are above the earth, therefore necessarily--incontestably--divine! this brings us to the concluding words of our book. now who has been leading us all through these exercises? a disappointed sensualist? a gloomy stoic? a cynic--selfish, depressed? not at all. distinctly a wise man;--wise, for he gives that unequivocal proof of wisdom, in that he cares for others. it is the wise who ever seek to "win souls," "to turn many to righteousness." "because the preacher was wise, he still _taught the people knowledge_." no cynic is ecclesiastes. his sympathies are still keen; he knows well and truly the needs of those to whom he ministers: knows too, how man's wretched heart ever rejects its own blessing; so, in true wisdom, he seeks "acceptable words": endeavoring to sweeten the medicine he gives, clothes his counsel in "words of delight" (margin). thus here we find all the "words of delight" that human wisdom _can_ find, in view of life in all its aspects from youth to old age. for whilst it is certainly difficult satisfactorily to trace the order in detail in the book,--and perhaps this is perfectly consistent with its character,--yet there can be no question but that it begins by looking at, and testing, those sensual enjoyments that are peculiarly attractive to _youth_, and ends with the departure of all in _old age_, and, finally--dissolution. there is, evidently, that much method. we may also, further, note that the body of the book is taken up with such themes as interest men who are between these two extremes: occupations, business, politics, and, as men speak, religion. all the various states and conditions of man are looked at: kings, princes, nobles, magistrates, rich and poor, are all taken up and discussed in this search for the one thing that true human reason can call absolutely "good" for man. further method than this might perhaps be inconsistent with the confusion of the scene "under the sun" he is regarding, and his own inability to bring order out of the confusion. there would be thus true method in the _absence_ of method, as the cry of "vanity," doleful as it is, is alone in harmony with the failure of all his efforts. yes, for whilst here he speaks of "words of delight," one can but wonder to what he can refer, unless it be to something still to come. thus far, as he has taken up and dropped, with bitter discouragement, subject after subject, his burdened, overcharged heart involuntarily has burst out with the cry, "vanity of vanities, all is vanity!" words of delight! find one in all that we have gone over that can be to a guilty sinner's ear a "word of delight"--such as it can really _take in as meeting its needs_; for this seems to be the force of the word here translated "acceptable": so perfectly adapted to the needs of the heart it addresses that that heart springs joyfully to embrace it at once. we have surely, thus far, found none such. a judge has been discerned in god; but small delight in this surely, if i am the sinner to be judged. verses - . wisdom's words are not known by quantity, but quality. not many books, with the consequent weary study; but the right word--like a "goad": sharp, pointed, effective--and on which may hang, as on a "nail," much quiet meditation. "given, too, from one shepherd," hence not self-contradictory and confusing to the listeners. in this way ecclesiastes would evidently direct our most earnest attention to what follows: "the conclusion of the whole matter." here is absolutely the highest counsel of true human wisdom--the climax of her reasonings--the high-water-mark of her attainments--the limit to which she can lead us: "fear god, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. for god shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil." who will deny that this is indeed admirable? is there not a glorious moral elevation in this conclusion? note how it gives the creator-god his rightful place; puts the creature, man, in the absolutely correct relationship of obedience, and speaks with perfect assurance of a discriminative judgment where every single work, yes, "secret thing," shall be shown out in its true character as it is good or evil in his holy sight: where everything that is wrong and distorted here shall be put right. it is truly much, but alas for man if this were indeed the end. alas for one, conscious of having sinned already, and broken his commandments, whether those commandments be expressed in the ten words of the law, as given from sinai, or in that other law which is common to all men, the work of which, "written in their hearts," they show--conscience. there is no gleam of light, ray of hope, or grain of comfort here. a judgment to come, _assured_, can only be looked forward to, with, at the best, gloomy uncertainty, and awful misgiving--if not with assured conviction of a fearful condemnation; and here our writer leaves us with the assurance that this is the "conclusion of the whole matter." who can picture the terrors of this darkness in which such a conclusion leaves us? guilty, trembling, with untold sins and wasted years behind; with the awful consciousness that my very being is the corrupt fountain whence those sins flowed, and yet with a certain judgment before in which no single thing is to escape a divinely searching examination: better had it been to have left us still asleep and unconscious of these things, and so to have permitted us to secure, at least, what pleasure we could out of this present life "under the sun," without the shadow of the future ever thrown over us;--yea, such "conclusion" leaves us "of all men most miserable." i would, beloved reader, that we might by grace realize something of this. nor let our minds be just touched by the passing thoughts, but pause for a few minutes, at least, and meditate on the scene at this last verse in the only book in our bible in which man at his best and highest, in his richest and wisest, is heard telling us his exercises as he looks at this tangled state of affairs "under the sun" and gives us to see, as nowhere else can we see, the very utmost limit to which he, as such, can attain. if this sinks down into our hearts, we shall be the better prepared to apprehend and appreciate the grace that meets him there at the edge of that precipice to which reason leads but which she cannot bridge. oh, blessed grace! in the person of our royal preacher we are here indeed at our "wit's end" in every sense of the word; but that is ever and always the place where another hand may lead us, where another wisdom than poor feeble human reason may find a way of escape, and "deliver us out of our distresses." then let us turn our ear and listen to another voice: "for we must all appear before the judgment-seat of christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." but stay. is this the promised grace of which even now we spoke? is this the deliverance for which we hoped? a judgment-seat still?--from which still no escape for any: and a "reception" according to the things done, whether they be good or bad! wherein does this differ from solomon's "conclusion of the whole matter"? in just two words only--"_of christ_." it is now the "judgment-seat of christ." added terror, i admit, to his despisers and rejectors; but to you and me, dear fellow-believer, through grace the difference these two words make is infinity itself. for look at him who sits upon the judgment-seat;--be not afraid; regard him patiently and well; he bears many a mark whereby you may know him, and recognize in the judge the very one who has himself borne the full penalty of all your sins. see his hands and his feet, and behold his side! you stand before _his_ judgment-seat. remember, too, the word he spake long ago, but as true as ever, "verily, verily, i say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life"--and as we thus remember both his word and his work, we may be fully assured, even as we stand here, that there must be a sense, and an important sense, in which judgment for us is passed forever. i may not be able to harmonize these scriptures; but i will cleave, at least, to that which i clearly understand; in other words, to that which meets my present needs (for we only truly understand what meets our need); afterward, other needs may arise that shall make the other scriptures equally clear. he bore my sins--the judgment of god has been upon him, cannot, therefore, be upon me--into that judgment i shall never come. then why is it written we must all appear (or rather "be _manifested_," be clearly shown out in true light) before the judgment seat of christ? there is just one thing i need before entering the joys of eternity. i am, as jacob in genesis xxxv., going up "to bethel, to dwell there." i must know that everything is fully suited to the place to which i go. i need, _i must have_, everything out clearly. yes, so clearly, that it will not do to trust even my own memory to bring it out. i need the lord "who loved me and gave himself for me" to do it. _he will_. how precious this is for the believer who keeps his eye on the judge! how blessed for him that ere eternity begins full provision is made for the perfect security of its peace--for a communion that may not be marred by a thought! never after this shall a suspicion arise in our hearts, during the long ages that follow, that there is one thing--one secret thing--that has not been known and dealt with holily and righteously, according to the infinite purity of the judgment seat of christ. suppose that this were not so written; let alone for a moment that there never could be true discriminative rewards; might not memory be busy, and might not some evil thought allowed during the days of the life in the flesh, long, long forgotten, be suddenly remembered, and the awful question arise, "is it possible that that particular evil thing has been overlooked? it was subsequent to the hour that i first accepted him for my saviour. i have had no thought of it since. i am not aware of ever having confessed it." would not _that_ silence the song of heaven, embitter even its joy, and still leave tears to be wiped away? _it shall not be_. all shall be out first. all--"every secret thing." other scriptures shall show us how these things are dealt with. "every man's work shall be made manifest, for the day shall declare it, because it (that is, the day) shall be revealed in fire, and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. if any man's work abide, he shall receive a reward. if any man's work shall be burnt, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire. if any man defile the temple of god, him shall god destroy." ( cor. iii.) that day is revealed in fire, (divine judgment,) and gold, silver, precious stones--those works which are of god--alone can stand the test. all others burn like "wood, hay, stubble." look forward a little. in the light of these scriptures, see one standing before that judgment seat. he once hung by the side of the judge himself upon a cross on earth. see his works being manifested. is there one that can be found gold, silver, precious stones? not one. they burn; they all burn: but mark carefully his countenance as his works burn. mark the emotions that manifest themselves through the ever-deepening sense of the wondrous grace that could have snatched such an one as is there being manifested from the burning. not a sign of terror. not a question for a single instant as to his own salvation now. he has been with christ, in the judge's own company, for a long time already, and perfectly established is his heart, in the love that said to him long ago, "this day thou shalt be with me in paradise." now as all his works burn, the fire within burns too, and he is well prepared to sing "unto him who loves us and washed us from our sins in his own blood." and yet stay:--here is something at the very last. it is his word, "dost thou not fear god, seeing thou art in the same condemnation, and we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." gold! gold at last! as we may say; and he too receives praise of god. yes, not one that shall have the solemn joy of standing before that tribunal but has, in some measure, that praise. for is it not written, "then" (at that very time) "shall every one have praise of god." "this honor have all his saints." where and when does this judgment of our works, then, take place? it must be subsequent to our rapture to the air of which we have spoken, and prior to our manifestation with christ as sons of god. for by all the ways of god, through all the ages, those scenes could never be carried out before an unbelieving hostile world. never has he exposed, never will he so expose his saints. all will be over when we come forth with him to live and reign a thousand years. "the bride has made herself ready," and the robes in which she comes forth--the white linen--are indeed the righteousnesses of the saints, but these have been "washed and made white in the blood of the lamb." but "_all_" must stand before him; and not even yet has that been fulfilled. cain and the long line of rejectors of mercy and light, ever broadening as time's sad ages have passed till their path has been called the "broad way," have not yet stood there. has death saved them from judgment? no, for we read of the "resurrection of judgment"--the judgment that comes necessarily after death, and includes the dead, and only the dead. "i saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away, and there was found no place for them. and i saw the dead, small and great, stand before god; and the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. and the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them, and they were judged every man according to their works, and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. this is the second death. and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." here, too, we see an exact, perfect, retributive, discriminating judgment. the book of life bears not the name of one here. there is that one broad distinction between the saved and the lost--the "life-line," as we may call it. how carefully are we told at the very last of this book of life, that we may most clearly understand, for our comfort, that the feeblest touch of faith of but the hem of his garment--perhaps not even _directly_ his person, but that which is seen surrounding his person, as the visible creation may be said to do--(psalms cii. , ) let any have touched him there, and _life_ results. his name is found in the book of life, and he shall not see the second death. apart from this--the second death: "the lake of fire!" and yet, whilst "darkness and wrath" are the common lot of the rejectors of "light and love," there is, necessarily, almost infinite difference in the degrees of that darkness and fierceness of that wrath, dependent exactly on the degree of rejection of light and love. as our lord tells us, "he that knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, shall be beaten with many stripes. but he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes shall be beaten with few stripes. for unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." all is absolutely _right_. nothing more now to be _made_ right the ages of eternity may roll in unbroken peace; with god--manifested in all the universe as light and love--all in all. and now, dear readers, the time has come to say farewell for a season to our writer and to each other. let this leave-taking not be with the groans of ecclesiastes' helplessness in our ears. we have stood by his side and tested with him the sad unsatisfying pleasures connected with the senses under the sun. we have turned from them, and tried the purer, higher pleasures of the intellect and reason, and groaned to find _them_ equally unsatisfying. we have looked through his wearied eyes at this scene, restless in its unending changes, and yet with nothing really new. we have felt a little, with his sensitive, sympathetic heart, for the oppressed and down-trodden "under the sun," and groaned in our helplessness to right their wrongs. we have groaned, too, at his and our inability to understand or solve the contradictory tangle of life that seemed to deny either the providence or the goodness of a clearly recognized creator. we have followed with him along many a hopeful path till it led us to a tomb, and then we have bowed head with him, and groaned in our agonizing inability to pierce further. we have seen, too, with him that there is not the slightest discrimination in that ending of man's race, and worse, even than groans to our ears, has been the wild, sad counsel of despair, "merrily drink thy wine." but quickly recovering from this, we have wondered with great admiration as our guide's clear reason led him, and us, still on and on to discern, a final harvest-judgment that follows all earth's sowings. but there, as we have stood beside him in spirit, before that awful judgment-seat to which he has led us, and turned to him for one word of light or comfort in view of our sin and wrong doings--the deepest need of all--we have been met with a silence too deeply agonizing, even for the groan of vanity. groans, groans, nothing but groans, at every turn! and then with what relief--oh, what relief, ever increasing as the needs increased--have we turned to the greater than the greatest of men "under the sun," and, placing the hand of faith in his, we have been led into other scenes, and have found every single need of our being fully, absolutely, satisfactorily met. our body if now the seat of sin and suffering, yet we have learned to sing in the joyful hope of its soon being "like him forever." our soul's affections have in him a satisfying object, whilst his love may fill the poor, empty, craving heart till it runs over with a song all unknown under the sun,--our spirit's deep questions, as they have come up, have all been met and answered in such sort that each answer strikes a chord that sounds with the melody of delight;--till at last death itself is despoiled of his terrors, and our song is still more sweet and clear in the tyrant's presence, for he is no longer a "king" over us, but our "servant." even the deepest, most awful terror of all to sinners such as we--the judgment-seat--has given us new cause for still more joyful singing; for we have in that pure clear light recognized in god--our creator-god, our redeemer-god--a love so full, so true,--working with a wisdom so infinite, so pure,--in perfect harmony with a righteousness so unbending, so inflexible,--with a holiness not to be flecked or tarnished by a breath,--all combining to put us at joyful ease in the very presence of judgment--to find there, as nowhere else possible, all that is in god in his infinity told out, ("love with us made perfect,") and that means that all the creatures' responsive love must find sweet relief in a song that it will take eternity itself to end. in our father's house we only "begin to be merry," and end nevermore, as we sound the depths of a wisdom that is fathomless, know a "love that passeth knowledge";--singing, singing, nothing but singing, and ever a new song! may god, in his grace, make this the joyful experience of reader and writer, for the lord jesus christ's sake! amen. [ ] this differs from the usual interpretation, which makes this verse a metaphor of the mouth and teeth. this has been rejected above, not only on account of the direct evidence of its faultiness, and the fanciful interpretation given to the "sound of grinding," but for the twofold reason that it would make the teeth to be alluded to _twice_, whilst all reference to the equally important sense of "hearing" would be omitted altogether. i have therefore followed dr. lewis's metrical version:-- "and closing are the doors that lead abroad, when the hum of the mill is sounding low, though it rise to the sparrow's note, and voices loudest in the song, do all to faintness sink." although, i might here add, i cannot follow this writer in his view that ecclesiastes is describing only the old age of the sensualist. rather is it man as man,--at his highest,--but with only what he can find "under the sun" to enlighten him. [ ] the word rendered above "age-long," in our authorized version "long,"--"man goeth to his _long_ home"--is one of those suggestive words with which the hebrew scriptures abound, and which are well worth pondering with interest. to transfer and not translate it into english we might call it "olamic," speaking of a cycle: having a limit, and yet a shadowy, undefined limit. the word therefore in itself beautifully and significantly expresses both the confidence, the faith of the speaker as well as his ignorance. man's existence after death is distinctly predicated. the mere grave is not that olamic home; for the spirit would, in that case, be quite lost sight of; nor, indeed, is the spirit alone there,--the _man_ goes there. it appears to correspond very closely to the greek word hades, "the unseen." man has gone to that sphere beyond human ken, but when the purposes of god are fulfilled, his abode there shall have an end: it is for an "age," but only an "age." all this seems to be wrapped up, as it were, in that one phrase--_beth-olam_, the age-long home. how blessed for us the light that has since been shed on all this. in one case (and indeed already more than in that one) that "age" has already come to an end, and the first fruits of that harvest with which our earth is sown has even now been gathered. we await merely the completion of that harvest: "christ the first fruits: afterwards they that are christ's, at his coming." the bible truth press, fourth avenue, new york. "above the sun." cease, ye saints, your occupation with the sorrow-scenes of earth; let the ear of faith be opened, use the sight of second birth. long your hearts have been acquainted with the tear-drop and the groan; these are _weeds_ of foreign growing, seek the _flowers_ that are your own. he who in the sandy desert looks for springs to quench his thirst finds his fountains are but slime-pits such as siddim's vale accursed; he who hopes to still the longing of the heart within his breast must not search within a scene where naught is at one moment's rest. lift your eyes _above_ the heavens to a sphere as pure as fair; there, no spot of earth's defilement, never fleck of sin-stain there. linger not to gaze on angels, principalities, nor powers; brighter visions yet shall greet you, higher dignities are ours. all night's golden constellations dimly shine as day draws on, and the moon must veil her beauties at the rising of the sun. let the grove be wrapt in silence as the nightingale outflings her unrivaled minstrelsy, th' eclipse of every bird that sings. michael, israel's prince, is glorious, clad in panoply of war; *"who is as the god of israel" is his challenge near and far; but a higher still than michael soon shall meet your raptured gaze, and ye shall forget his glories in _your_ captain's brighter rays. * "michael" means "who is as god." list a moment to the music of the mighty gabriel's voice, with its message strange and tender, making mary's heart rejoice. then on-speed, for sweeter music soon expectant faith shall greet: his who chained another mary willing captive at his feet. but, let mem'ry first glance backward to the scenes "beneath the sun," how the fairest earthly landscape echoed soon some dying groan. there the old-creation's story, shared between the dismal three: sin and suffering and sorrow summed that babel's history. now the contrast--vain ye listen for one jarring note to fall; for each dweller in that scene's in perfect harmony with all. joy has here expelled all sadness, perfect peace displaced all fears-- all around that central throne makes the true "music of the spheres." now upsoar ye on faith's pinion, leave all creature things behind, and approach yon throne of glory. love in light ye there shall find; for with thrill of joy behold one--woman-born--upon that throne, and, with deepest self-abasement, in _his_ beauties read your own. joyful scan the glories sparkling from his gracious head to feet;, never one that does not touch some tender chord of memory sweet; and e'en heaven's music lacks till blood-bought ones _their_ voices raise high o'er feebler angel choirs; for richer grace wakes nobler praise. vain the quest amongst the thronging of the heavenly angel band for one trace of human kinship, for one touch of human hand; 'mongst those spirits bright, ethereal, "man" would stand a man alone; higher must he seek for kinship--thought amazing--on god's throne! does it not attract your nature, is it not a rest to see one e'en there at glory's summit, yet with human form like thee? form assumed when love compelled him to take up your hopeless case, form he never will relinquish; ever shall it voice his grace. wondrous grace! thus making heaven but our father's house prepared; since, by one who tells god's love, in wounded human form 'tis shared. see, his head is crowned with glory! yet a glory not distinct from an hour of deepest suffering, and a crown of thorns succinct. draw still closer, with the rev'rence born of love and holy fear; look into those tender eyes which have been dimmed with human tear-- tears in which _ye_ see a glory hidden from th' angelic powers; ours alone the state that caused them, their beauty then alone is ours. look once more upon that head: finds memory no attraction there in the time when, homeless-wandering, night-dews filled that very hair? brightest glories sparkle round it--crowned with honor now; and yet, once it found its only pillow on storm-tossed gennesaret! see that hand! it once grasped peter's as he sank beneath the wave,-- snatched the widow's son at nain from the portal of the grave,-- touched with healing grace the leper, gave the light to him born dark. _deeper love to you is spoken in that nail-print--precious mark_! let your tender gaze now rest on those dear feet that erstwhile trod all the weary, painful journey leading him _from_ god _to_ god; took him in his gentle grace wherever need and suffering thronged, or one lonely soul was found who for the living water longed. those the very feet once bathèd with a pardoned sinner's tears, and anointed, too, with spikenard speaking mary's love and fears; took him weary on his journey under sychar's noontide heat, till the thirsty quenched his thirsting, and the hungry gave him meat. blessed feet! 'tis only _sinners_ see the depth of beauty there; _angels_ never have bowed o'er them with a penitential tear. angels may regard the nail-print, with a holy, reverent calm; ye who read the _love_ it tells of, _must_ break forth with thankful psalm. draw yet nearer, look more fondly; yea, e'en nestle and abide in that covert from the storm-blast, in the haven of his side. that deep wound speaks man's great hatred, but his love surpassing great: _there were focused, at one spear-point, all god's love and all man's hate_! rest, ye saints! your search is ended; ye have reached the source of peace. by the side of jesus risen, earth's dull cares and sorrows cease. here are elim's wells and palm-trees, grateful shade and waters cool, whilst in christ's deep love there's healing far beyond bethesda's pool. closer, closer, cluster round him, till the kindling of that love melt your hearts to like compassions whilst amid like scenes ye move. only thus abiding in him can ye fruitfulness expect, or, 'mid old-creation sorrows, new-creation love reflect. ever closer gather round him, till "the glory of that light" dims the old creation glitter, proves earth's glare to be but--night! gaze upon him till his beauties wing your feet as on ye run, faith soon bursting into sight, in god's clear day "above the sun." f. c. j. works by j. g. bellett. _the patriarchs._ being meditations upon enoch, noah, abraham, isaac, jacob, joseph, and job; with the canticles, and heaven and earth. pp. cloth, post-paid, $ . . _the evangelists._ a study of the four gospels, "tracing the varied glories of christ, and to notice their characteristics, so as to distinguish the purpose of the spirit of god in each of them." pp. cloth, post-paid, $ . . _the moral glory of the lord jesus._ a precious little volume for all those who, like mary, would sit at the saviour's feet. cloth, gilt, post-paid, cts. _the son of god._ a treatise dwelling on the eternal glories and godhead of the lord jesus christ;--the "son that dwelleth in the bosom of the father, he hath revealed him." paper, cts.; cloth, cts, post-paid. _short meditations_ on various subjects and portions of scripture. cloth, post-paid, $ . . _papers on the lord's coming._ contents.--introductory.--the fact itself.--the double bearing of the fact.--"the coming" and "the day"--the two resurrections.--the judgment.--the jewish remnant.--christendom.--the ten virgins.--the talents.--concluding remarks. by c. h. m. price, cts.; cloth, cts. _eight lectures on prophecy._ contents.--the importance of prophetic study.--the second coming of christ premillenial.--god's past dealings with the nation of israel.--the return of the jews.--the millenial reign of christ.--the distinct calling and glory of the church.--the predicted corruption of christianity, and its final results.--the character and doom of the great gentile powers.--the hope of the church, and her removal before the apocalyptic judgments. by w. t. paper, cts.; cloth, cts. _changed in a moment._ a dialogue on the lord's coming to gather up his saints to meet him in the air, as distinct from his coming to the earth in glory, and its present bearing upon the church of god in the world. by h. t. price, cts. _he cometh with clouds; or every eye shall see him._ sequel to "changed in a moment." price, cts. 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[_in the press_. abundant grace: select addresses on salvation, warfare, life, and hope. by w. p. mackay, m.a., author of _grace and truth_. with biographical sketch of author. "i am coming": a book of that blessed hope. by dr. james h. brookes, editor of _the truth_. truths for to-day: seventeen addresses on fundamental truths, by dr. neatby, dr. m'killiam, robert anderson, ll.d., alex. stewart, f. c. bland, g. f. trench, h. groves, &c. always abounding; or, recollections of the life and labours of the late george brealey, the evangelist of the blackdown hills. by w. j. h. brealey. introduction by h. groves, kendal. the books of the bible: their unity as one volume, their diversity of purpose, and the spiritual import of each. by dr. w. p. mackay, of hull, author of "grace and truth." old groans and new songs; or, meditations on the book of ecclesiastes. by f. c. jennings, new york. lays of life and hope: poems on the atonement, advocacy, and appearing of our lord jesus christ, in relation to salvation, pilgrimage, and the blessed hope. by wm. blane. the final crisis of the age: the apocalypse, or book of revelation, considered as such, by thomas ryan, dublin. now and for ever: addresses on truths relating to "yesterday, to-day, and for ever." by t. shuldham henry, m.a. glasgow: pickering & inglis, bothwell st. [illustration] *gold dust* a collection of golden counsels for the sanctification of daily life translated and abridged from the french by e. l. e. b. edited by charlotte m. yonge grosset & dunlap publishers new york _printed in the united states of america_ _to_ _e. b. h._ _this little book is most lovingly dedicated_ preface this little book is a translation from a collection of devotional thoughts published in france under the title of "paillettes d'or." it is necessarily a selection, since the gold dust which suits french readers requires a fresh sifting for the english; but the value of most of the thoughts seems to me well to deserve the term of gold. there are many who will much enjoy having this little collection on their table, so as to be able to take it up and dwell upon some one of its grains at leisure times throughout the day's business. c. m. yonge. feb. , . introduction in the south of france, during the summer, little children and old and infirm poor who are incapable of hard work, in order to earn a livelihood, employ themselves in searching the beds of dried up rivers for "paillettes d'or," or golden dust, which sparkles in the sun, and which the water carries away as it flows. what is done by these poor people and little children for the gold dust god has sown in those obscure rivers, we would do with those counsels and teachings which god has sown almost everywhere, which sparkle, enlighten, and inspire for a moment, then disappear, leaving but regret that the thought did not occur to collect and treasure them. who is there that has not experienced at some time in his life those teachings so soft and gentle, yet so forcible, which make the heart thrill, and reveal to it suddenly a world of peace, joy, and devotion? it may have been but a word read in a book, or a sentence overheard in conversation, which may have had for us a two-fold meaning, and, in passing, left us touched with an unknown power. it was the smile on the lips of a beloved one whom we knew to be sorrowful, that spoke to us of the sweet joy of resignation. it was the open look of an innocent child that revealed to us all the beauty of frankness and simplicity. oh! if we had but treasured all the rays of light that cross our path and sparkle but for a moment; oh! if we had but engraved them on our hearts! what a guide and comfort they would have been to us in the days of discouragement and sorrow; what counsels to guide our actions, what consolations to soothe the broken heart! how many new means of doing good! it is this simple work of gathering a little from every source--from nature, from books, above all, from mankind itself--that is the intention of one of your fellow-creatures, dear souls, you who long so to make your lives more holy and devout! and in the same way as the gold dust, gathered and accumulated from the river's bed, was the means of bringing a little profit to the hearth, so would we endeavor to carry a little joy to your hearts, and peace to your souls. gather, then, these little counsels; gather them with watchfulness; let them for a moment penetrate deep into your heart; then scatter them abroad again, that they may go with their good words to the help of others. they will not be importunate, will not even ask to be preserved; they do not desire fame; all that they seek is to convey a transient blessing. gold dust i. "my lord!" exclaimed once a devout soul, "give me every day a little work to occupy my mind; a little suffering to sanctify my spirit; a little good to do to comfort my heart." ii. if by our deeds we become saints, true it is, that by our deeds also we shall be condemned. yes, it is little by little that we press onward, either towards salvation or eternal ruin; and when at last we reach the gate of glory, or that of perdition, the cry escapes our lips, "already!" the first backward step is almost imperceptible; it was those tiny flakes of snow, seeming to melt as they touch the earth, but falling one upon another, that have formed that immense mass which seems ready to fall and crush us. ah! if i tried to trace back to what first led to that act of sin, the thought that produced the desire, the circumstance that gave rise to the thought, i should find something almost imperceptible; perhaps a word with a _double entendre_ i had heard, and at which i had smiled; a useless explanation, sought out of mere curiosity; a hasty look, cast i knew not wherefore, and which conscience prompted me to check; a prayer neglected, because it wearied me; work left undone, while i indulged in some day-dream that flitted before my fancy.... a week later the same things occur, but this time more prolonged; the stifled voice of conscience is hushed. yet another week.... alas! let us stop there; each can complete the sad story for himself, and it is easy to draw the practical conclusion. iii. a young girl, in one of those moments when the heart seems to overflow with devotion, wrote thus in her journal: "if i dared, i would ask god why i am placed in the world; what have i to do? i know not; my days are idly spent, and i do not even regret them.... if i might but do some good to myself or another, if only for the short space of a minute in each day!" a few days later, when in a calmer mood she re-read these lines, she added, "why, nothing is easier! i have but to give a cup of cold water to one of christ's little ones." even _less_ than that: a word of advice; something lent to another; a little vexation patiently borne; a prayer for a friend offered to god; the fault or thoughtlessness of another repaired without his knowledge--god will recompense it all a thousand-fold! iv. alms given in secret; that is the charity which brings a blessing. what sweet enjoyment to be able to shed a little happiness around us! what an easy and agreeable task is that of trying to render others happy. father! if i try to please and imitate thee thus, wilt thou indeed bless me? thanks! thanks! be unto thee. v. is it fair always to forget all the good or kindness shown to us by those with whom we live, for the sake of _one_ little pain they may have caused us, and which, most likely, was quite unintentional on their part? vi. when you sometimes find in books advice or example that you think may be of service, you take care to copy and consult it as an oracle. do as much for the good of your soul. engrave in your memory, and even write down, the counsels and precepts that you hear or read; ... then, from time to time, study this little collection, which you will not prize the less that you have made it all yourself. books written by others in time become wearisome to us, but of those we write ourselves we never tire. and it _will_ be yours, this collection of thoughts chosen because you liked them; counsels you have given yourself; moral receipts you have discovered, and of which, perhaps, you have proved the efficacy. happy soul! that each day reaps its harvest. vii. do you wish to live at peace with all the world? then practise the maxims of an influential man, who, when asked, after the revolution, how he managed to escape the executioner's axe, replied, "i made myself of no reputation and kept silence." would you live peaceably with the members of your family, above all with those who exercise a certain control of you? use the means employed by a pious woman, who had to live with one of a trying temper, and which she summed up in the following words:-- "i do everything to please her. "i fulfil all my duties with a smiling face, never revealing the trouble it causes me. "i bear patiently everything that displeases me. "i consult her on many subjects of which, perhaps, i may be the better judge." would you be at peace with your conscience? let your guardian angel find you at each moment of the day doing one of these four things which once formed the rule of a saintly life: ( .) praying; ( .) laboring; ( .) striving after holiness; ( .) practising patience. would you become holy? try to add to the above actions the following virtues: method, faith, spiritual combat, perseverance. finally, if you would live in an atmosphere of benevolence, make it your study to be always rendering others service, and never hesitate to ask the same of them. in offering help, you make a step towards gaining a friend; in asking it, you please by this mark of your confidence. the result of this will be a constant habit of mutual forbearance, and a fear to be disobliging in matters of greater importance. viii. when teaching or working with others, never laugh or make fun of their awkwardness. if it is caused by stupidity, your laughter is uncharitable; if from ignorance, your mockery is, to say the least, unjust. teach the unskilful with gentleness; show him the right way to work; and god, who sees all your efforts, will smile on your patience, and send you help in all your difficulties. ix. when the heart is heavy, and we suffer from depression or disappointment, how thankful we should be that we still have work and prayer left to comfort us. occupation forcibly diverts the mind; prayer sweetly soothes the soul. "then," writes one who had been sorely tried, "i tell my griefs to god, as a child tells its troubles to its mother; and when i have told all i am comforted, and repeat with a lightened heart the prayer of s. françoise de chantal (who certainly suffered more than i), 'thy will be done for ever and ever, o lord, without _if_ or _but_;' ... and then, for fear a murmur may arise in my heart, i return immediately to my work, and become absorbed in occupation." x. he who is never satisfied with anything, satisfies no one. xi. are there many who try to be of some little help or comfort to the souls with whom they are brought in contact through life? poor souls, that, perhaps, have no longer strength or will to manifest the longing they experience, and who languish for want of help, without being aware that they are perishing. oh, mingle sometimes with your earthly help the blessed name of god; and if there remain one little spark of life in the soul, that name will rekindle it, and carry comfort and resignation; even as air breathed into the mouth of any one apparently dead, rushes into the lungs, and revives the sufferer, if but one breath of life remains. _souls! souls! i yearn for souls!_--this is the cry of the saviour; and for their sakes he died upon the cross, and remains until eternity their intercessor. _souls! souls! i must win souls!_--it is the cry of satan; and to obtain them he scatters gold to tempt them, multiplies their pleasures and vanities, and gives the praise that only infatuates. _souls! souls! we long for souls!_--let this be our aim, readers and writers of these our "paillettes;" and for the sake of even _one_ soul, let not fatigue, expense, or the criticism of the world, deter us.... xii. how few there are who would thus dare to address god each night: "lord, deal with me to-morrow as i have this day dealt with others; ... those to whom i was harsh, and from malice, or to show my own superiority, exposed their failings; others, to whom, from pride or dislike, i refused to speak,--one i have avoided, another i cannot like because she displeases me; i will not forgive,--to whom i will not show any kindness."... and yet let us never forget that, sooner or later, god will do unto us even as we have done unto them. xiii. "grant me, o lord," said a humble soul, "that i may pass unnoticed through the world." this should be the wish, or rather the aim, of all true devotion. small virtues require the praise of man to sustain them, just as little children require encouragement to walk or stand alone. but true virtue goes quietly through the world, scattering good around, and performing noble deeds, without even the knowledge that what it does is heroic. xiv. s. chantal one day was excusing herself to s. françois de sales for having spoken hastily to some one, on the plea that it was in the cause of justice. the saint replied, "you have been more just than righteous; but we should be more righteous than just." xv. a devout woman once wrote thus: "in my own family i try to be as little in the way as possible, satisfied with everything, and never to believe for a moment that any one means unkindly towards me. "if people are friendly and kind to me, i enjoy it; if they neglect me, or leave me, i am always happy alone. it all tends to my one aim, forgetfulness of self in order to please god." xvi. learning is not without its effect upon the soul; it either lends it wings to bear it up to god, or leaves behind it tiny sparks, which little by little consume the whole being. if you would ascertain all the good or ill you have derived from all those hours devoted to historians, poets, novelists, or philosophers, put to yourself these questions: since acquiring this knowledge, am i wiser? am i better? am i happier? wiser?--that is to say, more self-controlled, less the slave of my passions, less irritated by small vexations, braver in bearing misfortunes, more careful to live for eternity? better?--more forbearing towards others, more forgiving, less uncharitable, more reticent in opposing the faults of others, more solicitous for the happiness of those around me? happier?--that would mean more contented with my station in life, striving to derive all possible benefits from it, to beautify rather than to alter it? have i more faith in god, and more calmness and resignation in all the events of life? if you cannot reply in the affirmative, then examine your heart thoroughly, and you will find there, stifling the good that god has implanted, these three tyrants that have obtained dominion over, you: ( .) pride; ( .) ambition; ( .) self-conceit. from them have sprung: dissatisfaction and contempt of your life and its surroundings, restlessness, a longing for power and dominion over others, malice, habitual discontent, and incessant murmurings. have you any further doubts? then inquire of those with whom you live. ah! if this be indeed the sad result, then, whatever may be your age, close, oh! close those books, and seek once more those two elements of happiness you ought never to have forsaken, and which, had you made them the companions of your study, would have kept you pure and good. i refer to prayer and manual labor. xvii. listen to the story of a simple shepherd, given in his own words: "i forget now who it was that once said to me, 'jean baptiste, you are very poor?'--true.--'if you fell ill, your wife and children would be destitute?'--true. and then i felt anxious and uneasy for the rest of the day." "at evensong wiser thoughts came to me, and i said to myself: jean baptiste, for more than thirty years you have lived in the world, you have never possessed anything, yet still you live on, and have been provided each day with nourishment, each night with repose. of trouble god has never sent you more than your share. of help the means have never failed you. to whom do you owe all this? to god. jean baptiste, be no longer ungrateful, and banish those anxious thoughts; for what could ever induce you to think that the hand from which you have already received so much, would close against you when you grow old, and have greater need of help? i finished my prayer, and felt at peace." xviii. the work of the sower is given to each of us in this world, and we fall short of our duty when we let those with whom we are brought in contact leave us without having given them a kind thought or pious impression. nothing is so sad as the cry, "i am useless!" happily none need ever _be_ so. a kind word, a gentle act, a modest demeanor, a loving smile, are as so many seeds that we can scatter every moment of our lives, and which will always spring up and bear fruit. happy are those who have many around them ... they are rich in opportunities, and may sow plenteously. xix. few positions in life are so full of importunities as that of the mother of a family, or mistress of a house. she may have a dozen interruptions while writing _one_ letter, or settling an account. what holiness, what self-control, is needed to be always calm and unruffled amid these little vexations, and never to manifest the slightest impatience! leaving the work without apparent annoyance, replying with a smile upon the lips, awaiting patiently the end of a long conversation, and finally returning calmly to the yet unfinished work--all this is the sign of a recollected soul, and one that waits upon god. oh! what blessings are shed around them by such patient souls ... but, alas! how rarely they are to be met with! xx. there are times in one's life when all the world seems to turn against us. our motives are misunderstood, our words misconstrued, a malicious smile or an unkind word reveals to us the unfriendly feelings of others. our advances are repulsed, or met with icy coldness; a dry refusal arrests on our lips the offer of help.... oh, how hard it all seems, and the more so that we cannot divine the cause! courage, patience, poor disconsolate one! god is making a furrow in your heart, where he will surely sow his grace. it is rare when injustice, or slights patiently borne, do not leave the heart at the close of the day filled with marvellous joy and peace. it is the seed god has sown, springing up and bearing fruit. xxi. that which costs little is of little worth. this thought should make us tremble. in our self-examination we may experience at times a certain satisfaction in noticing the little virtues we may possess, above all, those that render us pleasing in the eyes of others. for instance, we may like to pray at a certain place, with certain sentiments, and we think ourselves devout; we are gentle, polite, and smiling towards one person in particular; patient with those we fear, or in whose good opinion we would stand; we are devoted, charitable, generous, because the heart experiences an unspeakable pleasure in spending and being spent for others; we suffer willingly at the hands of some one we love, and then say we are patient; we are silent, because we have no inclination to speak; shunning society because we fail to shine there, and then fancy that we love retirement. take these virtues that give you such self-satisfaction, one by one, and ask yourself at what sacrifice, labor, or cost, above all, with what care you have managed to acquire them.... alas! you will find that all that patience, affability, generosity, and piety are but as naught, springing from a heart puffed up with pride. it costs nothing, and it is worthless. as self-sacrifice, says de maistre, is the basis and essence of virtue, so those virtues are the most meritorious that have cost the greatest effort to attain. do not look with so much pride on this collection of virtues, but rather bring yourself to account for your faults. take just one, the first that comes, impatience, sloth, gossip, uncharitableness, sulkiness, whatever it may be, and attack it bravely. it will take at least a month, calculating upon three victories every day, not indeed to eradicate it,--a fault is not so short-lived,--but to prevent its attaining dominion over you. that one subdued, then take another. it is the work of a lifetime; and truly to our faults may we apply the saying, "_quand il n'y en a plus, il y en a encore._" "happy should i think myself," said s. francis de sales, "if i could rid myself of my imperfections but _one_-quarter of an hour previous to my death." xxii. before holy communion jesus my child, it is not wisdom _i_ require of thee, it sufficeth if thou lovest me well. speak to me as thou wouldst talk to thy mother if she were here, pressing thee to her heart. * * * * * _hast thou none for whom thou wouldst intercede?_ tell me the names of thy kindred and thy friends; and at the mention of each name add what thou wouldst have me do for them. ask much fervently; the generous hearts that forget themselves for others are very dear unto me. tell me of the poor thou wouldst succor, the sick thou hast seen suffering, the sinful thou wouldst reclaim, the estranged thou wouldst receive to thy heart again. pray fervently for all mankind. remind me of my promise to hear all prayers that proceed from the heart; and the prayer offered for one who loves us, and is dear to us, is sure to be heartfelt and fervent. * * * * * _hast thou no favors to ask of me?_ give me, if thou wilt, a list of all thy desires, all the wants of thy soul. tell me, simply, of all thy pride, sensuality, self-love, sloth; and ask for my help in thy struggles to overcome them. poor child! be not abashed; many that had the same faults to contend against are now saints in heaven. they cried to me for help, and by degrees they conquered. do not hesitate to ask for temporal blessings,--health, intellect, success. i can bestow them, and never fail to do so, where they tend to make the soul more holy. what wouldst thou this day, my child?... if thou didst but know how i long to bless thee!... * * * * * _hast thou no interests which occupy thy mind?_ tell me of them all.... of thy vocation. what dost thou think? what dost thou desire? wouldst thou give pleasure to thy mother, thy family, those in authority over thee? what wouldst thou do for them? and for me hast thou no ardor? dost thou not desire to do some good to the souls of those thou lovest, but who are forgetful of me? tell me of one in whom thou hast interest; the motive that actuates; the means thou wouldst employ. lay before me thy failures, and _i_ will teach thee the cause. whom wouldst thou have to help thee? the hearts of all are in my keeping, and _i_ lead them gently wheresoever _i_ will. rest assured, all who are needful to thee, _i_ will place around thee. _oh! my child, tell me of all thy weariness_: who has grieved thee? treated thee with contempt? wounded thy self-love? tell me all, and thou wilt end by saying, all is forgiven, all forgotten ... and _i_, surely _i_ will bless thee!... _art thou fearful of the future?_ is there in thy heart that vague dread that thou canst not define, but which nevertheless torments thee? trust in my providence.... _i_ am present with thee, _i_ know all, and _i_ will never leave thee nor forsake thee. are there around thee those seemingly less devout than formerly, whose coldness or indifference have estranged thee from them without real cause?... pray for them. _i_ can draw them back to thee if they are necessary to the sanctification of thy soul. _what are the joys of which thou hast to tell me?_ let me share thy pleasures; tell me of all that has occurred since yesterday to comfort thee, please thee, to give thee joy! that fear suddenly dispelled, that unexpected success, that token of affection, the trial that proved thee stronger than thou thoughtest.... my child, _i_ sent it all; why not show some gratitude, and simply thank thy lord? gratitude draws down a blessing, and the great benefactor likes his children to remind him of his goodness. _hast thou no promises to make to me?_ i can read thy heart; thou knowest it; thou mayst deceive man, but thou canst never deceive god. be sincere. _art thou resolved to avoid all occasions of sin?_ to renounce that which tempts thee; never again to open the book that excites thine imagination? not to bestow thine affection on one who is not devout, and whose presence steals the peace from thy soul? wilt thou go now and be loving and forbearing towards one who has vexed thee?... good, my child!... go, then, return to thy daily toil; be silent, humble, resigned, charitable; then return to me with a heart yet more loving and devoted, and _i_ shall have for thee fresh blessings. xxiii. "there will soon be none left," said s. francis de sales, "who will love poor sinners but god and myself." oh! why do we fail in love towards those poor sinful ones! are they not very much to be pitied? when they are prosperous, pray for them; but when misfortune comes (and trouble weighs heavily upon the wicked), death depriving them of the only beings they did not hate, afflicting them with a loathsome disease, delivering them up to scorn and misery--oh! then, when all this comes upon them, love them freely. it is by affection alone that we can reach the worst characters, and the souls that are steeped in sin. how many have died impenitent, who, if only some one had cared for them and shown them love, might have become at last saints in heaven! oh! the sins that are committed, oh! the souls we suffer to wander from god, and all because we are so wanting in love towards them. xxiv. let us always be on our guard against _prejudice_. some women have a way (of which they themselves are unconscious) of turning the cold shoulder to some one member of their family. for what reason? they cannot say, simply because the cause is never very clearly defined and in this lies all the mischief. perhaps an air of indifference they may have fancied, and which arose merely from fatigue, or trouble that could not be confided to them. a word misinterpreted, because heard at a time when they felt discontented, and their morbid imagination made everything appear in a false light. some scandal to which they ought never to have listened, or, at least, should have endeavored to fathom, going direct to the person concerned and seeking an explanation. and behold the result: they in their turn become cold, reserved, and suspicious, misinterpreting the slightest gesture ... in a few days arises a coldness, from the feeling they are no longer beloved; then follow contempt and mistrust, finally, a hatred that gnaws and rends the very heart. it all springs up imperceptibly, till at last the family life is one of bitterness and misery. they console, or better still, excuse themselves, with the thought of their suffering, never considering how much pain they give to others, nor where the fault lies. xxv. let it rest! ah! how many hearts on the brink of anxiety and disquietude by this simple sentence have been made calm and happy! some proceeding has wounded us by its want of tact; _let it rest_; no one will think of it again. a harsh or unjust sentence irritates us; _let it rest_; whoever may have given vent to it will be pleased to see it is forgotten. a painful scandal is about to estrange us from an old friend; _let it rest_, and thus preserve our charity and peace of mind. a suspicious look is on the point of cooling our affection; _let it rest_, and our look of trust will restore confidence.... fancy! we who are so careful to remove the briers from our pathway for fear they should wound, yet take pleasure in collecting and piercing our hearts with the thorns that meet us in our daily intercourse with one another. how childish and unreasonable we are! xxvi. of all the means placed by providence within our reach, whereby we may lead souls to him, there is one more blessed than all others,--intercessory prayer. * * * * * how often, in the presence of one deeply loved, but, alas! estranged from god, the heart of mother or wife has felt a sudden impulse to say an earnest word, propose an act of devotion, to paint in glowing colors the blessings of faith and the happiness of virtue ... and she has stopped, deterred by an irresistible fear of how the words may be received; and she says to herself, poor woman, "to-morrow i shall be braver." * * * * * poor mother! poor wife! go and tell to your heavenly father all you would, but _dare_ not, say to the loved one who gives you so much pain. lay that sin-sick soul before the lord, as long ago they laid the paralytic man who could not, or perhaps _would_ not, be led to him. plead for him with the long-suffering saviour, as you would plead with an earthly master, upon whom depended all his future welfare, and say to him simply, "lord, have patience with him yet a little longer." tell god of all your anxiety, your discouragements, the means employed for success. ask him to teach you what to say and how to act. one sentence learned of god in prayer will do more for the conversion of a soul than all our poor human endeavors. _that_ sentence will escape our lips involuntarily. we may not remember that we have said it, but it will sink deep into the heart, making a lasting impression, and silently fulfilling its mission. * * * * * you are, perhaps, surprised, after many years, to see such poor results. ah! how little can you judge!... do you know what you have gained? in the first place, time--often a physical impossibility to sin, which you may attribute to chance, but which was, in reality, the work of providence; and is it nothing, one sin the less, in the life of an immortal soul?... then a vague uneasiness which will soon allow of no rest, a confidence which may enable you to sympathize, more liberty left you for the exercise of religious acts; you no longer see the contemptuous smile at your acts of devotion. is all this _nothing_? ah! if, while on your knees praying for the one you would have reconciled to god, you could but see what is passing in his soul,--the wrestlings, the remorse he strives vainly to stifle; if you could see the work of the holy spirit in the heart, gently but firmly triumphing over the will, how earnestly, how incessantly, would you continue to pray! only have patience to wait--perseverance not to grow weary. it is the want of patience that often makes us exacting towards those we desire to help. more haste, less speed, is an old saying; the more we are exacting, the less likely are we to succeed. men like to act freely, and to have the credit of their actions. it is because we have not learned to persevere that the work seems never to progress. courage, then! the ground may seem too dry for cultivation, but each prayer will be as a drop of water; the marble may be very hard, but each prayer is like the hammer's stroke that wears away its roughness. xxvii. the sweet peace of god bears the outward token of resignation. when the holy spirit dwells within us everything seems bright. everything may not be exactly as we would wish it, but we accept all with a good grace.... for instance, some change in our household or mode of living upsets us. if god is with us, he will whisper, "yield cheerfully thy will; in a little while all will be forgotten." some command or employment wounds our pride; if god is with us, he will say to us, "be submissive, and _i_ will come to thine aid." we may dislike a certain neighborhood; the society there may be repulsive to us, and we are about to become morbid: god will tell us to continue gracious and smiling, for he will recompense the little annoyances we may experience. if you would discern in whom god's spirit dwells, watch that person, and notice whether you ever hear him murmur. xxviii. i want to be holy heavenly father, aid thy child, who longs to become holy! but then, i must be patient under humiliation, let myself be forgotten, and be even pleased at feeling myself set aside. _never mind! i am resolved; i wish to be holy!_ but i must never excuse myself, never be impatient, never out of temper. _never mind! i am resolved; i wish to be holy!_ then i must continually be doing violence to my feelings,--submitting my will always to that of my superiors, never contentious, never sulky, finishing every work begun, in spite of dislike or ennui. _never mind! i am resolved; i wish to be holy!_ but then, i must be always charitable towards all around me; loving them, helping them to the utmost of my power, although it may cause me trouble. _never mind! i am resolved; i wish to be holy!_ but i must constantly strive against the cowardice, sloth, and pride of my nature, renouncing the world, the vanity that pleases, the sensuality that rejoices me, the antipathy that makes me avoid those i do not like. _never mind! i am resolved; i still wish to be holy!_ then, i shall have to experience long hours of weariness, sadness, and discontent. i shall often feel lonely and discouraged. _never mind! i am resolved; i wish to be holy!_ for then i shall have thee always with me, ever near me. lord, help me, for i want to be holy! * * * * * how to become holy oh! it is quite easy, if i fulfil every duty to the best of my ability; and many who had no more to do than i have become saints. one day is the same as another. prayer, worldly business, calls to be devout, charitable, and faithful,--these are the duties that each hour brings in its turn; and if i am faithful in their fulfilment, god will be always ready to help me, and then what signifies a little ennui, pain, or misfortune? * * * * * the sanctification of daily duties i will perform them as in god's sight, conscious that he is present, and smiling on my efforts. i will perform each as if i had but one to accomplish, striving to render it as perfect as possible. i will fulfil each duty as if upon that one alone depended my salvation. * * * * * motives for sanctifying my actions god expects me to honor him by that action. god has attached a special blessing to that action, and awaits its fulfilment to bestow it. god notes each action; and of them all hereafter i must give an account. god will see that i love him, if i strive to fulfil every duty, in spite of weariness and trouble. i honor god by this action; and i, poor, weak, sinful child, am allowed to glorify him, in place of those who blaspheme and rebel against the divine will. xxix. they say there is nothing which communicates itself so quickly amongst the members of a family as an expression of coldness or discontent on the face of one of its members. it is like the frost that chills us. this is not altogether true; there is something which is communicated with equal rapidity and greater force--i mean the smiling face, the beaming countenance, the happy heart. xxx. little worries there is not a day in our lives that we are not distressed by some one of those numberless little worries that meet us at every step, and which are inevitable. the wound made may not be deep; but the constant pricks, each day renewed, imbitter the character, destroy peace, create anxiety, and make the family life, that otherwise would be so sweet and peaceful, almost unendurable. life is full of these little miseries. each hour brings with it its own trouble. here are some of the little worries: an impatient word escapes our lips in the presence of some one in whose estimation we would stand well. a servant does his work badly, fidgets us by his slowness, irritates us by his thoughtlessness, and his awkward blunders make us blush. a giddy child in its clumsiness breaks something of value, or that we treasure on account of its associations; we are charged with a message of importance, and our forgetfulness makes us appear uncourteous, perhaps ungrateful; some one we live with is constantly finding fault, nothing pleases them. if, when night comes, we find we have not experienced these little worries, then we ought to be grateful to god. each of these, and many more, are liable to befall us every day of our life. * * * * * how to bear little worries in the first place, expect them. make them the subject of our morning prayers, and say to ourselves, here is my daily cross, do i accept willingly? surely! for it is god who sends it. after all ... these little troubles, looked at calmly, what are they? ah, if there were never any worse! secondly, we must be prepared for them. you know, if you wish to break the force of a blow falling on you, you naturally bend the body; so let us act with regard to our souls. accustom yourself, wrote a pious author, to stoop with sweet condescension, not only to exigencies (that is your duty), but to the simple wishes of those who surround you--the accidents which may intervene; you will find yourself seldom, if ever, crushed. to _bend_ is better than to _bear_; to bear is often a little hard; to bend implies a certain external sweetness that yields all constraint, sacrificing the wishes, even in holy things, when they tend to cause disagreements in the family circle. submission often implies an entire resignation to all that god permits. the soul that endures feels the weight of its trouble. the soul that yields scarcely perceives it. blessed are those docile ones; they are those whom god selects to work for him. xxxi. to obtain peace approach the blessed sacrament, o restless soul, in search of peace, and, humbly kneeling there, pour forth bravely, slowly, and with earnest desire, the following prayer:-- o jesus, gentle and humble of heart, hear me! from the desire of being esteemed, from the desire of being loved, from the desire to be sought, deliver me, jesus. from the desire to be mourned, from the desire of praise, from the desire of preference, from the desire of influence, from the desire of approval, from the desire of authority, from the fear of humiliation, from the fear of being despised, from the fear of repulse, from the fear of calumny, from the fear of oblivion, from the fear of ridicule, from the fear of injury, from the fear of suspicion, deliver me, jesus. that others may be loved more than myself. jesus grant this desire. that others may be more highly esteemed. that others may grow and increase in honor, and i decrease. jesus, grant me to desire it. that others may be employed, and i set aside. jesus, grant me to desire this. that others may attract the praise, and myself be forgotten. that others may be preferred in all. grant me the utmost holiness of which i am capable, then let others be holier than myself. jesus, grant me to desire it! oh, if god hearkens,--and hearken he surely will, if your prayer has been sincere,--what joy in your heart, what peace on your countenance, what sweetness will pervade your whole life! more than half one's troubles arise from an exaggerated idea of one's own importance, and the efforts we make to increase our position in the world. lacordaire says, that the sweetest thing on earth is to be forgotten by all, with the exception of those who love us. all else brings more trouble than joy; and as soon as we have completed our task here, and fulfilled our mission, the best thing for us to do is to disappear altogether. * * * * * let us each cultivate carefully and joyously the portion of soil providence has committed to our care. let us never be hindered or distracted by ambitious thoughts, that we could do better, or a false zeal tempting us to forsake our daily task with the vain desire to surpass our neighbors.... let this one thought occupy our minds. to do _well_ what is given us to do, for this is all that god requires at our hands. it may be summed up in four words,--simply, zealously, cheerfully, completely. * * * * * then if we _are_ slighted, misunderstood, maligned, or persecuted, what does it matter? these injuries will pass away; but the peace and love of god will remain with us forever, the reward of our faith and patience. the love of god! who can describe all the joy, strength, and consolation it reveals? never has human love, in its brightest dreams, been able to form any idea of all the sweetness the love of god imparts to the soul, and which is brought still nearer to us in the blessed sacrament. i can well understand the words of a loving soul: "with heaven so near, and daily communion with our god, how can we ever repine!" xxxii. after holy communion our father which art in heaven o jesus! it is thou who biddest me say, father! _my father!_ oh how that name rejoices my heart! _my father!_ i can no longer feel alone; and whatever may happen to me this day, i feel i am protected, comforted, beloved. jesus! let me dwell on the sweetness of those words: _my father!_ i need not lift my eyes to heaven, thou art within me, and where thou dwellest heaven must be. yes! heaven is within me! heaven with all its peace and love; and if i keep free from guile this day, my day will be one of heavenly joy, and in addition, the privilege of suffering for thee. hallowed be thy name to hallow thy name, o lord, is to pronounce it with reverence and awe. to-day i will pray more fervently, try to realize thy presence, thy goodness, thy love; and my heart shall be a sanctuary into which nothing shall penetrate that could be displeasing unto thee. to _hallow thy name_ is to call upon it fervently, to have it constantly upon my lips; above all, before taking an important step, when there are difficulties to be overcome, i will softly whisper the invocation, which is the secret of all holy living! "jesus, meek and humble of heart, have pity upon me." thy kingdom come o jesus, thy kingdom is within my heart, reign there in all thy sovereignty and power, reign there absolutely! my king! what dost thou require of me to-day? thy commandments, my rule of life, my daily duties,--these are thy commands that i will promise to obey; more than that, i will regard all in authority over me as thine ambassadors, speaking to me in thy name. what matters the tone or the harshness of the order? what does it signify if some unexpected command upsets all my previous plans? it is thy voice i hear, thou lord, whom i will obey always, and in all things. thy kingdom is also in the hearts of others; and there would i see thee reigning. then to whom can i speak of thee this day? what counsels can i give? what moments may i seize, in which, without wounding the feelings, or parading my zeal, i may be allowed to speak a few words of piety? lord, let me have the opportunity to help another to love thee! thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven yes, yes! thy will be done! thy sweet all-perfect will! what wilt thou send me to-day? humiliation? provocation? sufferings? a fresh rending of the heart? a disappointment? shall i see myself misjudged, falsely suspected, despised? i accept beforehand all that thou sendest me; and if through weakness i weep, suffer it to be so; if i murmur, check me; if i am vexed, correct me; if hopeless, encourage me. yes, yes! let thy sweet and holy will be done! even, o lord, if to glorify thee, i must be humiliated, suffering, useless, and forsaken, still, lord, stay not thine hand, i am wholly thine. give us this day our daily bread how blessed, o lord, to depend only upon thee ... behold me, thy child, waiting with outstretched hand to receive thy benefits. grant me my temporal blessings,--clothing, nourishment, shelter ... but not too much of anything; and let me have the happiness of sharing my blessings with those poorer than myself to-day. grant me the blessing of intelligence, that i may read, or hear one of those golden counsels that elevate the soul, and lend wings to the thoughts. grant me the loving heart, o my father! that i may feel for a moment how i love thee, and thy love towards me; let me sacrifice myself for the welfare of another. give me the bread of life, the holy eucharist! i have just received it, lord! grant me again ere long that great blessing. and then, give all these blessings to those i love, and who love me! forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us when i pronounce the word of pardon, what a weight seems lifted from my heart. i will not only banish every feeling of hatred, i will efface every painful remembrance. o god, if thou forgivest me, as i forgive others, what mercy for me! thou seest i bear no malice, that i forget all injuries.... i have been offended by _words_; i forget them; by actions, i forget them; by omissions, thoughts, desires; they are all forgotten. ah! in all these ways i have offended thee, and thou wilt forget, even as i have forgotten. i will be very merciful, so that thou mayst have mercy upon me. lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil now, as i leave thine altar, i go to encounter temptation. o saviour! help me, keep me, and warn me of my danger! let me shun all occasions of evil, and if by weakness or allurements i am led into paths of sin, if i fall, oh! rescue me speedily, that i may fall upon my knees, confessing my sin, and imploring pardon. sin! this is the evil from which i beseech thee to deliver me; other troubles that may happen, i accept; they are sent to try me and to purify, and come from thee; but sin, i have no pleasure in it! oh! when in the hour of temptation i fall away, lord, hearken to the cry that i now raise to thee in all sincerity; i _will_ it not! it is not wilful! i go from thy presence, but, jesus, thou art with me! in work, in prayer, in suffering, let all be done in thee! xxxiii. "mother," asked a child, "since nothing is ever lost, where do all our thoughts go?" "to god," answered the mother gravely, "who remembers them forever." "forever!" said the child. he bent his head, and, drawing closer to his mother, murmured, "i am frightened!" which of us have not felt the same? xxxiv. one more solemn thought: how old are you? nineteen. have you reckoned the number of minutes that have elapsed since your birth? the number is startling: nine millions, three hundred and thirty-three thousand, two hundred.... each of those minutes has flown to god; god has examined them and weighed them, and for them you must give account. each minute bears its own impress (as a coin bears the impress of the sovereign), and only those marked with the image of god will avail you for eternity. is not this thought one to make you tremble? "i never could understand," writes guérin, "the feeling of security some have that their works must find favor with god--as if our duties were confined to the narrow limits of this little world. to be a good son, statesman, or brother, is not all that is required of us; god demands far more than this from those for whom he has destined a crown of glory hereafter." xxxv. one great characteristic of holiness is never to be exacting, never to complain. each complaint drags us down a degree in our upward course. by complaining, i do not mean the simple imparting of our troubles to others. complaint savors always of a little bad temper, and a slightly vindictive spirit. * * * * * the saints were never exacting. contented with their lot, they never desired anything that was withheld from them. "i have asked," said a holy soul, "for something i thought needful; they have forgotten to answer me, or perhaps would not bestow it. why need i be disquieted? if it were really necessary, god would quickly provide means to obtain it." how few could enter into this feeling; and yet it is but the echo of christ's own words, "your father in heaven knoweth that ye have need of all these things." xxxvi. joy in life is like oil in a lamp. when the oil gets low the wick is consumed, emitting a black vapor, and sending forth only a lurid glow, which does not give light. a life without joy passes away unprofitably, shedding around it only gloom and sorrow. if every morning in a simple prayer,--in those fifteen minutes' meditation (which only seem hard when we do not practise it),--we opened our hearts to god, as we open our windows to the sun and air, god would fill it with that calm, sweet joy which elevates the soul, prevents it feeling the weight of troubles, and makes it overflow with benevolence. but joy does not mean levity, witty sayings, or repartee ... it is habitual serenity. through a clear atmosphere we can always see the sky; it seems so light and full of elasticity. a serene sky is always pure ... clouds may pass across it, but they do not stain it. so it is with the heart that early in the morning opens to receive god's peace. xxxvii. "you are never out of temper," was once said to a woman well known to be much tried at home; "is it that you do not feel the injustice, the annoyances?"--"i feel them as much as you do," she replied; "but they do not hurt me."--"you have, then, some special balm?"--"yes; for the vexations caused by people, i have _affection_; for those of circumstances, i have prayer; and over every wound that bleeds, i murmur the words, 'thy will be done.'" xxxviii. my daily cross if i have no cross to bear to-day, i shall not advance heavenwards. a cross (that is, anything that disturbs our peace) is the spur which stimulates, and without which we should most likely remain stationary, blinded with empty vanities, and sinking deeper into sin. a cross helps us onwards, in spite of our apathy and resistance. to lie quietly on a bed of down may seem a very sweet existence, but pleasant ease and rest are not the lot of a christian; if he would mount higher and higher, it must be by a rough road. alas, for those who have no daily cross! alas, for those who repine and fret against it! * * * * * what will be my cross to-day? perhaps that person, with whom providence has placed me, and whom i dislike, whose look of disdain humiliates me, whose slowness worries me, who makes me jealous by being more beloved, more successful, than myself, whose chatter and lightheartedness, even her very attentions to myself, annoy me. or it may be that person that i think has quarrelled with me, and my imagination makes me fancy myself watched, criticised, turned into ridicule. she is always with me; all my efforts to separate are frustrated; by some mysterious power she is always present, always near. * * * * * this is my heaviest cross; the rest are light in comparison. circumstances change, temptations diminish, troubles lessen; but those people who trouble or offend us are an ever-present source of irritation. how to bear this daily cross never manifest, in any way, the ennui, the dislike, the involuntary shudder, that her presence produces; force myself to render her some little service--never mind if she never knows it; it is between god and myself. try to say a little good of her every day, of her talents, her character, her tact, for there is all that to be found in her. pray earnestly for her, even asking god to help me to love her, and to spare her to me. dear companion! blessed messenger of god's mercy! you are, without knowing it, the means for my sanctification, and i will not be ungrateful. yes! though the exterior be rude and repellent, yet to you i owe it that i am kept from greater sin; you, against whom my whole nature rebels ... how i ought to love you! xxxix. who is anxious for a beloved one's eternal welfare? we interest ourselves for their success, their prosperity; we ask god to keep them from harm and misfortune; we try to start them well in the world, to make them of reputation, to procure them pleasure. to spare them trouble, we sacrifice our own ease and enjoyment.... oh, that is all very beautiful, very right; but what should we do for the soul? do we pray to god that this soul may become humble, pure, devoted? do we take as much pains to procure him the little devotional book that will really help him, as we should to obtain a transient pleasure? do we help him, unseen, towards that act of charity, humiliation, or self-renunciation? have we courage not to spare the soul the trial that we know will purify? does it seem too hard for you? ah! then you do not know what real love is. does not god love us? yet god lets us suffer; even sends the suffering. love is given us to help us onwards, nearer to god. the most blessed is that which draws us nearest to him; and in proportion as it leads to god we realize its blessedness. the essence of true love is not its _tenderness_, but its strength, power of endurance, its purity, its self-renunciation. the mistake we make is when we seek to be beloved, instead of loving. what makes us cowardly is the fear of losing that love. never forget this: a selfish heart desires love for itself; a christian heart delights to love--without return. xl. to learn never to waste our time is perhaps one of the most difficult virtues to acquire. a well-spent day is a source of pleasure. to be constantly employed, and never asking, "what shall i do?" is the secret of much goodness and happiness. begin, then, with promptitude, act decisively, persevere; if interrupted, be amiable, and return to the work unruffled, finish it carefully--these will be the signs of a virtuous soul. xli. are you full of peace? _pray!_ prayer will preserve it to you. are you tempted? _pray!_ prayer will sustain you. have you fallen? _pray!_ prayer will raise you. are you discouraged? _pray!_ prayer will reassure and comfort you. xlii. the young are seldom forbearing, because they so little understand the frailties of poor human nature. oh! if you could only witness the terrible struggles passing in the heart of that friend whose vivacity annoys you, whose fickleness provokes you, whose faults sometimes even make you blush.... oh! if you saw the tears that are shed in secret, the vexation felt against self (perhaps on your account), you would indeed pity them. love them! make allowances for them! never let them feel that you know their failings. to make any one believe himself good, is to help him almost in spite of self to become so. * * * * * forbearance is even _more_ than forgiveness; it is excusing, putting always the best construction upon everything; above all, never showing that some proceeding has wounded us; speaking of any one who has vexed us thus: "she did not think, else she would have acted differently; she never meant to pain me, she loves me too much; she was perhaps unable to do otherwise, and yet suffers at the thought of having displeased me." for a wounded heart no balm is so efficacious as forbearance. _to forbear_ is to forget every night the little vexations of the past day; to say every morning: "to-day i shall be braver and calmer than yesterday." forbearance even sometimes leads us to detect in ourselves a little want of good nature, condescension, and charity. _to forbear_ is not only freely to forgive, but to meet half-way, with extended hand, those who timidly ask for pardon. xliii. my friend, do you know why the work you accomplish fails either to give pleasure to yourself or others? it is because it is not cheerfully done, and therefore appears discolored. a joyous heart amid our work imparts to duty a brilliancy that charms the eyes of others, while it prevents those feeling wounded who cannot perform it equally well. joy, with us, is like a lever, by which we lift the weights that without its help would crush us. a workman once said: "if i were to leave off singing, i should be quite unequal to my business." then sing always; let your heart sing as in its earliest years. the refrain of the heart, which perhaps never passes the lips, but which echoes in heaven, is this sentence:-- "i love and i am beloved!" xliv. what regret we sometimes feel, after the death or departure of friends, at never having shown them the respect, the gratitude, we felt towards them, and how from the depths of our heart we are filled with tenderness and affection for them! it may have been that at times we could not speak, because we thought too much of _how_ to say it. another time we lost the opportunity, because we were always shirking it. deep devotion is sometimes a little erratic; always afraid of doing too little, doing it badly or inopportunely. oftener still the tokens of affection are checked, because we think we could show it in some better way; we put off till brighter days the dreams we cherished, the sweet yearning to open the heart to the loved ones, and let them see for once what a large place they fill there. alas! the days fly past, suddenly comes death, or, sadder still, separation without hope of return, leaving the bitter thought: "others will show them better than i have done, how dear, how valued, they are." ah! when we can be loving _to-day_, never let us say, "i will love to-morrow;" when we have the opportunity of being grateful, never put off, for _one_ hour, the proof of our gratitude! * * * * * conclusion lacordaire, in preparing for a retreat in the country, said he only required for his realization of a dream of happiness and solitude, three things,--( ) god; ( ) a friend; ( ) books. _god!_--we never fail to find him when we are pure, holy, and fulfilling hourly our duty. _a friend!_--responds always to the heart's call, if only that heart be loving and devoted. _books!_--oh! if only this little book of _gold dust_ might be allowed to form one of the numbers of those that are carried away, far from the world's turmoil, and read in order to gain a little help and peace! it will take up _so_ little room! gold dust _second part_ i. the friendly whisper under this title we commence a series of short counsels for each day of the week, which will be as a friendly whisper, the voice of a guardian angel, inspiring, as occasion presents itself, some good action, some self-denial, some little sacrifice. we recommend that it should be placed on the writing-table, in the book we most frequently turn to, or wherever it is most likely to meet the eye. what is so often the one thing wanting to some devout person devoted to doing good? simply to be _reminded_. monday charity be good-natured, benevolent, keep up a cheerful expression of countenance, even when alone. that clumsiness, those brusque, rude manners, let them pass without notice. when wishes contrary to your own prevail, yield without ill-humor, or even showing your effort; you will give pleasure, and thus be pleased yourself. try to please, to console, to amuse, to bestow, to thank, to help. that is all in itself so good! try to do some good to the souls of others! an earnest word, some encouragement, a prayer softly breathed. overcome your dislike and aversion to certain persons; do not shun them, on the contrary go and meet them. god goes before you. be courteous even to the troublesome individual who is always in your way. god sends him to you. forgive at once. do you believe harm was intended? if so, is it not the greater merit? do not refuse your alms, only let your motives be pure; and in giving, give as to god. do not judge the guilty harshly; pity, and pray for them. why imagine evil intentions against yourself? cannot you see how the thought troubles and disquiets you? check the ironical smile hovering about your lips; you will grieve the object of it. why cause any one pain? lend yourself to all. god will not suffer you to be taken advantage of if you are prompted by the spirit of charity. tuesday the divine presence never separate yourself from god. how sweet it is to live always near those who love us! you cannot see god, but he is there; just as if some friend were separated from you by a curtain, which does not prevent his seeing you, and which at any moment may unfold and disclose him to your view. when the soul is unstained by sin, and if we remain still and recollected, we can perceive god's presence in the heart, just as we see daylight penetrating a room. we may not be always conscious of this presence, but imperceptibly it influences all our actions. oh! however heavy may be the burden you have to bear, does it not at once become light beneath the gaze of that father's eye? the thought of god is never wearisome; why not always cherish it? go on, without trembling, beneath the eye of god; never fear to smile, love, hope, and enjoy all that makes life sweet. god rejoices in our pleasures as a mother in the joys of her child. what is contrary to god's will, grieves him, and does you harm, that alone you need fear,--the thought that will stain your soul; the wish that troubles your heart; that unwholesome action, that will weaken your intellect, and destroy your peace. never long for what god sees fit to deny. god, beside you, will repair your blunders, provide means whereby you may atone for that sinful action by one more virtuous, wipe away the tears caused by some unmerited reproof or unkind word. you have only to close your eyes for a moment, examine yourself, and softly murmur, "lord, help me!" can you not hear god's voice speaking to you? what! when he says: _bear this, i am here to aid thee_; you will refuse? he says: _continue another half-hour the work that wearies thee_; and you would stop? he says: _do not that_; and you do it? he says: _let us tread together the path of obedience_; and you answer: no? wednesday self-renunciation do not be afraid of that word _renunciation_. to you, perhaps, it only means, weariness, restraint, ennui. but it means also, love, perfection, sanctification. * * * * * who cannot renounce, cannot love. who cannot renounce, cannot become perfect. who cannot renounce, cannot be made holy. * * * * * _self-renunciation_ means devotion to our duty, going on with it in spite of difficulties, disgust, ennui, want of success. _self-renunciation_ is self-sacrifice, under whatever form it presents itself,--_prayer_, _labor_, _love_ ... all that would be an obstacle, not merely to its accomplishment, but its perfection. _self-renunciation_ is to root out all that encumbers the heart, all that impedes the free action of the holy spirit within--longings after an imaginary perfection or well-being, unreal sentiments that trouble us in prayer, in work, in slumber, that fascinate us, but the result of which is to destroy all real application. _self-renunciation_ is to resist all the allurements of the senses, that would only give pleasure to self, and satisfy the conscience, by whispering, "_it is no sin._" _self-renunciation_, in short, is destroying, even at the risk of much heart-rending, all in our heart, mind, imagination, that could be displeasing to god. renunciation is not one single action, that when once accomplished we experience relief; it means a constant _sacrifice_, _restraint_, _resisting_, _rending_, each hour, each moment, during our whole life. but is not this a worry, a continual torment? no; not if the moving spring be love or godly fear.... do you consider it a trouble when you make yourself less comfortable to make room for a friend who visits you? well! there are times when god would make you sensible of his presence. he is with you, and to retain him close, who is all purity, will you not be more modest in your behavior? if you would receive him into your heart at holy communion, will you not make room for him, by rooting out that affection he has pointed out to you as dangerous, that interest, that desire, that worldly, sensual attachment? oh! if you only _really_ loved. would you call it _torture_ or _constraint_, the energy with which you shatter some poisoned cup you were almost enticed to drink? well! when encountering the attractive enjoyment, the material delight, which might lead you astray, or the siren voice which would allure you from your duty for a moment--then when conscience whispers, "_beware_," ... would you be cowardly? alas, it is slowly and surely that the stream carries on to destruction the blossom that has fallen into its current. it is little by little that pleasure leads on to sin the heart that lets itself be lulled by its charms. thursday submission as soon as you awake in the morning, try to realize god stretching forth his hand towards you, and saying, _dost thou really desire that i should watch over thee this day?_ and you lift up your hands towards this kind father, and say to him, "yes, yes, lead me, guide me, love me; i will be very submissive!" beneath god's protecting hand, is it possible that you can be sorrowful, fearful, unhappy? no; god will allow no suffering, no trial, above what you are able to bear. then pass through the day, quietly and calmly, even as when a little child you had your mother always beside you. you need only be careful about _one_ thing, _never to displease god_, and you will see how lovingly god will direct all that concerns you--material interests, sympathies, worldly cares; you will be astonished at the sudden enlightenment that will come to you, and the wondrous peace that will result from your labor and your toil. then, welcome trial, sickness, ennui, privations, injustice ... all of it can only come directed by god's hand, and will wound the soul only in order to cleanse some spot within. would your mother have given you a bitter dose merely for the sake of causing you suffering? if your duty is hard, owing either to its difficulty or the distaste you feel towards it, lift your heart to god and say, "_lord, help me_," ... then go on with it, even though you seem to do it imperfectly. should one of those moments of vague misgivings, that leave the soul as it were in utter darkness, come to overwhelm you, call upon god, as a child in terror cries out to its mother. if you have sinned, oh! even then be not afraid of the merciful god, but with eyes full of tears, say to him, "pardon me" ... and add softly, "chastise me soon, o lord!" yes, yes, dear one, be always at peace, going on quietly with your daily duties ... more than that, be always joyous. and why not? you who have no longer a mother to love you, and yet crave for love, god will be as a mother. you who have no brother to help you, and have so much need of support, god will be your brother. you who have no friends to comfort you, and stand so much in need of consolation, god will be your friend. preserve always the _childlike simplicity_ which goes direct to god, and speak to him as you would speak to your mother. keep that open _confidence_ that tells him your projects, troubles, joys, as you tell them to a brother. cherish those _loving words_ that speak of all the happiness you feel, living in dependence upon him, and trusting in his love, just as you would tell it to the friend of your childhood. keep the _generous heart of childhood_ which gives all you have to god. let him freely take whatever he pleases, all within and around you. will only what he wills, desiring only what is in accordance with his will, and finding nothing impossible that he commands. do you not feel something soothing and consoling in these thoughts? the longer you live, the better you will understand that true happiness is only to be found in a life devoted to god, and given up entirely to his guidance. no! no! none can harm you, unless it be god's will, and if he allows it; be patient and humble, weep if your heart is sore, but love always, and wait ... the trial will pass away, but god will remain yours forever. friday prayer oh, if you only knew what it is to pray! oh, if god would only give you the grace to love prayer! what peace to your soul, what love in your heart! what joy would shine in your countenance, even though the tears streamed from your eyes! _prayer_, as the first cry escapes the lips, indicates to god that some one would speak to him, and god, so good and gracious, is ever ready to listen (with all reverence we say it), with the prompt attention of a faithful servant, he manifests himself to the soul with ineffable love, and says to it, "behold me, thou hast called me, what dost thou desire of me?" _to pray_ is to remain, so long as our prayer lasts, in the presence of god, with the certainty that we can never weary him, no matter what may be the subject of our prayer, or at those times when we are speechless, and as in the case of the good peasant quoted by the curé d'ars, we are content to place ourselves before god, with only the recollection of his presence. _to pray_ is to act towards god as the child does to its mother, the poor man towards the rich, eager to do him good, the friend towards his friend, who longs to show him affection. _prayer_ is the key to all celestial treasures; by it we penetrate into the midst of all the joy, strength, mercy, and goodness divine, ... we receive our well-being from all around us, as the sponge plunged into the ocean imbibes without an effort the water that surrounds it ... this joy, strength, mercy, and goodness become our own. oh, yes! if you knew how to pray, and loved prayer, how good, useful, fruitful, and meritorious would be your life! nothing so elevates the soul as prayer. god, so condescending to the soul, raises it with him to the regions of light and love, and then, the prayer finished, the soul returns to its daily duties with a more enlightened mind, a more earnest will. it is filled with radiance divine, and sheds of its abundance upon all who approach. if you would succeed in your study, with the success that sanctifies, _pray_ before commencing. if you would succeed in your intercourse with others, pray before becoming intimate. nothing so smooths and sweetens life as _prayer_. there is the _solitary_ prayer, when the soul isolated from all creatures is alone with god and feels thus towards him: "god and i;" _god_ to love; _i_ to adore, praise, glorify, thank. _god_ to bestow, _i_ humbly to receive, to renounce, ask, hope, submit!... ah! who can tell all that passes between the soul and its god? there is the _united_ prayer of two friends, bound together by a holy friendship, their desires and thoughts are one, and as one they present themselves before god, crying, "have mercy upon me!" there is the prayer of two hearts separated by distance, made at the same hour in the same words. soothing prayer, that each day reunites those two sad hearts torn by the agony of parting, and who in god's presence, strengthened with the same holy spirit, recover courage to tread the road to heaven, each in its appointed sphere. then there is public prayer, that which has the special promise of god's presence; prayer so comforting to the feeble, guilty soul, who can cry in very truth, "my prayer ascends to god, supported by the prayers of others." oh! if you knew how to pray, and loved prayer, how happy and faithful would be your life! saturday earnestness you love god, do you not, dear one, whom god surrounds with so much affection? yes, yes! i love him! and how do you prove to him your love? i keep myself pure and innocent, so that his eye falling upon me may never see anything that displeases him. i keep myself calm and quiet, and force myself to smile that he may see i am contented. _that is right, but that is not enough._ i think often of how much i owe him, and apply myself diligently to the work he has given me to do; i bear patiently with those i dislike, with troubles that irritate me; when i am weak i call upon him, when timid i draw near to him, when sinful i implore pardon, and strive to do my duty more faithfully. _that is right, but that is not enough._ i lend myself to the importunities of others. i am as a slave to those who need me, and take care never to judge any one harshly. _that is right, but still it is not enough._ ah! then what more can i do, good angel, thus addressing me, what can i do to show my love to god? devote thyself to doing good to the souls of others. oh, if you knew how it pleases god to see you laboring for them! it is like the joy of a mother, every time she sees some one benefiting her child. how thankful she is to those who nursed it in sickness, spared it pain, showed it some token of affection, a counsel, a warning, that gave it pleasure, by a kind word, a plaything, a smile! all this you may do in that circle, more or less extended, in which you live. leave to god's minister, if you will, the work of converting souls, and limit your efforts to doing good by bringing yourself into communion with them. to do so, means sweetly, unconsciously, softly, speak to them of god, carry them to god, lead them to god. this may be done by gently, tenderly--by inference as it were--speaking to them of god, thus leading them towards him, bringing them into contact with him. hearts are drawn together by talking of their kindred pursuits, souls by speaking of heavenly things. it is not necessary for this purpose to pronounce the name of god; it will suffice that the words shall lift the soul beyond this material world and its sensual enjoyments, and raise them upwards to that supernatural atmosphere necessary to the real life. speak of the happiness of devotion, the charm of purity, the blessing of the few minutes' meditation at the feet of jesus, the peace procured by entire resignation to providence, and the sweetness of a life spent beneath god's fatherly eye, the comfort the thought of heaven brings in the midst of trouble, the hope of the meeting again above, the certainty of eternal happiness. this is doing good to others, drawing them nearer to god, and teaching them more and more of holiness. limit your efforts to this; later on i will tell you what more you may do. sunday sympathy welcome with joy each week the day that god has called his day. to each day of the week god has given its special mission, its share of pleasure and of pain, necessary to purify and fortify and prepare us for eternity. but _sunday_ is a day of _love_. on saturday we lay aside our garments faded and stained by toil, and on sunday we array ourselves in garments, not only fresher, but more choice and graceful. why not prepare the heart, even as we do the body? during the week has not the heart been wearied with petty strife and discontent, interests marred, bitter words? then, why not shake off all this, that only chills affection? on the saturday let us forgive freely, press the hand warmly, embrace each other; and then peace being restored within, we await the morrow's awakening. sunday is god's day of truce for all. that day, laying aside all revenge and ill-feeling, we must be filled with forbearance, indulgence, and amiability. oh! how good for us to feel _obliged_ to be reconciled, and each sunday renews the obligation. let us leave no time for coldness and indifference to grow upon us ... it only engenders hatred, and that once established in the heart, oh! how hard is it to cast out again! it is like a hideous cancer whose ravages no remedies can stay. it is as the venomous plant that the gardener can never entirely eradicate. only by a miracle can hatred be destroyed. at once then let us place a barrier in our hearts against the approach of coolness or indifference, and each saturday night the head of the family shall thus address us: "children, to-night we forgive, to-night we forget, and to-morrow begin life afresh in love, one towards another." ii. when i have sinned, wrote a pious soul, i feel chastisement will fall upon me, and as if i could hide myself from god's eye. i _shrink_ into myself, and then i pray, i pray, and the chastisement not being sent, i again expand. _chastisement_ is like a stone threatening to crush me; _prayer_ is the hand that withholds it while i make atonement. oh! how can those live peacefully who never pray? iii. our dead they are not all there--our dead--buried in the churchyard, beneath the grave, o'ershadowed by a cross, and round which the roses bloom. there are others which nothing can recall; they are things which belong to the _heart_ alone, and there alas! have found a tomb. peace surrounds me to-day; and here in my lone chamber i will invoke them, my much-loved dead. come! * * * * * the first that present themselves are _the sweet years of childhood_, so fresh, so guileless, so happy. they were made up of loving caresses, bountiful rewards, and fearless confidence: the words, _pain_, _danger_, _care_, were unknown; they brought me simple pleasures, happy days without a thought for the morrow, and only required from me a little obedience. alas! they are dead ... and what numberless things have they carried with them! what a void they have left! candor, lightheartedness, simplicity, no longer find a place within! family ties, so true, so wide, so light, have all vanished! the homely hearth, the simple reward earned by the day's industry, maternal chidings, forgiveness so ingenuously sought, so freely given, promises of amendment, so sincere, so joyously received.... is this all gone forever? can i never recall them? the vision that follows is that of my _early piety_, simple and full of faith, which was as some good angel o'ershadowing me with its snowy wings, and showing me god everywhere, in all, and with all. the good god, who each day provides my daily bread! the god, who spared my mother in sickness, and relieved her when she suffered--god, who shielded me from harm when i did right! the god, who sees all, knows all, and is omnipotent, whom i loved with all my heart. alas! faithful, simple piety, thou art dead; in innocence alone couldst thou live! next comes _the love of my earliest years_. love in childhood, love in youth, so full of true, simple joy, that initiated me in the sweet pleasure of devotion, that taught me self-denial in order to give pleasure, that destroyed all egotism, by showing me the happiness of living for others. love of my childhood, love of my youth, so pure, so holy, on which i always reckoned when they spoke to me of trouble, loneliness, depression ... thou also art dead. an involuntary coolness, an unfounded suspicion never cleared, an ill-natured story ... all these have destroyed that child of heaven. i knew it was tender, and i cherished it, but i could not believe it to be so frail. i could make a long list of all the dead enshrined in my heart! oh, you who are still young, upon whom god has lavished all the gifts that are lost to me,--candor, simplicity, innocence, love, devotion ... guard, oh, guard these treasures, and that they may never die, place them beneath the shelter of _prayer_. iv. the spiritual life what a sweet life is that! the maintaining, strengthening it, has a softening influence; and it is a labor that never wearies, never deceives, but gives each day fresh cause for joy. in the language of devotion, it is called the _interior life_; and it is our purpose to point out minutely its nature, excellence, means, and hindrances. let no one think the interior life is incompatible with the life domestic and social, which is often so engrossing; just as the action of the heart maintained by the constant flow of blood in no way affects the outward movements, so is it with the life of the soul, which consists chiefly in the action of god's holy spirit within, that never hinders our social duties, but on the contrary is a help towards fulfilling them more calmly, more perfectly. * * * * * nature of the interior life the interior life is an abiding sense of god's presence, a constant union with him. we learn to look upon the heart as the temple where god dwells, sometimes glorious as above, sometimes hidden as in the holy eucharist; and we act, think, speak, and fulfil all our duties, as in his presence. its aim is to shun sin, and cultivate a detachment from all earthly things by a spirit of poverty; sensual pleasures by purity and mortification; pride by humility; dissipation by recollection. as a rule, people are prejudiced against an interior life. some are afraid of it, and look upon it as a life of bondage, sacrifice, and restraint: others despise it, as nothing but a multiplicity of trifling rules, tending only to narrow-mindedness and uselessness, and fit only for weak minds. in consequence they are on their guard against it, and avoid the books that treat of it. they would serve god no doubt, but they will not subject themselves to the entire guidance of his spirit; in short, it is far easier to bring a soul from a state of sin to that of grace, than it is to lead a busy, active, zealous person to the hidden, contemplative life of the soul. * * * * * excellence of the interior life god dwelling within us, the life of christ himself, when on earth, living always in his father's presence. it is the life of which s. paul speaks when he says, "nevertheless i live; yet not i, but christ liveth in me." all saints must lead this life, and their degree of holiness is in proportion to the perfection of their union with god. christ animates their souls, even as the soul animates the body. they own christ as master, counsellor, and guide; and nothing is done without submitting it to him, and imploring his aid and approval. christ is their strength, their refuge, their defender. they live in constant dependence upon him, as their father, protector, and all-powerful king. they are drawn to him, as the child is drawn by love, the poor by need. they let themselves be guided by him, as the blind let themselves be led by the child in whom they confide; they bear all suffering that comes from him, as the sick, in order to be healed, bear suffering at the hands of a physician; and they lean on him, as the child leans on its mother's breast. it lifts them above the troubles and miseries of life; the whole world may seem a prey to calamities; themselves, deprived of their goods through injustice or accident; they lose their relations through death, their friends through treachery or forgetfulness, their reputation and honor from slander, a serious illness deprives them of health, their happiness is destroyed by hardness and temptations.... ah! no doubt, they will have these trials, no doubt they must shed bitter tears, but still god's peace will remain to them, the peace that passeth all understanding; they will realize god has ordered it, guided it with his hand divine, and they will be able to exclaim with joy, "thou art left to us, and thou art all-sufficient!" * * * * * acts of the interior life . _see god_, that is to say, be always realizing his presence, feeling him near, as the friend from whom we would never be separated, in work, in prayer, in recreation, in repose. god is not importunate, he never wearies, he is so gracious and merciful, his hand directs everything, and he will not "suffer us to be tempted above that we are able." . _listen to god_: be attentive to his counsels, his warnings; we hear his voice in those gospel words that recur to our minds, in the good thoughts that suddenly dawn on us, the devout words that meet us in some book, on a sheet of paper, or falling from the lips of a preacher, a friend, or even a stranger. . _speak to god_: hold converse with him, more with the heart than the lips, in the early morning's meditation, ejaculatory prayer, vocal prayer, and above all in holy communion. . _love god_: be devoted to him, and him alone; have no affection apart from him; restrain the love that would estrange us from him; _lend_ ourselves to all, out of love to him, but _give_ ourselves to him alone. . _think of god_: reject whatever excludes the thought of him. of course, we must fulfil our daily duties, accomplishing them with all the perfection of which we are capable; but they must be done as beneath the eye of god, with the thought that god has commanded them, and that to do them carefully is pleasing in his sight. * * * * * means by which to attain the interior life . _great tenderness of conscience_, secured by constant, regular, and earnest confession to god, a hatred of all sin, imperfection, infidelity, by calmly but resolutely fleeing every occasion of it. . _great purity of heart_, by detachment from all earthly things,--wealth, luxuries, fame, kindred, friends, tastes, even life itself ... not that we need fail in love to our kindred and friends, but we must only let the thought of them abide in the heart as united to the love and thought of god. . _great purity of mind_, carefully excluding from it all useless, distracting thoughts as to past, present, or future; all preoccupation over some pet employment; all desire to be known, and thought well of. . _great purity of action_, only undertaking what lies in the path of duty; controlling natural eagerness and activity; acting soberly, with the help of the holy spirit, the thought that by our deeds we glorify god: pausing for a moment, when passing from one occupation to another, in order to direct aright the intention; and taking care to be always occupied in what is useful and beneficial. . _great recollectedness and self-mortification_; avoiding, as much as we can in keeping with our social position, all dissipation, bustle, disturbance; never allowing voluntarily, useless desires, looks, words, or pleasures, but placing them under the rule of reason, decorum, edification, and love; taking care that our prayers be said slowly and carefully, articulating each word, and trying to _feel_ the truth of what we are saying. . _great care and exactitude_ in all the ordinary actions of life, above all in the exercises of religion; leaving nothing to chance or hazard; beholding in everything god's overruling will, and saying to one's self sometimes, as the hour for such and such duty arrives, "i must hasten, god is calling me." . _much intercourse with god_; speaking to him with simplicity, loving him dearly, always consulting him, rendering to him an account of every action, thanking him constantly, and above all, drawing near to him with joy in the holy eucharist. one great help towards such sweet communion with god, will be found in a steady perseverance in the early morning's meditation. . _much love for our neighbor_, because he is the much-loved child of god, praying for him, comforting, teaching, strengthening, and helping him in all difficulties. * * * * * hindrances to the interior life . _natural activity_, always urging us on, and making us too precipitate in all our actions. it shows itself:-- _in our projects_, which it multiplies, heaps up, reforms, and upsets. it allows of no rest, until what it has undertaken is accomplished. _in our actions._ activity is absolutely necessary to us. we load ourselves with a thousand things beyond our duty, sometimes even contrary to it. everything is done with impetuosity and haste, anxiety and impatience to see the end. _in our conversation._ activity makes us speak without thinking, interrupting rudely, reproving hastily, judging without appreciation. we speak loudly, disputing, murmuring, and losing our temper. _in prayer._ we burden ourselves with numberless prayers, repeated carelessly, without attention, and with impatience to get to the end of them; it interferes with our meditations, wearies, torments, fatigues the brain, drying up the soul, and hindering the work of the holy spirit. . _curiosity_ lays the soul open to all external things, fills it with a thousand fancies and questionings, pleasing or vexatious, absorbing the mind, and making it quite impossible to retire within one's self and be recollected. then follow distaste, sloth, and ennui for all that savors of silence, retirement, and meditation. curiosity shows itself, when _studies_ are undertaken from vanity, a desire to know all things, and to pass as clever, rather than the real wish to learn in order to be useful--in _reading_, when the spare time is given up to history, papers, and novels--in _walking_, when our steps would lead us where the crowd go to see, to know, only in order to have something to retail; in fact, it manifests itself in a thousand little actions; for instance, pressing forward with feverish haste to open a letter addressed to us, longing eagerly to see anything that presents itself, always being the first to tell any piece of news.... when we forget god, he is driven from the heart, leaving it void, and then ensues that wild craving to fill up the void with anything with which we may come into contact. . _cowardice._ god does not forbid patient, submissive pleading, but murmuring fears are displeasing to him, and he withdraws from the soul that will not lean on him. cowardice manifests itself when in the _trials of life_ we rebel against the divine will that sends us illness, calumny, privation, desertion; when in _dryness of soul_ we leave off our prayers and communions because we feel no sensible sweetness in them; when we feel a sickness of the soul that makes us uneasy, and fearful that god has forsaken us. the soul estranged from god seeks diversion in the world; but in the midst of the world, god is not to be found; when temptations come, wearied, frightened, and tormented, we wander farther and farther away from him, crying, "i am forsaken," when the trial has really been sent in order to keep us on our guard, prevent our becoming proud, and offering us an opportunity for showing our love. v. the lesson of a daisy i saw her from afar, poor child; she looked dreamy as she leaned against the window, and held in her hand a daisy, which she was questioning by gradually pulling it to pieces. what she wanted to ascertain i cannot tell; i only heard in a low murmur, falling from her pale lips, these words: "_a little, a great deal, passionately, not __ at all_," as each petal her fingers pulled away fell fluttering at her feet. i could see her from a distance, and i felt touched. poor child, why do you tell a flower the thought that troubles you? have you no mother? why be anxious about the future? have you not god to prepare it for you, as tenderly as eighteen years ago your mother prepared your cradle? finally, when the daisy was all but gone, when her fingers stopped at the last petal, and her lips murmured the word _little_, she dropped her head upon her arms, discouraged, and, poor child, she wept! * * * * * why weep, my child? is it because this word does not please you? let me, let me, in the name of the simple daisy you have just destroyed, give you the experience of my old age. oh! if you only knew what it costs to have _much_ of anything! _a great deal of wit_ often results in spitefulness which makes us cruel and unjust, in jealousy that torments, in deception that sullies all our triumphs, and pride which is never satisfied. _a great deal of heart_ causes uneasiness which vexes, pain that rends asunder, grief that nearly kills ... sometimes even the judgment is deceived. _a great deal of attractiveness_ means often a consuming vanity, overwhelming deception, an insatiable desire to please, a fear of being unappreciated, a loss of peace, domestic life much neglected. _a great deal of wealth and success_ is the cause of luxury that enfeebles, loss of calm, quiet happiness, loss of love, leaving only the flattery that captivates. no, no, my child, never long for _a great deal_ in this life, unless it be for much forbearance, much goodness. and if it should be god's will to give you _much_ of anything, then, oh, pray it may never be to your condemnation! * * * * * is _passionately_ the word you long for? passionately! oh, the harm that is done by that word! there is something in the thought of it that makes me shudder. passionately means transport, frenzy, excess in everything. the life that the word _passionately_ describes must be a life full of risks and dangers; and if, by little short of a miracle, nothing outwardly wrong appears, the inner life must resemble a palace ravaged by fire, where the stranger sees nothing but cracked walls, blackened furniture, and drapery hanging in shreds. * * * * * my child, i would prefer for you the words _not at all_, as applied to fortune, external charms, and all that goes by the name of glory, success, and fascination in the world. i know it may seem a hard sentence, involving a continual self-denial, and exacting incessant hard labor to obtain the bare necessities of life for those we love. but do not be afraid of it. god never leaves his creatures in absolute need. god may deprive a face of beauty, a character of amiability, a mind of brilliancy, but he will never take away a heart of love; with the faculty of loving, he adds the power of prayer, and the promise always to listen to and answer it. as long as we can love and pray, life has charms for us. love produces devotion, and devotion brings happiness, even though we may not understand it. in prayer we feel we are beloved; and the love of god, oh, if only you knew how it compensates for the indifference of our fellow-creatures! * * * * * there now only remains to us the last words of the daisy, _a little_! the loving fatherly answer god has given to your childish curiosity. accept it, and make it the motto of your life! _a little_; moderation in wealth and fortune, a condition that promises the most peaceful life, free from anxiety for the future--doubtless requiring daily duties, but permitting many innocent enjoyments. _a little_; moderation in our desires, contentment with what we possess, making the most of it, and repressing all vain dreams of a more brilliant position, a more extended reputation, a more famous name. _a little_; the affection of a heart devoted to duty, and kindling joy in the family circle, composed of kindred to love, friends to cheer, poor to succor, hearts to strengthen, sufferings to alleviate. _a little_; a taste for all that is beautiful,--books, works of art, music, not making us idly dream of fame, but simply providing enjoyment for the mind, all the more keen, as the daily toil renders the occasions rare. do you see, my child, how much may lie beneath those simple words, _a little_, that the daisy gave you, and that you seem so much to despise! never scorn anything that seems wanting in brilliancy, and remember to be really happy we must have-- more _virtue_ than knowledge, more _love_ than tenderness, more _guidance_ than cleverness, more _health_ than riches, more _repose_ than profit. vi. each day is like a furrow lying before us; our thoughts, desires, and actions are the seed that each minute we drop into it, without seeming to perceive it. the furrow finished, we commence upon another, then another, and again another; each day presents a fresh one, and so on to the end of life ... sowing, ever sowing. and all we have sown springs up, grows and bears fruit, almost unknown to us; even if by chance we cast a backward glance we fail to recognize our work. behind us angels and demons, like gleaners, gather together in sheaves all that belongs to them. every night their store is increased. they preserve it, and at the last day will present it to their master. is there not a thought in this that should make us reflect? vii. "learn of me, for i am meek and lowly of heart" this is a simple rule of life for me, requiring no more than i am able; but i feel it unites me to god, makes me more devout, more faithful to duty, more ready for death. since i have made it my rule, it has been to me a source of consolation, enlightenment, and strength; and yet god alone knows how full of pain my life has been! dear friends, who, like myself, long to become holy, i commend this sentence to you in all its simplicity; listen, for it comes from the loving heart of jesus, it fell from his gentle lips:-- "learn of me, for i am meek and lowly of heart." i. be meek . meek towards god living from day to day beneath his eye, and where all things are ordered by a divine providence. as carefully as a mother arranges the room where her child will pass the day, does god prepare each hour that opens before me. whatever has to be done, it is his will that i should do it; and in order that it should be done well, he provides the necessary time, intelligence, aptitude, and knowledge. whatever of suffering presents itself, he expects me to bear it, even though i may not see any reason for it; and if the pain be so sharp as to call forth a cry, he gently whispers, "courage, my child, for it is my will!" if anything occurs to hinder my work, anything goes contrary to my plans and projects, he has ordained it so on purpose, because he knows that too much success would make me proud, too much ease would make me sensual; and he would teach me that the road to heaven is not _success_, but _labor and devotion_. with such thoughts as these all rebellion is hushed! with what peace, what joy, our work may be begun, continued, interrupted, and resumed! with what energy we reject those enemies that assail us at every hour,--idleness, haste, preoccupation, success, want of perseverance under difficulties! does the past sometimes rise up to trouble me with the thought of the many years spent without god? ah! no doubt the shame and grief are sharp and keen, but why need they disturb my peace of mind? has not god promised his pardon for his blessed son's sake, to all who truly repent and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel? have i made a full avowal and entire submission? and am i not willing to fulfil whatever i am advised in god's name to do for the future? does the future in its turn seem to frighten me? i smile at the foolish fancies of my imagination; is not my future in god's hands? what, when all that will befall me to-morrow, next year, ten years, twenty years hence, is ordained by him, shall i distress myself with the thought that it may not be good for me! lord! be thou my guide, and choose my lot as may seem best to thee! . meek under all circumstances events are messengers of either divine goodness or justice. each has a mission to fulfil; and as it comes from god, why not let it be accomplished in peace? painful, heart-rending, though they may be, they are still the will of god. watch them as they come, with a little trembling, perhaps even terror, but never let them destroy in the least degree my faith and resignation. to be meek under these circumstances, does not mean awaiting them with a stoic firmness which proceeds from pride, or hardening one's self against them to the point of repressing all trembling. no! god allows us sometimes to anticipate, postpone, or even when possible flee them; at any rate, we may try to soothe and soften them a little. the good father, when he sends them, sends at the same time the means by which they may be endured, and perhaps averted. _remedies_, in sickness. _love_, in trouble. _devotion_, in privations. _comfort_, in weakness. _tears_, in sorrow. god has created all these; and knowing perhaps that i may fail to find them, he has given commandment to some privileged servants to love, console, soothe, and help me, saying to them,-- "inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it as unto me." oh! welcome then the friendly voice that in the midst of trouble speaks to me of hope; i will receive with gratitude the care that affection presses upon me. with thankfulness i accept the _time_ devoted to me, _privation_ borne for my sake; and i will pray god to bless these kind friends, and ask him to say to them words such as these: "all that thou hast done for mine, i will repay thee a hundred-fold." . meek towards others this may seem even more difficult, for it so often appears to us as if others were actuated by malice. but how often it is only the result of temperament, pride, thoughtlessness; seeking their own pleasure without a thought of the harm they are doing me; then why be unhappy about it? i need only to be on my guard. never stand in the way of others (when it is not the case of a duty to be fulfilled), and if they sometimes are an obstacle in yours, remove them gently, but do not harm them. yielding, submitting, retiring, giving up, this should be our conduct towards the members of our family, and those we call our friends. the more facility you give them for doing what they think right, the more you enter into the feelings they have of their own importance, leaving them a free course of action, so much the more will you be likely to be useful to them, and retain your own peace of mind. it is astonishing how those we never press open their hearts to us! do not try to examine too minutely the actions of others, or the motives that actuate them; if they are wanting in tact, appear not to notice it, or, better still, try to think they have made a mistake. the best remedy for the dislike we feel towards any one is to endeavor to try to do them a little good every day; the best cure for their dislike to us is to try to speak kindly of them. are those around you wicked? be cautious, but do not lose heart; god will not let them harm you. how easy for god to stay the consequences of slander and calumny! god is the shield, interposing between others, circumstances, and myself. . meek towards self this does not imply self-complacency, self-indulgence, self-justification, but simply encouragement, strength, and fortitude. _encouragement_ in some wearisome, monotonous, unrecognized work, with a thought like this: "god is watching me, and wishes me to do this." this labor occupies my mind, perfects my soul, and shields me from mischief. encouragement such as this, in the midst of sadness and isolation, when no one thinks of us, or gives us the smallest token of sympathy, "is not my duty sufficient for me? god requires it of me, and it will lead me to heaven." _strength_ to rise again after some failure, some humiliating fault, some depressing weakness; rise again lovingly, confidingly, and with the thought, "never mind, it is a good father, a kind master, with whom i have to deal." confess your sin, humble yourself, and while awaiting the assurance of pardon go on with your daily work with the same zeal as before. _fortitude_ against the desertion and forgetfulness of others. we have two things to fortify us,--_prayer and labor_. one to cheer us,--_devotion_. these remedies are always at hand. ii. be humble i. humble with god resting always in his presence, like a little child, or even a beggar, who knowing nothing is due to him, still asks, loves, and awaits, feeling sure that hour by hour, in proportion to our need, god will provide all that is needful, and even over and above what is absolutely necessary. live peacefully under the protection of divine providence; the more you feel your insignificance, weakness, sickness, misery, the more right you have to the pity and love of god. only _pray_ fervently; let your prayer be thoughtful and reverent, sweet and full of hope. the poor have nothing left to them but _prayer_; but that prayer, so humble, so pleading, ascends to god, and is listened to with fatherly love! do not have a number of varied prayers, but let the "our father" be ever on your lips and in your heart. love to repeat to god the prayer that christ himself has taught, and for his sake is always accepted. look upon yourself as a hired servant of god, to whom he has promised a rich reward at the end of the day he calls _life_; each morning hold yourself in readiness to obey all his commands, in the way he wills, and with the means he appoints. the command may not always come _direct_ from the master; it would be too sweet to hear only god's voice: but he sends it by means of his ambassadors; these go by the names of _superiors_, _equals_, _inferiors_, sometimes _enemies_. each has received the mission (without knowing it) to make you holy; one by subduing your independence, another by crushing your pride, a third by spurring your slothfulness. they will, though fulfilling god's command, do it each in his own way, sometimes roughly, sometimes maliciously, sometimes in a way hard to bear ... what does it matter, so long as you feel that all you do, all you suffer, is the will of god? do your duty as well as you can, as you understand it, as it is given to you; say sometimes to god, "my master, art thou satisfied with me?" and then, in spite of ennui, fatigue, repugnance, go on with it faithfully to the end. then, whether praise or blame be yours, you will, good faithful servant, at least have peace. . humble towards others look upon yourself as the servant of all, but without ostentation, or their having any knowledge of it. repeat to yourself sometimes the words of the blessed virgin mary: "behold the handmaid of the lord," and those of our lord, "i came not to be ministered unto, but to minister;" and then act towards others as if you were their slave, warning, aiding, listening; abashed at what they do for you, and always seeming pleased at anything they may require you to do for them. oh! if you knew the full meaning of these words, all they signify of reward in heaven, of joy and peace on earth, how you would love them! oh! if you would only make them the rule of your life and conduct, how happy you would be yourself, and how happy you would make others! happy in the approval of conscience, that whispers, "you have done as christ would have done." happy in the thought of the reward promised to those who give even a cup of cold water in the name of jesus christ; happy in the assurance that god will do for you what you have done for others. oh! what matters then ingratitude, forgetfulness, contempt, and scorn? they will pain, no doubt, but will have no power to sadden or discourage. precious counsel, inspired by christ himself, i bless you for all the good you have done me! when first those words found entrance to my heart, they brought with them _peace_ and _strength_ to stand against _deception_, _desertion_, _discouragement_ and the _resolute will_ to live a life more devoted to god, more united to him, more contented, and ever pressing onward towards heaven. once more, i bless you! precious counsels, enlighten, guide, and lead me. viii. a simple prayer o jesu! in the midst of glory forget not the sadness upon earth! have mercy upon those to whom god has sent the bitter trial of separation from those they love! have mercy on that loneliness of heart, so full of sadness, so crushing, sometimes full of terror! have mercy upon those struggling against the difficulties of life, and faint with discouragement! have mercy on those whom fortune favors, whom the world fascinates, and who are free from care! have mercy on those to whom thou hast given great tenderness of heart, great sensitiveness! have mercy on those who cease to love us, and never may they know the pain they cause! have mercy on those who have gradually withdrawn from holy communion and prayer, and losing peace within, weep, yet dare not return to thee! have mercy on all we love; make them holy even through suffering! if ever they estrange themselves from thee, take, oh, take all my joys, and decoy them with the pleasures back again to thee! have mercy on those who weep, those who pray, those who know not _how_ to pray! to all, o jesus, grant hope and peace! ix. simple counsels for a young girl yes, very simple. listen my child, and may they sink deep into your heart, as the dew sinks in the calyx of the flower. these are my counsels:-- _distrust the love_ that comes too suddenly. _distrust the pleasure_ that fascinates so keenly. _distrust the words_ that trouble or charm. _distrust the book_ that makes you dream. _distrust the thought_ you cannot confide to your mother. treasure these counsels, and sometimes as you read them, ask yourself, "_why?_" guardian angel of the child we are addressing, teach her the reason of these sentences that seem to her so exaggerated! x. a recipe for never annoying our friends this was made by one who had suffered much for many years from numberless little worries, occasioned by a relative, whose affection no doubt was sincere and devoted, but also too ardent, and wanting in discretion. there must be moderation in all things, even in the love we manifest, the care we take to shield them from trouble. this recipe consists of but four simple rules, very clear, very precise. behold them:-- . _always leave my friend something more to desire of me._ if he asks me to go and see him three times, i go but twice. he will look forward to my coming a third time, and when i go, receive me the more cordially. it is so sweet to feel we are needed, and so hard to be thought importunate. . _be useful to my friend as far as he permits, and no farther._ an over-anxious affection becomes tiresome, and a multiplicity of beautiful sentiments makes them almost insupportable. devotion to a friend does not consist in doing _everything_ for him, but simply that which is agreeable and of service to him, and let it only be revealed to him by accident. we all love freedom, and cling tenaciously to our little fancies; we do not like others to arrange what we have purposely left in disorder; we even resent their over-anxiety and care for us. . _be much occupied with my own affairs, and little, very little, with those of my friend._ this infallibly leads to a favorable result. to begin with, in occupying myself with my own affairs, i shall the more speedily accomplish them, while my friend is doing the same. if he appeals to me for help, i will go through fire and water to serve him, but if _not_, then i do both myself and him the greater service by abstaining. if, however, i can serve him without his knowledge of it, and i can see his need, then i must be always ready to do it. . _leave my friend always at liberty to think and act for himself in matters of little importance._ why compel him to think and act with me? am _i_ the type of all that is beautiful and right? is it not absurd to think that because another acts and thinks differently to myself, he must needs be wrong? no doubt i may not always say, "_you are right_," but i can at any rate let him _think_ it. try this recipe of mine, and i can answer for it your friendship will be lasting. xi. beneath the eye of god, god only as you read these words, are you not conscious of an inward feeling of peace and quietness? _beneath god's eye!_ there is something in the thought like a sheltering rock, a refreshing dew, a gleam of light. ah! why always such seeking for some one to _see_ me, to _understand_, _appreciate_, _praise_ me? the human eye i seek is like the scorching ray that destroys all the delicate colors in the most costly material. every action that is done, only to be seen of others, loses its freshness in the sight of god, like the flower that passing through many hands is at last hardly presentable. oh, my soul! be as the desert flower that grows, blooms, and flourishes unseen, in obedience to god's will, and cares not whether the passing bird perceives it, or the wind scatters the petals, scarcely formed. * * * * * on no account neglect the duty you owe to friendship, relatives, society, but remember each day to reserve some portion of it for yourself and god only. remember always to do some actions that can be known to none but god. ah! how sweet to have god as our only witness. it is the high degree of holiness. the most exquisite happiness. the assurance of an entry into heaven hereafter. the mother that reserves all that is most costly for her child, the child that prepares in secret some surprise for its mother, do not experience a joy more pure, more elevating, than the servant of god, who lives always in god's presence, whom alone they would please, or the loving heart that enclosing alms to some destitute family writes upon the cover these words only, "in the name of the good and gracious god." * * * * * the following lines were found on some scraps of paper belonging to some stranger: ... they have just told me of a poor destitute woman; i gave them ten pence for her; it was my duty to set an example. and now, my god, for thee, for thy sake only, i mean to send her five shillings, which i shall deduct from my personal expenses. ... to-morrow henry is coming to see me, that poor henry i loved so dearly, but who has grown cold towards his old friend. he wished to grieve me, and little knows that i found it out. help me, lord, to remember i have forgiven him, and help me to receive him cordially. thou alone knowest all i have suffered. ... what a happy day was yesterday! happy with regard to heavenly things, for alas! my poor heart suffered. yesterday was a festival. the snow outside kept every one at home by their own firesides, and i was left lonely.... ah, yes, my heart felt sad, but my spirit was peaceful; i tried to talk to god, just as if i could really see him at my side, and gradually i felt comforted, and spent my evening with a sweet sense of god's presence.... what i said, what i wrote, i know not; but the remembrance of yesterday remains to me as some sweet, refreshing perfume. * * * * * perhaps at the last day all that will remain worth recording of a life full of activity and zeal will be those little deeds that were done solely beneath the eye of god.... my god, teach me to live with an abiding sense of thy presence, laboring for thee, suffering for thee, guided by thee, ... and thee alone! xii. my duty towards god prayers. slow, recollected, persevering. peaceful, calm, resigned. simple, humble, trusting. always reverent, as loving as possible. charitable. have i not always opportunity to give? to thank? submission. to my lot and to my duty: they come from god, are ordained by god, lead me to god, to neglect them is to estrange myself from him. to the guide of my soul: he has received the holy spirit in order to show me the way; he has god's spirit to guide him. to my parents: they have god's authority. to circumstances: they are arranged and sent by god. labor. begun cheerfully. continued perseveringly. interrupted and resumed patiently. finished perfectly and devoutly. repose and care for the body, as in god's sight, under god's protection. duty towards my neighbor good example. by modest demeanor and simple dress. by a smiling face and pleasing manner. always striving to give pleasure. faithfully fulfilling every duty. good words. zealous without affectation, encouraging, consoling, peaceful, joyful, loving. these are possible every day. good deeds. service rendered by alms, by industry, by influence. ills remedied, by excusing, justifying, protecting, defending, concealing faults and mistakes; if possible, by repairing them. joys provided, for the _mind_, by a joyous manner; for the _heart_, by loving thanks; for the soul, by a word of heaven. my duty towards myself courage. in trials and adversity, disturbance, sickness, failure, humiliations. worries that trouble without reason. ill temper controlled, in order not to pain others. after failures, to begin again. in temptations, to withstand them. order and method. in my occupation, each at its appointed hour. in my recreation. in all material things, for my benefit. shunning scruples and constraint as much as caprice and folly. nourishment. pious thoughts, read, meditated upon, and sometimes written. books that elevate and excite love for all that is good and lovely. conversations that refresh, rejoice, and cheer; walks that expand the mind, as well as strengthen the body. xiii. the power of an act of love towards god have you ever reflected upon this? let us consider the exact words that describe it. "_i love thee with all my heart, with all my soul, with all my strength, because thou art so good, so infinitely good!_" try and repeat these words slowly, so that each may penetrate deep into your heart. do you not feel moved, as if your whole being in these words went forth to god, offering to him life itself? do you not feel, in making this act of love, you give far more than if you gave your wealth, influence, or time; nay, rather does not this very act seem to bring you riches, strength, opportunities, all that you possess? picture to yourself, standing before you, a child--a child perhaps who may have injured you deeply, and yet whose sincerity at this moment you cannot doubt, who is actuated neither by fear nor self-seeking, but simply by a penitent heart, and who comes to say to you words of love, such as those above, do you feel no emotion, no feeling of pity? i defy you to be without some emotion, not to feel your arms extending, perhaps in spite of you, to embrace this poor child, and not to answer, "_i also love thee_." i have yet another test to put to you, poor, desolate, guilty, hopeless as you are, seeing only within and around you, _fears_, _terror_, and--ay, let me say it--_damnation_. i defy you to kneel and say these words (laying a greater stress on them because of the repugnance you feel): "_my god! i love thee with all my heart, with all my strength, with all my soul, above everything, because thou art so good, so infinitely good!_" and then not to feel that jesus is moved with compassion, and not to hear his voice, saying to you, "my child, i love thee also!" o jesus, how can we find words in which to express the tenderness awakened in thine heart, by a word of love from one of thy little ones! that heart, so tender, gentle, sensitive, and loving! a sentence of faber's may sound unnatural to us, so little spiritually minded: he says, "god sometimes draws us to him, and fills us with love for him, not that he may love us, _that_ he always does, but in order to make us _feel_ how he loves us!" an act of love demands but a few moments. the whole of the day, even in the midst of labor, we can multiply it infinitely, and what wonders are wrought by each act! jesus himself is glorified, and he sheds abundant grace upon the earth. our guardian angel, beholding us, listens, draws nearer, and makes us feel we have done right. the angels above experience a sudden joy, and look upon us tenderly. evil spirits feel their power diminished, and there is a moment of rest from the temptation that surrounds us. the choir of saints above renew their songs of praise. each soul on earth feels the peace divine. ah! which of us each day would not renew these acts of love to god! ah! all who read these lines, pause for one moment, and from the bottom of your heart exclaim, "my god, i love thee! my god, i love thee!" xiv. be serious a statesman retiring from public life occupied himself in his latter days with serious thoughts. the friends who came to visit him, reproached him with being melancholy. "no," he replied; "i am only _serious_. all around me is serious, and i feel the need that heart and mind should be in unison with my surroundings." "for," he added, with such solemnity as to impress all present, "god is _serious_ as he watches us. jesus is _serious_ when he intercedes for us. the holy spirit is _serious_ when he guides us. satan is _serious_ when he tempts us. the wicked in hell are _serious_ now, because they neglected to be so when on earth; all is _serious_ in that world whither we are wending." oh, my friends! believe me, it is all true; let us at least at times be _serious_ in our thoughts and in our actions. xv. consolation you distress yourself sometimes, poor thing! because amongst those who surround you, there are one or two who worry and annoy you. they do not like you, find fault with everything you do, they meet you with a severe countenance and austere manner, you think they do you harm, you look upon them as obstacles to your doing good. your life passes away saddened and faded, and gradually you become disheartened. courage! instead of vexing yourself, thank god; these very persons are the means of preserving you from humiliating faults, perhaps even greater sins. it is like the blister the doctor applies, to draw out the inflammation that would kill. god sees that too much joy, too much happiness, procured by those little attentions for which you are so eager, would make you careless and slothful in prayer; too much affection would only enervate, and you would cling too much to earthly things; so in order to preserve your heart in all its tenderness and simplicity, he plants there a few thorns, and cuts you off from all the pleasures you fancy yours by right. god knows that too much praise would cause pride, and make you less forbearing to others, and so he sends instead humiliations. let them be, then, these persons who unconsciously are doing god's work within you. if you cannot love them from sympathy, love with an effort of the will, and say to god, "my god, grant that without offending thee, they may work my sanctification. i have need of them." xvi. holy communion the result of a good communion is, _within_, a fear of a sin, _without_, a love for others. holy communion is a great aid to sanctification. jesus visits the soul, working in it, and filling it with his grace, which is shed on all around, as the sun sheds forth its light, the fire gives out its heat. it is impossible but that christ, thus visiting the soul, should not leave something christ-like within, if only the soul be disposed to receive it. fire, whose property is to give warmth, cannot produce that effect unless the body be placed near enough to be penetrated with the heat. does not this simple thought explain the reason that there is often so little result from our frequent communions? do you long at each communion to receive the grace bestowed by christ that shall little by little fit you for heaven hereafter? will you, receiving thus the god of _peace_ within, have for those around you kind words that shall fill them with calmness, resignation, and peace? will you, receiving thus the god of _love_, gradually increase in tenderness and love that will urge you to sacrifice yourself for others, loving them as christ would have loved them? will you, receiving him you rightly name the _gracious_ god, become yourself gracious, gracious to sympathize, gracious to forbear, gracious to pardon, and thus in a small way resemble the god who gave himself for thee? this should be your resolve when about to communicate. _resolved_: to obey god's commandments in all their extensiveness, never hesitating in a question of duty, no matter how hard it may be; the duty of forgiving and forgetting some injustice or undeserved rebuke; accepting cheerfully a position contrary to your wishes and inclinations; application to some labor, distasteful, and seemingly beyond your strength.... if your duty seems almost _impossible_ to fulfil, ask yourself, "is this god's will for me?" and if conscience answers _yes_, then reply also, _i will do it_. all difficulties vanish after holy communion. _generous_: depriving yourself those days of communion of some pleasures which though harmless in themselves, you know, only too well, enfeeble your devotion, excite your feelings, and leave you weaker than before. _generous_ means doing over and above what duty requires of us. _conscientious and upright_: not seeking to find out if some forbidden thing is really a _sin_ or not, and whether it may not in some way be reconciled to conscience. oh! how hurtful are these waverings between god and the world, duty and pleasure, obedience and allurements. did jesus christ hesitate to die for you? and yet _you_ hesitate! coward! _humble and meek_: treading peacefully the road marked out for you by providence, sometimes weeping, often suffering, but free from anxiety, awaiting the loving support that never fails those who trust and renew their strength day by day. living quietly, loving neither the world nor its praise, working contentedly in that state of life to which you are called, doing good, regardless of man's knowledge and approval, content that others should be more honored, more esteemed, having only one ambition,--_to love god, and be loved by him_. * * * * * if this be the disposition of your soul, then be sure each communion will be blessed to you, make you more holy, more like christ, with more taste and love for the things of god, more sure of glory hereafter. xvii. after holy communion self-sacrifice lord! take me and lead me whithersoever thou willest! is it thy will that my life be spent in the midst of such incessant toil and tumult that no time is left for those brief moments of leisure of which i sometimes dream? yes! yes! i wish it also! is it thy will that lonely and sorrowful i am left on earth, while those i loved have gone to dwell near thee above? yes! yes! i wish it also! is it thy will that unknown by all, misunderstood even by those whose affection i prize, i am looked upon as useless, on account of my stupidity, want of manner, or bad health? yes! yes! i wish it also! thou art ruler. o my god! only be thyself the guide, and abide with me forever! my memory my memory! the mysterious book--reflection of that of eternity, in which at each moment are inscribed my thoughts, affections, and desires. into thy hands i commend it, lord, that thou alone mayst write there, thou alone efface! leave there, lord, the remembrance of my sins, but efface forever the pleasures that led to them--were i to catch but a glimpse of their enticing sweetness, i might again desire them. leave there the sweet memories of childhood, when i loved thee with such simplicity, and my father, my mother, my family, were my sole affections. those days, when the slightest untruthfulness, or even the fear of having sinned, left me no peace till i had confessed it to my mother. those days, when i always felt my guardian angel near me, helping me in my work, and soothing my little troubles! leave me the remembrance of my first sense of the divine absolution, when my heart overflowing with secret joy, i cried, _i am forgiven, i am forgiven_! and then the recollection of my first communion! oh, recall it to me, lord, with its preparation so fearful, yet so loving; its joy so calm, so holy, yet so sweet, that even now the thought of it fills mine eyes with tears! leave me the remembrance of thy benefits! each year of my life is crowned with blessings ... at _ten_ ... _fifteen_ ... _eighteen_ ... _twenty_ years ... oh! i can well recall all thy goodness to me, my god! yes, receive my memory, blot out all that can estrange me from thee, and grant that nothing apart from thee may again find a place there! my mind oh! by what false lights have i been dazzled! they showed me prayer as wearisome; religious duties too absorbing; frequent communion as useless; social duties as a heavy bondage; devotion the lot of weak minds and those without affection.... oh, i knew well how false it was, and yet i let myself be half-convinced! when have i ever been more _zealous in labor_ than those days when i had fulfilled all my religious duties? when more _loving and devoted_ than on the days of my communions? when have i felt _more free, more happy_, than when having fulfilled all the duties of my social position? lord, receive my mind, and nourish it with thy truth! show me that apart from thee, _pleasures of the senses_ leave behind only remorse, disgust, weariness, and satiety. _pleasures of the heart_ cause anxiety, bitterness, rendings, and fears. _pleasures of the mind_ produce a void, vanity, jealousy, coldness, and humiliations! teach me that all must pass away ... that nothing is true, nothing is good, nothing is eternal, but thou, thou only, o my god! my will my deeds are the result of my will, and it is the will only that makes them of any value. oh, then to begin with, i will learn submission! what i _wish_, may not always be good for me; what i am _bidden_ must be right. o jesus! grant me the grace of _obedience_, and then let me be bidden many things: works of piety, works of charity, self-renunciation, brilliant deeds, deeds that are ignored in my family life, or wherever i may be, there are numberless calls for all of these; lord, behold thy servant! may i be always ready when thou hast need of me! all that i have my god, how richly hast thou blessed me! treasures of love, i offer them to thee! _i have relations_, dear ones, thou knowest how i love them.... ah, if it be thy will to take them from this world, before me, though i say it weeping, still i say it, thy will be done! _i have friends._... if it be thy will they should forget me, think ill of me, leave me alone, with that loneliness of heart so bitter and so keen ... i yield them to thee! _i have worldly goods_ that give me a certain degree of comfort, by affording me the means of helping others poorer than myself.... should it be thy will to deprive me of them, little by little, till at last i have only the bare necessaries of life left ... i yield them to thee! _i have limbs_ that thou hast given me. if it be thy will that paralysis should fetter my arms, my eyes no longer see the light, my tongue be unable to articulate, my god, i yield them to thee! in exchange, grant me thy love, thy grace, and then ... nothing more, only heaven! * * * * * o jesus, abandoned by all in the garden of gethsemane, in need then of comfort and strength: jesus, thou who knowest that at this moment there are some on earth who have no strength, no comfort, no support, oh! send to them some angel who will give them a little joy, a little peace! oh, if only _i_ might be that messenger! what must i suffer, lord? if an outward trouble or inward pain be needful to make of me but for one moment a consoling angel to some poor lonely heart, oh! however keen the pain, or bitter the trouble, i pray thee, grant it to me, jesus! o jesus, in search of _lips_ to tell the love thou bearest for thy children; _lips_ to tell the poor and lonely they are not despised, the sinful they are not cast away, the timid they are not unprotected. o jesus! grant that my lips may speak words of strength, love, comfort, and pardon. let each day seem to me wasted that passes without my having spoken of help and sympathy, without having made some one bless thy name, be it but a little child. o jesus! so _patient_ towards those who wearied thee with their importunity and ignorance! jesus, so long-suffering in teaching, and awaiting the hour of grace! jesus, grant that i may be patient to listen, to teach, though over and over again i may have to instruct the same thing. grant me help, that i may always show a smiling face, even though the importunity of some be keenly felt! and if through physical weakness i manifest ennui or weariness, grant, o jesus, that i may speedily make amends, with loving words, for the pain i have caused. o jesus! who with infinite tact didst await, seated at the roadside, the opportunity for doing good, simply asking a small service of the poor samaritan woman thou wouldst save, and draw to thee. o jesus! grant that i may feel and understand all the pain that timidity, shyness, or reserve keep buried within the recesses of the soul. grant me the tact and discretion that draws near without paining, that asks without repulsing, without humiliating, and thus enable me to bring peace and comfort to the wounded heart. o jesus! seeking some one as faithful dispenser of thy blessings, grant _much_ to me, that i may have much to bestow on others. grant that my hands may dispense thine alms, that they may be as thine, when thou didst wash the feet of thine apostles, working for all, helping all; let me never forget that, like thee, i am placed on this earth to minister, not to be ministered unto. grant that my lips may speak comforting words and give forth cheering smiles, that i may be as the well by the roadside, where the weary traveller stoops to drink, as the shade of the tree whose branches laden with fruit are extended over all that pass beneath. o jesus! to whom all thy children are so dear, and whatever they may be thou carest for them, and rememberest they are the much-loved children of god! oh! grant that in all my intercourse with others, i may only see, love, and care for their _souls_, that soul for whom, o god, thou hast died, who like myself can call thee father, and with whom, near thee, i hope to dwell, throughout the ages of eternity. transcriber's note removed an extraneous comma from this line: _self-renunciation_*,* means devotion to our duty, going on with it in spite of difficulties, disgust, ennui, want of success. standardized spelling in this line by removing hyphen from light-heartedness, to match usage elsewhere in the book: whose chatter and lightheartedness, even her very attentions to myself, none leaves of life for daily inspiration by margaret bird steinmetz the bible text used in this book is taken from the american standard edition of the revised bible, copyright, , by thomas nelson & sons, and is used by permission. dedicated to those who have helped in gathering these leaves--and to those who may gather something from them. acknowledgments the macmillan company, new york, n.y. shailer mathews, jane addams, newell dwight hillis, marion crawford. the century company, new york, n.y. s. weir mitchell, theodore roosevelt, john kendrick bangs, richard watson gilder, edith thomas. oxford university press, london, e.c. annie matheson. the saalfield publishing company, akron, ohio. joseph jefferson. mitchell kennerley, new york. theodosia garrison: my litany. thomas y. crowell company, new york, n.y. charles w. eliot: the durable satisfactions of life. j.r. miller. the pilgrim press, boston, mass. henry ward beecher. harper & brothers, new york, n.y. will carleton: farm legends. margaret e. sangster: easter bells. elbert hubbard, roycroft shop, east aurora, n.y. printed by special permission of the publishers. w.b. conkey, hammond, ind. ella wheeler wilcox, copyrighted . national w.c.t.u., evanston, ill. frances e. willard. american baptist publication society, philadelphia, pa. w.e. winks. rand, mcnally & company, chicago, ill. marie bashkirtseff. tennesseean and american, nashville, tenn. g. rice. cosmopolitan magazine, new york, n.y. o. henry. the h.m. rowe company, baltimore, md. edwin leibfreed: poems. permission from president wilson for the excerpts from his speeches. houghton mifflin company, boston, mass. kate douglas wiggin, richard watson gilder, josephine peabody, john hay, hugo münsterberg, edith thomas, lyman abbott, john burroughs, elizabeth stuart phelps, thomas bailey aldrich, julia ward howe, harriet beecher stowe, joel chandler harris, lucy larcom, bret harte, bayard taylor, alice freeman palmer, thomas w. higginson. charles scribner's sons, new york, n.y. henry van dyke: music and other poems. maltbie d. babcock: thoughts for every day living. sidney lanier: poems of sidney lanier. robert bridges: robert bridges' poems. george meredith: last poems. james anthony froude: short studies on great subjects. robert louis stevenson: poems and works. w.e. henley: poems. eugene field: western verse. g.p. putnam's sons, new york and london. arthur christopher benson: along the road, silent isle, from a college window, joyous gard, lord vyet and other poems. little, brown & company, boston, mass. emily dickinson, laura e. richards, edward everett hale. george h. doran company, new york, n.y. sir oliver lodge, arnold bennett, j. stalker, a.h. begbie. fleming h. revell company, new york, n.y. percy c. ainsworth, e.h. divall, margaret e. sangster, j.h. jowett, george matheson. longmans, green & company, new york and london. william james. dodd, mead & company, new york, n.y. maurice maeterlinck, hamilton mabie, ian maclaren, jerome k. jerome, g.k. chesterton, paul laurence dunbar. small, maynard & company, boston, mass. mrs. charlotte perkins gilman, john b. tabb, ernest crosby. lothrop, lee & shepard company, boston, mass. paul hamilton hayne. doubleday, page & company, garden city, new york charles wagner, edwin markham, helen keller. e.p. dutton company, new york. george macdonald. january janus am i; oldest of potentates; forward i look, and backward, and below i count, as god of avenues and gates, the years that through my portals come and go. i block the roads, and drift the fields with snow; i chase the wild fowl from the frozen fen; my frosts congeal the rivers in their flow, my fires light up the hearths and hearts of men. --henry w. longfellow. january first bartolome esteban murillo, baptized . paul revere born . betsy ross born . maria edgeworth born . arthur hugh clough born . old things need not be therefore true, o brother men, nor yet the new; ah! still awhile the old thought retain, and yet consider it again! we! what do we see? each a space of some few yards before his face; does that the whole wide plan explain? ah, yet consider it again! alas! the great world goes its way, and takes its truth from each new day; they do not quit, nor can retain, far less consider it again. --arthur hugh clough. there are two sorts of content; one is connected with exertion, the other habits of indolence. the first is a virtue; the other a vice. --maria edgeworth. oh send out thy light and thy truth; let them lead me: let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles. --psalm . . almighty god, lead me in the search for life. teach me what is important and what is unimportant; what is false, and what is true. remove the hindrances that keep me from the worthiest deeds, and grant that i may have the peace that comes with surrender of self to thy will. amen. january second general james wolfe born . colonial flag first raised . mary carey thomas born . to what profit we could use the time for our present task that we spend in impatient waiting and wondering over the future! so often the future is just one step up from the present, but some of us miss it by preferring to wait for an elevator. --m. b. s. prepare to live by all means, but for heaven's sake do not forget to live. you will never have a better chance than you have at present. you may think you will have, but you are mistaken. --arnold bennett. he that riseth late must trot all day, and shall scarce overtake his business at night; while laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes him. he that lives on hope will die fasting. --benjamin franklin. whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in sheol, whither thou goest. --ecclesiastes . . gracious father, my heart burns with shame when i think how much i claim, and how little i am. i pray that my body may not cast a shadow to-day, and cloud the light of my life to-morrow. cleanse the windows of my soul that i may take in thy glory. amen. january third marcus tullius cicero born b.c. . martin luther excommunicated . douglas jerrold born . charles wagner (france) born . to be continually advancing in the paths of knowledge is one of the most pleasing satisfactions of the human mind. these are pleasures perfect consistent with every degree of advanced years. --cicero. fidelity in small things is at the base of every great achievement. we too often forget this and yet no truth needs more to be kept in mind particularly in the troubled eras of history and in the crises of individual life. in shipwreck a splintered beam, an oar, any scrap of wreckage saves us. to despise the remnants is demoralization. --charles wagner. he that is faithful in a very little is faithful also in much and he that is unrighteous in a very little is unrighteous also in much. --luke . almighty god, may i understand that thou art in everything and that i cannot hide from thee, for thou boldest me though i know it not. give me the desire, and help me to learn of thy laws, that i may know that even in the least of things, i have the liberty to obtain happiness by obeying them. amen. january fourth archbishop usher born . jacob l. carl grimm born . elizabeth peabody died . years rush by us like the wind, we see not whence the eddy comes, nor whitherward it is tending, and we seem ourselves to witness their flight without a sense that we are changed: and yet time is beguiling man of his strength, as the winds rob the trees of their foliage. --sir walter scott. the bell strikes one. we take no note of time but from its loss. to give it, then a tongue is wise in man; as if an angel spoke i feel the solemn sound. if heard aright it is the knell of my departed hours: where are they? --edward young. days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom. and the breath of the almighty giveth them understanding. it is not the great that are wise, nor the aged that understand justice. --job . , . lord god, help me to see my mistakes, and bring me to the realization of my life. grant that i may no longer use the time that thou gavest me to learn in, heedlessly, but to give it my best thought and care. amen. january fifth stephen decatur born . robert morrison born . thomas pringle born . let me go where'er i will, i hear a sky-born music still: it sounds from all things old, it sounds from all things young, from all that's fair, from all that's foul, peals out a cheerful song. it is not only in the rose, it is not only in the bird, not only where the rainbow glows, nor in the song of woman heard, but in the darkest, meanest things there alway, alway something sings. 'tis not in the high stars alone, nor in the cup of budding flowers, nor in the redbreast's mellow tone, nor in the bow that smiles in showers, but in the mud and scum of things there alway, alway something sings. --ralph waldo emerson. the heavens declare the glory of god; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. --psalm . . almighty god, grant that my life may no longer be a noise, but be kept in tune with the sublimest melodies, that wherever i am, there may be no discords in the songs of my soul. through thy loving-kindness may my songs resound. amen. january sixth epiphany, or twelfth-day. joan d'arc born . david dale born . 'twas even so! and thou the shepherd's child, joanne, the lowly dreamer of the wild! never before and never since that hour hath woman, mantled with victorious power, stood forth as thou beside the shrine didst stand, holy amidst the knighthood of the land. --mrs. felicia hemans. every one must recognize the splendid work which has been done by women in social and educational fields. and it will, i believe, come more and more to be recognized that in some respects women are specially fitted for government and for official-municipal life. --sir oliver lodge. now deborah, a prophetess, the wife of lappidoth, she judged israel at that time. and she dwelt under the palm tree of deborah between ramah and bethel in the hill-country of ephraim: and the children of israel came up to her for judgment. --judges . , . my father, help me to be thoughtful and just. may i consider the great truths and broader visions that may not be seen from where i stand. may i be willing to accept a better view. grant that i may realize that the battle of life is not a sham battle, but a struggle for the advancement of life. amen. january seventh general putnam born . robert nicholl born . t. dewitt talmage born . opportunities fly in a straight line, touch us but once and never return, but the wrongs we do others fly in a circle; they come back from the place they started. --t. dewitt talmage. our share of night to bear, our share of morning, our blank is bliss to fill, our blank is scorning. here a star, and there a star, some lose their way, here a mist, and there a mist, afterwards--day! --emily dickinson. arise ye, and depart; for this is not your resting-place. --micah . . lord god, give me the desire to be persistent in service, while i have health and strength. may i experience the sweetness that comes in doing the thing that i ought to have done, as well as that in which i took the most pleasure. help me to so live that my days may be useful, and be recalled with bright and happy recollections. amen. january eighth john earl of stair died . sir william draper died . alfred russel wallace born . william wilkie collins born . sir laurence alma-tadema born . a blue bird built his nest here in my breast. "o bird of light! whence comest thou?" said he, "from god above: my name is love." a mate he brought one day, of plumage gray. "o bird of night! why comest thou?" said she: "seek no relief! my name is grief." --laurence alma-tadema. it is not so much resolution as renunciation, not so much courage as resignation, that we need. he that has once yielded thoroughly to god will yield to nothing but god. --john ruskin. behold, god will not cast away a perfect man, neither will he uphold the evildoers. he will yet fill thy mouth with laughter, and thy lips with shouting. --job . , . almighty god, help me to understand that peace does not come in rebellion or grieving, but is obtained through the calm of the soul. grant that if i may be perplexed or worried to-day, i may have the power to control myself and wait in thy strength. amen. january ninth dr. thomas brown born . elizabeth o. benger died . caroline lucretia herschel died , aged ninety-seven. wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness altogether past calculation its powers of endurance. efforts to be permanently useful must be uniformly joyous--a spirit of all sunshine. --thomas carlyle. honest good humor is the oil and wine of a merry meeting. --washington irving. a laugh is worth a hundred groans in any market. --charles lamb. a glad heart maketh a cheerful countenance; but by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken. better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith. --proverbs . , . gracious father, if i am sorrowing over disappointment and am forgetful, grant that i may see the things thou hast made, for which i should be thankful. help me to so live that i may have a right to claim a cheerful heart. amen. january tenth dr. george birkbeck born . michel or marshal ney born . karl von linné, linnæus, died . ethan allen born . shall i hold on with both hands to every paltry possession? all i have teaches me to trust the creator for all i have not seen. --ralph waldo emerson. the practical weakness of the vast mass of modern pity for the poor and the oppressed is precisely that it is merely pity; the pity is pitiful but not respectful. men feel that the cruelty to the poor is a kind of cruelty to animals. they never feel that it is injustice to equals; nay, it is treachery to comrades. --g.k. chesterton. be ye all like-minded, compassionate, loving as brethren, tender-hearted, humble-minded: not rendering evil for evil, or reviling for reviling; but contrariwise blessing. -- peter . , . god of justice, may i pause to remember that while i may do a mean act and keep it hidden from others, i cannot keep it hidden from myself, nor from thee. help me to have a nobler sense of the quality of life, and less anxiety for the quantity, that i may avoid harshness and selfishness, and be given to tenderness and justice. amen. january eleventh alexander hamilton born . bayard taylor born . william james born . alice caldwell regan rice born . the paternal relation to man was the basis of that religion which appealed directly to the heart; so the fraternity of each man with his fellow was its practical application. --bayard taylor. it is indeed a remarkable fact that sufferings and hardships do not, as a rule, abate the love of life; they seem on the contrary, usually to give it a keener zest; and the sovereign source of melancholy is repletion. need and struggle are what excite and inspire. our hour of triumph is what brings the void. --william james. blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the lord promised to them that love him. --james . . lord god, i come to thee for help that the small things may not force themselves into my life, and keep me from pursuing the larger things which are continually open to me. may i not be blind to what i may have and be, through inspiration and work. grant that i may not be satisfied to remain in that in which i have triumphed, but climb to greater endeavors. amen. january twelfth edmund burke born . johann heinrich pestalozzi born . françois coppée born . john s. sargent born . show the thing you contend for to be reason; show it to be common sense; show it to be the means of attaining some useful end. the question with me is not whether you have a right to render your people miserable, but whether it is your interest to make them happy. --edmund burke. like the star that shines afar, without haste and without rest, let each man wheel with steady sway round the task that rules the day, and do his best. --goethe. love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. -- corinthians . . gracious father, cause me to be critical of my life, that i may not be deceived in myself. help me to look into my soul and see what thou dost find there; and with humility may i acknowledge what i am to thee, and seek thy wisdom and love. amen. january thirteenth george fox, founder society of friends, died . samuel woodworth (old oaken bucket) born . order of king's daughters founded . have thy soul feel the universal breath with which all nature's quick, and learn to be sharer in all that thou dost touch or see; break from thy body's grasp thy spirit's trance; give thy soul air, thy faculties expanse; love, joy, even sorrow,--yield thyself to all! they make thy freedom, groveling, not thy thrall. knock off the shackles which thy spirit bind to dust and sense, and set at large the mind! then move in sympathy with god's great whole, and be like man at first, a _living soul_. --richard henry dana. i was deeply impressed by what a gardener once said to me concerning his work. "i feel, sir," he said, "when i am growing the flowers or rearing the vegetables, that i am having a share in creation." i thought it a very noble way of regarding his work. --j.h. jowett. for we are god's fellow workers: ye are god's husbandry, god's building. -- corinthians . . creator of all, help me to see what there is for me to do; and help me to know that i cannot be productive if i am hovering in the choice of my work. may i learn from thy great works of heaven and earth the ways of selection and steadfastness. give me the desire to work and the confidence that is needed to carry on my work. amen. january fourteenth madame de sévigné died . edmund halley died . pierre loti born . are you in earnest? seize this very minute what you can do, or dream you can; begin it; boldness has genius, power magic in it. only engage, and then the mind grows heated; begin and then the work will be completed. --goethe. were half the power that fills the world with terror, were half the wealth bestowed on camps and courts, given to redeem the human mind from error, there were no need of arsenals or forts. --henry w. longfellow. choose you this day whom ye will serve;... but as for me and my house, we will serve jehovah. --joshua . . almighty god, help me to appreciate the sacredness of work while i have it to do. grant that i may be spared the wretchedness that comes from working with fragments from idleness. may i do my part, even if it be in obscurity and the night overtakes me before it is done. amen. january fifteenth molière born . dr. samuel parr born . edward everett died . the sun withholds his generous beam; athwart my soul the shadows stream; the weird winds boisterously blow, and drift the melancholy snow. when i, in sorrow and despair, expect the storm, with tender care he rends the clouds and through the blue the glorious sun breaks forth anew. --m.b.s. so with the wan waste grasses on my spear, i ride forever seeking after god. my hair grows whiter than my thistle plume and all my limbs are loose; but in my eyes the star of an unconquerable praise; for in my soul one hope forever sings, that at the next white corner of the road my eyes may look on him. --g.k. chesterton. he brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me. --psalm . . loving father, if i may be discouraged to-day, strengthen my faith. may i not weary of waiting for thee, but trust in thy promises. amen. january sixteenth edmund spenser died . johann august neander born . edward gibbon died . sir john moore died . but lovely concord, and most sacred peace, doth nourish vertue, and fast friendship breeds; weake she makes strong, and strong thing does increase, till it the pitch of highest praise exceeds. --edmund spenser. perfect good-breeding is the result of nature and not of education; for it may be found in a cottage, and may be missed in a palace. 'tis the genial regard for the feeling of others that springs from an absence of selfishness. --disraeli. can a fig tree, my brethren, yield olives, or a vine figs? neither can salt water yield sweet. --james . . heavenly father, help me to value my thoughts, words, and deeds. if at the close of the day, there may be one who has been wounded by my injustice, may i be willing to make quick atonement. may i avoid the ways and words that hurt; and not only wish rightly and work rightly, but speak to enrich others with tenderness. amen. january seventeenth john ray died . benjamin franklin born . george bancroft died . employ thy time well if thou meanest to gain leisure; and since thou art not sure of a minute, throw not away an hour! leisure is time for doing something useful; this leisure the diligent man will obtain, but the lazy man never; a life of leisure and a life of laziness are two things. --benjamin franklin. there is nothing to gain and everything to lose by despising the example of nature, and making arbitrary rules for oneself. our liberty wisely understood is but a voluntary obedience to the universal laws of life. --amiel. i will meditate on thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. --psalm . . my father, help me to understand the power of nature, that i may be willing to obey her laws. i pray that i may so live that my life will proclaim itself without need of boasting or deception. forbid that i should spend my life in perfecting trifles, and have no leisure to enjoy thy great gifts. amen. january eighteenth charles de montesquieu born . john gillies born . daniel webster born . we would leave for the consideration of those who shall occupy our places some proof that we hold the blessings transmitted from our fathers in just estimation; some proof of our attachment to the cause of good government and of civil and religious liberty; some proof of a sincere and ardent desire to promote every thing which may enlarge the understanding and improve the hearts of men. --daniel webster. brother and friend, the world is wide, but i care not whether there be the soothing song of a summer tide or the thrash of a wintry sea, if but through shimmer and storm you bide, brother and friend, with me. --percy c. ainsworth. honor all men. love the brotherhood. fear god. honor the king. -- peter . . almighty god, i thank thee for all the tender influences of life; for all the gentleness and strength that may be given and received through friendship. help me to be careful of what i do, for my sake, and for the sake of those who may follow me. amen. january nineteenth hans sachs died . william congreve died . james watt born . robert e. lee born . edgar allan poe born . i stand amid the roar of a surf-tormented shore, and i hold within my hand grains of the golden sand-- how few! yet how they creep through my fingers to the deep, while i weep--while i weep! o god, can i not save one from the pitiless wave? is all that we see or seem but a dream within a dream? --edgar allan poe. do not train up your children in hostility to the government of the united states. remember that we are one country now. dismiss from your mind all sectional feeling, and bring them up to be americans. --robert e. lee. wait for jehovah: be strong, and let thy heart take courage; yea, wait thou for jehovah. --psalm . . lord god, i pray that if i have struggled for the wrong, and have worked with weak hands, thou wilt forgive me for my lost strength. give me more light to shine upon my work, upon thy promises, and upon my duties; and with thy wisdom may i search for the truth that is behind every wrong, and for the purpose that is beyond all journeyings. amen. january twentieth eve of saint agnes. david garrick died . john howard died . john ruskin died . nathaniel p. willis born . how like a mounting devil in the heart rules the unreigned ambition! let it once but play the monarch, and its haughty brow glows with a beauty that bewilders thought and unthrones peace forever. putting on the very pomp of lucifer, it turns the heart to ashes. --nathaniel p. willis. temperance, in the nobler sense, does not mean a subdued and imperfect energy; it does not mean a stopping short in any good thing, as love or in faith; but it means the power which governs the most intense energy, and prevents its acting in any way but as it ought. --john ruskin. and thy gentleness hath made me great. --psalm . . gracious father, i pray that i may be willing to profit by the experience of great teachers, and appreciate the value of strong principles. may i too live for the higher ideals of life, and through a sympathetic response add power and virtue to other lives, while gaining strength for my own. amen. january twenty-first miles coverdale died . john fitch born . john c. fremont born . thomas erskine born . thomas jonathan (stonewall) jackson born . so long as we love we serve; so long as we are loved by others i would almost say that we are indispensable; and no man is useless while he has a friend. --robert l. stevenson. so to the calmly gathered thought the innermost of life is taught, the mystery dimly understood, that love of god is love of good: that to be saved is only this-- salvation from our selfishness. --john greenleaf whittier. love worketh no ill to his neighbor: love therefore is the fulfillment of the law. and this, knowing the season, that already it is time for you to awake out of sleep: for now is salvation nearer to us than when we first believed. --romans . , . tender father, may i not attempt to serve life for my own gratification. may i not interpret love through vanity, but from reality. make me worth while, that i may be relied upon for my pledges, and needed for my services. amen. january twenty-second andrea del sarto died . francis bacon born . lord george byron born . queen victoria died . father of light! to thee i call, my soul is dark within: thou who canst mark the sparrow's fall, avert the death of sin, thou who canst guide the wandering star, who calm'st the elemental war, whose mantle is yon boundless sky, my thoughts, my words, my crimes forgive; and since i soon must cease to live, instruct me how to die. --lord byron. knowledge, whether it descend from divine inspiration or spring from human sense, would soon perish and vanish to oblivion if it were not preserved in books, traditions, conferences, and places appointed. --francis bacon. blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein. --revelation . . almighty god, i would have thy counsel as i read the words and follow the deeds of helpful lives, that i may be inspired to nobler activities. give me the desire to know more of thy holy word, that i may have a better knowledge of life. amen. january twenty-third john hancock born . william pitt died . charles kingsley died . paul gustave doré died . never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful. welcome it in every fair face, every fair sky, every fair flower, and thank him for it, who is the fountain of all loveliness. --charles kingsley. nature never did betray the heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege through all the years of this life, to lead, from joy to joy; for she can so impress with quietness and beauty, and so feed with lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues, * * * * * nor all the dreary intercourse of daily life, shall e'er prevail against us or disturb our cheerful faith, that all which we behold is full of blessings. --william wordsworth. is not god in the height of heaven? and behold the height of the stars, how high they are! and thou sayest, what doth god know? can he judge through the thick darkness? --job . , . lord god, i pray that i may not overlook thy blessings of beauty while endeavoring to perform my duties. guide me that i may not struggle to be where thou wouldst not have me go. amen. january twenty-fourth charles earl of dorset born . frederick the great born . charles james fox born . the great gods pass through the great time-hall, stately and high; the little men climb the low clay wall to gape and spy; "we wait for the gods," the little men cry, "but these are our brothers passing by." the great gods pass through the great time-hall; who can see? the little men nod by the low clay wall, so tired they be; '"tis weary waiting for gods," they yawn, "there's a world o' men, but the gods are gone." --a.h. begbie. but their eyes were holden that they should not know him. --luke . . my father, may i be careful of getting weary and missing the best through the need of rest. intensify my desire for the songs and glorious ways, that i may not settle into dullness and slumber, while others pass on in the light. i pray for a keener sense of the possessions made possible by the deeds and cares of noble men and women. amen. january twenty-fifth robert burns born . lord frederick leighton died . daniel maclise born . when ranting round in pleasure's ring religion may be blinded: or if she gie a random sting, it may be little minded: but when on life we're tempest-driv'n-- a conscience but a canker, a correspondence fixed wi' heav'n, is sure a noble anchor. --robert burns. be good, sweet maid, and let who will be clever; do noble things, not dream them, all day long: and so make life, death, and that vast forever one grand sweet song. --charles kingsley. o lord, by these things men live; and wholly therein is the life of my spirit: wherefore recover thou me, and make me to live. --isaiah . . gracious father, grant that i may not be willing to spend my life for trivial needs, for thou dost measure me for what i am, and boldest me for what i lose in waste. be with me in my judgment of what is best, that i may make the most of my life. amen. january twenty-sixth lord george sackville born . benjamin robert haydon born . mary mapes dodge born . general gordon (chinese gordon) killed . ave maria! blessed be the hour, that time, the clime, the spot, where i so oft have felt that moment in its fullest power sink o'er the earth so beautiful and soft, while swung the deep bell in the distant tower or the faint dying day-hymn stole aloft, and not a breath crept through the rosy air, and yet the forest leaves seemed stirred with prayer. --lord byron. i am quite happy, thank god, and like lawrence, i have tried to do my duty. --general gordon (just before death). for in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion: in the covert of his tabernacle will he hide me; he will lift me up upon a rock. --psalm . . heavenly father, teach me how to breathe in the sweetness of life. reveal to me the life that will bring peace to the soul. may i not be dismayed, but find the "peace that passeth all understanding," the perfect peace that comes from thee. amen. january twenty-seventh johannes wolfgang mozart born . a.w. von schlegel born . david friedrich strauss born . to keep young, every day read a poem, hear a choice piece of music, view a fine painting, and, if possible, do a good action. man's highest merit always is, as much as possible, to rule external circumstances, and as little as possible to let himself be ruled by them. --goethe. let us not always say, "spite of this flesh to-day i strove, made head, gained ground upon the whole!" as the bird wings and sings, let us cry, "all good things are ours, nor soul helps flesh more now than flesh helps soul!" --robert browning. surely goodness and loving-kindness shall follow me all the days of my life. --psalm . . loving father, help me to foresee that it is what i care for to-day that determines how i will find old age. may i not bring my closing years to weariness and lonesomeness, but may i have the restfulness that comes with communing with thee. amen. january twenty-eighth charlemagne died . sir francis drake died . peter the great died . charles george gordon (chinese gordon) born . he only is advancing in life whose heart is getting softer, whose blood warmer, whose brain quicker, and whose spirit is entering into living peace. and the men who have this life in them are the true lords and kings of the earth--they, and they only. --john ruskin. just where you stand in the conflict, there is your place! just where you think you are useless, hide not your face! god placed you there for a purpose, what e'er it be; think you he has chosen you for it: work loyally. --anonymous. o the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of god! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! --romans . . my father, i thank thee that thou hast endowed me with a will; help me to use it aright. may i have the knowledge of what thou dost demand of my soul, that i may do my best with what thou hast given me. help me that i may reach out for the highest ideals of life. amen. january twenty-ninth emanuel swedenborg born . thomas paine born . adelaide ristori born . william mckinley, ohio, twenty-fourth president united states, born . god will keep no nation in supreme place that will not do supreme duty. --william mckinley. reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what god and the angels know of us. --thomas paine. the reward of one duty is the power to fulfill another. --george eliot. let thy hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong for thyself. so shall we not go back from thee: quicken thou us, and we will call upon thy name. --psalm . , . my father, i pray that i may be just and be given to kindness. may i be conscious of my virtues, and use them to overcome my faults. may i hear clearly thy call that i may be sure of the way as i lead others to duty and happiness. amen. january thirtieth archbishop butler born . walter savage landor born . henri rochefort born . why, why repine, my pensive friend, at pleasures slipped away? some the stern fates will never lend, and all refuse to stay. i see the rainbow in the sky, the dew upon the grass; i see them and i ask not why they glimmer or they pass. with folded arms i linger not to call them back; 'twere vain; in this, or in some other spot, i know they'll shine again. --walter savage landor. when disappointment comes meet it, but do not carry it along with you; nor fetter your spirit by changeless haste. "memory will always pursue some precious instance of itself," which will bring either renewed confidence or resignation. --m. b. s. for thou shalt forget thy misery; thou shalt remember it as waters that are passed away. --job . . gracious father, help me to "lift mine eyes unto the hills" that glorify the discouraging ways. may i appreciate thy great love, and from my limitations find the possibilities that are limitless. amen. january thirty-first cromwell dissolved parliament . charles edward (young pretender) died . franz schubert born . james g. elaine born . nature demands that man be ever at the top of his condition. he who violates her laws must pay the penalty, though he sit on a throne. --james g. elaine. dig channels for the streams of love, where they may broadly run; and love has overflowing streams to fill them every one. for we must share if we must keep the good things from above; ceasing to give, we cease to have-- such is the law of love. --r. c. trench. and thy life shall be clearer than the noonday; though there be darkness, it shall be as the morning. --job . . my father, i would remember that it is mostly from my inspirations that i conceive life. take away hatred and vanity that keep me in faults, and awake in me the thoughts that are responsible for visions that lead to high ideals. amen. february then came old february, sitting in an old wagon, for he could not ride, drawn of two fishes for the season fitting, which through the flood before did softly slide and swim away; yet he had by his side his plow and harness fit to till the ground, and tools to prune the trees, before the pride of hasting prime did make them bourgeon wide. --edmund spenser. february first ben jonson born . john philip kemble born . arthur henry hallam born . george cruikshank died . it is not growing like a tree in bulk, doth make man better be; or standing long an oak, three hundred year, to fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere: a lily of a day is fairer far in may, although it fall and die that night-- it was the plant and flower of light. in small proportions we just beauties see; and in short measure life may perfect be. --ben jonson. there are four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise: the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer; the conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks; the locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands; the lizard taketh hold with her hands, yet is she in king's palaces. --proverbs . - . creator of all, lead me to see the light, and instruct me that i may be able to reason. guard me against spectacular endeavors, that i may be genuine. amen. february second candlemas day. nell gwynn born . hannah more born . william henry burleigh born . 'twas doing nothing was his curse-- is there a vice can plague us worse? the wretch who digs the mine for bread, or plows, that others may be fed, feels less fatigue than that decreed to him who cannot think, or read. not all the peril of temptations, not all the conflict of the passions, can quench the spark of glory's flame, or quite extinguish virtue's name. --hannah more. sound, sound the clarion, fill the fife! to all the sensual world proclaim, one crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name. --sir walter scott. he went out, and found others standing; and he saith unto them, why stand ye here all the day idle? they say unto him, because no man hath hired us. he saith unto them, go ye also into the vineyard. --matthew . , . eternal god, who hath weighed the mountains and measured the seas, i pray that i may not be satisfied to wait in idleness, and let thy wisdom pass away from me as the days. steady me in my weakness, and reveal to me my strength as i draw near and ask of thee. amen. february third felix mendelssohn-bartholdy born . horace greeley born . frederick william robertson born . sidney lanier born . my soul is sailing through the sea, but the past is heavy and hindereth me. the past hath crusted cumbrous shells that hold the flesh of cold sea-mells about my soul. the huge waves wash, the high waves roll, each barnacle clingeth and worketh dole and hindereth me from sailing. --sidney lanier. to stand with a smile upon your face, against a stake from which you cannot get away--that no doubt is heroic. true glory is resignation to the inevitable. but to stand unchained, with perfect liberty to go away held only by the higher chains of duty, and let the fire creep up to the heart--that is heroism. --f.w. robertson. we are pressed on every side, yet not straitened; perplexed, yet not unto despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; smitten down, yet not destroyed. -- corinthians . , . gracious father, thou knowest what i am and the condition of my life. may i seek thy will for me. grant that i may never struggle for consolation through indulgence and indolence, but in my sorrow and failure may i reach out for thy enduring comfort. amen. february fourth mark hopkins born . w. harrison ainsworth born . jean richepin born . thomas carlyle died . life is not a may-game, but a battle and a march, a warfare with principalities and powers. no idle promenade through fragrant orange groves and green flowery spaces, waited on by coral muses, and the rosy hours; it is a stern pilgrimage through the rough, burning, sandy solitudes, through regions of thick-ribbed ice. --thomas carlyle. for all sweet and pleasant passages in the great story of life men may well thank god; for leisure and ease and health and friendship may god make us truly and humbly grateful; but our chief song of thanksgiving must be always for our kinship with him, with all that such divinity of greatness brings of peril, hardship, toil, and sacrifice. --hamilton mabie. thy bars shall be iron and brass; and as thy days, so shall thy strength be. --deuteronomy . . my father, help me to choose the road that leads to my work, and may i not fail to reach it, by wandering away from it. keep me in touch with the human side of life, holding in mind that "truth and honesty are the noblest works of god." amen. february fifth sir robert peel born . ole boreman bull born . john muir born . dwight l. moody born . when a great man dies, then has the time come for putting us in mind that he was alive! --thomas carlyle. if i practice one day, i can see the result. if i practice two days, my friends can see it. if i practice three days, the great public can see it. --ole bull. those who say they will forgive but can't forget an injury simply bury the hatchet while they leave the handle out, ready for immediate use. --dwight l. moody. but i hold not my life of any account as dear unto myself, so that i may accomplish my course. --acts . . almighty god, if i am uncertain, and tremble at the crossroads in doubt of the right way, may i wait and be led by thee, and follow on, even if the way be dark and rough. may i be faithful and have thy presence as thou promised at the end. amen. february sixth queen anne of england born . aaron burr born . sir henry irving born . nothing earthly will make me give up my work in despair. i encourage myself in the lord my god and go forward. --david livingstone. to expect defeat is nine tenths of defeat itself. --marion crawford. i do not see how any man can afford, for the sake of his nerves and his nap, to spare any action in which he can partake. --ralph waldo emerson. art is a jealous mistress, she requires the whole man. --michael angelo. watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong. -- corinthians . . almighty god, help me to have true conceptions, that my life may not be secured to needless purposes. may my soul be influenced by high ideals, and my work be the production of truth and not of selfishness. protect me from evil that i may be kept pure and strong for my work. amen. february seventh millard fillmore, new york, thirteenth president united states born . sir thomas more born . charles dickens born . anne radcliffe died . sidney cooper died . let no man turn aside ever so slightly, from the broad path of honor, on the plausible pretense that he is justified by the goodness of his end. all good ends can be worked out by good means. --charles dickens. if evils come not, then our fears are vain; and if they do, fear but augments the pain. --sir thomas more. a human heart knows aught of littleness, suspects no man, compares with no one's ways, hath in one hour most glorious length of days, a recompense, a joy, a loveliness; like eaglet keen, shoots into azure far, and always dwelling nigh is the remotest star. --william ellery channing. teach me thy way, o jehovah; i will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name. --psalm . . gracious father, i pray that thou wilt control my impulses, and protect me from false interpretations. may i have wisdom, and search for the high and holy ways. help me to be patient for thy purposes, and may my relations to life be triumphant in thy standards. amen. february eighth samuel butler born . john ruskin born . general sherman born . jules verne born . richard watson gilder born . if you want knowledge, you must toil for it; and if pleasure, you must toil for it. toil is the law. pleasure comes through toil, and not by self-indulgence and indolence. when one gets to love work his life is a happy one. --john ruskin. whatever sceptic could inquire for, for every why he had a wherefore. --samuel butler. through love to light! o wonderful the way, that leads from darkness to the perfect day! from darkness and from sorrow of the night to morning that comes singing o'er the sea. through love to light! through light o god to thee! who art the love, the eternal light of light! --richard watson gilder. we must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. --john . . my father, i pray that i may not weight my life with worthless efforts. may i be guided to the right work, and through the love of it find strength for my soul. amen. february ninth c.f. volney born . william henry harrison, virginia, ninth president united states, born . anthony hope (hawkins) born . george ade born . a man's own observation, what he finds good of, and what he finds hurt of, is the best physic to preserve health. but it is a safer conclusion to say, "this agreeth not well with me, therefore i will not continue it"; than to say, "i find no offense of this, therefore i may use it." for strength of nature in youth passeth over many excesses, which are owing a man till his age. --francis bacon. though man a thinking being is defined, few use the grand prerogative of mind. how few think justly of the thinking few! how many never think, who think they do! --jane taylor. blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life. --james . . almighty god, i would learn that while thou art a forgiving lord, nature has no mercy on them that break her laws. forgive me for all my neglect, and help me to see the way in which thou hast through mercy led me. give me the power to endure and the strength to resist temptation. may i seek to understand thy laws, that i may not fail through ignorance. amen. february tenth rev. henry hart milman born . charles lamb born . sir william napier died . never let the most well-intended falsehood escape your lips; for heaven, which is entirely truth, will make the seed which you have sown of untruth to yield miseries a thousandfold. --charles lamb. we cannot command veracity at will; the power of seeing and reporting truly is a form of health that has to be distinctly guarded, and as an ancient rabbi has solemnly said, "the penalty of untruth is untruth." --george eliot. the bat hangs upside down and laughs at a topsy-turvy world. --unknown. the lip of truth shall be established for ever; but a lying tongue is but for a moment. --proverbs . . lord god, give me the will to hold to the truth and the strength to help keep the world true; and may i help others to look up and catch the truth from the purest light. amen. february eleventh mary, queen of england, born . daniel boone born . lydia m. child born . washington gladden born . thomas a. edison born . few, in the days of early youth, trusted like me in love and truth. i've learned sad lessons from the years; but slowly and with many tears; for god made me to kindly view the world that i was passing through. and all who tempt a trusting heart from faith and hope to drift apart, may they themselves be spared the pain of losing power to trust again! god help us all to kindly view the world that we are passing through! --lydia m. child. for ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing; and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. --isaiah . . lord god, i pray that i may not rest my hope in self alone, but know that the greatest joy is in the hope of the world. help me to have faith in mankind; and with a loyal heart and a brave spirit be as kind to the world as i can. amen. february twelfth dr. cotton mather born . peter cooper born . abraham lincoln, kentucky, sixteenth president united states, born . robert charles darwin born . george meredith born . with malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as god gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation's wounds, ... to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations. --abraham lincoln. the great moral combat between human life and each human soul must be single.... when a soul arms for battle she goes forth alone. --owen meredith. according to the grace of god which was given unto me, as a wise master builder i laid a foundation; and another buildeth thereon. -- corinthians . . almighty god, i thank thee for the courage that comes with a great life. help me to be brave, even if it is only that others may be blest. may i lay a careful foundation and plan to build the best that i can afford. amen. february thirteenth david allan born . maurice de talleyrand-périgord born . richard wagner died . a man is not his hope, nor yet his despair, nor yet his past deed. we know not yet what we have done; still less what we are doing. wait till evening, and other parts of our work will shine than we had thought at noon, and we shall discover the real purport of our toil. --henry d. thoreau. when you make a mistake don't look back at it long. take the reason of the thing into your mind, and look forward. mistakes are lessons of wisdom.... the past cannot be changed. the future is yet in your power. --hugh white. he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with joy, bringing his sheaves with him. --psalm . . my father, help me to survey my life. make me compassionate and considerate, that i may be qualified to promote that which is helpful. may i appreciate that what is worth keeping i can obtain from thee. amen. february fourteenth saint valentine's day. captain james cook killed . jean ernest reynaud born . oh! little loveliest lady mine, what shall i send for your valentine? summer and flowers are far away; gloomy old winter is king to-day; buds will not blow, and sun will not shine: what shall i do for a valentine? i've searched the gardens all through and through for a bud to tell of my love so true; but buds are asleep and blossoms are dead, and the snow beats down on my poor little head: so, little loveliest lady mine, here is my heart for your valentine. --laura e. richards. oh rank is gold, and gold is fair, and high and low mate ill; but love has never known a law beyond its own sweet will! --john g. whittier. beloved, let us love one another: for love is of god. -- john . . loving father, may i not fall to nodding in the balmy air of luxury and miss the messages of love. arouse me, that i may give and take in the treasures of love as they come my way, and that they may not pass unnoticed. amen. february fifteenth galileo galilei born . louis xv born . s. weir mitchell born . sir frederick treves born . the night i know is nigh at hand, the mists lie low on hill and bay, the autumn sheaves are brown and dry, but i have had the day. yes, i have had, dear lord, the day. when at thy call i have the night brief be the twilight as i pass from light to dark, from dark to light. --s. weir mitchell. if thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small--too small to be worth talking about, for the day of adversity is its first real opportunity. --maltbie babcock. nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. --romans . . my father, may my daily work not be the means of separating me from thee, but may i have thee for my companion through my work. forbid that i should ever submit to despair from weakness of body, but that i may be blest and grow strong as my spirit lives in thee. amen. february sixteenth philip melanchthon born . gasper de coligny born . thomas robert malthus born . ernst heinrich haeckel born . thy love shall chant its own beatitudes after its own life working. a child's kiss set on thy sighing lips shall make thee glad. a poor man served by thee shall make thee rich; a sick man helped by thee shall make thee strong; thou shalt be served thyself by every sense of service which thou renderest. --elizabeth b. browning. ask nothing more of me, sweet; all i can give you i give. heart of my heart, were it more, more would be laid at your feet: love that should help you to live, song that should help you to soar. --algernon charles swinburne. all things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them. --matthew . . lord god, i pray that i may not neglect the help and happiness that i may give with compassion and love. make me strong in all the senses that answer to the call of humanity. help me to guide and protect little children, and to care for the comforts of the old. amen. february seventeenth kate greenaway born . michael angelo buonarroti died . giordano bruno burned at rome . molière died . rose terry cooke born . frances e. willard died . it is not much to give a gentle word or kindly touch to one gone down beneath the world's cold frown, and yet who knows how great a thing from such a little grows? o, oftentimes, some brother upward climbs and hope again uplifts its head, that in the dust had lain, gives place to morning's light. --e. h. divall. i will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick. --ezekiel . . my father, may i not sorrow so that i fail to comfort the sorrowing, and may i not be so happy that i fail to see that others need to be glad. i thank thee for thy providences. may i serve thee in helping others to brighter lives. amen. february eighteenth martin luther died . george peabody born . wilson barrett born . a mighty fortress is our god, a bulwark never failing: our helper he amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. for still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe; his craft and power are great: and, armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal. --martin luther. let us stand by our duty fearlessly and effectively. i am not bound to win, but i am bound to be true. i am not bound to succeed, but i am bound to live up to the light that i have. --abraham lincoln. jehovah is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my god, my rock, in whom i will take refuge. --psalm . . lord god, help me to lay my life in the rocks of thy foundation, and not in moving sands which are tossed from shore to shore. may i cling to the rock that was cleft for me and trust for thy care. amen. february nineteenth copernicus born . leonard bacon born . w.w. story born . adelina patti born . so mine are these new fruitings rich, the simple to the common brings; i keep the youth of souls who pitch their joy in this old heart of things; full lasting is the song, though he the singer passes; lasting too, for souls not lent in usury, the rapture of the forward view. --george meredith. all deep things are song. it seems, somehow, the very central essence of us, song; as if all the rest were wrappages and hulls! the primal element of us; of us, and all things. --thomas carlyle. ye shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come unto the mountain of jehovah. --isaiah . . lord god, help me to feel the power of praise. "as words without thoughts never to heaven go," so the highest praises are never sung alone, but rendered with service and love. may i have the heart to sing thy praises far and near, and rejoice in him from whom all blessings flow. amen. february twentieth j.h. voss born . joseph jefferson born . mihaly munkacsy (michael lieb) born . who serves his country well has no need of ancestors. --voltaire. lo, spring comes forth with all her warmth and love, she brings sweet justice from the realms above; she breaks the chrysalis, she resurrects the dead; two butterflies ascend encircling her head. and so this emblem shall forever be a sign of immortality. --joseph jefferson. thou wilt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory. --psalm . . lord god, i pray that i may not neglect my soul in trying to fathom immortal life. if i may be hesitating between comfort and work, remind me of the greatness of the place which i started to reach. may i not grow weary of climbing and falter on the stair. breathe upon me thy inspiration and love, that i may continue in faith all the way. amen. february twenty-first edmund william gosse born . karl czerny born . cardinal john h. newman born . jean l.e. meissonier born . alice freeman palmer born . prune thou thy words, the thoughts control that o'er thee swell and throng; they will condense within thy soul, and change to purpose strong. --john h. newman. think truly, and thy thoughts shall the world's famine feed; speak truly, and each word of thine shall be a fruitful seed; live truly, and thy life shall be a great and noble creed. --horatio bonar. we ought to love everybody and make everybody love us. then everything else is easy. --alice freeman palmer. then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of jehovah shall be thy rearward. --isaiah . . almighty god, look upon me with pity; so often i have obeyed the thoughts that have been misleading and profitless. make me more careful of what i think and say, and may i learn from my mistakes the forbidden paths. help me to keep my mind in unity with thy will. amen. february twenty-second george washington, virginia, first president united states, born . james russell lowell born . margaret e. sangster born . labor to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience. --george washington. life is a sheet of paper white whereon each one of us may write his word or two, and then comes night. greatly begin! though thou hast time but for a line, be that sublime. not failure, but low aim is crime. --james russell lowell. god keep us through the common days, the level stretches white with dust, when thought is tired, and hands upraise their burdens feebly since they must; in days of slowly fretting care then most we need the strength of prayer. --margaret e. sangster. make level the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. --proverbs . . lord god, help me to realize the influence of the individual life. and as i would care for my own, may i seek to do for others; and may i not criticize, but help all who are trying to make the world better. amen. february twenty-third samuel pepys born . george f. handel born . george frederick watts born . john keats died . margaret deland born . labor is life! 'tis the still water faileth; idleness ever despaireth, bewaileth: keep the watch wound, or the dark rust assaileth; flowers droop and die in the stillness of noon. labor is glory! the flying cloud lightens; only the waving wing changes and brightens, idle hearts only the dark future frightens, play the sweet keys, wouldst thou keep them in tune. --frances s. osgood. keats palled death, with kisses ghostly, wooed and won him while too young, and the world reveres him mostly, for the songs he might have sung. --samuel a. wood. enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thy habitations; spare not: lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes. --isaiah . . almighty god, i pray for the will to do my finest work. disclose to me if i am being detained by serving selfishness in myself or in others. lead me to what is right for me to do; and may i diligently tarry in it. amen. february twenty-fourth samuel lover born . robert fulton died . george william curtis born . 'tis not to enjoy that we exist, for that end only; something must be done; i must not walk in unreproved delight these narrow bounds, and think of nothing more, no duty that looks further and no care. --william wordsworth. we weave our thoughts into heart-spun plans, and weave secure for a fitful day, but lose in the web of earthly things the pattern of sublimity. shall days spring up as wild vines grow, unheeding where they climb or cling? consider, child, before you sow, and wait not until harvesting. --m.b.s. jehovah is my strength and my shield; my heart hath trusted in him, and i am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will i praise him. --psalm . . loving father, command my judgment for the influences which i permit to come into my life. grant that i may not delay my purposes for the lack of comforts which are so often made more than life. with thy strength may i be steadfast in what i would achieve. amen. february twenty-fifth william seely died . sir christopher wren died . jane goodwin austin born . camille flammarion born . in general, pride is at the bottom of all great mistakes. all other passions do occasionally good; but wherever pride puts in its word everything goes wrong. --john ruskin. he that is proud eats up himself: pride is his own glass, his own trumpet, his own chronicle; and whatever praises itself but in the deed, devours the deed in the praise. --william shakespeare. save me alike from foolish pride or impious discontent; at aught thy wisdom hath denied, or aught thy wisdom lent. --alexander pope. a man's pride shall bring him low; but he that is of a lowly spirit shall obtain honor. --proverbs . . heavenly father, i pray that i may not let pride keep me down when it may be mine to be carried to the heights. with tenderness take me out of myself, that i may see how pride deceives, and destroys an humble spirit. help me to master both stubbornness and pride. amen. february twenty-sixth christopher marlowe (baptized ). victor hugo born . lord cromer born . thomas moore died . when i go down to the grave i can say, like so many others, i have finished my work; but i cannot say i have finished my life; my day's work will begin again the next morning. my tomb is not a blind alley; it is a thoroughfare. it closes in the twilight to open in the dawn. --victor hugo. there's nothing bright above, below, from flowers that bloom to stars that glow, but in the light my soul can see some feature of the deity. there's nothing dark below, above, but in its gloom i trace god's love, and meekly wait that moment when his truth shall turn all bright again. --thomas moore. jehovah redeemeth the soul of his servants; and none of them that take refuge in him shall be condemned. --psalm . . lord god, may i not only feel the need of thee when i am burdened with sorrow and care, but may i have need of thee in my pleasures and joys. i thank thee for thy gracious kindness, thy mercy and thy protection. amen. february twenty-seventh henry wadsworth longfellow born . ellen terry born . mary f. robinson born . lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time-- footprints that perhaps another, sailing o'er life's wintry main, a forlorn and shipwrecked brother, seeing, shall take heart again. --henry w. longfellow. they are slaves who fear to speak for the fallen and the weak; they are slaves who will not choose hatred, scoffing, and abuse, rather than in silence shrink from the truth they needs must think; they are slaves who dare not be in the right with two or three. --james russell lowell. even so let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your father who is in heaven. --matthew . . merciful father, help me to know that my shadow cannot fall without me, and that my footprints cannot be found where i have never trodden. i pray that thou wilt make me so familiar with the right path that it may be mine to have the privilege of leading others to the right places. amen. february twenty-eighth montaigne born . mary lyon born . sir john tenniel born . soul, rule thyself; on passion, deed, desire, lay thou the laws of thy deliberate will. stand at thy chosen post, faith's sentinel: though hell's lost legions ring thee round with fire, learn to endure. --arthur symonds. the confidence in another man's virtue is no slight evidence of a man's own, and god willingly favors such a confidence. --montaigne. though a host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, even then will i be confident. --psalm . . my father, may i ever be kept in remembrance of my virtue, and may i be sensitive to its strength. as i go on my way, keep me within control of the impetuous desires of my nature, and in call of the duties and obligations of my daily life. amen. february twenty-ninth anne lee born . g.a. rossini born . john landseer died . happy is he and more than wise who sees with wondrous eyes and clean this world through all the gray disguise of sleep and custom in between. --g.k. chesterton. in the morning, when thou findest thyself unwilling to rise, consider with thyself presently, if it is to go about a man's work that i am stirred up. or was i made for this, to lay me down, and make much of myself in a warm bed. --marcus aurelius. arise and be doing, and jehovah be with thee. -- chronicles . . gracious father, help me to take of the wealth of my day, while it is in season, and accessible. may i not be ignorant of the abundance in which i live, and be found in overwhelming regret. forgive me for all that i have missed in life, and make me more watchful of that which is to come. amen. march spring still makes spring in the mind, when sixty years are told; love makes anew this throbbing heart, and we are never old. over the winter glaciers, i see the summer glow, and through the wild-piled snowdrift the warm rosebuds below. --ralph waldo emerson. march first alexander balfour born . frederick françois chopin born . augustus saint-gaudens born . william dean howells born . thy soul shall enter on its heritage of god's unuttered wisdom. thou shalt sweep with hand assured the ringing lyre of life, till the fierce anguish of its bitter strife, its pain, death, discord, sorrow, and despair, break into rhythmic music. thou shalt share the prophet-joy that kept forever glad god's poet-souls when all a world was sad. enter and live! thou hast not lived before. --s. weir mitchell. return unto thy rest, o my soul; for jehovah hath dealt bountifully with thee. for thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling. --psalm . , . almighty god, grant that i may never be so discouraged that i feel my life has been spent. help me to so live, that i may not follow into hopeless days, but look for the bright and beautiful in to-morrow. forgive me for all that i have asked for and accepted through willful judgment, and make me more careful in selecting my needs. amen. march second juvenal born a.d. . john wesley died . horace walpole died . nature never says one thing, wisdom another. --juvenal. by all means, use some times to be alone; salute thyself--see what thy soul doth wear; dare to look in thy chest, for 'tis thine own, and tumble up and down what thou findest there. --william wordsworth. lonesomeness is part of the cost of power. the higher you climb, the less can you hope for companionship. the heavier and the more immediate the responsibility, the less can a man delegate his tasks or escape his own mistakes. --shailer mathews. but thou, when thou prayest, enter into thine inner chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy father who is in secret, and thy father who seeth in secret shall recompense thee. --matthew . . my father, i pray that thou wilt take care of my thoughts when i am alone and tired, and keep them strong and clean. grant that while i commune with thee i may yield to my needs and be restored with keener energy for worthier deeds. may i ask of thy wisdom every day. amen. march third edmund waller born . george herbert died . christine nilsson born . pitch thy behaviour low, thy projects high, so shalt thou humble and magnanimous be; sink not in spirit: who aimeth at the sky, shoots higher than he that means a tree. --george herbert. we and god have business with each other; and in opening ourselves to his influence our deepest destiny is fulfilled. --william james. while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. -- corinthians . . almighty god, help me to remember that "the power of character is the highest point of success," and that thou hast put within reach of all the choice ideals of life. may i have the desire to cultivate strong purposes, and strive for high endeavors, that i may not aim for the low. amen. march fourth casimer pulaski born . sir henry raeburn born . e.w. bull, originator concord grape, born . alexander graham bell born . it is perfectly obvious that men do necessarily absorb, out of the influences in which they grow up, something which gives a complexion to their whole after-character. --anthony froude. all common things, each day's events that with the hour begin and end, our pleasures and our discontents are rounds by which we may ascend. --henry w. longfellow. our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt. i --shakespeare. and david put his hand in his bag, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the philistine in his forehead; and the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the earth. -- samuel . . my father, i would remember that my life may decline from the neglect of small things; for as thou dost nourish the wheat from flakes of snow, and supply the springs from drops of rain, so thou wilt strengthen my soul from every little blessing. i pray that i may not forget to watch my habits, and keep track of the hours that culture and sustain my life. amen. march fifth correggio died . howard pyle born . arthur foote born . when i have the time so many things i'll do, to make life happier and more fair for those whose lives are crowded now with care, i'll help to lift them from their low despair when i have time. when i have time the friend i love so well shall know no more the weary, toiling days; i'll lead his feet in pleasant paths always, and cheer his heart with words of sweetest praise, when i have time. now is the time! speed, friend; no longer wait to scatter loving smiles and words of cheer to those around whose lives are drear; they may not need you in the far-off year: now is the time. --unknown. behold now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. -- corinthians . . lord god, teach me this day to know that the veriest trifle often keeps happiness alive, and that the smallest trifle often may kill it. i pray that now thou wilt put within my heart that touch of love, which brings consideration for others, and the care that brings the greatest happiness. amen. march sixth michael angelo buonarroti born . elizabeth barrett browning born . george du maurier born . beloved, let us love so well our work shall still be better for our love, and still our love be sweeter for our work: and both commended for the sake of each by all true workers and true lovers born. --elizabeth b. browning. earth saddens, never shall remove, affections purely given; and e'en that mortal grief shall prove the immortality of love, and heighten it with heaven. --elizabeth b. browning. and if i bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if i give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profiteth me nothing. -- corinthians . . loving father, i pray that i may not try to change the standard of love by grafting on my own selfishness and infirmities. may i remember that it is mostly for gratification that love is held to the base in life; may i follow it to the summits, where it is divine. amen. march seventh sir thomas wilson died . sir edwin landseer born . luther burbank born . earth gets its price for what it gives us; the beggar is taxed for a corner to die in, the priest has his fee who comes and shrives us, we bargain for the graves we lie in; at the devil's booth are all things sold, each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold; for a cap and bells our lives we pay, bubbles we buy with a whole soul's tasking; 'tis heaven alone that is given away, 'tis only god may be had for the asking. --james russell lowell. we are our own fates. our own deeds are our doomsmen. man's life was made not for men's creeds, but men's actions. --owen meredith. the free gift of god is eternal life. --romans . . gracious father, may the world speak to me of thy love, and of thy gifts of peace and power, which it freely offers. may i not pass by its great values, and prefer to purchase at a great cost my indolence and dissipation. --amen. march eighth dr. john fothergill born . c.p. cranch born . anna letitia barbauld died . o boundless self-contentment voiced in flying air-born bubbles! o joy that mocks our sad unrest, and frowns our earth-born troubles! the life that floods the happy fields with song and light and color, will shape our lives to richer states and heap our measures fuller. --c.p. cranch. one may secure and preserve that repose in the turbulence of a great city--as shakespeare surely found and preserved it in the london of the sixteenth century. for repose does not depend on external conditions; it depends on sound adjustment to tasks, opportunities, pleasures, and the general order of life. --hamilton mabie. that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in godliness and gravity. -- timothy . . gracious father, help me to understand that peace cannot abide in misery, nor can it stay with every mood. may i be able to overcome the depression that may keep me in sadness and isolation, and have delight in the gladness of friends, and live in the peace of strong resolutions. amen. march ninth americus vespucius born . lewis gonzaga born . comte de mirabeau born . william cobbett born . edwin forrest born . yet nerve thy spirit to the proof, and blanch not at thy chosen lot; the timid good may stand aloof, the sage may frown--yet faint thou not; nor heed the shaft too surely cast, the foul and hissing bolt of scorn; for with thy side shall dwell, at last, the victory of endurance born. --william c. bryant. you cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself into one. --james anthony froude. can thy heart endure, or can thy hands be strong, in the days that i shall deal with thee? --ezekiel . . loving father, search me, and if there be any evil ways in me, correct them, and lead me into the ways everlasting. i pray that i may not be deformed from selfishness, but with a lowly and expectant heart run with patience and triumph the race that is set before me. amen. march tenth bishop duppa born . professor playfair born . charles loyson (père hyacinthe) born . so he died by his faith. that is fine-- more than the most of us do. but stay. can you add to that line that he lived for it too? it is easy to die. men have died for a wish or a whim-- from bravado or passion or pride. was it hard for him? but to live: every day to live out all the truth that he dreamt, while his friends met his conduct with doubt, and the world with contempt. was it thus that he plodded ahead, never turning aside? then we'll talk of the life that he led. never mind how he died. --ernest crosby. for i have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the lord jehovah: wherefore turn yourselves, and live. --ezekiel . . almighty god, help me to live an upright life. give me courage to abandon useless customs, and seeming duties that keep me from perfecting my life. amen. march eleventh torquato tasso born . alexander mackenzie died . henry drummond died . there is nothing that is puerile in nature; and he who becomes impassioned of a flower, a blade of grass, a butterfly's wing, a nest, a shell, wraps around a small thing that always contains a great truth. to succeed in modifying the appearance of a flower is insignificant in itself, if you will; but reflect upon it for however short a while and it becomes gigantic. --maurice maeterlinck. o world, as god has made it! all is beauty: and knowing this, is love, and love is duty: what further may be sought for or declared? --robert browning. consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: yet i say unto you, that even solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. --matthew . , . creator of all, i do know that if i may hold myself close enough, i can hear restful music through the breeze, and find secrets in the flowers and leaves. i rejoice that thou hast made the woods and rivers that thou dost love, so i too might possess them, and not be a tenant of them only. may i look and study deeper the things which bring me closer to thee. amen. march twelfth cesare borgia killed . bishop buckley born . simon newcomb born . among the happiest and proudest possessions of a man is his character. it is a wreath, it is a bank in itself. what is the essence and life of character? principle, integrity, independence. --bulwer lytton. no great genius was ever without some mixture of madness, nor can anything grand or superior to the voice of common mortals be spoken except by the agitated soul. --aristotle. handsome is that handsome does. --oliver goldsmith. since thou hast been precious in my sight, and honorable, and i have loved thee; therefore will i give men in thy stead, and peoples instead of thy life. --isaiah . . lord god, forbid that i should try to supplant character with manners and worldly goods. may i remember that thou seest me, and knowest me, and i need no shield from thee. help me that i may be found acceptable while thou dost search me to the depths of the soul. amen. march thirteenth joseph priestley born . esther johnson (stella) born . regina maria roche died . if stores of dry and learned lore we gain we keep them in the memory of the brain; names, things, and facts--whate'er we knowledge call, there is the common ledger for them all; and images on this cold surface traced make slight impressions and are soon effaced. but we've a page more glowing and more bright on which our friendship and our love to write; that these may never from the soul depart, we trust them to the memory of the heart. there is no dimming--no effacement here; each pulsation keeps the record clear; warm golden letters all the tablet fill, nor lose their luster till the heart stands still. --daniel webster. i often wonder why it is that we are not all kinder than we are. how much the world needs it! how easily it is done! how instantaneously it acts! how infallibly it is remembered! --henry drummond. cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days. --ecclesiastes . . my father, thou hast taught me through the gifts of life, that there is no labor or price too dear to pay for love. i pray to love thee more that i may have more love to bestow on others. amen. march fourteenth thomas h. benton born . johann strauss born . victor emmanuel born . rivers to the ocean run, nor stay in all their course; fire ascending seeks the sun; both speed them to their source; so a soul that's born of god, pants to view his glorious face, upward tends to his abode, to rest in his embrace. --robert seagrave. as the bird trims her to the gale i trim myself to the storm of time; i man the rudder, reef the sail, obey the voice at eve obeyed at prime; lowly faithful, banish fear, the port well worth the cruise is near and every wave is charmed. --ralph waldo emerson. as the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, o god. --psalm . . my father, i pray that if i meet with difficulty, i may not go backward, nor stand still, and fear to go forward. unfold to me the depth and breadth of the ideal and beautiful, that i may not be content to succeed in the shallowness of life: but may i aspire to the height of the soul, even if i fail to acquire great things. amen. march fifteenth julius cæsar killed b.c. . peasants war began . andrew jackson, north carolina, seventh president united states, born . john davenport died . i will take the responsibility! --andrew jackson. what ought to be possible for everyone is to arrive at a sort of harmony of life, to have definite things that they want to do.... the people whom it is hard to fit into any scheme of benevolent creation are the vague, insignificant, drifting people, whose only rooted tendency is to do whatever is suggested to them. --arthur c. benson. heard are the voices, heard are the sages, the worlds, and the ages; choose well! your choice is brief and endless. --goethe. only be strong and very courageous, to observe to do according to all the law.... --joshua . . gracious father, i pray that thou wilt free me from evil thoughts before they become a habit. create in me that freedom which makes me not ashamed to acknowledge the wrong, and which will enable me to stand for the right. quicken my thoughts, that they may keep my heart inspired. amen. march sixteenth james madison, virginia, fourth president united states, born . caroline lucretia herschel born . alexander watts born . if we live truly we shall see truly. it is as easy for the strong man to be strong as it is for the weak to be weak. when we have new perception we shall gladly disburthen the memory of the hoarded treasures as old rubbish. when a man lives with god his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the brook and the rustle of the corn. --ralph waldo emerson. the tissue of the life to be, we weave with colors all our own, and in the field of destiny we reap as we have sown. --raphael. now when they beheld the boldness of peter and john, and had perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with jesus. --acts . . lord god, quiet me if i am not calm, that my soul may be able to contemplate and have an opportunity to grow. help me, that i may be able even in discouragements to have the true perception of life. amen. march seventeenth saint patrick's day. ebenezer elliott born . dr. thomas chalmers born . moncure d. conway born . clara morris born . what is really wanted is to light up the spirit that is within a child. in some sense and in some effectual degree there is in every child the material of good work in the world; and in every child, not only in those who are brilliant, not only in those who are quick, but in those who are stolid, and even in those who are dull. --william gladstone. if you make children happy now, you will make them happy twenty years hence by the memory of it. --kate douglas wiggin. and these words, which i command thee this day, shall be upon thy heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thy house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. --deuteronomy . , . lord god, may i be diligent for the progress of little children. show me how i may minister unto them; and grant that i may be able to see the necessity of giving, more than i do the pleasure of receiving. amen. march eighteenth william byrd died . john c. calhoun born . grover cleveland, new jersey, twenty-second president united states, born . my minde to me a kingdom is: such perfect joy therein i finde as far exceeds all earthly blisse that god or nature hath assignede. --william byrd. teach your proud will to make those nobler choices which bring to soul and heart enduring health. deafen your ears to those contending voices, look in your heart, learn your own being's wealth. its resources vast, its undiscovered treasure waiting for these same idle hands to mine. learn that the grandest of nature's creations may not be bounded by man's limitations. --rose e. cleveland. but he is in one mind, and who can turn him? and what his soul desireth, even that he doeth. --job . . almighty god, grant that i may never succumb to the controlling influences of the body, and lose the power of my mind. may i guard the dictates of my heart and keep my mind in command to obey thy will. amen. march nineteenth david livingstone born . alice french (octave thanet) born . william jennings bryan born . isn't it interesting to get blamed for everything? but i must be thankful in feeling that i would rather perish than blame another for my misdeeds and deficiencies. --david livingstone. criticism is helpful. if a man makes a mistake, criticism enables him to correct it; if he is unjustly criticized, the criticism helps him. i have had my share of criticism since i have been in public life, but it has not prevented me from doing what i thought proper to do. --william jennings bryan. for himself hath said, i will in no wise fail thee, neither will i in any wise forsake thee. so that with good courage we say, the lord is my helper; i will not fear. --hebrews . , . loving father, i thank thee that thou art the same yesterday, to-day, and forever; and i am glad i cannot receive from thee the slights and wounds that i may give or receive from my friends. may i be considerate and more forgiving, and by my sincerity be worthy of the purpose which i pursue. amen. march twentieth publius ovidius (ovid) born b.c. . sir isaac newton died . karl august nicander born . henrik ibsen born . whoever is not with me in the essential things of life, him i no longer know--i owe him no consideration. --henrik ibsen. only he who lives in truth finds it. the deepest truth is not born of conscious striving, but comes in the quiet hour when a noble nature gives itself into the keeping of life, to suffer, to feel, to think, and to act as it is moved by a wisdom not its own. --hamilton mabie. forgetting the things which are behind, and stretching forward to the things which are before, i press on toward the goal unto the prize of the high calling of god. --philippians . , . lord god, i thank thee for the silent ways of revelation which bring hopeful communion with thee. help me to be composed, that my life may not create a noise and my soul miss the messages that come from the depths of truth and love. amen. march twenty-first johann sebastian bach born . archbishop cranmer burnt at oxford . jean paul richter born . henry kirke white born . go through life with soft influences breathing around thee. keep thy heart high above the many-colored mist of earth and above its storm clouds. --jean paul richter. recollection is the only paradise from which we cannot be turned out. --jean paul richter. come, disappointment, come! thou art not stern to me; sad monitress! i own thy sway, a votary sad in every day, i bend my knee to thee, from sun to sun my race will run; i only bow, and say, my god, thy will be done! --henry kirke white. if i say, i will forget my complaint, i will put off my sad countenance, and be of good cheer. --job . . gracious father, help me to respond cheerfully when called upon to give. may i never repent of tenderness which others fail to appreciate, but may i be glad of all that i give and for all i receive. amen. march twenty-second sir anthony vandyke born . caroline sheridan norton born . johann goethe died . dr. farrar, dean of canterbury, died . rosa bonheur born . red love still rules the day, white faith enfolds the night, and hope, green-mantled, leads the way by the walls of the city of light. therefore i walk as one who sees the joy shine through of the other life behind our life, like the stars behind the blue. --dean farrar. there can be no greater delight than is experienced by a man who, by his own unaided resources, frees himself from the consequences of error: heaven looks down with satisfaction upon such a spectacle. --goethe. thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold a land that reacheth afar. --isaiah . . lord god, help me to remember that i may not only be forgiven for my transgression, but with thy help i may be led away from the wrong. may i be content to follow where thou dost lead. amen. march twenty-third pierre savant la place born . schuyler colfax born . richard a. proctor born . silence is the element in which great things fashion themselves together; that at length they may emerge, full-formed and majestic, into the daylight of life.... nay, in thy own mean perplexities, do thou thyself but hold thy tongue for one day; on the morrow how much clearer are thy purposes and duties! --thomas carlyle. deliberate much before you say and do anything; for it will not be in your power to recall what is said or done. --epictetus. set a watch, o jehovah, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips. --psalm . . my lord, make me a lover of the truth. make me careful of my thoughts, and the words i would speak, that i may not think selfishly and speak cruelly, but keep myself holy unto thee. amen. march twenty-fourth queen elizabeth died . fanny crosby born . henry w. longfellow died . sir edwin arnold died . every quivering tongue of flame seems to murmur some great name, seems to say to me "aspire!" no endeavor is in vain; its reward is in the doing, and the rapture of pursuing is the prize of vanquished gain. --henry w. longfellow. never be sad or desponding if thou hast faith to believe; grace for the duties before thee ask of thy god and receive. --fanny crosby. i spread forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a weary land. --psalm . . almighty god, make me conscious of my weaknesses, and make me ashamed of my indulgences. give me a victory over self; and may i consider more what i put in my life. may i be eager for that which will inspire me for greater aspirations. amen. march twenty-fifth archbishop john williams born . joachim murat born . anna seward died . how awful is the thought of the wonders underground, of the mystic changes wrought in the silent, dark profound! how each thing upward tends by necessity decreed, and the world's support depends on the shooting of a seed! the summer's in her ark, and this sunny-pinioned day is commissioned to remark whether winter holds her sway: go back, thou dove of peace, with myrtle on thy wing, say that floods and tempests cease, and the world is ripe for spring. --horace smith. i should never have made my success in life if i had not bestowed upon the least thing i have ever undertaken the same attention and care that i have bestowed upon the greatest. --charles dickens. gather up the broken pieces which remain over, that nothing be lost. --john . . loving father, cause me to learn from nature that to have perfection i must be attentive at the beginning of growth. help me to select with care the soil wherein i plant; and to weed and cultivate my life that it may grow to beauty and usefulness. amen. march twenty-sixth konrad von gesner born . w. e. h. lecky born . gustave guillaumet born . walt whitman died . every man takes care that his neighbor shall not cheat him, but a day comes when he begins to care that he do not cheat his neighbor. then all goes well. he has changed his market-cart into a chariot of the sun. --ralph waldo emerson. he that is unacquainted with the nature of the world must be at a loss to know where he is. and he that cannot tell the ends he was made for is ignorant both of himself and the world too. --marcus aurelius. give diligence to present thyself approved unto god, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth. -- timothy . . almighty god, may i not only approve of justice and kindness, but practice it. grant that i may be attentive to the call of work and steadfast in completing it. may i be sincere to those who are dear to me, and never falter in my support to those who are dependent upon me. amen. march twenty-seventh alfred vigny born . general a. w. greely born . sir gilbert scott died . it takes great strength to bring your life up square with your accepted thought and hold it there: resisting the inertia that drags it back from new attempts, to the old habit's track. it is so easy to drift back, to sink. so hard to live abreast of what you think. --charlotte perkins stetson. if a person had delivered up your body to anyone whom he met in his way, you would certainly be angry. and do you feel no shame in delivering up your own mind to be disconcerted and confounded by anyone who happens to give you ill language. --epictetus. wherefore, o king agrippa, i was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision. --acts . . my father, my soul sinks with shame when i think of the great moments that i have given over to mean little things. help me that i may reckon more on the value of time, and live not to tolerate life, but to have a great need for it, that day by day i may have a deeper consciousness of its appropriate use. amen. march twenty-eighth santi d'urbino raphael born . sir thomas smith born . margaret (peg) woffington died . they may not need me, yet they might; i'll let my heart be just in sight-- a smile so small as mine might be precisely their necessity. --unknown. you hear that boy laughing?--you think he's all fun; but the angels laugh too at the good he has done; the children laugh loud as they troop to his call, and the poor man that knows him laughs loudest of all. --oliver wendell holmes. let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and railing, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other. --ephesians . . lord god, i pray that i may be fair, and not pass judgment on those whom i like or those whom i dislike, and so bring unhappy regrets. may i remember that, though hasty judgment often may be temporary, the gain or loss of a friend may be permanent. amen. march twenty-ninth dr. john lightfoot born . john tyler, virginia, tenth president united states, born . amelia barr born . the year's at the spring and the day's at the morn; the hillside's dew-pearled; the lark's on the wing: the snail's on the thorn; god's in his heaven: all's well with the world. --robert browning. dear lord and father of mankinds forgive our feverish ways; reclothe us in our rightful mind; in purer lives thy service find, in deeper reverence praise. --john g. whittier. in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength. --isaiah . . lord god, i beseech thee to give me the strength which endures. grant that i may have the ceaseless content which is secured by choosing and continuing in the right way. from the wealth of each day renew my hope, and quiet my soul with the calm of thy peace. amen. march thirtieth sir henry wotton born . archbishop somner born . john fiske born . john constable died . i said, "let us walk in the field." he said, "nay walk in the town." i said, "there are no flowers there." he said, "no flowers but a crown." i said, "but the air is thick, and the fogs are veiling the sun." he answered, "yet souls are sick and souls in the dark undone." i cast one look at the field, then set my face to the town. he said: "my child, do you yield? will ye leave the flowers for the crown?" then into his hand went mine and into my heart came he, and i walked in a light divine the path i had feared to see. --george macdonald. now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of jehovah your god. --jeremiah . . eternal god, teach me the way of a complete and unbroken trust. in my disappointments, and in my devotions, may my faith and hope be as immortal as my soul. may i listen for thy voice and answer thy call. amen. march thirty-first ludwig von beethoven died . joseph francis haydn born . andrew lang born . charlotte brontë died . the great being unseen, but all-present, who in his beneficence desires only our welfare, watches the struggle between good and evil in our hearts, and waits to see whether we obey his voice, heard in the whispers of conscience, or lend an ear to the spirit evil, which seeks to lead us astray. rough and steep is the path indicated by divine suggestion; mossy and declining the green way along which temptation strews flowers. then conscience whispers, "do what you feel is right, obey me, and i will plant for you firm footing." --charlotte brontë. god help us do our duty, and not shrink, and trust in heaven humbly for the rest. --owen meredith. i call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that i have set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: therefore choose life. --deuteronomy . . my father, as i review my life i am impressed how accurately my deeds have copied my thoughts. and though i have failed the so often, yet i pray that thou wilt accept my yearnings, to think and work for the best in every day. amen. april god's april is coming up the hill, and the noisy winds are quieting down, subdued by the fragrance of the wild flowers on the way. lest we miss the richness of life, while pursuing the world, god continues to pour out precious fragrance from his storehouse, and unconsciously, our souls are lulled to peace through the sweetness of april days. --m.b.s. april first all fools' day. william harvey born . prince von bismarck born . edwin a. abbey born . agnes repplier born . it is a peculiar quality of a fool to perceive the faults of others, and to forget his own. --cicero. a man may be as much a fool from the want of sensibility as the want of sense. --mrs. jameson. he that knows not, and knows not that he knows not, is a fool: shun him. --arabian maxim. seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him. --proverbs . . almighty god, grant that i may be spared the allurements of deceptive happiness which leaves weary days. i ask for wisdom that i may not speak foolishly, think foolishly, or act foolishly; and may i not be detained by the foolishness of others, but pursue my work, whether it be far or near. amen. april second charlemagne born . thomas jefferson, virginia, third president united states, born . hans andersen born . frederic a. bartholdi born . emile zola born . when a man assumes a public trust he should consider himself public property. --thomas jefferson. we hold these truths to be self-evident--that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. --declaration of independence. breathes there the man with soul so dead who never to himself hath said, this is my own, my native land! whose heart hath ne'er within him burned as home his footsteps he hath turned from wandering on a foreign strand? --sir walter scott. render therefore unto cæsar the things that are cæsar's. --matthew . . my lord, i thank thee for the wisdom and love that is spoken through the lives of strong men and women. grant that i may be willing to learn of them, and gladly serve where i am needed, remembering that thou art lord of all. amen. april third george herbert born . washington irving born . edward everett hale born . john burroughs born . sum up at night what thou hast done by day and in the morning what thou hast to do: dress and undress thy soul: mark the decay and growth of it; if with thy watch that too be dowl, then wind up both; since we shall be most surely judged, make thy accounts agree. --george herbert. to look up and not down, to look forward and not back, to look out and not in, and to lend a hand. --edward e. hale. there is a healthy hardiness about real dignity that never dreads contact and communion with others, however humble. --washington irving. i put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my justice was as a robe and a diadem. --job . . my lord, i pray that i may always be found clothed in love and kindness. make me worthy to minister to those who may be dependent on me, and whether they be rich or poor, high or low, may i try to help them. amen. april fourth oliver goldsmith died . dorothea dix born . james freeman clarke born . "the greatest object in the universe," said a certain philosopher, "is a good man struggling with adversity"; yet there is still a greater, which is the good man who comes to relieve it. --oliver goldsmith. yet i believe that somewhere, soon or late, a peace will fall upon the angry reaches of my mind; a peace initiate in some heroic hour when i behold a friend's long-quested triumph, or unbind the tressed gold from a child's laughing face. i still believe-- so much believe. --j. drinkwater. but whoso hath the world's goods, and beholdeth his brother in need, and shutteth up his compassion from him, how doth the love of god abide in him? -- john . . almighty god, may i have a liberal heart. grant that i may feel the needs of thy children in all lands; and may i be willing to give of thy blessings, as i am ready to receive them. may my tribute be not only of tender thoughts and kind words, but may i give of myself, and of what i have, as thou hast through love and wisdom done for me. amen. april fifth elihu yale born . sir henry havelock born . frank stockton (francis) born . algernon charles swinburne born . as morning hears before it run the music of the mounting sun, and laughs to watch his trophies won from darkness, and her hosts undone, and all the night becomes a breath, nor dreams that fear should hear and flee the summer menace of the sea, so hear our hope what life may be, and know it not for death. --algernon charles swinburne. i came from god, and i'm going back to god, and i won't have any gaps of death in the middle of my life. --george macdonald. the hope of the righteous shall be gladness; but the expectation of the wicked shall perish. --proverbs . . lord god, teach me the way and show me the light of the eternal day; and may the vision fill my soul as i take courage and follow it. may i not be fearful of what may be provided, but remember that before the creation of life thou didst have a purpose in death. may i be trustful. amen. april sixth albert dürer died . james mill born . jean baptiste rousseau born . even if the sacrifices which are made to duty and virtue are painful to make, they are well repaid by the sweet recollections which they leave at the bottom of the heart. --jean b. rousseau. i am the man of a thousand loves, a thousand loves have i; and all my loves are white-winged doves, that into my soul would fly. i am the man of a thousand friends of tuneful memory; and each of them spends the delicate ends of a brilliant day with me. and all my gifts are magical words that sing sweet songs to me; and the sensitive words are caroling birds in the garden of imagery. --edwin leibfreed. be thou faithful unto death, and i will give thee the crown of life. --revelation . . loving father, i bless thee for thy love and ministry. may i enter into a broader conception of sharing thy gifts. may i not seek thy blessings to keep, but to use for renewed inspiration. amen. april seventh saint francis xavier born . william wordsworth born . william ellery channing born . my heart leaps up when i behold a rainbow in the sky: so was it when my life began; so is it now i am a man; so be it when i shall grow old, or let me die! the child is father of the man; and i could wish my days to be bound each to each by natural piety. --william wordsworth. a self-controlled mind is a free mind, and freedom is power. i call that mind free which jealously guards its intellectual rights and powers. i call that mind free which resists the bondage of habit, which does not live on its old virtues, but forgets what is behind, and rejoices to pour itself forth in fresh and higher exertions. --william ellery channing. that ye be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man, that after god hath been created in righteousness and holiness of truth. --ephesians . , . lord god, give me the power to control my mind and heart, that i may not be a slave to habits that may keep me from eternal love and blessedness. may i have sympathy and compassion for others, and cherish thy tenderness and mercy as i hold it in my daily life. amen. april eighth petrarch crowned . william herbert, earl of pembroke, born . david rittenhouse born . if i can stop one heart from breaking, i shall not live in vain; if i can ease one life from aching, or cool one pain, or help one fainting robin unto his nest again, i shall not live in vain. --emily dickinson. the most solid comfort one can fall back upon is the thought that the business of one's life is to help in some small way to reduce the sum of ignorance, degradation, and misery on the face of this beautiful earth. --george eliot. make full my joy, that ye be of the same mind, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind; doing nothing through faction or through vainglory, but in lowliness of mind each counting other better than himself. --philippians . , . my father, take away the spirit, if i may be inclined to keep the best, and to be always seeking my portion. may i have the desire to share with those who have less, and to give to those who may have more, whether it be of bread or love. amen. april ninth fisher ames born . john opie died . dante gabriel rossetti died . gather a shell from the strown beach and listen at its lips; they sigh the same desire and mystery, the echo of the whole sea's speech. and all mankind is this at heart-- not anything but what thou art: and earth, sea, man are all in each. --dante gabriel rossetti. and as, in sparkling majesty, a star gilds the bright summit of some glory cloud; brightening the half-veil'd face of heaven afar; so when dark thoughts my boding spirit shroud, sweet hope! celestial influence round me shed, waving the silver pinions o'er my head. --john keats. now the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, in the power of the holy spirit. --romans . . almighty god, may i ever know the generous glow that comes with an overwhelming desire to cultivate the soul. with hope may i find the way through the darkness that leads to immortality, even if i may have to experience the weariness that may accompany it. amen. april tenth hugo grotius born . william hazlitt born . general lew wallace born . general william booth born . the essence of happy living is never to find life dull, never to feel the ugly weariness which comes of overstrain; to be fresh, cheerful, leisurely, sociable, unhurried, well-balanced. it seems to me impossible to be these things unless we have time to consider life a little, to deliberate, to select, to abstain. --arthur c. benson. four things come not back--the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life, the neglected opportunity. --william hazlitt. wherefore, brethren, give the more diligence to make your calling and election sure. -- peter . . my father, may i not miss my work through indifference and feel it is thy neglect of me. may i be reminded that the enrichment of life comes through persistency and being consistent, and may not be found on the idle paths of extravagant ways. help me to take up my work with a willing spirit and give my best to it. amen. april eleventh george canning born . edward everett born . donald g. mitchell (ik marvel) born . the safe path to excellence and success in every calling, is that of appropriate preliminary education, diligent application to learn the art of assiduity and practicing it. --edward everett. that nothing walks with aimless feet; that not one life shall be destroyed, or cast as rubbish to the void, when god hath made the pile complete. behold, we know not anything: i can but trust that good shall fall at last--far off--at last, to all, and every winter change to spring. --alfred tennyson. and we desire that each one of you may show the same diligence unto the fullness of hope even to the end: that ye be not sluggish, but imitators of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. --hebrews . , . lord god, help me in all my circumstances, and be with me in my daily work. help me in my efforts, as i endeavor to attain, and may my will be hid in thine. amen. april twelfth edward young died . edward bird born . henry clay born . i would rather be right than be president. --henry clay. who does the best his circumstances allow does well, acts nobly; angels could no more. --edward young. pedigree haz no more to do in making a man aktually grater than he iz than a pekok's feather in his hat haz in making him aktually taller. when the world stands in need of an arestokrat, natur pitches one into it, and furnishes him papers without enny flaw in them. --josh billings. cast not away therefore your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward. for ye have need of patience, that, having done the will of god, ye may receive the promise. --hebrews . , . lord god, help me to select with care the site, the plans, and the foundation of my life. may i use the best material; and may it be worthy of a permanent home. amen. april thirteenth madame jeanne guyon born . dr. thomas beddoes born . james harper born . if there were dreams to sell, merry and sad to tell, and the crier rang the bell, what would you buy? a cottage lone and still with bowers nigh, shadowy, my woes to still, until i die. such pearl from life's fresh crown fain would i shake me down, were dreams to have at will this would best heal my ill, this would i buy. --thomas lovell beddoes. i pray you, bear me hence from forth the noise and rumor of the field where i may think the remnant of my thoughts in peace, and part this body and my soul with contemplation and devout desires. --william shakespeare. come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile. --mark . . lord god, help me to bear in mind that to step aside and safeguard the mind in contemplation is a safe guard to the soul. amen. april fourteenth dr. george gregory born . george frederic handel died . horace bushnell born . flower in the crannied wall, i pluck you out of the crannies-- hold you here, root and all, in my hand, little flower--but if i could understand what you are, root and all, and all in all, i should know what god and man is. --alfred tennyson. so much is history stranger than fiction, and so true it is nature has caprices which art dares not imitate. --thomas macaulay. nature is the face of god. he appears to us through it, and we can read his thoughts in it. --victor hugo. many, o jehovah my god, are the wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward. --psalm . . eternal god, i thank thee for the seasons which bring abundance and beauty. i thank thee for thy loving care, which is over all and forever. may i behold thy works and make thee a very present help for all my needs, and perceive the joy of thy love through the greatness of the earth. amen. april fifteenth emile souvestre born . john lothrop motley born . henry james born . abraham lincoln died . two thirds of human existence are wasted in hesitation, and the last third in repentance. --emile souvestre. and, having thus chosen our course, let us renew our trust in god and go forward without fear and with manly hearts. --abraham lincoln. the barriers are not erected which shall say to aspiring talent, "thus far and no further." --beethoven. be strong and of good courage. --joshua . . almighty god, i pray that i may always be alive to my opportunities, but may i never leave others impoverished by taking advantage of them. may my prosperity be conducted with my eyes open, guarding what i give and receive, that my possessions may remain valuable through life. amen. april sixteenth charles montagu, earl of halifax, born . charles w. peale born . sir john franklin born . weary of myself and sick of asking what i am, and what i ought to be, at the vessel's prow i stand, which bears me forward, forward, o'er the starlit sea o air-born voice! long since severely clear, a cry like thine in my own heart i hear. resolve to be thyself: and know that he who finds himself, loses his misery. --matthew arnold. this above all to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou can'st not then be false to any man. --william shakespeare. let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. make level the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. --proverbs . , . my father, give me a sense of nearness to thee when i may be faltering from weariness in well doing. may i hold to my determinations. help me to know what is useless, that i may not give unnecessary energy, and to know what is worth while, that i may acquire strength through the power of truth. amen. april seventeenth bishop benjamin hoadley died . benjamin franklin died . william g. simms born . shall i ask the brave soldier who fights at my side, in the cause of mankind, if our creeds agree? shall i give up the friend i have valued and tried, if he kneel not before the same altar as me? --thomas moore. i met a little elf-man once, down where the lilies blow. i asked him why he was so small and why he didn't grow. he slightly frowned, and with his eye he looked me through and through. "i'm quite as big for me," said he "as you are big for you." --john kendrick bangs. woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight! --isaiah . . loving father, grant that i may not barter love with formalities, nor sacrifice love for customs. but, may i have a fellowship that is true and sincere, and that may be counted on, though all and for all. amen. april eighteenth lord jeffreys died . george henry lewes born . sir francis baring born . nor can i count him happiest who has never been forced with his own hand his chains to sever, and for himself find out the way divine; he never knew the aspirer's glorious pains, he never earned the struggler's priceless gains. --james russell lowell. there is not time for hate, o wasteful friend. put hate away until the ages end. have you an ancient wound? forget the wrong-- out in my west a forest loud with song towers high and green over a field of snow, over a glacier buried far below. --edwin markham. fight the good fight of the faith, lay hold on the life eternal, whereunto thou wast called, and didst confess the good confession in the sight of many witnesses. -- timothy . . lord god, help me to realize the power of my life. i feel ashamed and alarmed when i think of the grievous wrongs i may have done for greed. may i have delight in the struggles i have made for the ways of righteousness. make me careful to avoid the things that debase life. may i aspire for the highest and best. amen. april nineteenth roger sherman born . lord byron died . lord beaconsfield (disraeli) died . charles darwin died . the secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes. --disraeli. one sees, and the other does not see; one enjoys an unspeakable pleasure, and the other loses that pleasure which is as free to him as the air.... the whole outward world is the kingdom of the observant eye. he who enters into any part of that kingdom to possess it has a store of pure enjoyment in life which is literally inexhaustible and immeasurable. his eyes alone will give him a life worth living. --charles w. eliot. having eyes, see ye not? --mark . . my father, help me to realize that i cannot feel the joy that breathes through the early morning unless i am with it. may i see distinctly the glory of to-day. help me to be watchful and keep my spirit awake, that i may receive thy revelations. amen. april twentieth marcus aurelius born . elizabeth barton (maid of kent) executed sir francis t. baring born . alice cary born . do not act as if you had ten thousand years to throw away. death stands at your elbow. be good for something while you live and it is in your power. --marcus aurelius. and o, my heart, my heart, be careful to go strewing in and out the way with good deeds, lest it come about that when thou shalt depart, no low lamenting tongue be found to say, the world is poorer since thou went'st away --alice cary. a good man prolongs his life; to be able to enjoy one's past life is to live twice. --martial. the righteous shall be had in everlasting remembrance. --psalm . . heavenly father, thou hast made my life dear; forgive me if i have made dearer the things that i have put around it. many days have been used for costly things that have faded and are laid aside. may i realize the meaning of days that have been lost. make me more concerned for what i put in the days to come. amen. april twenty-first peter f. abelard died . friedrich fröbel born . reginald heber born . james martineau born . charlotte brontë born . henry shaw (josh billings) born . education should lead and guide man to clearness concerning himself and in himself, to peace with nature, and to unity with god. --friedrich fröbel. when spring unlocks the flowers, to paint the laughing soil; when summer's balmy showers refresh the mower's toil; when winter binds in frosty chains the fallow and the flood, in god the earth rejoiceth still, and owns its maker good. --reginald heber. a memory without a blot or contamination must be an inexhaustible source of pure refreshment. --charlotte brontë. for ye are all sons of light, and sons of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness. -- thessalonians . . lord of light, thou art the light of my life. may i make thee the joy and light of my soul. call me to where it is clear and high, that i may see above the mist. may i not weary in climbing to reach thee in the high places. amen. april twenty-second henry fielding born . immanuel kant born . philip james bailey born . we live in deeds, not years: in thoughts, not breaths: in feelings, not in figures on a dial. we should count time by heart-throbs. he most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best. --philip james bailey. men cease to interest us when we find their limitations. the only sin is limitation. as soon as you once come up with a man's limitations it is all over with him. --ralph waldo emerson. but he that looketh into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and so continueth, being not a hearer that forgeteth but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his doing. --james . . lord god, help me to break away from habits that fasten me in the ruts of life. draw me out to thy broad way, where there are no limits to thy wonderful works, that i may expand my life. amen. april twenty-third william shakespeare born , died . cervantes died . j.m.w. turner born . james buchanan, pennsylvania, fifteenth president united states, born . james anthony froude born . thomas nelson page born . edwin markham born . my crown is in my heart, not on my head: not decked with diamonds and indian stones, nor to be seen. my crown is called content. a crown it is that seldom kings enjoy. --william shakespeare. at the heart of the cyclone tearing the sky and flinging the clouds and the towers by is a place of central calm: so here in the roar of mortal things, i have a place where my spirit sings, in the hollow of god's palm. --edwin markham. rest in jehovah, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way. --psalm . . almighty god, my heart beats quicker and the desire for thy care grows stronger when i remember thy promises are given for all eternity. may i be grateful and contented with thy love and care. amen. april twenty-fourth edmund cartwright born . anthony trollope born . arthur christopher benson born . by religion i mean the power, whatever it be, which makes a man choose what is hard rather than what is easy; what is lofty and noble rather than what is mean and selfish; that puts courage into timorous hearts and gladness into clouded spirits. --arthur c. benson. for all noble things the time is long and the way rude.... for every start and struggle of impatience there shall be so much attendant failure.... but the fire which patience carries in her own hand is that truly stolen from heaven--unquenchable incense of life. --john ruskin. but they that wait for jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint. --isaiah . . my father, i pray that i may not be indifferent to the call of my soul. may i not seek to serve the disappearing and neglect to make life worthy. acquaint me with the permanent values of life. make clear the way of strength, that i may not be misled by ease and carried to weakness. may my life be ennobled by the power of my possessions. amen. april twenty-fifth oliver cromwell born . john keble born . alexander duff born . guglielmo marconi born . mrs. burton harrison (constance cary) born . samuel wesley died . truly god follows us with encouragements: let him not lose his blessing upon us! they come in season, and with all the advantages of heartening, as if god should say, "up and be doing, and i will stand by you and help you!" there is nothing to be feared but our own sin and sloth. --oliver cromwell. sun of my soul, thou saviour dear, it is not night if thou be near; o may no earthborn cloud arise to hide thee from thy servants' eyes. --john keble. for jehovah god is a sun and a shield: jehovah will give grace and glory; no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. --psalm . . my father, may i not err in choosing thy benefits, nor fail from the neglect to use them. make me appreciative of all thy gifts, and, through thy wisdom and power, may i find the best use for them. amen. april twenty-sixth david hume born . daniel defoe died . charles f. browne (artemus ward) born . how strange a chequer-work of providence is the life of man! and by what secret different springs are the affections hurried about, as different circumstances present! to-day we love what to-morrow we hate; to-day we seek what to-morrow we shun; to-day we desire what to-morrow we fear; nay, even tremble at the apprehension of. --daniel defoe. now don't do nothin' which isn't your fort, for ef you do you'll find yourself splashin' round in the kanawl, figgeratively speakin'. --artemus ward. now there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. and there are diversities of ministrations, and the same lord. and there are diversities of workings, but the same god, who worketh all things in all. -- corinthians . - . lord forbid that i should fear to change for the better or be so pleased with myself and the things which surround me that i feel no need for a higher life. make me dissatisfied if i am not trying to grow in truth and to live in noble deeds. amen. april twenty-seventh samuel morse born . lajos kossuth born . herbert spencer born . ulysses s. grant, ohio, eighteenth president united states, born . ralph waldo emerson died . people who are dishonest, or rash, or stupid will inevitably suffer the penalties of dishonesty, or rashness, or stupidity. --herbert spencer. abide in the simple and noble regions of thy life; obey thy heart. --ralph waldo emerson. well, then, we must cut our way out. --general grant. wherefore take up the whole armor of god, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand. --ephesians . . loving father, help me to live a simple and noble life. grant that i may have the blessedness that comes through peace, and escape the misery that comes from cruelty and untruth. through my life may what i reap show that i have been careful in choosing and cultivating what i have sown. amen. april twenty-eighth charles cotton born . james monroe, virginia, fifth president united states, born . anthony ashley, earl of shaftesbury, born . during a long life i have proved that not one kind word ever spoken, not one kind deed ever done, but sooner or later returns to bless the giver, and becomes a chain, binding men with golden bands to the throne of god. --earl of shaftesbury. there's many a time when the bitterest thing is said without reason, and god knows the courage it takes to suffer the sting, by hiding the wounds that the heart shows. there's many a sob we bravely keep down for the sake of old times revered so, there's many a head with thorns for a crown where kisses would soon make the heart glow. --edwin leibfreed. so shalt thou know wisdom to be unto thy soul; if thou hast found it, then shall there be a reward, and thy hope shall not be cut off. --proverbs . . my father, if i am to-day without happiness, may i go in search of it. help me to remember that the will thou hast given me to overcome evil with good i may use to overcome misery with happiness. make me careful that i may not be trapped by selfishness as i look for joy. may i delight in the sweet sensations that are felt in having consideration for others, and may i make kindness a daily habit. amen. april twenty-ninth michel ruyter died . abbe charles de st. pierre died . matthew vassar born . edward rowland sill born . never yet was a springtime, late though lingered the snow, that the sap stirred not at the whisper of the south wind, sweet and low; never yet was a springtime when the buds forgot to blow. ever the wings of the summer are folded under the mold; life that has known no dying, is love's, to have and to hold, till, sudden, the burgeoning easter! the song! the green and the gold![ ] --margaret e. sangster. in tracing the shade, i shall find out the sun. --owen meredith. all chastening seemeth for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness. --hebrews . . almighty god, grant that as the fulfillment of the green comes to the withered grass, so thy restoring may come to me with the glory of life that comes in the resurrection of the soul. i trust thee to bring me out of winter's seal, that i may help make the spring. amen. [footnote : from easter bells. copyright, , by harper & brothers.] april thirtieth chevalier de bayard killed . sir john lubbock born . james montgomery died . david livingstone died . we scatter seeds with careless hands, and dream we ne'er shall see them more; but for a thousand years their fruit appears in weeds that mar the land. --john keble and there came up a sweet perfume from the unseen flowers below, like the savor of virtuous deeds, of deeds done long ago. --mrs. southey. mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. --john . . my father, i pray that it may be mine to have the recollection of happy deeds, and not the memory of unkept promises. help me to remember that one act is worth a thousand intentions, and that memory is the storehouse that supplies old age. make me careful of my memory, that it may not be burdened. amen. may i cannot see what flowers are at my feet, nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs, but, in the embalmed darkness, guess each sweet wherewith the seasonable month endows the grass, the thicket, and the fruit tree wild; white hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine; fast-fading violets covered up in leaves; and mid-may's wildest child, the coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine, the murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves. --john keats. such a starved bank of moss till that may morn, blue ran the flash across: violets were born. --robert browning. may first arbor day. joseph addison born . arthur, duke of wellington, born . if you wish to succeed in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counselor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius. --joseph addison. he who plants a tree, he plants love; tents of coolness spreading out above wayfarers, he may not live to see. gifts that grow are best; hands that bless are blest; plant-life does the rest! heaven and earth help him who plants a tree, and his work his own reward shall be. --lucy larcom. and he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also doth not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. --psalm . . my creator, give me joyful eyes for joyful nature. may i be alive to the gentle influences of a may day which bring new experiences to all who may receive them: and may i serve thee by unfolding to others the love of truth, the love of good, and the love of beauty. amen. may second leonardo da vinci died . robert hall born . jerome k. jerome born . william henry hudson born . without a false humility; for this is love's nobility,-- not to scatter bread and gold, goods and raiment bought and sold; but to hold fast his simple sense, and speak the speech of innocence, and with hand and body and blood, to make his bosom-counsel good. he that feeds man serveth few; he serves all who dares be true. --ralph waldo emerson. small service is true service while it lasts: of humblest friends scorn not one: the daisy, by the shadow it casts, protects the lingering dewdrop from the sun. --william wordsworth. surely then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear. --job . . heavenly father, i would be thankful for the blessings i am inclined to forget. give me a heart of gratitude, and forbid that i should hold my friends for material gain or selfish ends. may i through the truthfulness of my lips, and the honor of my acts, be a necessary friend. amen. may third niccolo machiavelli born . thomas hood died . jacob riis born . the longing for ignoble things; the strife for triumph more than truth; the hardening of the heart that brings irreverence for the dreams of youth; all these must first be trampled down beneath our feet, if we would gain in the bright fields of fair renown the right of eminent domain. --john keble. one lesson, and only one, history may be said to repeat with distinctness; that the world is built somehow on moral foundations; that in the long run, it is well with the good; in the long run it is ill with the wicked. --james anthony froude. no soldier on service entangleth himself in the affairs of this life; that he may please him who enrolled him as a soldier. and if also a man contend in the games, he is not crowned, except he have contended lawfully. -- timothy . , . gracious father, may my heart be mindful of thee, that i may discover the truth and possess it. steady me in my affections and save me from wandering impulses; and may i help to put wrong down and uplift humanity. amen. may fourth frederick edwin church born . isaac barrow died . john james audubon born . horace mann born . thomas henry huxley born . the chess board is the world, the pieces are the phenomena of the universe, the rules of the game we call the laws of nature. my metaphor will remind some of you of the famous picture in which retzsch has depicted satan playing chess with man for his soul. substitute for the mocking fiend in that picture a calm, strong angel, who is playing "for love," as we say, and would rather lose than win, and i should accept it as an image of human life. --thomas henry huxley. riches and nobility fade together. o, my god! be thou praised for having made love for all time, and immortal as thyself. --george sand. he hath given food unto them that fear him: he will ever be mindful of his covenant. the works of his hands are truth and justice; all his precepts are sure. --psalm . , . father of life, i know i cannot hold youth. i may have prosperity or poverty. i thank thee that thou hast taught me that love may be kept changeless through all. amen. may fifth napoleon bonaparte died . empress eugenie born . bret harte died . as i stand by the cross, on the lone mountain's crest, looking over the ultimate sea, in the gloom of the mountain a ship lies at rest, and one sails away from the lea; one spreads its white wings on the far-reaching track, with pennant and sheet flowing free; one hides in the shadow with sails laid aback-- the ship that is waiting for me. but lo! in the distance the clouds break away, the gate's glowing portals i see, and i hear from the outgoing ship in the bay the song of the sailors in glee. so i think of the luminous footprints that bore the comfort o'er dark galilee, and wait for the signal to go to the shore to the ship that is waiting for me. --bret harte. yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. --psalm . . eternal god, i praise thee, that "thy love is broader than the measure of man's mind," and that through all my years i may hide myself in thee, trusting thee to the end. amen. may sixth plato born b.c. . robespierre born . general andrea messena born . hard ye may be in the tumult, red to your battle hilts; blow give blow in the foray, cunningly ride in the tilts. but tenderly, unbeguiled-- turn to a woman a woman's heart, and a child's to a child. test of the man if his worth be in accord with the ultimate plan that he be not, to his marring, always and utterly man. that he may bring out of the tumult, fetter and undefiled, to woman the heart of a woman-- to children the heart of a child.[ ] --o. henry. a man's concern is only whether in doing anything he is doing right or wrong--acting the part of a good man or a bad. --plato. a faithful man shall abound with blessings. --proverbs . . almighty god, i pray that i may seek sincerely those whom i approach with sympathy, and by my honor may they feel the same sincerity for me. amen. [footnote : special permission cosmopolitan magazine, new york.] may seventh correggio born . robert browning born . johannes brahms born . lord rosebery (archibald primrose) born . so, take and use thy work: amend what flaws may lurk, what strain o' the stuff, what warpings past the aim! my times be in thy hand! perfect the cup as planned! let age approve of youth, and death complete the same! --robert browning. no matter how often defeated, you are born to victory. the reward of a thing well done is to have done it. --ralph waldo emerson. when i hear a young man spoken of as giving promise of high genius, the first question i ask about him is always--does he work? --john ruskin. ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect. --matthew . . o god, i pray that thou wilt search me, and in the silent moments show me myself without obstruction. breathe upon me thy awakening breath, that i may be revived to nobler activities. amen. may eighth rev. william jay born . françois mignet born . louis gottschalk born . john stuart mill died . a profound conviction raises a man above the feeling of ridicule. --john stuart mill. a garden is a lonesome thing, god wot! rose plot, fringed pool, ferned grot-- the veriest school of peace; and yet the fool contends that god is not-- not god! in the gardens! when the eve is cool? nay but i have a sign; 'tis very sure god walks in mine. --thomas e. brown. jehovah bless thee, and keep thee: jehovah make his face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: jehovah lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace. --numbers . , , . my father, may this be a day of usefulness. make me sure of myself, that i may not spend my days in questioning, but accept with gratefulness thy love and tender care. make me worthy to be called thy child. amen. may ninth john brown (ossawattomie) born . johann schiller died . j.m. barrie born . have love! not love alone for one, but man as man thy brother call: and scatter like the circling sun thy charities on all. --johann schiller. he spoke, and words more soft than rain brought the age of gold again: his action won such reverence sweet, as hid all measure of the feat. --ralph waldo emerson. that their hearts might be comforted, they being knit together in love. --colossians . . gracious lord, i pray that i may not only be known to those who are my own, but may i consider all mankind. may those who need me find me through my gentleness, and may they be assured by quiet confidence and faith. amen. may tenth rouget de l'isle born . jared sparks born . james bryce born . sir henry stanley died . for four months and four days i lived with david livingstone in the same house, or in the same boat, or in the same tent, and i never found a fault in him. i am a man of quick temper, and often without sufficient cause, i dare say, have broken the ties of friendship; but with livingstone i never had cause for resentment, but each day's life with him added to my admiration for him. --sir henry stanley. in speech right gentle, yet so wise: princely of mien, yet softly mannered; modest, deferent, and tender-hearted, though of a fearless blood. --edwin arnold. ye are the light of the world. a city set on a hill cannot be hid. --matthew . . almighty god, help me to aspire, that my life may tend toward the ideal. may i be persuaded that i cannot be that which i do not possess, nor can i live in that which i do not know. help me to put the best in what i do, that i may not feel i have failed, even though it may not seem to be a success. amen. may eleventh baron münchhausen born . william pitt, earl of chatham, died . jean léon gérôme born . and methought that beauty and terror are only one, not two; and the world has room for love, and death, and thunder and dew; and all the sinews of hell slumber in the summer air; and the face of god is a rock, but the face of the rock is fair. beneficent streams of tears flow at the finger of pain; and out of the cloud that smites, beneficent rivers of rain. --robert louis stevenson. it is more shameful to be distrustful of our friends than to be deceived by them. --la rochefoucauld. thou shalt rejoice in all the good which jehovah thy god hath given unto thee. --deuteronomy . . lord god, may i comprehend the sacredness of friendship. i thank thee for my friends, and for all the beautiful influences which they bring to my life. may i never hold friendship without the sincerity to return it. correct my faults, and cause me to learn the secret of cheerful endurance, that i may be steadfast. amen. may twelfth robert fielding died . james sheridan knowles born . dante gabriel rossetti born . jules massenet born . look in my face; my name is might-have-been; i am also called no-more, too-late, farewell; unto thine ear i hold the dead sea-shell cast up thy life's foam-fretted feet between; unto thine eyes the glass where that is seen which had life's form and love's, but by my spell is now a shaken shadow intolerable, of ultimate things unuttered the frail screen. --dante gabriel rossetti. let me not pass my work at morn and then at eve, find for what purpose i was born-- just as i leave. --m.b.s. we must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. --john . . lord god, i do earnestly pray that thou wilt give me strength to break away, if i may be trying to free myself from habits that mar my character. may i not lose courage and fall back in the old ways, but by faith be led where i should go. amen. may thirteenth carolus linnæus (karl von linné) born . alphonse daudet born . sir arthur sullivan born . i heard a voice in the darkness singing (that was a valiant soul i knew), and the joy of his song was a wild bird winging swift to his mate through a sky of blue. and his song was of love and all its bringing and of certain day when the night was through; i raised my eyes where the hope was springing, and i think in his heaven god smiled too (that was a valiant soul i knew). --j. stalker. the soul aids the body, and at certain moments raises it. it is the only bird which bears upward its own cage. --victor hugo. but desire earnestly the greater gifts. -- corinthians . . gracious lord, i rejoice that thou dost know the depths of my soul, and that i may call upon thee to supply its needs. make me worthy that i may not be kept from the springs of joy where my soul may be refreshed, and where i may gather hope and encouragement for the greater loves of life. amen. may fourteenth john dutton born . gabriel d. fahrenheit born . robert owen born . henry grattan died . they that wander at will where the works of the lord are revealed, little guess what joy can be got from a cowslip out of the field. --alfred tennyson. move onward serenely, cast aside regret, cleanse and purify life, only be undismayed and hopeful, as you turn page after page of the revelation of god. --arthur c. benson. thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; in thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. --psalm . . my father, i thank thee that nature reveals thy power as she unfolds her beauty and wonder to the searching eye. guide me that i may see in the little flower the smile of welcome, the look of kindness, and the beauty of hope which it renders to all; and may i learn from it thy protection in the smallest things of life. amen. may fifteenth ephraim chambers died . florence nightingale born . michael w. balfe born . edmund keane died . daniel o'connell died . light human nature is too lightly lost and ruffled without cause, complaining on, restless with rest, until being overthrown, it learneth to lie quiet. --elizabeth barrett browning. was the trial sore? temptation sharp? thank god a second time! why comes temptation but for a man to meet and master and make crouch beneath his foot, and so be pedestaled in triumph? pray "lead us into no such temptations, lord!" yea, but, o thou whose servants are the bold, lead such temptations by the head and hair, reluctant dragons, up to who dares fight that so he may do battle and have praise. --robert browning. therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from them. --hebrews . . almighty god, if i am overwhelmed by the tides of temptation and discouragement, let me not drift away to sea, but anchor and take harbor in thee. may i not be afraid to trust in thy protection, but calmly wait and watch for thy deliverance. amen. may sixteenth sir william patty born . honore de balzac born . william h. seward born . felicia hemans died . favored of heaven! o genius! are they thine, when round thy brow the wreaths of glory shine; while rapture gazes on thy radiant way, 'midst the bright realms of clear mental day? no! sacred joys! 'tis yours to dwell enshrined, most fondly cherished, in the purest mind. --felicia hemans. genius is intensity. --honore balzac. but what if i fail of my purpose here? it is but to keep the nerves at strain, to dry one's eyes and laugh at a fall, and, baffled, get up and begin again-- so the chase takes up one's life, that's all. --robert browning. be urgent in season, out of season. -- timothy . . my lord, my life makes me conscious of weakness, and my memory brings regret; forgive me for the lost strength i neglected to develop. in thy compassion encourage me to be more watchful of my power, that i may usefully increase it, and not willfully deplete it. may i learn the need of constancy in well-doing. amen. may seventeenth heloise died . matthew parker died . edwin jenner born . the weakest among us has a gift, however seemingly trivial, which is peculiar to him, and which worthily used, will be a gift to his race forever. --john ruskin. not in entire forgetfulness, and not in utter nakedness, but trailing clouds of glory do we come from god who is our home. --william wordsworth. a weak mind sinks under prosperity as well as under adversity. a strong and deep mind has two highest tides--when the moon is at full, and when there is no moon. --julius hare. thou hast granted me life and lovingkindness; and thy visitation hath preserved my spirit. --job . . almighty god, i pray that i may have a true appreciation of the quality of life. reveal to me my responsibilities and help me to make them my opportunities. keep me in search of thoughts and deeds that will increase the delight of my soul. amen. may eighteenth francis mahony (father prout) died . mrs. johnson (stella) born . john wilson (christopher north) born . longing is god's fresh heavenward will, with our poor earthly striving; we quench it, that we may be still content with merely living. but would we learn that heart's full scope which we are hourly wronging, our lives must climb from hope to hope, and realize our longing. --james russell lowell. pretexts are not wanted when one wishes a thing. --goldoni. friendship is for all aid and comfort through all the relations of life and death--for serene days and graceful gifts and country rambles; but also for rough roads, and hard fare, shipwreck, poverty, and persecution. --ralph waldo emerson. strive to enter in by the narrow door. --luke . . eternal god, i pray that thou wilt graciously restore my spirits if i may have settled into despondency over my disappointments. may i have the will to rise above them, and patiently strive for renewed hope. amen. may nineteenth james boswell died . johann gottlieb fichte born . william e. gladstone died . tired! well, what of that? didst fancy life was spent on beds of ease, fluttering the rose-leaves scattered by the breeze? come! rouse thee, work while it is called to-day! coward, arise--go forth upon the way! lonely! and what of that? some one must be lonely; 'tis not given to all to feel a heart responsive rise and fall, to blend another life into its own; work may be done in loneliness; work on. dark! well, what of that? didst fondly dream the sun would never set? dost fear to lose thy way? take courage yet, learn thou to walk by faith and not by sight, thy steps will be guided, and guided right. --unknown. and let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. --galatians . . my father, if thou wert far off i could not reach thee in time, for i falter so much and need thee so often. i pray that thou wilt keep so near that i can feel thy love and strength breathing within me. amen. may twentieth elizabeth g. fry born . john stuart mill born . alfred domett born . rudolf h. lotze born . marquis de lafayette died . nature has written a letter of credit upon some men's faces which is honored wherever presented. you cannot help trusting such men; their very presence gives confidence. there is a "promise to pay" in their faces which gives confidence, and you prefer it to another man's indorsement. character is credit. --william m. thackeray. henry drummond has told us how in the heart of africa he came across men and women who remembered the only white man they ever saw before--david livingstone; and as you cross his footsteps in the dark continent men's faces light up as they speak of the kind doctor who passed there years ago. they could not understand him; but they felt the love that beat in his heart. who is wise and understanding among you? let him show by his good life his works in meekness of wisdom. --james . . my lord, inspire me with kind words and thoughtful deeds, that i may share the yearnings and sympathy of others. may my life show that i am dependable, and may none be left lonely to-day because of my forgetfulness. amen. may twenty-first albrecht dürer born . fernando de soto died . alexander pope born . self-love but serves the virtuous mind to wake as the small pebble stirs the peaceful lake; the center moved, a circle straight succeeds, another still, and still another spreads; friend, parent, neighbor, first it will embrace, its country next, and next, the human race. --alexander pope. a gentleman is one who understands and shows every mark of deference to the claim of self-love in others, and exacts it in return from them. --william hazlitt. but he knoweth the way that i take; when he hath tried me, i shall come forth as gold. my foot hath held fast to his steps; his way have i kept, and turned not aside. --job . . lord god, teach me how secret actions make or destroy my life. show me the deep lines made by sorrow and discontent that cannot be effaced. may i look toward the corrections of life and not on my imperfections, that my life may be a helpful influence. amen. may twenty-second newman hall born . wilhelm richard wagner born . maria edgeworth died . victor hugo died . who cares for the burden, the night, and the rain, and the long, steep, lonesome road, when at last through the darkness a light shines plain, when a voice calls "hail," and a friend draws rein, with an arm for the stubborn load? for life is the chance of a friend or two this side of the journey's goal. though the world be a desert the long night through, yet the gay flowers bloom and the sky shows blue when a soul salutes a soul. --unknown. in all misfortune the greatest consolation is a sympathizing friend. --cervantes. they help every one his neighbor; and every one saith to his brother, be of good courage. --isaiah . . loving father, may i lay hold upon the highest standards of friendship and so be qualified to be a friend. may those who call and lean on me feel secure in my support. may none ever be ashamed to call me friend. grant that those whom i love may keep faith with me. amen. may twenty-third thomas hood born . margaret fuller ossoli born . henrik ibsen died . dr. john campbell died . chance cannot touch me! time cannot hush me! fear, hope, and longing, at strife; sink as i rise, on, on, upward forever, gathering strength, gaining breath-- naught can sever me from the spirit of life. --margaret fuller. but evil is wrought by want of thought, as well as want of heart. --thomas hood. for i reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward. --romans . . heavenly father, cause the newness of life to continue to flow through my heart, that i may not be fatigued, as i struggle with discouragements. release me from hopeless cares that i have made mine, thinking they were thine. may i trust in the boundless limit of thy mercy, and rejoice in the world of living light. amen. may twenty-fourth jean paul marat born . stephen girard born . sir robert adair born . queen victoria born . caroline fox born . i see my way as birds their trackless way. i shall arrive! what time, what circuit first, i ask not: but unless god send his hail or blinding fireballs, sleet, or stifling snow, in some time, his good time, i shall arrive: he guides me and the bird. --robert browning. to live in the presence of great truths and eternal laws--that is what keeps a man patient when the world ignores him, and calm and unspoiled when the world praises him. --honore balzac. but whoso putteth his trust in jehovah shall be safe. --proverbs . . lord jehovah, all goodness, tenderness, and forbearance that are in my life have come from thee. may i not lose them in self, but by them make possible happiness and endurance for others. amen. may twenty-fifth ralph waldo emerson born . edward bulwer-lytton (george) born . dr. william paley died . william henry channing born . hast thou named all the birds without a gun? loved the wild rose, and left it on the stalk? at rich men's tables eaten bread and pulse? unarmed faced danger with a heart of trust? and loved so well a high behavior, in man or maid, that thou from speech refrained, nobility more noble to repay? o, be my friend and teach me to be thine! --ralph waldo emerson. what the superior man seeks is in himself; what the small man seeks is in others. --confucius. make no friendship with a man that is given to anger; and with a wrathful man thou shalt not go. --proverbs . . lord god, may i live for the pure and upright, and have the blessedness of a rejoicing heart. may i yearn for the secrets of nature. grant that my life may not seek destruction, but tenderly find and protect life. amen. may twenty-sixth the venerable bede died . count nicolas ludwig zinzendorf born . capel lofft died . let us disengage ourselves from care about the passing things of time; let us soar above our worldly possessions. the bee does not less need its wings when it has gathered an abundant store, for if it sink in the honey, it dies. --saint augustine. perhaps if we could penetrate nature's secrets, we should find that what we call needs are more essential to the well-being of the world than the most precious grain or fruit. --nathaniel hawthorne. we trust the lord in faith serene, a ladder he hath given; the lower rounds in earth are seen, the higher reach to heaven. --thomas brevior. is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? --matthew . . almighty god, i bless thee for the privilege of a great life. may i not be satisfied to rest with idle hands in youth and make age regretful because i have lived a useless life: but with a clear eye and an exalted mind may i choose the "durable satisfactions" that may be mine. amen. may twenty-seventh alighieri dante born . john calvin died . julia ward howe born . noah webster died . john kendrick bangs born . to your judgments give ye not the reins with too much eagerness, like him who ere the corn be ripe, is fain to count the grains: for i have seen the briar through the winter snows look sharp and stiff--yet on a future day high on its summit bear the tender rose: and ship i've seen, that through the storm hath passed, securely bounding o'er the watery way, at entrance of the harbor wrecked at last. --dante, translated by wright. in the beauty of the lilies christ was born across the sea, with a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me: as he died to make men holy, let us die to make them free, while god is marching on. --julia ward howe. trust in jehovah with all thy heart, and lean not upon thine own understanding. --proverbs . . lord god, help me to know my ability, that i may not attempt with weakness that which requires strength to undertake; and make me stable that i may not relax vigilance even though victory seems assured. amen. may twenty-eighth william pitt born . thomas moore born . louis agassiz born . the bird let loose in eastern skies, when hastening fondly home, ne'er stoops to earth her wing, nor flies where idle warblers roam; but high she shoots through air and light, above all low delay, where nothing earthly bounds her flight, nor shadow dims her way. --thomas moore. remember, the essence of religion is, a heart void of offense toward god and man; not subtle speculative opinions, but an active principle of faith. --william pitt. and hope putteth not to shame; because the love of god hath been shed abroad in our hearts. --romans . . god of mercy, reveal to me the hallowed life. may i be reminded that, while i may save and keep the dust from things that perish, my life, though unkept and undeveloped, tells in itself the value and need of the most watchful care. amen. may twenty-ninth patrick henry born . joseph fouche born . josephine died . gerald massey born . is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? forbid it, almighty god. i know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me liberty or give me death. --patrick henry. though hearts brood o'er the past, our eyes with smiling features glisten; for lo! our day bursts up the skies, lean out your souls and listen! the world is following freedom's way, and ripening with her sorrow; take heart! who bears the cross to-day shall wear the crown to-morrow. --gerald massey. for god gave us not a spirit of fearfulness; but of power and love and discipline. -- timothy . . lord god, may i never feel that i have a right to sell thy joys, nor the privilege of giving away my burdens. grant that i may not forsake my principles, but may i keep the way clear that memory may find an unruffled rest. amen. may thirtieth decoration day. joan d'arc burned at rouen . alexander pope died . voltaire died . alfred austin born . here is the nation god has builded by our hands. what shall we do with it? who stands ready to act again and always in the spirit of this day of reunion and hope and patriotic fervor? the day of our country's life has but broadened into morning. do not put uniforms by. put the harness of the present on. lift your eyes to the great tracts of life yet to be conquered in the interest of righteous peace, of that prosperity which lies in a people's hearts and outlasts all wars and errors of men. --woodrow wilson. cover them over with beautiful flowers: deck them with garlands these brothers of ours; lying so silent, by night and by day, sleeping the years of their manhood away; * * * * * give them the laurels they lost with their life. --will carleton. greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. --john . . my father, as i pause this day to think of the brave men and women who have given their lives for the sake of others, may i be thankful for them. may i remember that noble deeds and kind words are never lost, but that self may block the way to justice. o father, make war to cease! and lead us to victories that are won through peace. amen. may thirty-first ludwig tieck born . joseph haydn died . walt whitman born . passage, immediate passage! the blood burns in my veins! away, o soul! hoist instantly the anchor! out the hawser--haul out--shake out every sail! have we not stood here like trees in the ground long enough? have we not groveled here long enough eating and drinking like mere brutes? have we not darkened and dazed ourselves with books long enough? sail forth--steer for the deep waters only, reckless, o soul, exploring, i with thee, and thou with me, for we are bound where mariner has not dared to go, and we will risk the ship, ourselves and all. --walt whitman. be strong and of good courage, fear not, nor be affrighted at them: for jehovah thy god, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. --deuteronomy . . my father, give me joyful courage to squarely face my life. help me to know that i cannot vanquish life by evading duties, nor encircling myself with indulgences. if i may be blind to my situation, restore my sight that i may make ready a worthy passage with thee. amen. june there lives a glory in these sweet june days such as i found not in the days gone by, a kindlier meaning in the unclouded sky, a tenderer whisper in the woodland ways; and i have understanding of the lays, the birds are singing, forasmuch as i have learned how love avails to satisfy a man's whole heart, and fills his lips with praise. --percy c. ainsworth june first nicolas poussin born . sir christopher marlowe died . sir david wilkie died . hugo münsterberg born . in every act of ours, in every feeling and every volition and every thought, we are conscious of a self which expresses its aims and meanings. every idea of ours points beyond itself, every volition binds us in decision, and every experience gets meaning by our attitudes. the most immediate task which life demands from us in the understanding of ourselves and of others is, therefore, to interpret our ideas, to draw the consequences of our will, to appreciate the attitudes, to measure them by higher standards. --hugo münsterberg. and god said, let us make man in our image, after our likeness. --genesis . . my creator, i pray that i may not only have the desire to know life, but the assurance to live it. help me to understand that my earthly possessions are not the measure of my life, nor my body the boundary of my living. may i reach for the high standards that are free, without limit, to all. amen. june second ethelbert baptized . john randolph born . thomas hardy born . in battle or business, whatever the game, in law or in love, it is ever the same: in the struggle for power, or scramble for pelf, let this be your motto: "rely on yourself." --john g. saxe. labor is necessary to excellence. this is an eternal truth, although vanity cannot be taught to believe or indolence to heed it. --john randolph. but let each man prove his own work, and then shall he have his glorying in regard of himself alone, and not of his neighbor. --galatians . . almighty god, i regret the hours of indiscretion and waste; through thy forgiveness may i have thy help over past wrongs. may i have a deeper conception of a profitable life, that i may hereafter live by it. amen. june third sydney smith born . dr. john gregory born . richard cobden born . jefferson davis born . norman macleod born . certainly, let the board be spread and let the bed be dressed for the traveler; but let not the emphasis of hospitality lie in these things. honor to the house where they are simple to the verge of hardship, so that there the intellect is awake and reads the law of the universe, the soul worships truth and love, honor and courtesy flow into all deeds. --ralph waldo emerson. kind actions, and good wishes, and pure thoughts no mystery is here: here is no boon for high--yet not for low: the smoke ascends to heaven as lightly from the cottage hearth as from the haughtiest palace. --william wordsworth. given to hospitality. --romans . . gracious father, i beseech thee to give me wisdom for kind thoughts and deeds. teach me true hospitality, that i may be gracious in my own home and appreciative in the home of others. may i not temper my hospitality for certain reasons, but have a genuine welcome for all. amen. june fourth george iii born . lord edward fitzgerald died . general garnet wolseley born . this is the gospel of labor--ring it, ye bells of the kirk-- the lord of love came down from above to live with the men who work. this is the rose he planted, here in the thorn-cursed soil; heaven is blest with perfect rest, but the blessing of earth is toil. --henry van dyke no man is born into the world whose work is not born with him. there is always work and tools to work withal, for those who will; and blessed are the horny hands of toil. --james russell lowell. six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest. --exodus . . my father, i pray for the love of work, and the desire to cultivate life. stir me, that i may be ambitious. may i not stare at life in an everyday way and forget that others are watching for the surprises. help me to be considerate and kind in all that i do. amen. june fifth socrates born b.c. . dr. adam smith born . karl maria von weber died . o. henry died . you think that upon the score of foreknowledge and divining i am infinitely inferior to the swans. when they perceive approaching death they sing more merrily than before, because of the joy they have in going to the god they serve. --socrates. o yet we trust that somehow good will be the final goal of ill, to pangs of nature, sins of will, defects of doubt, and taints of blood; that nothing walks with aimless feet; that not one life shall be destroyed, or cast as rubbish to the void, when god hath made the pile complete. --alfred tennyson. how precious is thy lovingkindness, o god! and the children of men take refuge under the shadow of thy wings. --psalm . . eternal god, forbid that i should try to set up thy judgment-seat in so small a place as self, and attempt to render decisions for thee. my soul lives anew as i think of thy love, and that there is no place where thy mercy can be withheld from me. amen. june sixth diego r. velasquez born . pierre corneille born . nathan hale born . sir john stainer born . these stones that make the meadow brooklet murmur are the keys on which it plays. o'er every shelving rock its touch grows firmer, resounding notes to raise. if every path o'er which footsteps wander, were smooth as ocean strand, there were no theme for gratitude and wonder at god's delivering hand. --w. e. winks. we also rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh steadfastness; and steadfastness, approvedness; and approvedness, hope. --romans . , . my father, if rain may come to-day, may i realize its help, with the power of the sun, to increase life; and may its influence be sweet and wholesome to me, as i learn that sadness is temporary and will disappear with the coming of gladness. may i go search for the joy that may be mine to-day. amen. june seventh robert bruce died . george bryan (beau brummel) born . rev. w.d. conybeare born . when the lamp is shattered the light in the dust lies dead-- when the cloud is scattered the rainbow's glory is shed. when the lute is broken sweet tones are remembered not; when the lips have spoken loved accents are soon forgot. --percy bysshe shelley. a slip of the rose may take root, and bring forth a bloom to give peace to the soul. a slip of the tongue may take root, and bring forth a thorn that will torture the soul. --m.b.s. abide in me, and i in you. as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; so neither can ye, except ye abide in me. --john . . many of us, o father, overlook the fragrance of the rose while we are being pierced by its thorn. increase my faith in life and in thee, that i may not be dismayed over mysteries, but sincerely wait for deliverance. amen. june eighth mohammed died . thomas rickman born . charles reade born . john everett millais born . if one touch of nature makes the whole world kin, methinks that sweet and wonderful thing sympathy is not less powerful. what golden barriers, what ice of centuries, it can melt in a moment! --charles reade. if i had two loaves of bread, i would sell one to buy white hyacinths to feed my soul. --mohammed. what do you live for if it is not to make life less difficult for each other? --george eliot. pure religion and undefiled before our god and father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. --james . . my father, help me to understand that kind hearts and willing hands are made possible by the depth and greatness of thy love. may i possess the spirit of forgiveness and consideration, that i may not hold prejudice and revenge, but help with sympathy and tenderness. amen. june ninth george stephenson born . john howard payne born . richard d. blackmore born . charles dickens died . reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many; not upon your past misfortunes, of which all have some. --charles dickens. 'mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, be it ever so humble, there's no place like home! a charm from the skies seems to hallow us there, which, sought through the world, is ne'er met with elsewhere. home! home! sweet, sweet home! there's no place like home! --john howard payne. for thou shalt forget thy misery; thou shalt remember it as waters that are passed away. --job . . lord god, my soul fills with gratitude for the blessings which i have received and enjoyed. help me to conform to thy will concerning my duties. may i not try to resist thy providence. i pray that thou wilt bless my daily life, and make my home a place to dispense kindness and cheerfulness. amen. june tenth sir edwin arnold born . henry m. stanley born . edward everett hale died . robert schumann born . what have you done with your soul, my friend? where is the ray you were wont to send, glancing bright through the outer night, touching with hope what was dark before, glimmering on to the further shore? --arthur c. benson. god suffers the light to know eclipse, dashes the cup from the eager lips; you perchance would have drunk too deep. --arthur c. benson. lift where you stand. --edward everett hale. a friend is the first person who comes in when the whole world has gone out. --unknown. who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of god. -- corinthians . . almighty god, help me to correct my mistakes, and to be more careful of what i take in my life. may i always stretch out a hand of love to inspire others with confidence to care more for themselves and more for thee. amen. june eleventh roger bacon died . george wither born . john constable born . exceeding gifts from god are not blessings, they are duties. they do not always increase a man's happiness; they always increase his responsibilities. --charles kingsley. make a rule and pray for help to keep it. once a day spare room for a thought that will pursue a strong purpose. help in some way the progress of a weary soul who cannot repay you. --m. b. s. there is no true potency, remember, but that of help; nor true ambition, but ambition to save. --john ruskin. and if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul: then shall thy light rise in darkness, and thine obscurity be as the noon day. --isaiah . . heavenly father, when i think of how little i have given away my heart burns with shame, as i recall what thou hast given to me. may i from this day be more thoughtful of thy tender compassion by being less selfish with what i have. amen. june twelfth harriet martineau born . charles kingsley born . dr. thomas arnold (arnold of rugby) died . sir oliver lodge born . do to-day's duty, fight to-day's temptation, and do not weaken and distract yourself by looking-forward to things which you cannot see, and could not understand if you saw them. --charles kingsley. genuine religion has its roots deep down in the heart of humanity.... the actions of the deity make no appeal to any special sense. we are deaf and blind, therefore, to the imminent grandeur around us unless we have insight enough to appreciate the whole and to recognize the woven fabric of existence flowing steadily from the loom of an infinite progress toward perfection. --sir oliver lodge. every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that is cast by turning. --james . . gracious father, forbid that i should make thee regret thy gifts to me; and if i have failed to appreciate them, look upon me with pity, for i have cheated myself more than i have thee. give me a deeper appreciation, that i may be strengthened day by day in the veriest duties of life. amen. june thirteenth dr. thomas young born . general winfield scott born . dr. thomas arnold (arnold of rugby) born . william butler yeats born . beyond all wealth, honor, or even health, is the attachment we form to noble souls, because to become one with the good, generous, and true is to become, in a measure, good, generous, and true ourselves. --thomas arnold. open thy bosom, set thy wishes wide, and let in manhood--let in happiness; admit the boundless theater of thought from nothing up to god ... which makes a man. --thomas young. two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. for if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, and hath not another to lift him up. --ecclesiastes . , . heavenly father, i thank thee for good friends, and for the delight that dwells in fellowship. give me the power to apprehend love, and guard me against the ways to lose it. may i look to my friends to help me to be pure, and to help me live my truest life. amen. june fourteenth carlo guidi born . harriet beecher stowe born . mary carpenter died . when you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you till it seems as if you couldn't hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that's just the time and place that the tide will turn. --harriet beecher stowe. i cannot do it alone, the waves run fast and high, and the fogs close chill around, and the light goes out in the sky; but i know that we two shall win in the end-- god and i. --unknown. let us hold fast the confession of our hope that it waver not. --hebrews . . almighty god, i pray that thou wilt sustain me when i may be enduring for a purpose, and to accomplish it seems beyond my strength. renew me with courage, and give me unceasing hope, and faith that is able to hold out to the end. amen. june fifteenth thomas randolph born . edward grieg born . thomas campbell died . what is rightly done stays with us, to support another right beyond, or higher up; whatever is wrongly done vanishes; and by the blank, betrays what we would have built above. --john ruskin. the seed ye sow another reaps, the wealth ye find another keeps, the robe ye weave another wears, the arms ye forge another bears. --percy bysshe shelley. thou drewest near in the day that i called upon thee; thou saidst, fear not. o lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life. --lamentations . , . lord god, reveal to me my selfishness if i am receiving much and giving little to satisfy life. may i be grateful and considerate of all those who labor to give me comfort and happiness. amen. june sixteenth hugh capet succeeds to throne of father . sir richard fanshawe died . sir john cheke born . when to the sessions of sweet, solemn thought i summon up remembrance of things past, i sigh the lack of many a thing i sought. but if the while i think on thee, dear friend, all losses are restored and sorrows end. --william shakespeare. seldom can the heart be lonely if it seek a lonelier still-- self-forgetting, seeking only emptier cups of love to fill. --f. r. havergal. the lord jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that are taught, that i may know how to sustain with words him that is weary. --isaiah . . gracious father, keep within me that cheer and courage which never has a place for weary murmurings; and with peace make the hours of solitude profitable as they pass. help me to seek those who are in need of sympathy and encouragement, that i may help them to have a tranquil life. amen. june seventeenth joseph addison died . charles françois gounod born . sir e. c. burne-jones died . he who plants a tree plants a hope. rootlets up through fibers blindly grope, leaves unfold unto horizons free. so man's life must climb from the clods of time unto heavens sublime. canst thou prophesy, thou little tree, what the glory of the boughs shall be? --lucy larcom. very early, i perceived that the object of life is to grow. --margaret fuller. many a genius has been slow of growth. oaks that flourish for a thousand years do not spring up into beauty like a reed. --george henry lewes. and jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with god and men. --luke . . almighty god, thy power is so great i cannot express it; help me to comprehend the meaning of it, that i may feel more profoundly thy expectations of my life. may i remember that to forget that life is eternal may make me to lose all it has grown. amen. june eighteenth robert stewart born . battle of waterloo . william cobbett died . not he the threatening texts who deals is highest 'mong the preachers, but he who feels the woes and weals of all god's wandering creatures. he doth good work whose heart can find the spirit 'neath the letter; who makes his kind of happier mind, leaves wiser men and better. dear bard and brother! let who may against thy faults be railing, (though far, i pray, from us be they that never had a failing!) --james russell lowell. avenge not yourselves, beloved, but give place unto the wrath of god: for it is written, vengeance belongeth unto me; i will recompense, saith the lord. --romans . . heavenly father, i pray that i may not be so occupied in expressing my judgment of others, that i will forget to live in thy judgment myself. may i have the compassion for others that i hope to receive from thee. amen. june nineteenth magna charta signed, runnymede, . blaise pascal born . charles h. spurgeon born . find your niche and fill it. if it is ever so little, if it is only a hewer of wood or a drawer of water, do something in the great battle for god and truth. --charles spurgeon. if i do what i may in earnest, i need not mourn if i work no great work on earth. to help the growth of a thought that struggles toward the light; to brush with gentle hand the stain from the white of one snowdrop--such be my ambition. --george macdonald. jehovah thy god will bless thee in all thy work, and in all that thou puttest thy hand unto. --deuteronomy . . lord god, i pray that i may not through conceit be betrayed into slacking my work, or through visions of greatness lose it. teach me how to obtain the secret wealth in the smallest thing; and may i recognize thy treasures, and fill my life with the finest that may be given me. amen. june twentieth john of lancaster born . dr. adam ferguson born . anna letitia aiken (mrs. barbauld) born . if the soft hand of winning pleasure leads by living waters, and through flowery meads, where all is smiling, tranquil, and serene, oh! teach me to elude each latent snare, and whisper to my sliding heart, "beware!" with caution let me hear the syren's voice, and doubtful, with a trembling heart rejoice. if friendless in a vale of tears i stray, where briars wound, and thorns perplex my way, still let my steady soul thy goodness see, and, with a strong confidence, lay hold on thee. --anna letitia barbauld. for thou, o god, hast proved us: thou hast tried us, as silver is tried. --psalm . . o lord, teach me to select my pleasures with care, that i may not plunge into joyful moments that are irretrievable. may i indulge in the pleasures that bring happiness and not weariness. grant that i may have the honor to protect others from harm and loss, as i engage in my pleasures and in my work. amen. june twenty-first captain john smith died . anthony collins born . jacques offenbach born . in our eagerness to solve life we start out to trace its mysteries and trample god's truths as we search. as we return we discover the shattered treasures, and gladly stoop to gather up the fragments, and with them translate the revelations of the soul. --m.b.s. i stretch my hands out in the empty air; i strain my eyes into the heavy night; blackness of darkness!--father, hear my prayer; grant me to see the light! --george arnold. but when he came to himself he said, how many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and i perish here with hunger! i will arise and go to my father. --luke . , . heavenly father, i pray that as i search for the truth i will not be so eager to seek thy mysteries as i am to extend thy ministries. grant that by thy love i will be guided in comprehending and exalting thy kingdom. may my service bring me wisdom as i obey thy laws. amen. june twenty-second matthew henry died . karl wilhelm von humboldt born . h. rider haggard born . the safe and general antidote against sorrow is employment. sorrow is a kind of rust in the soul, which every new idea contributes in its passage to scour away. --dr. johnson. we may be sure that one principle will hold throughout the whole pursuit of thoughtful happiness--the principle that the best way to secure future happiness is to be as happy as is rightfully possible to-day. to secure any desirable capacity for the future, near or remote, cultivate it to-day. what would be the use of immortality for a person who cannot use well half an hour? asks emerson. --charles w. eliot. strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. say to them that are of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not. --isaiah . , . loving father, help me that i may realize the depth of thy love. if i may be discouraged over my failures, speak to me hopefully and lead me out where i may find the right way to succeed. may i not be kept in sorrow, but find each day the happiness that brings a thankful heart. amen. june twenty-third mark akenside died . john fill born . josephine born could we by a wish have what we will and get the future now, would we wish aught done undone in the past? so, let him wait god's instant men call years; meantime hold hard by truth and his great soul, do out the duty! through such souls alone god stooping shows sufficient of his light for us i' the dark to rise by. and i rise. --robert browning. press not thy purpose on thy lord, urge not thy erring will, nor dictate to the eternal mind nor doubt thy maker's skill. --lydia h. sigourney. cause me to hear thy loving-kindness in the morning; for in thee do i trust: cause me to know the way wherein i should walk; for i lift up my soul unto thee. --psalm . . my father, help me to see that in my portion of work thou hast entrusted me to help further thy kingdom. correct me if i am wrong in interpreting thy way. may i concentrate my mind and make my heart and hands do the work which thou hast given for me to do. amen. june twenty-fourth jean baptiste massillon born . alexandre dumas born . henry ward beecher born . general lord kitchener born . all the world cries, "where is the man who will save us?" don't look so far for this man, you have him at hand. this man--it is you, it is i, it is each one of us! how to constitute oneself a man? nothing harder if one knows not how to will it; nothing easier if one wills it. --alexandre dumas. many of our troubles are god dragging us, and they would end if we would stand upon our feet and go whither he would have us. --henry ward beecher. ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and mine ordinances; which if a man do, he shall live in them. --leviticus . . gracious lord, i pray that i may have reverence for that which is pure and holy, and that my soul may delight in the presence of the good. help me to so live that i may have the memory of precious deeds, and that i may not have to depend on the service of others to supply contentment for my closing days. amen. june twenty-fifth william smellie died . antoine jean gros died . lucy webb hayes died . in every feast remember there are two guests to be entertained--the body and the soul; and what you give the body you presently lose, but what you give the soul remains forever. --epictetus. we take pains and weary to faultlessly clothe the body. we persevere, and often struggle, to adorn the mind. as we pass through the rays of truth, sometimes we find, after all we have put on, we have left bare the soul. --m.b.s. for what shall a man be profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? --matthew . . lord god, help me to understand that thou hast made the principle of truth so that i cannot add to it, nor take from it, lest in altering it i might destroy it. may i never try to make my purpose cover the truth, but without fear, face the light where truth shines the brightest. amen. june twenty-sixth archbishop robert leighton died . dr. philip doddridge born . george morland born . why are we so glad to talk and take our turns to prattle, when so rarely we get back to the stronghold of our silence with an unwounded conscience? --thomas a kempis. i have read that those who listened to lord chatham felt that there was something finer in the man than anything which he said. --ralph waldo emerson. speech is like the cloth of arras opened and put abroad, whereby the imagery doth appear in figure; whereas in thoughts they lie but as in packs. --plutarch. keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. --psalm . . tender father, make me more watchful of the time that i give to useless thoughts and words, and save me from cutting words, which make deeper impressions than can be cut with sharp tools. forgive me for the hours that have not been profitable; i would i had them back, for my heart and mind have need of them. amen. june twenty-seventh paul laurence dunbar born . lafcadio hearne born . helen keller born . of course, it was not easy at first to fly. the speech wings were weak and broken; nothing was left save the impulse to fly, but that was something. one can never consent to creep when one has an impulse to soar. there are so many difficulties in the way, so many discouragements; but i kept on trying, knowing that perseverance and patience win in the end. --helen keller. de da'kest hour, dey allus say, is des' befo' de dawn, but it's moughty ha'd a-waitin' were de night goes frownin' on; an' it's moughty ha'd a-hopin' when de clouds is big and black, an' all de t'ings you's waited fu' has failed, er gone to wrack-- but des' keep on a joggin' ind a little bit o song. de moon is allus brightah w'en de night's been long. --paul laurence dunbar. weeping may tarry for the night, but joy cometh in the morning. --psalm . . my father, i thank thee for life and its faculties. may i not be deceived by gratification and miss the permanent satisfactions. make me brave that i may be courageous in affliction, and not be dismayed over humiliations and disappointments. may i be kept in harmony with thy will. amen. june twenty-eighth henry viii born . jean jacques rousseau born . john wesley born . frederick william faber born . workman of god! o lose not heart, but learn what god is like; and in the darkest battlefield thou shalt know where to strike. for right is right, since god is god; and right the day must win; to doubt would be disloyalty, to falter would be sin. --f. w. faber. leisure and i have parted company. i look upon the world as my parish. the best of all is, god is with us. to overdo is to undo. --john wesley. but be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only. --james . . lord god, i pray for a desire to work. may i not be deceived in my convictions, and work for that of which i may afterward be ashamed. lead me into a clear conception of right and wrong. help me to see as thou dost see, that i may walk with confidence in thy steps. amen. june twenty-ninth paul rubens born . baron john de kalb born . elizabeth barrett browning died . do ye hear the children weeping, o my brothers, ere the sorrow comes with years? they are leaning their young heads against their mothers, and they cannot stop their tears. the young lambs are bleating in the meadows; the young birds are chirping in the nests; the young fawns are playing with the shadows; the young flowers are blowing toward the west: but the young, young children, o my brothers! they are weeping bitterly. they are weeping in the playtime of the others, in the country of the free. --elizabeth b. browning. moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. --ezekiel . . father of all, i pray that i may always love children. may i never forget that i wanted things and needed things when i was a child, and that the help and neglect which i received then told in my life. make me interested in the purposes that will help the progress of the child to-day, and may i realize that the child does not need my casual charity as much as it needs my permanent justice. amen. june thirtieth alexander brome died . archibald campbell beheaded . sir thomas pope blount died . be useful where thou livest, that they may both want and wish thy pleasing presence still; kindness, good parts, great places are the way to compass this. find out men's wants and will, and meet them there. all worldly joys go less to the one joy of doing kindnesses. --george herbert. thrice happy he, who by some shady grove, far from the clamorous world, doth live his own; though solitary, who is not alone, but doth converse with that eternal love --william drummond. seek, and ye shall find. --matthew . . my father, help me to draw from the wisdom of life, that my soul may grow in knowledge and power. may i have the quiet confidence that comes in trusting thee. may i help others to think on the uplifting things of life. amen. july then came hot july, boiling like to fire, that all his garments he had cast away; upon a lion raging yet with ire he boldly rode, and made him to obey. --edmund spenser. a pleasing land of drowsyhead it was, of dreams that wave before the half-shut eye; and of gay castles in the clouds that pass, for ever flushing round a summer sky. --james thomson. july first comte de rochambeau born . gideon welles born . george frederick watts died . there is no unbelief! whoever plants a seed beneath a sod, and waits to see it push away the clod, he trusts in god. there is no unbelief! and day by day, and night, unconsciously, the heart lives by that faith the lips deny-- god knoweth why. --bulwer lytton. more and more i see that nothing is so necessary for the religious condition of the mind as absolute simplicity. we know what we have got to do, and the only thing is to ask ourselves whether we are doing it as well as we can. --george frederick watts. being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with god. --romans . . my creator, i praise thee for the knowledge of life, and the hope of immortality. help me to express my belief, and to give my utmost for the divinest, that i may be worthy of life eternal. amen. july second archbishop cranmer born . christopher w. gluck born . richard henry stoddard born . sir robert peel died . one step more, and the race is ended; one word more, and the lesson's done; one toil more, and a long rest follows at set of sun. who would fail, for one step withholden? who would fail, for one word unsaid? who would fail, for a pause too early? sound sleep the dead. --christina g. rossetti. one who never turned his back, but marched breast forward, never doubted clouds would break, never dreamed, though right were worsted, wrong would triumph, held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, sleep to wake. --robert browning. he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. --matthew . . my father, thou hast proven the strength of thy promises by thy tender love and mercy through the darkest hours. help me always to cling to the hope that thou hast provided for my soul. may i be trustful, and be thankful to "see so much as one side of a celestial idea, one side of the rainbow, and the sunset sky." amen. july third john s. copley born . henry grattan born . eugene sue died . not from the dangers that beset our path from storm or sudden death, or pain or wrath, we pray deliverance; but from the envious eye, the narrowed mind of those that are the vultures of mankind thy aid advance. not at the strong man's righteous rage or hate, but at the ambushed malice laid in wait thy strength arise; at those who ever seek to spot the fair white garments of a neighbor's character with mud of lies. --theodosia p. garrison.[ ] putting away therefore all wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings. -- peter . . my lord, may i remember that to protect the character of others is to add virtue to my own. grant that i may see the good and not be looking for the evil. cause me to know that peace will not abide in deceit or revenge, but may be found in a happy and charitable spirit. help me to earn thy peace. amen. [footnote : special permission by mitchell kennerly, new york.] july fourth independence day. colonel william byrd died . nathaniel hawthorne born . thomas jefferson died . by the rude bridge that arched the flood, their flag to april's breeze unfurled, here once the embattled farmers stood, and fired the shot heard round the world. --ralph waldo emerson. then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, and this be our motto, "in god is our trust"; and the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! --francis scott key. seek not to keep your soul perpetually in the unwholesome region of remorse. it was needful to pass through that dark valley, but it is infinitely dangerous to linger there too long. --nathaniel hawthorne. and this city shall be to me for a name of joy, for a praise and for a glory, before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that i do unto them. --jeremiah . . lord of justice and peace, may i not pause at the marked stones of the brave to learn of liberty, but may i look for the opportunities that i may measure up to because of them, and do my part to keep the peace and spread the blessings of our land. amen. july fifth mrs. sarah siddons born . david g. farragut born . george sand born . cecil rhodes born . nature alone can speak to our intelligence an imperishable language, never changing, because it remains within the bounds of eternal truth and of what is absolutely noble and beautiful. --george sand. say, dost thou understand the whispered token, the promise breathed from every leaf and flower? and dost thou hear the word ere it be spoken, and apprehend love's presence by its power? --unknown. but ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee; and the birds of the heavens, and they shall tell thee: or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee; and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee. who knoweth not in all these, that the hand of jehovah hath wrought this? --job . - . lord god, direct me away from self, that i may learn of thy wisdom, and help further thy kingdom. give me patience to search for thy truths, that i may obtain the noblest to use for thy service. amen. july sixth john huss burned at constance, baden, . baron wilhelm leibnitz born . john paul jones born . john flaxman born . no man likes to acknowledge that he has made a mistake in the choice of his profession, and every man worthy of the name will row long against wind and tide before he allows himself to cry out, "i'm baffled!" and submit to be floated passively back to land. --charlotte brontë. there is nothing so small but that we honor god by asking his guidance of it, or insult him by taking it into our hands. --john ruskin. if i take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. --psalm . , . my father, i pray that i may have wise judgment and use discretion in the choice of my work. may i remember that only that is genuine which is received and used for thee. amen. july seventh alexis, son of peter the great, died in prison . thomas blacklock died . richard brinsley sheridan died . the surest way not to fail is to determine to succeed. --richard b. sheridan. i felt my hot blood a-tingling flow; with thrill of the fight my soul did glow; and when, braced and pure, i emerged secure from the strife that had tried my courage so, i said, "let heaven send me sun or rain, i'll never know flinching fear again." --thomas crawford. for the lord jehovah will help me; therefore have i not been confounded: therefore have i set my face like a flint, and i know that i shall not be put to shame. --isaiah . . lord jehovah, help me to learn how to be strong and brave, that i may not remain in fear and weakness. help me to conquer unworthiness, and to overcome discouragements, that i may be spared the needless battles that are brought on through impatience and selfishness. keep my soul in repose, that i may add to my conquering strength. amen. july eighth jean de la fontaine born . dr. samuel d. gross born . joseph chamberlain born . neither gold nor grandeur can render us happy. --la fontaine. spirit of god! descend upon my heart; wean it from earth; through all its pulses move; stoop to my weakness, mighty as thou art, and make me love thee as i ought to love. i ask no dream, no prophet ecstasies, no sudden rending of the veil of clay: no angel visitant, no opening skies-- but take the dimness of my soul away. --george croly. for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. --luke . . eternal god, help me to honor my life; and may i realize, whether i select good or bad, much or little, the harvesting is for eternity. grant that i may not make my life accumulate gold and grandeur, and laden it with much spending; but may i strive and love what thou dost love, and make my life worthy of my labor. amen. july ninth henry hallam born . edmund burke died . elias howe born . discretion of speech is more than eloquence; and to speak agreeably to him with whom we deal is more than to speak in good words or in good order. --francis bacon. when anyone provokes you, be assured it is your opinion which provokes you. try therefore, in the first place, not to be hurried away with appearance. for if you once gain time and respite, you will more easily command yourself. --epictetus. let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer each one. --colossians . . my father, help me to learn through kindness and tenderness the value of self-control. help me in the moods of jealousy and impatience, that i may not cause others unhappiness by words or deeds. teach me how to overcome the ways that keep me discontented, that i may have a brighter speech. amen. july tenth john calvin born . sir william blackstone born . frederick marryat born . the quality of mercy is not strained; it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven upon the place beneath. it is twice blessed; it blesseth him that gives, and him that takes. 'tis mightiest in the mightiest; it becomes the throned monarch better than his crown; * * * * * it is enthroned in the hearts of kings; it is an attribute to god himself. --william shakespeare. his gain is loss; for he that wrongs his friend wrongs himself more, and ever has about a silent court and jury, and himself the prisoner at the bar, ever condemned. --alfred tennyson. brethren, even if a man be overtaken in any trespass, ye who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to thyself, lest thou also be tempted. --galatians . . my father, help me to avoid the critical spirit that leans toward injustice. grant that none may be made despondent waiting for my mercy; but through forgiveness may i inspire confidence in those who have made mistakes, and influence them to a better life. amen. july eleventh robert de bruce born . jean marmontel born . john quincy adams, massachusetts, sixth president united states, born . susan warner (e. wetherell) born . a friend to chide me when i'm wrong, my inmost soul to see: and that my friendship prove as strong for him as his for me. --john quincy adams. our chief want in life is somebody who shall make us do what we can: this is the service of a friend. --ralph waldo emerson. it is better to hear the rebuke of the wise, than for a man to hear the song of fools. for as the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of the fool. --ecclesiastes . , . my father and friend, who calleth me to check the progress of the wrong, make me submissive and eager for what is right, that i may learn and uphold to others thy purposes and desires. amen. july twelfth caius julius cæsar born b.c. . josiah wedgwood born . alexander hamilton killed . henry david thoreau born . clara louise kellogg born . each reaching and aspiration is an instinct with which all nature consists and cooperates, and therefore it is not in vain. if a man believes and expects great things of himself it makes no odds where you put him, he will be surrounded by grandeur. --henry david thoreau. if you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost--that is where they should be: now put foundations under them. --henry david thoreau. he is like a man building a house, who digged and went deep, and laid a foundation upon the rock: and when a flood arose, the stream brake against that house, and could not shake it: because it had been well builded. --luke . . lord of strength, i pray that while i may lay a strong foundation for my life, i may remember that i should not delay the building by neglecting to complete the plans. may i look to-day and see if i am making my words stronger than my life. with thy wisdom help me to realize that the test of life is made with the soul. amen. july thirteenth richard cromwell died . elijah fenton died . jean paul marat killed by charlotte corday . let each day take thought for what concerns it, liquidate its own affairs, and respect the day which is to follow, and then it shall be ready. --amiel. what does your anxiety do? it does not empty to-morrow, brother, of its sorrow; but ah! it empties to-day of its strength. it does not make you escape the evil; it makes you unfit to cope with it if it comes. --ian maclaren. be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. --matthew . . my father, save me from the habit of borrowing. so often i borrow trouble and cannot use it, when the peace that i possess is all that i need. help me, that i may not miss the glory of to-day, by anticipating the uncertainty of to-morrow; but may i discern my place and have delight in every day. amen. july fourteenth bastille destroyed . jane baillie welch carlyle born . owen wister born . sail fast, sail fast, ark of my hopes, ark of my dreams; sweep lordly o'er the drowned past, fly glittering through the sun's strange beams; sail fast, sail fast. breath of new buds from off some drying lea, with news about the future scent the sea; my brain is beating like the heart of haste. i'll loose me a bird upon this present waste; go, trembling song, and stay not long; o, stay not long; thou art only a gray and sober dove, but thine eye is faith and thy wing is love. --sidney lanier. god speed thee, pretty bird; may thy small nest, with little ones all in good time be blest. i love thee much; for well thou managest that life of thine, well i!--o ask not what i do with mine! would i were such! --jane welch carlyle. behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly father feedeth them. are not ye of much more value than they? --matthew . . my father, may i start this day with more faith in myself and greater love for thy world. may my soul be awakened to the highest and be ready for the joys of to-day. amen. july fifteenth inigo jones born . rembrandt born . henry edward manning born . william winter born . his was the heart that overmuch in human goodness puts its trust, and his the keen, satiric touch that shrivels falsehood into dust. fierce for the right, he bore his part in strife with many a valiant foe; but laughter winged his polished dart, and kindness tempered every blow. --william winter. a wise man will so act that whatever he does may rather seem voluntary and of his own free will than done by compulsion, however much he may be compelled by necessity. --machiavelli. wherefore i saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him back to see what shall be after him? --ecclesiastes . . lord god, may i not forget that it is in the light, and not the darkness, that my work is revealed. i beseech thee to pour in thy light as i plan my life, and open my heart and mind for the reception of thy truth. amen. july sixteenth andrea del sarto born . sir joshua reynolds born . margaret fuller ossoli perished at sea . reverence the highest, have patience with the lowest. let this day's performance of the meanest duty be thy religion. are the stars too distant? pick up the pebble that lies at thy feet and from it learn all. --margaret fuller. the situation that has not its duty, its ideal, was never yet occupied by man. yet, here is this miserable, despicable actual, wherein thou standest--here or nowhere is thy ideal! work it out therefrom! --thomas carlyle. and whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in the name of a disciple, verily i say unto you he shall in no wise lose his reward. --matthew . . great god, may i begin this day bearing in mind that the things which i think and do are my life. i pray that thou wilt keep me from making great efforts for that which is valueless, and thus waste my life. may i watch my pride and indolence that they may not cause me to lose the best. amen. july seventeenth dr. isaac watts born . charlotte corday guillotined . paul delaroche born . j.a. mcneil whistler died . so frail is the youth and beauty of men, though they bloom and look gay like the rose; but all our fond cares to preserve them is vain, time kills them as fast as he goes. then i'll not be proud of my youth nor my beauty, since both of them wither and fade; but gain a good name by well doing my duty; for this will scent like the rose when i'm dead. --isaac watts. onward, onward may we press through the path of duty; virtue is true happiness, excellence true beauty; minds are of supernal birth, let us make a heaven of earth. --james montgomery. all things therefore whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, even so do ye also unto them. --matthew . . my lord and my strength, i pray that i may possess that expectancy which comes in joyous hope and have the endurance that is controlled by courage and energy. grant in the future that i may be less concerned about my living and more anxious for what i make of my life. amen. july eighteenth william makepeace thackeray born . jane austen died . jean antoine watteau died . learn to admire rightly: the great pleasure of life is that. note what great men admired; they admired great things; narrow spirits admire basely and worship meanly. --w.m. thackeray. our thoughts are often more than we are, just as they are often better than we are. and god sees us as we are altogether, and not in separate feelings or actions, as our fellow men see us. we are always doing each other injustice, and thinking better or worse of each other than we deserve, because we only hear separate feelings or actions. we don't see each other's whole nature. --george eliot. the wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. --isaiah . . eternal god, may i become more like thee. give me the desire to associate myself with people and places where the divine spirit is supreme. may my soul breathe in the influence of all that is good and true; and may i use my life for thy honor and praise. amen. july nineteenth john martin born . samuel colt born . charles victor cherbuliez born . in love, if love be love, if love be ours, faith and unfaith can ne'er be equal powers: unfaith in aught is want of faith in all. it is the little rift within the lute that by and by will make the music mute, and ever widening slowly silence all. the little rift within the lover's lute, or little pitted speck in garner'd fruit, that rotting inward slowly molders all. it is not worth the keeping: let it go: but shall it? answer, darling, answer no. and trust me not at all or all in all. --alfred tennyson. take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom. --song of solomon . . loving father, help me to put away the distractions and cares that make me discontented. grant that i may not set myself in "gilded pride" and keep out the precious things of life. help me to abandon doubt and suspicion, and keep the faith that is happy to believe and willing to forgive. amen. july twentieth petrarch born . thomas lovell beddoes born . john sterling born . jean ingelow died . let thy day be to the night a letter of good tidings! let thy praise go up as birds go up--that when they awake, shake off the dew and soar. --jean ingelow. i, and the bird, and the wind together, sang a supplication in the winter weather. the bird sang for sunshine, and the trees for winter fruit, and for love in the spring time when the thickets shoot. and i sang for patience when the teardrops start; clean hands and clear eyes, and a faithful heart. --arthur c. benson. unto thee, o jehovah, do i lift up my soul. --psalm . . lord god, if i am discouraged this morning, may i pause for thine encouragement. grant that the fear of the night may make no decline in my morn, but that "into the future i may fuse the past," and use what is clearest for to-day. amen. july twenty-first matthew pryor born . william lord russell beheaded . robert burns died . our heaven must be within ourselves, our home and heaven the work of faith and thro' this race of life which shelves downward to death. while over all a dome must spread, and love shall be that dome above; and deep foundations must be laid, and these are love. --christina rossetti. if happiness has not her seat and center in the breast, we may be wise or rich or great, but never can be blest. --robert burns. keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. --proverbs . my father, if i choose to be unhappy and miserable, may i not be to myself and friends as "a harp with one string." help me to free myself from thinking and anticipating things that keep me from the pleasure that i might receive and give. may i have more trust in my friends and in thee. amen. july twenty-second sir john graham killed . pilgrims started for america . earl of shaftesbury (anthony ashley cooper) born . how comes it to pass, then, that we appear such cowards in reasoning, and are so afraid to stand the test of ridicule? --earl of shaftesbury. he that of such a height hath built his mind, and reared the dwelling of his thoughts so strong, as neither fear nor hope can shake the frame of his resolved powers; nor all the wind of vanity or malice pierce to wrong his settled peace, or to disturb the same: what a fair seat hath he, from whence he may the boundless wastes and wilds of man survey? --samuel daniel. thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because he trusteth in thee. --isaiah . . o lord, it is not that i am ashamed to ask thee for the truth that i do not more diligently seek it, but it is because i fear the sacrifice that may follow in obtaining it. i would that i could understand that thy strength is given in the sacrifice. make me braver as i seek to live in the truth. amen. july twenty-third richard gibson died . charlotte cushman born . coventry patmore born . i do not ask, o lord, that life may be a pleasant road; i do not ask that thou would'st take from me aught of its load. for one thing only, lord, dear lord, i plead: lead me aright-- though strength should falter, and though heart should bleed-- through peace to light. --adelaide a. procter. o, why and whither?--god knows all, i only know that he is good, and that whatever may befall or here or there, must be the best that could. --john g. whittier. lead me, o jehovah, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face. --psalm . . loving father, may i never fail to ask for thy guidance, for thou hast promised to lead me to the cool springs while i pass through the desert places. help me to put myself in thy keeping and say, "thy will be done." amen. july twenty-fourth rev. john newton born . john p. curran born . j.g. holland born . as the winged arrow flies speedily the mark to find; as the lightning from the skies darts and leaves no trace behind; swiftly thus our fleeting days bear us down life's rapid stream; upward, lord, our spirits raise; all below is but a dream. --john newton. o gentlemen! the time is short; to spend that shortness basely were too long, if life did ride upon a dial's point, still ending at the arrival of an hour. --william shakespeare. jehovah, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; let me know how frail i am. --psalm . . lord, forbid that i should overcast my life with intentions, and neglect to put in the deeds. may i not be satisfied to spend my days in being merely occupied, but live to learn and work. may i not be dismayed over what i might have been, but with all my might do what i can now. amen. july twenty-fifth thomas à kempis died . simon bolivar born . arthur james balfour born . blessed indeed are those ears which listen not after the voice which is sounding without, but after the truth teaching within. --thomas à kempis. how joyed my heart in the rich melodies that overhead and round me did arise! the moving leaves--the water's gentle flow-- delicious music hung on every bough. then said i in my heart, "if that the lord such lively music on the earth accord; if to weak, sinful man such sounds are given, o! what must be the melody of heaven!" --izaak walton. but thou, o jehovah, knowest me; thou seest me, and triest my heart toward thee. --jeremiah . . loving father, thou hast made it needful for me to know that the songs which are sung by divine love are rarely heard by cruel hearts. grant that my soul may chord with the sweetest music that vibrates in the beauty and harmony of life. amen. july twenty-sixth charles emmanuel died . john wilmot died . george clinton born . quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened, but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm. --robert l. stevenson. i have learned, as days have passed me, fretting never lifts the load; and worry, much or little, never smooths an irksome road; for do you know that somehow, always, doors are opened, ways are made; when we work and live in patience under all the cross that's laid. --unknown. but whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell securely, and shall be quiet without fear of evil. --proverbs . . merciful and just god, i pray that i may regulate my life by thy standards and conform my life to thy laws, that thy goodness and mercy may not be wasted on me. help me to bear in mind, that willingness is the power that starts the hands to work. may i have thy presence while i wait in quietness, that i may be helped through the anxious moments. amen. july twenty-seventh thomas campbell born . alexandre dumas-fils born . dr. john dalton died . what's hallowed ground? 'tis what gives birth to sacred thoughts in souls of worth!-- peace! independence! truth! go forth earth's compass round; and your high-priesthood shall make earth all hallowed ground. --thomas campbell. remember the week day to keep it holy. --elbert hubbard. the meaning of life comes to us mostly in great revealing flashes and intense emotions. --dean farrar. to the pure all things are pure. --titus . . gracious father, may i not feel that it is necessary to wait for certain days and ceremonies to prepare to worship thee, while at every moment thy love is pleading for me. may i through the busiest hours and the most perplexing moments serve thee in reverence and obedience, and ever give praise to thy holy name. amen. july twenty-eighth john sebastian bach died . robespierre executed . jean baptiste corot born . o light that followest all my way, i yield my flickering torch to thee; my heart restores its borrowed ray, that in thy sunshine's blaze its day may brighter, fairer be. --george matheson. follow your star that lights a desert pathway, yours or mine, forward, till you learn the highest human nature is divine. follow light and do the right--for man can half control his doom-- till you see the deathless angel seated in the vacant tomb. --alfred tennyson. my soul waiteth for the lord, more than watchmen wait for the morning; yea, more than watchmen for the morning. --psalm . . almighty god, help me to kindle my life by the shining light of thy power and love, that i may be an ambassador for thee. amen. july twenty-ninth andrew marvell died . william wilberforce died . dr. thomas dick died . i wrestle not with rage while fury's flame doth burn; it is vain to stop the stream until the tide doth turn. but when the flame is out and ebbing wrath doth end i turn a late enraged foe into a quiet friend. --robert southwell. if i can lend a strong hand to the fallen, or defend the right against a single envious strain, my life though bare perhaps of much that seemeth dear and fair to us on earth, will not have been in vain. --unknown. a friend loveth at all times; and a brother is born for adversity. --proverbs . . gracious father of us all, if i may have cause to be provoked to-day, help me to rise above my angry passions, and not from weakness plunge into that for which i may be sorry. make me self-forgetful, that i may be willing to make peace with those whom i may have displeased. amen. july thirtieth samuel rogers born . thomas gray died . w.t. adams (oliver optic) born . prince bismarck died . sit down, sad soul, and count the moments flying; come, tell the sweet amount that's lost by sighing! how many smiles?--a score? then laugh, and count no more; for day is dying. lie down sad soul, and sleep, and no more measure the flight of time, nor weep the loss of leisure; but here by this lone stream, lie down with us, and dream of starry treasure. bryan waller procter. the only thing grief has taught me is to know how shallow it is. grief will not carry you one step into real nature; grief can teach me nothing. --ralph waldo emerson. leave off, ye simple ones, and live; and walk in the way of understanding. --proverbs . . god of love, may i come quickly to thee, when i am in need of protection and sympathy. guard me against sorrow that is drawn from the imagination. may i not allow grief to drag me into misery, but with strength and courage may i find happiness in thy daily will. amen. july thirty-first john conybeare died . john ericsson born . paul b. du chaillu born . phoebe cary died . be wise to-day; 'tis madness to defer; next day the fatal precedent will plead; thus on, till wisdom is pushed out of life. procrastination is the thief of time; year after year it steals, till all are fled, and to the mercies of a moment leaves the vast concerns of an eternal scene. --dr. edward young. o, my friend, rise up and follow where the hand of god shall lead; he has brought thee through affliction, but to fit thee for his need. --mary howitt. for he is our god, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. to-day, o that ye would hear his voice! harden not your heart. --psalm . , . lord god, i come to thee for help, that i may make more of my life. steady me, that i may know its value without wavering, and the loss it sustains from wasted days. i pray that i may live more in thy commandments, and with my work accept the joy of thy love. amen. august flame-like, the long midday, with not so much of sweet air as hath stirred the down upon the spray, where nests the panting bird, dozing away the hot and tedious noon, with fitful twitter, sadly out of tune. pleasantly comest thou, dew of the evening, to the crisped-up grass; and the curled corn-blades bow, as the light breezes pass, that their parched lips may feel thee, and expand, thou sweet reviver of the fevered land. so, to the thirsting soul, cometh the dew of the almighty's love; and the scathed heart, made whole, turneth in joy above, to where the spirit freely may expand, and rove, untrammeled, in that "better land." --william d. gallagher. august first andrew melville born . richard henry dana, jr., born . maria mitchell born . am i wrong to be always so happy? this world is full of grief; yet there is laughter of sunshine, to see the crisp green on the leaf, daylight is ringing with song-birds, and brooklets are crooning at night; and why should i make a shadow when god makes all so bright? earth may be wicked and weary, yet cannot i help being glad! there is sunshine without and within me, and how should i mope or be sad? god would not flood me with blessings, meaning me only to pine amid all the bounties and beauties he pours upon me and mine; therefore i will be grateful, and therefore will i rejoice; my heart is singing within me; sing on, o heart and voice. --walter c. smith. rejoice always. -- thessalonians . . gracious father, my soul floods with joy for the blessings of life. may it be my privilege to be happy in them. help me not to ask thee for anything which will cause loss to another; may i not delight in a lonely view, but as i see thy glory bring others to the vision also. amen. august second thomas gainsborough died . elisha gray born . marion crawford born . william watson born . the holy supper is kept, indeed, in whatso we share with another's need; not what we give, but what we share, for the gift without the giver is bare; who gives himself with his alms feeds three, himself, his hungering neighbor, and me. --james russell lowell. and when o'er storm and jar i climb, beyond life's atmosphere, i shall behold the lord of time and space--of world and year. o vain, far quest! not thus my heart shall ever find its goal! i turn me home--and there thou art, my father, in my soul. --george macdonald. that they should seek god, if haply they might feel after him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being. --acts . , . o lord, my gracious father, may i not be so eager for more, that i feel i have nothing to spare. help me to realize that if i may be on the mountain-top, or at the level of the sea, thy spirit may dwell in my soul. may i rejoice that i can always receive and share thy grace and love. amen. august third john henley born . henry cuyler bunner born . eugene sue died . set out in the very morning of your lives with a frank and manly determination to look simply for what is right and true in all things.... this is the only way to know god's will and do it. you may not find it at once, but you have set your face in the true direction to find it. --jeremy taylor. the important thing in life is to have a great aim, and to possess the aptitude and perseverance to attain it. --goethe. blessed are they that keep his testimonies, that seek him with the whole heart. --psalm . . lord god, forbid that i should lose the opportunities of making my life by waiting for sudden developments. cause me to notice that the tree that bears fruit must first grow the blossom before it may be perfected by the sun: whether thou hast made me greater or less, may i be ashamed to live in untruth and wait in idleness. amen. august fourth percy bysshe shelley born . edward irving born . walter h. pater born . we look before and after, and pine for what is not; our sincerest laughter with some pain is fraught; our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought. yet if we could scorn hate and pride and fear, if we were things born not to shed a tear, i know not how thy joy we ever could come near. --percy bysshe shelley. it becomes no man to nurse despair, but in the teeth of clenched antagonisms to follow up the worthiest till he die. --alfred tennyson. he suffered no man to do them wrong; yea, he reproved kings for their sakes. -- chronicles . . my father, i bless thee for thy patience and forbearance. i pray that thou wilt forgive me for all the sorrow that i have made from rebellion and despair, and with thy forgiveness may i receive patience and cheerful courage. amen. august fifth john eliot born . john, lord wrottesley, born . richard lord howe died . to live within a cave--it is most good; but if god made a day, and some one come, and say, "lo! i have gathered faggots in the wood!" e'en let him stay, and light a fire, and fan a temporal mood! so sit till morning! when the light is grown that he the path can read, then bid the man godspeed! his morning is not thine: yet must thou own those ashes on the stone. they have a cheerful warmth. --thomas edward brown. it is given to us sometimes, even in our everyday life, to witness the saving influence of a noble nature, the divine efficacy of rescue that may lie in a self-subduing act of fellowship. --george eliot. and the king shall answer and say unto them, verily i say unto you, inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these my brethren, even these least, ye did it unto me. --matthew . . father of mankind, may i not be a barrier to the discouraged, but help them in the ways of encouragement. may i not allow pride and prejudice to keep me from acts of love and deeds of kindness, but may i be worthy of thy trust. amen. august sixth ben jonson died . françois fénelon born . daniel o'connell born . alfred, lord tennyson, born . o well for him whose will is strong! he suffers, but he will not suffer long; he suffers, but he cannot suffer wrong; for him nor moves the loud world's random mock, not all calamity's hugest waves confound, who seems a promontory rock, that compassed round with turbulent sound, in middle ocean meets the surging shock, tempest-buffeted, citadel-crowned. --alfred tennyson. grandeur of character lies in force of soul--that is, in the force of thought, moral principle, and love; and this may be found in the humblest condition of life. --william ellery channing. so then, brethren, stand fast. -- thessalonians . . eternal god, help me that i may not be deceived by my surroundings as i seek to have life abundantly. instruct me that it is by the way of character that i must attain the laws of growth, and learn reverence for the spirit of divine life. amen. august seventh battle of thermopylae b.c. . frederick william (dean) farrar born . alexander m. bell died . although a friend may remain faithful in misfortune, yet none but the very best and loftiest will remain faithful to us after our errors and our sins. --dean farrar. friendship is like a debt of honor: the moment it is talked of it loses its real name, and assumes the more ungrateful form of obligation. from hence we find that those who regularly undertake to cultivate friendship find ingratitude generally repays their endeavors. --oliver goldsmith. for even in their wickedness shall my prayer continue. --psalm . . lord god, may i ever continue to be thankful for the times thou hast helped me, when i have asked for thy compassion; may i recall the joy in which i received it, when it may be mine to have compassion and extend a helping hand to others. i pray that i may place my life where it will be stronger than adversity and controlled by sincerity and love. amen. august eighth charles a. dana born . laurence hutton born . cecile chaminade born . lo! all the glory gone! god's masterpiece undone! the last created and the first to fall; the noblest, frailest, godliest of all. child of the humble sod, wed with the breath of god, descend! for with the lowest thou must lie-- arise! thou hast inherited the sky. --john b. tabb. far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations; i cannot reach them, but i can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead. --louisa m. alcott. i will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains: from whence shall my help come? --psalm . . heavenly father, may i see as i raise my eyes to the mountains that without the deep shadows there would be no vision of the high-light, and still higher may i see that without the sun there would be no color to encircle the rainbow. and beyond, o father, may i believe that without the shadow of the cross we could not have the glory of the resurrection. may i keep the vision clear. amen. august ninth izaak walton born . john dryden born . francis scott key born . joseph jacques tissot died . all habits gather, by unseen degrees, brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas. --john dryden. now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam, in full glory reflected now shines on the stream; 'tis the star-spangled banner; o yet may it wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! --francis scott key. do not be troubled because you have not great virtues. god made a million spears of grass where he made one tree.... only have enough of little virtues and common fidelities, and you need not mourn because you are neither a hero nor a saint. --henry ward beecher. the reward of humility and the fear of jehovah is riches, and honor, and life. --proverbs . . lord god, who keepest truth to generations, and who through love and wisdom hath gathered us into nations, forgive me for what i have done that is wrong, and for what i have neglected that was right. may i give greater loyalty to my country and to thee. amen. august tenth founding of greenwich observatory . sir charles napier born . george park fisher born . no one can ask honestly or hopefully to be delivered from temptation unless he has himself honestly and firmly determined to do the best he can to keep out of it. --john ruskin. men at some time are masters of their fates: the fault, dear brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings. --william shakespeare. the greatest punishment one can have is to discover, not how hard, but how low he has fallen. --m.b.s. o timothy, guard that which is committed unto thee, turning away from the profane babblings and oppositions of the knowledge which is falsely so-called. -- timothy . . almighty god, through thy mercies may i recognize my faults, and correct any evil that is in me. make me strong, that i may not yield to temptation. may i have regard for thy will and be prepared to take thy messages as they are flashed to the soul. amen. august eleventh jean victor moreau born . octave feuillet born . signer crispi died . heaven overreaches you and me, and all earth's gardens and her graves. look up with me, until we see the day break and the shadows flee. what though to-night wrecks you and me if so to-morrow saves? --christina g. rossetti. the essence of joy lies in the doing rather than in the result of the doing. there is a lifelong and solid satisfaction in any productive labor, manual or mental, which is not pushed beyond the limit of strength. --charles w. eliot. show me thy ways, o jehovah; teach me thy paths. guide me in thy truths, and teach me. --psalm . , . my father, keep me where my eyes may look expectantly toward the dawn, through the darkness. take away everything that comes between me and the brightness of the morning. amen. august twelfth robert southey born . francis horner born . edith thomas born . katherine lee bates born . our restlessness in this world seems to indicate that we are intended for a better. we have all of us a longing after happiness; and surely the creator will gratify all the natural desires he has implanted in us. --robert southey. whenso my quick, light-sandaled feet bring me where joys and pleasures meet, i mingle with their throng at will; they know me not an alien still, since neither words nor ways unsweet of stored bitterness i spill; youth shuns me not nor gladness fears, for i go softly all my years. --edith thomas. he hath swallowed up death forever; and the lord jehovah will wipe away tears from off all faces. --isaiah . . loving father, help me to guard my inclinations. may i be able to appreciate that though i may be restless from ambition, i also may be restless through discontent. correct my life, that my desires may meet the true demands of my soul. strengthen me with the power of calmness, that "i may go softly all my years," even though i walk through the bitterness of sorrow. amen. august thirteenth jeremy taylor died . dr. william wotton born . elizabeth stuart phelps ward born . elizabeth prentiss died . sir john millais died . feeling the way--and all the way up hill; but on the open summit, calm and still, the feet of christ are planted; and they stand in view of all the quiet land. feeling the way--and if the way is cold, what matter? since upon the fields of gold his breath is melting; and the warm winds sing while rocking summer days for him. --elizabeth s. phelps. all the performances of human art, at which we look with praise and wonder, are instances of the resistless force of perseverance. --samuel johnson. but abide thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them. --- timothy . . my lord, i would remember to ask thee this morning for that of which i seem to have most need. may i have the will to keep my patience and realize the untold power of my words and actions. give me thy peace, not only to rest in, but that i may have it to give to others. amen. august fourteenth dr. meric casaubon born . dr. charles button born . walter besant born . ernest thompson seton born . florence nightingale died . i count this thing to be grandly true, that a noble deed is a step toward god; lifting the soul from the common clod to a purer air and a broader view. we rise by the things that are under our feet, by what we have mastered of good or gain, by the pride deposed and the passion slain, and the vanquished ills that we hourly meet. --richard watson gilder. no apostle of liberty much to my heart ever found i; license each for himself, this was at bottom their want. liberator of many! first dare to be servant of many; what a business is that, would'st thou know it, go try! --goethe. prove all things; hold fast that which is good. -- thessalonians . . gracious father, if i may be beginning this day with an unclean purpose in my heart, help me to clear it away; if i may be trying to avoid some urgent duty, make me ashamed to resist it. keep away the desires that harm my life, and that withhold the enjoyment of my common work. amen. august fifteenth jeremy taylor baptized . napoleon bonaparte born . sir walter scott born . thomas de quincey born . and do our loves all perish with our frames? do those that took their root and put forth buds, and their soft leaves unfolded in the warmth of mutual hearts, grow up and live in beauty, then fade and fall, like fair, unconscious flowers? o, listen, man! a voice within us speaks the startling word, "man, thou shalt never die!" --richard henry dana. i am drawing near to the close of my career; i am fast shuffling off the stage. i have been perhaps the most voluminous author of the day; and it is a comfort to me to think i have tried to unsettle no man's faith, to corrupt no man's principle, and that i have written nothing which on my deathbed i should wish blotted. --sir walter scott. but concerning love of the brethren ye have no need that one write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of god to love one another. -- thessalonians . . almighty god, may i have that faith in eternal life which will make me careful of what i choose for my own and more careful of what i put in the lives of others. amen. august sixteenth ralph thoresby born . dr. thomas fuller died . dr. matthew tindal died . the secret of goodness and greatness is in choosing whom you will approach and live with, in memory or imagination, through the crowding obvious people who seem to live with you. --robert browning. fair nature's book together read, the old wood-paths that knew our tread, the maple shadows overhead-- where'er i look, where'er i stray, thy thought goes with me on my way, and hence the prayer i breathe to-day. --john greenleaf whittier. shall two walk together, except they have agreed? --amos . . lord god, i thank thee for the delight of congenial companions and the memory of friendship. may i not be quick to lose my friends through misunderstanding and selfishness. may i be considerate and constant and be able to climb to the highest steeps of friendship. amen. august seventeenth dr. william carey born . david crockett born . mary abigail dodge (gail hamilton) died . the destiny of nations lies far more in the hands of women--the mothers--than in the hands of those who possess power. we must cultivate women, who are educators of the human race, else a new generation cannot accomplish its task. --froebel. in an old continental town they will show you a prison in a tower, and on all the stones of that prison within reach one word is carved--it is, "resist!" years ago a godly woman was for forty years immured in that dungeon, and she spent her time in cutting with a piece of iron on every stone that one word, for the strengthening of her own heart and for the benefit of all who might come after her, "resist!" "resist!" "resist!" --j.g. mantle. then mordecai bade them return answer unto esther, think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house, more than all the jews ... and who knoweth whether thou art not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? --esther . , . lord god, give me wisdom to help relieve the ignorant and suffering. may i strive in every way to free thy people, that they may be uplifted in the progress of life. amen. august eighteenth virginia dare, first english child born in america, . dr. henry hammond born . robert williams buchanan born . john russell born . pour out thy love like the rush of a river, wasting its waters for ever and ever, through the burnt sands that reward not the giver; silent or songful thou nearest the sea. scatter thy life as the summer showers pouring. what if no bird through the pearl rain is soaring? what if no blossom looks upward adoring? look to the life that was lavished for thee. --unknown. who is the happiest person? he whose nature asks for nothing that the world does not wish and use. --goethe. freely ye received, freely give. --matthew . . my father, i pray that i may have the sympathy that responds with consideration and devotion. may it be a joy for me to give comfort and render service where i may help. grant that i may not linger too long in happiness and miss thy blessings, but remember that to "travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." amen. august nineteenth augustus cæsar died a.d. . james watt died . robert bloomfield died . honore balzac died . it is written not, "blessed is he that feedeth the poor," but "blessed is he that considereth the poor." and you know a little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money. --john ruskin. so pity never leaves the gentle breast where love has been received a welcome guest; as wandering saints poor huts have sacred made, he hallows every heart he once has swayed, and, when his presence we no longer share, still leaves compassion as a relic there. --thomas sheridan. if a brother or sister be naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you say unto them, go in peace, be ye warmed and filled; and yet ye give them not the things needful to the body; what doth it profit? --james . . tender father, help me to consider those who receive the crust of bread at my door; for if it be needed it is asked for by sad and desperate lives. make me conscious of thy mercy and help, that i may be considerate for the one with the outstretched hand. amen. august twentieth saint bernard died . robert herrick born . john and cornelius de witt killed . francis asbury born . henry p. liddon born . benjamin harrison, ohio, twenty-third president united states, born . the busy world shoves angrily aside the man who stands with arms akimbo set until occasion tells him what to do; and he who waits to have his task marked out shall die and leave his errand unfulfilled. --james russell lowell. awake, arise! the hour is late! angels are knocking at thy door! they are in haste and cannot wait, and once departed come no more. --henry w. longfellow. boast not thyself of to-morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. --proverbs . . gracious father, grant that i may not tarry so long, that when i arrive i will hear, "too late, too late, ye cannot enter now"; but may i be so persistent with every day that when i arrive i may be ready as well as on time. amen. august twenty-first lady mary montagu died . jules michelet born . john tyndall born . let us never be afraid of innocent joy; god is good and what he does is well done; resign yourself to everything, even happiness; ask for the spirit of sacrifice, of detachment, of renunciation, and above all, for the spirit of joy and gratitude. --amiel. that's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over, lest you should think he never could recapture the first fine careless rapture! --robert browning. and these things we write, that our joy may be made full. -- john . . lord god, help me to keep the things under my feet that are inclined to destroy happiness. show me clearly the line which divides right and wrong, that i may not fear the censure of the world. help me to act with good judgment and be calm in obeying thy laws. amen. august twenty-second john b. gough born . warren hastings died . g. w. de long born . i never saw a moor, i never saw the sea; yet know i how a heather looks and what a wave must be. i never spoke with god, nor visited in heaven; yet certain am i of the spot as if the chart were given. --emily dickinson. i don't want to possess a faith; i want a faith which will possess me. --charles kingsley. not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith jehovah of hosts. --zechariah . . my father, may there be no room in my soul for doubt. help me to be cautious and careful that my own neglect and carelessness may not cause the loss of my faith. may i be trustful as i look for the great light that guides me over the uncertain way. amen. august twenty-third rowland hill born . louis xvi born . william e. henley born . out of the night that covers me, black as the pit from pole to pole, i thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul. it matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, i am master of my fate, i am the captain of my soul. --w. e. henley. a man who has borne himself honorably through a whole life makes an action honorable which might appear ambiguous in others. --goethe. wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable. -- corinthians . . father of mercy, i beseech thee to protect me in my endeavors as i try to live my ideals. may i not choose unnecessary burdens, and when i most need to be strong find that i have lived in that which has weakened my life. i ask for a clear mind and a strong heart that i may be "captain of my soul." amen. august twenty-fourth william wilberforce born . william thomas moncrieff born . theodore parker born . give me, lord, eyes to behold the truth; a seeing sense that knows the eternal right; a heart with pity filled, and gentlest ruth; a manly faith that makes all darkness light: give me the power to labor for mankind; make me the mouth of such as cannot speak; eyes let me be to groping men and blind. --theodore parker. love's hearts are faithful, but not fond, bound for the just, but not beyond; not glad, as the low-loving herd, of self in other still preferred, but they have heartily designed the benefit of broad mankind. and they serve men austerely, after their own genius, clearly, without a false humility. --ralph waldo emerson. herein i also exercise myself to have a conscience void of offense toward god and men always. --acts . . heavenly father, help me to-day to look into my heart and see the truth of my life, and show me thy heart that i may see the truth of life. amen. august twenty-fifth thomas chatterton died . sir william herschel died . francis bret harte died . o teach me in the trying hour, when anguish swells the dewy tear, to still my sorrows, own thy power, thy goodness love, thy justice fear. then why, my soul, dost thou complain? why drooping seek the dark recess? shake off the melancholy chain, for god created all to bless. --thomas chatterton. each substance of a grief hath twenty shadows which show like grief itself, but are not so: for sorrow's eye, glazed with blinding tears, divides one thing entire to many shadows. --william shakespeare. why art thou cast down, o my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in god. --psalm . . loving father, forbid that i should be lonesome, and forget thou art my friend: and may i not pass over thy mercies while waiting for thy compassion. help me to find contentment in the inheritances of the earth, where i may always draw from thee. amen. august twenty-sixth sir robert walpole born . adam clarke died . henry fawcett born . lord, for to-morrow and its needs i do not pray; keep me, my god, from stain of sin just for to-day. help me to labor earnestly, and duly pray; let me be kind in word and deed, father, to-day. let me no wrong or idle word unthinking say; set thou a seal upon my lips through all to-day. let me in season, lord, be grave, in season gay; let me be faithful to thy grace, dear lord, to-day. --ernest wilberforce. and which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? --matthew . . my lord, i pray that thou wilt control my life, and bless the going out of my work, be it ever so great or small. help me to realize the necessity of earnestness, that i may "work while it is to-day," and i have the light, and not wait for the night, when it is too dark for work to be done. may i be faithful in my work until it is completed. amen. august twenty-seventh william woollett born . james thomson died . george w. f. hegel born . who are thy playmates, boy? "my favorite is joy, who brings with him his sister peace, to stay the livelong day. i love them both; but he is most to me!" and where are thy playmates now, o man of sober brow? "alas! dear joy, the merriest is dead, but i have wed peace; and our babe, a boy newborn, is joy." --john b. tabb. depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. --psalm . . lord god, may i realize more my dependence on thee for the joys of life. i pray that as i accept thy gifts i will not neglect to take the peace and happiness which thou dost give with them. grant that i may have the bright hope and cheerful courage that is the experience of power and truth. amen. august twenty-eighth johann w. von goethe born . ormsby macknight mitchel born . jones very born . count lyoff (leo) tolstoy born . sir edward burne-jones born . leigh hunt died . all truly wise thoughts have been already thought a thousand times; but to make them truly ours we must think them over again honestly, till they take firm root in our personal experience. --goethe. the light that fills thy house at morn thou canst not for thyself retain; but all who with thee here are born it bids to share an equal gain. the wave, the blue encircling wave, no chain can bind, no fetter hold; its thunders tell of him who gave what none can ever buy for gold. --jones very. and the glory which thou hast given me i have given unto them --john . . father of love, i thank thee for thy daily love and for thy daily bread. may i feel that thy gifts are for all, and not mine to keep and store from those who are in need. help me as i say, "thy will be done to me," to so will it to others. amen. august twenty-ninth john locke born . john fawcett born . frederick d. maurice born . oliver wendell holmes born . maurice maeterlinck born . build thee more stately mansions, o my soul, as the swift seasons roll! leave thy low-vaulted past! let each new temple, nobler than the last, shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, till thou at length art free, leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea! --oliver wendell holmes. we all live in the sublime. where else can we live? that is the only place of life. though you have but a little room, do you fancy that god is not there, too, and it is impossible to live therein a life that shall be somewhat lofty? do you imagine that you can possibly be alone, that love can be a thing one knows, a thing one sees; that events can be weighed like the gold and silver of ransom? --maurice maeterlinck. my soul waiteth in silence for god only: from him cometh my salvation. --psalm . . loving father, help me to live, that my spirit may always dwell in thy protecting love. amen. august thirtieth cleopatra died b. c. . william paley born . julian a. weir born . thyself and thy belongings are not thine own so proper as to waste thyself upon thy virtues, they on thee. heaven doth with us as we with torches do, not light them for themselves; for if our virtues did not go forth of us, 'twere all alike as if we had them not. spirits are not finely touched but to fine issues, nor nature never lends the smallest scruple of her excellence, but, like a thrifty goddess, she determines herself the glory of a creditor, both thanks and use. --william shakespeare. brethren, be ye imitators together of me, and mark them that so walk even as ye have us for an ensample. --philippians . . my father, i pray that i may not let my life become commonplace through habit. may i not be content to rest in my virtues and let the days pass neglected. awaken my dull satisfactions to a desire to live for the greatest, that i may have the greatest to live for. amen. august thirty-first john bunyan died . charles james lever born . theophile gautier born . queen wilhelmina of holland born . let us be patient, and endure a while; the time may come that god may give us a happy release; but let us not be our own murderers. --john bunyan. he that is down need fear no fall; he that is low no pride; he that is humble ever shall have god to be his guide. --john bunyan. time delivers fools from grief and reason wise men. --epictetus. for our light affliction, which is for the moment, worketh for us more and more exceedingly an eternal weight of glory. -- corinthians . . my lord, if i may be walking through fields that are rough with grief and care, may i have the courage to continue on to the smooth pastures, where i may walk with comfort and peace. may i not let the weariness and sorrow that may come to my heart to-day dwarf my hope and enjoyment of the future. amen. september go forth at eventide, the eventide of summer, when the trees yield their frail honors to the passing breeze, and woodland paths with autumn tints are dyed; when the mild sun his paling luster shrouds in gorgeous draperies of golden clouds, then wander forth, mid beauty and decay, to meditate alone--alone to watch and pray. --emma c. embury. september first edward alleyn born . lydia sigourney born . james gordon bennett, sr., born . william stanley jevons born . o ye, who proudly boast, in your veins, the blood of sires like these, look to their lineaments. dread lest ye lose their likeness in your sons. should mammon cling too close around your heart, or wealth beget that bloated luxury which eats the core from manly virtue, or the tempting world make faint the christian purpose in your soul, turn ye to plymouth rock, and where they knelt kneel, and renew the vow they breathed to god. --lydia sigourney. educate children without religion, and you make a race of clever devils. --duke of wellington. remember his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations. -- chronicles . . o lord of wisdom, kindle me with a love for true knowledge, that i may strive, in the moments i have now, to culture my life. not by might, not by power, but by thy spirit, o lord, may i learn and teach thy children. amen. september second john howard born . henry george born . george r. sims born . eugene field born . newell dwight hillis born . and thus we sat in darkness, each one busy in his prayer; "we are lost!" the captain shouted, as he staggered down the stair. but the little daughter whispered, as she took his icy hand, "isn't god upon the ocean, just the same as on the land?" --eugene field. happiness is through helpfulness. every morning let us build a booth to shelter some one from life's fierce heat. every noon let us dig some life-spring for thirsty lips. --newell dwight hillis. jehovah is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon, him in truth. --psalm . . heavenly father, may i live that my spirit may never feel lost from thee; and when i am in great need of thee, even unto death, may i know that thou art very near. amen. september third oliver cromwell died . george lillo died . bishop james harrington born . sarah orne jewett born . love thyself last: cherish those hearts that hate thee: corruption wins not more than honesty. still in thy right hand carry peace, to silence envious tongues. be just and fear not: let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's, thy god's and truth's; then if thou fallest, o cromwell, thou fallest a blessed martyr. --william shakespeare. surely, the only true knowledge of our fellow man is that which enables us to feel with him, which gives us a fine ear for the heart-pulses that are beating under the mere clothes of circumstance and opinion. --george eliot. with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love. --ephesians . . lord, give thy people consistency of judgment, one heart, and mutual love; and go on to deliver them, and with the work of the reformation; and make the name of christ glorious in the world. teach those who look too much on thy instruments to depend more upon thyself. pardon the folly of this short prayer: even for christ's sake. and give us a good night, if it be thy pleasure. amen. --prayer by oliver cromwell, just before death. september fourth pindar, poet, born b. c. . william e. dodge born . phoebe cary born . sir wilfred lawson born . i ask not wealth, but power to take and use the things i have, aright; not years, but wisdom that shall make my life a profit and delight. --phcebe gary. another day may bring another mind, a mind to learn when there is none to teach; to follow when no leader we can find; to enjoy when good is now beyond our reach. a better mind, but not a better time, a mind to will, but not a time to do what had been done, if we in life's bright prime, when god was ready, had been ready too. --thomas t. lynch. give diligence to present thyself approved unto god, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. -- timothy . . my father, help me to have lofty thoughts, and may i not be content until they are carried into purpose. help me to conquer that which will keep me from an act of happiness, and grant that by thinking of that which is pure, and doing that which is good, i may be made helpful and true. amen. september fifth catherine parr died . cardinal richelieu born . robert fergusson born . giacomo meyerbeer born . richard c. trench born . be patient! o, be patient! put your ear against the earth; listen there how noiselessly the germ o' the seed has birth-- how noiselessly and gently it upheaves its little way, till it parts the scarcely broken ground, and the blade stands up in day. be patient! o, be patient!--though yet our hopes are green, the harvest fields of freedom shall be crowned with sunny sheen. be ripening! be ripening--mature your silent way, till the whole broad land is tongued with fire on freedom's harvest day. --richard c. trench. and let patience have its perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, lacking in nothing. --james . . gracious father, help me to see the truth as thou hast made it, and may i not be indifferent to the beauty and patience of the earth's revelations. may i not mistake indolence for patient ambition, which i would have for anxious hours, and which i need for my heart's desires. amen. september sixth moses mendelssohn born . marquis de lafayette born . jane addams born . god will not seek thy race, nor will he ask thy birth; alone he will demand of thee, what hast thou done on earth? --persian. one dreams of the time when the interest and capacity of each person shall be studied with reference to the industry about to be undertaken. --jane addams. honor is purchased by deeds we do, honor is not won, until some honorable deed is done. --sir christopher marlowe. in diligence not slothful; fervent in spirit; serving the lord. --romans . . gracious father, wilt thou bring to my mind and heart the important things which are needed in preparing life. help me to use the strength that is given to me for to-day, that i may not have to give to-morrow to learning what i should have known. amen. september seventh queen elizabeth born . comte de buffon born . victorien sardou born . hannah more died . john g. whittier died . side by side in the low sunshine by the turban stone they knelt; each made his brother's woe his own, forgetting, in the agony and stress of pitying love, his claim of selfishness; peace, for his friend besought, his own became; his prayers were answered in another's name; and when at last they rose up to embrace, each saw god's pardon in his brother's face. --john g. whittier. my care is like my shadow in the sun, follows me flying, flies when i pursue it; stands and lies by me, does what i have done, this too familiar care does make me rue it. no means i find to rid him from my breast, till by the end of things it be suppressed. --queen elizabeth. bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of christ. --galatians . . lord god, help me to look for those who are in need of help. forgive me for my failures, and may i gather up my broken promises and try to redeem them. i ask for thy forgiveness, as i ask that thou wilt help me to forgive them who may have trespassed against me. amen. september eighth richard coeur de lion born . a.w. schlegel born . antonin dvorak born . all service ranks the same with god,-- with god, whose puppets, best and worst, are we: there is no last nor first. --robert browning. thou needest not man's little life of years, save that he gather wisdom from them all; that in thy fear he lose all other fears, and in thy calling heed no other call. then shall he be thy child to know thy care, and in thy self the eternal sabbath share. --jones very. he that keepeth the commandment keepeth his soul; but he that is careless of his ways shall die. --proverbs . . my lord, forbid that i should want to live to be known only for power and pride. help me to strive for that which is helpful and lovely. may i never be restrained from thee, but delight to follow in thy way. help me to be obedient to thy laws, that i may learn thy truths. amen. september ninth battle of flodden. james the fourth of scotland killed . luigi galvani born . then welcome each rebuff that turns earth's smoothness rough, each sting that bids nor sit, nor stand but go! be our joys three-parts pain! strive and hold cheap the strain; learn, nor account the pang; dare, never grudge the throe. --robert browning. life without industry is guilt; and industry without art is brutality. --john ruskin. blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been approved, he shall receive the crown of life. --james . . almighty god, help me as i start this day to remember how easy it is to drive the peace from it. may i do my best to keep it, and defy any indolence or disposition, that may make me spoil it. may i lay me down at night in peace and sleep because of the contentment that has filled the hours. amen. september tenth william the conqueror died . dr. thomas sheridan died . mungo park born . mrs. godwin (mary wollstonecraft) died . let the wind blow east, west, north, or south, the immortal soul will take its flight to the destined point. --thomas sheridan. he is void of true taste who strives to have his house admired by decorating it with showish outside; but to adorn our character by gentleness of a communicative temper is a proof of good taste and good nature --epictetus. let fortune empty her whole quiver on me. i have a soul that, like an empty shield, can take it all, and verge enough for more. --thomas dryden. the lord will deliver me from every evil work, and will save me unto his heavenly kingdom. -- timothy . . almighty god, i bless thee that it is thou who brought me to live on earth; and i rejoice that it is thou who wilt judge my life when thou takest me away. may i be saving thy rich gifts that i may not be found poor; and may i be worthy to receive thine inheritance and hear thee say, "well done." amen. september eleventh battle of marathon b. c. . william lowth born . james thomson born . but what is virtue but repose of mind, a pure ethereal calm, that knows no storm; above the reach of wild ambitious wind, above the passions that this world deform. --james thomson. and if i pray, the only prayer that moves my lips for me is, "leave the heart that now i bear, and give me liberty!" yes, as my swift days near their goal, 'tis all that i implore; in life and death, a chainless soul with courage to endure. --emily brontë. cast not away therefore your boldness, which hath great recompense of reward. --hebrews . . tender father, may i pause this morning to look at that which i keep uppermost in my life; and if it may not be worthy of thy esteem, may i be bold enough to revise my ideals. with thy compassion may i free my heart and mind of all unworthiness, and be given endurance to restore the empty places. amen. september twelfth jean-philippe rameau born . griffith jones died . charles dudley warner born . our duty is to be useful, not according to our desires, but according to our powers. --amiel. how good is man's life, the mere living! how fit to employ all the heart and the soul and the senses for ever in joy! --robert browning. do something! no man is born with a mortgage on his soul; but every man is born a debtor to time. meet this obligation before you find too late that your life is impoverished and you cannot redeem it. --m.b.s. let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need. --ephesians . . my father, what i have left out of my life i know i cannot recover now. i pray that i may give the best to what is left. make me deliberate, that i may prove my earnestness. make me industrious, that i may use my best resources to develop my life and further thy kingdom. amen. september thirteenth william cecil born . michael de montaigne died . general wolfe died . charles james fox died . and thou, o river of to-morrow, flowing between thy narrow adamantine walls, but beautiful, and white with waterfalls and wreaths of mist, like hands the pathway showing; i hear the trumpets of the morning blowing. it is the mystery of the unknown that fascinates us; we are children still, wayward and wistful; with one hand we cling to the familiar things we call our own, and with the other, resolute of will, grope in the dark for what the day will bring. --henry w. longfellow. behold, happy is the man whom god correcteth. --job . . almighty god, i pray that thou wilt help me to correct my life to-day that i may know a better way to-morrow; and may i be mindful and try to do right. grant that i may be patient and kind if i may be sick or in need, and always keep uppermost the faith of deliverance and eternal care. amen. september fourteenth alighieri dante died . alexander baron von humboldt born . julia magruder born . charles dana gibson born . since it is providence that determines the fates of men, their inner nature is thus brought into unison. there is such harmony, as in all things of nature, that one might explain the whole without referring to a higher providence. but this only proves the more clearly and certainly this higher providence, which has given existence to this harmony. --wilhelm von humboldt. the good mariner, when he draws near the port, furls his sails and enters it softly; so ought we to lower the sails of our worldly operations, and turn to god with all heart and understanding. --dante. thy righteousness is like the mountains of god; thy judgments are a great deep: o jehovah, thou preservest man and beast. --psalm . . my father in heaven, may i hear thy voice to-day! may i be quiet as i listen to thee. above the clamor of the crowd may i hear thee calling me. may i hear thee in my joys and in my sorrows; in my work and in my leisure. may i listen to thee oftener, that i may be familiar with thy ways. amen. september fifteenth james fenimore cooper born . louis joseph martel born . porfirio diaz born . william howard taft, ohio, twenty-sixth president united states, born . friendship is one of the cheapest and most accessible of pleasures; it requires no outlay and no very serious expenditure of time or trouble. it is quite easy to make friends, if one wants to... there is surely no greater pleasure in the world than to feel one is needed, welcomed, missed, and loved. --arthur c. benson. "friendship is love without his wings." --william h. taft (from byron). without sympathy, in the highest sense of intellectual penetration, kindness may be a folly, and intended aid, oppression. --john ruskin. he that maketh many friends doeth it to his own destruction; but there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. --proverbs . . my father, may i know the delight of true friendship which is responsive and sincere. may i never feel so secure in myself that i will cease to want friends, or be so dependent on others that i will be continually seeking them. may i understand the value of having a stanch friend and of being one. amen. september sixteenth gabriel d. fahrenheit died . w. augustus muhlenberg born . francis parkman born . yes, to this thought i hold with firm persistence-- the last result of wisdom stamps it true: he only earns his freedom and existence who daily conquers them anew. --goethe. for thee hath been dawning another blue day; look how thou let it slip empty away. --goethe. happy the man, and happy he alone, who can call to-day his own: he who, secure within, can say, "to-morrow, do thy worst, for i have lived to-day." --john dryden. arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of jehovah is risen upon thee. --isaiah . . gracious father, help me to be alert this morning and select the noblest that is in to-day. may i be diligent and not find in the evening that i have been unworthy of the day. amen. september seventeenth samuel prout born . dr. john kidd died . walter savage landor died . in the hour of distress and misery the eye of every mortal turns to friendship; in the hour of gladness and conviviality, what is your want? it is friendship. when the heart overflows with gratitude or with other sweet and sacred sentiment, what is the word to which it would give utterance? a friend. --walter savage landor. the hurried quest of some people to get hold of new friends is so perpetual that they never have time to get acquainted with anyone. --m.b.s. thine own friend, and thy father's friend, forsake not; and go not to thy brother's house in the day of thy calamity: better is a neighbor that is near than a brother far off. --proverbs . . my lord and my friend, i pray that my sympathy may be sincere and comforting, and with a glad heart i may bring rejoicing to my friends. may i learn from thee how i may be a permanent friend. amen. september eighteenth trajan, roman emperor, born . james shirley born . samuel johnson born . joseph story born . there is no greater happiness than to be able to look on a life usefully and virtuously employed: to trace our own purposes in existence by such tokens that excite neither shame nor sorrow. --dr. johnson. the perfect poise that comes-from self-control, the poetry of action, rhythmic, sweet-- the unvexed music of the body and soul that the greeks dreamed of, made at last complete. our stumbling lives attain not such a bliss; too often, while the air we vainly beat, love's perfect law of liberty we miss. --annie matheson. brethren, i have lived before god in all good conscience until this day. --acts . . heavenly father, may i not confuse my life with rebellion, but through thy guidance find peace. help me through the perplexities that may keep me from the quietness of to-day. keep me in sight of the great plan of life, that i may grow steadfastly toward thee. amen. september nineteenth battle of poitiers . hartley coleridge born . president garfield died . be not afraid to pray--to pray is right. pray if thou canst, with hope; but ever pray though hope be weak, or sick with long delay; pray in the darkness, if there be no light. far is the time, remote from human sight, when war and discord on earth shall cease: yet every prayer for universal peace avails the time to expedite. --hartley coleridge. more things are wrought by prayer than the world dreams of. wherefore let thy voice rise like a fountain for me night and day. for what are men better than sheep or goats that nourish a blind life within the brain, if, knowing god, they lift not hands of prayer both for themselves and those who call them friend? for so the whole world is every way bound by gold chains about the feet of god. --alfred tennyson. continue stedfastly in prayer, watching therein with thanksgiving. --colossians . . o lord, give me the desire to pray, and teach me to pray as thou wouldst have my needs. sustain me, that i may overcome my weaknesses, and strengthen me, that i may have thine approval. may i be reverent and unselfish as i come to thee in prayer. amen. september twentieth battle of salamis b. c. . alexander the great born b. c. . robert emmet died . david ross locke (petroleum v. nasby) born . 'tis weary watching wave by wave, and yet the tide heaves onward; we climb, like corals, grave by grave, that pave a pathway sunward. we're driven back, for our next fray a newer strength to borrow; and where the vanguard camps to-day, the rear shall rest to-morrow. --gerald massey. be like the bird, that, pausing in her flight a while on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing that she hath wings. --victor hugo. trust in jehovah, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on his faithfulness. --psalm . . eternal god, help me to realize that life is not only endless but, whether i live in love and obedience, or wait in neglect and indifference, that i can never separate myself from thee. may i be diligent in worthy endeavors to do my best for thee. amen. september twenty-first girolamo savonarola born . emperor charles v died . sir walter scott died . it is the secret sympathy, the silver link, the silken tie, which heart to heart and mind to mind in body and in soul can bind. --sir walter scott. no action, whether foul or fair, is ever done, but it carves somewhere a record, written by fingers ghostly, as a blessing or a curse, and mostly in the greater weakness or greater strength of the acts which follow it. --henry w. longfellow. and he said unto them, look on me, and do likewise: and, behold, when i come to the outermost part of the camp, it shall be that, as i do, so shall ye do. --judges . . loving father, may i remember that from the beginning, all things were created beautiful and were given for love. i pray that i may be willing to be guided to the beautiful things of life and receive from them the delight of thy love. amen. september twenty-second peter simon pallas born . michael faraday born . theodore edward hook born . man learns to swim by being tossed into life's maelstrom and left to make his way ashore. no youth can learn to sail his life-craft in a lake sequestered and sheltered from all the storms, where other vessels never come. skill comes through sailing one's craft amidst rocks and bars and opposing fleets, amidst storms and whirls and counter currents. --newell dwight hillis. o, a trouble's a ton or a trouble's an ounce, or a trouble is what you make it! and it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts, but only--how did you take it? --edmund c. vance. and thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise. --hebrews . . tender father, may i not encourage the disposition to enlarge and make much of the troubles and disappointments of life, and make light of the joys and privileges. i pray that i may keep a large place for happiness. amen. september twenty-third karl theodore körner born . hjalmar hjorth boyesen born . wilkie collins died . m.f.h. de haas died . when over the fair fame of friend or foe the shadow of disgrace shall fall; instead of words to blame, or reproof of thus and so, let something good be said. forget not that no fellow-being yet may fall so low but love may lift his head; even the cheek of shame with tears is wet if something good be said. --author unknown. the right christian mind will ... find its own image wherever it exists; it will seek for what it loves, and draw out of all dens and caves, and it will believe in its being, often when it cannot see it; and so it will lie lovingly over the faults and rough places of the human heart, as the snow from heaven does over the hard, and black, and broken mountain rocks. --john ruskin. to him that is ready to faint kindness should be showed from his friend. --job . . lord god, grant that after years of climbing i may not find the mist in my soul has dulled the vision of thy glory. keep me from the habit of looking for faults, and missing the virtues in others. forbid that i should be so occupied in taking measure of other lives that i neglect to measure my own. amen. september twenty-fourth john marshall born . zachary taylor, virginia, twelfth president united states, born . s.r. crockett born . get the truth once uttered, and 'tis like a star newborn that drops into its place, and which, once circling in its placid round, not all the tumult of the earth can shake. --james russell lowell. if you would be well spoken of, learn to speak well of others. and when you have learned to speak well of them, endeavor likewise to do well to them; and reap the fruit of being well spoken of by them. --epictetus. he that slandereth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his friend, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor; he that doeth these things shall never be moved. --psalm . , . lord god, i bless thee for the lives of men and women who are willing to be led by the truth, and who are worthy to follow thee. i pray that thou wilt make me truthful, and keep me steadfast, that none may go astray by the uncertainty of my way. amen. september twenty-fifth william romaine born . felicia d. hemans born . w.m. rossetti born . not as the conqueror comes, they, the true-hearted, came; not with the roll of the stirring drums, and the trumpet songs of fame: amidst the storm they sang, and the stars heard and the sea; and the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang to the anthem of the free. ay, call it holy ground, the soil where first they trod; they have left unstained what there they found-- freedom to worship god. --felicia d. hemans. but they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make them afraid. --micah . . eternal god, may i look to the pilgrims and learn that to pray by faith with the heart is not to pray by faith of the imagination. help me to pray, and have faith to struggle for that which i would rightfully have. amen. september twenty-sixth admiral cuthbert collingwood born . dr. mary walker born . irving bacheller born . frederic william faber died . god is never so far off as even to be near-- he is within: our spirit is the home he holds most dear. to think of him as by our side is almost as untrue as to remove his throne beyond the starry blue. --f.w. faber. nearer, my god, to thee, nearer to thee! e'en though it be a cross that raiseth me; still all my song shall be-- nearer, my god, to thee, nearer to thee! --sarah f. adams. my righteousness i hold fast, and will not let it go: my heart shall not reproach me so long as i live. --job . . my father, may i consider the place in which i stand: and may i not be deceived in thinking i am near thee while i am living far away. teach me the way to draw nearer to thee each day, until my spirit may continually dwell with thee. amen. september twenty-seventh george cruikshank born . samuel francis dupont born . aimé millet born . henri frédéric arniel born . the man who has no refuge in himself, who lives, so to speak, in his front rooms, in the outer whirlwind of things and opinions, is not properly a personality at all; ... he is one of a crowd. --amiel. happy the heart that keeps its twilight hour, and in the depths of heavenly peace reclined, loves to commune with thoughts of tender power-- thoughts that ascend, like angels beautiful. --paul hamilton hayne. the art of meditation may be exercised at all hours and in all places; and men of genius in their walks, at table, and amidst assemblies, turning the eye of the mind inward, can form an artificial solitude; retired amidst a crowd, calm amidst distractions, and wise amidst folly. --disraeli. commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still. --psalm . . heavenly father, save me from being so poor in spirit, that i will have to be sustained by the bright spirits of others. may i be continually refreshed by the spirit of life that may be found at all times. amen. september twenty-eighth francis turner palgrave born . frances e. willard born . general john d. french born . mary anderson born . unless there is a predominating and overmastering purpose to which all the accessories and incidents of life contribute, the character will be weak, irresolute, uncertain. --frances e. willard. life is not an idle ore, but iron dug from central gloom, and heated hot with burning fears, and dipt in baths of hissing tears, and battered with the shocks of doom to shape and use. --alfred tennyson. he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed.... a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. --james . , . o god, help me to be positive. may i not want to be in so many places, and in so many things, that i can never be found in anything. help me to know that a purpose secured is worth many attempts, and that to have a character i must build it. amen. september twenty-ninth pompey killed b.c. . robert lord clive born . horatio nelson born . o strange and wild is the world of men which the eyes of the lord must see-- with continents, inlands, tribes, and tongues, with multitudes bond and free! all kings of the earth bow down to him, and yet--he can think of me. for none can measure the mind of god or the bounds of eternity, he knows each life that has come from him, to the tiniest bird and bee, for the love of his heart is so deep and wide that it takes in even me. --mary e. allbright. are not two sparrows sold for a penny? and not one of them shall fall on the ground without your father: but the very hairs of your head are all numbered. --matthew . , . almighty god, cause me to look out this morning, and open wide my eyes, that i may see what great preparation thou hast made that i might live. may i be ashamed to start wrong and be unworthy of the glory of this day. amen. september thirtieth george whitefield died . william hutton born . john dollond died . up, up, my soul, the long-spent time redeeming; sow thou the seeds of better deeds and thought; light other lamps while yet thy lamp is beaming-- the time is short. think of the good thou might'st have done when brightly the suns to thee life's choicest season brought; hours lost to god in pleasure passing lightly-- the time is short. if thou hast friends, give them thy best endeavor, thy warmest impulse, and thy purest thought, keeping in mind and words and action ever-- the time is short. --elizabeth prentiss. what is your life? for ye are a vapor that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. --james . . loving father, help me to realize that i am not living in the right way nor the right place if i am discontented, or happy in trifles and untruth. help me to find my place, and with thy help may i stand firm and confident. amen. october the morns are meeker than they were, the nuts are getting brown; the berry's cheek is plumper, the rose is out of town. the maple wears a gayer scarf, the field a scarlet gown; lest i should be old-fashioned, i'll put a trinket on. --emily dickinson. october first saint john viscount bolingbroke born . pierre corneille died . rufus choate born . he speaks not well who doth his time deplore, naming it new and a little obscure, ignoble and unfit for lofty deeds. all times were modern in the time of them, and this no more than others. do thy part here in the living day, as did the great who made old days immortal. --richard watson gilder. he who is false to present duty breaks a thread in the loom, and will find the flaw when he may have forgotten the cause. --henry ward beecher. for use almost can change the stamp of nature, and master the devil, or throw him out with wondrous potency. --william shakespeare. and when daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his chamber toward jerusalem;) and he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his god, as he did aforetime. --daniel . . heavenly father, help me to get away from doubt that leads to despair. give me a vision of hope that is stayed on faith. may i be conscious and appreciative of my privileges while they come to me and make them immortal. amen. october second aristotle died b.c. . major john andre hanged . william ellery channing died . i am not earth-born, though i here delay; hope's child, i summon infiniter powers, and laugh to see the mild sunny day smile on the shrunk and thin autumnal hours; i laugh, for hope hath a happy place for me-- if my bark sinks, 'tis to another sea. --william e. channing. the stars shall fade away, the sun himself grow dim with age, and nature sink in years; but thou shall flourish in immortal youth, unhurt amidst the war of elements, the wreck of matter and the crush of worlds. --thomas addison. for with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light. --psalm . . my father, i would pray that my sense of gloom may not be more than thy grace. may the glorious light of thy love break through my disheartened soul, and reveal the sincerity of thy promises, that i may be happy in thy care. amen. october third robert barclay died . george bancroft born . william morris died . come hither, lads, and harken, for a tale there is to tell of the wonderful days a-coming, when all shall be better than well. come, then, let us cast off fooling, and put by ease and rest, for the cause alone is worthy till the good days bring the best. --william morris. man's life is but a working day whose tasks are set aright; a time to work, a time to pray, and then a quiet night. and then, please god, a quiet night where palms are green and robes are white; a long-drawn breath, a balm for sorrow, and all things lovely on the morrow. --christina g. rossetti. and the ransomed of jehovah shall return, and come with singing unto zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads. --isaiah . . heavenly father, help me to see that before the night thou hadst planned the morning, and that thou hast never sent the night without the hope of the morning. before i rest in the night may i be ready for the morning. amen. october fourth francis of assisi died . edmund malone born . françois guizot born . jean françois millet born . rutherford b. hayes, ohio, nineteenth president united states, born . m.e. braddon born . we ought to rise day by day with a certain zest, a clear intention, a design to make the most of every hour; not to let the busy hours shoulder each other or tread on each other's heels, but to force every action to give up its strength and sweetness. there is work to be done, and there are empty hours to be filled as well.... but, most of all, there must be something to quicken, enliven, practice the soul. --arthur c. benson. men's souls ought to be left to see clearly; not jaundiced, blinded, twisted all awry, by revenge, moral abhorrence, and the like. --thomas carlyle. but there is a spirit in man, and the breath of the almighty giveth them understanding. --job . . spirit of life, i pray that thou wilt continually live within me. may my days be spent neither in waste nor idleness, but planned to use, with the best that is given me. amen. october fifth jonathan edwards born . denis diderot born . horace walpole born . nancy hanks died . chester a. arthur, vermont, twenty-first president united states, born . h.r. guy de maupassant born . earth gets its price for what earth gives us; the beggar is taxed for a corner to die in, the priest has his fee who comes and shrives us, we bargain for the graves we lie in; at the devil's booth are all things sold, each ounce of dross costs its ounce of gold; for a cap and bells our lives we pay, bubbles we buy with a whole soul's tasking; 'tis heaven alone that is given away, 'tis only god may be had for the asking. --james russell lowell. the free gift of god is eternal life. --romans . . gracious father, may the world speak to me of thy gifts, and of the peace and power which it freely offers. may i not pass by thy great appeals, and prefer to purchase at a great cost my indolence and dissipation. amen. october sixth jenny lind goldschmidt born . harriet g. hosmer born . charles stewart parnell died . alfred tennyson died . the heart which boldly faces death upon the battlefield, and dares cannon and bayonet, faints beneath the needle-points of frets and cares. the stoutest spirits they dismay-- the tiny stings of every day. ah! more than martyr's aureole and more than hero's heart of fire, we need the humble strength of soul which daily toils and ills require. sweet patience, grant us, if you may an added grace for every day. --adelaide a. procter. sunset and evening star, and one clear call for me! and may there be no moaning of the bar, when i put out to sea. --alfred tennyson. fret not thyself. --proverbs . . my father, i pray that i may not be dismayed over life, and its trifles. help me to master difficulties great and small, and give me patience through all until i reach the untroubled way. amen. october seventh sir philip sidney died . edgar allan poe died . oliver wendell holmes died . mary j. holmes died . yet in opinions look not always back; your wake is nothing, mind the coming track; leave what you've done for what you have to do; don't be "consistent," but be simply true. --oliver wendell holmes. a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. with consistency a great soul has nothing to do. --ralph waldo emerson. speak unto the children of israel, that they go forward. --exodus . . heavenly father, i pray that i may not be so consistent in the small things of life that i will lose the great inspirations that come to the soul. broaden my life, that i may have the freedom of heart and mind to pass over the failures and interruptions, and with vigorous energy continue in the progress of life. amen. october eighth caroline howard gilman born . edmund clarence stedman born . john hay born . he weren't no saint; them engineers is pretty much alike-- one wife in natchez-under-the-hill, another one here in pike; a keerless man in his talk was jim, and an awkward hand in a row, but he never flunked, and he never lied-- i reckon he never knowed how. --john hay. he is brave whose tongue is silent of the trophies of his word. he is great whose quiet bearing marks his greatness well assured. --edwin arnold. the pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, god, i thank thee, that i am not as the rest of men. --luke . . lord god, thou knowest what i am and where i belong. have mercy upon me and strengthen me, that i may not through weakness stay in the darkness. lead me out into the light; and may i find my way and be contented with it. amen. october ninth michael cervantes born . jacques auguste de thuanus (de thou) born . charles camilla saint-saëns born . i will not doubt, though all my ships at sea come drifting home with broken masts and sails; i shall believe the hand which never fails from seeming evil worketh good for me; and though i weep because those sails are battered, still will i cry, while my best hopes lie shattered, "i trust in thee." --ella wheeler wilcox.[ ] cease every joy to glimmer on my mind. but leave, o leave the light of hope behind. --thomas campbell. hope deferred maketh the heart sick; but when the desire cometh, it is a tree of life. --proverbs . . loving father, help me to pass by my discouragements of yesterday and look into the hope of to-day. make me more careful of my strength, and less forgetful of thy promises and of my trust. amen. [footnote : special permission w.b. conkey, hammond, indiana. copyright .] october tenth henry cavendish born . benjamin west born . hugh miller born . giuseppe verdi born . fridtjof nansen born . we cannot make bargains for blisses, nor catch them like fishes in nets; and sometimes the thing our life misses helps more than the thing which it gets. for good lieth not in pursuing, nor gaining of great nor small, but just in the doing and doing as we would be done by is all. --alice gary. true, it is most painful not to meet the kindness and affection you feel you have deserved, and have a right to expect from others; but it is a mistake to complain, for it is no use; you cannot extort friendship with a cocked pistol. --sydney smith. thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. --matthew . . lord god, help me to understand that true affection is not that which as it gives feels it merits return. may i avoid being selfish and stubborn; and with my affections give peace and joy. amen. october eleventh sir thomas wyatt died . dr. samuel clarke born . james barry born . ask god to give thee skill in comfort's art, that thou may'st consecrated be and set apart, unto a life of sympathy; for heavy is the weight of ill in every heart; and comforters are needed much of christlike touch. --alexander hamilton. the man who melts with social sympathy though not allied, is than a thousand kinsmen of more worth. --euripides. who comforteth us in all our affliction, that we may be able to comfort them that are in any affliction, through the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of god. -- corinthians . . heavenly father, thou hast made sympathy divine. may i never make it commonplace. grant that as thou dost bless and comfort me i may be willing to comfort others, and do whatsoever thou wouldst have me do. amen. october twelfth columbus discovered america . lyman beecher born . george w. cable born . helena modjeska born . one poor day! remember whose and how short it is! it is god's day, it is columbus's. one day with life and heart is more than time enough to found a world. --james russell lowell. an illusion haunts us, that a long duration, as a year, a decade, a century, is valuable. but an old french sentence says, "god works in moments." we ask for long life, but 'tis deep life or grand moments that signify. let the measure of time be spiritual, not mechanical. life is unnecessarily long. moments of insight, of fine personal relation, a smile, a glance--what ample borrowers of eternity they are! --ralph waldo emerson. one day is with the lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. -- peter . . my father, i pray that when the "sun sets to-day my hope may not set with it." be with me earlier than the dawn, that i may plan with thee a new day. i pray that thou wilt release me from anything that keeps me from reaching the highest. amen. october thirteenth theodore beza died . murat, king of naples, shot . elizabeth fry died . what stronger breast-plate than a heart untainted! thrice is he armed that hath his quarrel just, and he but naked, though locked up in steel, whose conscience with injustice is corrupted. --william shakespeare. a man's accusations of himself are always believed, his praises never. --montaigne. justice needs that two be heard. --from goethe's autobiography. that which is altogether just shalt thou follow, that thou mayest live. --deuteronomy . . lord of justice, if i may be influenced this morning by doubt and am inclined to be resentful, wilt thou cause me to have a generous spirit and keep my faith. may i never descend to anything base or deceitful, but may i remember that if i lay down my life, i may have the power to take it up again. amen. october fourteenth william penn born . james fenimore cooper died . duke of wellington died . do good with what thou hast, or it will do thee no good. if thou wouldst be happy, bring thy mind to thy condition, and have an indifferency for more than what is sufficient. --william penn. the finest fruit earth holds up to its maker is a finished man. --humboldt. i considered napoleon's presence in the field equal to forty men in the balance. --duke of wellington. what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? for thou hast made him but little lower than god, and crownest him with glory and honor. --psalm . , . eternal god, may i know the value of the gift of life. may i think seriously of it, and not through abuse or neglect cripple it, remembering that it is mine to sow, to grow, and to reap. i pray that i may care more for the food and raiment of my soul than i care for the food and raiment of my body. amen. october fifteenth virgil born b.c. . evangelista torricelli born . edward fitzgerald born . being not unacquainted with woe, i learned to help the unfortunate. --virgil. there are some hearts like wells green-mossed and deep as ever summer saw, and cool their water is, yea, cool and sweet; but you must come to draw. they hoard not, yet they rest in calm content, and not unsought will give; they can be quiet with their wealth unspent, so self-contained they live. --author unknown. for out of much affliction and anguish of heart i wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be made sorry, but that ye might know the love which i have more abundantly unto you. -- corinthians . . gracious father, help me to understand that while i may be content to rest with what i have gathered, i cannot preserve the strength of my soul unless i share my possessions. give me a passion for humanity that will advance gifts through love, and offer service without the need of an appeal. amen. october sixteenth bishop hugh latimer burned at oxford . albrecht von haller born . noah webster born . robert stephenson born . as ships meet at sea--a moment together, when words of greeting must be spoken, and then away upon the deep--so men meet in this world; and i think we should cross no man's path without hailing him, and if he needs, giving him supplies. --henry ward beecher. nothing is more unaccountable than the spell that often lurks in a spoken word. a thought may be present to the mind, and two minds conscious of the same thought, but as long as it remains unspoken their familiar talk flows quietly over the hidden idea. --nathaniel hawthorne. and if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? --matthew . . heavenly father, i pray that thou wilt give me a generous heart. may i not lose sight of the truth, that thou hast made others to have the same needs and wants that i may have. may i not through pride or egoism fail to help, and neglecting to speak, miss an opportunity to assist. may i be self-forgetful in friendly service. amen. october seventeenth andreas osiander died . frederic chopin died . good name, in man or woman, dear my lord, is the immediate jewel of their souls; who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing; 'twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands; but he that filches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him, and makes me poor indeed. --william shakespeare. keep back your tears when a soul is untrue; "sorrow is shallow"; and one can wade through the mud and the marshes, and still endure if he finds he has kept his spirit pure. the rose near died when it fell to its lot to break its heart for forget-me-not; but after its heart was healed by the dew, right by its side a sweet violet grew! --m.b.s. a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold. --proverbs . . my father, teach me the value of the possessions that can neither be handled nor seen; and may i not take them away from others. help me to keep thy commandment "thou shalt not steal," and interpret it in all its relations to life. amen. october eighteenth matthew henry born . margaret (peg) woffington born . helen hunt jackson born . frederick harrison born . yet i argue not against heaven's hand or will, nor bate a jot of heart of hope;, but still bear up and steer right onward. --john milton. write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. no man has learned anything rightly until he knows that every day is doomsday. --ralph waldo emerson. he mourns that day so soon has glided by: e'en like the passage of an angel's tear that falls through the clear ether silently. --john keats. i will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: i will counsel thee with mine eye upon thee. --psalm . . my father, if i may be living in bad habits, help me to get out of them. if i may be neglectful of good deeds, help me to get at them. may i reach for the highest purposes as i search for the realities, and may i not delay, but start to-day. amen. october nineteenth dean (jonathan) swift died . leigh hunt born . henry kirke white died . don't look too hard except for something agreeable; we can find all the disagreeable things we want, between our own hats and boots. --leigh hunt. instead of a gem or a flower, cast the gift of a lovely thought into the heart of a friend. --george macdonald. for the want of common discretion the very end of good breeding is wholly perverted; and civility, intended to make us easy, is employed in laying chains and fetters upon us, in debarring our wishes, and in crossing our most reasonable desires and inclinations. --jonathan swift. if it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men. --romans . . my lord, help me to adjust my life to what i ought to be, rather than be content in what i am. may i not spend my time in dreaming of obstacles, or searching for things that hurt, but may i be gentle and kind, and as i see the truth speak for it and follow it. amen. october twentieth sir christopher wren born . thomas hughes born . charles dudley warner died . there has always seemed to me something impious in the neglect of health. i could not do half the good i do if it were not for the strength and activity some consider coarse and degrading. --charles kingsley. to keep well drink often, but water; eat not that which makes life shorter; but first, with all your might and skill, just chain your habits to your will. --m.b.s. i will be lord over myself. no one who cannot master himself is worthy to rule, and only he can rule. --goethe. know ye not that your body is a temple of the holy spirit which is in you, which ye have from god? -- corinthians . . lord god, may i not wait until i am afflicted and cannot use them to thank thee for my blessings. guard me against infirmities that are brought on through indulgences, and help me to control my life. may i never forget that regret will not retrieve the life that is spent, even if it brings forgiveness and hope for the days to come. amen. october twenty-first samuel taylor coleridge born . alphonse lamartine born . samuel f. smith born . will carleton born . he prayeth best who loveth best all things both great and small; for the dear god who loveth us, he made and loveth all. --samuel taylor coleridge. we thank thee, o father, for all that is bright-- the gleam of the day and the stars of the night, the flowers of our youth and the fruits of our prime, and the blessings that march down the pathway of time. --will carleton. thanklessness is a parching wind, drying up the fountain of pity, the dew of mercy, the streams of grace. for doth not that rightly seem to be lost which is given to one ungrateful? --saint bernard. o give thanks unto jehovah; for he is good; for his lovingkindness endureth for ever. --psalm . . my father, help me to understand that i cannot have self-development unless the spirit of truth drills my character. cleanse my heart from all impurity, and strengthen me for all usefulness: help me to daily live this prayer. amen. october twenty-second charles martel died . franz liszt born . george eliot born . sarah bernhardt born . o may i join the choir invisible of those immortal dead who live again in minds made better by their presence: live in pulses stirred to generosity, in deeds of daring rectitude, in scorn for miserable aims that end with self, in thoughts sublime that pierce the night like stars, and with their mild persistence urge man's search to vaster issues. this is life to come, which martyred men have made more glorious for us to strive to follow. may i reach that purest heaven, be to other souls the cup of strength in some great agony, enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, beget the smiles that have no cruelty, be the sweet presence of a good diffused, and in diffusion ever more intense! so shall i join the choir invisible whose music is the gladness of the world. --george eliot. and i give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish. --john . . my father, i pray that i may be more generous with my smiles and gladness, and more saving with my tears and sadness. amen. october twenty-third anne oldfield died . robert bridges born . mollie elliot seawell born . o youth whose hope is high, who doth to truth aspire, whether thou live or die, o look not back nor tire. thou that art bold to fly through tempest, flood and fire, nor dost not shrink to try thy heart in torments dire-- if thou canst death defy, if thy faith is entire, press onward, for thine eye shall see thy heart's desire. --robert bridges. doubt indulged becomes doubt realized. to determine to do anything is half the battle. courage is victory, timidity is defeat. --nelson. and thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns are with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions. --ezekiel . . gracious father, try me again by the courage i have to-day, if thou art judging me by the fear i held yesterday. help me to see that wavering is misleading and temperament is deceptive. may i learn self-control. amen. october twenty-fourth hugh capet died . sir moses montefiore born . daniel webster died . exceeding peace made ben adhem bold, and to the presence in the room he said, "what writest thou?" the vision raised its head, and, with a look made of all sweet accord, answered, "the names of those who love the lord." "and is mine one?" said abou. "nay, not so," replied the angel. abou spoke more low, but cheerily still; and said, "i pray thee, then, write me as one that loves his fellow men." the angel wrote, and vanished. the next night it came again, with a great awakening light, and showed the names whom love of god had blessed-- and, lo! ben adhem's name led all the rest! --leigh hunt. call unto me, and i will answer thee, and will show thee great things. --jeremiah . . lord god, may i keep within my heart that secret sympathy that adds to the power of life. help me to seek the things that are real, and not be deceived by the things which only appear to be. may all with whom i have to do feel the better for my companionship. amen. october twenty-fifth geoffrey chaucer died . william hogarth died . george w. faber born . thomas b. macaulay born . wav'ring as winds the breath of fortune blows, no power can turn it, and no prayers compose. deep in some hermit's solitary cell, repose, and ease, and contemplation dwell. let conscience guide thee in the days of need, judge well thy own, and then thy neighbor's deed. --geoffrey chaucer. to every man upon this earth death cometh soon or late; and how can man die better than facing fearful odds, for the ashes of his fathers and the temples of his gods. --thomas b. macaulay. even as the son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. --matthew . . heavenly father, help me to remember that i am to cover life's journey, even though i may go the way carelessly and aimlessly. may i make an estimate of what i am losing, by waiting so long at the resting places, "for the road winds up hill all the way to the end, and the journey takes the whole day long, from morn to night." amen. october twenty-sixth dr. philip doddridge died . count von moltke born . elizabeth cady stanton died . one of the notable eddies of the present-day world currents is what has been loosely called the "woman movement." the sensitive and vicarious spirit of womanhood has been enlisted for service in behalf of those who have been denied a fair chance, or who are the victims of oppression, greed, and ignorance. --william t. ellis. and whether consciously or not, you must be in many a heart enthroned: queens you must always be: queens to your lovers; queens to your husbands and sons; queens of higher mystery to the world beyond, which bows itself, and will forever bow, before the myrtle crown, and the stainless scepter of womanhood. --john ruskin. o woman, great is thy faith: be it done unto thee even as thou wilt. --matthew . . lord and master of all, i pray that thou wilt make me see through my prejudices and beyond my desires to the very "top of my condition." may i not wait for places or circumstances that are dimly in the distance or that are near at hand, but accomplish the work i should do to-day. amen. october twenty-seventh james cook born . nicolo paganini born . theodore roosevelt, new york, twenty-fifth president united states, born . the vice of envy is not only a dangerous, but a mean vice; for it is always a confession of inferiority. it may promote conduct which will be fruitful of wrong to others, and it must cause misery to the man who feels it. --theodore roosevelt. of all the passions, jealousy is that which exacts the hardest service, and pays the bitterest wages. its service is to watch the success of one's enemy; its wages to be sure of it. --c.c. colton. dear to me is the friend, yet i can also make use of an enemy. the friend shows me what i can do, the foe teaches me what i should. --schiller. let us not become vainglorious, provoking one another. --galatians . . almighty god, i would ask thee that my days be filled with aspiration, and that my heart may know no envy. help me to love humanity. may i be so glad of the success of others that i may never know what it is to be envious. amen. october twenty-eighth desiderius erasmus born . john locke died . georges jacques danton born . not so in haste, my heart! have faith in god and wait; although he linger long, he never comes too late. until he cometh, rest, nor grudge the hours that roll; the feet that wait for god are soonest at the goal; are soonest at the goal that is not gained by speed; then hold thee still, my heart, for i shall wait his lead. --bayard taylor. it is good that a man should hope and quietly wait for the salvation of jehovah. --lamentations . . lord of life, may i pause to remember that rest may not be obtained with wretched thoughts, nor can it be enjoyed in discontent. in my moments of rest wilt thou show me how to relax, and with tranquillity may i gather hope for renewed ambition. amen. october twenty-ninth sir walter raleigh beheaded . james boswell born . john keats born . thomas bayard born . thomas edward brown died . rise, o my soul, with thy desires to heaven, and with divinest contemplation use thy time where time's eternity is given, and let vain thoughts no more thy thoughts abuse; but down in darkness let them lie: so live thy better, let thy worse thoughts die! --sir walter raleigh. the great elements we know of are no mean comforters; the open sky sits upon our senses like a sapphire crown--the air is our robe of state, the earth is our throne, and the sea a mighty minstrel playing before it. --john keats. ah lord jehovah! behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thine outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for thee. --jeremiah . . almighty god, i thank thee for the power that gives me the breath of life. may i be willing to be controlled by its guiding care. amen. october thirtieth rev. john whitaker died . john adams, massachusetts, second president united states, born . adelaide anne procter born . and yet thou canst know, and yet thou canst not see; wisdom and sight are slow in poor humanity. if thou couldst trust, poor soul, in him who rules the whole, thou wouldst find peace and rest; wisdom and right are well, but trust is best. --adelaide anne procter. the heart to speak in vain essayed, nor could his purpose reach-- his will nor voice nor tongue obeyed, his silence was his speech. --john quincy adams. but still believe that story wrong which ought not to be true. --richard brinsley sheridan. blessed is the man that maketh jehovah his trust. --psalm . . my father, may i not be given to unkindly speech. deliver me from a critical spirit; and may i not encourage mistrust, but cultivate the kindly considerations in which life abounds. amen. october thirty-first all hallow's eve. john evelyn born . christopher anstey born . ere, in the northern gale the summer tresses of the trees are gone, the woods of autumn, all around our vale, have put their glory on. the mountains that unfold, in their wide sweep, the colored landscape round, seem groups of giant kings, in purple and gold, that guard the enchanted ground. ah! 'twere a lot too blessed forever in thy colored shades to stray; amid the kisses of the soft southwest to rove and dream for aye; and leave the vain low strife that makes men mad; the tug for wealth and power, the passions and the cares that wither life, and waste its little hour. --william cullen bryant. let the field exult, and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy. --psalm . . my father, may i have an appreciation of the wonderful creations of the earth. give me a discriminating eye, that i may know the precious things that thou art growing; and throughout my life may i love the beautiful, and choose that which will make my life worthy of growth. amen. november who said november's face was grim? who said her voice was harsh and sad? i heard her sing in wood paths dim, i met her on the shore so glad, so smiling, i could kiss her feet! there never was a month so sweet. --lucy larcom. november first sir matthew hale born . william m. chase born . sir robert grant died . o worship the king, all glorious above, o gratefully sing his power and his love; our shield and defender, the ancient of days, pavilioned in splendor, and girded with praise. thy bountiful care what tongue can recite? it breathes in the air, it shines in the light; it streams from the hills, it descends to the plain, and sweetly distills in the dew and the rain. --robert grant. ye shall walk in all the way which jehovah your god hath commanded you, that ye may live, and that it may be well with you, and that ye may prolong your days in the land which ye shall possess. --deuteronomy . . almighty god, help me to make my life refulgent while i have the abundance of summer, that i may not find the november of life bleak and barren. help me to live in the realities of life, that i may gain energy and repose, to use for the lonesome and anxious hours. may i be watchful for the conditions that thwart life, and with patience wait for the awakening of truth. amen. november second marie antoinette born . field-marshal radetzky born . james knox polk, north carolina, eleventh president united states, born . overmastering pain--the most deadly and tragical element in life--alas! pain has its own way with all of us; it breaks in, a rude visitant, upon the fairy garden where the child wanders in a dream, no less surely than it rules upon the field of battle, or sends the immortal war-god whimpering to his father; and innocence, no more than philosophy, can protect us from this sting. --robert louis stevenson. my hopes retire; my wishes as before struggle to find their resting place in vain; the ebbing sea thus beats against the shore; the shore repels it; it returns again. --w.s. landor. yet jehovah will command his loving-kindness in the day-time, and in the night his song shall be with me. --psalm . . loving father, i bless thee for thy goodness and tender mercy which is over all. may i trust thy provision and love through all circumstances, and as i trust myself to thee may i have faith to believe that thou wilt give me strength for what i may have to endure, and believe that thou wilt care for me, as thou dost care for all. amen. november third lucan born a.d. . william cullen bryant born . francis d. millet born . john watson (ian maclaren) born . pearl mary teresa craigie (john oliver hobbes) born . whither, midst falling dew, while glow the heavens with the last steps of day, far, through their rosy depths, dost thou pursue thy solitary way! vainly the fowler's eye might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, as, darkly painted on the crimson sky, thy figure floats along. he who, from zone to zone, guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, in the long way that i must tread alone, will lead my steps aright. --william cullen bryant. for jehovah your god dried up the waters of the jordan from before you, until ye were passed over. --joshua . . almighty god, help me to guard against gratification that leads to disappointment, that i may not miss the true way. i pray that thou wilt lift me in my weakness, and carry me over the rough and discouraging places, that i may be made strong in thy loving care, and be able to continue alone. amen. november fourth guido reni born . james montgomery born . edmund keane born . ernest howard crosby born . eugene field died . keep me, i pray, in wisdom's way, that i may truths eternal seek; i need protecting care to-day-- my purse is light, my flesh is weak. --eugene field. no one could tell me where my soul might be, i searched for god, but god eluded me. i sought my brother out, and found all three. --ernest h. crosby. in all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths. --proverbs . . my father, may i not face the going down of the sun to-day, looking at life, in a mirror that reflects my own privileges and prejudices, but may i see it as it is, known to those who are living to make it better. may the days to come prove my sincerity in wanting the truth that i might live by it, and help to do good with it. amen. november fifth hans sachs born . dr. john brown born . benjamin butler born . the thing that goes the farthest toward making life worth while, that costs the least, and does the most, is just a pleasant smile. that smile that bubbles from a heart that loves its fellow men will drive away the cloud of gloom and coax the sun again. --anonymous. one whom i knew intimately, and whose memory i revere, once in my hearing remarked that, "unless we love people we cannot understand them." this was a new light to me. --christina g. rossetti. oil and perfume rejoice the heart; so doth the sweetness of a man's friend that cometh of hearty counsel. --proverbs . . lord god, i pray that i may be worthy of my friends. may i not fear to go where i am called, and may i go cheerfully, even though the way be dark and lonesome. amen. november sixth james gregory born . john bright born . sir george williams died . look full into thy spirit's self, the world of mystery scan; what if thy way to faith in god should lie through faith in man? --john bright. blessed are they who have the gift of making friends, for it is one of god's best gifts. it involves many things, but above all, the power of going out of oneself and seeing and appreciating whatever is noble and loving in another. --thomas hughes. be perfected; be comforted; be of the same mind; live in peace: and the god of love and peace shall be with you. -- corinthians . . lord god, i earnestly entreat thee to show me if i may be cramping the happiness in another's life by forcing in my selfishness and demands. may i understand that perfect gifts are those that come through loving sacrifice. make me ashamed to ask for what i refuse or prefer not to give. amen. november seventh sir martin frobisher died . william stukeley born . friedrich leopold, count von stolberg, born . once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, in the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side; some great cause, god's new messiah offering each the bloom or blight, parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right; and the choice goes by forever 'twixt that darkness and that light. --james russell lowell. we cannot command veracity at will; the power of seeing and reporting truly is a form of health that has to be delicately guarded, and as an ancient rabbi has solemnly said, "the penalty of untruth is untruth." --george eliot. behold, this only have i found: that god made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions. --ecclesiastes . . my father, help me to speak the truth and guard the truth, that righteousness may be an abiding influence in my life. amen. november eighth edmund halley born . john milton died . owen meredith (bulwer edward lytton) born . the morning drum-call on my eager ear thrills unforgotten yet! the morning dew lies yet undried along my field of noon. but now i pause a while in what i do, and count the bell, and tremble lest i hear (my work untrimmed) the sunset gun too soon. --robert louis stevenson. i fear life's many changes, not death's changelessness. so perfect is this moment's passing cheer, i needs must tremble lest it pass to less. thus in fickle love of life i live, lest fickle life me of my love deprive. --owen meredith. and jehovah said unto joshua, get thee up; wherefore art thou thus fallen upon thy face? up, sanctify the people, and say, sanctify yourselves against to-morrow. --joshua . , . almighty god, help me in these fleeting days that i may not use my time to consider and hesitate, but be positive in my desires and pursue them. grant that i may have the strength to hold each day precious, and live it more than consistently. amen. november ninth mark akenside born . william sotheby born . charles f. thwing born . the victor's road is the easy way. straight it stretches and climbs to where fame is waiting with garlands gay to wreathe the fighter who clambers there. there's applause in plenty and gold's red gleam for the man who plays on the winning team. the loser travels a longer lane; level it leads to a lonely land. there's little glory for him to gain the voices mock him on either hand; but the man who wins in the greater game is the man who, beaten, fights on the same. --g. rice. the hero is not fed on sweets, daily his own heart he eats; chambers of the great are jails, and head-winds right for royal sails. --ralph waldo emerson. he thanked god, and took courage. --acts . . o lord, i pray that whether i may be successful in the sight of the world, or whether i may be successful in my own sacrifices, i may have the freedom of courage, and be master of my life. amen. november tenth martin luther born . william hogarth born . oliver goldsmith born . johann von schiller born . joaquin miller born . henry van dyke born . as faith, so is god. --martin luther. learn the luxury of doing good. --oliver goldsmith. love is the ladder by which we climb up to the likeness of god. --johann von schiller. and who will walk a mile with me along life's weary way? a friend whose heart has eyes to see the stars shine out o'er the darkening lea, and the quiet rest at the end of the day-- a friend who knows and dares to say, the brave sweet words that cheer the way where he walks a mile with me. --henry van dyke. and whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two. --matthew . . my father, may i not dwell in the appearances of life, where i may grow selfish; but live in the realities of simplicity. may i not only seek those who may return me pleasure, but may i find delight in brightening the walk of a weary friend. amen. november eleventh alfred de musset born . thomas bailey aldrich born . rev. joshua brookes died . i'll not confer with sorrow till to-morrow, but joy shall have her way this very day. --thomas bailey aldrich. shall we have ears on the stretch for the footfalls of sorrow that never come, but be deaf to the whirr of the wings of happiness that fill all space? --maurice maeterlinck. this day is a day of good tidings, and we hold our peace: if we tarry till the morning light, punishment will overtake, us; now therefore come, let us go and tell the king's household. -- kings . . loving father, i pray that thou wilt help me to overcome unhappiness. may i not let depression overpower me, but claim the promises of joy that are open to every life. may i be blest by my own cheerfulness and encourage others to possess it. amen. november twelfth saint augustine died a. d. . richard baxter born . amelia opie born . elizabeth cady stanton born . thomas lord fairfax died . in life it is difficult to say who do you the most mischief--enemies with the worst intentions or friends with the best. --edward bulwer. the friends thou hast, and their adoption tried, grapple them to thy soul with hooks of steel. --william shakespeare. where persons who ought to esteem and love each other are kept asunder, as often happens, by some cause which three words of frank explanation would remove, they are fortunate if they possess an indiscreet friend who blurts out the whole truth. --thomas b. macaulay. yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom i trusted, who did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. --psalm . . lord god, help me to consider more carefully what i offer to my friends; and may i not be critical of what i receive from my friends. may i not be a hindrance instead of a help to those who would have my companionship. amen. november thirteenth sir john moore born . robert louis stevenson born . sir john forbes died . little do we know our own blessedness; for to travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive, and the true success is to labor. --robert louis stevenson. whether thy work be fine or coarse, planting corn or writing epics, so only it be honest work, done to thine own approbation, it shall earn a reward to sense as well as to the thought. --ralph waldo emerson. nature gives to labor; and to labor alone. in a very garden of eden a man would starve but for human exertion. --henry george. but let each man prove his own work, and then shall he have his glorying in regard of himself alone, and not of his neighbor. --galatians . . my father, make pure living clear to me, that i may not be deceived in my work; and may i not use my working hours searching for more suitable work, but may i be sure in what i am that i may feel secure in what i undertake to do. amen. november fourteenth bishop hoadley born . fanny mendelssohn-hensel born . robert smythe hichens born . give us, o give us, the man who sings at his work! be his occupation what it may, he is better than any of those who follow the same pursuit in silent sullenness. --thomas carlyle. what doctor possesses such curative resources as those latent in a single ray of hope? the mainspring of life is in the heart. joy is the vital air of the soul, and grief is a kind of asthma complicated by atony. --amiel. i will sing unto jehovah as long as i live: i will sing praise to my god while i have any being. --psalm . . loving father, restore the spirit of gentleness and meekness if it may be withered within me, that i may be contented. may i make it a habit to be happy over my work and cheerful about my duties. may i never lose the view of the glory of thy kingdom. amen. november fifteenth william pitt, earl of chatham, born . william cowper born . sir william herschel born . johann lavater born . richard henry dana born . ida tarbell born . the parting sun sends out a glow across the placid bay, touching with glory all the show-- a breeze! up helm! away! careening to the wind, they reach, with laugh and call, the shore. they've left their footprints on the beach, but them i hear no more. --richard henry dana. art little? do thy little well: and for thy comfort know the great can do their greatest work no better than just so. --goethe. but be thou an ensample to them that believe, in word, in manner of life, in love, in faith, in purity. -- timothy . . lord god, grant that if i may be complaining of what providence has not sent me, i may not be neglecting what providence has given me. may i not pause too long over what i have done, or over what i might have done, but may i be appreciative of what thou dost expect of me and endeavor to accomplish it. amen. november sixteenth tiberius born b.c. . gustavus adolphus killed . francis danby born . judge not the workings of his brain and of his heart thou canst not see; what looks to thy dim eyes a stain in god's pure light may only be a scar, brought from some well-won field, where thou would'st only faint and yield. and judge none lost; but wait and see, with hopeful pity, not disdain; the depth of the abyss may be the measure of the height of pain and love and glory that may raise the soul to god in after days! --adelaide a. procter. i am more afraid of deserving criticism, than of receiving it. --william gladstone. judge not, that ye be not judged. --matthew . . lord jehovah, judge of all mankind, forbid that i should set myself as a judge of another's life, and neglect to live for the higher judgment of my own. may i not be absorbed in that which thrives in darkness, but live in the light of honesty and gentleness. amen. november seventeenth queen mary of england died . joost van den vondel born . george grote born . there are evergreen men and women in the world, praise be to god!--not many of them, but a few. they are not the showy folk. (nature is an old-fashioned shopkeeper; she never puts her best goods in the window.) they are only the quiet, strong folk; they are stronger than fate. the storms of life sweep over them, and the biting frosts creep round them; but the winds and the frosts pass away, and they are still standing, green and straight. --jerome k. jerome. and he shall be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that bringeth forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also doth not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. --psalm . . gracious lord, may i not spend most in equipment and forget the tides, which may desert me on the sands, or the rocks in the channels, which may crush the finest vessel. may i be prepared for the hard knocks if they come, but may i know how to keep clear of them. amen. november eighteenth sir david wilkie born . louis j. m. daguerre born . cyrus field born . william s. gilbert born . if e'er when man had fallen asleep, i heard a voice, "believe no more," a warmth within the breast would melt the freezing reason's colder part, and like a man in wrath, the heart stood up and answered, "i have felt." --alfred tennyson. faith is the deep want of the soul. we have faculties for the spiritual, as truly as for the outward world. god, the foundation of all existence, may become to the mind the most real of all beings. the believer feels himself resting on an everlasting foundation. --william henry channing. and they said one to another, was not our heart burning within us, while he spake to us in the way, while he opened to us the scriptures? --luke . . lord god, save me from a hard and doubting heart. may i be trustful and come to thee in faith. all the days of my life may my lips sing thy praise as i unfold thy love and purposes. amen. november nineteenth nicolas poussin died . albert thorwaldsen born . james a. garfield, ohio, twentieth president united states, born . mary hallock foote born . count lyoff (leo) tolstoy died . and son i live, you see, go through the world, try, prove, reject, prefer, still struggling to effect my warfare; happy that i can be crossed and thwarted as a man, not left in god's contempt apart, with ghastly smooth life, dead at heart, tame in earth's paddock, as her prize. --robert browning. be good at the depths of you, and you will discover that those who surround you will be good even to the same depths. therein lies a force that has no name; a spiritual rivalry that has no resistance. --maurice maeterlinck. first of all, i must make myself a man; if i do not succeed in that, i can succeed in nothing. --james a. garfield. that we may be no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, in craftiness, after the wiles of error. --ephesians . . eternal god, i thank thee for all the sterling elements that greaten the individual life. i pray that i may not desire to be kept a small creature, but seek to grow in wisdom and love, and qualify for mighty purposes and achievements. amen. november twentieth paul potter born . thomas chatterton born . william ellery channing born . sir wilfred laurier born . then why, my soul, dost thou complain? why drooping seek the dark recess? shake off the melancholy chain, for god created all to bless. the gloomy mantle of the night, which on my sinking spirits steals, will vanish at the morning light, which god, my east, my sun, reveals. --thomas chatterton. lady, there is a hope that all men have-- some mercy for their faults, a grassy place to rest in, and a flower-strewn, gentle grave: another hope which purifies our race, that when that fearful bourne forever past, they may find rest--and rest so long to last. i seek it not, i ask no rest forever, my path is onward to the farthest shores. --william ellery channing. he brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay; and he set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. and he put a new song in my mouth. --psalm . , . my father, i pray that i may have patience to live through the difficulties of life. may i correct my faults, that they may not destroy my peace and take from me my strength; help me to center my life in brightness and hope. amen. november twenty-first claude lorraine died . bryan waller procter (barry cornwall) born . mary johnston born . there is not a creature from england's king to the peasant that delves the soil, who knows half the pleasures the seasons bring if he had not his share of toil. --barry cornwall. it may be proved, with much certainty, that god intends no man to live in this world without working; but it seems to me no less evident that he intends every man to be happy in his work. now, in order that people may be happy in their work, these three things are needed: they must be fit for it; and they must not do too much of it; and they must have a sense of success in it. --john ruskin. let him labor, working with his hands the thing that is good, that he may have whereof to give to him that hath need. --ephesians . . my father, if my work seems hard to-day, may i not cease working if i grow weary, but may my strength be renewed to continue my work. may the aim of my work be to please thee, and to help in the progress of humanity. amen. november twenty-second saint cecilia martyred a.d. . sir henry havelock died . justin m'carthy born . sometimes the sun, unkindly hot, my garden makes a desert spot, sometimes a blight upon the tree takes all my fruit away from me; and then with throes of bitter pain rebellious passions rise and swell; and so i sing and all is well. --paul laurence dunbar. such songs have power to quiet the restless pulse of care, and come like benediction that follows after prayer. --henry w. longfellow. songs consecrate to truth and liberty. --percy bysshe shelley. david took the harp, and played with his hand: so saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. -- samuel . . almighty god, i thank thee that thou wilt come to me as my heart cries for need. i bless thee that thou dost come to me as my lips sing thy praise. i pray that i may be saved from a cruel and cheerless heart, and be a sharer of the songs that are sung to the soul. amen. november twenty-third thomas tallis died . franklin pierce, new hampshire, fourteenth president united states, born . marie bashkirtseff born . asleep, awake, by night or day, the friends i seek are seeking me; no word can drive my bark astray, nor change the tide of destiny. the stars come nightly to the sky, the tidal wave unto the sea; nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high, can keep my own away from me. --john burroughs. if a man could make a single rose we would give him an empire; yet flowers no less beautiful are scattered in profusion over the world, and no one regards them. --martin luther. let patience have its perfect work. --james . . my creator, may i remember that after thou didst create the earth thou didst say it was good. may i love the fragrance and beauty of the flowers which were made to nourish the soul, and the fruits and herbs which were made to nourish the body. may my song of thanksgiving be new every morning, as i awake in the abundance of what thou hast prepared. amen. november twenty-fourth john knox died . baron spinoza born . grace darling born . frances hodgson burnett born . i waited long until the sky should give me of its blue to weave and wear, and share, and weave the very stars into. the days they went, the years they went, and left my hands instead another thing for wonderment, the mending and the bread. ah me, and one must set a hand to burnish up the task, and hush and hush the old demand a wakeful heart will ask. but with a star's clear eye on me, o, i can hear it said, "what souls there be that only see the mending and the bread!" --josephine p. peabody. the riches of a commonwealth are free, strong minds and hearts of health. and more to her than gold or grain, the cunning hand and cultured brain. --john g. whittier. for the life is more than the food, and the body than the raiment. --luke . . my father, i pray that thou wilt help me, that i may not consume my life in preparing clothes and food for my body. amen. november twenty-fifth charles kemble born . john bigelow born . paul haupt born . john kitto died . i will not kill or hurt any living creature needlessly, nor destroy any beautiful thing, but will strive to save and comfort all gentle life and guard and perfect all natural beauty on earth. i will strive to raise my own body and soul daily into all the higher powers of duty and-happiness, not in rivalship or contention with others, but for help, delight, and honor of others and for the joy and peace of my own life. --john ruskin. they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of jehovah, as the waters cover the sea. --isaiah . . lord god, i rejoice in the blessedness of peace. may i not try to force peace where cruelty has entered, but keep a watch for what may come into my life. i pray that if i may be in turbulence to-day, thou wilt quiet me with thy peace which knows no fear or wrong. amen. november twenty-sixth sir william ware born . john elwes died . john loudoun macadam died . i'd like a way to change the clouds that bring us sorrow, and build to-day a bright to-morrow; to banish cares that tarry long, and have the days like the blue-bird's song-- i'd like a way. i'll find a way-- i'll set sail when the breeze is high, and calmly drift when pleasure's nigh; i'll steer a course afar from tears, and take in joy the coming years-- i'll find a way. i've lost the way! out through the gloom a beam of light looks like a purpose looming bright! up with the sail! i'll out to sea and bring that purpose back with me, or go its way. --m.b.s. unto the upright there ariseth light in the darkness: he is gracious, and merciful, and righteous. --psalm . . my father, i pray that i may not through indifference wander without a purpose, or through discouragement stumble through the darkness. may i be drawn to the light by the vision of hopeful and useful days. amen. november twenty-seventh horace died b.c. . marquise d'aubigné maintenon born . general artemus ward born . fanny kemble born . alexandra dumas died . be this thy brazen bulwark of defense, to preserve a conscience void of offense, and never turn pale with guilt. --horace. is life a noxious weed which whirlwinds sow? a useless flint o'er which the waters flow? not so! a life well spent has not its weight in gold; it is the clearest crystal earth doth hold, a gem beside which suns seem dull and cold. --robert louis stevenson. that they may lay hold on the life which is life indeed. -- timothy . . lord god, i pray that my life may not be impoverished by neglect, nor burdened with indulgences, but that it may be kept in condition for high endeavors. grant that i may never be content to rest in satisfaction and ease when i could struggle and accomplish a good work. amen. november twenty-eighth william blake born . anton g. rubinstein born washington irving died . the sorrow for the dead is the only sorrow from which we refuse to be divorced. every other wound we seek to heal, every other affliction to forget. take warning by the bitterness of this thy contrite affliction over the dead, and henceforth be more faithful and affectionate in the discharge of thy duties to the living. --washington irving. joy and woe are woven fine, a clothing for the soul divine; every grief and pine runs a joy with a silken twine. --william blake. ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. --john . . heavenly father, grant that i may not lose the kindness that i may give and receive to-day. i thank thee for the memories of yesterday, the hope of to-morrow, and the wisdom of to-day. may i have a vision of immortality that will keep me through the closest sorrow. amen. november twenty-ninth sir philip sidney born . a. bronson alcott born . wendell phillips born . louisa m. alcott born . truth is sensitive and jealous of the least encroachment of its sacredness. --a. bronson alcott. faith that withstood the shocks of toil and time, hope that defied despair, patience that conquered care, and loyalty whose courage was sublime; teaching us how to seek the highest goal, to earn the true success; to live to love, to bless, and make death proud to take a royal soul. --louisa m. alcott. nor is it wiser to weep a true occasion lost, but trim our sails, and let old bygones be. --alfred tennyson. in hope of eternal life, which god, who cannot lie, promised before times eternal. --titus . . heavenly father, i pray that i may live in truth; and without fear of life or death live content in the faith of eternal life. amen. november thirtieth peregrine white born new england . jonathan swift born . samuel l. clemens (mark twain) born . winston churchill born . he gave it for his opinion that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together. --jonathan swift. that man may last, but never lives, who much receives, but nothing gives; whom none can love, whom none can thank,-- creation's blot, creation's blank. --thomas gibbons. give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, shall they give into your bosom. for with what measure ye mete it shall be measured to you again. --luke . . my father, preserve my soul from all selfishness. may i delight in thy teaching as i trust in thy word. i pray that i may not only speak truthfully, but that i may leave the door of my spirit open, that truth may always enter and abide continually. amen. december he comes--he comes--the frost spirit comes: you may trace his footsteps now on the naked woods and the blasted fields, and the brown hill's withered brow. he has smitten the leaves of the gray old trees, where their green came forth, and the winds, which follow wherever he goes, have shaken them down to earth. he comes--he comes--the frost spirit comes! let us meet him as we may, and turn with the light of the parlor fire his evil power away; and gather closer the circle round, where the firelight dances high, and laugh at the shriek of the baffled fiend, as his sounding wing goes by. --john g. whittier. december first dr. george birkbeck died . queen alexandra born . r.w. dale born . ebenezer elliott died . we would fill the hours with the sweetest things, if we had but a day: we should drink alone at the purest springs, in our upward way: we should guide our wayward or wearied will, by the clearest light: we should keep our eyes on the heavenly hills, if they lay in sight: we should be from our clamorous selves set free, to work and pray: and be what the father would have us to be, if we had but a day. --margaret e. sangster. whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. --philippians . . gracious father, help me to understand that my life grows out of what i put into my days. forgive me for the unspoken words and the kind deeds which i kept for rare days, and had so few occasions to use. may i be as useful in kindness as i am in work, remembering that to thee every day is a golden day. amen. december second david masson born . john brown hanged, charlestown, west virginia . hugh miller died . the solitude of life is known to us all; for the most part we are alone, and the voices of friends come only faint and broken across the impassable gulfs which surround every human soul. --hamilton mabie. to have an ideal or to have none, to have this ideal or that--this is what digs gulfs between men, even between those who live in the same family circle, under the same roof, or in the same room. you must love with the same love, think with the same thoughts as some one else if you are to escape solitude. --amiel. the plans of the heart belong to man; but the answer of the tongue is from jehovah. --proverbs . . lord god, help me to take in the glory of life, that my spirit may never be lonely, even though i may have to be much alone. i pray that thou wilt spare me the loneliness and the solitude that may be brought on by selfishness. make me considerate of others. may i soar above the disappointments and losses that may come to me, and stay where i may have thy companionship. amen. december third samuel crompton born . sir frederick leighton born . robert louis stevenson died . to know what you prefer, instead of humbly saying "amen" to what the world tells you you ought to prefer, is to have kept your soul alive. --robert louis stevenson. there is precious instruction to be got by finding we were wrong. let a man try faithfully, manfully to be right. he will grow daily more and more right. --thomas carlyle. the hero is the man who is immovably centered. --ralph waldo emerson. let us draw near with a true heart in fulness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience: and having our body washed with pure water. --hebrews . . gracious father, grant that i may not be content to follow through ignorance and indolence and be led to the lowly paths of life. make my hie positive; and from my surroundings may i look out and struggle to mount to the highest ideals, that i may be qualified to select the best in life. amen. december fourth cardinal richelieu died . william drummond died . madame recamier born . thomas carlyle born . john kitto born . it is with a man's soul as it is with nature: the beginning of creation is--light. till the eye have visions the whole members are in bonds. divine moment, when over the tempest-tost soul, as once over the wild-weltering chaos, it is spoken: let there be light! --thomas carlyle. what in me is dark illumine, what is low raise and support; that to the light of this great argument i may assert eternal providence and justify the ways of god to men. --john milton. for thou art my lamp, o jehovah; and jehovah will lighten my darkness. -- samuel . . my lord, forgive me if i have allowed bitterness and misery to darken my life, for my soul yearns continually for the light. in thy compassion lead me to the "sunny side of the road where the beautiful flowers grow," that my path may be made bright and cheerful all the rest of the way. amen. december fifth martin van buren, new york, eighth president united states, born . christina g. rossetti born . alice brown born . a cold wind stirs the blackthorn to burgeon and to blow, besprinkling half-green hedges with flakes and sprays of snow. through coldness and through keenness, dear hearts take comfort so: somewhere or other doubtless these make the blackthorn blow. --christina g. rossetti. there are some men and women in whose company we are always at our best. all the best stops in our nature are drawn out by their intercourse, and we find a music in our souls never there before. --henry drummond. and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and good works. --hebrews . . my father, i thank thee for life. make me sensitive to the unseen influences that bring thy messages. may i be led where great riches may be found through small kindnesses, and where i may learn from the meek the beauty of earth. amen. december sixth general george monk born . warren hastings born . dr. richard barham born . that low man seeks a little thing to do, sees it and does it: this high man, with a great thing to pursue, dies ere he knows it. that low man goes on adding one to one, his hundred's soon hit: this high man, aiming at a million, misses an unit. that, has the world here--should he need the next, let the world mind him! this, throws himself on god, and unperplexed seeking shall find him. --robert browning. hitch your wagon to a star. --ralph waldo emerson. when thou saidst, seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, thy face, jehovah, will i seek. --psalm . . almighty god, show me what thou hast given for me to do, that i may not leave undone that which is mine. forgive me for useless planning and blind asking for the things which cannot be mine. i pray that my work may be honest work, well done, and acceptable for thy service. amen. december seventh cicero assassinated b.c. . john dalton born . mary stuart, queen of scotland, born . it is virtue--yes, let me repeat it again--it is virtue alone that can give birth, strength, and permanency to friendship. for virtue is a uniform and steady principle ever acting consistently with itself. --cicero. a common friendship--who talks of a common friendship? there is no such thing in the world. on earth no word is more sublime. --henry drummond. but thou shalt surely open thy hand unto him, and shalt surely lend him sufficient for his need. --deuteronomy . . lord god, wilt thou reveal to me my weakness if i may be insincere; and give me the strength that i lack to keep me true. may i not take advantage of the ignorant, or thoughtlessly lead the innocent into temptation. grant that i may be a trustful and kind friend. amen. december eighth john pym died . richard baxter died . thomas de quincey died . elihu burritt born . robert collyer born . into the dusk of the east, gray with the coming of night, this may we know at least-- after the night comes light! over the mariners' graves, grim in the depths below, buoyantly breasting the waves, into the east we go. on to a distant strand, wonderful, far, unseen, on to a stranger land, skimming the seas between; on through the days and nights, hope in each sailor's breast, on till the harbor lights flash on the shores of rest! j.h. jowett. so he bringeth them unto their desired haven. --psalm . . lord god, i pray that thou wilt provide me with thy indwelling peace. may it keep me reconciled to the decline of years, and enable me to bear the earthly separation from those whom i love. may i always have hope and trust in thee. amen. december ninth john milton born . sir anthony van dyck died . joel chandler harris born . doth god exact day labor, light denied? i fondly ask: but patience, to prevent that murmur, soon replies, "god doth not need either man's work, or his own gifts; who best bear his mild yoke, they serve him best; his state is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed, and post o'er land and ocean without rest; they also serve who only stand and wait." --john milton. "'tain't on'y chilluns w'at got de consate er doin' eve'ything dey see yuther folks do. hit's grown folks w'at oughter know better," said uncle remus. --joel chandler harris. wherefore, receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us have grace, whereby we may offer service well-pleasing to god with reverence and awe. --hebrews . . my father, teach me to select my work from that which is noble and true. may i not mold my life in affectation or feel that i must imitate the lives of others, but grant that i may perfect my life through experiences which are worthy of increasing endeavors. amen. december tenth thomas holcroft born . dr. thomas hopkins gallaudet born . eugene sue born . be of good cheer. do not think of to-day's failures, but of success that may come to-morrow. you have set yourselves a difficult task, but you will succeed if you persevere; and you will have a joy in overcoming obstacles--a delight in climbing rugged paths which you would perhaps never know if you did not sometimes slip backward, if the road were always smooth and pleasant. remember, no effort that we make to attain something beautiful is ever lost. --helen keller. we rise by things that are beneath our feet, by what we have mastered by good and gain, by the pride deposed and passion slain, and the vanquished ills that we hourly meet. --j.g. holland. he that overcometh, i will give to him to sit down with, me in my throne, as i also overcame, and sat down with my father in his throne. --revelation . . my father, i pray that i may not be given to contradicting and doubting, nor take for granted that which needs to be considered. grant that i may have the faith and strength of heart to fulfill the longings of my soul. amen. december eleventh sir roger l'estrange died . dr. william cullen born . colley cibber died . lord, subdue our selfish will; each to each our tempers suit, by thy modulating skill, heart to heart, as lute to lute. --charles wesley. one of the last, slowly murmured sayings of whittier, was this: "give--my--love--to--the--world." and this is the world's supreme need to-day; more than our eloquence, or our knowledge, or our wealth, or all else besides, it needs our love. true, even love may sometimes err; but the cure for love's mistakes is just more love; we often blunder because we do not love enough. god help us all that, like whittier, we may live and die, giving our love to the world. --george jackson. love never faileth. -- corinthians . . lord god, help me to see the beauty of the world, and through my duty may i find the love in the world. may i not spend my life in discontent, but may i remember that thou hast said, "the meek shall inherit the earth." fill my heart with compassion, that i may love my fellow man as i love myself. amen. december twelfth chief justice john jay born . gustav flaubert born . robert browning died . a people is but the attempt of many to rise to the completer life of one. and those who live for models for the mass are singly of more value than they all. --robert browning. give me the power to labor for mankind; make me the mouth of such as cannot speak; eyes let me be to groping men and blind; a conscience to the base; and to the weak let me be hands and feet, and to the foolish, mind; and lead still further on such as thy kingdom seek. --theodore parker. i was eyes to the blind, and feet was i to the lame. --job . . almighty god, wilt thou guide me in the direction where i may choose a useful life; open wide my heart as well as my eyes, that i may early see my work and be diligent in its prosecution. reveal to me, when i may have failed, that i may do better to-morrow. amen. december thirteenth william drummond born . dr. samuel johnson died . joseph noel paton born . phillips brooks born . hamilton mabie born . when the clouds of sorrow gather over us, we see nothing beyond them, nor can imagine how they can be dispelled; yet a new day succeeded to the night, and sorrow is never long without a dawn of ease. --dr. samuel johnson. the fountains of joy and sorrow are for the most part locked up in ourselves.... there come to great, solitary, and sorely smitten souls moments of clear insight, of assurance of victory, of unspeakable fellowship with truth and life and god, which outweigh years of sorrow and bitterness. --hamilton mabie. and ye therefore now have sorrow: but i will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no one taketh away from you. --john . . my father, may i remember that the days of my life that i give over to grief can never be reclaimed. help me that i may not want to keep sorrow in my life, but with faith may i believe that "weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." amen. december fourteenth daniel neal born . rev. charles wolfe born . george washington died . frances ridley havergal born . seldom can the heart be lonely, if it seek a lonelier still; self-forgetting, seeking only emptier cups of love to fill. --frances r. havergal. when to the sessions of sweet silent thought i summon up remembrance of things past, i sigh the lack of many a thing i sought. and with old woes new wail my dear time's waste * * * * * but if the while i think on thee, dear friend, all losses are restored, and sorrows end. --william shakespeare. the lord jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that are taught, that i may know how to sustain with words him that is weary. --isaiah . . gracious father, keep me cheerful and courageous, that i may not be given to weary murmurings. may my hours of solitude be spent profitably as they pass. grant that i may be a help to those who are in need of sympathy and encouragement, and through the peace that is given to me help them to a tranquil life. amen. december fifteenth catherine of aragon born . george romney born . franklin b. sanborn born . yet frequent visitors shall kiss the shrine, and ever keep its vestal lamp alight; all noble thoughts, all dreams divinely bright, that waken or delight this soul of mine. --f.b. sanborn. one small cloud can hide the sunlight; loose one string, the pearls are scattered; think one thought, a soul may perish; say one word, a heart may break. --a.a. procter. self-scrutiny is often the most unpleasant, and always the most difficult, of moral actions. but it is also the most important and salutary; for, as the wisest of the greeks said, "an unexamined life is not worth living." --j. strachan. try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves. -- corinthians . . gracious father, help me that i may not be thoughtless and unkind. may i be gentle and sympathetic. forgive me for any unhappiness which i may have made, and may it be mine to know the rejoicing that comes hi lifting a discouraged life in time. amen. december sixteenth john selden born . françois la rochefoucauld born . george whitefield born . jane austen born . so live that when thy summons comes to join the innumerable caravan that moves to that mysterious realm where each shall take his chamber in the silent halls of death, thou go not, like the quarry slave at night, scourged to his dungeon, but, sustained and soothed by an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams. --william cullen bryant. as the wind extinguishes a taper but kindles the fire, so absence is the death of an ordinary passion, but lends strength to the greater. --la rochefoucauld. if a man die, shall he live again? --job . . heavenly father, with thy help may i enter into the hope that overcomes the fear of death. may my days be full of aspiration, and through faith may my life move toward the eternal and the sublime. amen. december seventeenth sir roger l'estrange born . ludwig van beethoven born . sir humphry davy born . john greenleaf whittier born . the night is mother of the day, the winter of the spring; and ever upon old decay the greenest mosses cling. behind the cloud the starlight lurks, through showers the sunbeams fall; for god, who loveth all his works, has left his hope with all. --john greenleaf whittier. the sun set; but not his hope: stars rose; his faith was earlier up. --ralph waldo emerson. what i am i have made myself. --sir humphry davy. therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall dwell in safety. --psalm . . my father, may i never be content to pass by thy beautiful offerings and keep on in wretched despair. save me if i may 'be inclining toward misery. give me the spirit of repose, and help me to confide in thee as i daily seek the strength of thy love. amen. december eighteenth charles wesley born . lyman abbott born . samuel rogers died . sir joseph john thomson born . and let this feeble body fail, and let it faint or die; my soul shall quit this mournful vale, and soar to worlds on high. --charles wesley. it were better to live an immortal life and be robbed of immortality hereafter by some supernal power, than to live the mortal, fleshly animal life, and live it endlessly. who would not rather have a right to immortality than to be immortal without a right to be? --lyman abbott. so when a great man dies, for years beyond our ken, the light he leaves behind him lies upon the paths of men. --henry w. longfellow. but he that soweth unto the spirit shall of the spirit reap eternal life. --galatians . . my father, i pray that i may be spared the deprivations that may come from years spent in selfishness. help me to realize before it is too late how little self can hold and how much remorse may accumulate. help me to aspire to ideals that compel me to live an immortal life. amen. december nineteenth gustavus adolphus born . horatio bonar born . f. delsarte born . mary a. livermore born . j.m.w. turner died . if a man is to be a pillar in the temple of his god by and by, he must be some kind of a prop in god's house to-day. we are here to support, not to be supported. no one can be a living stone on the foundations of the spiritual house which is god's habitation without being a foundation to the stones above him. --maltbie babcock. since trifles make the sum of human things, and half our misery from our foibles springs; since life's best joys consist in peace and ease, o let th' ungentle spirit learn from hence, a small unkindness is a great offense. --hannah more. he that overcometh i will make a pillar in the temple of my god, and he shall go out thence no more. --revelation . . my father, grant that i may not deceive myself and expect big results from little efforts; nor be willing to receive assistance and refuse my support. may i not only be anxious to give others all that i can, and share their burdens, but may i be glad to help make fewer burdens for others to bear. amen. december twentieth louis the dauphin died . john wilson croker born . cyrus townsend brady born . love is not love which alters when it alteration finds, or bends with the remover to remove. o no! it is an ever-fixed mark that looks on tempests and is never shaken. it is the star to every wandering bark, whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken. --william shakespeare. i will not doubt the love untold which not my worth nor want hath bought, which wooed me young and wooes me old, and to this evening hath me brought. --henry david thoreau. yea, i have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have i drawn thee. --jeremiah . . loving father, teach me the secret of constancy, that none may ever be disappointed in me. may i not reckon what i give on recompense, but have the spirit of giving which has no measure for what it may receive in return. may i not be forgetful of thy love which will hold me to deeper reverence and devotion. amen. december twenty-first jean baptiste racine born . robert moffat born . laura bridgman born . to think and to feel constitute the two grand divisions of men and genius--the men of reasoning and the men of imagination. --disraeli. grow old along with me! the best is yet to be, the last of life, for which the first was made: our times are in his hand who saith, a whole i planned, youth shows but half; trust god: see all, nor be afraid! --robert browning. but the path of the righteous is as the dawning light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. --proverbs . . almighty god, i pray that i may have the grace to penetrate the deep things of life and test their truth and greatness. may i have faith in thy power and train for the best which thou hast made possible for me to live. help me to think and feel aright, that i may be thine to-day, and in the days of to-morrow may i still be thine, ever keeping bright memories of past days. amen. december twenty-second franz abt born . thomas w. higginson born . george eliot died . love and pain make their own measure of all things that be. no clock's slow ticking marks their deathless strain; the life they own is not the life we see; love's single moment is eternity. --thomas w. higginson. life is made stronger giving, receiving; love is made longer hoping, believing. life is made sweeter, truly worth living; love is completer, trusting, forgiving. --m.b.s. in love of the brethren be tenderly affectioned one to another; in honor preferring one another. --romans . . loving father, i thank thee that every morn breaks in a new day without the sadness of yesterday or the gladness of to-morrow. i pray that i may not lose the love and joy that it brings to-day. amen. december twenty-third michael drayton died . robert barclay born . james sargent storer died . when heaven endows you with all gifts, you are an incomplete being if you stay still in your corner instead of taking advantage of your real value. --marie bashkirtseff. life, which ought to be a thing complete in itself, and ought to be spent partly in gathering materials, and partly in drawing inferences, is apt to be a hurried accumulation lasting to the edge of the tomb. we are put into the world, i cannot help feeling, to be rather than do. --arthur c. benson. jehovah is the strength of my life. --psalm . . heavenly father, i pray that thou wilt reverse my standards of life if i may be striving only for selfish gain. may i care for all that i could be, and may i care for where i should be found, but, most of all, may i care for what i really am. help me to keep my mind on thee that i may find delight in doing thy will. amen. december twenty-fourth george crabbe born . kit carson born . matthew arnold born . john morley born . william makepeace thackeray died . ah, friend, let us be true to one another! for the world, which seems to lie before us like a land of dreams, so various, so beautiful, so new, hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light, nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain, and we are here as on a darkling plain swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight, where ignorant armies clash by night. --matthew arnold. we take care of our health, we lay up money, we make our roof tight and our clothing sufficient, but who provides wisely that we shall not be wanting in the best property of all--friends? --ralph waldo emerson. faithful are the wounds of a friend. --proverbs . . gracious lord, fill my life with the spirit of love and sacrifice. i bless thee for the deep fellowships and tender intimacies; and on the eve of this christmas ask thy blessing for all, as my heart rings with joy for those whom i love. amen. december twenty-fifth christmas day. sir isaac newton born . william collins born . father taylor born . this is the month, and this is the happy morn, wherein the son of heaven's eternal king, of wedded maid, and virgin mother born, our great redemption from above did bring. --john milton. christmas is here; winds whistle shrill, icy and chill, little care we; little we fear weather without, shelter'd about the mahogany tree. --william m. thackeray. and the angel said unto them, be not afraid; for behold, i bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city of david a saviour, who is christ the lord. --luke . , . almighty god, i give honor and praise to express my joy for thy great love in the gift of thy son, jesus christ. with a glad heart i wish all mankind "a merry christmas," and may i ever remember, where the angels sang, "peace on earth, good will toward men." amen. december twenty-sixth thomas gray born . mrs. southworth born . stephen girard died . let not ambition mock their useful toil, their homely joys, and destiny obscure; nor grandeur hear with a disdainful smile the short and simple annals of the poor. nor you, ye proud, impute to those the fault, if memory o'er their tomb no trophies raise, where, through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault, the pealing anthem swells the note of praise. full many a gem of purest ray serene the dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear; full many a flower is born to blush unseen, and waste its sweetness on the desert air. --thomas gray. jehovah, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty; neither do i exercise myself in great matters, or in things too wonderful for me. --psalm . . gracious father, give me the courage to live my life, and the endurance to overcome the disappointments that may come to me. may i not be neglectful of the great opportunities of which i am privileged to take advantage. may i not be pretentious of what i have not done, or boastful of what i am, but with my best ability live in truth. amen. december twenty-seventh jacques bernoulli born . johann kepler born . charles lamb died . there is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better or worse, as his portion; that, though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given him to till. --ralph waldo emerson. knowing ourselves, our world, our task so great, our time so brief, 'tis clear if we refuse the means so limited, the tools so rude to execute our purpose, life will fleet, and we shall fade, and leave our task undone. --robert browning. study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your hands. -- thessalonians . . lord god of life, give me the desire to learn, and the wisdom to live in my best. may i not fail to culture my mind and heart and make life productive and worthy. help me to see the mistakes that i have made in the past, and in the year that is approaching not only try to avoid them, but try to make amends for them. amen. december twenty-eighth catherine m. sedgwick born . woodrow wilson, virginia, twenty-seventh president united states, born . thomas b. macaulay died . the government might be serviceable for many things. it might assist in a hundred ways to safeguard the lives and the health and promote the comfort and happiness of the people; but it can do these things only if they respond to public opinion, only if those who lead government see the country as a whole, feel a deep thrill of intimate sympathy with every class and every interest in it. --woodrow wilson. the hearts of men are their books; events are their tutors; great actions are their eloquence. --thomas b. macaulay. be of good courage, and let us play the man for our people, and for the cities of our god: and jehovah do that which seemeth him good. -- samuel . . lord god, i pray that my estimate of life may not be as i take it, but as thou hast given it for peace and prosperity. teach me my duty to my country, and make me useful in uplifting and serving humanity. amen. december twenty-ninth thomas a becket died . andrew johnson, tennessee, seventeenth president united states, born . william e. gladstone born . margaret bottome born . pauline o. louise, queen of roumania (carmen sylva), born . christina g. rossetti died . one example is worth a thousand arguments. --william e. gladstone. one day at a time! that's all it can be no faster than that is the hardest of fate, and days have their limit, however we begin them too early or stretch them late. --j.r. miller. he lives happy and master of himself who can say, as each day passes on, i have lived! no matter whether to-morrow the great father shall give us a clouded sky or a clear day. --horace. give us this day our daily bread. --matthew . . eternal god, guard me against the love of praise, that i may not lose the sense of duty. start me for the right places and give me strength with my days, that i may press toward their possession. deliver me from drifting when it is mine to pull against the tide, that i may not be carried out of my course. shield me from the storms that may gather about me, and bring us all to the desired haven safe in thy keeping. amen. december thirtieth titus born a.d. . william r. alger born . rudyard kipling born . god of our fathers, known of old, lord of our far-flung battle line, beneath whose awful hand we hold dominion over palm and pine: lord god of hosts, be with us yet, lest we forget--lest we forget! for heathen heart that puts her trust in reeking tube and iron shard; all valiant dust that builds on dust, and guarding calls not thee to guard: for frantic boast and foolish word, thy mercy on thy people, lord! amen. --rudyard kipling. but thou shalt remember jehovah thy god, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth. --deuteronomy . . almighty god, as i come to thee wilt thou forgive me for the errors i have made, and for the promises that i have broken. help me to be as true as the holly that keeps itself red through the snow. remind me of my opportunities as i breathe in thy blessings, "lest i forget!" amen. december thirty-first new year's eve. john wycliffe died . battle of wakefield . charles marquis cornwallis born . ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, the flying cloud, the frosty light: the year is dying in the night; ring out, wild bells, and let him die. ring out old shapes of foul disease, ring out the narrow lust of gold: ring out the thousand wars of old, ring in the thousand years of peace. --alfred tennyson. let every dawn of morning be to you as the beginning of life, and every setting sun be to you as its close. --john ruskin. the night is far spent, and the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. --romans . . my father, as i look to the past days, i feel much of my happiness and much of my misery has come from my own choice. may i be more watchful of my standards and less wasteful of my time, and keep a poise in life that will leave a memory of well-spent days. for the year that has passed and for its blessings i thank thee. amen. john donne devotions upon emergent occasions _together with_ death's duel ann arbor paperbacks _the university of michigan press_ first edition as an ann arbor paperback published in the united states of america by the university of michigan and simultaneously in toronto, canada, by ambassador books, ltd. manufactured in the united states of america contents the life of dr. john donne v devotions death's duel _the life of dr. john donne_ (_taken from the life by izaak walton_). master john donne was born in london, in the year , of good and virtuous parents: and, though his own learning and other multiplied merits may justly appear sufficient to dignify both himself and his posterity, yet the reader may be pleased to know that his father was masculinely and lineally descended from a very ancient family in wales, where many of his name now live, that deserve and have great reputation in that country. by his mother he was descended of the family of the famous and learned sir thomas more, sometime lord chancellor of england: as also, from that worthy and laborious judge rastall, who left posterity the vast statutes of the law of this nation most exactly abridged. he had his first breeding in his father's house, where a private tutor had the care of him, until the tenth year of his age; and, in his eleventh year, was sent to the university of oxford, having at that time a good command both of the french and latin tongue. this, and some other of his remarkable abilities, made one then give this censure of him: that this age had brought forth another picus mirandula; of whom story says, that he was rather born than made wise by study. there he remained for some years in hart hall, having, for the advancement of his studies, tutors of several sciences to attend and instruct him, till time made him capable, and his learning expressed in public exercises, declared him worthy, to receive his first degree in the schools, which he forbore by advice from his friends, who, being for their religion of the romish persuasion, were conscionably averse to some parts of the oath that is always tendered at those times, and not to be refused by those that expect the titulary honour of their studies. about the fourteenth year of his age he was transplanted from oxford to cambridge, where, that he might receive nourishment from both soils, he staid till his seventeenth year; all which time he was a most laborious student, often changing his studies, but endeavouring to take no degree, for the reasons formerly mentioned. about the seventeenth year of his age he was removed to london, and then admitted into lincoln's inn, with an intent to study the law, where he gave great testimonies of his wit, his learning, and of his improvement in that profession; which never served him for other use than an ornament and self-satisfaction. his father died before his admission into this society; and, being a merchant, left him his portion in money. (it was £ , .) his mother, and those to whose care he was committed, were watchful to improve his knowledge, and to that end appointed him tutors both in the mathematics, and in all the other liberal sciences, to attend him. but, with these arts, they were advised to instil into him particular principles of the romish church; of which those tutors professed, though secretly, themselves to be members. they had almost obliged him to their faith; having for their advantage, besides many opportunities, the example of his dear and pious parents, which was a most powerful persuasion, and did work much upon him, as he professeth in his preface to his "pseudo-martyr," a book of which the reader shall have some account in what follows. he was now entered into the eighteenth year of his age; and at that time had betrothed himself to no religion that might give him any other denomination than a christian. and reason and piety had both persuaded him that there could be no such sin as schism, if an adherence to some visible church were not necessary. about the nineteenth year of his age, he, being then unresolved what religion to adhere to, and considering how much it concerned his soul to choose the most orthodox, did therefore,--though his youth and health promised him a long life--to rectify all scruples that might concern that, presently lay aside all study of the law, and of all other sciences that might give him a denomination; and began seriously to survey and consider the body of divinity, as it was then controverted betwixt the reformed and the roman church. and, as god's blessed spirit did then awaken him to the search, and in that industry did never forsake him--they be his own words (in his preface to "pseudo-martyr")--so he calls the same holy spirit to witness this protestation; that in that disquisition and search he proceeded with humility and diffidence in himself; and by that which he took to be the safest way; namely, frequent prayers, and an indifferent affection to both parties; and, indeed, truth had too much light about her to be hid from so sharp an inquirer; and he had too much ingenuity not to acknowledge he had found her. being to undertake this search, he believed the cardinal bellarmine to be the best defender of the roman cause, and therefore betook himself to the examination of his reasons. the cause was weighty, and wilful delays had been inexcusable both towards god and his own conscience: he therefore proceeded in this search with all moderate haste, and about the twentieth year of his age did show the then dean of gloucester--whose name my memory hath now lost--all the cardinal's works marked with many weighty observations under his own hand; which works were bequeathed by him, at his death, as a legacy to a most dear friend. about a year following he resolved to travel: and the earl of essex going first to cales, and after the island voyages, the first anno , the second , he took the advantage of those opportunities, waited upon his lordship, and was an eye-witness of those happy and unhappy employments. but he returned not back into england till he had staid some years, first in italy and then in spain, where he made many useful observations of those countries, their laws and manner of government, and returned perfect in their languages. the time that he spent in spain was, at his first going into italy, designed for travelling to the holy land, and for viewing jerusalem and the sepulchre of our saviour. but at his being in the furthest parts of italy, the disappointment of company, or of a safe convoy, or the uncertainty of returns of money into those remote parts, denied him that happiness, which he did often occasionally mention with a deploration. not long after his return into england, that exemplary pattern of gravity and wisdom, the lord ellesmere, then keeper of the great seal, the lord chancellor of england, taking notice of his learning, languages, and other abilities, and much affecting his person and behaviour, took him to be his chief secretary; supposing and intending it to be an introduction to some more weighty employment in the state; for which, his lordship did often protest, he thought him very fit. nor did his lordship, in this time of master donne's attendance upon him, account him to be so much his servant as to forget he was his friend; and, to testify it, did always use him with much courtesy, appointing him a place at his own table, to which he esteemed his company and discourse to be a great ornament. he continued that employment for the space of five years, being daily useful, and not mercenary to his friend. during which time he--i dare not say unhappily--fell into such a liking, as,--with her approbation,--increased into a love, with a young gentlewoman that lived in that family, who was niece to the lady ellesmere, and daughter to sir george more, then chancellor of the garter and lieutenant of the tower. sir george had some intimation of it, and, knowing prevention to be a great part of wisdom, did therefore remove her with much haste from that to his own house at lothesley, in the county of surrey; but too late, by reason of some faithful promises which were so interchangeably passed, as never to be violated by either party. these promises were only known to themselves; and the friends of both parties used much diligence, and many arguments, to kill or cool their affections to each other; but in vain, for love is a flattering mischief that hath denied aged and wise men a foresight of those evils that too often prove to be the children of that blind father; a passion that carries us to commit errors with as much ease as whirlwinds move feathers, and begets in us an unwearied industry to the attainment of what we desire. and such an industry did, notwithstanding much watchfulness against it, bring them secretly together,--i forbear to tell the manner how,--and at last to a marriage too, without the allowance of those friends whose approbation always was, and ever will be necessary, to make even a virtuous love become lawful. and that the knowledge of their marriage might not fall, like an unexpected tempest, on those that were unwilling to have it so; and that pre-apprehensions might make it the less enormous when it was known, it was purposely whispered into the ears of many that it was so, yet by none that could affirm it. but, to put a period to the jealousies of sir george--doubt often begetting more restless thoughts than the certain knowledge of what we fear--the news was, in favour to mr. donne, and with his allowance, made known to sir george, by his honourable friend and neighbour henry, earl of northumberland; but it was to sir george so immeasurably unwelcome, and so transported him that, as though his passion of anger and inconsideration might exceed theirs of love and error, he presently engaged his sister, the lady ellesmere, to join with him to procure her lord to discharge mr. donne of the place he held under his lordship. this request was followed with violence; and though sir george were remembered that errors might be over punished, and desired therefore to forbear till second considerations might clear some scruples, yet he became restless until his suit was granted and the punishment executed. and though the lord chancellor did not, at mr. donne's dismission, give him such a commendation as the great emperor charles the fifth did of his secretary eraso, when he parted with him to his son and successor, philip the second, saying, "that in his eraso, he gave to him a greater gift than all his estate, and all the kingdoms which he then resigned to him;" yet the lord chancellor said, "he parted with a friend, and such a secretary as was fitter to serve a king than a subject." immediately after his dismission from his service, he sent a sad letter to his wife to acquaint her with it; and after the subscription of his name, writ, "john donne, anne donne, un-done;" and god knows it proved too true; for this bitter physic of mr. donne's dismission, was not enough to purge out all sir george's choler, for he was not satisfied till mr. donne and his sometime compupil in cambridge, that married him, namely, samuel brooke, who was after doctor in divinity and master of trinity college--and his brother mr. christopher brooke, sometime mr. donne's chamber-fellow in lincoln's inn, who gave mr. donne his wife, and witnessed the marriage, were all committed to three several prisons. mr. donne was first enlarged, who neither gave rest to his body or brain, nor to any friend in whom he might hope to have an interest, until he had procured an enlargement for his two imprisoned friends. he was now at liberty, but his days were still cloudy; and, being past these troubles, others did still multiply upon him; for his wife was--to her extreme sorrow--detained from him; and though, with jacob, he endured not a hard service for her, yet he lost a good one, and was forced to make good his title, and to get possession of her by a long and restless suit in law, which proved troublesome and sadly chargeable to him, whose youth, and travel, and needless bounty, had brought his estate into a narrow compass. it is observed, and most truly, that silence and submission are charming qualities, and work most upon passionate men; and it proved so with sir george; for these, and a general report of mr. donne's merits, together with his winning behaviour,--which, when it would entice, had a strange kind of elegant irresistible art;--these, and time, had so dispassionated sir george, that, as the world had approved his daughter's choice, so he also could not but see a more than ordinary merit in his new son; and this at last melted him into so much remorse--for love and anger are so like agues as to have hot and cold fits; and love in parents, though it may be quenched, yet is easily rekindled, and expires not till death denies mankind a natural heat--that he laboured his son's restoration to his place; using to that end both his own and his sister's power to her lord; but with no success; for his answer was, "that though he was unfeignedly sorry for what he had done, yet it was inconsistent with his place and credit, to discharge and readmit servants at the request of passionate petitioners." sir george's endeavour for mr. donne's readmission was by all means to be kept secret:--for men do more naturally reluct for errors than submit to put on those blemishes that attend their visible acknowledgment. but, however, it was not long before sir george appeared to be so far reconciled as to wish their happiness, and not to deny them his paternal blessing, but yet refused to contribute any means that might conduce to their livelihood. mr. donne's estate was the greatest part spent in many and chargeable travels, books, and dear-bought experience: he out of all employment that might yield a support for himself and wife, who had been curiously and plentifully educated; both their natures generous, and accustomed to confer, and not to receive, courtesies, these and other considerations, but chiefly that his wife was to bear a part in his sufferings, surrounded him with many sad thoughts, and some apparent apprehensions of want. but his sorrows were lessened and his wants prevented by the seasonable courtesy of their noble kinsman, sir francis wolly, of pirford in surrey, who intreated them to a cohabitation with him; where they remained with much freedom to themselves, and equal content to him, for some years; and as their charge increased--she had yearly a child--so did his love and bounty. mr. donne and his wife continued with sir francis wolly till his death: a little before which time sir francis was so happy as to make a perfect reconciliation between sir george and his forsaken son and daughter; sir george conditioning, by bond, to pay to mr. donne _l._ at a certain day, as a portion with his wife, or _l._ quarterly for their maintenance, as the interest for it, till the said portion was paid. most of those years that he lived with sir francis he studied the civil and canon laws; in which he acquired such a perfection, as was judged to hold proportion with many, who had made that study the employment of their whole life. sir francis being dead, and that happy family dissolved, mr. donne took for himself a house in mitcham--near to croydon in surrey--a place noted for good air and choice company: there his wife and children remained; and for himself he took lodgings in london, near to whitehall, whither his friends and occasions drew him very often, and where he was as often visited by many of the nobility and others of this nation, who used him in their counsels of greatest consideration, and with some rewards for his better subsistence. nor did our own nobility only value and favour him, but his acquaintance and friendship was sought for by most ambassadors of foreign nations, and by many other strangers whose learning or business occasioned their stay in this nation. thus it continued with him for about two years, all which time his family remained constantly at mitcham; and to which place he often retired himself, and destined some days to a constant study of some points of controversy betwixt the english and roman church, and especially those of supremacy and allegiance: and to that place and such studies he could willingly have wedded himself during his life; but the earnest persuasion of friends became at last to be so powerful, as to cause the removal of himself and family to london, where sir robert drewry, a gentleman of a very noble estate, and a more liberal mind, assigned him and his wife an useful apartment in his own large house in drury lane, and not only rent free, but was also a cherisher of his studies, and such a friend as sympathized with him and his, in all their joy and sorrows. at this time of mr. donne's and his wife's living in sir robert's house, the lord hay was, by king james, sent upon a glorious embassy to the then french king, henry the fourth; and sir robert put on a sudden resolution to accompany him to the french court, and to be present at his audience there. and sir robert put on a sudden resolution to solicit mr. donne to be his companion in that journey. and this desire was suddenly made known to his wife, who was then with child, and otherwise under so dangerous a habit of body as to her health, that she professed an unwillingness to allow him any absence from her; saying, "her divining soul boded her some ill in his absence;" and therefore desired him not to leave her. this made mr. donne lay aside all thoughts of the journey, and really to resolve against it. but sir robert became restless in his persuasions for it, and mr. donne was so generous as to think he had sold his liberty when he received so many charitable kindnesses from him, and told his wife so; who did therefore, with an unwilling willingness, give a faint consent to the journey, which was proposed to be but for two months; for about that time they determined their return. within a few days after this resolve, the ambassador, sir robert, and mr. donne, left london; and were the twelfth day got all safe to paris. two days after their arrival there, mr. donne was left alone in that room in which sir robert, and he, and some other friends had dined together. to this place sir robert returned within half an hour; and as he left, so he found, mr. donne alone; but in such an ecstasy, and so altered as to his looks, as amazed sir robert to behold him; insomuch that he earnestly desired mr. donne to declare what had befallen him in the short time of his absence. to which mr. donne was not able to make a present answer; but, after a long and perplexed pause, did at last say, "i have seen a dreadful vision since i saw you: i have seen my dear wife pass twice by me through this room, with her hair hanging about her shoulders, and a dead child in her arms: this i have seen since i saw you." to which sir robert replied, "sure, sir, you have slept since i saw you; and this is the result of some melancholy dream, which i desire you to forget, for you are now awake." to which mr. donne's reply was: "i cannot be surer that i now live than that i have not slept since i saw you: and am as sure that at her second appearing she stopped and looked me in the face, and vanished." rest and sleep had not altered mr. donne's opinion the next day: for he then affirmed this vision with a more deliberate, and so confirmed a confidence, that he inclined sir robert to a faint belief that the vision was true. it is truly said that desire and doubt have no rest; and it proved so with sir robert; for he immediately sent a servant to drewry house, with a charge to hasten back and bring him word whether mrs. donne were alive; and, if alive, in what condition she was as to her health. the twelfth day the messenger returned with this account:--that he found and left mrs. donne very sad and sick in her bed; and that, after a long and dangerous labour, she had been delivered of a dead child. and, upon examination, the abortion proved to be the same day, and about the very hour, that mr. donne affirmed he saw her pass by him in his chamber. this is a relation that will beget some wonder, and it well may; for most of our world are at present possessed with an opinion that visions and miracles are ceased. and, though it is most certain that two lutes, being both strung and tuned to an equal pitch, and then one played upon, the other that is not touched, being laid upon a table at a fit distance, will--like an echo to a trumpet--warble a faint audible harmony in answer to the same tune; yet many will not believe there is any such thing as a sympathy of souls; and i am well pleased that every reader do enjoy his own opinion. but if the unbelieving will not allow the believing reader of this story, a liberty to believe that it may be true, then i wish him to consider many wise men have believed that the ghost of julius cæsar did appear to brutus, and that both st. austin, and monica his mother, had visions in order to his conversion. and though these and many others--too many to name--have but the authority of human story, yet the incredible reader may find in the sacred story ( sam. xxviii. ) that samuel did appear to saul even after his death--whether really or not, i undertake not to determine. and bildad, in the book of job, says these words (iv. - ): "a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my head stood up; fear and trembling came upon me, and made all my bones to shake." upon which words i will make no comment, but leave them to be considered by the incredulous reader; to whom i will also commend this following consideration: that there be many pious and learned men that believe our merciful god hath assigned to every man a particular guardian angel to be his constant monitor, and to attend him in all his dangers, both of body and soul. and the opinion that every man hath his particular angel may gain some authority by the relation of st. peter's miraculous deliverance out of prison (acts xii. - ; - ), not by many, but by one angel. and this belief may yet gain more credit by the reader's considering, that when peter after his enlargement knocked at the door of mary the mother of john, and rhode, the maidservant, being surprised with joy that peter was there, did not let him in, but ran in haste and told the disciples, who were then and there met together, that peter was at the door; and they, not believing it, said she was mad: yet, when she again affirmed it, though they then believed it not, yet they concluded, and said, "it is his angel." more observations of this nature, and inferences from them, might be made to gain the relation a firmer belief; but i forbear, lest i, that intended to be but a relator, may be thought to be an engaged person for the proving what was related to me; and yet i think myself bound to declare that, though it was not told me by mr. donne himself, it was told me--now long since--by a person of honour, and of such intimacy with him, that he knew more of the secrets of his soul than any person then living: and i think he told me the truth; for it was told with such circumstances, and such asseveration, that--to say nothing of my own thoughts--i verily believe he that told it me did himself believe it to be true. i return from my account of the vision, to tell the reader, that both before mr. donne's going into france, at his being there, and after his return, many of the nobility and others that were powerful at court, were watchful and solicitous to the king for some secular employment for him. the king had formerly both known and put a value upon his company, and had also given him some hopes of a state-employment; being always much pleased when mr. donne attended him, especially at his meals, where there were usually many deep discourses of general learning, and very often friendly disputes, or debates of religion, betwixt his majesty and those divines, whose places required their attendance on him at those times: particularly the dean of the chapel, who then was bishop montague--the publisher of the learned and eloquent works of his majesty--and the most reverend doctor andrews the late learned bishop of winchester, who was then the king's almoner. about this time there grew many disputes, that concerned the oath of supremacy and allegiance, in which the king had appeared, and engaged himself by his public writings now extant: and his majesty discoursing with mr. donne, concerning many of the reasons which are usually urged against the taking of those oaths, apprehended such a validity and clearness in his stating the questions, and his answers to them, that his majesty commanded him to bestow some time in drawing the arguments into a method, and then to write his answers to them; and, having done that, not to send, but be his own messenger, and bring them to him. to this he presently and diligently applied himself, and within six weeks brought them to him under his own handwriting, as they be now printed; the book bearing the name of "pseudo-martyr," printed anno . when the king had read and considered that book, he persuaded mr. donne to enter into the ministry; to which, at that time, he was, and appeared, very unwilling, apprehending it--such was his mistaken modesty--to be too weighty for his abilities. such strifes st. austin had, when st. ambrose endeavoured his conversion to christianity; with which he confesseth he acquainted his friend alipius. our learned author--a man fit to write after no mean copy--did the like. and declaring his intentions to his dear friend dr. king, then bishop of london, a man famous in his generation, and no stranger to mr. donne's abilities--for he had been chaplain to the lord chancellor, at the time of mr. donne's being his lordship's secretary--that reverend man did receive the news with much gladness; and, after some expressions of joy, and a persuasion to be constant in his pious purpose, he proceeded with all convenient speed to ordain him first deacon, and then priest not long after. presently after he entered into his holy profession, the king sent for him, and made him his chaplain in ordinary, and promised to take a particular care for his preferment. and, though his long familiarity with scholars and persons of greatest quality was such, as might have given some men boldness enough to have preached to any eminent auditory; yet his modesty in this employment was such, that he could not be persuaded to it, but went usually accompanied with some one friend to preach privately in some village, not far from london; his first sermon being preached at paddington. this he did, till his majesty sent and appointed him a day to preach to him at whitehall; and, though much were expected from him, both by his majesty and others, yet he was so happy--which few are--as to satisfy and exceed their expectations: preaching the word so, as shewed his own heart was possessed with those very thoughts and joys that he laboured to distil into others: a preacher in earnest; weeping sometimes for his auditory, sometimes with them; always preaching to himself like an angel from a cloud, but in none; carrying some, as st. paul was, to heaven in holy raptures, and enticing others by a sacred art and courtship to amend their lives: here picturing a vice so as to make it ugly to those that practised it; and a virtue so as to make it beloved, even by those that loved it not; and all this with a most particular grace and an unexpressible addition of comeliness. that summer, in the very same month in which he entered into sacred orders, and was made the king's chaplain, his majesty then going his progress, was entreated to receive an entertainment in the university of cambridge: and mr. donne attending his majesty at that time, his majesty was pleased to recommend him to the university, to be made doctor in divinity; doctor harsnett, after archbishop of york, was then vice-chancellor, who, knowing him to be the author of that learned book the "pseudo-martyr," required no other proof of his abilities, but proposed it to the university, who presently assented, and expressed a gladness that they had such an occasion to entitle him to be theirs. his abilities and industry in his profession were so eminent, and he so known and so beloved by persons of quality, that within the first year of his entering into sacred orders, he had fourteen advowsons of several benefices presented to him: but they were in the country, and he could not leave his beloved london, to which place he had a natural inclination, having received both his birth and education in it, and there contracted a friendship with many, whose conversation multiplied the joys of his life; but an employment that might affix him to that place would be welcome, for he needed it. immediately after his return from cambridge his wife died, leaving him a man of a narrow, unsettled estate, and--having buried five--the careful father of seven children then living, to whom he gave a voluntary assurance never to bring them under the subjection of a step-mother; which promise he kept most faithfully, burying with his tears all his earthly joys in his most dear and deserving wife's grave, and betook himself to a most retired and solitary life. in this retiredness, which was often from the sight of his dearest friends, he became crucified to the world, and all those vanities, those imaginary pleasures, that are daily acted on that restless stage, and they were as perfectly crucified to him. his first motion from his house was to preach where his beloved wife lay buried--in st. clement's church, near temple bar, london; and his text was a part of the prophet jeremy's lamentation: "lo, i am the man that have seen affliction." in this time of sadness he was importuned by the grave benchers of lincoln's inn--who were once the companions and friends of his youth--to accept of their lecture, which, by reason of dr. gataker's removal from thence, was then void; of which he accepted, being most glad to renew his intermitted friendship with those whom he so much loved, and where he had been a saul,--though not to persecute christianity, or to deride it, yet in his irregular youth to neglect the visible practice of it,--there to become a paul, and preach salvation to his beloved brethren. about which time the emperor of germany died, and the palsgrave, who had lately married the lady elizabeth, the king's only daughter, was elected and crowned king of bohemia, the unhappy beginning of many miseries in that nation. king james, whose motto--_beati pacifici_--did truly speak the very thoughts of his heart, endeavoured first to prevent, and after to compose, the discords of that discomposed state; and, amongst other his endeavours, did then send the lord hay, earl of doncaster, his ambassador to those unsettled princes; and, by a special command from his majesty, dr. donne was appointed to assist and attend that employment to the princes of the union, for which the earl was most glad, who had always put a great value on him, and taken a great pleasure in his conversation and discourse: and his friends at lincoln's inn were as glad; for they feared that his immoderate study, and sadness for his wife's death, would, as jacob said, "make his days few," and, respecting his bodily health, "evil" too: and of this there were many visible signs. about fourteen months after his departure out of england, he returned to his friends of lincoln's inn, with his sorrows moderated, and his health improved; and there betook himself to his constant course of preaching. about a year after his return out of germany, dr. carey was made bishop of exeter, and by his removal, the deanery of st. paul's being vacant, the king sent to dr. donne, and appointed him to attend him at dinner the next day. when his majesty was sat down, before he had eat any meat, he said after his pleasant manner, "dr. donne, i have invited you to dinner; and, though you sit not down with me, yet i will carve to you of a dish that i know you love well; for, knowing you love london, i do therefore make you dean of st. paul's; and, when i have dined, then do you take your beloved dish home to your study, say grace there to yourself, and much good may it do you." immediately after he came to his deanery, he employed workmen to repair and beautify the chapel; suffering as holy david once vowed, "his eyes and temples to take no rest till he had first beautified the house of god." the next quarter following when his father-in-law, sir george more,--whom time had made a lover and admirer of him--came to pay to him the conditioned sum of twenty pounds, he refused to receive it; and said--as good jacob did, when he heard his beloved son joseph was alive--"'it is enough;' you have been kind to me and mine: i know your present condition is such as not to abound, and i hope mine is, or will be such as not to need it: i will therefore receive no more from you upon that contract," and in testimony of it freely gave him up his bond. immediately after his admission into his deanery the vicarage of st. dunstan in the west, london, fell to him by the death of dr. white, the advowson of it having been given to him long before by his honourable friend richard earl of dorset, then the patron, and confirmed by his brother the late deceased edward, both of them men of much honour. by these, and another ecclesiastical endowment which fell to him about the same time, given to him formerly by the earl of kent, he was enabled to become charitable to the poor, and kind to his friends, and to make such provision for his children, that they were not left scandalous as relating to their or his profession and quality. the next parliament, which was within that present year, he was chosen prolocutor to the convocation, and about that time was appointed by his majesty, his most gracious master, to preach very many occasional sermons, as at st. paul's cross, and other places. all which employments he performed to the admiration of the representative body of the whole clergy of this nation. he was once, and but once, clouded with the king's displeasure, and it was about this time; which was occasioned by some malicious whisperer, who had told his majesty that dr. donne had put on the general humour of the pulpits, and was become busy in insinuating a fear of the king's inclining to popery, and a dislike of his government; and particularly for the king's then turning the evening lectures into catechising, and expounding the prayer of our lord, and of the belief, and commandments. his majesty was the more inclinable to believe this, for that a person of nobility and great note, betwixt whom and dr. donne there had been a great friendship, was at this very time discarded the court--i shall forbear his name, unless i had a fairer occasion--and justly committed to prison; which begot many rumours in the common people, who in this nation think they are not wise unless they be busy about what they understand not, and especially about religion. the king received this news with so much discontent and restlessness that he would not suffer the sun to set and leave him under this doubt; but sent for dr. donne, and required his answer to the accusation; which was so clear and satisfactory that the king said, "he was right glad he rested no longer under the suspicion." when the king had said this, dr. donne kneeled down, and thanked his majesty, and protested his answer was faithful, and free from all collusion, and therefore "desired that he might not rise till, as in like cases, he always had from god, so he might have from his majesty, some assurance that he stood clear and fair in his opinion." at which the king raised him from his knees with his own hands, and "protested he believed him; and that he knew he was an honest man, and doubted not but that he loved him truly." and, having thus dismissed him, he called some lords of his council into his chamber, and said with much earnestness, "my doctor is an honest man; and, my lords, i was never better satisfied with an answer than he hath now made me; and i always rejoice when i think that by my means he became a divine." he was made dean in the fiftieth year of his age, and in his fifty-fourth year a dangerous sickness seized him, which inclined him to a consumption; but god, as job thankfully acknowledged, preserved his spirit, and kept his intellectuals as clear and perfect as when that sickness first seized his body; but it continued long, and threatened him with death, which he dreaded not. within a few days his distempers abated; and as his strength increased so did his thankfulness to almighty god, testified in his most excellent "book of devotions," which he published at his recovery; in which the reader may see the most secret thoughts that then possessed his soul, paraphrased and made public: a book that may not unfitly be called a sacred picture of spiritual ecstasies, occasioned and applicable to the emergencies of that sickness; which book, being a composition of meditations, disquisitions, and prayers, he writ on his sick-bed; herein imitating the holy patriarchs, who were wont to build their altars in that place where they had received their blessings. this sickness brought him so near to the gates of death, and he saw the grave so ready to devour him, that he would often say his recovery was supernatural: but that god that then restored his health continued it to him till the fifty-ninth year of his life: and then, in august , being with his eldest daughter, mrs. harvey, at abury hatch, in essex, he there fell into a fever, which, with the help of his constant infirmity--vapours from the spleen--hastened him into so visible a consumption that his beholders might say, as st. paul of himself, "he dies daily;" and he might say with job, "my welfare passeth away as a cloud, the days of my affliction have taken hold of me, and weary nights are appointed for me." reader, this sickness continued long, not only weakening, but wearying him so much, that my desire is he may now take some rest; and that before i speak of his death thou wilt not think it an impertinent digression to look back with me upon some observations of his life, which, whilst a gentle slumber gives rest to his spirits, may, i hope, not unfitly, exercise thy consideration. his marriage was the remarkable error of his life; an error which, though he had a wit able and very apt to maintain paradoxes, yet he was very far from justifying it: and though his wife's competent years, and other reasons, might be justly urged to moderate severe censures, yet he would occasionally condemn himself for it: and doubtless it had been attended with an heavy repentance, if god had not blessed them with so mutual and cordial affections, as in the midst of their sufferings made their bread of sorrow taste more pleasantly than the banquets of dull and low-spirited people. the recreations of his youth were poetry, in which he was so happy as if nature and all her varieties had been made only to exercise his sharp wit and high fancy; and in those pieces which were facetiously composed and carelessly scattered,--most of them being written before the twentieth year of his age--it may appear by his choice metaphors that both nature and all the arts joined to assist him with their utmost skill. it is a truth, that in his penitential years, viewing some of those pieces that had been loosely--god knows, too loosely--scattered in his youth, he wished they had been abortive, or so short-lived that his own eyes had witnessed their funerals; but, though he was no friend to them, he was not so fallen out with heavenly poetry, as to forsake that; no, not in his declining age; witnessed then by many divine sonnets, and other high, holy, and harmonious composures. yea, even on his former sick-bed he wrote this heavenly hymn, expressing the great joy that then possessed his soul, in the assurance of god's favour to him when he composed it:-- "an hymn "to god the father "wilt thou forgive that sin where i begun, which was my sin, though it were done before? wilt thou forgive that sin through which i run, and do run still, though still i do deplore? when thou hast done, thou hast not done, for i have more. "wilt thou forgive that sin, which i have won others to sin, and made my sin their door? wilt thou forgive that sin which i did shun a year or two:--but wallow'd in a score? when thou hast done, thou hast not done, for i have more. "i have a sin of fear, that when i've spun my last thread, i shall perish on the shore; but swear by thyself, that at my death thy son shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore; and having done that, thou hast done, i fear no more." i have the rather mentioned this hymn, for that he caused it to be set to a most grave and solemn tune, and to be often sung to the organ by the choiristers of st. paul's church, in his own hearing; especially at the evening service; and at his return from his customary devotions in that place, did occasionally say to a friend, "the words of this hymn have restored to me the same thoughts of joy that possessed my soul in my sickness, when i composed it. and, o the power of church-music! that harmony added to this hymn has raised the affections of my heart, and quickened my graces of zeal and gratitude; and i observe that i always return from paying this public duty of prayer and praise to god, with an unexpressible tranquillity of mind, and a willingness to leave the world." after this manner did the disciples of our saviour, and the best of christians in those ages of the church nearest to his time, offer their praises to almighty god. and the reader of st. augustine's life may there find, that towards his dissolution he wept abundantly, that the enemies of christianity had broke in upon them, and profaned and ruined their sanctuaries, and because their public hymns and lauds were lost out of their churches. and after this manner have many devout souls lifted up their hands and offered acceptable sacrifices unto almighty god, where dr. donne offered his, and now lies buried. but now [ ], oh lord! how is that place become desolate! before i proceed further, i think fit to inform the reader, that not long before his death he caused to be drawn a figure of the body of christ extended upon an anchor, like those which painters draw, when they would present us with the picture of christ crucified on the cross: his varying no otherwise than to affix him not to a cross, but to an anchor--the emblem of hope;--this he caused to be drawn in little, and then many of those figures thus drawn to be engraven very small in heliotropium stones, and set in gold; and of these he sent to many of his dearest friends, to be used as seals, or rings, and kept as memorials of him, and of his affection to them. his dear friends and benefactors, sir henry goodier and sir robert drewry, could not be of that number; nor could the lady magdalen herbert, the mother of george herbert, for they had put off mortality, and taken possession of the grave before him; but sir henry wotton, and dr. hall, the then--late deceased--bishop of norwich, were; and so were dr. duppa, bishop of salisbury, and dr. henry king, bishop of chichester--lately deceased--men, in whom there was such a commixture of general learning, of natural eloquence, and christian humility, that they deserve a commemoration by a pen equal to their own, which none have exceeded. and in this enumeration of his friends, though many must be omitted, yet that man of primitive piety, mr. george herbert, may not; i mean that george herbert, who was the author of "the temple, or sacred poems and ejaculations." a book, in which by declaring his own spiritual conflicts, he hath comforted and raised many a dejected and discomposed soul, and charmed them into sweet and quiet thoughts; a book, by the frequent reading whereof, and the assistance of that spirit that seemed to inspire the author, the reader may attain habits of peace and piety, and all the gifts of the holy ghost and heaven: and may, by still reading, still keep those sacred fires burning upon the altar of so pure a heart, as shall free it from the anxieties of this world, and keep it fixed upon things that are above. betwixt this george herbert and dr. donne, there was a long and dear friendship, made up by such a sympathy of inclinations that they coveted and joyed to be in each other's company; and this happy friendship was still maintained by many sacred endearments; of which that which followeth may be some testimony. "to mr. george herbert; "sent him with one of my seals of the anchor and christ. [illustration] "_a sheaf of snakes used heretofore to be my seal, which is the crest of our poor family._" [illustration] "qui prius assuetus serpentum falce tabellas signare, hæc nostræ symbola parva domus, adscitus domui domini---- "adopted in god's family, and so my old coat lost, into new arms i go. the cross, my seal in baptism, spread below, does by that form into an anchor grow. crosses grow anchors, bear as thou shouldst do thy cross, and that cross grows an anchor too. but he that makes our crosses anchors thus, is christ, who there is crucified for us. yet with this i may my first serpents hold;-- god gives new blessings, and yet leaves the old-- the serpent, may, as wise, my pattern be; my poison, as he feeds on dust, that's me. and, as he rounds the earth to murder, sure he is my death; but on the cross, my cure, crucify nature then; and then implore all grace from him, crucified there before. when all is cross, and that cross anchor grown this seal's a catechism, not a seal alone. under that little seal great gifts i send, both works and pray'rs, pawns and fruits of a friend. o! may that saint that rides on our great seal, to you that bear his name, large bounty deal. "john donne." "in sacram anchoram piscatoris "george herbert. "quod crux nequibat fixa clavique additi,-- tenere christum scilicet ne ascenderet, tuive christum-- "although the cross could not here christ detain, when nail'd unto't, but he ascends again; nor yet thy eloquence here keep him still, but only whilst thou speak'st--this anchor will: nor canst thou be content, unless thou to this certain anchor add a seal; and so the water and the earth both unto thee do owe the symbol of their certainty. let the world reel, we and all ours stand sure, this holy cable's from all storms secure. "george herbert." i return to tell the reader, that, besides these verses to his dear mr. herbert, and that hymn that i mentioned to be sung in the choir of st. paul's church, he did also shorten and beguile many sad hours by composing other sacred ditties; and he writ an hymn on his death-bed, which bears this title:-- "an hymn to god, my god, in my sickness. "_march , ._ "since i am coming to that holy room, where, with thy choir of saints, for evermore i shall be made thy music, as i come i tune my instrument here at the door, and, what i must do then, think here before. "since my physicians by their loves are grown cosmographers; and i their map, who lie flat on this bed---- "so, in his purple wrapt, receive my lord! by these his thorns, give me his other crown and, as to other souls i preach'd thy word, be this my text, my sermon to mine own, 'that he may raise; therefore the lord throws down.'" if these fall under the censure of a soul, whose too much mixture with earth makes it unfit to judge of these high raptures and illuminations, let him know, that many holy and devout men have thought the soul of prudentius to be most refined, when, not many days before his death, "he charged it to present his god each morning and evening with a new and spiritual song;" justified by the example of king david and the good king hezekiah, who, upon the renovation of his years paid his thankful vows to almighty god in a royal hymn, which he concludes in these words: "the lord was ready to save; therefore i will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of my life in the temple of my god." the latter part of his life may be said to be a continued study; for as he usually preached once a week, if not oftener, so after his sermon he never gave his eyes rest, till he had chosen out a new text, and that night cast his sermon into a form, and his text into divisions; and the next day betook himself to consult the fathers, and so commit his meditations to his memory, which was excellent. but upon saturday he usually gave himself and his mind a rest from the weary burthen of his week's meditations, and usually spent that day in visitation of friends, or some other diversions of his thoughts; and would say, "that he gave both his body and mind that refreshment, that he might be enabled to do the work of the day following, not faintly, but with courage and cheerfulness." nor was his age only so industrious, but in the most unsettled days of his youth, his bed was not able to detain him beyond the hour of four in a morning; and it was no common business that drew him out of his chamber till past ten; all which time was employed in study; though he took great liberty after it. and if this seem strange, it may gain a belief by the visible fruits of his labours; some of which remain as testimonies of what is here written: for he left the resultance of authors, most of them abridged and analysed with his own hand: he left also six score of his sermons, all written with his own hand, also an exact and laborious treatise concerning self-murder, called biathanatos; wherein all the laws violated by that act are diligently surveyed, and judiciously censured: a treatise written in his younger days, which alone might declare him then not only perfect in the civil and canon law, but in many other such studies and arguments, as enter not into the consideration of many that labour to be thought great clerks, and pretend to know all things. nor were these only found in his study, but all businesses that passed of any public consequence, either in this or any of our neighbour-nations, he abbreviated either in latin, or in the language of that nation, and kept them by him for useful memorials. so he did the copies of divers letters and cases of conscience that had concerned his friends, with his observations and solutions of them; and divers other businesses of importance, all particularly and methodically digested by himself. he did prepare to leave the world before life left him; making his will when no faculty of his soul was damped or made defective by pain or sickness, or he surprised by a sudden apprehension of death: but it was made with mature deliberation, expressing himself an impartial father, by making his children's portions equal; and a lover of his friends, whom he remembered with legacies fitly and discreetly chosen and bequeathed. i cannot forbear a nomination of some of them; for methinks they be persons that seem to challenge a recordation in this place; as namely, to his brother-in-law, sir thomas grimes, he gave that striking clock, which he had long worn in his pocket; to his dear friend and executor, dr. king--late bishop of chichester--that model of gold of the synod of dort, with which the states presented him at his last being at the hague; and the two pictures of padre paolo and fulgentio, men of his acquaintance when he travelled italy, and of great note in that nation for their remarkable learning.--to his ancient friend dr. brook--that married him--master of trinity college in cambridge, he gave the picture of the blessed virgin and joseph.--to dr. winniff who succeeded him in the deanery--he gave a picture called the skeleton.--to the succeeding dean, who was not then known, he gave many necessaries of worth, and useful for his house; and also several pictures and ornaments for the chapel, with a desire that they might be registered, and remain as a legacy to his successors.--to the earls of dorset and carlisle he gave several pictures; and so he did to many other friends; legacies, given rather to express his affection, than to make any addition to their estates: but unto the poor he was full of charity, and unto many others, who, by his constant and long continued bounty, might entitle themselves to be his alms-people: for all these he made provision, and so largely, as, having then six children living, might to some appear more than proportionable to his estate. i forbear to mention any more, lest the reader may think i trespass upon his patience: but i will beg his favour, to present him with the beginning and end of his will. "in the name of the blessed and glorious trinity. amen. i john donne, by the mercy of christ jesus, and by the calling of the church of england, priest, being at this time in good health and perfect understanding--praised be god therefore--do hereby make my last will and testament in manner and form following:-- "first, i give my gracious god an entire sacrifice of body and soul, with my most humble thanks for that assurance which his blessed spirit imprints in me now of the salvation of the one, and the resurrection of the other; and for that constant and cheerful resolution, which the same spirit hath established in me, to live and die in the religion now professed in the church of england. in expectation of that resurrection, i desire my body may be buried--in the most private manner that may be--in that place of st. paul's church, london, that the now residentiaries have at my request designed for that purpose, &c.--and this my last will and testament, made in the fear of god,--whose mercy i humbly beg, and constantly rely upon in jesus christ--and in perfect love and charity with all the world--whose pardon i ask, from the lowest of my servants, to the highest of my superiors--written all with my own hand, and my name subscribed to every page, of which there are five in number. "sealed december , ." nor was this blessed sacrifice of charity expressed only at his death, but in his life also, by a cheerful and frequent visitation of any friend whose mind was dejected, or his fortune necessitous; he was inquisitive after the wants of prisoners, and redeemed many from prison, that lay for their fees or small debts: he was a continual giver to poor scholars, both of this and foreign nations. besides what he gave with his own hand, he usually sent a servant, or a discreet and trusty friend, to distribute his charity to all the prisons in london, at all the festival times of the year, especially at the birth and resurrection of our saviour. he gave an hundred pounds at one time to an old friend, whom he had known live plentifully, and by a too liberal heart and carelessness became decayed in his estate; and when the receiving of it was denied, by the gentleman's saying, "he wanted not;"--for the reader may note, that as there be some spirits so generous as to labour to conceal and endure a sad poverty, rather than expose themselves to those blushes that attend the confession of it; so there be others, to whom nature and grace have afforded such sweet and compassionate souls, as to pity and prevent the distresses of mankind;--which i have mentioned because of dr. donne's reply, whose answer was, "i know you want not what will sustain nature; for a little will do that; but my desire is, that you, who in the days of your plenty have cheered and raised the hearts of so many of your dejected friends, would now receive this from me, and use it as a cordial for the cheering of your own:" and upon these terms it was received. he was an happy reconciler of many differences in the families of his friends and kindred,--which he never undertook faintly; for such undertakings have usually faint effects--and they had such a faith in his judgment and impartiality, that he never advised them to any thing in vain. he was, even to her death, a most dutiful son to his mother, careful to provide for her supportation, of which she had been destitute, but that god raised him up to prevent her necessities; who having sucked in the religion of the roman church with the mother's milk, spent her estate in foreign countries, to enjoy a liberty in it, and died in his house but three months before him. and to the end it may appear how just a steward he was of his lord and master's revenue, i have thought fit to let the reader know, that after his entrance into his deanery, as he numbered his years, he, at the foot of a private account, to which god and his angels were only witnesses with him,--computed first his revenue, then what was given to the poor, and other pious uses; and lastly, what rested for him and his; and having done that, he then blessed each year's poor remainder with a thankful prayer; which, for that they discover a more than common devotion, the reader shall partake some of them in his own words:-- so all is that remains this year [ - ]-- "deo opt. max. benigno largitori, á me, at ab iis quibus hæc à me reservantur, gloria et gratia in æternum. amen." translated thus. to god all good, all great, the benevolent bestower, by me and by them, for whom, by me, these sums are laid up, be glory and grace ascribed for ever. amen. so that this year, [ ,] god hath blessed me and mine with-- "multiplicatæ sunt super nos misericordiæ tuæ, domine." translated thus. thy mercies, oh lord! are multiplied upon us. "da, domine, ut quæ ex immensâ bonitate tuâ nobis elargiri dignatus sis, in quorumcunque manus devenerint, in tuam semper cedant gloriam. amen." translated thus. grant, oh lord! that what out of thine infinite bounty thou hast vouchsafed to lavish upon us, into whosoever hands it may devolve, may always be improved to thy glory. amen. "in fine horum sex annorum manet [ - - ]-- "quid habeo quod non accepi a domino? largitur etiam ut quæ largitus est sua iterum fiant, bono eorum usu; ut quemadmodum nec officiis hujus mundi, nec loci in quo me posuit dignitati, nec servis, nec egenis, in toto hujus anni curriculo mihi conscius sum me defuisse; ita et liberi, quibus quæ supersunt, supersunt, grato animo ea accipiant, et beneficum authorem recognoscant. amen." translated thus. at the end of these six years remains-- what have i, which i have not received from the lord? he bestows, also, to the intent that what he hath bestowed may revert to him by the proper use of it: that, as i have not consciously been wanting to myself during the whole course of the past year, either in discharging my secular duties, in retaining the dignity of my station, or in my conduct towards my servants and the poor--so my children for whom remains whatever is remaining, may receive it with gratitude, and acknowledge the beneficent giver. amen. * * * * * but i return from my long digression. we left the author sick in essex, where he was forced to spend much of that winter, by reason of his disability to remove from that place; and having never, for almost twenty years, omitted his personal attendance on his majesty in that month, in which he was to attend and preach to him; nor having ever been left out of the roll and number of lent preachers, and there being then--in january, --a report brought to london, or raised there, that dr. donne was dead; that report gave him occasion to write the following letter to a dear friend:-- "sir, "this advantage you and my other friends have by my frequent fevers, that i am so much the oftener at the gates of heaven; and this advantage by the solitude and close imprisonment that they reduce me to after, that i am so much the oftener at my prayers, in which i shall never leave out your happiness; and i doubt not, among his other blessings, god will add some one to you for my prayers. a man would almost be content to die--if there were no other benefit in death--to hear of so much sorrow, and so much good testimony from good men, as i--god be blessed for it--did upon the report of my death; yet i perceive it went not through all; for one writ to me, that some--and he said of my friends--conceived i was not so ill as i pretended, but withdrew myself to live at ease, discharged of preaching. it is an unfriendly, and, god knows, an ill-grounded interpretation; for i have always been sorrier when i could not preach, than any could be they could not hear me. it hath been my desire, and god may be pleased to grant it, that i might die in the pulpit; if not that, yet that i might take my death in the pulpit; that is, die the sooner by occasion of those labours. sir, i hope to see you presently after candlemas; about which time will fall my lent sermon at court, except my lord chamberlain believe me to be dead, and so leave me out of the roll: but as long as i live, and am not speechless, i would not willingly, decline that service. i have better leisure to write, than you to read; yet i would not willingly oppress you with too much letter. god so bless you and your son, as i wish to "your poor friend and servant "in christ jesus, "j. donne." before that month ended, he was appointed to preach upon his old constant day, the first friday in lent: he had notice of it, and had in his sickness so prepared for that employment, that as he had long thirsted for it, so he resolved his weakness should not hinder his journey; he came therefore to london some few days before his appointed day of preaching. at his coming thither, many of his friends--who with sorrow saw his sickness had left him but so much flesh as did only cover his bones--doubted his strength to perform that task, and did therefore dissuade him from undertaking it, assuring him, however, it was like to shorten his life: but he passionately denied their requests, saying "he would not doubt that that god, who in so many weaknesses had assisted him with an unexpected strength, would now withdraw it in his last employment; professing an holy ambition to perform that sacred work." and when, to the amazement of some beholders, he appeared in the pulpit, many of them thought he presented himself not to preach mortification by a living voice, but mortality by a decayed body, and a dying face. and doubtless many did secretly ask that question in ezekiel (chap. xxxvii. ), "do these bones live? or, can that soul organise that tongue, to speak so long time as the sand in that glass will move towards its centre, and measure out an hour of this dying man's unspent life? doubtless it cannot." and yet, after some faint pauses in his zealous prayer, his strong desires enabled his weak body to discharge his memory of his preconceived meditations, which were of dying; the text being, "to god the lord belong the issues from death." many that then saw his tears, and heard his faint and hollow voice, professing they thought the text prophetically chosen, and that dr. donne had preached his own funeral sermon. being full of joy that god had enabled him to perform this desired duty, he hastened to his house; out of which he never moved, till, like st. stephen, "he was carried by devout men to his grave." the next day after his sermon, his strength being much wasted, and his spirits so spent as indisposed him to business or to talk, a friend that had often been a witness of his free and facetious discourse asked him, "why are you sad?" to whom he replied with a countenance so full of cheerful gravity, as gave testimony of an inward tranquillity of mind, and of a soul willing to take a farewell of this world, and said:-- "i am not sad; but most of the night past i have entertained myself with many thoughts of several friends that have left me here, and are gone to that place from which they shall not return; and that within a few days i also shall go hence, and be no more seen. and my preparation for this change is become my nightly meditation upon my bed, which my infirmities have now made restless to me. but at this present time, i was in a serious contemplation of the providence and goodness of god to me; to me, who am less than the least of his mercies: and looking back upon my life past, i now plainly see it was his hand that prevented me from all temporal employment; and that it was his will i should never settle nor thrive till i entered into the ministry; in which i have now lived almost twenty years--i hope to his glory,--and by which, i most humbly thank him, i have been enabled to requite most of those friends which shewed me kindness when my fortune was very low, as god knows it was: and--as it hath occasioned the expression of my gratitude--i thank god most of them have stood in need of my requital. i have lived to be useful and comfortable to my good father-in-law, sir george more, whose patience god hath been pleased to exercise with many temporal crosses; i have maintained my own mother, whom it hath pleased god, after a plentiful fortune in her younger days, to bring to great decay in her very old age. i have quieted the consciences of many, that have groaned under the burden of a wounded spirit, whose prayers i hope are available for me. i cannot plead innocency of life, especially of my youth; but i am to be judged by a merciful god, who is not willing to see what i have done amiss. and though of myself i have nothing to present to him but sins and misery, yet i know he looks not upon me now as i am of myself, but as i am in my saviour, and hath given me, even at this present time, some testimonies by his holy spirit, that i am of the number of his elect: i am therefore full of inexpressible joy, and shall die in peace." i must here look so far back, as to tell the reader that at his first return out of essex, to preach his last sermon, his old friend and physician, dr. fox--a man of great worth--came to him to consult his health; and that after a sight of him, and some queries concerning his distempers he told him, "that by cordials, and drinking milk twenty days together, there was a probability of his restoration to health"; but he passionately denied to drink it. nevertheless, dr. fox, who loved him most entirely, wearied him with solicitations, till he yielded to take it for ten days; at the end of which time he told dr. fox, "he had drunk it more to satisfy him, than to recover his health; and that he would not drink it ten days longer, upon the best moral assurance of having twenty years added to his life; for he loved it not; and was so far from fearing death, which to others is the king of terrors, that he longed for the day of his dissolution." it is observed, that a desire of glory or commendation is rooted in the very nature of man; and that those of the severest and most mortified lives, though they may become so humble as to banish self-flattery, and such weeds as naturally grow there; yet they have not been able to kill this desire of glory, but that like our radical heat, it will both live and die with us; and many think it should do so; and we want not sacred examples to justify the desire of having our memory to outlive our lives; which i mention, because dr. donne, by the persuasion of dr. fox, easily yielded at this very time to have a monument made for him; but dr. fox undertook not to persuade him how, or what monument it should be; that was left to dr. donne himself. a monument being resolved upon, dr. donne sent for a carver to make for him in wood the figure of an urn, giving him directions for the compass and height of it; and to bring with it a board, of the just height of his body. "these being got, then without delay a choice painter was got to be in readiness to draw his picture, which was taken as followeth.--several charcoal fires being first made in his large study, he brought with him into that place his winding-sheet in his hand, and having put off all his clothes, had this sheet put on him, and so tied with knots at his head and feet, and his hands so placed as dead bodies are usually fitted, to be shrouded and put into their coffin, or grave. upon this urn he thus stood, with his eyes shut, and with so much of the sheet turned aside as might shew his lean, pale, and death-like face, which was purposely turned towards the east, from whence he expected the second coming of his and our saviour jesus." in this posture he was drawn at his just height; and when the picture was fully finished, he caused it to be set by his bedside, where it continued and became his hourly object till his death, and was then given to his dearest friend and executor dr. henry king, then chief residentiary of st. paul's, who caused him to be thus carved in one entire piece of white marble, as it now stands in that church; and by dr. donne's own appointment, these words were to be affixed to it as an epitaph:-- johannes donne sac. theol. profess. post varia studia, quibus ab annis tenerrimis fideliter, nec infeliciter incubuit; instinctu et impulsu sp. sancti, monitu et hortatu regis jacobi, ordines sacros amplexus, anno sui jesu, mdcxiv. et suÆ Ætatis xlii. decanatu hujus ecclesiÆ indutus, xxvii. novembris, mdcxxi. exutus morte ultimo die martii, mdcxxxi. hic licet in occiduo cinere, aspicit eum cujus nomen est oriens. and now, having brought him through the many labyrinths and perplexities of a various life, even to the gates of death and the grave; my desire is, he may rest, till i have told my reader that i have seen many pictures of him, in several habits, and at several ages, and in several postures: and i now mention this because i have seen one picture of him, drawn by a curious hand, at his age of eighteen, with his sword, and what other adornments might then suit with the present fashions of youth and the giddy gaieties of that age; and his motto then was-- "how much shall i be changed before i am changed!" and if that young, and his now dying picture were at this time set together, every beholder might say, "lord! how much is dr. donne already changed, before he is changed!" and the view of them might give my reader occasion to ask himself with some amazement, "lord! how much may i also, that am now in health, be changed before i am changed; before this vile, this changeable body shall put off mortality!" and therefore to prepare for it.--but this is not writ so much for my reader's memento, as to tell him, that dr. donne would often in his private discourses, and often publicly in his sermons, mention the many changes both of his body and mind, especially of his mind from a vertiginous giddiness; and would as often say, "his great and most blessed change was from a temporal to a spiritual employment"; in which he was so happy, that he accounted the former part of his life to be lost; and the beginning of it to be, from his first entering into sacred orders, and serving his most merciful god at his altar. upon monday, after the drawing this picture, he took his last leave of his beloved study; and, being sensible of his hourly decay, retired himself to his bedchamber; and that week sent at several times for many of his most considerable friends, with whom he took a solemn and deliberate farewell, commending to their considerations some sentences useful for the regulation of their lives; and then dismissed them, as good jacob did his sons, with a spiritual benediction. the sunday following, he appointed his servants, that if there were any business yet undone, that concerned him or themselves, it should be prepared against saturday next; for after that day he would not mix his thoughts with any thing that concerned this world; nor ever did; but, as job, so he "waited for the appointed day of his dissolution." and now he was so happy as to have nothing to do but to die, to do which he stood in need of no longer time; for he had studied it long, and to so happy a perfection, that in a former sickness he called god to witness (in his "book of devotions," written then), "he was that minute ready to deliver his soul into his hands, if that minute god would determine his dissolution." in that sickness he begged of god the constancy to be preserved in that estate for ever; and his patient expectation to have his immortal soul disrobed from her garment of mortality, makes me confident that he now had a modest assurance that his prayers were then heard, and his petition granted. he lay fifteen days earnestly expecting his hourly change; and in the last hour of his last day, as his body melted away, and vapoured into spirit, his soul having, i verily believe, some revelation of the beatifical vision, he said, "i were miserable if i might not die"; and after those words, closed many periods of his faint breath by saying often, "thy kingdom come, thy will be done." his speech, which had long been his ready and faithful servant, left him not till the last minute of his life, and then forsook him, not to serve another master--for who speaks like him,--but died before him; for that it was then become useless to him, that now conversed with god on earth as angels are said to do in heaven, only by thoughts and looks. being speechless, and seeing heaven by that illumination by which he saw it, he did, as st. stephen, "look stedfastly into it, till he saw the son of man standing at the right hand of god his father"; and being satisfied with this blessed sight, as his soul ascended, and his last breath departed from him, he closed his own eyes, and then disposed his hands and body into such a posture, as required not the least alteration by those that came to shroud him. thus variable, thus virtuous was the life; thus excellent, thus exemplary was the death of this memorable man. he was buried in that place of st. paul's church, which he had appointed for that use some years before his death; and by which he passed daily to pay his public devotions to almighty god--who was then served twice a day by a public form of prayer and praises in that place; but he was not buried privately, though he desired it; for, beside an unnumbered number of others, many persons of nobility, and of eminence for learning, who did love and honour him in his life, did show it at his death, by a voluntary and sad attendance of his body to the grave, where nothing was so remarkable as a public sorrow. to which place of his burial some mournful friends repaired, and, as alexander the great did to the grave of the famous achilles, so they strewed his with an abundance of curious and costly flowers; which course they--who were never yet known--continued morning and evening for many days, not ceasing till the stones that were taken up in that church to give his body admission into the cold earth--now his bed of rest--were again by the mason's art so levelled and firmed as they had been formerly, and his place of burial undistinguishable to common view. the next day after his burial some unknown friend, some one of the many lovers and admirers of his virtue and learning, writ this epitaph with a coal on the wall over his grave:-- "reader! i am to let thee know, donne's body only lies below; for, could the grave his soul comprise, earth would be richer than the skies!" nor was this all the honour done to his reverend ashes; for, as there be some persons that will not receive a reward for that for which god accounts himself a debtor; persons that dare trust god with their charity, and without a witness; so there was by some grateful unknown friend, that thought dr. donne's memory ought to be perpetuated, an hundred marks sent to his faithful friends and executors (dr. king and dr. montford), towards the making of his monument. it was not for many years known by whom; but, after the death of dr. fox, it was known that it was he that sent it; and he lived to see as lively a representation of his dead friend as marble can express: a statue indeed so like dr. donne, that--as his friend sir henry wotton hath expressed himself--"it seems to breathe faintly, and posterity shall look upon it as a kind of artificial miracle." he was of stature moderately tall; of a straight and equally-proportioned body, to which all his words and actions gave an unexpressible addition of comeliness. the melancholy and pleasant humour were in him so contempered, that each gave advantage to the other, and made his company one of the delights of mankind. his fancy was unimitably high, equalled only by his great wit; both being made useful by a commanding judgment. his aspect was cheerful, and such as gave a silent testimony of a clear knowing soul, and of a conscience at peace with itself. his melting eye showed that he had a soft heart, full of noble compassion; of too brave a soul to offer injuries, and too much a christian not to pardon them in others. he did much contemplate--especially after he entered into his sacred calling--the mercies of almighty god, the immortality of the soul, and the joys of heaven: and would often say in a kind of sacred ecstacy--"blessed be god that he is god, only and divinely like himself." he was by nature highly passionate, but more apt to reluct at the excesses of it. a great lover of the offices of humanity, and of so merciful a spirit that he never beheld the miseries of mankind without pity and relief. he was earnest and unwearied in the search of knowledge, with which his vigorous soul is now satisfied, and employed in a continual praise of that god that first breathed it into his active body: that body which once was a temple of the holy ghost, and is now become a small quantity of christian dust:-- but i shall see it re-animated. i.w. devotions vpon emergent occasions and seuerall steps in my sicknes. digested into . meditations _upon our humane condition_. . expostulations, _and debatements with god_. . prayers, _upon the severall occasions, to him_. * * * * * by iohn donne, _deane of s. pauls_, london. * * * * * london printed by _a. m._ for thomas iones. . _to the most excellent prince_, prince charles. _most excellent prince_, i have had three births; one, natural, when i came into the world; one, supernatural, when i entered into the ministry; and now, a preternatural birth, in returning to life, from this sickness. in my second birth, your highness' royal father vouchsafed me his hand, not only to sustain me in it, but to lead me to it. in this last birth, i myself am born a father: this child of mine, this book, comes into the world, from me, and with me. and therefore, i presume (as i did the father, to the father) to present the son to the son; this image of my humiliation, to the lively image of his majesty, your highness. it might be enough, that god hath seen my devotions: but examples of good kings are commandments; and hezekiah writ the meditations of his sickness, after his sickness. besides, as i have lived to see (not as a witness only, but as a partaker), the happiness of a part of your royal father's time, so shall i live (in my way) to see the happiness of the times of your highness too, if this child of mine, inanimated by your gracious acceptation, may so long preserve alive the memory of your highness humblest and devotedest, john donne. contents _the stations of the sickness_ page . the first alteration, the first grudging of the sickness . the strength and the function of the senses, and other faculties, change and fail . the patient takes his bed . the physician is sent for . the physician comes . the physician is afraid . the physician desires to have others joined with him . the king sends his own physician . upon their consultation, they prescribe . they find the disease to steal on insensibly, and endeavor to meet with it so . they use cordials, to keep the venom and the malignity of the disease from the heart . they apply pigeons, to draw the vapours from the head . the sickness declares the infection and malignity thereof by spots . the physicians observe these accidents to have fallen upon the critical days . i sleep not day or night . from the bells of the church adjoining, i am daily remembered of my burial in the funerals of others . now, this bell tolling softly for another, says to me, thou must die . the bell rings out, and tells me in him, that i am dead . at last the physicians, after a long and stormy voyage, see land: they have so good signs of the concoction of the disease, as that they may safely proceed to purge . upon these indications of digested matter, they proceed to purge . god prospers their practice, and he, by them, calls lazarus out of his tomb, me out of my bed . the physicians consider the root and occasion, the embers, and coals, and fuel of the disease, and seek to purge or correct that . they warn me of the fearful danger of relapsing _devotions_ i insultus morbi primus. _the first alteration, the first grudging, of the sickness._ i. meditation. variable, and therefore miserable condition of man! this minute i was well, and am ill, this minute. i am surprised with a sudden change, and alteration to worse, and can impute it to no cause, nor call it by any name. we study health, and we deliberate upon our meats, and drink, and air, and exercises, and we hew and we polish every stone that goes to that building; and so our health is a long and a regular work: but in a minute a cannon batters all, overthrows all, demolishes all; a sickness unprevented for all our diligence, unsuspected for all our curiosity; nay, undeserved, if we consider only disorder, summons us, seizes us, possesses us, destroys us in an instant. o miserable condition of man! which was not imprinted by god, who, as he is immortal himself, had put a coal, a beam of immortality into us, which we might have blown into a flame, but blew it out by our first sin; we beggared ourselves by hearkening after false riches, and infatuated ourselves by hearkening after false knowledge. so that now, we do not only die, but die upon the rack, die by the torment of sickness; nor that only, but are pre-afflicted, super-afflicted with these jealousies and suspicions and apprehensions of sickness, before we can call it a sickness: we are not sure we are ill; one hand asks the other by the pulse, and our eye asks our own urine how we do. o multiplied misery! we die, and cannot enjoy death, because we die in this torment of sickness; we are tormented with sickness, and cannot stay till the torment come, but pre-apprehensions and presages prophesy those torments which induce that death before either come; and our dissolution is conceived in these first changes, quickened in the sickness itself, and born in death, which bears date from these first changes. is this the honour which man hath by being a little world, that he hath these earthquakes in himself, sudden shakings; these lightnings, sudden flashes; these thunders, sudden noises; these eclipses, sudden offuscations and darkening of his senses; these blazing stars, sudden fiery exhalations; these rivers of blood, sudden red waters? is he a world to himself only therefore, that he hath enough in himself, not only to destroy and execute himself, but to presage that execution upon himself; to assist the sickness, to antedate the sickness, to make the sickness the more irremediable by sad apprehensions, and, as if he would make a fire the more vehement by sprinkling water upon the coals, so to wrap a hot fever in cold melancholy, lest the fever alone should not destroy fast enough without this contribution, nor perfect the work (which is destruction) except we joined an artificial sickness of our own melancholy, to our natural, our unnatural fever. o perplexed discomposition, o riddling distemper, o miserable condition of man! i. expostulation. if i were but mere dust and ashes i might speak unto the lord, for the lord's hand made me of this dust, and the lord's hand shall re-collect these ashes; the lord's hand was the wheel upon which this vessel of clay was framed, and the lord's hand is the urn in which these ashes shall be preserved. i am the dust and the ashes of the temple of the holy ghost, and what marble is so precious? but i am more than dust and ashes: i am my best part, i am my soul. and being so, the breath of god, i may breathe back these pious expostulations to my god: my god, my god, why is not my soul as sensible as my body? why hath not my soul these apprehensions, these presages, these changes, these antidates, these jealousies, these suspicions of a sin, as well as my body of a sickness? why is there not always a pulse in my soul to beat at the approach of a temptation to sin? why are there not always waters in mine eyes, to testify my spiritual sickness? i stand in the way of temptations, naturally, necessarily; all men do so; for there is a snake in every path, temptations in every vocation; but i go, i run, i fly into the ways of temptation which i might shun; nay, i break into houses where the plague is; i press into places of temptation, and tempt the devil himself, and solicit and importune them who had rather be left unsolicited by me. i fall sick of sin, and am bedded and bedrid, buried and putrified in the practice of sin, and all this while have no presage, no pulse, no sense of my sickness. o height, o depth of misery, where the first symptom of the sickness is hell, and where i never see the fever of lust, of envy, of ambition, by any other light than the darkness and horror of hell itself, and where the first messenger that speaks to me doth not say, "thou mayest die," no, nor "thou must die," but "thou art dead;" and where the first notice that my soul hath of her sickness is irrecoverableness, irremediableness: but, o my god, job did not charge thee foolishly in his temporal afflictions, nor may i in my spiritual. thou hast imprinted a pulse in our soul, but we do not examine it; a voice in our conscience, but we do not hearken unto it. we talk it out, we jest it out, we drink it out, we sleep it out; and when we wake, we do not say with jacob, _surely the lord is in this place, and i knew it not_: but though we might know it, we do not, we will not. but will god pretend to make a watch, and leave out the spring? to make so many various wheels in the faculties of the soul, and in the organs of the body, and leave out grace, that should move them? or will god make a spring, and not wind it up? infuse his first grace, and not second it with more, without which we can no more use his first grace when we have it, than we could dispose ourselves by nature to have it? but alas, that is not our case; we are all prodigal sons, and not disinherited; we have received our portion, and mispent it, not been denied it. we are god's tenants here, and yet here, he, our landlord, pays us rents; not yearly, nor quarterly, but hourly, and quarterly; every minute he renews his mercy, but we _will not understand, lest that we should be converted, and he should heal us_.[ ] i. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who, considered in thyself, art a circle, first and last, and altogether; but, considered in thy working upon us, art a direct line, and leadest us from our beginning, through all our ways, to our end, enable me by thy grace to look forward to mine end, and to look backward too, to the considerations of thy mercies afforded me from the beginning; that so by that practice of considering thy mercy, in my beginning in this world, when thou plantedst me in the christian church, and thy mercy in the beginning in the other world, when thou writest me in the book of life, in my election, i may come to a holy consideration of thy mercy in the beginning of all my actions here: that in all the beginnings, in all the accesses and approaches, of spiritual sicknesses of sin, i may hear and hearken to that voice, _o thou man of god, there is death in the pot_,[ ] and so refrain from that which i was so hungerly, so greedily flying to. _a faithful ambassador is health_,[ ] says thy wise servant solomon. thy voice received in the beginning of a sickness, of a sin, is true health. if i can see that light betimes, and hear that voice early, _then shall my light break forth as the morning, and my health shall spring forth speedily_.[ ] deliver me therefore, o my god, from these vain imaginations; that it is an over-curious thing, a dangerous thing, to come to that tenderness, that rawness, that scrupulousness, to fear every concupiscence, every offer of sin, that this suspicious and jealous diligence will turn to an inordinate dejection of spirit, and a diffidence in thy care and providence; but keep me still established, both in a constant assurance, that thou wilt speak to me at the beginning of every such sickness, at the approach of every such sin; and that, if i take knowledge of that voice then, and fly to thee, thou wilt preserve me from falling, or raise me again, when by natural infirmity i am fallen. do this, o lord, for his sake, who knows our natural infirmities, for he had them, and knows the weight of our sins, for he paid a dear price for them, thy son, our saviour, christ jesus. amen. ii. post actio lÆsa. _the strength and the function of the senses, and other faculties, change and fail._ ii. meditation. the heavens are not the less constant, because they move continually, because they move continually one and the same way. the earth is not the more constant, because it lies still continually, because continually it changes and melts in all the parts thereof. man, who is the noblest part of the earth, melts so away, as if he were a statue, not of earth, but of snow. we see his own envy melts him, he grows lean with that; he will say, another's beauty melts him; but he feels that a fever doth not melt him like snow, but pour him out like lead, like iron, like brass melted in a furnace; it doth not only melt him, but calcine him, reduce him to atoms, and to ashes; not to water, but to lime. and how quickly? sooner than thou canst receive an answer, sooner than thou canst conceive the question; earth is the centre of my body, heaven is the centre of my soul; these two are the natural places of these two; but those go not to these two in an equal pace: my body falls down without pushing; my soul does not go up without pulling; ascension is my soul's pace and measure, but precipitation my body's. and even angels, whose home is heaven, and who are winged too, yet had a ladder to go to heaven by steps. the sun which goes so many miles in a minute, the stars of the firmament which go so very many more, go not so fast as my body to the earth. in the same instant that i feel the first attempt of the disease, i feel the victory; in the twinkling of an eye i can scarce see; instantly the taste is insipid and fatuous; instantly the appetite is dull and desireless; instantly the knees are sinking and strengthless; and in an instant, sleep, which is the picture, the copy of death, is taken away, that the original, death itself, may succeed, and that so i might have death to the life. it was part of adam's punishment, _in the sweat of thy brows thou shalt eat thy bread_: it is multiplied to me, i have earned bread in the sweat of my brows, in the labour of my calling, and i have it; and i sweat again and again, from the brow to the sole of the foot, but i eat no bread, i taste no sustenance: miserable distribution of mankind, where one half lacks meat, and the other stomach! ii. expostulation. david professes himself a dead dog to his king saul,[ ] and so doth mephibosheth to his king david,[ ] and yet david speaks to saul, and mephibosheth to david. no man is so little, in respect of the greatest man, as the greatest in respect of god; for here, in that, we have not so much as a measure to try it by; proportion is no measure for infinity. he that hath no more of this world but a grave; he that hath his grave but lent him till a better man or another man must be buried in the same grave; he that hath no grave but a dunghill, he that hath no more earth but that which he carries, but that which he is, he that hath not that earth which he is, but even in that is another's slave, hath as much proportion to god, as if all david's worthies, and all the world's monarchs, and all imagination's giants, were kneaded and incorporated into one, and as though that one were the survivor of all the sons of men, to whom god had given the world. and therefore how little soever i be, as _god calls things that are not, as though they were_, i, who am as though i were not, may call upon god, and say, my god, my god, why comes thine anger so fast upon me? why dost thou melt me, scatter me, pour me like water upon the ground so instantly? thou stayedst for the first world, in noah's time, one hundred and twenty years; thou stayedst for a rebellious generation in the wilderness forty years, wilt thou stay no minute for me? wilt thou make thy process and thy decree, thy citation and thy judgment, but one act? thy summons, thy battle, thy victory, thy triumph, all but one act; and lead me captive, nay, deliver me captive to death, as soon as thou declarest me to be enemy, and so cut me off even with the drawing of thy sword out of the scabbard, and for that question, how long was he sick? leave no other answer, but that the hand of death pressed upon him from the first minute? my god, my god, thou wast not wont to come in whirlwinds, but in soft and gentle air. thy first breath breathed a soul into me, and shall thy breath blow it out? thy breath in the congregation, thy word in the church, breathes communion and consolation here, and consummation hereafter; shall thy breath in this chamber breathe dissolution and destruction, divorce and separation? surely it is not thou, it is not thy hand. the devouring sword, the consuming fire, the winds from the wilderness, the diseases of the body, all that afflicted job, were from the hands of satan; it is not thou. it is thou, thou my god, who hast led me so continually with thy hand, from the hand of my nurse, as that i know thou wilt not correct me, but with thine own hand. my parents would not give me over to a servant's correction, nor my god to satan's. i am _fallen into the hands of god_ with david, and with david i see that his mercies are great.[ ] for by that mercy, i consider in my present state, not the haste and the despatch of the disease, in dissolving this body, so much as the much more haste and despatch, which my god shall use, in re-collecting and re-uniting this dust again at the resurrection. then i shall hear his angels proclaim the _surgite mortui_, rise, ye dead. though i be dead, i shall hear the voice; the sounding of the voice and the working of the voice shall be all one; and all shall rise there in a less minute than any one dies here. ii. prayer. o most gracious god, who pursuest and perfectest thine own purposes, and dost not only remember me, by the first accesses of this sickness, that i must die, but inform me, by this further proceeding therein, that i may die now; who hast not only waked me with the first, but called me up, by casting me further down, and clothed me with thyself, by stripping me of my self, and by dulling my bodily senses to the meats and eases of this world, hast whet and sharpened my spiritual senses to the apprehension of thee; by what steps and degrees soever it shall please thee to go, in the dissolution of this body, hasten, o lord, that pace, and multiply, o my god, those degrees, in the exaltation of my soul toward thee now, and to thee then. my taste is not gone away, but gone up to sit at david's table, _to taste, and see, that the lord is good_.[ ] my stomach is not gone, but gone up, so far upwards toward the _supper of the lamb_, with thy saints in heaven, as to the table, to the communion of thy saints here in earth. my knees are weak, but weak therefore that i should easily fall to and fix myself long upon my devotions to thee. _a sound heart is the life of the flesh_;[ ] and a heart visited by thee, and directed to thee, by that visitation is a sound heart. _there is no soundness in my flesh, because of thine anger._[ ] interpret thine own work, and call this sickness correction, and not anger, and there is soundness in my flesh. _there is no rest in my bones, because of my sin_;[ ] transfer my sins, with which thou art so displeased, upon him with whom thou art so well pleased, christ jesus, and there will be rest in my bones. and, o my god, who madest thyself a light in a bush, in the midst of these brambles and thorns of a sharp sickness, appear unto me so that i may see thee, and know thee to be my god, applying thyself to me, even in these sharp and thorny passages. do this, o lord, for his sake, who was not the less the king of heaven for thy suffering him to be crowned with thorns in this world. footnotes: [ ] matt. xiii. . [ ] kings, iv. . [ ] prov. xiii. . [ ] isaiah, lviii. . [ ] sam. xxiv. . [ ] sam. ix. . [ ] sam. xxiv. . [ ] psalm xxxiv. . [ ] prov. xiv. . [ ] psalm xxxviii. . [ ] psalm xxxviii. . iii. decubitus sequitur tandem. _the patient takes his bed._ iii. meditation. we attribute but one privilege and advantage to man's body above other moving creatures, that he is not, as others, grovelling, but of an erect, of an upright, form naturally built and disposed to the contemplation of heaven. indeed it is a thankful form, and recompenses that soul, which gives it, with carrying that soul so many feet higher towards heaven. other creatures look to the earth; and even that is no unfit object, no unfit contemplation for man, for thither he must come; but because man is not to stay there, as other creatures are, man in his natural form is carried to the contemplation of that place which is his home, heaven. this is man's prerogative; but what state hath he in this dignity? a fever can fillip him down, a fever can depose him; a fever can bring that head, which yesterday carried a crown of gold five feet towards a crown of glory, as low as his own foot to-day. when god came to breathe into man the breath of life, he found him flat upon the ground; when he comes to withdraw that breath from him again, he prepares him to it by laying him flat upon his bed. scarce any prison so close that affords not the prisoner two or three steps. the anchorites that barked themselves up in hollow trees and immured themselves in hollow walls, that perverse man that barrelled himself in a tub, all could stand or sit, and enjoy some change of posture. a sick bed is a grave, and all that the patient says there is but a varying of his own epitaph. every night's bed is a type of the grave; at night we tell our servants at what hour we will rise, here we cannot tell ourselves at what day, what week, what month. here the head lies as low as the foot; the head of the people as low as they whom those feet trod upon; and that hand that signed pardons is too weak to beg his own, if he might have it for lifting up that hand. strange fetters to the feet, strange manacles to the hands, when the feet and hands are bound so much the faster, by how much the cords are slacker; so much the less able to do their offices, by how much more the sinews and ligaments are the looser. in the grave i may speak through the stones, in the voice of my friends, and in the accents of those words which their love may afford my memory; here i am mine own ghost, and rather affright my beholders than instruct them; they conceive the worst of me now, and yet fear worse; they give me for dead now, and yet wonder how i do when they wake at midnight, and ask how i do to-morrow. miserable, and (though common to all) inhuman posture, where i must practise my lying in the grave by lying still, and not practise my resurrection by rising any more. iii. expostulation. my god and my jesus, my lord and my christ, my strength and my salvation, i hear thee, and i hearken to thee, when thou rebukest thy disciples, for rebuking them who brought children to thee; _suffer little children to come to me_, sayest thou.[ ] is there a verier child than i am now? i cannot say, with thy servant jeremy, _lord, i am a child, and cannot speak_; but, o lord, i am a sucking child, and cannot eat; a creeping child, and cannot go; how shall i come to thee? whither shall i come to thee? to this bed? i have this weak and childish frowardness too, i cannot sit up, and yet am loth to go to bed. shall i find thee in bed? oh, have i always done so? the bed is not ordinarily thy scene, thy climate: lord, dost thou not accuse me, dost thou not reproach to me my former sins, when thou layest me upon this bed? is not this to hang a man at his own door, to lay him sick in his own bed of wantonness? when thou chidest us by thy prophet for lying in _beds of ivory_[ ], is not thine anger vented; not till thou changest our beds of ivory into beds of ebony? david swears unto thee, _that he will not go up into his bed, till he had built thee a house_.[ ] to go up into the bed denotes strength, and promises ease; but when thou sayest, _that thou wilt cast jezebel into a bed_, thou makest thine own comment upon that; thou callest the bed tribulation, great tribulation.[ ] how shall they come to thee whom thou hast nailed to their bed? thou art in the congregation, and i in a solitude: when the centurion's servant lay sick at home,[ ] his master was fain to come to christ; the sick man could not. their friend lay sick of the palsy, and the four charitable men were fain to bring him to christ; he could not come.[ ] peter's wife's mother lay sick of a fever, and christ came to her; she could not come to him.[ ] my friends may carry me home to thee, in their prayers in the congregation; thou must come home to me in the visitation of thy spirit, and in the seal of thy sacrament. but when i am cast into this bed my slack sinews are iron fetters, and those thin sheets iron doors upon me; and, _lord, i have loved the habitation of thine house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth_.[ ] i lie here and say, _blessed are they that dwell in thy house_;[ ] but i cannot say, _i will come into thy house_; i may say, _in thy fear will i worship towards thy holy temple_;[ ] but i cannot say in thy holy temple. and, _lord, the zeal of thy house eats me up_,[ ] as fast as my fever; it is not a recusancy, for i would come, but it is an excommunication, i must not. but, lord, thou art lord of hosts, and lovest action; why callest thou me from my calling? _in the grave no man shall praise thee_; in the door of the grave, this sick bed, no man shall hear me praise thee. thou hast not opened my lips that my mouth might show thee thy praise, but that my mouth might show forth thy praise. but thine apostle's fear takes hold of me, _that when i have preached to others, i myself should be a castaway_;[ ] and therefore am i cast down, that i might not be cast away. thou couldst take me by the head, as thou didst habbakuk, and carry me so; by a chariot, as thou didst elijah,[ ] and carry me so; but thou carriest me thine own private way, the way by which thou carriedst thy son, who first lay upon the earth and prayed, and then had his exaltation, as himself calls his crucifying; and first descended into hell, and then had his ascension. there is another station (indeed neither are stations but prostrations) lower than this bed; to-morrow i may be laid one story lower, upon the floor, the face of the earth; and next day another story, in the grave, the womb of the earth. as yet god suspends me between heaven and earth, as a meteor; and i am not in heaven because an earthly body clogs me, and i am not in the earth because a heavenly soul sustains me. and it is thine own law, o god, that _if a man be smitten so by another, as that he keep his bed, though he die not, he that hurt him must take care of his healing, and recompense him_[ ]. thy hand strikes me into this bed; and therefore, if i rise again, thou wilt be my recompense all the days of my life, in making the memory of this sickness beneficial to me; and if my body fall yet lower, thou wilt take my soul out of this bath, and present it to thy father, washed again, and again, and again, in thine own tears, in thine own sweat, in thine own blood. iii. prayer. o most mighty and most merciful god, who, though thou have taken me off of my feet, hast not taken me off of my foundation, which is thyself; who, though thou have removed me from that upright form in which i could stand and see thy throne, the heavens, yet hast not removed from me that light by which i can lie and see thyself; who, though thou have weakened my bodily knees, that they cannot bow to thee, hast yet left me the knees of my heart; which are bowed unto thee evermore; as thou hast made this bed thine altar, make me thy sacrifice; and as thou makest thy son christ jesus the priest, so make me his deacon, to minister to him in a cheerful surrender of my body and soul to thy pleasure, by his hands. i come unto thee, o god, my god, i come unto thee, so as i can come, i come to thee, by embracing thy coming to me, i come in the confidence, and in the application of thy servant david's promise, _that thou wilt make all my bed in my sickness_;[ ] all my bed; that which way soever i turn, i may turn to thee; and as i feel thy hand upon all my body, so i may find it upon all my bed, and see all my corrections, and all my refreshings to flow from one and the same, and all from thy hand. as thou hast made these feathers thorns, in the sharpness of this sickness, so, lord, make these thorns feathers again, feathers of thy dove, in the peace of conscience, and in a holy recourse to thine ark, to the instruments of true comfort, in thy institutions and in the ordinances of thy church. forget my bed, o lord, as it hath been a bed of sloth, and worse than sloth; take me not, o lord, at this advantage, to terrify my soul with saying, now i have met thee there where thou hast so often departed from me; but having burnt up that bed by these vehement heats, and washed that bed in these abundant sweats, make my bed again, o lord, and enable me, according to thy command, _to commune with mine own heart upon my bed, and be still_[ ]; to provide a bed for all my former sins whilst i lie upon this bed, and a grave for my sins before i come to my grave; and when i have deposited them in the wounds of thy son, to rest in that assurance, that my conscience is discharged from further anxiety, and my soul from further danger, and my memory from further calumny. do this, o lord, for his sake, who did and suffered so much, that thou mightest, as well in thy justice as in thy mercy, do it for me, thy son, our saviour, christ jesus. footnotes: [ ] matt. xix. . [ ] amos, vi. . [ ] psalm cxxxii. . [ ] rev. ii. . [ ] matt. viii. . [ ] matt. viii. . [ ] matt. viii. . [ ] psalm xxvi. . [ ] psalm lxxxiv. . [ ] psalm v. . [ ] psalm lxix. . [ ] cor. ix. . [ ] kings, ii. . [ ] exodus, xxi. . [ ] psalm xli. . [ ] psalm iv. . iv. medicusque vocatur. _the physician is sent for._ iv. meditation. it is too little to call man a little world; except god, man is a diminutive to nothing. man consists of more pieces, more parts, than the world; than the world doth, nay, than the world is. and if those pieces were extended, and stretched out in man as they are in the world, man would be the giant, and the world the dwarf; the world but the map, and the man the world. if all the veins in our bodies were extended to rivers, and all the sinews to veins of mines, and all the muscles that lie upon one another, to hills, and all the bones to quarries of stones, and all the other pieces to the proportion of those which correspond to them in the world, the air would be too little for this orb of man to move in, the firmament would be but enough for this star; for, as the whole world hath nothing, to which something in man doth not answer, so hath man many pieces of which the whole world hath no representation. enlarge this meditation upon this great world, man, so far as to consider the immensity of the creatures this world produces; our creatures are our thoughts, creatures that are born giants; that reach from east to west, from earth to heaven; that do not only bestride all the sea and land, but span the sun and firmament at once; my thoughts reach all, comprehend all. inexplicable mystery; i their creator am in a close prison, in a sick bed, any where, and any one of my creatures, my thoughts, is with the sun, and beyond the sun, overtakes the sun, and overgoes the sun in one pace, one step, everywhere. and then, as the other world produces serpents and vipers, malignant and venomous creatures, and worms and caterpillars, that endeavour to devour that world which produces them, and monsters compiled and complicated of divers parents and kinds; so this world, ourselves, produces all these in us, in producing diseases, and sicknesses of all those sorts: venomous and infectious diseases, feeding and consuming diseases, and manifold and entangled diseases made up of many several ones. and can the other world name so many venomous, so many consuming, so many monstrous creatures, as we can diseases of all these kinds? o miserable abundance, o beggarly riches! how much do we lack of having remedies for every disease, when as yet we have not names for them? but we have a hercules against these giants, these monsters; that is, the physician; he musters up all the forces of the other world to succour this, all nature to relieve man. we have the physician, but we are not the physician. here we shrink in our proportion, sink in our dignity, in respect of very mean creatures, who are physicians to themselves. the hart that is pursued and wounded, they say, knows an herb, which being eaten throws off the arrow: a strange kind of vomit. the dog that pursues it, though he be subject to sickness, even proverbially, knows his grass that recovers him. and it may be true, that the drugger is as near to man as to other creatures; it may be that obvious and present simples, easy to be had, would cure him; but the apothecary is not so near him, nor the physician so near him, as they two are to other creatures; man hath not that innate instinct, to apply those natural medicines to his present danger, as those inferior creatures have; he is not his own apothecary, his own physician, as they are. call back therefore thy meditation again, and bring it down: what's become of man's great extent and proportion, when himself shrinks himself and consumes himself to a handful of dust; what's become of his soaring thoughts, his compassing thoughts, when himself brings himself to the ignorance, to the thoughtlessness, of the grave? his diseases are his own, but the physician is not; he hath them at home, but he must send for the physician. iv. expostulation. i have not the righteousness of job, but i have the desire of job: _i would speak to the almighty, and i would reason with god_.[ ] my god, my god, how soon wouldst thou have me go to the physician, and how far wouldst thou have me go with the physician? i know thou hast made the matter, and the man, and the art; and i go not from thee when i go to the physician. thou didst not make clothes before there was a shame of the nakedness of the body, but thou didst make physic before there was any grudging of any sickness; for thou didst imprint a medicinal virtue in many simples, even from the beginning; didst thou mean that we should be sick when thou didst so? when thou madest them? no more than thou didst mean, that we should sin, when thou madest us: thou foresawest both, but causedst neither. thou, lord, promisest here trees, _whose fruit shall be for meat, and their leaves for medicine_.[ ] it is the voice of thy son, _wilt thou be made whole?_[ ] that draws from the patient a confession that he was ill, and could not make himself well. and it is thine own voice, _is there no physician?_[ ] that inclines us, disposes us, to accept thine ordinance. and it is the voice of the wise man, both for the matter, physic itself, _the lord hath created medicines out of the earth, and he that is wise shall not abhor them_,[ ] and for the art, and the person, the physician cutteth off a long disease. in all these voices thou sendest us to those helps which thou hast afforded us in that. but wilt not thou avow that voice too, _he that hath sinned against his maker, let him fall into the hands of the physician_;[ ] and wilt not thou afford me an understanding of those words? thou, who sendest us for a blessing to the physician, dost not make it a curse to us to go when thou sendest. is not the curse rather in this, that only he falls into the hands of the physician, that casts himself wholly, entirely upon the physician, confides in him, relies upon him, attends all from him, and neglects that spiritual physic which thou also hast instituted in thy church. so to fall into the hands of the physician is a sin, and a punishment of former sins; so, as asa fell, who in his disease _sought not to the lord, but to the physician_.[ ] reveal therefore to me thy method, o lord, and see whether i have followed it; that thou mayest have glory, if i have, and i pardon, if i have not, and help that i may. thy method is, _in time of thy sickness, be not negligent_: wherein wilt thou have my diligence expressed? _pray unto the lord, and he will make thee whole._[ ] o lord, i do; i pray, and pray thy servant david's prayer, _have mercy upon me, o lord, for i am weak; heal me, o lord, for my bones are vexed_:[ ] i know that even my weakness is a reason, a motive, to induce thy mercy, and my sickness an occasion of thy sending health. when art thou so ready, when is it so seasonable to thee, to commiserate, as in misery? but is prayer for health in season, as soon as i am sick? thy method goes further: _leave off from sin, and order thy hands aright, and cleanse thy heart from all wickedness_.[ ] have i, o lord, done so? o lord, i have; by thy grace, i am come to a holy detestation of my former sin. is there any more? in thy method there is more: _give a sweet savour, and a memorial of fine flour, and make a fat offering, as not being_.[ ] and, lord, by thy grace, i have done that, sacrificed a little of that little which thou lentest me, to them for whom thou lentest it: and now in thy method, and by thy steps, i am come to that, _then give place to the physician, for the lord hath created him; let him not go from thee, for thou hast need of him_.[ ] i send for the physician, but i will hear him enter with those words of peter, _jesus christ maketh thee whole_;[ ] i long for his presence, but i look _that the power of the lord should be present to heal me_.[ ] iv. prayer. o most mighty and most merciful god, who art so the god of health and strength, as that without thee all health is but the fuel, and all strength but the bellows of sin; behold me under the vehemence of two diseases, and under the necessity of two physicians, authorized by thee, the bodily, and the spiritual physician. i come to both as to thine ordinance, and bless and glorify thy name that, in both cases, thou hast afforded help to man by the ministry of man. even in the new jerusalem, in heaven itself, it hath pleased thee to discover a tree, which is _a tree of life there, but the leaves thereof are for the healing of the nations_.[ ] life itself is with thee there, for thou art life; and all kinds of health, wrought upon us here by thine instruments, descend from thence. _thou wouldst have healed babylon, but she is not healed._[ ] take from me, o lord, her perverseness, her wilfulness, her refractoriness, and hear thy spirit saying in my soul: heal me, o lord, for i would be healed. _ephraim saw his sickness, and judah his wound; then went ephraim to the assyrian, and sent to king jareb, yet could not he heal you, nor cure you of your wound._[ ] keep me back, o lord, from them who misprofess arts of healing the soul, or of the body, by means not imprinted by thee in the church for the soul, or not in nature for the body. there is no spiritual health to be had by superstition, nor bodily by witchcraft; thou, lord, and only thou, art lord of both. thou in thyself art lord of both, and thou in thy son art the physician, the applier of both. _with his stripes we are healed_,[ ] says the prophet there; there, before he was scourged, we were healed with his stripes; how much more shall i be healed now, now when that which he hath already suffered actually is actually and effectually applied to me? is there any thing incurable, upon which that balm drops? any vein so empty as that that blood cannot fill it? thou promisest to heal the earth;[ ] but it is when the inhabitants of the earth _pray that thou wouldst heal it_. thou promisest to heal their waters, but _their miry places and standing waters_, thou sayest there, _thou wilt not heal_.[ ] my returning to any sin, if i should return to the ability of sinning over all my sins again, thou wouldst not pardon. heal this earth, o my god, by repentant tears, and heal these waters, these tears, from all bitterness, from all diffidence, from all dejection, by establishing my irremovable assurance in thee. _thy son went about healing all manner of sickness._[ ] (no disease incurable, none difficult; he healed them in passing). _virtue went out of him, and he healed all_,[ ] all the multitude (no person incurable), he healed them _every whit_[ ] (as himself speaks), he left no relics of the disease; and will this universal physician pass by this hospital, and not visit me? not heal me? not heal me wholly? lord, i look not that thou shouldst say by thy messenger to me, as to hezekiah, _behold, i will heal thee, and on the third day thou shalt go up to the house of the lord_.[ ] i look not that thou shouldst say to me, as to moses in miriam's behalf, when moses would have had her healed presently, _if her father had but spit in her face, should she not have been ashamed seven days? let her be shut up seven days, and then return_;[ ] but if thou be pleased to multiply seven days (and seven is infinite) by the number of my sins (and that is more infinite), if this day must remove me till days shall be no more, seal to me my spiritual health, in affording me the seals of thy church; and for my temporal health, prosper thine ordinance, in their hands who shall assist in this sickness, in that manner, and in that measure, as may most glorify thee, and most edify those who observe the issues of thy servants, to their own spiritual benefit. footnotes: [ ] job, xiii. . [ ] ezek. xlvii. . [ ] john, v. . [ ] jer. viii. . [ ] ecclus. xxxviii. . [ ] ecclus. xxxviii. . [ ] chron. xvi. . [ ] ecclus. xxxviii. . [ ] psalm vi. . [ ] ecclus. xxxviii. . [ ] ecclus. xxxviii. . [ ] ecclus. xxxviii. . [ ] acts, ix. . [ ] luke, v. . [ ] rev. xxii. . [ ] jer. li. . [ ] hosea, v. . [ ] isaiah, liii. . [ ] chron. vii. . [ ] ezek. xlvii. . [ ] matt. iv. . [ ] luke, vi. . [ ] john, vii. . [ ] kings, xx. . [ ] num. xii. . v. solus adest. _the physician comes_ v. meditation. as sickness is the greatest misery, so the greatest misery of sickness is solitude; when the infectiousness of the disease deters them who should assist from coming; even the physician dares scarce come. solitude is a torment which is not threatened in hell itself. mere vacuity, the first agent, god, the first instrument of god, nature, will not admit; nothing can be utterly empty, but so near a degree towards vacuity as solitude, to be but one, they love not. when i am dead, and my body might infect, they have a remedy, they may bury me; but when i am but sick, and might infect, they have no remedy but their absence, and my solitude. it is an excuse to them that are great, and pretend, and yet are loath to come; it is an inhibition to those who would truly come, because they may be made instruments, and pestiducts, to the infection of others, by their coming. and it is an outlawry, an excommunication upon the patient, and separates him from all offices, not only of civility but of working charity. a long sickness will weary friends at last, but a pestilential sickness averts them from the beginning. god himself would admit a figure of society, as there is a plurality of persons in god, though there be but one god; and all his external actions testify a love of society, and communion. in heaven there are orders of angels, and armies of martyrs, and in that house many mansions; in earth, families, cities, churches, colleges, all plural things; and lest either of these should not be company enough alone, there is an association of both, a communion of saints which makes the militant and triumphant church one parish; so that christ was not out of his diocess when he was upon the earth, nor out of his temple when he was in our flesh. god, who saw that all that he made was good, came not so near seeing a defect in any of his works, as when he saw that it was not good for man to be alone, therefore he made him a helper; and one that should help him so as to increase the number, and give him her own, and more society. angels, who do not propagate nor multiply, were made at first in an abundant number, and so were stars; but for the things of this world, their blessing was, increase; for i think, i need not ask leave to think, that there is no phoenix; nothing singular, nothing alone. men that inhere upon nature only, are so far from thinking that there is any thing singular in this world, as that they will scarce think that this world itself is singular, but that every planet, and every star, is another world like this; they find reason to conceive not only a plurality in every species in the world, but a plurality of worlds; so that the abhorrers of solitude are not solitary, for god, and nature, and reason concur against it. now a man may counterfeit the plague in a vow, and mistake a disease for religion, by such a retiring and recluding of himself from all men as to do good to no man, to converse with no man. god hath two testaments, two wills; but this is a schedule, and not of his, a codicil, and not of his, not in the body of his testaments, but interlined and postscribed by others, that the way to the communion of saints should be by such a solitude as excludes all doing of good here. that is a disease of the mind, as the height of an infectious disease of the body is solitude, to be left alone: for this makes an infectious bed equal, nay, worse than a grave, that though in both i be equally alone, in my bed i know it, and feel it, and shall not in my grave: and this too, that in my bed my soul is still in an infectious body, and shall not in my grave be so. v. expostulation. o god, my god, thy son took it not ill at martha's hands, that when he said unto her, _thy brother lazarus shall rise again_,[ ] she expostulated it so far with him as to reply, _i know that he shall rise again in the resurrection, at the last day_; for she was miserable by wanting him then. take it not ill, o my god, from me, that though thou have ordained it for a blessing, and for a dignity to thy people, _that they should dwell alone, and not be reckoned among the nations_[ ] (because they should be above them), and that _they should dwell in safety alone_[ ] (free from the infestation of enemies), yet i take thy leave to remember thee, that thou hast said too, _two are better than one_; and, _woe be unto him that is alone when he falleth_;[ ] and so when he is fallen, and laid in the bed of sickness too. _righteousness is immortal_;[ ] i know thy wisdom hath said so; but no man, though covered with the righteousness of thy son, is immortal so as not to die; for he who was righteousness itself did die. i know that the son of righteousness, thy son, refused not, nay affected, solitariness, loneness,[ ] many, many times; but at all times he was able to command _more than twelve legions of angels_[ ] to his service; and when he did not so, he was far from being alone: for, _i am not alone_, says he, _but i, and the father that sent me_.[ ] i cannot fear but that i shall always be with thee and him; but whether this disease may not alien and remove my friends, so that _they stand aloof from my sore, and my kinsmen stand afar off_,[ ] i cannot tell. i cannot fear but that thou wilt reckon with me from this minute, in which, by thy grace, i see thee; whether this understanding, and this will, and this memory may not decay, to the discouragement and the ill interpretation of them that see that heavy change in me, i cannot tell. it was for thy blessed, thy powerful son alone, _to tread the wine-press alone, and none of the people with him_.[ ] i am not able to pass this agony alone, not alone without thee; thou art thy spirit, not alone without thine; spiritual and temporal physicians are thine, not alone without mine; those whom the bands of blood or friendship have made mine, are mine; and if thou, or thine, or mine, abandon me, i am alone, and woe unto me if i be alone. elias himself fainted under that apprehension, _lo, i am left alone_;[ ] and martha murmured at that, said to christ, _lord, dost not thou care that my sister hath left me to serve alone?_[ ] neither could jeremiah enter into his lamentations from a higher ground than to say, _how doth the city sit solitary that was full of people_.[ ] o my god, it is the leper that thou hast condemned to live alone;[ ] have i such a leprosy in my soul that i must die alone; alone without thee? shall this come to such a leprosy in my body that i must die alone; alone without them that should assist, that should comfort me? but comes not this expostulation too near a murmuring? must i be concluded with that, that moses _was commanded to come near the lord alone_;[ ] that solitariness, and dereliction, and abandoning of others, disposes us best for god, who accompanies us most alone? may i not remember, and apply too, that though god came not to jacob till he found him alone, yet when he found him alone, he wrestled with him, and lamed him;[ ] that when, in the dereliction and forsaking of friends and physicians, a man is left alone to god, god may so wrestle with this jacob, with this conscience, as to put it out of joint, and so appear to him as that he dares not look upon him face to face, when as by way of reflection, in the consolation of his temporal or spiritual servants, and ordinances he durst, if they were there? but a _faithful friend is the physic of life, and they that fear the lord shall find him_.[ ] therefore hath the lord afforded me both in one person, that physician who is my faithful friend. v. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who calledst down fire from heaven upon the sinful cities but once, and openedst the earth to swallow the murmurers but once, and threwest down the tower of siloam upon sinners but once; but for thy works of mercy repeatedst them often, and still workest by thine own patterns, as thou broughtest man into this world, by giving him a helper fit for him here; so, whether it be thy will to continue me long thus, or to dismiss me by death, be pleased to afford me the helps fit for both conditions, either for my weak stay here, or my final transmigration from hence. and if thou mayst receive glory by that way (and by all ways thou mayst receive glory), glorify thyself in preserving this body from such infections as might withhold those who would come, or endanger them who do come; and preserve this soul in the faculties thereof from all such distempers as might shake the assurance which myself and others have had, that because thou hast loved me thou wouldst love me to my end, and at my end. open none of my doors, not of my heart, not of mine ears, not of my house, to any supplanter that would enter to undermine me in my religion to thee, in the time of my weakness, or to defame me, and magnify himself with false rumours of such a victory and surprisal of me, after i am dead. be my salvation, and plead my salvation; work it and declare it; and as thy triumphant shall be, so let the militant church be assured that thou wast my god, and i thy servant, to and in my consummation. bless thou the learning and the labours of this man whom thou sendest to assist me; and since thou takest me by the hand, and puttest me into his hands (for i come to him in thy name, who in thy name comes to me), since i clog not my hopes in him, no, nor my prayers to thee, with any limited conditions, but inwrap all in those two petitions, _thy kingdom come, thy will be done_, prosper him, and relieve me, in thy way, in thy time, and in thy measure. amen. footnotes: [ ] john, xi. . [ ] num. xxiii. . [ ] deut. xxxiii. . [ ] eccles. iv. . [ ] wisd. i. . [ ] matt. xiv. . [ ] matt. xxvi. . [ ] john, viii. . [ ] psalm xxxviii. . [ ] isaiah, lxiii. . [ ] kings, xiv. . [ ] luke, x. . [ ] lam. i. . [ ] lev. xiii. . [ ] exod. xiv. . [ ] gen. xxxii. . . [ ] ecclus. vi. . vi. metuit. _the physician is afraid._ vi. meditation. i observe the physician with the same diligence as he the disease; i see he fears, and i fear with him; i overtake him, i overrun him, in his fear, and i go the faster, because he makes his pace slow; i fear the more, because he disguises his fear, and i see it with the more sharpness, because he would not have me see it. he knows that his fear shall not disorder the practice and exercise of his art, but he knows that my fear may disorder the effect and working of his practice. as the ill affections of the spleen complicate and mingle themselves with every infirmity of the body, so doth fear insinuate itself in every action or passion of the mind; and as wind in the body will counterfeit any disease, and seem the stone, and seem the gout, so fear will counterfeit any disease of the mind. it shall seem love, a love of having; and it is but a fear, a jealous and suspicious fear of losing. it shall seem valour in despising and undervaluing danger; and it is but fear in an overvaluing of opinion and estimation, and a fear of losing that. a man that is not afraid of a lion is afraid of a cat; not afraid of starving, and yet is afraid of some joint of meat at the table presented to feed him; not afraid of the sound of drums and trumpets and shot and those which they seek to drown, the last cries of men, and is afraid of some particular harmonious instrument; so much afraid as that with any of these the enemy might drive this man, otherwise valiant enough, out of the field. i know not what fear is, nor i know not what it is that i fear now; i fear not the hastening of my death, and yet i do fear the increase of the disease; i should belie nature if i should deny that i feared this; and if i should say that i feared death, i should belie god. my weakness is from nature, who hath but her measure; my strength is from god, who possesses and distributes infinitely. as then every cold air is not a damp, every shivering is not a stupefaction; so every fear is not a fearfulness, every declination is not a running away, every debating is not a resolving, every wish that it were not thus, is not a murmuring nor a dejection, though it be thus; but as my physician's fear puts not him from his practice, neither doth mine put me from receiving from god, and man, and myself, spiritual and civil and moral assistances and consolations. vi. expostulation. my god, my god, i find in thy book that fear is a stifling spirit, a spirit of suffocation; that _ishbosheth could not speak, nor reply in his own defence to abner, because he was afraid_.[ ] it was thy servant job's case too, who, before he could say anything to thee, says of thee, _let him take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me, then would i speak with him, and not fear him; but it is not so with me_.[ ] shall a fear of thee take away my devotion to thee? dost thou command me to speak to thee, and command me to fear thee; and do these destroy one another? there is no perplexity in thee, my god; no inextricableness in thee, my light and my clearness, my sun and my moon, that directest me as well in the night of adversity and fear, as in my day of prosperity and confidence. i must then speak to thee at all times, but when must i fear thee? at all times too. when didst thou rebuke any petitioner with the name of importunate? thou hast proposed to us a parable of a judge[ ] that did justice at last, because the client was importunate, and troubled him; but thou hast told us plainly, that thy use in that parable was not that thou wast troubled with our importunities, but (as thou sayest there) _that we should always pray_. and to the same purpose thou proposest another,[ ] that if i press my friend, when he is in bed at midnight, to lend me bread, though he will not rise because i am his friend, yet because of mine importunity he will. god will do this whensoever thou askest, and never call it importunity. pray in thy bed at midnight, and god will not say, i will hear thee to-morrow upon thy knees, at thy bedside; pray upon thy knees there then, and god will not say, i will hear thee on sunday at church; god is no dilatory god, no froward god; prayer is never unseasonable, god is never asleep, nor absent. but, o my god, can i do this, and fear thee; come to thee and speak to thee, in all places, at all hours, and fear thee? dare i ask this question? there is more boldness in the question than in the coming; i may do it though i fear thee; i cannot do it except i fear thee. so well hast thou provided that we should always fear thee, as that thou hast provided that we should fear no person but thee, nothing but thee; no men? no. whom? _the lord is my help and my salvation, whom shall i fear?_[ ] great enemies? not great enemies, for no enemies are great to them that fear thee. _fear not the people of this land, for they are bread to you_;[ ] they shall not only not eat us, not eat our bread, but they shall be our bread. why should we fear them? but for all this metaphorical bread, victory over enemies that thought to devour us, may we not fear, that we may lack bread literally? and fear famine, though we fear not enemies? _young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but they that seek the lord shall not want any good thing._[ ] never? though it be well with them at one time, may they not fear that it may be worse? _wherefore should i fear in the days of evil?_[ ] says thy servant david. though his own sin had made them evil, he feared them not. no? not if this evil determine in death? not though in a death; not though in a death inflicted by violence, by malice, by our own desert; _fear not the sentence of death_,[ ] if thou fear god. thou art, o my god, so far from admitting us that fear thee to fear others, as that thou makest others to fear us; as _herod feared john, because he was a holy and a just man, and observed him_.[ ] how fully then, o my abundant god, how gently, o my sweet, my easy god, dost thou unentangle me in any scruple arising out of the consideration of thy fear! is not this that which thou intendest when thou sayest, _the secret of the lord is with them that fear him_;[ ] the secret, the mystery of the right use of fear. dost thou not mean this when thou sayest, _we shall understand the fear of the lord_?[ ] have it, and have benefit by it; have it, and stand under it; be directed by it, and not be dejected with it. and dost thou not propose that church for our example when thou sayest, the church of judea _walked in the fear of god_;[ ] they had it, but did not sit down lazily, nor fall down weakly, nor sink under it. there is a fear which weakens men in the service of god. _adam was afraid, because he was naked._[ ] they who have put off thee are a prey to all. they may fear, for _thou wilt laugh when their fear comes upon them_, as thou hast told them more than once.[ ] and thou wilt make them fear where no cause of fear is, as thou hast told them more than once too.[ ] there is a fear that is a punishment of former wickednesses, and induces more. though some said of thy son, christ jesus, _that he was a good man, yet no man spake openly for fear of the jews_. joseph was his disciple, _but secretly, for fear of the jews_.[ ] the disciples kept some meetings, but with doors shut for fear of the jews. o my god, thou givest us fear for ballast to carry us steadily in all weathers. but thou wouldst ballast us with such sand as should have gold in it, with that fear which is thy fear; for _the fear of the lord is his treasure_.[ ] he that hath that lacks nothing that man can have, nothing that god does give. timorous men thou rebukest: _why are ye fearful, o ye of little faith?_[ ] such thou dismissest from thy service with scorn, though of them there went from gideon's army twenty-two thousand, and remained but ten thousand.[ ] such thou sendest farther than so; thither from whence they never return: _the fearful and the unbelieving, into that burning lake which is the second death_.[ ] there is a fear and there is a hope, which are equal abominations to thee; for, they were confounded because they hoped,[ ] says thy servant job; because they had misplaced, miscentred their hopes, they hoped, and not in thee, and such shall fear, and not fear thee. but in thy fear, my god, and my fear, my god, and my hope, is hope, and love, and confidence, and peace, and every limb and ingredient of happiness enwrapped; for joy includes all, and fear and joy consist together, nay, constitute one another. _the women departed from the sepulchre_,[ ] the women who were made supernumerary apostles, apostles to the apostles; mothers of the church, and of the fathers, grandfathers of the church, the apostles themselves; the women, angels of the resurrection, went from the sepulchre with fear and joy; they ran, says the text, and they ran upon those two legs, fear and joy; and both was the right leg; they joy in thee, o lord, that fear thee, and fear thee only, who feel this joy in thee. nay, thy fear, and thy love are inseparable; still we are called upon, in infinite places, to fear god, yet the commandment, which is the root of all is, thou shalt love the lord thy god; he doeth neither that doeth not both; he omits neither, that does one. therefore when thy servant david had said that _the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom_,[ ] and his son had repeated it again,[ ] he that collects both calls this fear the root of wisdom; and, that it may embrace all, he calls it wisdom itself.[ ] a wise man, therefore, is never without it, never without the exercise of it; therefore thou sentest moses to thy people, _that they might learn to fear thee all the days of their lives_,[ ] not in heavy and calamitous, but in good and cheerful days too; for noah, who had assurance of his deliverance, yet, _moved with fear, prepared an ark, for the saving of his house_.[ ] _a wise man will fear in everything._[ ] and therefore, though i pretend to no other degree of wisdom, i am abundantly rich in this, that i lie here possessed with that fear which is thy fear, both that this sickness is thy immediate correction, and not merely a natural accident, and therefore fearful, because it is a fearful thing to fall into thy hands; and that this fear preserves me from all inordinate fear, arising out of the infirmity of nature, because thy hand being upon me, thou wilt never let me fall out of thy hand. vi. prayer. o most mighty god, and merciful god, the god of all true sorrow, and true joy too, of all fear, and of all hope too, as thou hast given me a repentance, not to be repented of, so give me, o lord, a fear, of which i may not be afraid. give me tender and supple and conformable affections, that as i joy with them that joy, and mourn with them that mourn, so i may fear with them that fear. and since thou hast vouchsafed to discover to me, in his fear whom thou hast admitted to be my assistance in this sickness, that there is danger therein, let me not, o lord, go about to overcome the sense of that fear, so far as to pretermit the fitting and preparing of myself for the worst that may be feared, the passage out of this life. many of thy blessed martyrs have passed out of this life without any show of fear; but thy most blessed son himself did not so. thy martyrs were known to be but men, and therefore it pleased thee to fill them with thy spirit and thy power, in that they did more than men; thy son was declared by thee, and by himself, to be god; and it was requisite that he should declare himself to be man also, in the weaknesses of man. let me not therefore, o my god, be ashamed of these fears, but let me feel them to determine where his fear did, in a present submitting of all to thy will. and when thou shalt have inflamed and thawed my former coldnesses and indevotions with these heats, and quenched my former heats with these sweats and inundations, and rectified my former presumptions and negligences with these fears, be pleased, o lord, as one made so by thee, to think me fit for thee; and whether it be thy pleasure to dispose of this body, this garment, so as to put it to a farther wearing in this world, or to lay it up in the common wardrobe, the grave, for the next, glorify thyself in thy choice now, and glorify it then, with that glory, which thy son, our saviour christ jesus, hath purchased for them whom thou makest partakers of his resurrection. amen. footnotes: [ ] sam. iii. . [ ] job, ix. . [ ] luke, xviii. . [ ] luke, xi. . [ ] psalm xxvii. . [ ] num. xiv. . [ ] psalm xxxv. . [ ] psalm xlix. . [ ] ecclus. xli. . [ ] mark, vi. . [ ] psalm xxv. . [ ] prov. ii. . [ ] acts, ix. . [ ] gen. iii. . [ ] prov. i. ; x. . [ ] psalm xiv. ; liii. . [ ] john, vii. ; xix. ; xxix. [ ] isaiah, xxxiii. . [ ] matt. viii. . [ ] judges, vii. . [ ] rev. xxi. . [ ] job, vi. . [ ] matt. xxviii. . [ ] psalm cxi. . [ ] prov. i. . [ ] ecclus. i. , . [ ] deut. iv. . [ ] heb. xi. . [ ] ecclus. xviii. . vii. socios sibi jungier instat. _the physician desires to have others joined with him._ vii. meditation. there is more fear, therefore more cause. if the physician desire help, the burden grows great: there is a growth of the disease then; but there must be an autumn too; but whether an autumn of the disease or me, it is not my part to choose; but if it be of me, it is of both; my disease cannot survive me, i may overlive it. howsoever, his desiring of others argues his candour, and his ingenuity; if the danger be great, he justifies his proceedings, and he disguises nothing that calls in witnesses; and if the danger be not great, he is not ambitious, that is so ready to divide the thanks and the honour of that work which he begun alone, with others. it diminishes not the dignity of a monarch that he derive part of his care upon others; god hath not made many suns, but he hath made many bodies that receive and give light. the romans began with one king; they came to two consuls; they returned in extremities to one dictator: whether in one or many, the sovereignty is the same in all states and the danger is not the more, and the providence is the more, where there are more physicians; as the state is the happier where businesses are carried by more counsels than can be in one breast, how large soever. diseases themselves hold consultations, and conspire how they may multiply, and join with one another, and exalt one another's force so; and shall we not call physicians to consultations? death is in an old man's door, he appears and tells him so, and death is at a young man's back, and says nothing; age is a sickness, and youth is an ambush; and we need so many physicians as may make up a watch, and spy every inconvenience. there is scarce any thing that hath not killed somebody; a hair, a feather hath done it; nay, that which is our best antidote against it hath done it; the best cordial hath been deadly poison. men have died of joy, and almost forbidden their friends to weep for them, when they have seen them die laughing. even that tyrant, dionysius (i think the same that suffered so much after), who could not die of that sorrow, of that high fall, from a king to a wretched private man, died of so poor a joy as to be declared by the people at a theatre that he was a good poet. we say often that a man may live of a little; but, alas, of how much less may a man die? and therefore the more assistants the better. who comes to a day of hearing, in a cause of any importance, with one advocate? in our funerals we ourselves have no interest; there we cannot advise, we cannot direct; and though some nations (the egyptians in particular) built themselves better tombs than houses because they were to dwell longer in them, yet amongst ourselves, the greatest man of style whom we have had, the conqueror, was left, as soon as his soul left him, not only without persons to assist at his grave but without a grave. who will keep us then we know not; as long as we can, let us admit as much help as we can; another and another physician is not another and another indication and symptom of death, but another and another assistant, and proctor of life: nor do they so much feed the imagination with apprehension of danger, as the understanding with comfort. let not one bring learning, another diligence, another religion, but every one bring all; and as many ingredients enter into a receipt, so may many men make the receipt. but why do i exercise my meditation so long upon this, of having plentiful help in time of need? is not my meditation rather to be inclined another way, to condole and commiserate their distress who have none? how many are sicker (perchance) than i, and laid in their woful straw at home (if that corner be a home), and have no more hope of help, though they die, than of preferment, though they live! nor do more expect to see a physician then, than to be an officer after; of whom, the first that takes knowledge, is the sexton that buries them, who buries them in oblivion too! for they do but fill up the number of the dead in the bill, but we shall never hear their names, till we read them in the book of life with our own. how many are sicker (perchance) than i, and thrown into hospitals, where (as a fish left upon the sand must stay the tide) they must stay the physician's hour of visiting, and then can be but visited! how many are sicker (perchance) than all we, and have not this hospital to cover them, not this straw to lie in, to die in, but have their gravestone under them, and breathe out their souls in the ears and in the eyes of passengers, harder than their bed, the flint of the street? that taste of no part of our physic, but a sparing diet, to whom ordinary porridge would be julep enough, the refuse of our servants bezoar enough, and the offscouring of our kitchen tables cordial enough. o my soul, when thou art not enough awake to bless thy god enough for his plentiful mercy in affording thee many helpers, remember how many lack them, and help them to them or to those other things which they lack as much as them. vii. expostulation. my god, my god, thy blessed servant augustine begged of thee that moses might come and tell him what he meant by some places of genesis: may i have leave to ask of that spirit that writ that book, why, when david expected news from joab's army,[ ] and that the watchman told him that he saw a man running alone, david concluded out of that circumstance, that if he came alone, he brought good news?[ ] i see the grammar, the word signifies so, and is so ever accepted, _good news_; but i see not the logic nor the rhetoric, how david would prove or persuade that his news was good because he was alone, except a greater company might have made great impressions of danger, by imploring and importuning present supplies. howsoever that be, i am sure that that which thy apostle says to timothy, _only luke is with me_,[ ] luke, and nobody but luke, hath a taste of complaint and sorrow in it: though luke want no testimony of ability, of forwardness, of constancy, and perseverance, in assisting that great building which st. paul laboured in, yet st. paul is affected with that, that there was none but luke to assist. we take st. luke to have been a physician, and it admits the application the better that in the presence of one good physician we may be glad of more. it was not only a civil spirit of policy, or order, that moved moses's father-in-law to persuade him to divide the burden of government and judicature with others, and take others to his assistance,[ ] but it was also thy immediate spirit, o my god, that moved moses to present unto thee seventy of the elders of israel,[ ] to receive of that spirit, which was upon moses only before, such a portion as might ease him in the government of that people; though moses alone had endowments above all, thou gavest him other assistants. i consider thy plentiful goodness, o my god, in employing angels more than one in so many of thy remarkable works. of thy son, thou sayest, _let all the angels of god worship him_;[ ] if that be in heaven, upon earth he says, _that he could command twelve legions of angels_;[ ] and when heaven and earth shall be all one, at the last day, thy son, o god, _the son of man, shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him_.[ ] the angels that celebrated his birth to the shepherds,[ ] the angels that celebrated his second birth, his resurrection, to the maries,[ ] were in the plural, angels associated with angels. in jacob's ladder,[ ] they who ascended and descended, and maintained the trade between heaven and earth, between thee and us, they who have the commission, and charge to guide us in all our ways,[ ] they who hastened lot,[ ] and in him, us, from places of danger and temptation, they who are appointed to instruct and govern us in the church here,[ ] they who are sent to punish the disobedient and refractory,[ ] that they are to be mowers and harvestmen[ ] after we are grown up in one field, the church, at the day of judgment, they that are to carry our souls whither they carried lazarus,[ ] they who attended at the several gates of the new jerusalem,[ ] to admit us there; all these who administer to thy servants, from the first to their last, are angels, angels in the plural, in every service angels associated with angels. the power of a single angel we see in that one, who in one night destroyed almost two hundred thousand in sennacherib's army,[ ] yet thou often employest many; as we know the power of salvation is abundantly in any one evangelist, and yet thou hast afforded us four. thy son proclaims of himself that _the spirit hath anointed him to preach the gospel_,[ ] yet he hath given others _for the perfecting of the saints in the work of the ministry_.[ ] thou hast made him _bishop of our souls_,[ ] but there are others bishops too. he gave the holy ghost,[ ] and others gave it also. thy way, o my god (and, o my god, thou lovest to walk in thine own ways, for they are large), thy way from the beginning, is multiplication of thy helps; and therefore it were a degree of ingratitude not to accept this mercy of affording me many helps for my bodily health, as a type and earnest of thy gracious purpose now and ever to afford me the same assistances. that for thy great help, thy word, i may seek that not from comers nor conventicles nor schismatical singularities, but from the association and communion of thy catholic church, and those persons whom thou hast always furnished that church withal: and that i may associate thy word with thy sacrament, thy seal with thy patent; and in that sacrament associate the sign with the thing signified, the bread with the body of thy son, so as i may be sure to have received both, and to be made thereby (as thy blessed servant augustine says) the ark, and the monument, and the tomb of thy most blessed son, that he, and all the merits of his death, may, by that receiving, be buried in me, to my quickening in this world, and my immortal establishing in the next. vii. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who gavest to thy servants in the wilderness thy manna, bread so conditioned, qualified so, as that to every man manna tasted like that which that man liked best, i humbly beseech thee to make this correction, which i acknowledge to be part of my daily bread, to taste so to me, not as i would but as thou wouldst have it taste, and to conform my taste, and make it agreeable to thy will. thou wouldst have thy corrections taste of humiliation, but thou wouldst have them taste of consolation too; taste of danger, but taste of assurance too. as therefore thou hast imprinted in all thine elements of which our bodies consist two manifest qualities, so that as thy fire dries, so it heats too; and as thy water moists, so it cools too; so, o lord, in these corrections which are the elements of our regeneration, by which our souls are made thine, imprint thy two qualities, those two operations, that, as they scourge us, they may scourge us into the way to thee; that when they have showed us that we are nothing in ourselves, they may also show us, that thou art all things unto us. when therefore in this particular circumstance, o lord (but none of thy judgments are circumstances, they are all of all substance of thy good purpose upon us), when in this particular, that he whom thou hast sent to assist me, desires assistants to him, thou hast let me see in how few hours thou canst throw me beyond the help of man, let me by the same light see that no vehemence of sickness, no temptation of satan, no guiltiness of sin, no prison of death, not this first, this sick bed, not the other prison, the close and dark grave, can remove me from the determined and good purpose which thou hast sealed concerning me. let me think no degree of this thy correction casual, or without signification; but yet when i have read it in that language, as a correction, let me translate it into another, and read it as a mercy; and which of these is the original, and which is the translation; whether thy mercy or thy correction were thy primary and original intention in this sickness, i cannot conclude, though death conclude me; for as it must necessarily appear to be a correction, so i can have no greater argument of thy mercy, than to die in thee and by that death to be united to him who died for me. footnotes: [ ] sam. xviii. . [ ] so all but our translation takes it; even buxdor and schindler. [ ] tim. iv. . [ ] exod. xviii. . [ ] num. xi. . [ ] heb. i. . [ ] matt. xxvi. . [ ] matt. xxv. . [ ] luke, ii. , . [ ] john, xx. . [ ] gen. xxviii. . [ ] psalm xci. . [ ] gen. xix. . [ ] rev. i. . [ ] rev. viii. . [ ] matt. xiii. . [ ] luke, xvi. . [ ] rev. xxi. . [ ] kings, xix. . [ ] luke, iv. . [ ] eph. iv. . [ ] pet. ii. . [ ] john, xx. . viii. et rex ipse suum mittit. _the king sends his own physician._ viii. meditation. still when we return to that meditation that man is a world, we find new discoveries. let him be a world, and himself will be the land, and misery the sea. his misery (for misery is his, his own; of the happiness even of this world, he is but tenant, but of misery the freeholder; of happiness he is but the farmer, but the usufructuary, but of misery the lord, the proprietary), his misery, as the sea, swells above all the hills, and reaches to the remotest parts of this earth, man; who of himself is but dust, and coagulated and kneaded into earth by tears; his matter is earth, his form misery. in this world that is mankind, the highest ground, the eminentest hills, are kings; and have they line and lead enough to fathom this sea, and say, my misery is but this deep? scarce any misery equal to sickness, and they are subject to that equally with their lowest subject. a glass is not the less brittle, because a king's face is represented in it; nor a king the less brittle, because god is represented in him. they have physicians continually about them, and therefore sickness, or the worst of sicknesses, continual fear of it. are they gods? he that called them so cannot flatter. they are gods, but sick gods; and god is presented to us under many human affections, as far as infirmities: god is called angry, and sorry, and weary, and heavy, but never a sick god; for then he might die like men, as our gods do. the worst that they could say in reproach and scorn of the gods of the heathen was, that perchance they were asleep; but gods that are so sick as that they cannot sleep are in an infirmer condition. a god, and need a physician? a jupiter, and need an Æsculapius? that must have rhubarb to purge his choler lest he be too angry, and agarick to purge his phlegm lest he be too drowsy; that as tertullian says of the egyptian gods, plants and herbs, that "god was beholden to man for growing in his garden," so we must say of these gods, their eternity (an eternity of threescore and ten years) is in the apothecary's shop, and not in the metaphorical deity. but their deity is better expressed in their humility than in their height; when abounding and overflowing, as god, in means of doing good, they descend, as god, to a communication of their abundances with men according to their necessities, then they are gods. no man is well that understands not, that values not his being well; that hath not a cheerfulness and a joy in it; and whosoever hath this joy hath a desire to communicate, to propagate that which occasions his happiness and his joy to others; for every man loves witnesses of his happiness, and the best witnesses are experimental witnesses; they who have tasted of that in themselves which makes us happy. it consummates therefore, it perfects the happiness of kings, to confer, to transfer, honour and riches, and (as they can) health, upon those that need them. viii. expostulation. my god, my god, i have a warning from the wise man, that _when a rich man speaketh every man holdeth his tongue, and, look, what he saith, they extol it to the clouds; but if a poor man speak, they say, what fellow is this? and if he stumble, they will help to overthrow him._[ ] therefore may my words be undervalued and my errors aggravated, if i offer to speak of kings; but not by thee, o my god, because i speak of them as they are in thee, and of thee as thou art in them. certainly those men prepare a way of speaking negligently or irreverently of thee, that give themselves that liberty in speaking of thy vicegerents, kings; for thou who gavest augustus the empire, gavest it to nero too; and as vespasian had it from thee, so had julian. though kings deface in themselves thy first image in their own soul, thou givest no man leave to deface thy second image, imprinted indelibly in their power. but thou knowest, o god, that if i should be slack in celebrating thy mercies to me exhibited by that royal instrument, my sovereign, to many other faults that touch upon allegiance i should add the worst of all, ingratitude, which constitutes an ill man; and faults which are defects in any particular function are not so great as those that destroy our humanity. it is not so ill to be an ill subject as to be an ill man; for he hath an universal illness, ready to flow and pour out itself into any mould, any form, and to spend itself in any function. as therefore thy son did upon the coin, i look upon the king, and i ask whose image and whose inscription he hath, and he hath thine; and i give unto thee that which is thine; i recommend his happiness to thee in all my sacrifices of thanks, for that which he enjoys, and in all my prayers for the continuance and enlargement of them. but let me stop, my god, and consider; will not this look like a piece of art and cunning, to convey into the world an opinion that i were more particular in his care than other men? and that herein, in a show of humility and thankfulness, i magnify myself more than there is cause? but let not that jealousy stop me, o god, but let me go forward in celebrating thy mercy exhibited by him. this which he doth now, in assisting so my bodily health, i know is common to me with many: many, many have tasted of that expression of his graciousness. where he can give health by his own hands he doth, and to more than any of his predecessors have done: therefore hath god reserved one disease for him, that he only might cure it, though perchance not only by one title and interest, nor only as one king. to those that need it not, in that kind, and so cannot have it by his own hand, he sends a donative of health in sending his physician. the holy king st. louis, in france, and our maud, is celebrated for that, that personally they visited hospitals, and assisted in the cure even of loathsome diseases. and when that religious empress placilla, the wife of theodosius, was told that she diminished herself too much in those personal assistances and might do enough in sending relief, she said she would send in that capacity as a christian, as a fellow-member of the body of thy son, with them. so thy servant david applies himself to his people, so he incorporates himself in his people, by calling them his brethren, his bones, his flesh;[ ] and when they fell under thy hand, even to the pretermitting of himself, he presses upon thee by prayer for them; _i have sinned, but these sheep, what have they done? let thine hand, i pray thee, be against me and against my father's house_.[ ] it is kingly to give; when araunah gave that great and free present to david, that place, those instruments for sacrifice, and the sacrifices themselves, it is said there by thy spirit, _all these things did araunah give, as a king, to the king_.[ ] to give is an approaching to the condition of kings, but to give health, an approaching to the king of kings, to thee. but this his assisting to my bodily health, thou knowest, o god, and so do some others of thine honourable servants know, is but the twilight of that day wherein thou, through him, hast shined upon me before; but the echo of that voice, whereby thou, through him, hast spoke to me before, then when he, first of any man, conceived a hope that i might be of some use in thy church and descended to an intimation, to a persuasion, almost to a solicitation, that i would embrace that calling. and thou who hadst put that desire into his heart, didst also put into mine an obedience to it; and i, who was sick before of a vertiginous giddiness and irresolution, and almost spent all my time in consulting how i should spend it, was by this man of god, and god of men, put into the pool and recovered: when i asked, perchance, a stone, he gave me bread; when i asked, perchance, a scorpion, he gave me a fish; when i asked a temporal office, he denied not, refused not that; but let me see that he had rather i took this. these things thou, o god, who forgettest nothing, hast not forgot, though perchance he, because they were benefits, hath; but i am not only a witness, but an instance, that our jehoshaphat hath a care to ordain priests, as well as judges:[ ] and not only to send physicians for temporal but to be the physician for spiritual health. viii. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who, though thou have reserved thy treasure of perfect joy and perfect glory to be given by thine own hands then, when, by seeing thee as thou art in thyself, and knowing thee as we are known, we shall possess in an instant, and possess for ever, all that can any way conduce to our happiness, yet here also, in this world, givest us such earnests of that full payment, as by the value of the earnest we may give some estimate of the treasure, humbly and thankfully i acknowledge, that thy blessed spirit instructs me to make a difference of thy blessings in this world, by that difference of the instruments by which it hath pleased thee to derive them unto me. as we see thee here in a glass, so we receive from thee here by reflection and by instruments. even casual things come from thee; and that which we call fortune here hath another name above. nature reaches out her hand and gives us corn, and wine, and oil, and milk; but thou fillest her hand before, and thou openest her hand that she may rain down her showers upon us. industry reaches out her hand to us and gives us fruits of our labour for ourselves and our posterity; but thy hand guides that hand when it sows and when it waters, and the increase is from thee. friends reach out their hands and prefer us; but thy hand supports that hand that supports us. of all these thy instruments have i received thy blessing, o god; but bless thy name most for the greatest; that, as a member of the public, and as a partaker of private favours too, by thy right hand, thy powerful hand set over us, i have had my portion not only in the hearing, but in the preaching of thy gospel. humbly beseeching thee, that as thou continuest thy wonted goodness upon the whole world by the wonted means and instruments, the same sun and moon, the same nature and industry, so to continue the same blessings upon this state and this church by the same hand, so long as that thy son, when he comes in the clouds, may find him, or his son, or his son's sons ready to give an account and able to stand in that judgment, for their faithful stewardship and dispensation of thy talents so abundantly committed to them; and be to him, o god, in all distempers of his body, in all anxieties of spirit, in all holy sadnesses of soul, such a physician in thy proportion, who are the greatest in heaven, as he hath been in soul and body to me, in his proportion, who is the greatest upon earth. footnotes: [ ] ecclus. xiii. . [ ] sam. xix. . [ ] sam. xxiv. . [ ] sam. xxiv. , . [ ] chron. xix. . ix. medicamina scribunt. _upon their consultation they prescribe._ ix. meditation. they have seen me and heard me, arraigned me in these fetters and received the evidence; i have cut up mine own anatomy, dissected myself, and they are gone to read upon me. o how manifold and perplexed a thing, nay, how wanton and various a thing, is ruin and destruction! god presented to david three kinds, war, famine and pestilence; satan left out these, and brought in fires from heaven and winds from the wilderness. if there were no ruin but sickness, we see the masters of that art can scarce number, not name all sicknesses; every thing that disorders a faculty, and the function of that, is a sickness; the names will not serve them which are given from the place affected, the pleurisy is so; nor from the effect which it works, the falling sickness is so; they cannot have names enough, from what it does, nor where it is, but they must extort names from what it is like, what it resembles, and but in some one thing, or else they would lack names; for the wolf, and the canker, and the polypus are so; and that question whether there be more names or things, is as perplexed in sicknesses as in any thing else; except it be easily resolved upon that side that there are more sicknesses than names. if ruin were reduced to that one way, that man could perish no way but by sickness, yet his danger were infinite; and if sickness were reduced to that one way, that there were no sickness but a fever, yet the way were infinite still; for it would overload and oppress any natural, disorder and discompose any artificial, memory, to deliver the names of several fevers; how intricate a work then have they who are gone to consult which of these sicknesses mine is, and then which of these fevers, and then what it would do, and then how it may be countermined. but even in ill it is a degree of good when the evil will admit consultation. in many diseases, that which is but an accident, but a symptom of the main disease, is so violent, that the physician must attend the cure of that, though he pretermit (so far as to intermit) the cure of the disease itself. is it not so in states too? sometimes the insolency of those that are great puts the people into commotions; the great disease, and the greatest danger to the head, is the insolency of the great ones; and yet they execute martial law, they come to present executions upon the people, whose commotion was indeed but a symptom, but an accident of the main disease; but this symptom, grown so violent, would allow no time for a consultation. is it not so in the accidents of the diseases of our mind too? is it not evidently so in our affections, in our passions? if a choleric man be ready to strike, must i go about to purge his choler, or to break the blow? but where there is room for consultation things are not desperate. they consult, so there is nothing rashly, inconsiderately done; and then they prescribe, they write, so there is nothing covertly, disguisedly, unavowedly done. in bodily diseases it is not always so; sometimes, as soon as the physician's foot is in the chamber, his knife is in the patient's arm; the disease would not allow a minute's forbearing of blood, nor prescribing of other remedies. in states and matter of government it is so too; they are sometimes surprised with such accidents, as that the magistrate asks not what may be done by law, but does that which must necessarily be done in that case. but it is a degree of good in evil, a degree that carries hope and comfort in it, when we may have recourse to that which is written, and that the proceedings may be apert, and ingenuous, and candid, and avowable, for that gives satisfaction and acquiescence. they who have received my anatomy of myself consult, and end their consultation in prescribing, and in prescribing physic; proper and convenient remedy; for if they should come in again and chide me for some disorder that had occasioned and induced, or that had hastened and exalted this sickness, or if they should begin to write now rules for my diet and exercise when i were well, this were to antedate or to postdate their consultation, not to give physic. it were rather a vexation than a relief, to tell a condemned prisoner, you might have lived if you had done this; and if you can get your pardon, you shall do well to take this or this course hereafter. i am glad they know (i have hid nothing from them), glad they consult (they hid nothing from one another), glad they write (they hide nothing from the world), glad that they write and prescribe physic, that there are remedies for the present case. ix. expostulation. my god, my god, allow me a just indignation, a holy detestation of the insolency of that man who, because he was of that high rank, of whom thou hast said, _they are gods_, thought himself more than equal to thee; that king of aragon, alphonsus, so perfect in the motions of the heavenly bodies as that he adventured to say, that if he had been of counsel with thee, in the making of the heavens, the heavens should have been disposed in a better order than they are. the king amaziah would not endure thy prophet to reprehend him, but asked him in anger, _art thou made of the king's counsel?_[ ] when thy prophet esaias asks that question, _who hath directed the spirit of the lord, or being his counsellor, hath taught him?_[ ] it is after he had settled and determined that office upon thy son, and him only, when he joins with those great titles, the mighty god and the prince of peace, this also, the counsellor;[ ] and after he had settled upon him the spirit of might and of counsel.[ ] so that then thou, o god, though thou have no counsel from man, yet dost nothing upon man without counsel. in the making of man there was a consultation; _let us make man_.[ ] in the preserving of man, _o thou great preserver of men_,[ ] thou proceedest by counsel; for all thy external works are the works of the whole trinity, and their hand is to every action. how much more must i apprehend that all you blessed and glorious persons of the trinity are in consultation now, what you will do with this infirm body, with this leprous soul, that attends guiltily, but yet comfortably, your determination upon it. i offer not to counsel them who meet in consultation for my body now, but i open my infirmities, i anatomize my body to them. so i do my soul to thee, o my god, in an humble confession, that there is no vein in me that is not full of the blood of thy son, whom i have crucified and crucified again, by multiplying many, and often repeating the same, sins; that there is no artery in me that hath not the spirit of error, the spirit of lust, the spirit of giddiness in it;[ ] no bone in me that is not hardened with the custom of sin and nourished and suppled with the marrow of sin; no sinews, no ligaments, that do not tie and chain sin and sin together. yet, o blessed and glorious trinity, o holy and whole college, and yet but one physician, if you take this confession into a consultation, my case is not desperate, my destruction is not decreed. if your consultation determine in writing, if you refer me to that which is written, you intend my recovery: for all the way, o my god (ever constant to thine own ways), thou hast proceeded openly, intelligibly, manifestly by the book. from thy first book, the book of life, never shut to thee, but never thoroughly open to us; from thy second book, the book of nature, where, though subobscurely and in shadows, thou hast expressed thine own image; from thy third book, the scriptures, where thou hadst written all in the old, and then lightedst us a candle to read it by, in the new, testament; to these thou hadst added the book of just and useful laws, established by them to whom thou hast committed thy people; to those, the manuals, the pocket, the bosom books of our own consciences; to those thy particular books of all our particular sins; and to those, the books with seven seals, which only _the lamb which was slain, was found worthy to open_;[ ] which, i hope, it shall not disagree with the meaning of thy blessed spirit to interpret the promulgation of their pardon and righteousness who are washed in the blood of that lamb; and if thou refer me to these books, to a new reading, a new trial by these books, this fever may be but a burning in the hand and i may be saved, though not by my book, mine own conscience, nor by thy other books, yet by thy first, the book of life, thy decree for my election, and by thy last, the book of the lamb, and the shedding of his blood upon me. if i be still under consultation, i am not condemned yet; if i be sent to these books, i shall not be condemned at all; for though there be something written in some of those books (particularly in the scriptures) which some men turn to poison, yet upon these consultations (these confessions, these takings of our particular cases into thy consideration) thou intendest all for physic; and even from those sentences from which a too late repenter will suck desperation, he that seeks thee early shall receive thy morning dew, thy seasonable mercy, thy forward consolation. ix. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who art of so pure eyes as that thou canst not look upon sin, and we of so unpure constitutions as that we can present no object but sin, and therefore might justly fear that thou wouldst turn thine eyes for ever from us, as, though we cannot endure afflictions in ourselves, yet in thee we can; so, though thou canst not endure sin in us, yet in thy son thou canst, and he hath taken upon himself, and presented to thee, all those sins which might displease thee in us. there is an eye in nature that kills as soon as it sees, the eye of a serpent; no eye in nature that nourishes us by looking upon us; but thine eye, o lord, does so. look therefore upon me, o lord, in this distress and that will recall me from the borders of this bodily death; look upon me, and that will raise me again from that spiritual death in which my parents buried me when they begot me in sin, and in which i have pierced even to the jaws of hell by multiplying such heaps of actual sins upon that foundation, that root of original sin. yet take me again into your consultation, o blessed and glorious trinity; and though the father know that i have defaced his image received in my creation; though the son know i have neglected mine interest in the redemption; yet, o blessed spirit, as thou art to my conscience so be to them, a witness that, at this minute, i accept that which i have so often, so rebelliously refused, thy blessed inspirations; be thou my witness to them that, at more pores than this slack body sweats tears, this sad soul weeps blood; and more for the displeasure of my god, than for the stripes of his displeasure. take me, then, o blessed and glorious trinity, into a reconsultation, and prescribe me any physic. if it be a long and painful holding of this soul in sickness, it is physic if i may discern thy hand to give it; and it is physic if it be a speedy departing of this soul, if i may discern thy hand to receive it. footnotes: [ ] chron. xxv. . [ ] isaiah, xlii. . [ ] isaiah, ix. . [ ] isaiah, xi. . [ ] gen. i. . [ ] job, vii. . [ ] tim. iv. ; hos. iv. ; isaiah, xix. . [ ] rev. vii. . x. lente et serpenti satagunt occurrere morbo. _they find the disease to steal on insensibly, and endeavour to meet with it so._ x. meditation. this is nature's nest of boxes: the heavens contain the earth; the earth, cities; cities, men. and all these are concentric; the common centre to them all is decay, ruin; only that is eccentric which was never made; only that place, or garment rather, which we can imagine but not demonstrate. that light, which is the very emanation of the light of god, in which the saints shall dwell, with which the saints shall be apparelled, only that bends not to this centre, to ruin; that which was not made of nothing is not threatened with this annihilation. all other things are; even angels, even our souls; they move upon the same poles, they bend to the same centre; and if they were not made immortal by preservation, their nature could not keep them from sinking to this centre, annihilation. in all these (the frame of the heavens, the states upon earth, and men in them, comprehend all), those are the greatest mischiefs which are least discerned; the most insensible in their ways come to be the most sensible in their ends. the heavens have had their dropsy, they drowned the world; and they shall have their fever, and burn the world. of the dropsy, the flood, the world had a foreknowledge one hundred and twenty years before it came; and so some made provision against it, and were saved; the fever shall break out in an instant and consume all; the dropsy did no harm to the heavens from whence it fell, it did not put out those lights, it did not quench those heats; but the fever, the fire, shall burn the furnace itself, annihilate those heavens that breathe it out. though the dogstar have a pestilent breath, an infectious exhalation, yet, because we know when it will rise, we clothe ourselves, and we diet ourselves, and we shadow ourselves to a sufficient prevention; but comets and blazing stars, whose effects or significations no man can interrupt or frustrate, no man foresaw: no almanack tells us when a blazing star will break out, the matter is carried up in secret; no astrologer tells us when the effects will be accomplished, for that is a secret of a higher sphere than the other; and that which is most secret is most dangerous. it is so also here in the societies of men, in states and commonwealths. twenty rebellious drums make not so dangerous a noise as a few whisperers and secret plotters in corners. the cannon doth not so much hurt against a wall, as a mine under the wall; nor a thousand enemies that threaten, so much as a few that take an oath to say nothing. god knew many heavy sins of the people, in the wilderness and after, but still he charges them with that one, with murmuring, murmuring in their hearts, secret disobediences, secret repugnances against his declared will; and these are the most deadly, the most pernicious. and it is so too with the diseases of the body; and that is my case. the pulse, the urine, the sweat, all have sworn to say nothing, to give no indication of any dangerous sickness. my forces are not enfeebled, i find no decay in my strength; my provisions are not cut off, i find no abhorring in mine appetite; my counsels are not corrupted nor infatuated, i find no false apprehensions to work upon mine understanding; and yet they see that invisibly, and i feel that insensibly, the disease prevails. the disease hath established a kingdom, an empire in me, and will have certain _arcana imperii_, secrets of state, by which it will proceed and not be bound to declare them. but yet against those secret conspiracies in the state, the magistrate hath the rack; and against these insensible diseases physicians have their examiners; and those these employ now. x. expostulation. my god, my god, i have been told, and told by relation, by her own brother that did it, by thy servant nazianzen, that his sister in the vehemency of her prayer, did use to threaten thee with a holy importunity, with a pious impudency. i dare not do so, o god; but as thy servant augustine wished that adam had not sinned, therefore that christ might not have died, may i not to this one purpose wish that if the serpent, before the temptation of eve, did go upright and speak,[ ] that he did so still, because i should the sooner hear him if he spoke, the sooner see him if he went upright? in his curse i am cursed too; his creeping undoes me; for howsoever he begin at the heel, and do but bruise that, yet he, and _death_ in him, _is come into our windows_;[ ] into our eyes and ears, the entrances and inlets of our soul. he works upon us in secret and we do not discern him; and one great work of his upon us is to make us so like himself as to sin in secret, that others may not see us; but his masterpiece is to make us sin in secret, so as that we may not see ourselves sin. for the first, the hiding of our sins from other men, he hath induced that which was his offspring from the beginning, a lie;[ ] for man is, in nature, yet in possession of some such sparks of ingenuity and nobleness, as that, but to disguise evil, he would not lie. the body, the sin, is the serpent's; and the garment that covers it, the lie, is his too. these are his, but the hiding of sin from ourselves is he himself: when we have the sting of the serpent in us, and do not sting ourselves, the venom of sin, and no remorse for sin, then, as thy blessed son said of judas, _he is a devil_;[ ] not that he had one, but was one; so we are become devils to ourselves, and we have not only a serpent in our bosom, but we ourselves are to ourselves that serpent. how far did thy servant david press upon thy pardon in that petition, _cleanse thou me from secret sins_?[ ] can any sin be secret? for a great part of our sins, though, says thy prophet, we conceive them in the dark, upon our bed, yet, says he, we do them in the light; there are many sins which we glory in doing, and would not do if nobody should know them. thy blessed servant augustine confesses that he was ashamed of his shamefacedness and tenderness of conscience, and that he often belied himself with sins which he never did, lest he should be unacceptable to his sinful companions. but if we would conceal them (thy prophet found such a desire, and such a practice in some, when he said, _thou hast trusted in thy wickedness, and thou hast said, none shall see me_[ ]), yet can we conceal them? thou, o god, canst hear of them by others: the voice of abel's blood will tell thee of cain's murder;[ ] the heavens themselves will tell thee. heaven shall reveal his iniquity; a small creature alone shall do it, _a bird of the air shall carry the voice, and tell the matter_;[ ] thou wilt trouble no informer, thou thyself revealedst adam's sin to thyself;[ ] and the manifestation of sin is so full to thee, as that thou shalt reveal all to all; _thou shalt bring every work to judgment, with every secret thing;[ ] and there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed_.[ ] but, o my god, there is another way of knowing my sins, which thou lovest better than any of these; to know them by my confession. as physic works, so it draws the peccant humour to itself, that, when it is gathered together, the weight of itself may carry that humour away; so thy spirit returns to my memory my former sins, that, being so recollected, they may pour out themselves by confession. _when i kept silence_, says thy servant david, _day and night thy hand was heavy upon me_; but when i said, _i will confess my transgressions unto the lord, thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin_.[ ] thou interpretest the very purpose of confession so well, as that thou scarce leavest any new mercy for the action itself. this mercy thou leavest, that thou armest us thereupon against relapses into the sins which we have confessed. and that mercy which thy servant augustine apprehends when he says to thee, "thou hast forgiven me those sins which i have done, and those sins which only by thy grace i have not done": they were done in our inclination to them, and even that inclination needs thy mercy, and that mercy he calls a pardon. and these are most truly secret sins, because they were never done, and because no other man, nor i myself, but only thou knowest, how many and how great sins i have escaped by thy grace, which, without that, i should have multiplied against thee. x. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who as thy son christ jesus, though he knew all things, yet said he knew not the day of judgment, because he knew it not so as that he might tell us; so though thou knowest all my sins, yet thou knowest them not to my comfort, except thou know them by my telling them to thee. how shall i bring to thy knowledge, by that way, those sins which i myself know not? if i accuse myself of original sin, wilt thou ask me if i know what original sin is? i know not enough of it to satisfy others, but i know enough to condemn myself, and to solicit thee. if i confess to thee the sins of my youth, wilt thou ask me if i know what those sins were? i know them not so well as to name them all, nor am sure to live hours enough to name them all (for i did them then faster than i can speak them now, when every thing that i did conduced to some sin), but i know them so well as to know that nothing but thy mercy is so infinite as they. if the naming of sins of thought, word and deed, of sins of omission and of action, of sins against thee, against my neighbour and against myself, of sins unrepented and sins relapsed into after repentance, of sins of ignorance and sins against the testimony of my conscience, of sins against thy commandments, sins against thy son's prayer, and sins against our own creed, of sins against the laws of that church, and sins against the laws of that state in which thou hast given me my station; if the naming of these sins reach not home to all mine, i know what will. o lord, pardon me, me, all those sins which thy son christ jesus suffered for, who suffered for all the sins of all the world; for there is no sin amongst all those which had not been my sin, if thou hadst not been my god, and antedated me a pardon in thy preventing grace. and since sin, in the nature of it, retains still so much of the author of it that it is a serpent, insensibly insinuating itself into my soul, let thy brazen serpent (the contemplation of thy son crucified for me) be evermore present to me, for my recovery against the sting of the first serpent; that so, as i have a lion against a lion, the lion of the tribe of judah against that lion that seeks whom he may devour, so i may have a serpent against a serpent, the wisdom of the serpent against the malice of the serpent, and both against that lion and serpent, forcible and subtle temptations, thy dove with thy olive in thy ark, humility and peace and reconciliation to thee, by the ordinances of thy church. amen. footnotes: [ ] josephus. [ ] jer. ix. . [ ] john, viii. . [ ] john, vi. . [ ] psalm xix. . [ ] isaiah, xlvii. . [ ] gen. iv. . [ ] eccles. x. . [ ] gen. iii. . [ ] eccles. xii. . [ ] matt. x. . [ ] psalm xxxii. - . xi. nobilibusque trahunt, a cincto corde, venenum, succis et gemmis, et quÆ generosa, ministrant ars, et natura, instillant. _they use cordials, to keep the venom and malignity of the disease from the heart._ xi. meditation. whence can we take a better argument, a clearer demonstration, that all the greatness of this world is built upon opinion of others and hath in itself no real being, nor power of subsistence, than from the heart of man? it is always in action and motion, still busy, still pretending to do all, to furnish all the powers and faculties with all that they have; but if an enemy dare rise up against it, it is the soonest endangered, the soonest defeated of any part. the brain will hold out longer than it, and the liver longer than that; they will endure a siege; but an unnatural heat, a rebellious heat, will blow up the heart, like a mine, in a minute. but howsoever, since the heart hath the birthright and primogeniture, and that it is nature's eldest son in us, the part which is first born to life in man, and that the other parts, as younger brethren, and servants in his family, have a dependance upon it, it is reason that the principal care be had of it, though it be not the strongest part, as the eldest is oftentimes not the strongest of the family. and since the brain, and liver, and heart hold not a triumvirate in man, a sovereignty equally shed upon them all, for his well-being, as the four elements do for his very being, but the heart alone is in the principality, and in the throne, as king, the rest as subjects, though in eminent place and office, must contribute to that, as children to their parents, as all persons to all kinds of superiors, though oftentimes those parents or those superiors be not of stronger parts than themselves, that serve and obey them that are weaker. neither doth this obligation fall upon us, by second dictates of nature, by consequences and conclusions arising out of nature, or derived from nature by discourse (as many things bind us even by the law of nature, and yet not by the primary law of nature; as all laws of propriety in that which we possess are of the law of nature, which law is, to give every one his own, and yet in the primary law of nature there was no propriety, no _meum et tuum_, but an universal community overall; so the obedience of superiors is of the law of nature, and yet in the primary law of nature there was no superiority, no magistracy); but this contribution of assistance of all to the sovereign, of all parts to the heart, is from the very first dictates of nature, which is, in the first place, to have care of our own preservation, to look first to ourselves; for therefore doth the physician intermit the present care of brain or liver, because there is a possibility that they may subsist, though there be not a present and a particular care had of them, but there is no possibility that they can subsist, if the heart perish: and so, when we seem to begin with others, in such assistances, indeed, we do begin with ourselves, and we ourselves are principally in our contemplation; and so all these officious and mutual assistances are but compliments towards others, and our true end is ourselves. and this is the reward of the pains of kings; sometimes they need the power of law to be obeyed; and when they seem to be obeyed voluntarily, they who do it do it for their own sakes. o how little a thing is all the greatness of man and through how false glasses doth he make shift to multiply it, and magnify it to himself! and yet this is also another misery of this king of man, the heart, which is also applicable to the kings of this world, great men, that the venom and poison of every pestilential disease directs itself to the heart, affects that (pernicious affection), and the malignity of ill men is also directed upon the greatest and the best; and not only greatness but goodness loses the vigour of being an antidote or cordial against it. and as the noblest and most generous cordials that nature or art afford, or can prepare, if they be often taken and made familiar, become no cordials, nor have any extraordinary operation, so the greatest cordial of the heart, patience, if it be much exercised, exalts the venom and the malignity of the enemy, and the more we suffer the more we are insulted upon. when god had made this earth of nothing, it was but a little help that he had, to make other things of this earth: nothing can be nearer nothing than this earth; and yet how little of this earth is the greatest man! he thinks he treads upon the earth, that all is under his feet, and the brain that thinks so is but earth; his highest region, the flesh that covers that, is but earth, and even the top of that, that wherein so many absaloms take so much pride, is but a bush growing upon that turf of earth. how little of the world is the earth! and yet that is all that man hath or is. how little of a man is the heart, and yet it is all by which he is; and this continually subject not only to foreign poisons conveyed by others, but to intestine poisons bred in ourselves by pestilential sicknesses. o who, if before he had a being he could have sense of this misery, would buy a being here upon these conditions? xi. expostulation. my god, my god, all that thou askest of me is my heart, _my son, give me thy heart_.[ ] am i thy son as long as i have but my heart? wilt thou give me an inheritance, a filiation, any thing for my heart? o thou, who saidst to satan, _hast thou considered my servant job, that there is none like him upon the earth_,[ ] shall my fear, shall my zeal, shall my jealousy, have leave to say to thee, hast thou considered my heart, that there is not so perverse a heart upon earth; and wouldst thou have that, and shall i be thy son, thy eternal son's coheir, for giving that? _the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?_[ ] he that asks that question makes the answer, i the lord search the heart. when didst thou search mine? dost thou think to find it, as thou madest it, in adam? thou hast searched since, and found all these gradations in the ill of our hearts, _that every imagination of the thoughts of our hearts is only evil continually_.[ ] dost thou remember this, and wouldst thou have my heart? o god of all light, i know thou knowest all, and it is thou[ ] that declarest unto man what is his heart. without thee, o sovereign goodness, i could not know how ill my heart were. thou hast declared unto me, in thy word, that for all this deluge of evil that hath surrounded all hearts, yet thou soughtest and foundest a man after thine own heart;[ ] that thou couldst and wouldst give thy people pastors according to thine own heart;[ ] and i can gather out of thy word so good testimony of the hearts of men as to find single hearts, docile and apprehensive hearts; hearts that can, hearts that have learned; wise hearts in one place, and in another in a great degree wise, perfect hearts; straight hearts, no perverseness without; and clean hearts, no foulness within: such hearts i can find in thy word; and if my heart were such a heart, i would give thee my heart. but i find stony hearts too,[ ] and i have made mine such: i have found hearts that are snares;[ ] and i have conversed with such; hearts that burn like ovens;[ ] and the fuel of lust, and envy, and ambition, hath inflamed mine; hearts in which their masters trust, and _he that trusteth in his own heart is a fool_;[ ] his confidence in his own moral constancy and civil fortitude will betray him, when thou shalt cast a spiritual damp, a heaviness and dejection of spirit upon him. i have found these hearts, and a worse than these, a heart into the which the devil himself is entered, judas's heart.[ ] the first kind of heart, alas, my god, i have not; the last are not hearts to be given to thee. what shall i do? without that present i cannot be thy son, and i have it not. to those of the first kind thou givest joyfulness of heart,[ ] and i have not that; to those of the other kind thou givest faintness of heart;[ ] and blessed be thou, o god, for that forbearance, i have not that yet. there is then a middle kind of hearts, not so perfect as to be given but that the very giving mends them; not so desperate as not to be accepted but that the very accepting dignifies them. this is a melting heart,[ ] and a troubled heart, and a wounded heart, and a broken heart, and a contrite heart; and by the powerful working of thy piercing spirit such a heart i have. thy samuel spake unto all the house of thy israel, and said, _if you return to the lord with all your hearts, prepare your hearts unto the lord_.[ ] if my heart be prepared, it is a returning heart. and if thou see it upon the way, thou wilt carry it home. nay, the preparation is thine too; this melting, this wounding, this breaking, this contrition, which i have now, is thy way to thy end; and those discomforts are, for all that, _the earnest of thy spirit in my heart_;[ ] and where thou givest earnest, thou wilt perform the bargain. nabal was confident upon his wine, but _in the morning his heart died within him_.[ ] thou, o lord, hast given me wormwood, and i have had some diffidence upon that; and thou hast cleared a morning to me again, and my heart is alive. david's heart smote him when he cut off the skirt from saul;[ ] and his heart smote him when he had numbered his people:[ ] my heart hath struck me when i come to number my sins; but that blow is not to death, because those sins are not to death, but my heart lives in thee. but yet as long as i remain in this great hospital, this sick, this diseaseful world, as long as i remain in this leprous house, this flesh of mine, this heart, though thus prepared for thee, prepared by thee, will still be subject to the invasion of malign and pestilent vapours. but i have my cordials in thy promise; _when i shall know the plague of my heart, and pray unto thee in thy house_,[ ] thou wilt preserve that heart from all mortal force of that infection; _and the peace of god, which passeth all understandings shall keep my heart and mind through christ jesus_.[ ] xi. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who in thy upper house, the heavens, though there be many mansions, yet art alike and equally in every mansion; but here in thy lower house, though thou fillest all, yet art otherwise in some rooms thereof than in others; otherwise in thy church than in my chamber, and otherwise in thy sacraments than in my prayers; so though thou be always present and always working in every room of this thy house, my body, yet i humbly beseech thee to manifest always a more effectual presence in my heart than in the other offices. into the house of thine anointed, disloyal persons, traitors, will come; into thy house, the church, hypocrites and idolators will come; into some rooms of this thy house, my body, temptations will come, infections will come; but be my heart thy bedchamber, o my god, and thither let them not enter. job made a covenant with his eyes, but not his making of that covenant, but thy dwelling in his heart, enabled him to keep that covenant. thy son himself had a sadness in his soul to death, and he had a reluctation, a deprecation of death, in the approaches thereof; but he had his cordial too, _yet not my will, but thine be done_. and as thou hast not delivered us, thine adopted sons, from these infectious temptations, so neither hast thou delivered us over to them, nor withheld thy cordials from us. i was baptized in thy cordial water against original sin, and i have drunk of thy cordial blood, for my recovery from actual and habitual sin, in the other sacrament. thou, o lord, who hast imprinted all medicinal virtues which are in all creatures, and hast made even the flesh of vipers to assist in cordials, art able to make this present sickness, everlasting health, this weakness, everlasting strength, and this very dejection and faintness of heart, a powerful cordial. when thy blessed son cried out to thee, _my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?_ thou didst reach out thy hand to him; but not to deliver his sad soul, but to receive his holy soul: neither did he longer desire to hold it of thee, but to recommend it to thee. i see thine hand upon me now, o lord, and i ask not why it comes, what it intends; whether thou wilt bid it stay still in this body for some time, or bid it meet thee this day in paradise, i ask not, not in a wish, not in a thought. infirmity of nature, curiosity of mind, are temptations that offer; but a silent and absolute obedience to thy will, even before i know it, is my cordial. preserve that to me, o my god, and that will preserve me to thee; that, when thou hast catechised me with affliction here, i may take a greater degree, and serve thee in a higher place, in thy kingdom of joy and glory. amen. footnotes: [ ] prov. xxiii. . [ ] job, i. . [ ] jer. xvii. . [ ] gen. vi. . [ ] amos, iv. . [ ] sam. xiii. . [ ] jer. iii. . [ ] ezek. xi. . [ ] eccles. vii. . [ ] hos. vii. . [ ] prov. xxviii. . [ ] john, xiii. . [ ] ecclus. l. . [ ] lev. xxvi. . [ ] josh. ii. . [ ] sam. vii. . [ ] cor. i. . [ ] sam. xxv. . [ ] sam. xxiv. . [ ] sam. xxiv. . [ ] kings, viii. . [ ] phil. iv. . xii. ------------------ spirante columba supposita pedibus, revocantur ad ima vapores. _they apply pigeons, to draw the vapours from the head._ xii. meditation. what will not kill a man if a vapour will? how great an elephant, how small a mouse destroys! to die by a bullet is the soldier's daily bread; but few men die by hail-shot. a man is more worth than to be sold for single money; a life to be valued above a trifle. if this were a violent shaking of the air by thunder or by cannon, in that case the air is condensed above the thickness of water, of water baked into ice, almost petrified, almost made stone, and no wonder that kills; but that which is but a vapour, and a vapour not forced but breathed, should kill, that our nurse should overlay us, and air that nourishes us should destroy us, but that it is a half atheism to murmur against nature, who is god's immediate commissioner, who would not think himself miserable to be put into the hands of nature, who does not only set him up for a mark for others to shoot at, but delights herself to blow him up like a glass, till she see him break, even with her own breath? nay, if this infectious vapour were sought for, or travelled to, as pliny hunted after the vapour of Ætna and dared and challenged death in the form of a vapour to do his worst, and felt the worst, he died; or if this vapour were met withal in an ambush, and we surprised with it, out of a long shut well, or out of a new opened mine, who would lament, who would accuse, when we had nothing to accuse, none to lament against but fortune, who is less than a vapour? but when ourselves are the well that breathes out this exhalation, the oven that spits out this fiery smoke, the mine that spews out this suffocating and strangling damp, who can ever, after this, aggravate his sorrow by this circumstance, that it was his neighbour, his familiar friend, his brother, that destroyed him, and destroyed him with a whispering and a calumniating breath, when we ourselves do it to ourselves by the same means, kill ourselves with our own vapours? or if these occasions of this self-destruction had any contribution from our own wills, any assistance from our own intentions, nay, from our own errors, we might divide the rebuke, and chide ourselves as much as them. fevers upon wilful distempers of drink and surfeits, consumptions upon intemperances and licentiousness, madness upon misplacing or overbending our natural faculties, proceed from ourselves, and so as that ourselves are in the plot, and we are not only passive, but active too, to our own destruction. but what have i done, either to breed or to breathe these vapours? they tell me it is my melancholy; did i infuse, did i drink in melancholy into myself? it is my thoughtfulness; was i not made to think? it is my study; doth not my calling call for that? i have done nothing wilfully, perversely toward it, yet must suffer in it, die by it. there are too many examples of men that have been their own executioners, and that have made hard shift to be so: some have always had poison about them, in a hollow ring upon their finger, and some in their pen that they used to write with; some have beat out their brains at the wall of their prison, and some have eat the fire out of their chimneys;[ ] and one is said to have come nearer our case than so, to have strangled himself, though his hands were bound, by crushing his throat between his knees. but i do nothing upon myself, and yet am mine own executioner. and we have heard of death upon small occasions and by scornful instruments: a pin, a comb, a hair pulled, hath gangrened and killed; but when i have said a vapour, if i were asked again what is a vapour, i could not tell, it is so insensible a thing; so near nothing is that that reduces us to nothing. but extend this vapour, rarefy it; from so narrow a room as our natural bodies, to any politic body, to a state. that which is fume in us is, in a state rumour; and these vapours in us, which we consider here pestilent and infectious fumes, are, in a state, infecitious rumours, detracting and dishonourable calumnies, libels. the heart in that body is the king, and the brain his council; and the whole magistracy, that ties all together, is the sinews which proceed from thence; and the life of all is honour, and just respect, and due reverence; and therefore, when these vapours, these venomous rumours, are directed against these noble parts, the whole body suffers. but yet for all their privileges, they are not privileged from our misery; that as the vapours most pernicious to us arise in our own bodies, so do the most dishonourable rumours, and those that wound a state most arise at home. what ill air that i could have met in the street, what channel, what shambles, what dunghill, what vault, could have hurt me so much as these homebred vapours? what fugitive, what almsman of any foreign state, can do so much harm as a detractor, a libeller, a scornful jester at home? for as they that write of poisons, and of creatures naturally disposed to the ruin of man, do as well mention the flea as the viper[ ], because the flea, though he kill none, he does all the harm he can; so even these libellous and licentious jesters utter the venom they have, though sometimes virtue, and always power, be a good pigeon to draw this vapour from the head and from doing any deadly harm there. xii. expostulation. my god, my god, as thy servant james, when he asks that question, _what is your life?_ provides me my answer, _it is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away_;[ ] so, if he did ask me what is your death, i am provided of my answer, it is a vapour too; and why should it not be all one to me, whether i live or die, if life and death be all one, both a vapour? thou hast made vapour so indifferent a thing as that thy blessings and thy judgments are equally expressed by it, and is made by thee the hieroglyphic of both. why should not that be always good by which thou hast declared thy plentiful goodness to us? _a vapour went up from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground._[ ] and that by which thou hast imputed a goodness to us, and wherein thou hast accepted our service to thee, sacrifices; for sacrifices were vapours;[ ] and in them it is said, that a _thick cloud of incense went up to thee_.[ ] so it is of that wherein thou comest to us, the dew of heaven, and of that wherein we come to thee, both are vapours; and he, in whom we have and are all that we are or have, temporally or spiritually, thy blessed son, in the person of wisdom, is called so too; _she is_ (that is, he is) _the vapour of the power of god, and the pure influence from the glory of the almighty._[ ] hast thou, thou, o my god, perfumed vapour with thine own breath, with so many sweet acceptations in thine own word, and shall this vapour receive an ill and infectious sense? it must; for, since we have displeased thee with that which is but vapour (for what is sin but a vapour, but a smoke, though such a smoke as takes away our sight, and disables us from seeing our danger), it is just that thou punish us with vapours too. for so thou dost, as the wise man tells us, thou canst punish us by those things wherein we offend thee; as he hath expressed it there, _by beasts newly created, breathing vapours_.[ ] therefore that commination of thine, by thy prophet, _i will show wonders in the heaven, and in the earth, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke_;[ ] thine apostle, who knew thy meaning best, calls _vapours of smoke_.[ ] one prophet presents thee in thy terribleness so, _there went out a smoke at his nostrils_,[ ] and another the effect of thine anger so, _the house was filled with smoke_;[ ] and he that continues his prophecy as long as the world can continue, describes the miseries of the latter times so, _out of the bottomless pit arose a smoke, that darkened the sun, and out of that smoke came locusts, who had the power of scorpions_.[ ] now all smokes begin in fire, and all these will end so too: the smoke of sin and of thy wrath will end in the fire of hell. but hast thou afforded us no means to evaporate these smokes, to withdraw these vapours? when thine angels fell from heaven, thou tookest into thy care the reparation of that place, and didst it by assuming, by drawing us thither; when we fell from thee here, in this world, thou tookest into thy care the reparation of this place too, and didst it by assuming us another way, by descending down to assume our nature, in thy son. so that though our last act be an ascending to glory (we shall ascend to the place of angels), yet our first act is to go the way of thy son, descending, and the way of thy blessed spirit too, who descended in the dove. therefore hast thou been pleased to afford us this remedy in nature, by this application of a dove to our lower parts, to make these vapours in our bodies to descend, and to make that a type to us, that, by the visitation of thy spirit, the vapours of sin shall descend, and we tread them under our feet. at the baptism of thy son, the dove descended, and at the exalting of thine apostles to preach, the same spirit descended. let us draw down the vapours of our own pride, our own wits, our own wills, our own inventions, to the simplicity of thy sacraments and the obedience of thy word; and these doves, thus applied, shall make us live. xii. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who, though thou have suffered us to destroy ourselves, and hast not given us the power of reparation in ourselves, hast yet afforded us such means of reparation as may easily and familiarly be compassed by us, prosper, i humbly beseech thee, this means of bodily assistance in this thy ordinary creature, and prosper thy means of spiritual assistance in thy holy ordinances. and as thou hast carried this thy creature, the dove, through all thy ways through nature, and made it naturally proper to conduce medicinally to our bodily health, through the law, and made it a sacrifice for sin there, and through the gospel, and made it, and thy spirit in it, a witness of thy son's baptism there, so carry it, and the qualities of it, home to my soul, and imprint there that simplicity, that mildness, that harmlessness, which thou hast imprinted by nature in this creature. that so all vapours of all disobedience to thee, being subdued under my feet, i may, in the power and triumph of thy son, tread victoriously upon my grave, and trample upon the lion and dragon[ ] that lie under it to devour me. thou, o lord, by the prophet, callest the dove the _dove of the valleys_, but promisest that the _dove of the valleys shall be upon the mountain_.[ ] as thou hast laid me low in this valley of sickness, so low as that i am made fit for that question asked in the field of bones, _son of man, can these bones live?_[ ] so, in thy good time, carry me up to these mountains of which even in this valley thou affordest me a prospect, the mountain where thou dwellest, the holy hill, unto which none can ascend _but he that hath clean hands_, which none can have but by that one and that strong way of making them clean, in the blood of thy son christ jesus. amen. footnotes: [ ] coma, latro. in val. max. [ ] ardoinus. [ ] james, iv. . [ ] gen. ii. . [ ] lev. xvi. . [ ] ezek. viii. . [ ] wisd. vii. . [ ] wisd. xi. . [ ] joel, ii. . [ ] acts, ii. . [ ] psalm xviii. . [ ] isaiah, vi. . [ ] rev. ix. . xiii. ingeniumque malum, numeroso stigmate, fassus pellitur ad pectus, morbique suburbia, morbus. _the sickness declares the infection and malignity thereof by spots._ xiii. meditation. we say that the world is made of sea and land, as though they were equal; but we know that there is more sea in the western than in the eastern hemisphere. we say that the firmament is full of stars, as though it were equally full; but we know that there are more stars under the northern than under the southern pole. we say the elements of man are misery and happiness, as though he had an equal proportion of both, and the days of man vicissitudinary, as though he had as many good days as ill, and that he lived under a perpetual equinoctial, night and day equal, good and ill fortune in the same measure. but it is far from that; he drinks misery, and he tastes happiness; he mows misery, and he gleans happiness; he journeys in misery, he does but walk in happiness; and, which is worst, his misery is positive and dogmatical, his happiness is but disputable and problematical: all men call misery misery, but happiness changes the name by the taste of man. in this accident that befalls me, now that this sickness declares itself by spots to be a malignant and pestilential disease, if there be a comfort in the declaration, that thereby the physicians see more clearly what to do, there may be as much discomfort in this, that the malignity may be so great as that all that they can do shall do nothing; that an enemy declares himself then, when he is able to subsist, and to pursue, and to achieve his ends, is no great comfort. in intestine conspiracies, voluntary confessions do more good than confessions upon the rack; in these infections, when nature herself confesses and cries out by these outward declarations which she is able to put forth of herself, they minister comfort; but when all is by the strength of cordials, it is but a confession upon the rack, by which, though we come to know the malice of that man, yet we do not know whether there be not as much malice in his heart then as before his confession; we are sure of his treason, but not of his repentance; sure of him, but not of his accomplices. it is a faint comfort to know the worst when the worst is remediless, and a weaker than that to know much ill, and not to know that that is the worst. a woman is comforted with the birth of her son, her body is eased of a burden; but if she could prophetically read his history, how ill a man, perchance how ill a son, he would prove, she should receive a greater burden into her mind. scarce any purchase that is not clogged with secret incumbrances; scarce any happiness that hath not in it so much of the nature of false and base money, as that the allay is more than the metal. nay, is it not so (at least much towards it) even in the exercise of virtues? i must be poor and want before i can exercise the virtue of gratitude; miserable, and in torment, before i can exercise the virtue of patience. how deep do we dig, and for how coarse gold! and what other touchstone have we of our gold but comparison, whether we be as happy as others, or as ourselves at other times? o poor step toward being well, when these spots do only tell us that we are worse than we were sure of before. xiii. expostulation. my god, my god, thou hast made this sick bed thine altar, and i have no other sacrifice to offer but myself; and wilt thou accept no spotted sacrifice? doth thy son dwell bodily in this flesh that thou shouldst look for an unspottedness here? or is the holy ghost the soul of this body, as he is of thy spouse, who is therefore _all fair, and no spot in her_?[ ] or hath thy son himself no spots, who hath all our stains and deformities in him? or hath thy spouse, thy church, no spots, when every particular limb of that fair and spotless body, every particular soul in that church, is full of stains and spots? thou bidst us _hate the garment that is spotted with the flesh_.[ ] the flesh itself is the garment, and it spotteth itself with itself. and _if i wash myself with snow water, mine own clothes shall make me abominable_;[ ] and yet _no man yet ever hated his own flesh_.[ ] lord, if thou look for a spotlessness, whom wilt thou look upon? thy mercy may go a great way in my soul and yet not leave me without spots; thy corrections may go far and burn deep, and yet not leave me spotless: thy children apprehended that, when they said, _from our former iniquity we are not cleansed until this day, though there was a plague in the congregation of the lord_.[ ] thou rainest upon us, and yet dost not always mollify all our hardness; thou kindlest thy fires in us, and yet dost not always burn up all our dross; thou healest our wounds, and yet leavest scars; thou purgest the blood, and yet leavest spots. but the spots that thou hatest are the spots that we hide. the carvers of images cover spots,[ ] says the wise man; when we hide our spots, we become idolators of our own stains, of our own foulnesses. but if my spots come forth, by what means soever, whether by the strength of nature, by voluntary confession (for grace is the nature of a regenerate man, and the power of grace is the strength of nature), or by the virtue of cordials (for even thy corrections are cordials), if they come forth either way, thou receivest that confession with a gracious interpretation. when thy servant jacob practised an invention to procure spots in his sheep,[ ] thou didst prosper his rods; and thou dost prosper thine own rods, when corrections procure the discovery of our spots, the humble manifestation of our sins to thee; till then thou mayst justly say, _the whole need not the physician_;[ ] till we tell thee in our sickness we think ourselves whole, till we show our spots, thou appliest no medicine. but since i do that, shall i not, _lord, lift up my face without spot, and be steadfast, and not fear_?[ ] even my spots belong to thy son's body, and are part of that which he came down to this earth to fetch, and challenge, and assume to himself. when i open my spots i do but present him with that which is his; and till i do so, i detain and withhold his right. when therefore thou seest them upon me, as his, and seest them by this way of confession, they shall not appear to me as the pinches of death, to decline my fear to hell (for thou hast not left thy holy one in hell, thy son is not there); but these spots upon my breast, and upon my soul, shall appear to me as the constellations of the firmament, to direct my contemplation to that place where thy son is, thy right hand. xiii. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who as thou givest all for nothing, if we consider any precedent merit in us, so givest nothing for nothing, if we consider the acknowledgment and thankfulness which thou lookest for after, accept my humble thanks, both for thy mercy, and for this particular mercy, that in thy judgment i can discern thy mercy, and find comfort in thy corrections. i know, o lord, the ordinary discomfort that accompanies that phrase, that the house is visited, and that, that thy marks and thy tokens are upon the patient; but what a wretched and disconsolate hermitage is that house which is not visited by thee, and what a waif and stray is that man that hath not thy marks upon him? these heats, o lord, which thou hast brought upon this body, are but thy chafing of the wax, that thou mightst seal me to thee: these spots are but the letters in which thou hast written thine own name and conveyed thyself to me; whether for a present possession, by taking me now, or for a future reversion, by glorifying thyself in my stay here, i limit not, i condition not, i choose not, i wish not, no more than the house or land that passeth by any civil conveyance. only be thou ever present to me, o my god, and this bedchamber and thy bedchamber shall be all one room, and the closing of these bodily eyes here, and the opening of the eyes of my soul there, all one act. footnotes: [ ] psalm xci. . [ ] ezek. vii. . [ ] ezek. xxxvii. . [ ] cant. iv. . [ ] jude, . [ ] job, ix. [ ] eph. v. [ ] josh. xxii. [ ] wisd. xiii. [ ] gen. xxx. [ ] matt. ix. [ ] job, xi. . xiv. idque notant criticis medici evenisse diebus. _the physicians observe these accidents to have fallen upon the critical days._ xiv. meditation. i would not make man worse than he is, nor his condition more miserable than it is. but could i though i would? as a man cannot flatter god, nor overpraise him, so a man cannot injure man, nor undervalue him. thus much must necessarily be presented to his remembrance, that those false happinesses which he hath in this world, have their times, and their seasons, and their critical days; and they are judged and denominated according to the times when they befall us. what poor elements are our happinesses made of, if time, time which we can scarce consider to be any thing, be an essential part of our happiness! all things are done in some place; but if we consider place to be no more but the next hollow superficies of the air, alas! how thin and fluid a thing is air, and how thin a film is a superficies, and a superficies of air! all things are done in time too, but if we consider time to be but the measure of motion, and howsoever it may seem to have three stations, past, present, and future, yet the first and last of these are not (one is not now, and the other is not yet), and that which you call present, is not now the same that it was when you began to call it so in this line (before you sound that word present, or that monosyllable now, the present and the now is past). if this imaginary, half-nothing time, be of the essence of our happinesses, how can they be thought durable? time is not so; how can they be thought to be? time is not so; not so considered in any of the parts thereof. if we consider eternity, into that time never entered; eternity is not an everlasting flux of time, but time is a short parenthesis in a long period; and eternity had been the same as it is, though time had never been. if we consider, not eternity, but perpetuity; not that which had no time to begin in, but which shall outlive time, and be when time shall be no more, what a minute is the life of the durablest creature compared to that! and what a minute is man's life in respect of the sun's, or of a tree? and yet how little of our life is occasion, opportunity to receive good in; and how little of that occasion do we apprehend and lay hold of? how busy and perplexed a cobweb is the happiness of man here, that must be made up with a watchfulness to lay hold upon occasion, which is but a little piece of that which is nothing, time? and yet the best things are nothing without that. honours, pleasures, possessions, presented to us out of time? in our decrepit and distasted and unapprehensive age, lose their office, and lose their name; they are not honours to us that shall never appear, nor come abroad into the eyes of the people, to receive honour from them who give it; nor pleasures to us, who have lost our sense to taste them; nor possessions to us, who are departing from the possession of them. youth is their critical day, that judges them, that denominates them, that inanimates and informs them, and makes them honours, and pleasures, and possessions; and when they come in an unapprehensive age, they come as a cordial when the bell rings out, as a pardon when the head is off. we rejoice in the comfort of fire, but does any man cleave to it at midsummer? we are glad of the freshness and coolness of a vault, but does any man keep his christmas there; or are the pleasures of the spring acceptable in autumn? if happiness be in the season, or in the climate, how much happier then are birds than men, who can change the climate and accompany and enjoy the same season ever. xiv. expostulation. my god, my god, wouldst thou call thyself the ancient of days,[ ] if we were not to call ourselves to an account for our days? wouldst thou chide us for _standing idle here all the day_,[ ] if we were sure to have more days to make up our harvest? when thou bidst us _take no thought for to-morrow, for sufficient unto the day_ (to every day) _is the evil thereof_,[ ] is this truly, absolutely, to put off all that concerns the present life? when thou reprehendest the galatians by thy message to them, _that they observed days, and months, and times, and years_,[ ] when thou sendest by the same messenger to forbid the colossians all critical days, indicatory days, _let no man judge you in respect of a holy day, or of a new moon, or of a sabbath_,[ ] dost thou take away all consideration, all distinction of days? though thou remove them from being of the essence of our salvation, thou leavest them for assistances, and for the exaltation of our devotion, to fix ourselves, at certain periodical and stationary times, upon the consideration of those things which thou hast done for us, and the crisis, the trial, the judgment, how those things have wrought upon us and disposed us to a spiritual recovery and convalescence. for there is to every man a day of salvation. _now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation_,[ ] and there is _a great day of thy wrath_,[ ] which no man shall be able to stand in; and there are evil days before, and therefore thou warnest us and armest us, _take unto you the whole armour of god, that you may be able to stand in the evil day_.[ ] so far then our days must be critical to us, as that by consideration of them, we may make a judgment of our spiritual health, for that is the crisis of our bodily health. thy beloved servant, st. john, wishes to gaius, _that he may prosper in his health, so as his soul prospers_;[ ] for if the soul be lean the marrow of the body is but water; if the soul wither, the verdure and the good estate of the body is but an illusion and the goodliest man a fearful ghost. shall we, o my god, determine our thoughts, and shall we never determine our disputations upon our climacterical years, for particular men and periodical years, for the life of states and kingdoms, and never consider these in our long life, and our interest in the everlasting kingdom? we have exercised our curiosity in observing that adam, the eldest of the eldest world, died in his climacterical year, and shem, the eldest son of the next world, in his; abraham, the father of the faithful, in his, and the blessed virgin mary, the garden where the root of faith grew, in hers. but they whose climacterics we observe, employed their observation upon their critical days, the working of thy promise of a messias upon them. and shall we, o my god, make less use of those days who have more of them? we, who have not only the day of the prophets, the first days, but the last days, in which thou hast spoken unto us by thy son?[ ] we are the children of the day,[ ] for thou hast shined in as full a noon upon us as upon the thessalonians: they who were of the night (a night which they had superinduced upon themselves), the pharisees, pretended, _that if they had been in their fathers' days_ (those indicatory and judicatory, those critical days), _they would not have been partakers of the blood of the prophets_;[ ] and shall we who are in the day, these days, not of the prophets, but of the son, stone those prophets again, and crucify that son again, for all those evident indications and critical judicatures which are afforded us? those opposed adversaries of thy son, the pharisees, with the herodians, watched a critical day; then when the state was incensed against him, came to tempt him in the dangerous question of tribute.[ ] they left him, and that day was the critical day to the sadducees. the same day, says thy spirit in thy word, the sadducees came to him to question him about the resurrection,[ ] and them he silenced; they left him, and this was the critical day for the scribe, expert in the law, who thought himself learneder than the herodian, the pharisee, or sadducee; and he tempted him about the great commandment,[ ] and him christ left without power of replying. when all was done, and that they went about to begin their circle of vexation and temptation again, christ silences them so, that as they had taken their critical days, to come in that and in that day, so christ imposes a critical day upon them. _from that day forth_, says thy spirit, _no man durst ask him any more questions_.[ ] this, o my god, my most blessed god, is a fearful crisis, a fearful indication, when we will study, and seek, and find, what days are fittest to forsake thee in; to say, now religion is in a neutrality in the world, and this is my day, the day of liberty; now i may make new friends by changing my old religion, and this is my day, the day of advancement. but, o my god, with thy servant jacob's holy boldness, who, though thou lamedst him, would not let thee go till thou hadst given him a blessing;[ ] though thou have laid me upon my hearse, yet thou shalt not depart from me, from this bed, till thou have given me a crisis, a judgment upon myself this day. since _a day is as a thousand years with thee_,[ ] let, o lord, a day be as a week to me; and in this one, let me consider seven days, seven critical days, and judge myself that i be not judged by thee. first, this is the day of thy visitation, thy coming to me; and would i look to be welcome to thee, and not entertain thee in thy coming to me? we measure not the visitations of great persons by their apparel, by their equipage, by the solemnity of their coming, but by their very coming; and therefore, howsoever thou come, it is a crisis to me, that thou wouldst not lose me who seekest me by any means. this leads me from my first day, thy visitation by sickness, to a second, to the light and testimony of my conscience. there i have an evening and a morning, a sad guiltiness in my soul, but yet a cheerful rising of thy sun too; thy evenings and mornings made days in the creation, and there is no mention of nights; my sadnesses for sins are evenings, but they determine not in night, but deliver me over to the day, the day of a conscience dejected, but then rectified, accused, but then acquitted, by thee, by him who speaks thy word, and who is thy word, thy son. from this day, the crisis and examination of my conscience, breaks out my third day, my day of preparing and fitting myself for a more especial receiving of thy son in his institution of the sacrament; in which day, though there be many dark passages and slippery steps to them who will entangle and endanger themselves in unnecessary disputations, yet there are light hours enough for any man to go his whole journey intended by thee, to know that that bread and wine is not more really assimilated to my body, and to my blood, than the body and blood of thy son is communicated to me in that action, and participation of that bread and that wine. and having, o my god, walked with thee these three days, the day of thy visitation, the day of my conscience, the day of preparing for this seal of reconciliation, i am the less afraid of the clouds or storms of my fourth day, the day of my dissolution and transmigration from hence. nothing deserves the name of happiness that makes the remembrance of death bitter; and, _o death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee, to a man that lives at rest in his possessions, the man that hath nothing to vex him, yea unto him that is able to receive meat!_[ ] therefore hast thou, o my god, made this sickness, in which i am not able to receive meat, my fasting day, my eve to this great festival, my dissolution. and this day of death shall deliver me over to my fifth day, the day of my resurrection; for how long a day soever thou make that day in the grave, yet there is no day between that and the resurrection. then we shall all be invested, reapparelled in our own bodies; but they who have made just use of their former days be super-invested with glory; whereas the others, condemned to their old clothes, their sinful bodies, shall have nothing added but immortality to torment. and this day of awaking me, and reinvesting my soul in my body, and my body in the body of christ, shall present me, body and soul, to my sixth day, the day of judgment, which is truly, and most literally, the critical, the decretory day; both because all judgment shall be manifested to me then, and i shall assist in judging the world then, and because then, that judgment shall declare to me, and possess me of my seventh day, my everlasting sabbath in thy rest, thy glory, thy joy, thy sight, thyself; and where i shall live as long without reckoning any more days after, as thy son and thy holy spirit lived with thee, before you three made any days in the creation. xiv. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who, though thou didst permit darkness to be before light in the creation, yet in the making of light didst so multiply that light, as that it enlightened not the day only, but the night too; though thou have suffered some dimness, some clouds of sadness and disconsolateness to shed themselves upon my soul, i humbly bless and thankfully glorify thy holy name, that thou hast afforded me the light of thy spirit, against which the prince of darkness cannot prevail, nor hinder his illumination of our darkest nights, of our saddest thoughts. even the visitation of thy most blessed spirit upon the blessed virgin, is called an overshadowing. there was the presence of the holy ghost, the fountain of all light, and yet an overshadowing; nay, except there were some light, there could be no shadow. let thy merciful providence so govern all in this sickness, that i never fall into utter darkness, ignorance of thee, or inconsideration of myself; and let those shadows which do fall upon me, faintnesses of spirit, and condemnations of myself, be overcome by the power of thine irresistible light, the god of consolation; that when those shadows have done their office upon me, to let me see, that of myself i should fall into irrecoverable darkness, thy spirit may do his office upon those shadows, and disperse them, and establish me in so bright a day here, as may be a critical day to me, a day wherein and whereby i may give thy judgment upon myself, and that the words of thy son, spoken to his apostles, may reflect upon me, _behold i am with you always, even to the end of the world_.[ ] footnotes: [ ] dan. vii. . [ ] matt. xx. . [ ] matt. vi. . [ ] gal. iv. . [ ] col. ii. . [ ] cor. vi. . [ ] rev. vi. . [ ] eph. vi. . [ ] john, . [ ] heb. i. . [ ] thes. v. . [ ] matt. xxiii. . [ ] matt. xxii. . [ ] matt. xxii. . [ ] matt. xxii. . [ ] matt. xxii. . [ ] gen. xxxii. . [ ] pet. iii. . [ ] ecclus. xli. . xv. interea insomnes noctes ego duco, diesque. _i sleep not day nor night._ xv. meditation. natural men have conceived a twofold use of sleep; that it is a refreshing of the body in this life; that it is a preparing of the soul for the next; that it is a feast, and it is the grace at that feast; that it is our recreation and cheers us, and it is our catechism and instructs us; we lie down in a hope that we shall rise the stronger, and we lie down in a knowledge that we may rise no more. sleep is an opiate which gives us rest, but such an opiate, as perchance, being under it, we shall wake no more. but though natural men, who have induced secondary and figurative considerations, have found out this second, this emblematical use of sleep, that it should be a representation of death, god, who wrought and perfected his work before nature began (for nature was but his apprentice, to learn in the first seven days, and now is his foreman, and works next under him), god, i say, intended sleep only for the refreshing of man by bodily rest, and not for a figure of death, for he intended not death itself then. but man having induced death upon himself, god hath taken man's creature, death, into his hand, and mended it; and whereas it hath in itself a fearful form and aspect, so that man is afraid of his own creature, god presents it to him in a familiar, in an assiduous, in an agreeable and acceptable form, in sleep; that so when he awakes from sleep, and says to himself, "shall i be no otherwise when i am dead, than i was even now when i was asleep?" he may be ashamed of his waking dreams, and of his melancholy fancying out a horrid and an affrightful figure of that death which is so like sleep. as then we need sleep to live out our threescore and ten years, so we need death to live that life which we cannot outlive. and as death being our enemy, god allows us to defend ourselves against it (for we victual ourselves against death twice every day), as often as we eat, so god having so sweetened death unto us as he hath in sleep, we put ourselves into our enemy's hands once every day, so far as sleep is death; and sleep is as much death as meat is life. this then is the misery of my sickness, that death, as it is produced from me and is mine own creature, is now before mine eyes, but in that form in which god hath mollified it to us, and made it acceptable, in sleep i cannot see it. how many prisoners, who have even hollowed themselves their graves upon that earth on which they have lain long under heavy fetters, yet at this hour are asleep, though they be yet working upon their own graves by their own weight? he that hath seen his friend die to-day, or knows he shall see it to-morrow, yet will sink into a sleep between. i cannot, and oh, if i be entering now into eternity, where there shall be no more distinction of hours, why is it all my business now to tell clocks? why is none of the heaviness of my heart dispensed into mine eye-lids, that they might fall as my heart doth? and why, since i have lost my delight in all objects, cannot i discontinue the faculty of seeing them by closing mine eyes in sleep? but why rather, being entering into that presence where i shall wake continually and never sleep more, do i not interpret my continual waking here, to be a parasceve and a preparation to that? xv. expostulation. my god, my god, i know (for thou hast said it) that _he that keepeth israel shall neither slumber nor sleep_:[ ] but shall not that israel, over whom thou watchest, sleep? i know (for thou hast said it) that there are men whose damnation sleepeth not;[ ] but shall not they to whom thou art salvation sleep? or wilt thou take from them that evidence, and that testimony that they are thy israel, or thou their salvation? _thou givest thy beloved sleep_:[ ] shall i lack that seal of thy love? _you shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid_:[ ] shall i be outlawed from that protection? jonah slept in one dangerous storm,[ ] and thy blessed son in another;[ ] shall i have no use, no benefit, no application of those great examples? _lord, if he sleep, he shall do well_,[ ] say thy son's disciples to him of lazarus; and shall there be no room for that argument in me? or shall i be open to the contrary? if i sleep not, shall i not be well in their sense? let me not, o my god, take this too precisely, too literally; _there is that neither day nor night seeth sleep with his eyes_,[ ] says thy wise servant solomon; and whether he speak that of worldly men, or of men that seek wisdom, whether in justification or condemnation of their watchfulness, we cannot tell: we can tell that there are men that cannot sleep till they have done mischief,[ ] and then they can; and we can tell that the rich man cannot sleep, because his abundance will not let him.[ ] the tares were sown when the husbandmen were asleep[ ]; and the elders thought it a probable excuse, a credible lie, that the watchmen which kept the sepulchre should say, that the body of thy son was stolen away when they were asleep.[ ] since thy blessed son rebuked his disciples for sleeping, shall i murmur because i do not sleep? if samson had slept any longer in gaza, he had been taken;[ ] and when he did sleep longer with delilah,[ ] he was taken. sleep is as often taken for natural death in thy scriptures, as for natural rest. nay, sometimes sleep hath so heavy a sense, as to be taken for sin itself,[ ] as well as for the punishment of sin, death.[ ] much comfort is not in much sleep, when the most fearful and most irrevocable malediction is presented by thee in a perpetual sleep. _i will make their feasts, and i will make them drunk, and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake._[ ] i must therefore, o my god, look farther than into the very act of sleeping before i misinterpret my waking; for since i find thy whole hand light, shall any finger of that hand seem heavy? since the whole sickness is thy physic, shall any accident in it be my poison by my murmuring? the name of watchmen belongs to our profession; thy prophets are not only seers, endued with a power of seeing, able to see, but watchmen evermore in the act of seeing. and therefore give me leave, o my blessed god, to invert the words of thy son's spouse: she said, _i sleep, but my heart waketh_;[ ] i say, i wake, but my heart sleepeth: my body is in a sick weariness, but my soul in a peaceful rest with thee; and as our eyes in our health see not the air that is next them, nor the fire, nor the spheres, nor stop upon any thing till they come to stars, so my eyes that are open, see nothing of this world, but pass through all that, and fix themselves upon thy peace, and joy, and glory above. almost as soon as thy apostle had said, _let us not sleep_,[ ] lest we should be too much discomforted if we did, he says again, _whether we wake or sleep, let us live together with christ_.[ ] though then this absence of sleep may argue the presence of death (the original may exclude the copy, the life the picture), yet this gentle sleep and rest of my soul betroths me to thee, to whom i shall be married indissolubly, though by this way of dissolution. xv. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who art able to make, and dost make, the sick bed of thy servants chapels of ease to them, and the dreams of thy servants prayers and meditations upon thee, let not this continual watchfulness of mine, this inability to sleep, which thou hast laid upon me, be any disquiet or discomfort to me, but rather an argument, that thou wouldst not have me sleep in thy presence. what it may indicate or signify concerning the state of my body, let them consider to whom that consideration belongs; do thou, who only art the physician of my soul, tell her, that thou wilt afford her such defensatives, as that she shall wake ever towards thee, and yet ever sleep in thee, and that, through all this sickness, thou wilt either preserve mine understanding from all decays and distractions which these watchings might occasion, or that thou wilt reckon and account with me from before those violences, and not call any piece of my sickness a sin. it is a heavy and indelible sin that i brought into the world with me; it is a heavy and innumerable multitude of sins which i have heaped up since; i have sinned behind thy back (if that can be done), by wilful abstaining from thy congregations and omitting thy service, and i have sinned before thy face, in my hypocrisies in prayer, in my ostentation, and the mingling a respect of myself in preaching thy word; i have sinned in my fasting, by repining when a penurious fortune hath kept me low; and i have sinned even in that fulness, when i have been at thy table, by a negligent examination, by a wilful prevarication, in receiving that heavenly food and physic. but as i know, o my gracious god, that for all those sins committed since, yet thou wilt consider me, as i was in thy purpose when thou wrotest my name in the book of life in mine election; so into what deviations soever i stray and wander by occasion of this sickness, o god, return thou to that minute wherein thou wast pleased with me and consider me in that condition. footnotes: [ ] matt. xxviii. . [ ] psalm cxxi. . [ ] pet. ii. . [ ] psalm cxxvii. . [ ] lev. xxvi. . [ ] jonah, i. . [ ] matt. viii. . [ ] john, xi. . [ ] eccles. viii. . [ ] prov. iv. . [ ] eccles. v. . [ ] matt. xiii. ; xxviii. . [ ] matt. xxvi. . [ ] judges, xvi. . [ ] judges, xvi. . [ ] eph. v. . [ ] thes. v. . [ ] jer. li. . [ ] cant. v. . [ ] thes. v. . [ ] thes. v. . xvi. et properare meum clamant, e turre propinqua, obstreperÆ campanÆ aliorum in funere, funus. _from the bells of the church adjoining, i am daily remembered of my burial in the funerals of others._ xvi. meditation. we have a convenient author,[ ] who writ a discourse of bells when he was prisoner in turkey. how would he have enlarged himself if he had been my fellow-prisoner in this sick bed, so near to that steeple which never ceases, no more than the harmony of the spheres, but is more heard. when the turks took constantinople, they melted the bells into ordnance; i have heard both bells and ordnance, but never been so much affected with those as with these bells. i have lain near a steeple[ ] in which there are said to be more than thirty bells, and near another, where there is one so big, as that the clapper is said to weigh more than six hundred pounds,[ ] yet never so affected as here. here the bells can scarce solemnize the funeral of any person, but that i knew him, or knew that he was my neighbour: we dwelt in houses near to one another before, but now he is gone into that house into which i must follow him. there is a way of correcting the children of great persons, that other children are corrected in their behalf, and in their names, and this works upon them who indeed had more deserved it. and when these bells tell me, that now one, and now another is buried, must not i acknowledge that they have the correction due to me, and paid the debt that i owe? there is a story of a bell in a monastery[ ] which, when any of the house was sick to death, rung always voluntarily, and they knew the inevitableness of the danger by that. it rung once when no man was sick, but the next day one of the house fell from the steeple and died, and the bell held the reputation of a prophet still. if these bells that warn to a funeral now, were appropriated to none, may not i, by the hour of the funeral, supply? how many men that stand at an execution, if they would ask, for what dies that man? should hear their own faults condemned, and see themselves executed by attorney? we scarce hear of any man preferred, but we think of ourselves that we might very well have been that man; why might not i have been that man that is carried to his grave now? could i fit myself to stand or sit in any man's place, and not to lie in any man's grave? i may lack much of the good parts of the meanest, but i lack nothing of the mortality of the weakest; they may have acquired better abilities than i, but i was born to as many infirmities as they. to be an incumbent by lying down in a grave, to be a doctor by teaching mortification by example, by dying, though i may have seniors, others may be older than i, yet i have proceeded apace in a good university, and gone a great way in a little time, by the furtherance of a vehement fever, and whomsoever these bells bring to the ground to-day, if he and i had been compared yesterday, perchance i should have been thought likelier to come to this preferment then than he. god hath kept the power of death in his own hands, lest any man should bribe death. if man knew the gain of death, the ease of death, he would solicit, he would provoke death to assist him by any hand which he might use. but as when men see many of their own professions preferred, it ministers a hope that that may light upon them; so when these hourly bells tell me of so many funerals of men like me, it presents, if not a desire that it may, yet a comfort whensoever mine shall come. xvi. expostulation. my god, my god, i do not expostulate with thee, but with them who dare do that; who dare expostulate with thee, when in the voice of thy church thou givest allowance to this ceremony of bells at funerals. is it enough to refuse it, because it was in use among the gentiles? so were funerals too. is it because some abuses may have crept in amongst christians? is that enough, that their ringing hath been said to drive away evil spirits? truly, that is so far true, as that the evil spirit is vehemently vexed in their ringing, therefore, because that action brings the congregation together, and unites god and his people, to the destruction of that kingdom which the evil spirit usurps. in the first institution of thy church in this world, in the foundation of thy militant church amongst the jews, thou didst appoint the calling of the assembly in to be by trumpet;[ ] and when they were in, then thou gavest them the sound of bells in the garment of thy priest.[ ] in the triumphant church, thou employest both too, but in an inverted order; we enter into the triumphant church by the sound of bells (for we enter when we die); and then we receive our further edification, or consummation, by the sound of trumpets at the resurrection. the sound of thy trumpets thou didst impart to secular and civil uses too, but the sound of bells only to sacred. lord, let not us break the communion of saints in that which was intended for the advancement of it; let not that pull us asunder from one another, which was intended for the assembling of us in the militant, and associating of us to the triumphant church. but he, for whose funeral these bells ring now, was at home, at his journey's end yesterday; why ring they now? a man, that is a world, is all the things in the world; he is an army, and when an army marches, the van may lodge to-night where the rear comes not till to-morrow. a man extends to his act and to his example; to that which he does, and that which he teaches; so do those things that concern him, so do these bells; that which rung yesterday was to convey him out of the world in his van, in his soul; that which rung to-day was to bring him in his rear, in his body, to the church; and this continuing of ringing after his entering is to bring him to me in the application. where i lie i could hear the psalm, and did join with the congregation in it; but i could not hear the sermon, and these latter bells are a repetition sermon to me. but, o my god, my god, do i that have this fever need other remembrances of my mortality? is not mine own hollow voice, voice enough to pronounce that to me? need i look upon a death's head in a ring, that have one in my face? or go for death to my neighbour's house, that have him in my bosom? we cannot, we cannot, o my god, take in too many helps for religious duties; i know i cannot have any better image of thee than thy son, nor any better image of him than his gospel; yet must not i with thanks confess to thee, that some historical pictures of his have sometimes put me upon better meditations than otherwise i should have fallen upon? i know thy church needed not to have taken in, from jew, or gentile, any supplies for the exaltation of thy glory, or our devotion; of absolute necessity i know she needed not; but yet we owe thee our thanks, that thou hast given her leave to do so, and that as, in making us christians, thou didst not destroy that which we were before, natural men, so, in the exalting of our religious devotions now we are christians, thou hast been pleased to continue to us those assistances which did work upon the affections of natural men before; for thou lovest a good man as thou lovest a good christian; and though grace be merely from me, yet thou dost not plant grace but in good natures. xvi. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who having consecrated our living bodies to thine own spirit, and made us temples of the holy ghost, dost also require a respect to be given to these temples, even when the priest is gone out of them, to these bodies when the soul is departed from them, i bless and glorify thy name, that as thou takest care in our life of every hair of our head, so dost thou also of every grain of ashes after our death. neither dost thou only do good to us all in life and death, but also wouldst have us do good to one another, as in a holy life, so in those things which accompany our death. in that contemplation i make account that i hear this dead brother of ours, who is now carried out to his burial, to speak to me, and to preach my funeral sermon in the voice of these bells. in him, o god, thou hast accomplished to me even the request of dives to abraham; thou hast sent one from the dead to speak unto me. he speaks to me aloud from that steeple; he whispers to me at these curtains, and he speaks thy words: _blessed are the dead which die in the lord from henceforth_.[ ] let this prayer therefore, o my god, be as my last gasp, my expiring, my dying in thee; that if this be the hour of my transmigration, i may die the death of a sinner, drowned in my sins, in the blood of thy son; and if i live longer, yet i may now die the death of the righteous, die to sin; which death is a resurrection to a new life. _thou killest and thou givest life_: whichsoever comes, it comes from thee; which way soever it comes, let me come to thee. footnotes: [ ] magius. [ ] antwerp. [ ] roan. [ ] roccha. [ ] numb. x. . [ ] exod. xviii. - . xvii. nunc lento sonitu dicunt, morieris. _now, this bell tolling softly for another, says to me: thou must die._ xvii. meditation. perchance he for whom this bell tolls may be so ill, as that he knows not it tolls for him; and perchance i may think myself so much better than i am, as that they who are about me, and see my state, may have caused it to toll for me, and i know not that. the church is catholic, universal, so are all her actions; all that she does belongs to all. when she baptizes a child, that action concerns me; for that child is thereby connected to that body which is my head too, and ingrafted into that body whereof i am a member. and when she buries a man, that action concerns me: all mankind is of one author, and is one volume; when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book, but translated into a better language; and every chapter must be so translated; god employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice; but god's hand is in every translation, and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves again for that library where every book shall lie open to one another. as therefore the bell that rings to a sermon calls not upon the preacher only, but upon the congregation to come, so this bell calls us all; but how much more me, who am brought so near the door by this sickness. there was a contention as far as a suit (in which both piety and dignity, religion and estimation, were mingled), which of the religious orders should ring to prayers first in the morning; and it was determined, that they should ring first that rose earliest. if we understand aright the dignity of this bell that tolls for our evening prayer, we would be glad to make it ours by rising early, in that application, that it might be ours as well as his, whose indeed it is. the bell doth toll for him that thinks it doth; and though it intermit again, yet from that minute that that occasion wrought upon him, he is united to god. who casts not up his eye to the sun when it rises? but who takes off his eye from a comet when that breaks out? who bends not his ear to any bell which upon any occasion rings? but who can remove it from that bell which is passing a piece of himself out of this world? no man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. if a clod be washed away by the sea, europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because i am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee. neither can we call this a begging of misery, or a borrowing of misery, as though we were not miserable enough of ourselves, but must fetch in more from the next house, in taking upon us the misery of our neighbours. truly it were an excusable covetousness if we did, for affliction is a treasure, and scarce any man hath enough of it. no man hath affliction enough that is not matured and ripened by it, and made fit for god by that affliction. if a man carry treasure in bullion, or in a wedge of gold, and have none coined into current money, his treasure will not defray him as he travels. tribulation is treasure in the nature of it, but it is not current money in the use of it, except we get nearer and nearer our home, heaven, by it. another man may be sick too, and sick to death, and this affliction may lie in his bowels, as gold in a mine, and be of no use to him; but this bell, that tells me of his affliction, digs out and applies that gold to me: if by this consideration of another's danger i take mine own into contemplation, and so secure myself, by making my recourse to my god, who is our only security. xvii. expostulation. my god, my god, is this one of thy ways of drawing light out of darkness, to make him for whom this bell tolls, now in this dimness of his sight, to become a superintendent, an overseer, a bishop, to as many as hear his voice in this bell, and to give us a confirmation in this action? is this one of thy ways, to raise strength out of weakness, to make him who cannot rise from his bed, nor stir in his bed, come home to me, and in this sound give me the strength of healthy and vigorous instructions? o my god, my god, what thunder is not a well-tuned cymbal, what hoarseness, what harshness, is not a clear organ, if thou be pleased to set thy voice to it? and what organ is not well played on if thy hand be upon it? thy voice, thy hand, is in this sound, and in this one sound i hear this whole concert. i hear thy jacob call unto his sons and say, _gather yourselves together, that i may tell you what shall befall you in the last days_:[ ] he says, that which i am now, you must be then. i hear thy moses telling me, and all within the compass of this sound, _this is the blessing wherewith i bless you before my death_;[ ] this, that before your death, you would consider your own in mine. i hear thy prophet saying to hezekiah, _set thy house in order, for thou shalt die, and not live_:[ ] he makes use of his family, and calls this a setting of his house in order, to compose us to the meditation of death. i hear thy apostle saying, _i think it meet to put you in remembrance, knowing that shortly i must go out of this tabernacle_:[ ] this is the publishing of his will, and this bell is our legacy, the applying of his present condition to our use. i hear that which makes all sounds music, and all music perfect; i hear thy son himself saying, _let not your hearts be troubled_;[ ] only i hear this change, that whereas thy son says there, _i go to prepare a place for you_, this man in this sound says, i send to prepare you for a place, for a grave. but, o my god, my god, since heaven is glory and joy, why do not glorious and joyful things lead us, induce us to heaven? thy legacies in thy first will, in the old testament, were plenty and victory, wine and oil, milk and honey, alliances of friends, ruin of enemies, peaceful hearts and cheerful countenances, and by these galleries thou broughtest them into thy bedchamber, by these glories and joys, to the joys and glories of heaven. why hast thou changed thine old way, and carried us by the ways of discipline and mortification, by the ways of mourning and lamentation, by the ways of miserable ends and miserable anticipations of those miseries, in appropriating the exemplar miseries of others to ourselves, and usurping upon their miseries as our own, to our prejudice? is the glory of heaven no perfecter in itself, but that it needs a foil of depression and ingloriousness in this world, to set it off? is the joy of heaven no perfecter in itself, but that it needs the sourness of this life to give it a taste? is that joy and that glory but a comparative glory and a comparative joy? not such in itself, but such in comparison of the joylessness and the ingloriousness of this world? i know, my god, it is far, far otherwise. as thou thyself, who art all, art made of no substances, so the joys and glory which are with thee are made of none of these circumstances, essential joy, and glory essential. but why then, my god, wilt thou not begin them here? pardon, o god, this unthankful rashness; i that ask why thou dost not, find even now in myself, that thou dost; such joy, such glory, as that i conclude upon myself, upon all, they that find not joys in their sorrows, glory in their dejections in this world, are in a fearful danger of missing both in the next. xvii. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who hast been pleased to speak to us, not only in the voice of nature, who speaks in our hearts, and of thy word, which speaks to our ears, but in the speech of speechless creatures, in balaam's ass, in the speech of unbelieving men, in the confession of pilate, in the speech of the devil himself, in the recognition and attestation of thy son, i humbly accept thy voice in the sound of this sad and funeral bell. and first, i bless thy glorious name, that in this sound and voice i can hear thy instructions, in another man's to consider mine own condition; and to know, that this bell which tolls for another, before it come to ring out, may take me in too. as death is the wages of sin it is due to me; as death is the end of sickness it belongs to me; and though so disobedient a servant as i may be afraid to die, yet to so merciful a master as thou i cannot be afraid to come; and therefore into thy hands, o my god, i commend my spirit, a surrender which i know thou wilt accept, whether i live or die; for thy servant david made it,[ ] when he put himself into thy protection for his life; and thy blessed son made it, when he delivered up his soul at his death: declare thou thy will upon me, o lord, for life or death in thy time; receive my surrender of myself now; into thy hands, o lord, i commend my spirit. and being thus, o my god, prepared by thy correction, mellowed by thy chastisement, and conformed to thy will by thy spirit, having received thy pardon for my soul, and asking no reprieve for my body, i am bold, o lord, to bend my prayers to thee for his assistance, the voice of whose bell hath called me to this devotion. lay hold upon his soul, o god, till that soul have thoroughly considered his account; and how few minutes soever it have to remain in that body, let the power of thy spirit recompense the shortness of time, and perfect his account before he pass away; present his sins so to him, as that he may know what thou forgivest, and not doubt of thy forgiveness, let him stop upon the infiniteness of those sins, but dwell upon the infiniteness of thy mercy; let him discern his own demerits, but wrap himself up in the merits of thy son christ jesus; breathe inward comforts to his heart, and afford him the power of giving such outward testimonies thereof, as all that are about him may derive comforts from thence, and have this edification, even in this dissolution, that though the body be going the way of all flesh, yet that soul is going the way of all saints. when thy son cried out upon the cross, _my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?_ he spake not so much in his own person, as in the person of the church, and of his afflicted members, who in deep distresses might fear thy forsaking. this patient, o most blessed god, is one of them; in his behalf, and in his name, hear thy son crying to thee, _my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?_ and forsake him not; but with thy left hand lay his body in the grave (if that be thy determination upon him), and with thy right hand receive his soul into thy kingdom, and unite him and us in one communion of saints. amen. footnotes: [ ] rev. xiv. . [ ] gen. xlix. . [ ] deut. xxxiii. . [ ] kings, xx. . [ ] pet. i. . [ ] john, xiv. . [ ] psalm xxxi. . xviii. ------------------------ at inde mortuus es, sonitu celeri, pulsuque agitato. _the bell rings out, and tells me in him, that i am dead._ xviii. meditation. the bell rings out, the pulse thereof is changed; the tolling was a faint and intermitting pulse, upon one side; this stronger, and argues more and better life. his soul is gone out, and as a man who had a lease of one thousand years after the expiration of a short one, or an inheritance after the life of a man in a consumption, he is now entered into the possession of his better estate. his soul is gone, whither? who saw it come in, or who saw it go out? nobody; yet everybody is sure he had one, and hath none. if i will ask mere philosophers what the soul is, i shall find amongst them that will tell me, it is nothing but the temperament and harmony, and just and equal composition of the elements in the body, which produces all those faculties which we ascribe to the soul; and so in itself is nothing, no separable substance that overlives the body. they see the soul is nothing else in other creatures, and they affect an impious humility to think as low of man. but if my soul were no more than the soul of a beast, i could not think so; that soul that can reflect upon itself, consider itself, is more than so. if i will ask, not mere philosophers, but mixed men, philosophical divines, how the soul, being a separate substance, enters into man, i shall find some that will tell me, that it is by generation and procreation from parents, because they think it hard to charge the soul with the guiltiness of original sin if the soul were infused into a body in which it must necessarily grow foul, and contract original sin whether it will or no; and i shall find some that will tell me, that it is by immediate infusion from god, because they think it hard to maintain an immortality in such a soul, as should be begotten and derived with the body from mortal parents. if i will ask, not a few men, but almost whole bodies, whole churches, what becomes of the souls of the righteous at the departing thereof from the body, i shall be told by some, that they attend an expiation, a purification in a place of torment; by some, that they attend the fruition of the sight of god in a place of rest, but yet but of expectation; by some, that they pass to an immediate possession of the presence of god. st. augustine studied the nature of the soul as much as any thing, but the salvation of the soul; and he sent an express messenger to st. hierome, to consult of some things concerning the soul; but he satisfies himself with this: "let the departure of my soul to salvation be evident to my faith, and i care the less how dark the entrance of my soul into my body be to my reason." it is the going out, more than the coming in, that concerns us. this soul this bell tells me is gone out, whither? who shall tell me that? i know not who it is, much less what he was, the condition of the man, and the course of his life, which should tell me whither he is gone, i know not. i was not there in his sickness, nor at his death; i saw not his way nor his end, nor can ask them who did, thereby to conclude or argue whither he is gone. but yet i have one nearer me than all these, mine own charity; i ask that, and that tells me he is gone to everlasting rest, and joy, and glory. i owe him a good opinion; it is but thankful charity in me, because i received benefit and instruction from him when his bell tolled; and i, being made the fitter to pray by that disposition, wherein i was assisted by his occasion, did pray for him; and i pray not without faith; so i do charitably, so i do faithfully believe, that that soul is gone to everlasting rest, and joy, and glory. but for the body, how poor a wretched thing is that? we cannot express it so fast, as it grows worse and worse. that body, which scarce three minutes since was such a house, as that that soul, which made but one step from thence to heaven, was scarce thoroughly content to leave that for heaven; that body hath lost the name of a dwelling-house, because none dwells in it, and is making haste to lose the name of a body, and dissolve to putrefaction. who would not be affected to see a clear and sweet river in the morning, grow a kennel of muddy land-water by noon, and condemned to the saltness of the sea by night? and how lame a picture, how faint a representation is that, of the precipitation of man's body to dissolution? now all the parts built up, and knit by a lovely soul, now but a statue of clay, and now these limbs melted off, as if that clay were but snow; and now the whole house is but a handful of sand, so much dust, and but a peck of rubbish, so much bone. if he who, as this bell tells me, is gone now, were some excellent artificer, who comes to him for a cloak or for a garment now? or for counsel, if he were a lawyer? if a magistrate, for justice? man, before he hath his immortal soul, hath a soul of sense, and a soul of vegetation before that: this immortal soul did not forbid other souls to be in us before, but when this soul departs, it carries all with it; no more vegetation, no more sense. such a mother-in-law is the earth, in respect of our natural mother; in her womb we grew, and when she was delivered of us, we were planted in some place, in some calling in the world; in the womb of the earth we diminish, and when she is delivered of us, our grave opened for another; we are not transplanted, but transported, our dust blown away with profane dust, with every wind. xviii. expostulation. my god, my god, if expostulation be too bold a word, do thou mollify it with another; let it be wonder in myself, let it be but problem to others; but let me ask, why wouldst thou not suffer those that serve thee in holy services, to do any office about the dead,[ ] nor assist at their funeral? thou hadst no counsellor, thou needst none; thou hast no controller, thou admittedst none. why do i ask? in ceremonial things (as that was) any convenient reason is enough; who can be sure to propose that reason, that moved thee in the institution thereof? i satisfy myself with this; that in those times the gentiles were over-full of an over-reverent respect to the memory of the dead: a great part of the idolatry of the nations flowed from that; an over-amorous devotion, an over-zealous celebrating, and over-studious preserving of the memories, and the pictures of some dead persons; and by _the vain glory of men, they entered into the world_,[ ] and their statues and pictures contracted an opinion of divinity by age: that which was at first but a picture of a friend grew a god in time, as the wise man notes, _they called them gods, which were the work of an ancient hand_.[ ] and some have assigned a certain time, when a picture should come out of minority, and be at age to be a god in sixty years after it is made. those images of men that had life, and some idols of other things which never had any being, are by one common name called promiscuously dead; and for that the wise man reprehends the idolater, _for health he prays to that which is weak, and for life he prays to that which is dead_.[ ] should we do so? says thy prophet;[ ] _should we go from the living to the dead?_ so much ill then being occasioned by so much religious compliment exhibited to the dead, thou, o god (i think), wouldst therefore inhibit thy principal holy servants from contributing any thing at all to this dangerous intimation of idolatry; and that the people might say, surely those dead men are not so much to be magnified as men mistake, since god will not suffer his holy officers so much as to touch them, not to see them. but those dangers being removed, thou, o my god, dost certainly allow that we should do offices of piety to the dead and that we should draw instructions to piety from the dead. is not this, o my god, a holy kind of raising up seed to my dead brother, if i, by the meditation of his death produce a better life in myself? it is the blessing upon reuben, _let reuben live, and not die, and let not his men be few_;[ ] let him propagate many. and it is a malediction, _that that dieth, let it die_,[ ] let it do no good in dying; for _trees without fruit_, thou, by thy apostle, callest _twice dead_.[ ] it is a second death, if none live the better by me after my death, by the manner of my death. therefore may i justly think, that thou madest that a way to convey to the egyptians a fear of thee and a fear of death, that _there was not a house where there was not one dead_;[ ] for thereupon the egyptians said, _we are all dead men_: the death of others should catechise us to death. thy son christ jesus is the _first begotten of the dead_;[ ] he rises first, the eldest brother, and he is my master in this science of death; but yet, for me, i am a younger brother too, to this man who died now, and to every man whom i see or hear to die before me, and all they are ushers to me in this school of death. i take therefore that which thy servant david's wife said to him, to be said to me, _if thou save not thy life to-night, to-morrow thou shalt be slain_.[ ] if the death of this man work not upon me now, i shall die worse than if thou hadst not afforded me this help; for thou hast sent him in this bell to me, as thou didst send to the angel of sardis, with commission to _strengthen the things that remain, and that are ready to die_,[ ] that in this weakness of body i might receive spiritual strength by these occasions. this is my strength, that whether thou say to me, as thine angel said to gideon, _peace be unto thee, fear not, thou shalt not die_;[ ] or whether thou say, as unto aaron, _thou shalt die there_;[ ] yet thou wilt preserve that which is ready to die, my soul, from the worst death, that of sin. zimri _died for his sins_, says thy spirit, _which he sinned in doing evil; and in his sin which he did to make israel sin_;[ ] for his sins, his many sins, and then in his sin, his particular sin. for my sins i shall die whensoever i die, for death is the wages of sin; but i shall die in my sin, in that particular sin of resisting thy spirit, if i apply not thy assistances. doth it not call us to a particular consideration that thy blessed son varies his form of commination, and aggravates it in the variation, when he says to the jews (because they refused the light offered), _you shall die in your sin_:[ ] and then when they proceeded to farther disputations, and vexations, and temptations, he adds, _you shall die in your sins_;[ ] he multiplies the former expression to a plural. in this sin, and in all your sins, doth not the resisting of thy particular helps at last draw upon us the guiltiness of all our former sins? may not the neglecting of this sound ministered to me in this man's death, bring me to that misery, so that i, whom the lord of life loved so as to die for me, shall die, and a creature of mine own shall be immortal; that i shall die, and the _worm_ of mine own conscience _shall never die_?[ ] xviii. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, i have a new occasion of thanks, and a new occasion of prayer to thee from the ringing of this bell. thou toldest me in the other voice that i was mortal and approaching to death; in this i may hear thee say that i am dead in an irremediable, in an irrecoverable state for bodily health. if that be thy language in this voice, how infinitely am i bound to thy heavenly majesty for speaking so plainly unto me? for even that voice, that i must die now, is not the voice of a judge that speaks by way of condemnation, but of a physician that presents health in that. thou presentest me death as the cure of my disease, not as the exaltation of it; if i mistake thy voice herein, if i overrun thy pace, and prevent thy hand, and imagine death more instant upon me than thou hast bid him be, yet the voice belongs to me; i am dead, i was born dead, and from the first laying of these mud walls in my conception, they have mouldered away, and the whole course of life is but an active death. whether this voice instruct me that i am a dead man now, or remember me that i have been a dead man all this while. i humbly thank thee for speaking in this voice to my soul; and i humbly beseech thee also to accept my prayers in his behalf, by whose occasion this voice, this sound, is come to me. for though he be by death transplanted to thee, and so in possession of inexpressible happiness there, yet here upon earth thou hast given us such a portion of heaven, as that though men dispute whether thy saints in heaven do know what we in earth in particular do stand in need of, yet, without all disputation, we upon earth do know what thy saints in heaven lack yet for the consummation of their happiness, and therefore thou hast afforded us the dignity that we may pray for them. that therefore this soul, now newly departed to thy kingdom, may quickly return to a joyful reunion to that body which it hath left, and that we with it may soon enjoy the full consummation of all in body and soul, i humbly beg at thy hand, o our most merciful god, for thy son christ jesus' sake. that that blessed son of thine may have the consummation of his dignity, by entering into his last office, the office of a judge, and may have society of human bodies in heaven, as well as he hath had ever of souls; and that as thou hatest sin itself, thy hate to sin may be expressed in the abolishing of all instruments of sin, the allurements of this world, and the world itself; and all the temporary revenges of sin, the stings of sickness and of death; and all the castles, and prisons, and monuments of sin, in the grave. that time may be swallowed up in eternity, and hope swallowed in possession, and ends swallowed in infiniteness, and all men ordained to salvation in body and soul be one entire and everlasting sacrifice to thee, where thou mayst receive delight from them, and they glory from thee, for evermore. amen. footnotes: [ ] levit. xxi. . [ ] wisd. xiv. . [ ] wisd. xiii. . [ ] wisd. xiii. . [ ] isaiah, viii. . [ ] deut. xxxiii. . [ ] zech. xi. . [ ] jude, . [ ] exod. xii. . [ ] rev. i. . [ ] sam. xix. . [ ] rev. iii. . [ ] judg. vi, . [ ] numb. xx. . [ ] kings, xvi. . [ ] john, viii. . [ ] john, viii. . [ ] isaiah, lxvi. . xix. oceano tandem emenso, aspicienda resurgit terra; vident, justis, medici, jam cocta mederi se posse, indiciis. _at last the physicians, after a long and stormy voyage, see land: they have so good signs of the concoction of the disease, as that they may safely proceed to purge._ xix. meditation. all this while the physicians themselves have been patients, patiently attending when they should see any land in this sea, any earth, any cloud, any indication of concoction in these waters. any disorder of mine, any pretermission of theirs, exalts the disease, accelerates the rages of it; no diligence accelerates the concoction, the maturity of the disease; they must stay till the season of the sickness come; and till it be ripened of itself, and then they may put to their hand to gather it before it fall off, but they cannot hasten the ripening. why should we look for it in a disease, which is the disorder, the discord, the irregularity, the commotion and rebellion of the body? it were scarce a disease if it could be ordered and made obedient to our times. why should we look for that in disorder, in a disease, when we cannot have it in nature, who is so regular and so pregnant, so forward to bring her work to perfection and to light? yet we cannot awake the july flowers in january, nor retard the flowers of the spring to autumn. we cannot bid the fruits come in may, nor the leaves to stick on in december. a woman that is weak cannot put off her ninth month to a tenth for her delivery, and say she will stay till she be stronger; nor a queen cannot hasten it to a seventh, that she may be ready for some other pleasure. nature (if we look for durable and vigorous effects) will not admit preventions, nor anticipations, nor obligations upon her, for they are precontracts, and she will be left to her liberty. nature would not be spurred, nor forced to mend her pace; nor power, the power of man, greatness, loves not that kind of violence neither. there are of them that will give, that will do justice, that will pardon, but they have their own seasons for all these, and he that knows not them shall starve before that gift come, and ruin before the justice, and die before the pardon save him. some tree bears no fruit, except much dung be laid about it; and justice comes not from some till they be richly manured: some trees require much visiting, much watering, much labour; and some men give not their fruits but upon importunity: some trees require incision, and pruning, and lopping; some men must be intimidated and syndicated with commissions, before they will deliver the fruits of justice: some trees require the early and the often access of the sun; some men open not, but upon the favours and letters of court mediation: some trees must be housed and kept within doors; some men lock up, not only their liberality, but their justice and their compassion, till the solicitation of a wife, or a son, or a friend, or a servant, turn the key. reward is the season of one man, and importunity of another; fear the season of one man, and favour of another; friendship the season of one man, and natural affection of another; and he that knows not their seasons, nor cannot stay them, must lose the fruits: as nature will not, so power and greatness will not be put to change their seasons, and shall we look for this indulgence in a disease, or think to shake it off before it be ripe? all this while, therefore, we are but upon a defensive war, and that is but a doubtful state; especially where they who are besieged do know the best of their defences, and do not know the worst of their enemy's power; when they cannot mend their works within, and the enemy can increase his numbers without. o how many far more miserable, and far more worthy to be less miserable than i, are besieged with this sickness, and lack their sentinels, their physicians to watch, and lack their munition, their cordials to defend, and perish before the enemy's weakness might invite them to sally, before the disease show any declination, or admit any way of working upon itself? in me the siege is so far slackened, as that we may come to fight, and so die in the field, if i die, and not in a prison. xix. expostulation. my god, my god, thou art a direct god, may i not say a literal god, a god that wouldst be understood literally and according to the plain sense of all that thou sayest? but thou art also (lord, i intend it to thy glory, and let no profane misinterpreter abuse it to thy diminution), thou art a figurative, a metaphorical god too; a god in whose words there is such a height of figures, such voyages, such peregrinations to fetch remote and precious metaphors, such extensions, such spreadings, such curtains of allegories, such third heavens of hyperboles, so harmonious elocutions, so retired and so reserved expressions, so commanding persuasions, so persuading commandments, such sinews even in thy milk, and such things in thy words, as all profane authors seem of the seed of the serpent that creeps, thou art the dove that flies. o, what words but thine can express the inexpressible texture and composition of thy word, in which to one man that argument that binds his faith to believe that to be the word of god, is the reverent simplicity of the word, and to another the majesty of the word; and in which two men equally pious may meet, and one wonder that all should not understand it, and the other as much that any man should. so, lord, thou givest us the same earth to labour on and to lie in, a house and a grave of the same earth; so, lord, thou givest us the same word for our satisfaction and for our inquisition, for our instruction and for our admiration too; for there are places that thy servants hierom and augustine would scarce believe (when they grew warm by mutual letters) of one another, that they understood them, and yet both hierom and augustine call upon persons whom they knew to be far weaker than they thought one another (old women and young maids) to read the scriptures, without confining them to these or those places. neither art thou thus a figurative, a metaphorical god in thy word only, but in thy works too. the style of thy works, the phrase of thine actions, is metaphorical the institution of thy whole worship in the old law was a continual allegory; types and figures overspread all, and figures flowed into figures, and poured themselves out into farther figures; circumcision carried a figure of baptism, and baptism carries a figure of that purity which we shall have in perfection in the new jerusalem. neither didst thou speak and work in this language only in the time of thy prophets; but since thou spokest in thy son it is so too. how often, how much more often, doth thy son call himself a way, and a light, and a gate, and a vine, and bread, than the son of god, or of man? how much oftener doth he exhibit a metaphorical christ, than a real, a literal? this hath occasioned thine ancient servants, whose delight it was to write after thy copy, to proceed the same way in their expositions of the scriptures, and in their composing both of public liturgies and of private prayers to thee, to make their accesses to thee in such a kind of language as thou wast pleased to speak to them, in a figurative, in a metaphorical language, in which manner i am bold to call the comfort which i receive now in this sickness in the indication of the concoction and maturity thereof, in certain clouds and recidences, which the physicians observe, a discovering of land from sea after a long and tempestuous voyage. but wherefore, o my god, hast thou presented to us the afflictions and calamities of this life in the name of waters? so often in the name of waters, and deep waters, and seas of waters? must we look to be drowned? are they bottomless, are they boundless? that is not the dialect of thy language; thou hast given a remedy against the deepest water by water; against the inundation of sin by baptism; and the first life that thou gavest to any creatures was in waters: therefore thou dost not threaten us with an irremediableness when our affliction is a sea. it is so if we consider ourselves; so thou callest genezareth, which was but a lake, and not salt, a sea; so thou callest the mediterranean sea still the great sea, because the inhabitants saw no other sea; they that dwelt there thought a lake a sea, and the others thought a little sea, the greatest, and we that know not the afflictions of others call our own the heaviest. but, o my god, that is truly great that overflows the channel, that is really a great affliction which is above my strength; but thou, o god, art my strength, and then what can be above it? _mountains shake with the swelling of thy sea_;[ ] secular mountains, men strong in power; spiritual mountains, men strong in grace, are shaken with afflictions; but _thou layest up thy sea in storehouses_;[ ] even thy corrections are of thy treasure, and thou wilt not waste thy corrections; when they have done their service to humble thy patient, thou wilt call them in again, for _thou givest the sea thy decree, that the waters should not pass thy commandment_.[ ] all our waters shall run into jordan, and thy servants passed jordan dry foot;[ ] they shall run into the red sea (the sea of thy son's blood), and the red sea, that red sea, drowns none of thine: but _they that sail on the sea tell of the danger thereof_.[ ] i that am yet in this affliction, owe thee the glory of speaking of it; but, as the wise man bids me, i say, i _may speak much and come short, wherefore in sum thou art all_.[ ] since thou art so, o my god, and affliction is a sea too deep for us, what is our refuge? thine ark, thy ship. in all other afflictions, those means which thou hast ordained in this sea, in sickness, thy ship is thy physician. _thou hast made a way in the sea, and a safe path in the waters, showing that thou canst save from all dangers, yea, though a man went to sea without art_:[ ] yet, where i find all that, i find this added; _nevertheless thou wouldst not, that the work of thy wisdom should be idle_.[ ] thou canst save without means, but thou hast told no man that thou wilt; thou hast told every man that thou wilt not.[ ] when the centurion believed the master of the ship more than st. paul, they were all opened to a great danger; this was a preferring of thy means before thee, the author of the means: but, my god, though thou beest every where: i have no promise of appearing to me but in thy ship, thy blessed son preached out of a ship:[ ] the means is preaching, he did that; and the ship was a type of the church, he did it there. thou gavest st. paul the lives of all them that sailed with him;[ ] if they had not been in the ship with him, the gift had not extended to them. _as soon as thy son was come out of the ship, immediately there met him, out of the tombs, a man with an unclean spirit, and no man could hold him, no not with chains._[ ] thy son needed no use of means; yet there we apprehend the danger to us, if we leave the ship, the means, in this case the physician. but as they are ships to us in those seas, so is there a ship to them too in which they are to stay. give me leave, o my god, to assist myself with such a construction of these words of thy servant paul to the centurion, when the mariners would have left the ship, _except these abide in the ship, you cannot be safe_:[ ] except they who are our ships, the physicians, abide in that which is theirs, and our ship, the truth, and the sincere and religious worship of thee and thy gospel, we cannot promise ourselves so good safety; for though we have our ship, the physician, he hath not his ship, religion; and means are not means but in their concatenation, as they depend and are chained together. _the ships are great_, says thy apostle, _but a helm turns them_;[ ] the men are learned, but their religion turns their labours to good, and therefore it was a heavy curse when _the third part of the ships perished_:[ ] it is a heavy case where either all religion, or true religion, should forsake many of these ships whom thou hast sent to convey us over these seas. but, o my god, my god, since i have my ship and they theirs, i have them and they have thee, why are we yet no nearer land? as soon as thy son's disciple had taken him into the ship, _immediately the ship was at the land whither they went_.[ ] why have not they and i this dispatch? every thing is immediately done, which is done when thou wouldst have it done. thy purpose terminates every action, and what was done before that is undone yet. shall that slacken my hope? thy prophet from thee hath forbidden it. _it is good that a man should both hope, and quietly wait for the salvation of the lord._[ ] thou puttest off many judgments till the last day, and many pass this life without any; and shall not i endure the putting off thy mercy for a day? and yet, o my god, thou puttest me not to that, for the assurance of future mercy is present mercy. but what is my assurance now? what is my seal? it is but a cloud; that which my physicians call a cloud, in that which gives them their indication. but a cloud? thy great seal to all the world, the rainbow, that secured the world for ever from drowning, was but a reflection upon a cloud. a cloud itself was a pillar which guided the church,[ ] and the glory of god not only was, but appeared in a cloud.[ ] let me return, o my god, to the consideration of thy servant elijah's proceeding in a time of desperate drought;[ ] he bids them look towards the sea; they look, and see nothing. he bids them again and again seven times; and at the seventh time they saw a little cloud rising out of the sea, and presently they had their desire of rain. seven days, o my god, have we looked for this cloud, and now we have it; none of thy indications are frivolous, thou makest thy signs seals, and thy seals effects, and thy effects consolation and restitution, wheresoever thou mayst receive glory by that way. xix. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who though thou passedst over infinite millions of generations, before thou camest to a creation of this world, yet when thou beganst, didst never intermit that work, but continuedst day to day, till thou hadst perfected all the work, and deposed it in the hands and rest of a sabbath, though thou have been pleased to glorify thyself in a long exercise of my patience, with an expectation of thy declaration of thyself in this my sickness, yet since thou hast now of thy goodness afforded that which affords us some hope, if that be still the way of thy glory, proceed in that way and perfect that work, and establish me in a sabbath and rest in thee, by this thy seal of bodily restitution. thy priests came up to thee by steps in the temple; thy angels came down to jacob by steps upon the ladder; we find no stair by which thou thyself camest to adam in paradise, nor to sodom in thine anger; for thou, and thou only, art able to do all at once. but o lord, i am not weary of thy pace, nor weary of mine own patience. i provoke thee not with a prayer, not with a wish, not with a hope, to more haste than consists with thy purpose, nor look that any other thing should have entered into thy purpose, but thy glory. to hear thy steps coming towards me is the same comfort as to see thy face present with me; whether thou do the work of a thousand years in a day, or extend the work of a day to a thousand years, as long as thou workest, it is light and comfort. heaven itself is but an extension of the same joy; and an extension of this mercy, to proceed at thy leisure, in the way of restitution, is a manifestation of heaven to me here upon earth. from that people to whom thou appearedst in signs and in types, the jews, thou art departed, because they trusted in them; but from thy church, to whom thou hast appeared in thyself, in thy son, thou wilt never depart, because we cannot trust too much in him. though thou have afforded me these signs of restitution, yet if i confide in them, and begin to say, all was but a natural accident, and nature begins to discharge herself, and she will perfect the whole work, my hope shall vanish because it is not in thee. if thou shouldst take thy hand utterly from me, and have nothing to do with me, nature alone were able to destroy me; but if thou withdraw thy helping hand, alas, how frivolous are the helps of nature, how impotent the assistances of art? as therefore the morning dew is a pawn of the evening fatness, so, o lord, let this day's comfort be the earnest of to-morrow's, so far as may conform me entirely to thee, to what end, and by what way soever thy mercy have appointed me. footnotes: [ ] psalm xlvi. . [ ] psalm xxxiii. . [ ] prov. viii. . [ ] josh. iii. . [ ] ecclus. xliii. . [ ] ecclus. xliii. . [ ] wisd. xiv. . [ ] wisd. xiv. . [ ] acts, xxvii. . [ ] luke, v. . [ ] acts, xxvii. . [ ] mark, v. . [ ] acts, xxvii. . [ ] james, iii. . [ ] rev. viii. . [ ] john, vi. . [ ] lam. iii. . [ ] exod. xiii. . [ ] exod. xvi. . [ ] kings, xviii. . xx. id agunt. _upon these indications of digested matter, they proceed to purge._ xx. meditation. though counsel seem rather to consist of spiritual parts than action, yet action is the spirit and the soul of counsel. counsels are not always determined in resolutions, we cannot always say, this was concluded; actions are always determined in effects, we can say, this was done. then have laws their reverence and their majesty, when we see the judge upon the bench executing them. then have counsels of war their impressions and their operations, when we see the seal of an army set to them. it was an ancient way of celebrating the memory of such as deserved well of the state, to afford them that kind of statuary representation, which was then called hermes, which was the head and shoulders of a man standing upon a cube, but those shoulders without arms and hands. altogether it figured a constant supporter of the state, by his counsel; but in this hieroglyphic, which they made without hands, they pass their consideration no farther but that the counsellor should be without hands, so far as not to reach out his hand to foreign temptations of bribes, in matters of counsel, and that it was not necessary that the head should employ his own hand; that the same men should serve in the execution which assisted in the counsel; but that there should not belong hands to every head, action to every counsel, was never intended so much as in figure and representation. for as matrimony is scarce to be called matrimony where there is a resolution against the fruits of matrimony, against the having of children,[ ] so counsels are not counsels, but illusions, where there is from the beginning no purpose to execute the determinations of those counsels. the arts and sciences are most properly referred to the head; that is their proper element and sphere; but yet the art of proving, logic, and the art of persuading, rhetoric, are deduced to the hand, and that expressed by a hand contracted into a fist, and this by a hand enlarged and expanded; and evermore the power of man, and the power of god, himself is expressed so. all things are in his hand; neither is god so often presented to us, by names that carry our consideration upon counsel, as upon execution of counsel; he oftener is called the lord of hosts than by all other names, that may be referred to the other signification. hereby therefore we take into our meditation the slippery condition of man, whose happiness in any kind, the defect of any one thing conducing to that happiness, may ruin; but it must have all the pieces to make it up. without counsel, i had not got thus far; without action and practice, i should go no farther towards health. but what is the present necessary action? purging; a withdrawing, a violating of nature, a farther weakening. o dear price, and o strange way of addition, to do it by subtraction; of restoring nature, to violate nature; of providing strength, by increasing weakness. was i not sick before? and is it a question of comfort to be asked now, did your physic make you sick? was that it that my physic promised, to make me sick? this is another step upon which we may stand, and see farther into the misery of man, the time, the season of his misery; it must be done now. o over-cunning, over-watchful, over-diligent, and over-sociable misery of man, that seldom comes alone, but then when it may accompany other miseries, and so put one another into the higher exaltation, and better heart. i am ground even to an attenuation and must proceed to evacuation, all ways to exinanition and annihilation. xx. expostulation. my god, my god, the god of order, but yet not of ambition, who assignest place to every one, but not contention for place, when shall it be thy pleasure to put an end to all these quarrels for spiritual precedences? when shall men leave their uncharitable disputations, which is to take place, faith or repentance, and which, when we consider faith and works? the head and the hand too are required to a perfect natural man; counsel and action too, to a perfect civil man; faith and works too, to him that is perfectly spiritual. but because it is easily said, i believe, and because it doth not easily lie in proof, nor is easily demonstrable by any evidence taken from my heart (for who sees that, who searches those rolls?) whether i do believe or no, is it not therefore, o my god, that thou dost so frequently, so earnestly, refer us to the hand, to the observation of actions? there is a little suspicion, a little imputation laid upon over-tedious and dilatory counsels. many good occasions slip away in long consultations; and it may be a degree of sloth, to be too long in mending nets, though that must be done. _he that observeth the wind shall not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap_;[ ] that is, he that is too dilatory, too superstitious in these observations, and studies but the excuse of his own idleness in them; but that which the same wise and royal servant of thine says in another place, all accept, and ask no comment upon it, _he becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich_;[ ] all evil imputed to the absence, all good attributed to the presence of the hand. i know, my god (and i bless thy name for knowing it, for all good knowledge is from thee), that thou considerest the heart; but thou takest not off thine eye till thou come to the hand. nay, my god, doth not thy spirit intimate that thou beginnest where we begin (at least, that thou allowest us to begin there), when thou orderest thine own answer to thine own question, _who shall ascend into the hill of the lord_? thus, _he that hath clean hands, and a pure heart_?[ ] dost thou not (at least) send us first to the hand? and is not the work of their hands that declaration of their holy zeal, in the present execution of manifest idolators, called a consecration of themselves,[ ] by thy holy spirit? their hands are called all themselves; for even counsel itself goes under that name in thy word, who knowest best how to give right names: because the counsel of the priests assisted david,[ ] saul says the hand of the priest is with david. and that which is often said by moses, is very often repeated by thy other prophets, _these and these things the lord spake_,[ ] and _the lord said_, and _the lord commanded_, not by the counsels, not by the voice, but by the _hand of moses_, and by the _hand of the prophets_. evermore we are referred for our evidence of others, and of ourselves, to the hand, to action, to works. there is something before it, believing; and there is something after it, suffering; but in the most eminent, and obvious, and conspicuous place stands doing. why then, o my god, my blessed god, in the ways of my spiritual strength, come i so slow to action? i was whipped by thy rod, before i came to consultation, to consider my state; and shall i go no farther? as he that would describe a circle in paper, if he have brought that circle within one inch of finishing, yet if he remove his compass he cannot make it up a perfect circle except he fall to work again, to find out the same centre, so, though setting that foot of my compass upon thee, i have gone so far as to the consideration of myself, yet if i depart from thee, my centre, all is imperfect. this proceeding to action, therefore, is a returning to thee, and a working upon myself by thy physic, by thy purgative physic, a free and entire evacuation of my soul by confession. the working of purgative physic is violent and contrary to nature. o lord, i decline not this potion of confession, however it may be contrary to a natural man. to take physic, and not according to the right method, is dangerous.[ ] o lord, i decline not that method in this physic, in things that burthen my conscience, to make my confession to him, into whose hands thou hast put the power of absolution. i know that "physic may be made so pleasant as that it may easily be taken; but not so pleasant as the virtue and nature of the medicine be extinguished."[ ] i know i am not submitted to such a confession as is a rack and torture of the conscience; but i know i am not exempt from all. if it were merely problematical, left merely indifferent whether we should take this physic, use this confession, or no, a great physician acknowledges this to have been his practice, to minister to many things which he was not sure would do good, but never any other thing but such as he was sure would do no harm.[ ] the use of this spiritual physic can certainly do no harm; and the church hath always thought that it might, and, doubtless, many humble souls have found, that it hath done them good. _i will therefore take the cup of salvation, and call upon thy name._[ ] i will find this cup of compunction as full as i have formerly filled the cups of worldly confections, that so i may escape the cup of malediction and irrecoverable destruction that depends upon that. and since thy blessed and glorious son, being offered, in the way to his execution, a cup of stupefaction,[ ] to take away the sense of his pain (a charity afforded to condemned persons ordinarily in those places and times), refused that ease, and embraced the whole torment, i take not this cup, but this vessel of mine own sins into my contemplation, and i pour them out here according to the motions of thy holy spirit, and any where according to the ordinances of thy holy church. xx. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who having married man and woman together, and made them one flesh, wouldst have them also to become one soul, so as that they might maintain a sympathy in their affections, and have a conformity to one another in the accidents of this world, good or bad; so having married this soul and this body in me, i humbly beseech thee that my soul may look and make her use of thy merciful proceedings towards my bodily restitution, and go the same way to a spiritual. i am come, by thy goodness, to the use of thine ordinary means for my body, to wash away those peccant humours that endangered it. i have, o lord, a river in my body, but a sea in my soul, and a sea swollen into the depth of a deluge, above the sea. thou hast raised up certain hills in me heretofore, by which i might have stood safe from these inundations of sin. even our natural faculties are a hill, and might preserve us from some sin. education, study, observation, example, are hills too, and might preserve us from some. thy church, and thy word, and thy sacraments, and thine ordinances are hills above these; thy spirit of remorse, and compunction, and repentance for former sin, are hills too; and to the top of all these hills thou hast brought me heretofore; but this deluge, this inundation, is got above all my hills; and i have sinned and sinned, and multiplied sin to sin, after all these thy assistances against sin, and where is there water enough to wash away this deluge? there is a red sea, greater than this ocean, and there is a little spring, through which this ocean may pour itself into that red sea. let thy spirit of true contrition and sorrow pass all my sins, through these eyes, into the wounds of thy son, and i shall be clean, and my soul so much better purged than my body, as it is ordained for better and a longer life. footnotes: [ ] august. [ ] eccles. xi. . [ ] prov. x. . [ ] psalm xxiv. . [ ] exod. xxxii. . [ ] sam. xxii. . [ ] lev. viii. . [ ] galen. [ ] galen. [ ] galen. [ ] psalm cxvi. . [ ] mark, xv. . xxi. -------------- atque annuit ille, qui, per eos, clamat, linquas jam, lazare, lectum. _god prospers their practice, and he, by them, calls lazarus out of his tomb, me out of my bed._ xxi. meditation. if man had been left alone in this world at first, shall i think that he would not have fallen? if there had been no woman, would not man have served to have been his own tempter? when i see him now subject to infinite weaknesses, fall into infinite sin without any foreign temptations, shall i think he would have had none, if he had been alone? god saw that man needed a helper, if he should be well; but to make woman ill, the devil saw that there needed no third. when god and we were alone in adam, that was not enough; when the devil and we were alone in eve, it was enough. o what a giant is man when he fights against himself, and what a dwarf when he needs or exercises his own assistance for himself? i cannot rise out of my bed till the physician enable me, nay, i cannot tell that i am able to rise till he tell me so. i do nothing, i know nothing of myself; how little and how impotent a piece of the world is any man alone? and how much less a piece of himself is that man? so little as that when it falls out (as it falls out in some cases) that more misery and more oppression would be an ease to a man, he cannot give himself that miserable addition of more misery. a man that is pressed to death, and might be eased by more weights, cannot lay those more weights upon himself: he can sin alone, and suffer alone, but not repent, not be absolved, without another. another tells me, i may rise; and i do so. but is every raising a preferment? or is every present preferment a station? i am readier to fall to the earth, now i am up, than i was when i lay in the bed. o perverse way, irregular motion of man; even rising itself is the way to ruin! how many men are raised, and then do not fill the place they are raised to? no corner of any place can be empty; there can be no vacuity. if that man do not fill the place, other men will; complaints of his insufficiency will fill it; nay, such an abhorring is there in nature of vacuity, that if there be but an imagination of not filling, in any man, that which is but imagination, neither will fill it, that is, rumour and voice, and it will be given out (upon no ground but imagination, and no man knows whose imagination), that he is corrupt in his place, or insufficient in his place, and another prepared to succeed him in his place. a man rises sometimes and stands not, because he doth not or is not believed to fill his place; and sometimes he stands not because he overfills his place. he may bring so much virtue, so much justice, so much integrity to the place, as shall spoil the place, burthen the place; his integrity may be a libel upon his predecessor and cast an infamy upon him, and a burthen upon his successor to proceed by example, and to bring the place itself to an undervalue and the market to an uncertainty. i am up, and i seem to stand, and i go round, and i am a new argument of the new philosophy, that the earth moves round; why may i not believe that the whole earth moves, in a round motion, though that seem to me to stand, when as i seem to stand to my company, and yet am carried in a giddy and circular motion as i stand? man hath no centre but misery; there, and only there, he is fixed, and sure to find himself. how little soever he be raised, he moves, and moves in a circle giddily; and as in the heavens there are but a few circles that go about the whole world, but many epicycles, and other lesser circles, but yet circles; so of those men which are raised and put into circles, few of them move from place to place, and pass through many and beneficial places, but fall into little circles, and, within a step or two, are at their end, and not so well as they were in the centre, from which they were raised. every thing serves to exemplify, to illustrate man's misery. but i need go no farther than myself: for a long time i was not able to rise; at last i must be raised by others; and now i am up, i am ready to sink lower than before. xxi. expostulation. my god, my god, how large a glass of the next world is this! as we have an art, to cast from one glass to another, and so to carry the species a great way off, so hast thou, that way, much more; we shall have a resurrection in heaven; the knowledge of that thou castest by another glass upon us here; we feel that we have a resurrection from sin, and that by another glass too; we see we have a resurrection of the body from the miseries and calamities of this life. this resurrection of my body shows me the resurrection of my soul; and both here severally, of both together hereafter. since thy martyrs under the altar press thee with their solicitation for the resurrection of the body to glory, thou wouldst pardon me, if i should press thee by prayer for the accomplishing of this resurrection, which thou hast begun in me, to health. but, o my god, i do not ask, where i might ask amiss, nor beg that which perchance might be worse for me. i have a bed of sin; delight in sin is a bed: i have a grave of sin; senselessness of sin is a grave: and where lazarus had been four days, i have been fifty years in this putrefaction; why dost thou not call me, as thou didst him, _with a loud voice_,[ ] since my soul is as dead as his body was? i need thy thunder, o my god; thy music will not serve me. thou hast called thy servants, who are to work upon us in thine ordinance, by all these loud names--winds, and chariots, and falls of waters; where thou wouldst be heard, thou wilt be heard. when thy son concurred with thee to the making of man, there it is but a speaking, but a saying. there, o blessed and glorious trinity, was none to hear but you three, and you easily hear one another, because you say the same things. but when thy son came to the work of redemption, thou spokest,[ ] and they that heard it took it for thunder; and thy son himself cried with a loud voice upon the cross twice,[ ] as he who was to prepare his coming, john baptist, was the voice of a crier, and not of a whisperer. still, if it be thy voice, it is a loud voice. _these words_, says thy moses, _thou spokest with a great voice, and thou addedst no more_,[ ] says he there. that which thou hast said is evident, and it is evident that none can speak so loud; none can bind us to hear him, as we must thee. _the most high uttered his voice._ what was his voice? _the lord thundered from heaven_,[ ] it might be heard; but this voice, thy voice, is also a _mighty voice_;[ ] not only mighty in power, it may be heard, nor mighty in obligation, it should be heard; but mighty in operation, it will be heard; and therefore hast thou bestowed a whole psalm[ ] upon us, to lead us to the consideration of thy voice. it is such a voice as that thy son says, _the dead shall hear it_;[ ] and that is my state. and why, o god, dost thou not speak to me, in that effectual loudness? saint john heard a voice, and _he turned about to see the voice_:[ ] sometimes we are too curious of the instrument by what man god speaks; but thou speakest loudest when thou speakest to the heart. _there was silence, and i heard a voice_, says one, to thy servant job.[ ] i hearken after thy voice in thine ordinances, and i seek not a whispering in conventicles; but yet, o my god, speak louder, that so, though i do hear thee now, then i may hear nothing but thee. my sins cry aloud; cain's murder did so: my afflictions cry aloud; _the floods have lifted up their voice_ (and waters are afflictions), _but thou, o lord, art mightier than the voice of many waters_;[ ] than many temporal, many spiritual afflictions, than any of either kind: and why dost thou not speak to me in that voice? _what is man, and whereto serveth he? what is his good and what is his evil?_[ ] my bed of sin is not evil, not desperately evil, for thou dost call me out of it; but my rising out of it is not good (not perfectly good), if thou call not louder, and hold me now i am up. o my god, i am afraid of a fearful application of those words, _when a man hath done, then he beginneth_;[ ] when this body is unable to sin, his sinful memory sins over his old sins again; and that which thou wouldst have us to remember for compunction, we remember with delight. _bring him to me in his bed, that i may kill him_,[ ] says saul of david: thou hast not said so, that is not thy voice. joash's own servants slew him when he was sick in his bed:[ ] thou hast not suffered that, that my servants should so much as neglect me, or be weary of me in my sickness. thou threatenest, that _as a shepherd takes out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of israel, that dwell in samaria, in the corner of a bed, and in damascus, in a couch, be taken away_;[ ] and even they that are secure from danger shall perish. how much more might i, who was in the bed of death, die? but thou hast not so dealt with me. as they brought out sick persons in beds, that thy servant peter's shadow might over-shadow them,[ ] thou hast, o my god, over-shadowed me, refreshed me; but when wilt thou do more? when wilt thou do all? when wilt thou speak in thy loud voice? when wilt thou bid me _take up my bed and walk_?[ ] as my bed is my affections, when shall i bear them so as to subdue them? as my bed is my afflictions, when shall i bear them so as not to murmur at them? when shall i take up my bed and walk? not lie down upon it, as it is my pleasure, not sink under it, as it is my correction? but o my god, my god, the god of all flesh, and of all spirit, to let me be content with that in my fainting spirit, which thou declarest in this decayed flesh, that as this body is content to sit still, that it may learn to stand, and to learn by standing to walk, and by walking to travel, so my soul, by obeying this thy voice of rising, may by a farther and farther growth of thy grace proceed so, and be so established, as may remove all suspicions, all jealousies between thee and me, and may speak and hear in such a voice, as that still i may be acceptable to thee, and satisfied from thee. xxi. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who hast made little things to signify great, and conveyed the infinite merits of thy son in the water of baptism, and in the bread and wine of thy other sacrament, unto us, receive the sacrifice of my humble thanks, that thou hast not only afforded me the ability to rise out of this bed of weariness and discomfort, but hast also made this bodily rising, by thy grace, an earnest of a second resurrection from sin, and of a third, to everlasting glory. thy son himself, always infinite in himself, and incapable of addition, was yet pleased to grow in the virgin's womb, and to grow in stature in the sight of men. thy good purposes upon me, i know, have their determination and perfection in thy holy will upon me; there thy grace is, and there i am altogether; but manifest them so unto me, in thy seasons, and in thy measures and degrees, that i may not only have that comfort of knowing thee to be infinitely good, but that also of finding thee to be every day better and better to me; and that as thou gavest saint paul the messenger of satan, to humble him so for my humiliation, thou mayst give me thyself in this knowledge, that what grace soever thou afford me to-day, yet i should perish to-morrow if i had not had to-morrow's grace too. therefore i beg of thee my daily bread; and as thou gavest me the bread of sorrow for many days, and since the bread of hope for some, and this day the bread of possessing, in rising by that strength, which thou the god of all strength hast infused into me, so, o lord, continue to me the bread of life: the spiritual bread of life, in a faithful assurance in thee; the sacramental bread of life, in a worthy receiving of thee; and the more real bread of life in an everlasting union to thee. i know, o lord, that when thou hast created angels, and they saw thee produce fowl, and fish, and beasts, and worms, they did not importune thee, and say, shall we have no better creatures than these, no better companions than these? but stayed thy leisure, and then had man delivered over to them, not much inferior in nature to themselves. no more do i, o god, now that by thy first mercy i am able to rise, importune thee for present confirmation of health; nor now, that by thy mercy i am brought to see that thy correction hath wrought medicinally upon me, presume i upon that spiritual strength i have; but as i acknowledge that my bodily strength is subject to every puff of wind, so is my spiritual strength to every blast of vanity. keep me therefore still, o my gracious god, in such a proportion of both strengths, as i may still have something to thank thee for, which i have received, and still something to pray for and ask at thy hand. footnotes: [ ] john, xi. . [ ] john, xii. . [ ] matt. xxvii. , . [ ] deut. v. . [ ] sam. xxii. . [ ] psalm lxviii. . [ ] psalm xxix. [ ] john, v. . [ ] rev. i. . [ ] job, iv. . [ ] psalm xciii. , . [ ] ecclus. xviii, . [ ] ecclus. v. . [ ] sam. xix. . [ ] chron. xxiv. . [ ] amos, iii. . [ ] acts, v. . [ ] matt. ix. . xxii. sit morbi fomes tibi cura. _the physicians consider the root and occasion, the embers, and coals, and fuel of the disease, and seek to purge or correct that._ xxii. meditation. how ruinous a farm hath man taken, in taking himself! how ready is the house every day to fall down, and how is all the ground overspread with weeds, all the body with diseases; where not only every turf, but every stone bears weeds; not only every muscle of the flesh, but every bone of the body hath some infirmity; every little flint upon the face of this soil hath some infectious weed, every tooth in our head such a pain as a constant man is afraid of, and yet ashamed of that fear, of that sense of the pain. how dear, and how often a rent doth man pay for his farm! he pays twice a day, in double meals, and how little time he hath to raise his rent! how many holidays to call him from his labour! every day is half holiday, half spent in sleep. what reparations, and subsidies, and contributions he is put to, besides his rent! what medicines besides his diet; and what inmates he is fain to take in, besides his own family; what infectious diseases from other men! adam might have had paradise for dressing and keeping it; and then his rent was not improved to such a labour as would have made his brow sweat; and yet he gave it over; how far greater a rent do we pay for this farm, this body, who pay ourselves, who pay the farm itself, and cannot live upon it! neither is our labour at an end when we have cut down some weed as soon as it sprung up, corrected some violent and dangerous accident of a disease which would have destroyed speedily, nor when we have pulled up that weed from the very root, recovered entirely and soundly from that particular disease; but the whole ground is of an ill nature, the whole soil ill disposed; there are inclinations, there is a propenseness to diseases in the body, out of which, without any other disorder, diseases will grow, and so we are put to a continual labour upon this farm, to a continual study of the whole complexion and constitution of our body. in the distempers and diseases of soils, sourness, dryness, weeping, any kind of barrenness, the remedy and the physic is, for a great part, sometimes in themselves; sometimes the very situation relieves them; the hanger of a hill will purge and vent his own malignant moisture, and the burning of the upper turf of some ground (as health from cauterizing) puts a new and a vigorous youth into that soil, and there rises a kind of phoenix out of the ashes, a fruitfulness out of that which was barren before, and by that which is the barrenest of all, ashes. and where the ground cannot give itself physic, yet it receives physic from other grounds, from other soils, which are not the worse for having contributed that help to them from marl in other hills, or from slimy sand in other shores, grounds help themselves, or hurt not other grounds from whence they receive help. but i have taken a farm at this hard rent, and upon those heavy covenants, that it can afford itself no help (no part of my body, if it were cut off, would cure another part; in some cases it might preserve a sound part, but in no case recover an infected); and if my body may have had any physic, any medicine from another body, one man from the flesh of another man (as by mummy, or any such composition), it must be from a man that is dead, and not as in other soils, which are never the worse for contributing their marl or their fat slime to my ground. there is nothing in the same man to help man, nothing in mankind to help one another (in this sort, by way of physic), but that he who ministers the help is in as ill case as he that receives it would have been if he had not had it; for he from whose body the physic comes is dead. when therefore i took this farm, undertook this body, i undertook to drain not a marsh but a moat, where there was, not water mingled to offend, but all was water; i undertook to perfume dung, where no one part but all was equally unsavoury; i undertook to make such a thing wholesome, as was not poison by any manifest quality, intense heat or cold, but poison in the whole substance, and in the specific form of it. to cure the sharp accidents of diseases is a great work; to cure the disease itself is a greater; but to cure the body, the root, the occasion of diseases, is a work reserved for the great physician, which he doth never any other way but by glorifying these bodies in the next world. xxii. expostulation. my god, my god, what am i put to when i am put to consider and put off the root, the fuel, the occasion of my sickness? what hippocrates, what galen, could show me that in my body? it lies deeper than so, it lies in my soul; and deeper than so, for we may well consider the body before the soul came, before inanimation, to be without sin; and the soul, before it come to the body, before that infection, to be without sin: sin is the root and the fuel of all sickness, and yet that which destroys body and soul is in neither, but in both together. it is the union of the body and soul, and, o my god, could i prevent that, or can i dissolve that? the root and the fuel of my sickness is my sin, my actual sin; but even that sin hath another root, another fuel, original sin; and can i divest that? wilt thou bid me to separate the leaven that a lump of dough hath received, or the salt, that the water hath contracted, from the sea? dost thou look, that i should so look to the fuel or embers of sin, that i never take fire? the whole world is a pile of fagots, upon which we are laid, and (as though there were no other) we are the bellows. ignorance blows the fire. he that touched any unclean thing, though he knew it not, became unclean,[ ] and a sacrifice was required (therefore a sin imputed), though it were done in ignorance.[ ] ignorance blows this coal; but then knowledge much more; for there are that _know thy judgments, and yet not only do, but have pleasure in others that do against them_.[ ] nature blows this coal; _by nature we are the children of wrath_;[ ] and the law blows it; thy apostle saint paul found that _sin took occasion by the law_, that therefore, because it is forbidden, we do some things. if we break the law, we sin; _sin is the transgression of the law_;[ ] and sin itself becomes a law in our members.[ ] our fathers have imprinted the seed, infused a spring of sin in us. _as a fountain casteth out her waters_, we _cast out our wickedness_, but _we have done worse than our fathers_.[ ] we are open to infinite temptations, and yet, as though we lacked, we are tempted of our own lusts.[ ] and not satisfied with that, as though we were not powerful enough, or cunning enough, to demolish or undermine ourselves, when we ourselves have no pleasure in the sin, we sin for others' sakes. when adam sinned for eve's sake,[ ] and solomon to gratify his wives,[ ] it was an uxorious sin; when the judges sinned for jezebel's sake,[ ] and joab to obey david,[ ] it was an ambitious sin; when pilate sinned to humour the people,[ ] and herod to give farther contentment to the jews,[ ] it was a popular sin. any thing serves to occasion sin, at home in my bosom, or abroad in my mark and aim; that which i am, and that which i am not, that which i would be, proves coals, and embers, and fuel, and bellows to sin; and dost thou put me, o my god, to discharge myself of myself, before i can be well? when thou bidst me _to put off the old man_,[ ] dost thou mean not only my old habits of actual sin, but the oldest of all, original sin? when thou bidst me _purge out the leaven_,[ ] dost thou mean not only the sourness of mine own ill contracted customs, but the innate tincture of sin imprinted by nature? how shall i do that which thou requirest, and not falsify that which thou hast said, that sin is gone over all? but, o my god, i press thee not with thine own text, without thine own comment; i know that in the state of my body, which is more discernible than that of my soul, thou dost effigiate my soul to me. and though no anatomist can say, in dissecting a body, "here lay the coal, the fuel, the occasion of all bodily diseases," but yet a man may have such a knowledge of his own constitution and bodily inclination to diseases, as that he may prevent his danger in a great part; so, though we cannot assign the place of original sin, nor the nature of it, so exactly as of actual, or by any diligence divest it, yet, having washed it in the water of thy baptism, we have not only so cleansed it, that we may the better look upon it and discern it, but so weakened it, that howsoever it may retain the former nature, it doth not retain the former force, and though it may have the same name, it hath not the same venom. xxii. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, the god of security, and the enemy of security too, who wouldst have us always sure of thy love, and yet wouldst have us always doing something for it, let me always so apprehend thee as present with me, and yet so follow after thee, as though i had not apprehended thee. thou enlargedst hezekiah's lease for fifteen years; thou renewedst lazarus's lease for a time which we know not; but thou didst never so put out any of these fires as that thou didst not rake up the embers, and wrap up a future mortality in that body, which thou hadst then so reprieved. thou proceedest no otherwise in our souls, o our good but fearful god; thou pardonest no sin, so as that that sinner can sin no more; thou makest no man so acceptable as that thou makest him impeccable. though therefore it were a diminution of the largeness, and derogatory to the fulness of thy mercy, to look back upon the sins which in a true repentance i have buried in the wounds of thy son, with a jealous or suspicious eye, as though they were now my sins, when i had so transferred them upon thy son, as though they could now be raised to life again, to condemn me to death, when they are dead in him who is the fountain of life, yet were it an irregular anticipation, and an insolent presumption, to think that thy present mercy extended to all my future sins, or that there were no embers, no coals, of future sins left in me. temper therefore thy mercy so to my soul, o my god, that i may neither decline to any faintness of spirit, in suspecting thy mercy now to be less hearty, less sincere, than it uses to be, to those who are perfectly reconciled to thee, nor presume so of it as either to think this present mercy an antidote against all poisons, and so expose myself to temptations, upon confidence that this thy mercy shall preserve me, or that when i do cast myself into new sins, i may have new mercy at any time, because thou didst so easily afford me this. footnotes: [ ] lev. v. . [ ] num. xv. . [ ] rom. i. . [ ] eph. ii. . [ ] john, iii. . [ ] rom. vii. . [ ] jer. vi. ; vii. . [ ] james, i. . [ ] gen. iii. . [ ] kings, xi. . [ ] kings, xxi. [ ] sam. xi. - . [ ] luke, xxiii. . [ ] acts, xii. . [ ] eph. iv. . [ ] cor. v. . xxiii. metusque, relabi. _they warn me of the fearful danger of relapsing._ xxiii. meditation. it is not in man's body, as it is in the city, that when the bell hath rung, to cover your fire, and rake up the embers, you may lie down and sleep without fear. though you have by physic and diet raked up the embers of your disease, still there is a fear of a relapse; and the greater danger is in that. even in pleasures and in pains, there is a proprietary, a _meum et tuum_, and a man is most affected with that pleasure which is his, his by former enjoying and experience, and most intimidated with those pains which are his, his by a woful sense of them, in former afflictions. a covetous person, who hath preoccupated all his senses, filled all his capacities with the delight of gathering, wonders how any man can have any taste of any pleasure in any openness or liberality; so also in bodily pains, in a fit of the stone, the patient wonders why any man should call the gout a pain; and he that hath felt neither, but the toothache, is as much afraid of a fit of that as either of the other of either of the other. diseases which we never felt in ourselves come but to a compassion of others that have endured them; nay, compassion itself comes to no great degree if we have not felt in some proportion in ourselves that which we lament and condole in another. but when we have had those torments in their exaltation ourselves, we tremble at relapse. when we must pant through all those fiery heats, and sail through all those overflowing sweats, when we must watch through all those long nights, and mourn through all those long days (days and nights, so long as that nature herself shall seem to be perverted, and to have put the longest day, and the longest night, which should be six months asunder, into one natural, unnatural day), when we must stand at the same bar, expect the return of physicians from their consultations, and not be sure of the same verdict, in any good indications, when we must go the same way over again, and not see the same issue, that is a state, a condition, a calamity, in respect of which any other sickness were a convalescence, and any greater, less. it adds to the affliction, that relapses are (and for the most part justly) imputed to ourselves, as occasioned by some disorder in us; and so we are not only passive but active in our own ruin; we do not only stand under a falling house, but pull it down upon us; and we are not only executed (that implies guiltiness), but we are executioners (that implies dishonour), and executioners of ourselves (and that implies impiety). and we fall from that comfort which we might have in our first sickness, from that meditation, "alas, how generally miserable is man, and how subject to diseases" (for in that it is some degree of comfort that we are but in the state common to all), we fall, i say, to this discomfort, and self-accusing, and self-condemning: "alas, how improvident, and in that how unthankful to god and his instruments, am i in making so ill use of so great benefits, in destroying so soon so long a work, in relapsing, by my disorder, to that from which they had delivered me": and so my meditation is fearfully transferred from the body to the mind, and from the consideration of the sickness to that sin, that sinful carelessness, by which i have occasioned my relapse. and amongst the many weights that aggravate a relapse, this also is one, that a relapse proceeds with a more violent dispatch, and more irremediably, because it finds the country weakened, and depopulated before. upon a sickness, which as yet appears not, we can scarce fix a fear, because we know not what to fear; but as fear is the busiest and irksomest affection, so is a relapse (which is still ready to come) into that which is but newly gone, the nearest object, the most immediate exercise of that affection of fear. xxiii. expostulation. my god, my god, my god, thou mighty father, who hast been my physician; thou glorious son, who hast been my physic; thou blessed spirit, who hast prepared and applied all to me, shall i alone be able to overthrow the work of all you, and relapse into those spiritual sicknesses from which infinite mercies have withdrawn me? though thou, o my god, have filled my measure with mercy, yet my measure was not so large as that of thy whole people, the nation, the numerous and glorious nation of israel; and yet how often, how often did they fall into relapses! and then, where is my assurance? how easily thou passedst over many other sins in them, and how vehemently thou insistedst in those into which they so often relapsed; those were their murmurings against thee, in thine instruments and ministers, and their turnings upon other gods, and embracing the idolatries of their neighbours. o my god, how slippery a way, to how irrecoverable a bottom, is murmuring; and how near thyself he comes, that murmurs at him who comes from thee! the magistrate is the garment in which thou apparelest thyself, and he that shoots at the clothes cannot say he meant no ill to the man: thy people were fearful examples of that, for how often did their murmuring against thy ministers end in a departing from thee! when they would have other officers, they would have other gods; and still to-day's murmuring was to-morrow's idolatry; as their murmuring induced idolatry, and they relapsed often into both, i have found in myself, o my god (o my god, thou hast found it in me, and thy finding it hast showed it to me) such a transmigration of sin, as makes me afraid of relapsing too. the soul of sin (for we have made sin immortal, and it must have a soul), the soul of sin is disobedience to thee; and when one sin hath been dead in me, that soul hath passed into another sin. our youth dies, and the sins of our youth with it; some sins die a violent death, and some a natural; poverty, penury, imprisonment, banishment, kill some sins in us, and some die of age; many ways we become unable to do that sin, but still the soul lives and passes into another sin; and that that was licentiousness grows ambition, and that comes to indevotion and spiritual coldness: we have three lives in our state of sin, and where the sins of youth expire, those of our middle years enter, and those of our age after them. this transmigration of sin found in myself, makes me afraid, o my god, of a relapse; but the occasion of my fear is more pregnant than so, for i have had, i have multiplied relapses already. why, o my god, is a relapse so odious to thee? not so much their murmuring and their idolatry, as their relapsing into those sins, seems to affect thee in thy disobedient people. _they limited the holy one of israel_,[ ] as thou complainest of them: that was a murmuring; but before thou chargest them with the fault itself, in the same place thou chargest them with the iterating, the redoubling of that fault before the fault was named; _how oft did they provoke me in the wilderness, and grieve me in the desert?_ that which brings thee to that exasperation against them, as to say, that thou wouldst break thine own oath rather than leave them unpunished (_they shall not see the land which i sware unto their fathers_) was because _they had tempted thee ten times_,[ ] infinitely; upon that thou threatenest with that vehemency, _if you do in any wise go back, know for a certainty god will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, till ye perish_.[ ] no tongue but thine own, o my god, can express thine indignation against a nation relapsing to idolatry. idolatry in any nation is deadly, but when the disease is complicated with a relapse (a knowledge and a profession of a former recovery), it is desperate; and thine anger works, not only where the evidence is pregnant and without exception (so thou sayest when it is said, that certain men in a city have withdrawn others to idolatry, and that inquiry is made, and it is found true; the city, and the inhabitants, and the cattle are to be destroyed),[ ] but where there is but a suspicion, a rumour, of such a relapse to idolatry, thine anger is awakened, and thine indignation stirred. in the government of thy servant joshua, there was a voice, that reuben and gad, with those of manasseh, had built a new altar.[ ] israel doth not send one to inquire, but the whole congregation gathered to go up to war against them,[ ] and there went a prince of every tribe; and they object to them, not so much their present declination to idolatry, as their relapse: _is the iniquity of peor too little for us?_[ ] an idolatry formerly committed, and punished with the slaughter of twenty-four thousand delinquents. at last reuben and gad satisfy them, that that altar was not built for idolatry, but built as a pattern of theirs, that they might thereby profess themselves to be of the same profession that they were, and so the army returned without blood. even where it comes not so far as to an actual relapse into idolatry, thou, o my god, becomest sensible of it; though thou, who seest the heart all the way, preventest all dangerous effects where there was no ill meaning, however there were occasion of suspicious rumours given to thine israel of relapsing. so odious to thee, and so aggravating a weight upon sin is a relapse. but, o my god, why is it so? so odious? it must be so, because he that hath sinned and then repented, hath weighed god and the devil in a balance; he hath heard god and the devil plead, and after hearing given judgment on that side to which he adheres by his subsequent practice;[ ] if he return to his sin, he decrees for satan, he prefers sin before grace, and satan before god; and in contempt of god, declares the precedency for his adversary; and a contempt wounds deeper than an injury, a relapse deeper than a blasphemy. and when thou hast told me that a relapse is more odious to thee, need i ask why it is more dangerous, more pernicious to me? is there any other measure of the greatness of my danger, than the greatness of thy displeasure? how fitly and how fearfully hast thou expressed my case in a storm at sea, if i relapse; _they mount up to heaven, and they go down again to the depth_![ ] my sickness brought me to thee in repentance, and my relapse hath cast me farther from thee. _the end of that man shall be worse than the beginning_,[ ] says thy word, thy son; my beginning was sickness, punishment for sin: but _a worse thing may follow_,[ ] says he also, if i sin again; not only death, which is an end worse than sickness, which was the beginning, but hell, which is a beginning worse than that end. thy great servant denied thy son,[ ] and he denied him again, but all before repentance; here was no relapse. o, if thou hadst ever readmitted adam into paradise, how abstinently would he have walked by that tree! and would not the angels that fell have fixed themselves upon thee, if thou hadst once readmitted them to thy sight? they never relapsed; if i do, must not my case be as desperate? not so desperate; for _as thy majesty, so is thy mercy_,[ ] both infinite; and thou, who hast commanded me to pardon my brother seventy-seven times, hast limited thyself to no number. if death were ill in itself, thou wouldst never have raised any dead man to life again, because that man must necessarily die again. if thy mercy in pardoning did so far aggravate a relapse, as that there were no more mercy after it, our case were the worse for that former mercy; for who is not under even a necessity of sinning whilst he is here, if we place this necessity in our own infirmity, and not in thy decree? but i speak not this, o my god, as preparing a way to my relapse out of presumption, but to preclude all accesses of desperation, though out of infirmity i should relapse. xxiii. prayer. o eternal and most gracious god, who, though thou beest ever infinite, yet enlargest thyself by the number of our prayers, and takest our often petitions to thee to be an addition to thy glory and thy greatness, as ever upon all occasions, so now, o my god, i come to thy majesty with two prayers, two supplications. i have meditated upon the jealousy which thou hast of thine own honour, and considered that nothing comes nearer a violating of that honour, nearer to the nature of a scorn to thee, than to sue out thy pardon, and receive the seals of reconciliation to thee, and then return to that sin for which i needed and had thy pardon before. i know that this comes too near to a making thy holy ordinances, thy word, thy sacraments, thy seals, thy grace, instruments of my spiritual fornications. since therefore thy correction hath brought me to such a participation of thyself (thyself, o my god, cannot be parted), to such an entire possession of thee, as that i durst deliver myself over to thee this minute, if this minute thou wouldst accept my dissolution, preserve me, o my god, the god of constancy and perseverance, in this state, from all relapses into those sins which have induced thy former judgments upon me. but because, by too lamentable experience, i know how slippery my customs of sin have made my ways of sin, i presume to add this petition too, that if my infirmity overtake me, thou forsake me not. say to my soul, _my son, thou hast sinned, do so no more_;[ ] but say also, that though i do, thy spirit of remorse and compunction shall never depart from me. thy holy apostle, st. paul, was shipwrecked thrice,[ ] and yet still saved. though the rocks and the sands, the heights and the shallows, the prosperity and the adversity of this world, do diversely threaten me, though mine own leaks endanger me, yet, o god, let me never put myself aboard with hymenæus, nor _make shipwreck of faith and a good conscience_,[ ] and then thy long-lived, thy everlasting mercy, will visit me, though that which i most earnestly pray against, should fall upon me, a relapse into those sins which i have truly repented, and thou hast fully pardoned. footnotes: [ ] psalm lxxviii. . [ ] numb. xiv. , . [ ] josh. xxiii. , . [ ] deut. xiii. - . [ ] josh. xxii. , . [ ] josh. xxii. , . [ ] josh. xxii. . [ ] tertullian. [ ] psalm cvii. . [ ] matt. xii. . [ ] john, v. . [ ] mark, xiv. . [ ] ecclus. ii. . [ ] ecclus. i. . [ ] cor. xi. . [ ] tim. i. . _death's duel,_ _or, a consolation to the soul against the dying life and living death of the body._ _delivered in a sermon at whitehall, before the king's majesty, in the beginning of lent, ._ _by that late learned and reverend divine, john donne, dr. in divinity, and dean of st. paul's, london._ _being his last sermon, and called by his majesty's household, the doctor's own funeral sermon._ _to the reader_ _this sermon was, by sacred authority, styled the author's own funeral sermon, most fitly, whether we respect the time or matter. it was preached not many days before his death, as if, having done this, there remained nothing for him to do but to die; and the matter is of death--the occasion and subject of all funeral sermons. it hath been observed of this reverend man, that his faculty in preaching continually increased, and that, as he exceeded others at first, so at last he exceeded himself. this is his last sermon; i will not say it is therefore his best, because all his were excellent. yet thus much: a dying man's words, if they concern ourselves, do usually make the deepest impression, as being spoken most feelingly, and with least affectation. now, whom doth it concern to learn both the danger and benefit of death? death is every man's enemy, and intends hurt to all, though to many he be occasion of greatest good. this enemy we must all combat dying, whom he living did almost conquer, having discovered the utmost of his power, the utmost of his cruelty. may we make such use of this and other the like preparatives, that neither death, whensoever it shall come, may seem terrible, nor life tedious, how long soever it shall last._ _death's duel_ psalm lxviii. , _in fine_. _and unto god the lord belong the issues of death (i.e. from death)._ buildings stand by the benefit of their foundations that sustain and support them, and of their buttresses that comprehend and embrace them, and of their contignations that knit and unite them. the foundations suffer them not to sink, the buttresses suffer them not to swerve, and the contignation and knitting suffers them not to cleave. the body of our building is in the former part of this verse. it is this: _he that is our god is the god of salvation_; _ad salutes_, of salvations in the plural, so it is in the original; the god that gives us spiritual and temporal salvation too. but of this building, the foundation, the buttresses, the contignations, are in this part of the verse which constitutes our text, and in the three divers acceptations of the words amongst our expositors: _unto god the lord belong the issues from death_, for, first, the foundation of this building (that our god is the god of all salvation) is laid in this, that _unto_ this _god the lord belong the issues of death_; that is, it is in his power to give us an issue and deliverance, even then when we are brought to the jaws and teeth of death, and to the lips of that whirlpool, the grave. and so in this acceptation, this _exitus mortis_, this issue of death is _liberatio á morte_, a deliverance from death, and this is the most obvious and most ordinary acceptation of these words, and that upon which our translation lays hold, the _issues from death_. and then, secondly, the buttresses that comprehend and settle this building, that he that is our god is the god of all salvation, are thus raised; _unto god the lord belong the issues of death_, that is, the disposition and manner of our death; what kind of issue and transmigration we shall have out of this world, whether prepared or sudden, whether violent or natural, whether in our perfect senses or shaken and disordered by sickness, there is no condemnation to be argued out of that, no judgment to be made upon that, for, howsoever they die, _precious in his sight is the death of his saints_, and with him are the issues of death; the ways of our departing out of this life are in his hands. and so in this sense of the words, this _exitus mortis_, the issues of death, is _liberatio in morte_, a deliverance in death; not that god will deliver us from dying, but that he will have a care of us in the hour of death, of what kind soever our passage be. and in this sense and acceptation of the words, the natural frame and contexture doth well and pregnantly administer unto us. and then, lastly, the contignation and knitting of this building, that he that is our god is the god of all salvations, consists in this, _unto_ this _god the lord belong the issues of death_; that is, that this god the lord having united and knit both natures in one, and being god, having also come into this world in our flesh, he could have no other means to save us, he could have no other issue out of this world, nor return to his former glory, but by death. and so in this sense, this _exitus mortis_, this issue of death, is _liberatio per mortem_, a deliverance by death, by the death of this god, our lord christ jesus. and this is saint augustine's acceptation of the words, and those many and great persons that have adhered to him. in all these three lines, then, we shall look upon these words, first, as the god of power, the almighty father rescues his servants from the jaws of death; and then as the god of mercy, the glorious son rescued us by taking upon himself this issue of death; and then, between these two, as the god of comfort, the holy ghost rescues us from all discomfort by his blessed impressions beforehand, that what manner of death soever be ordained for us, yet this _exitus mortis_ shall be _introitus in vitam_, our issue in death shall be an entrance into everlasting life. and these three considerations: our deliverance _à morte, in morte, per mortem_, from death, in death, and by death, will abundantly do all the offices of the foundations, of the buttresses, of the contignation, of this our building; that he that is our god is the god of all salvation, because _unto_ this _god the lord belong the issues of death_. first, then, we consider this _exitus mortis_ to be _liberatio à morte_, that with _god the lord are the issues of death_; and therefore in all our death, and deadly calamities of this life, we may justly hope of a good issue from him. in all our periods and transitions in this life, are so many passages from death to death; our very birth and entrance into this life is _exitus à morte_, an issue from death, for in our mother's womb we are dead, so as that we do not know we live, not so much as we do in our sleep, neither is there any grave so close or so putrid a prison, as the womb would be unto us if we stayed in it beyond our time, or died there before our time. in the grave the worms do not kill us; we breed, and feed, and then kill those worms which we ourselves produced. in the womb the dead child kills the mother that conceived it, and is a murderer, nay, a parricide, even after it is dead. and if we be not dead so in the womb, so as that being dead we kill her that gave us our first life, our life of vegetation, yet we are dead so as david's idols are dead. in the womb we have _eyes and see not, ears and hear not_.[ ] there in the womb we are fitted for works of darkness, all the while deprived of light; and there in the womb we are taught cruelty, by being fed with blood, and may be damned, though we be never born. of our very making in the womb, david says, _i am wonderfully and fearfully made_, and _such knowledge is too excellent for me_,[ ] for even that _is the lord's doing, and it is wonderful in our eyes_;[ ] ipse fecit nos, _it is he that made us, and not we ourselves_,[ ] nor our parents neither. _thy hands have made and fashioned me round about_, saith job, _and_ (as the original word is) _thou hast taken pains about me, and yet_ (says he) _thou dost destroy me_. though i be the masterpiece of the greatest master (man is so), yet if thou do no more for me, if thou leave me where thou madest me, destruction will follow. the womb, which should be the house of life, becomes death itself if god leave us there. that which god threatens so often, the shutting of a womb, is not so heavy nor so discomfortable a curse in the first as in the latter shutting, nor in the shutting of barrenness as in the shutting of weakness, when _children are come to the birth, and no strength to bring forth_.[ ] it is the exaltation of misery to fall from a near hope of happiness. and in that vehement imprecation, the prophet expresses the highest of god's anger, _give them, o lord, what wilt thou give them? give them a miscarrying womb._ therefore as soon as we are men (that is, inanimated, quickened in the womb), though we cannot ourselves, our parents have to say in our behalf, _wretched man that he is, who shall deliver him from this body of death?_[ ] if there be no deliverer. it must be he that said to jeremiah, _before i formed thee i knew thee, and before thou camest out of the womb i sanctified thee_. we are not sure that there was no kind of ship nor boat to fish in, nor to pass by, till god prescribed noah that absolute form of the ark.[ ] that word which the holy ghost, by moses, useth for the ark, is common to all kind of boats, _thebah_; and is the same word that moses useth for the boat that he was exposed in, that his mother laid him in an ark of bulrushes. but we are sure that eve had no midwife when she was delivered of cain, therefore she might well say, _possedi virum à domino, i have gotten a man from the lord_,[ ] wholly, entirely from the lord; it is the lord that enabled me to conceive, the lord that infused a quickening soul into that conception, the lord that brought into the world that which himself had quickened; without all this might eve say, my body had been but the house of death, and _domini domini sunt exitus mortis, to god the lord belong the issues of death_. but then this _exitus à morte_ is but _introitus in mortem_; this issue, this deliverance, from that death, the death of the womb, is an entrance, a delivering over to another death, the manifold deaths of this world; we have a winding-sheet in our mother's womb which grows with us from our conception, and we come into the world wound up in that winding-sheet, for we come to seek a grave. and as prisoners discharged of actions may lie for fees, so when the womb hath discharged us, yet we are bound to it by cords of hestæ, by such a string as that we cannot go thence, nor stay there; we celebrate our own funerals with cries even at our birth; as though our threescore and ten years' life were spent in our mother's labour, and our circle made up in the first point thereof; we beg our baptism with another sacrament, with tears; and we come into a world that lasts many ages, but we last not. _in domo patris_, says our saviour, speaking of heaven, _multæ mansiones_, divers and durable; so that if a man cannot possess a martyr's house (he hath shed no blood for christ), yet he may have a confessor's, he hath been ready to glorify god in the shedding of his blood. and if a woman cannot possess a virgin's house (she hath embraced the holy state of marriage), yet she may have a matron's house, she hath brought forth and brought up children in the fear of god. _in domo patris, in my father's house_, in heaven, there _are many mansions_;[ ] but here, upon earth, the _son of man hath not where to lay his head_,[ ] saith he himself. _nonne terram dedit filiis hominum?_ how then hath god given this earth to the sons of men? he hath given them earth for their materials to be made of earth, and he hath given them earth for their grave and sepulchre, to return and resolve to earth, but not for their possession. _here we have no continuing city_,[ ] nay, no cottage that continues, nay, no persons, no bodies, that continue. whatsoever moved saint jerome to call the journeys of the israelites in the wilderness,[ ] mansions; the word (the word is _nasang_) signifies but a journey, but a peregrination. even the israel of god hath no mansions, but journeys, pilgrimages in this life. by what measure did jacob measure his life to pharaoh? _the days of the years of my pilgrimage._[ ] and though the apostle would not say _morimur_, that whilst we are in the body we are dead, yet he says, _perigrinamur_, whilst we are in the body we are but in a pilgrimage, and we are _absent from the lord_:[ ] he might have said dead, for this whole world is but an universal churchyard, but our common grave, and the life and motion that the greatest persons have in it is but as the shaking of buried bodies in their grave, by an earthquake. that which we call life is but _hebdomada mortium_, a week of death, seven days, seven periods of our life spent in dying, a dying seven times over; and there is an end. our birth dies in infancy, and our infancy dies in youth, and youth and the rest die in age, and age also dies and determines all. nor do all these, youth out of infancy, or age out of youth, arise so, as the phoenix out of the ashes of another phoenix formerly dead, but as a wasp or a serpent out of a carrion, or as a snake out of dung. our youth is worse than our infancy, and our age worse than our youth. our youth is hungry and thirsty after those sins which our infancy knew not; and our age is sorry and angry, that it cannot pursue those sins which our youth did; and besides, all the way, so many deaths, that is, so many deadly calamities accompany every condition and every period of this life, as that death itself would be an ease to them that suffer them. upon this sense doth job wish that god had not given him an issue from the first death, from the womb, _wherefore thou hast brought me forth out of the womb? oh that i had given up the ghost, and no eye seen me! i should have been as though i had not been._[ ] and not only the impatient israelites in their murmuring (_would to god we had died by the hand of the lord in the land of egypt_),[ ] but elijah himself, when he fled from jezebel, and went for his life, as that text says, under the juniper tree, requested that he might die, and said, _it is enough now, o lord, take away my life_.[ ] so jonah justifies his impatience, nay, his anger, towards god himself: _now, o lord, take, i beseech thee, my life from me, for it is better to die than to live_.[ ] and when god asked him, _dost thou well to be angry for this?_ he replies, _i do well to be angry, even unto death_. how much worse a death than death is this life, which so good men would so often change for death! but if my case be as saint paul's case, _quotidiè morior_, that i die daily, that something heavier than death fall upon me every day; if my case be david's case, _tota die mortificamur; all the day long we are killed_, that not only every day, but every hour of the day, something heavier than death fall upon me; though that be true of me, _conceptus in peccatis, i was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me_ (there i died one death); though that be true of me, _natus filius iræ_, i was born not only the child of sin, but the child of wrath, of the wrath of god for sin, which is a heavier death: yet _domini domini sunt exitus mortis, with god the lord are the issues of death_; and after a job, and a joseph, and a jeremiah, and a daniel, i cannot doubt of a deliverance. and if no other deliverance conduce more to his glory and my good, yet he hath the keys of death,[ ] and he can let me out at that door, that is, deliver me from the manifold deaths of this world, the _omni die_, and the _tota die_, the every day's death and every hour's death, by that one death, the final dissolution of body and soul, the end of all. but then is that the end of all? is that dissolution of body and soul the last death that the body shall suffer (for of spiritual death we speak not now). it is not, though this be _exitus à morte_: it is _introitus in mortem_; though it be an issue from manifold deaths of this world, yet it is an entrance into the death of corruption and putrefaction, and vermiculation, and incineration, and dispersion in and from the grave, in which every dead man dies over again. it was a prerogative peculiar to christ, not to die this death, not to see corruption. what gave him this privilege? not joseph's great proportion of gums and spices, that might have preserved his body from corruption and incineration longer than he needed it, longer than three days, but it would not have done it for ever. what preserved him then? did his exemption and freedom from original sin preserve him from this corruption and incineration? it is true that original sin hath induced this corruption and incineration upon us; if we had not sinned in adam, _mortality had not put on immortality_[ ] (as the apostle speaks), nor _corruption had not put on incorruption_, but we had had our transmigration from this to the other world without any mortality, any corruption at all. but yet since christ took sin upon him, so far as made him mortal, he had it so far too as might have made him see this corruption and incineration, though he had no original sin in himself; what preserved him then? did the hypostatical union of both natures, god and man, preserve him from this corruption and incineration? it is true that this was a most powerful embalming, to be embalmed with the divine nature itself, to be embalmed with eternity, was able to preserve him from corruption and incineration for ever. and he was embalmed so, embalmed with the divine nature itself, even in his body as well as in his soul; for the godhead, the divine nature, did not depart, but remained still united to his dead body in the grave; but yet for all this powerful embalming, his hypostatical union of both natures, we see christ did die; and for all his union which made him god and man, he became no man (for the union of the body and soul makes the man, and he whose soul and body are separated by death as long as that state lasts, is properly no man). and therefore as in him the dissolution of body and soul was no dissolution of the hypostatical union, so there is nothing that constrains us to say, that though the flesh of christ had seen corruption and incineration in the grave, this had not been any dissolution of the hypostatical union, for the divine nature, the godhead, might have remained with all the elements and principles of christ's body, as well as it did with the two constitutive parts of his person, his body and his soul. this incorruption then was not in joseph's gums and spices, nor was it in christ's innocency, and exemption from original sin, nor was it (that is, it is not necessary to say it was) in the hypostatical union. but this incorruptibleness of his flesh is most conveniently placed in that; _non dabis, thou wilt not suffer thy holy one to see corruption_; we look no further for causes or reasons in the mysteries of religion, but to the will and pleasure of god; christ himself limited his inquisition in that _ita est, even so, father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight_. christ's body did not see corruption, therefore, because god had decreed it should not. the humble soul (and only the humble soul is the religious soul) rests himself upon god's purposes and the decrees of god which he hath declared and manifested, not such as are conceived and imagined in ourselves, though upon some probability, some verisimilitude; so in our present case peter proceeds in his sermon at jerusalem, and so paul in his at antioch.[ ] they preached christ to have been risen without seeing corruption, not only because god had decreed it, but because he had manifested that decree in his prophet, therefore doth saint paul cite by special number the second psalm for that decree, and therefore both saint peter and saint paul cite for it that place in the sixteenth psalm;[ ] for when god declares his decree and purpose in the express words of his prophet, or when he declares it in the real execution of the decree, then he makes it ours, then he manifests it to us. and therefore, as the mysteries of our religion are not the objects of our reason, but by faith we rest on god's decree and purpose--(it is so, o god, because it is thy will it should be so)--so god's decrees are ever to be considered in the manifestation thereof. all manifestation is either in the word of god, or in the execution of the decree; and when these two concur and meet it is the strongest demonstration that can be: when therefore i find those marks of adoption and spiritual filiation which are delivered in the word of god to be upon me; when i find that real execution of his good purpose upon me, as that actually i do live under the obedience and under the conditions which are evidences of adoption and spiritual filiation; then, so long as i see these marks and live so, i may safely comfort myself in a holy certitude and a modest infallibility of my adoption. christ determines himself in that, the purpose of god was manifest to him; saint peter and saint paul determine themselves in those two ways of knowing the purpose of god, the word of god before the execution of the decree in the fulness of time. it was prophesied before, said they, and it is performed now, christ is risen without seeing corruption. now, this which is so singularly peculiar to him, that his flesh should not see corruption, at his second coming, his coming to judgment, shall extend to all that are then alive; their hestæ shall not see corruption, because, as the apostle says, and says as a secret, as a mystery, _behold i shew you a mystery, we shall not all sleep_ (that is, not continue in the state of the dead in the grave), _but we shall all be changed in an instant_, we shall have a dissolution, and in the same instant a redintegration, a recompacting of body and soul, and that shall be truly a death and truly a resurrection, but no sleeping in corruption; but for us that die now and sleep in the state of the dead, we must all pass this posthume death, this death after death, nay, this death after burial, this dissolution after dissolution, this death of corruption and putrefaction, of vermiculation and incineration, of dissolution and dispersion in and from the grave, when these bodies that have been the children of royal parents, and the parents of royal children, must say with job, _corruption, thou art my father, and to the worm, thou art my mother and my sister_. miserable riddle, when the same worm must be my mother, and my sister and myself! miserable incest, when i must be married to my mother and my sister, and be both father and mother to my own mother and sister, beget and bear that worm which is all that miserable penury; when my mouth shall be filled with dust, and the _worm shall feed, and feed sweetly_[ ] upon me; when the ambitious man shall have no satisfaction, if the poorest alive tread upon him, nor the poorest receive any contentment in being made equal to princes, for they shall be equal but in dust. _one dieth at his full strength, being wholly at ease and in quiet; and another dies in the bitterness of his soul, and never eats with pleasure_; but _they lie down alike in the dust, and the worm covers them_.[ ] in job and in isaiah,[ ] it covers them and is spread under them, _the worm is spread under thee, and the worm covers thee_. there are the mats and the carpets that lie under, and there are the state and the canopy that hang over the greatest of the sons of men. even those bodies that were _the temples of the holy ghost_ come to this dilapidation, to ruin, to rubbish, to dust; even the israel of the lord, and jacob himself, hath no other specification, no other denomination, but that _vermis jacob_, thou worm of jacob. truly the consideration of this posthume death, this death after burial, that after god (with whom are the issues of death) hath delivered me from the death of the womb, by bringing me into the world, and from the manifold deaths of the world, by laying me in the grave, i must die again in an incineration of this flesh, and in a dispersion of that dust. that that monarch, who spread over many nations alive, must in his dust lie in a corner of that sheet of lead, and there but so long as that lead will last; and that private and retired man, that thought himself his own for ever, and never came forth, must in his dust of the grave be published, and (such are the revolutions of the grave) be mingled with the dust of every highway and of every dunghill, and swallowed in every puddle and pond. this is the most inglorious and contemptible vilification, the most deadly and peremptory nullification of man, that we can consider. god seems to have carried the declaration of his power to a great height, when he sets the prophet ezekiel in the valley of dry bones, and says, _son of man, can these bones live?_ as though it had been impossible, and yet they did; the lord laid _sinews upon them, and flesh, and breathed into them, and they did live_. but in that case there were bones to be seen, something visible, of which it might be said, can this thing live? but in this death of incineration and dispersion of dust, we see nothing that we call that man's. if we say, can this dust live? perchance it cannot; it may be the mere dust of the earth, which never did live, never shall. it may be the dust of that man's worm, which did live, but shall no more. it may be the dust of another man, that concerns not him of whom it was asked. this death of incineration and dispersion is, to natural reason, the most irrecoverable death of all; and yet _domini domini sunt exitus mortis, unto god the lord belong the issues of death_; and by recompacting this dust into the same body, and remaining the same body with the same soul, he shall in a blessed and glorious resurrection give me such an issue from this death as shall never pass into any other death, but establish me into a life that shall last as long as the lord of life himself. and so have you that that belongs to the first acceptation of these words (_unto god the lord belong the issues of death_); that though from the womb to the grave, and in the grave itself, we pass from death to death, yet, as daniel speaks, _the lord our god is able to deliver us, and he will deliver us_. and so we pass unto our second accommodation of these words (_unto god the lord belong the issues of death_); that it belongs to god, and not to man, to pass a judgment upon us at our death, or to conclude a dereliction on god's part upon the manner thereof. those indications which the physicians receive, and those presagitions which they give for death or recovery in the patient, they receive and they give out of the grounds and the rules of their art; but we have no such rule or art to give a presagition of spiritual death and damnation upon any such indication as we see in any dying man; we see often enough to be sorry, but not to despair; we may be deceived both ways: we use to comfort ourself in the death of a friend, if it be testified that he went away like a lamb, that is, without any reluctation; but god knows that may be accompanied with a dangerous damp and stupefaction, and insensibility of his present state. our blessed saviour suffered colluctations with death, and a _sadness even in his soul to death_, and an agony even to a bloody sweat in his body, and expostulations with god, and exclamations upon the cross. he was a devout man who said upon his death-bed, or death-turf (for he was a hermit), _septuaginta annos domino servivisti, et mori times?_ hast thou served a good master threescore and ten years, and now art thou loth to go into his presence? yet hilarion was loth. barlaam was a devout man (a hermit too) that said that day he died, _cogita te hodie cæpisse servire domino, et hodie finiturum_, consider this to be the first day's service that ever thou didst thy master, to glorify him in a christianly and a constant death, and if thy first day be thy last day too, how soon dost thou come to receive thy wages! yet barlaam could have been content to have stayed longer forth. make no ill conclusions upon any man's lothness to die, for the mercies of god work momentarily in minutes, and many times insensibly to bystanders, or any other than the party departing. and then upon violent deaths inflicted as upon malefactors, christ himself hath forbidden us by his own death to make any ill conclusion; for his own death had those impressions in it; he was reputed, he was executed as a malefactor, and no doubt many of them who concurred to his death did believe him to be so. of sudden death there are scarce examples be found in the scriptures upon good men, for death in battle cannot be called sudden death; but god governs not by examples but by rules, and therefore make no ill conclusion upon sudden death nor upon distempers neither, though perchance accompanied with some words of diffidence and distrust in the mercies of god. the tree lies as it falls, it is true, but it is not the last stroke that fells the tree, nor the last word nor gasp that qualifies the soul. still pray we for a peaceable life against violent death, and for time of repentance against sudden death, and for sober and modest assurance against distempered and diffident death, but never make ill conclusions upon persons overtaken with such deaths; _domini domini sunt exitus mortis, to god the lord belong the issues of death_. and he received samson, who went out of this world in such a manner (consider it actively, consider it passively in his own death, and in those whom he slew with himself) as was subject to interpretation hard enough. yet the holy ghost hath moved saint paul to celebrate samson in his great catalogue,[ ] and so doth all the church. our critical day is not the very day of our death, but the whole course of our life. i thank him that prays for me when the bell tolls, but i thank him much more that catechises me, or preaches to me, or instructs me how to live. _fac hoc et vive_, there is my security, the mouth of the lord hath said it, _do this and thou shalt live_. but though i do it, yet i shall die too, die a bodily, a natural death. but god never mentions, never seems to consider that death, the bodily, the natural death. god doth not say, live well, and thou shalt die well, that is, an easy, a quiet death; but, live well here, and thou shalt live well for ever. as the first part of a sentence pieces well with the last, and never respects, never hearkens after the parenthesis that comes between, so doth a good life here flow into an eternal life, without any consideration what manner of death we die. but whether the gate of my prison be opened with an oiled key (by a gentle and preparing sickness), or the gate be hewn down by a violent death, or the gate be burnt down by a raging and frantic fever, a gate into heaven i shall have, for from the lord is the cause of my life, and _with god the lord are the issues of death_. and further we carry not this second acceptation of the words, as this _issue of death_ is _liberatio in morte_, god's care that the soul be safe, what agonies soever the body suffers in the hour of death. but pass to our third part and last part: as this issue of death is _liberatio per mortem_, a deliverance by the death of another. _sufferentiam job audiisti, et vidisti finem domini_, says saint james (v. ), _you have heard of the patience of job_, says he: all this while you have done that, for in every man, calamitous, miserable man, a job speaks. now, _see the end of the lord_, sayeth that apostle, which is not that end that the lord proposed to himself (salvation to us), nor the end which he proposes to us (conformity to him), but _see the end of the lord_, says he, the end that the lord himself came to, death, and a painful and a shameful death. but why did he die? and why die so? _quia domini domini sunt exitus mortis_ (as saint augustine, interpreting this text, answers that question),[ ] because to this _god our lord belonged the issues of death. quid apertius diceretur?_ says he there, what can be more obvious, more manifest than this sense of these words? in the former part of this verse it is said, he that is _our god is the god of salvation; deus salvos faciendi_, so he reads it, the god that must save us. who can that be, says he, but jesus? for therefore that name was given him because he was to save us. and to this jesus, says he, this saviour,[ ] _belong the issues of death_; _nec oportuit eum de hac vita alios exitus habere quam mortis_: being come into this life in our mortal nature, he could not go out of this life any other way but by death. _ideo dictum_, says he, therefore it is said, _to god the lord belonged the issues of death; ut ostenderetur moriendo nos salvos facturum_, to show that his way to save us was to die. and from this text doth saint isidore prove that christ was truly man (which as many sects of heretics denied, as that he was truly god), because to him, though he were _dominus dominus_ (as the text doubles it), god the lord, yet to _him, to god the lord belonged the issues of death_; _oportuit eum pati_; more cannot be said than christ himself says of himself; _these things christ ought to suffer_;[ ] he had no other way but death: so then this part of our sermon must needs be a passion sermon, since all his life was a continual passion, all our lent may well be a continual good friday. christ's painful life took off none of the pains of his death, he felt not the less then for having felt so much before. nor will any thing that shall be said before lessen, but rather enlarge the devotion, to that which shall be said of his passion at the time of due solemnization thereof. christ bled not a drop the less at the last for having bled at his circumcision before, nor will you a tear the less then if you shed some now. and therefore be now content to consider with me how _to this god the lord belonged the issues of death_. that god, this lord, the lord of life, could die, is a strange contemplation; that the red sea could be dry, that the sun could stand still, that an oven could be seven times heat and not burn, that lions could be hungry and not bite, is strange, miraculously strange, but super-miraculous that god _could_ die; but that god _would_ die is an exaltation of that. but even of that also it is a super-exaltation, that god should die, must die, and _non exitus_ (said saint augustine), god the lord had no issue but by death, and _oportuit pati_ (says christ himself), all this christ ought to suffer, was bound to suffer; _deus ultimo deus_, says david, god is the god of revenges, he would not pass over the son of man unrevenged, unpunished. but then _deus ultionum libere egit_ (says that place), the god of revenges works freely, he punishes, he spares whom he will. and would he not spare himself? he would not: _dilectio fortis ut mors, love is strong as death_;[ ] stronger, it drew in death, that naturally is not welcome. _si possibile_ says christ, _if it be possible, let this cup pass_, when his love, expressed in a former decree with his father, had made it impossible. _many waters quench not love._[ ] christ tried many: he was baptised out of his love, and his love determined not there; he mingled blood with water in his agony, and that determined not his love; he wept pure blood, all his blood at all his eyes, at all his pores, in his flagellation and thorns (_to the lord our god belonged the issues of blood_), and these expressed, but these did not quench his love. he would not spare, nay, he could not spare himself. there was nothing more free, more voluntary, more spontaneous than the death of christ. it is true, _libere egit_, he died voluntarily; but yet when we consider the contract that had passed between his father and him, there was an _oportuit_, a kind of necessity upon him: all this _christ ought to suffer_. and when shall we date this obligation, this _oportuit_, this necessity? when shall we say that began? certainly this decree by which christ was to suffer all this was an eternal decree, and was there any thing before that that was eternal? infinite love, eternal love; be pleased to follow this home, and to consider it seriously, that what liberty soever we can conceive in christ to die or not to die; this necessity of dying, this decree is as eternal as that liberty; and yet how small a matter made he of this necessity and this dying? his father calls it but a bruise, and but a bruising of his heel[ ] (the serpent shall bruise his heel), and yet that was, that the serpent should practise and compass his death. himself calls it but a baptism, as though he were to be the better for it. i _have a baptism to be baptised with_,[ ] and he was in pain till it was accomplished, and yet this baptism was his death. the holy ghost calls it joy (_for the joy which was set before him he endured the cross_),[ ] which was not a joy of his reward after his passion, but a joy that filled him even in the midst of his torments, and arose from him; when christ calls his _calicem_ a cup, and no worse (_can ye drink of my cup_)[ ], he speaks not odiously, not with detestation of it. indeed it was a cup, _salus mundo_, a health to all the world. and _quid retribuam_, says david, _what shall i render to the lord?_[ ] answer you with david, _accipiam calicem, i will take the cup of salvation_; take it, that cup is salvation, his passion, if not into your present imitation, yet into your present contemplation. and behold how that lord that was god, yet could die, would die, must die for our salvation. that moses and elias talked with christ in the transfiguration, both saint matthew and saint mark[ ] tells us, but what they talked of, only saint luke; _dicebant excessum ejus_, says he, _they talked of his disease, of his death, which was to be accomplished at jerusalem_.[ ] the word is of his _exodus_, the very word of our text, _exitus_, his _issue by death_. moses, who in his exodus had prefigured this issue of our lord, and in passing israel out of egypt through the red sea, had foretold in that actual prophecy, christ passing of mankind through the sea of his blood; and elias, whose exodus and issue of this world was a figure of christ's ascension; had no doubt a great satisfaction in talking with our blessed lord, _de excessu ejus_, of the full consummation of all this in his death, which was to be accomplished at jerusalem. our meditation of his death should be more visceral, and affect us more, because it is of a thing already done. the ancient romans had a certain tenderness and detestation of the name of death; they could not name death, no, not in their wills; there they could not say, _si mori contigerit_, but _si quid humanitas contingat_, not if or when i die, but when the course of nature is accomplished upon me. to us that speak daily of the death of christ (he was crucified, dead, and buried), can the memory or the mention of our own death be irksome or bitter? there are in these latter times amongst us that name death freely enough, and the death of god, but in blasphemous oaths and execrations. miserable men, who shall therefore be said never to have named jesus, because they have named him too often; and therefore hear jesus say, _nescivi vos, i never knew you_, because they made themselves too familiar with him. moses and elias talked with christ of his death only in a holy and joyful sense, of the benefit which they and all the world were to receive by that. discourses of religion should not be out of curiosity, but to edification. and then they talked with christ of his death at that time when he was in the greatest height of glory, that ever he admitted in this world, that is, his transfiguration. and we are afraid to speak to the great men of this world of their death, but nourish in them a vain imagination of immortality and immutability. but _bonum est nobis esse hic_ (as saint peter said there), _it is good to dwell here_, in this consideration of his death, and therefore transfer we our tabernacle (our devotions) through some of those steps which god the lord made to his _issue of death_ that day. take in the whole day from the hour that christ received the passover upon thursday unto the hour in which he died the next day. make this present day that day in thy devotion, and consider what he did, and remember what you have done. before he instituted and celebrated the sacrament (which was after the eating of the passover), he proceeded to that act of humility, to wash his disciples' feet, even peter's, who for a while resisted him. in thy preparation to the holy and blessed sacrament, hast thou with a sincere humility sought a reconciliation with all the world, even with those that have been averse from it, and refused that reconciliation from thee? if so, and not else, thou hast spent that first part of his last day in a conformity with him. after the sacrament he spent the time till night in prayer, in preaching, in psalms: hast thou considered that a worthy receiving of the sacrament consists in a continuation of holiness after, as well as in a preparation before? if so, thou hast therein also conformed thyself to him; so christ spent his time till night. at night he went into the garden to pray, and he prayed prolixious, he spent much time in prayer, how much? because it is literally expressed, that he prayed there three several times,[ ] and that returning to his disciples after his first prayer, and finding them asleep, said, _could ye not watch with me one hour_,[ ] it is collected that he spent three hours in prayer. i dare scarce ask thee whither thou wentest, or how thou disposedst of thyself, when it grew dark and after last night. if that time were spent in a holy recommendation of thyself to god, and a submission of thy will to his, it was spent in a conformity to him. in that time, and in those prayers, was his agony and bloody sweat. i will hope that thou didst pray; but not every ordinary and customary prayer, but prayer actually accompanied with shedding of tears and dispositively in a readiness to shed blood for his glory in necessary cases, puts thee into a conformity with him. about midnight he was taken and bound with a kiss, art thou not too conformable to him in that? is not that too literally, too exactly thy case, at midnight to have been taken and bound with a kiss? from thence he was carried back to jerusalem, first to annas, then to caiaphas, and (as late as it was) then he was examined and buffeted, and delivered over to the custody of those officers from whom he received all those irrisions, and violences, the covering of his face, the spitting upon his face, the blasphemies of words, and the smartness of blows, which that gospel mentions: in which compass fell that gallicinium, that crowing of the cock which called up peter to his repentance. how thou passedst all that time thou knowest. if thou didst any thing that needest peter's tears, and hast not shed them, let me be thy cock, do it now. now, thy master (in the unworthiest of his servants) looks back upon thee, do it now. betimes, in the morning, so soon as it was day, the jews held a council in the high priest's hall, and agreed upon their evidence against him, and then carried him to pilate, who was to be his judge; didst thou accuse thyself when thou wakedst this morning, and wast thou content even with false accusations, that is, rather to suspect actions to have been sin, which were not, than to smother and justify such as were truly sins? then thou spentest that hour in conformity to him; pilate found no evidence against him, and therefore to ease himself, and to pass a compliment upon herod, tetrarch of galilee, who was at that time at jerusalem (because christ, being a galilean, was of herod's jurisdiction), pilate sent him to herod, and rather as a madman than a malefactor; herod remanded him (with scorn) to pilate, to proceed against him; and this was about eight of the clock. hast thou been content to come to this inquisition, this examination, this agitation, this cribration, this pursuit of thy conscience; to sift it, to follow it from the sins of thy youth to thy present sins, from the sins of thy bed to the sins of thy board, and from the substance to the circumstance of thy sins? that is time spent like thy saviour's. pilate would have saved christ, by using the privilege of the day in his behalf, because that day one prisoner was to be delivered, but they choose barabbas; he would have saved him from death, by satisfying their fury with inflicting other torments upon him, scourging and crowning with thorns, and loading him with many scornful and ignominious contumelies; but they regarded him not, they pressed a crucifying. hast thou gone about to redeem thy sin, by fasting, by alms, by disciplines and mortifications, in way of satisfaction to the justice of god? that will not serve, that is not the right way; we press an utter crucifying of that sin that governs thee: and that conforms thee to christ. towards noon pilate gave judgment, and they made such haste to execution as that by noon he was upon the cross. there now hangs that sacred body upon the cross, rebaptized in his own tears, and sweat, and embalmed in his own blood alive. there are those bowels of compassion which are so conspicuous, so manifested, as that you may see them through his wounds. there those glorious eyes grew faint in their sight, so as the sun, ashamed to survive them, departed with his light too. and then that son of god, who was never from us, and yet had now come a new way unto us in assuming our nature, delivers that soul (which was never out of his father's hands) by a _new way_, a voluntary emission of it into his father's hands; for though _to this god our lord belonged these issues of death_, so that considered in his own contract, he must necessarily die, yet at no breach or battery which they had made upon his sacred body issued his soul; but _emisit_, he gave up the ghost; and as god breathed a soul into the first adam, so this second adam breathed his soul into god, into the hands of god. there we leave you in that blessed dependency, to hang upon him that hangs upon the cross, there bathe in his tears, there suck at his wounds, and lie down in peace in his grave, till he vouchsafe you a resurrection, and an ascension into that kingdom which he hath prepared for you with the inestimable price of his incorruptible blood. amen. footnotes: [ ] psalm cxv. . [ ] psalm cxxxix. . [ ] psalm cxviii. . [ ] psalm c. . [ ] isaiah, xxxvii. . [ ] rom. vii. . [ ] gen. vi. . [ ] gen. iv. . [ ] john, xiv. . [ ] matt. viii. . [ ] heb. xiii. . [ ] exod. xvii. . [ ] gen. xlvii. . [ ] cor. v. . [ ] job, x. , . [ ] exod. xvi. . [ ] kings, xix. . [ ] jonah, iv. . [ ] rev. i. . [ ] cor. xv. . [ ] acts, ii. ; xiii. . [ ] ver. . [ ] job, xxiv. . [ ] job, xxi. , , . [ ] isaiah, xiv. . [ ] heb. xi. [ ] de civitate dei, lib. xvii. [ ] matt. i. . [ ] luke, xxiv. . [ ] cant. viii. . [ ] _ibid._ . [ ] gen. iii. . [ ] luke, xii. . [ ] heb. xii. . [ ] matt. xx. . [ ] psalm cxvi. . [ ] matt. xvii. ; mark, ix. . [ ] luke, ix. . [ ] luke, xxii. . [ ] matt. xxvi. . transcribers notes: i corrected an error in footnote . the original book said matt. xiii. , which i corrected to verse . i corrected an error in footnote . the original book said jer., which i corrected to lam. the lord of glory meditations on the person, the work and glory of our lord jesus christ by a. c. gaebelein publication office of "our hope," fourth avenue, new york, n. y. pickering & inglis, l. s. haynes, glasgow, yonge street, scotland toronto, canada copyright by a. c. gaebelein. printing by francis emory fitch of new york contents preface dedication the lord of glory jehovah. the "i am" that worthy name the doctrine of christ the pre-eminence of the lord jesus christ ye are christ's--christ is god's the wonderful honor and glory unto him christ's resurrection song the glory song the firstborn the waiting christ a vision of the king the fellowship of his son jesus christ our lord out of his fulness, the twenty-second psalm the exalted one a glorious vision my brethren the patience of christ he shall not keep silent the love of christ the joy of the lord this same jesus the wondrous cross his legacy what have i to do with idols the never changing one be of good cheer make haste preface. for a number of years the first pages of each issue of "our hope" have been devoted to brief meditations on the person and glory of our adorable lord jesus christ. three reasons led the editor to do this: . he is worthy of all honor and glory, worthy to have the first place in all things. . the great need of his people to have his blessed person, his past and present work, his power and glory, his future manifestation constantly brought before their hearts. . there is an ever increasing denial of the person of our lord. in the most subtle way his glory has been denied. it is therefore eminently necessary for those who know him to tell out his worth. long and learned discussions on the person of the lord have been written in the past, but are not much read in these days. we felt that short and simple meditations on himself would be welcomed by all believers. all these brief articles were written with much prayer and often under deep soul exercise. it has pleased the holy spirit to own them in a most blessed way. hundreds of letters were received telling of the great blessing these meditations have been and what refreshing they brought to the hearts of his people. weary and tired ones were cheered, wandering ones restored and erring ones set right. many wrote us or told us personally that the lord jesus christ has become a greater reality and power in their lives after following this monthly testimony. suggestions were made to issue some of these notes in book form so that these blessed truths may be preserved in a more permanent form. we have done so and send this volume forth with the prayer that the holy spirit, who is here to glorify christ, may use it to the praise and glory of his worthy name. we are confident that such will be the case. a. c. g. new york city, october , . dedication. "unto him who loveth us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto god his father; to him be glory and dominion forever."--rev. i: - . "worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing."--rev. v: . "then they that feared the lord spake one to another: and the lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the lord and that _thought upon his name_." --mal. iii: . "let us go forth, therefore, unto him without the camp bearing his reproach. for here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. by him, therefore, let us offer the sacrifice of praise to god continually, that is the fruit of our lips, _confessing his name_." --hebrews xiii: - . "surely i come quickly. amen. even so. come lord jesus."--rev. xxii: . the lord of glory. cor. ii: . our ever blessed lord, who died for us, to whom we belong, with whom we shall be forever, is the lord of glory. thus he is called in cor. ii: , "for had they known they would not have crucified the _lord of glory_." eternally he is this because he is "the express image of god, the brightness of his glory" (heb. i: ). he possessed glory with the father before the world was (john xvii: ). this glory was beheld by the prophets, for we read that isaiah "saw his glory and spake of him" (john xii: ). all the glorious manifestations of jehovah recorded in the word of god are the manifestations of "the lord of glory," who created all things that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, who is before all things and by whom all things consist. he appeared as the god of glory to abraham (acts vii: ); isaac and jacob were face to face with him. moses beheld his glory. he saw his glory on the mountain. the lord of glory descended in the cloud and stood with him there (exod. xxxiv: ). how often the glory of the lord appeared in the midst of israel. and what more could we say of joshua, david, daniel, ezekiel, who all beheld his glory and stood in the presence of that lord of glory. in the fulness of time he appeared on earth "god manifested in the flesh." though he made of himself no reputation and left his unspeakable glory behind, yet he was the lord of glory, and as such he manifested his glory. in incarnation in his holy, spotless life he revealed his moral glory; what perfection and loveliness we find here! we have the testimony of his own "we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father" (john i: ). "they saw his glory" (luke ix: ) when they were with him in the holy mountain. they heard, they saw with their eyes, they looked upon, their hands handled the word of life, the life that was manifested ( john i: - ). in his mighty miracles the lord of glory manifested his glory, for it is written "this beginning of miracles did jesus in cana of galilee and manifested forth his glory" (john i: ). and this lord of glory died. the focus of his glory is the cross. he was obedient unto death, the death of the cross. he gave himself for us. without following here all the precious truths connected with that which is the foundation of our salvation and our hope, that the lord of glory, christ died for our sins, we remember that god "raised him up from the dead and _gave him glory_" ( pet. i: ). he was "received up into glory" ( tim. iii: ). "ought not christ to have suffered these things and to enter into _his glory_" (luke xxiv: ). the risen lord of glory said: "i ascend unto my father and your father; to my god and your god." he is now in the presence of god, the man in glory, seated in the highest place of the heaven of heavens "at the right hand of the majesty on high." he is there "far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come" (eph. i: ). he is highly exalted, the heir of all things. in that glory he was beheld by human, mortal eyes. stephen being full of the holy spirit "looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the _glory of god_, and jesus standing on the right hand of god" (acts vii: ). this was the dying testimony of the first christian martyr. saul of tarsus saw this glory; he "could not see for the glory of that light" (acts xxii: ). john beheld him and fell at his feet as dead. and we see him with the eye of faith. "but we see jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death _crowned with glory and honor_" (heb. ii: ). but this is not all. the unseen glory of the lord and the unseen lord of glory will some day be visible, not to a few, but to the whole universe. he will come in the glory of his father and the holy angels with him (matt. xvi: ). the lord of glory will be "revealed from heaven with his mighty angels" ( thess. i: ). he will come in power and glory, come in his own glory (luke ix: ) and sit on the throne of his glory (matt. xxv: ). his glory then will cover the heavens (hab. iii: ) and "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the lord, as the waters cover the sea" (hab. ii: ). the heavens cannot be silent forever and he who now is the object of the faith of believers, and the one whom the world has rejected, will come forth in all his majesty and glory and every eye shall see him. then every knee must bow at the name of jesus and every tongue confess him as lord. in that manifestation of the lord of glory and the glory of the lord we his redeemed will be manifested in glory. he will then be glorified in his saints and admired in all them that believed ( thess. i: ). he will bring his many sons to glory (heb. ii: ). we are "partakers of the glory that shall be revealed" ( pet. v: ). the god of all grace hath indeed called us unto his eternal glory by jesus christ. "and when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away" ( pet. v: ). "but rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of christ's sufferings, that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy" ( pet. iv: ). but ere this visible glory is manifested over the earth and on the earth and he comes forth as the king of kings and lord of lords his own will be gathered unto him and be caught up in clouds to meet him in the air. then we shall see him as he is and be like him. the glory which the father has given him as the head of the body will be bestowed upon the whole body; for thus he prayed "the glory, which thou hast given me i have given to them" (john xvii: ). and in the father's house where he is, in the holy of holies we shall behold his glory. we shall be changed into the same image "that he might be the first born among many brethren" (rom. viii: ). and now, dear reader, joint heir with the lord of glory, called by god unto the fellowship of his son, in meditating on these wonderful facts given to us by revelation, does not your heart burn within you? what a blessing, what a place, what a future is ours linked with the lord of glory, one with him! what a stupendous thought that he came from glory to die for us so that he might have us with him in glory! and these blessed truths concerning the lord of glory and the glory of the lord we need to hold ever before our hearts in these dreary days when darkest night is fast approaching. to walk worthy of the lord, to be faithful to the lord, to render true service, to be more like him and show forth his excellencies, we but need one thing, to know him better and to behold the glory of the lord. it is written "but we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the lord." guided by the spirit we can look on the lord of glory and his glory, mirrored in all parts of the word of god. and then as we look on this wonderful person and his relation to us and ours to him, as we behold his glory both moral and literal, in humiliation and exaltation, past, present and future, we are changed into the same image. our path will be from glory to glory! and some day there will come that supreme moment when we shall be _suddenly_ changed "in a moment, the twinkling of an eye." oh child of god see your need! it is christ, the lord of glory set before your heart; all worldly mindedness, all insincerity, all discouragement, all unbelief, all unfaithfulness must flee when we follow on to know the lord and daily behold "as in a glass the glory of the lord." "now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless _before the presence of his glory_ with exceeding joy, to the only wise god our saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. amen." jehovah. the "i am." when moses in the desert beheld the burning bush god answered his question by the revelation of his name as the "i am." "and god said unto moses, i am, that i am: and he said, thus shalt thou say unto the children of israel, i am hath sent me unto you" (exod. iii: ). he who spake thus out of the bush to moses was the same who in the fullness of time appeared upon the earth in the form of man. our lord jesus christ is no less person, than the i am. if we turn to the fourth gospel in which the holy spirit pictures him as the son of god, one with the father, we find his glorious title there as the i am. in the eighth chapter of that blessed gospel we read that he said to the jews, "verily, verily, i say unto you, before abraham was, i am" (v: ). and the jews took stones to cast them upon him. in the fifth chapter we read that they wanted to kill him, not only because he had violated the sabbath, but also said that god was his father, making himself equal with god (v: ). they wanted to stone him because in saying that word "before abraham was, i am" he had claimed that holy name for himself, which was revealed to moses. the jews then, as the orthodox jews do still, reverenced that name to such a degree that they did not even pronounce it, but substituted in its place the word "adonai." little did they realize that the same "i am" who spoke to moses out of the bush, saying, "i am;" who descended before moses later in a cloud and proclaimed the name of the lord (exod. xxxiv) was standing in their midst in the form of man. and this is not the only time he used this word. we find it in the xviii chapter of john. when the band and officers of the chief priests and pharisees came with lanterns, torches and weapons, jesus stepped majestically into their presence with the calm question: "whom seek ye?" when they had stated that they were seeking jesus the nazarene he answered them with one word "i am." what happened? they went backward and fell to the ground. what a spectacle that must have been. the dark night, a company of people, all on the same satanic errand, with their lanterns, torches and different kinds of weapons. and then the object of their hatred steps before them and utters one word and they fall helpless to the ground. what warning it should have been to them. once more he asks the question; again he answers with the "i am" and with the understanding that his own should be free, he allows himself to be bound. he likewise called himself "i am" in talking with the samaritan woman. in john iv: we read, "jesus saith unto her, i that speak unto thee am he." this does, however, not express the original. this reads as follows: "i am that speaks to thee." after this mighty word had come from his lips the woman had nothing more to say, but left her waterpot and went her way back to the city. the i am had spoken to her. in chapters vi: and viii: we find him using the same "i am" again. in the former passage "it is i" should read "i am." besides these passages in which he speaks of himself as the self-existing jehovah, the great "i am," he saith seven times in this gospel what he is to his own. i am the bread of life (chapter vi: .) i am the light of the world (chapter ix: ). i am the door (chapter x: ). i am the good shepherd (chapter x: ). i am the resurrection and the life (chapter xi: ). i am the way, the truth and the life (chapter xvi: ); and i am the true vine (chapter xv: ). but this does not exhaust at all what he is and will be now and forever to those who belong to him. in the old testament there are seven great names of the "i am" which are deep and significant. in them we can trace his rich and wonderful grace. _jehovah.--jireh_ --the lord provides. the lamb provided (genesis xxii). _jehovah rophecah_--i am the lord that healeth thee (exodus xv). _jehovah --nissi_--the lord is my banner, he giveth the victory (exod. xvii). _jehovah shalom_, the lord is peace. he is our peace (judges vi). _jehovah roi_--the lord is my shepherd, i shall not want (psalm xxiii). _jehovah-tsidkenu_, the lord is our righteousness (jeremiah xxiii). _jehovah shammah_, the lord is there (ezek. xlviii). but this does not exhaust what he is. i am--what? anything and everything what we need in time and eternity. "when god would teach mankind his name he called himself the great, i am, and leaves a blank--believers may supply those things for which they pray." happy indeed are we, beloved reader, if we know him, who died for us as the i am, if we learn more and more to trust him as the all sufficient one and know that the i am will supply all our need. in these days in which the person of christ is so much belittled, attacked; he as the holy one, the great jehovah rejected, not by the outside world alone, but by those who call themselves after his own blessed name, let us have for an answer to all these attacks of the enemy a closer walk with him, a more intimate fellowship with the i am; a better acquaintance with our jehovah-jesus, our gracious lord. oh what a union is ours, one with him the i am, what a happy, glorious lot. hallelujah. i am alpha and omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come (rev. ii: ). i am the bright and morning star (rev. xxii: ). what, oh what will he be for his own in all eternity! that worthy name. james ii: . in the second chapter of the epistle of james the holy spirit speaks of our ever blessed lord as "that worthy name." precious word! precious to every heart that knows him and delights to exalt his glorious and worthy name. his name is "far above every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come." (ephes. i: .) it is "as ointment poured forth" (song of sol. i: ); yea, his name alone is excellent (psalm cxlviii: ). but according to his worth that blessed name is far from being fully known and uttered by the saints of god. "thou art worthy" and "worthy is the lamb" shall some day burst from the glorified lips of redeemed sinners, brought home to be with him. in that blessed day when at last we see him face to face, forever with the lord, we shall begin to learn the full worth and glory of that name, the name of the lord jesus christ. in a feeble way here below we get glimpses of his precious, worthy name, of his beauty and loveliness, and then only through the power of the holy spirit. the aim of the spirit of god dwelling in our hearts will always be to tell us more of himself. like abraham's servant who had so much to say to the elect bride about isaac, so the holy spirit ever delights to show us more of christ, the christ of god. oh! how he is eager to tell us more of his worth, of his glory, of his grace and of all he is and all he has. how it grieves him when our hearts do not respond to the great message he has for us and when instead we turn to something else to give us joy and comfort. only christ can give joy and comfort, peace and rest to the hearts of those who are his. the days are evil and the time is short. is your heart increasingly attracted to that worthy name? do you have a greater burning desire in your heart for himself? does he, that worthy name, become more and more day by day the absorbing object of your heart and life? do you often weep over your coldheartedness, your lack of real devotion to him and communion with your lord? do you appreciate him more than ever before? is the apostle's longing cry "that i might know him" coming also from your heart? dear reader, these are searching questions. a better knowledge of our blessed lord, a deeper acquaintance with that worthy name and greater devotion to him, is the only true spiritual progress which counts. if you live but little in the reality of all this you lack that joy and rest which is true christian happiness and the spirit is grieved. oh let him unfold to your heart that worthy name and show you from his word, his wonderful person, then his power will attract your heart more and more. this is what all god's people need. "that worthy name," the lord in all his blessed fulness and glorious reality is what we need. and what the written word has to tell us of "that worthy name"! oh, the titles, the attributes, the names, the glories, the beauties of himself. and we have discovered but so few of these blessed things. perhaps a few hundred of the descriptions of that worthy name are known to god's saints; but there are hundreds, still hidden, we have never touched. yes, god's spirit is ever willing to make them known to our hearts. just for a few moments think of some of the familiar titles and names of that name which is above every other name. how these titles of our blessed lord, what he is and what we have in him should fill our hearts with praise and our lips with outbursts of praise, lift us above present day conditions and give us courage and boldness. "that worthy name"; who is he? the son of god, the only begotten of the father, the living god, the eternal life; emmanuel, the god of glory, the holy one; jehovah, the everlasting god, the lord strong and mighty, the lord of peace, the lord our righteousness, the upholder of all things, the creator, the alpha and omega, the express image of god. he is the word, the word of god, the word of life, the wisdom of god, the angel of the lord, the mediator of the better covenant. the good shepherd, the great shepherd, the chief shepherd, the door, the way, the root and offspring of david, the branch of righteousness, the rose of sharon, the lily of the valley, the true vine, the corn of wheat, the bread of god, the true bread from heaven. he is also the light of the world, the day dawn, the star out of jacob, sun and shield, the bright and morningstar, the sun of righteousness. thus we read of that worthy name, that he is, the great high-priest, the daysman, the advocate, intercessor, surety, mercy seat, the forerunner, the rock of salvation, the refuge, the tower, a strong tower, the rock of ages, the hope of glory, the hope of his people, a living stone. and what else? the gift of god, the beloved, the fountain of life, shiloh, he is our peace, our redeemer, he is precious, the amen, the just lord, the bridegroom, the firstborn from the dead, head over all, head of all principality and power, heir of all things. he is captain of the lord's host, captain of their salvation, chiefest among ten thousand, the leader, the counsellor, the lion of the tribe of judah, the governor, prince of peace, the prince of life, the prince of the kings of the earth, the judge, the king, the king of israel, king of saints, king of glory, king over all the earth, king in his beauty, king of kings and lord of lords. all these names and attributes of that worthy name are familiar. what dignity, what power, what grace and blessing for us for whom he died and shed his precious blood they express. who can fathom these names? who can tell out his worth? and hundreds more could be added, and many, many more, which are still undiscovered in the word of god. what a lord he is! we worship and adore thee, thou worthy one. draw us o lord and we will run after thee. what a joy and delight it ought to be to follow him, to exalt him, to be devoted to such a one! oh! our failures! and still he carries us in kindness and patience. and he also has a name, which expresses the fulness of his work and glory. no one knows what _that_ is. "he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself" (rev. xix: ). that unknown name may never be made known. but oh! the blessedness which is before us his redeemed people. of us it is written "they shall see _his face_": that blessed, blessed face of that worthy name, we shall behold at last. we shall see his face! oh the rapture which fills the heart in the anticipation of that soon coming event. "and his name shall be on their foreheads" (rev. xxii: ). we shall be like him, we shall be a perfect reflection of himself. the doctrine of christ. john - . "whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of christ, hath not god. he that abideth in the doctrine of christ, he hath both the father and the son. if there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him god speed. for he that biddeth him god speed is partaker of his evil deeds" ( john - ). what then is the doctrine of christ? it is the revealed truth concerning the person of our lord jesus christ, that he is the son of god, whom the father sent into the world. "god so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." this is the doctrine of christ. anyone who does not hold the doctrine of christ that he is absolutely god, one with the father come into the world, hath not god. he is without god and hope in the world. he is an anti-christ. "every spirit that confesseth that jesus christ is come in the flesh is of god; and every spirit that confesseth not that jesus christ is come in the flesh is not of god; and this is that spirit of anti-christ, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world" ( john iv: - ). such a denier of the deity of the lord jesus christ is no christian at all and all fellowship even to the greeting must be denied to him. this seems severe and intolerant. but it is not if we consider what the denial of the person of our holy and blessed lord means. god grant unto us, who hold the doctrine of christ, a divine jealousy for his honor and glory, manifested by separation from all who in any way deny the doctrine upon which all christianity rests. but how blessed to faith to see in the first epistle of john the doctrine of christ revealed and the blessings and comforts brought forth, which are for those who abide in this doctrine. in the gospel of john the beloved disciple writes by the holy spirit about the son of god, how he came from the father and was in the world and how he left the world to go back to the father. the son of god is also the theme of the holy spirit in the first epistle of john. "our fellowship is with the father, and with his _son_ jesus christ" (i: ). this fellowship means that we share the father's thoughts about his son and to enjoy with the son his own blessed and eternal relationship with the father. in the measure our faith enters into the doctrine of christ in that measure we shall have deeper fellowship with the father and his son. is your cry, dear reader, for more reality in this fellowship? there is one way only which leads to this. it is an increase in the knowledge of the son of god and as you abide there, you _have_ the father and the son. and now we shall call to our remembrance other passages in the first epistle of john in which our blessed lord as the son of god is mentioned. they are sweet and precious to faith and if read in the spirit they will bring the joy, the blessing, the peace and the comfort of the doctrine of christ to our hearts. "the blood of jesus christ his son cleanseth us from all sin" (i: ). that precious blood, his own blood, has cleansed us once and for all. "for this purpose the _son of god_ was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil" (iii: ). "and this is his commandment, that we should believe on the name of his _son_ jesus christ and love one another as he gave us commandment. and he that keepeth his commandments (which are: believing on him and loving one another) dwelleth in him and he in him. and hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the spirit which he hath given us" (iii: - ). "in this was manifested the love of god toward us, because that god sent his _only begotten son_ into the world that we might live through him. herein is love, not that we loved god, but that he loved us, and sent _his son_ into the world to be the propitiation for our sins." "beloved, if god so loved us, we ought also to love one another" (iv: - ). "and we have seen and do testify that the father sent _the son_ to be the saviour of the world. whosoever shall confess that jesus is _the son of god_, god dwelleth in him and he in god. and we have known and believed the love that god hath to us. god is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in god and god in him" (iv: - ). "who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that jesus is _the son of god?_" (v: ) "if we receive the witness of men, the witness of god is greater; for this is the witness of god which he hath testified of his _son_. he that believeth on the _son of god_ hath the witness in himself; he that believeth not god hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that god gave to _his son_. and this is the record that god hath given to us eternal life, and this life is _in his son_. he that hath _the son_ hath life; he that hath not the _son of god_ hath not life" (v: - ). "these things have i written unto you that believe on the name of _the son of god_, that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of _the son of god_. and this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us" (v: - ). "and we know that the _son of god_ is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in _his son_ jesus christ. this is the _true god_ and eternal life" (v: ). may our faith lay hold anew of these simple yet deep and precious revelations. they are the doctrine of christ. into this we must enter constantly and manifest in our lives the fruits of this doctrine, love and righteousness. the increasing rejection of the doctrine of christ demands the increased appreciation of that doctrine. the more the enemy attacks the person of christ, the more the holy spirit demands of us, who belong to christ, that we exalt him. everything in the present time seems to be aimed at the setting aside of the doctrine upon which our hope rests. higher criticism, the evil doctrines, which reject the eternal punishment of the wicked, the spurious gospels, ethical teachings and every other false doctrine strikes at the blessed person of our lord. the shadow of _the_ anti-christ is cast in our days. let us heed god's word. let us be separated from those who deny christ or we are partakers of their evil deeds. the path of the true believer becomes narrower. it must be so. but christ becomes more precious, more real to our souls. what awful times are coming upon this age according to god's word! with the rejection of the doctrine of christ this age sides completely with satan and that wonderful being is both blinding his victims and using them for his own sinister purposes. the blindness is fearful. it will be worse before long. the rush into complete apostasy and from there into the delusion with the lying wonders and on into the darkness forever will come next. let us praise god for the doctrine of christ, which is our salvation, and may god give us faith and courage to walk according to that doctrine. what day of joy awaits us, when we shall see him as he is and know the depth of the love of god by being like him! the pre-eminence of the lord jesus christ. what a blessed theme the person and glory of our lord! how inexhaustible and unsearchable! how refreshing to the souls of his redeemed people as well as to the heart of our heavenly father, who, loveth the son! to meditate on him, to behold the glory of the lord under the guidance of the holy spirit in the word of god, means spiritual growth and spiritual enjoyment. this only can make the unseen person a blessed reality in our daily walk. we pray that all our beloved readers are drawn closer to himself through these brief meditations. can we truly say the lord is more precious to our hearts and that we are living more in his presence than ever before? has he become the absorbing object of our hearts and lives? are we more devoted to him? god grant that this may be the case with all of us. it is the great need we have. it is the good part, which mary, resting at his feet, had chosen. in the great chapter which begins the epistle to the colossians, after that blessed description of the son of god, stands this word "_that in all things he might have the pre-eminence_" (col. i: ). but who can tell out what a pre-eminence, the pre-eminence of the lord jesus christ is? some day we shall see him in all his glory. he himself will lead us into the holiest of the third heaven to behold the glory the father has given him (john xvii: ); then we shall know his pre-eminence fully. and yet from scripture we can learn even now the pre-eminence of the lord jesus christ. in all eternity the son of god was the object of love and glory. "son of god the father's bosom ever was thy dwelling place." he ever subsisted in the form of god. in all creation he has the pre-eminence. this is made known to us, as man could not discover it, by revelation. we accept this in faith. "through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of god, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (heb. x: ). and all which was called into existence was created by him and for him. "for by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were created by him and for him" (col. i: ). what a marvellous survey! what power and glory belongs to the blessed son of god! "all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made." "the world was made by him" (john i: , ). he has the pre-eminence in sustaining his creation. all things consist by him. he upholds all things by the word of his power (heb. i: ). in the revelation of god he has the pre-eminence. both books, the book of nature and the book of all books, the written word of god, the bible, tell out his glory. the bible may be compared to a living organism, like the human body. every book in the bible has a specific place and service like the members of the body; the life in that marvellous divinely constructed organism of the revelation of god is the son of god. apart from him there is no revelation from god and no manifestation of god. he reveals god throughout the bible, in every part, he holds the pre-eminence. greater still is his pre-eminence in redemption. redemption would be an eternal impossibility without him. he came from the father's bosom to redeem us. he is the way, the truth and the life. no one can come to the father but by him. he gives eternal life. furthermore as the first born from the dead he is the head of the body. that body is the church and every believing sinner is a member in that body. each is united to him and possesses his life. this body with its many members he keeps, nourishes, builds up, sanctifies and ultimately glorifies. in all the great and glorious redemptive work he has the pre-eminence. as the glorified man he is the heir of god and as such he holds the pre-eminence in heaven. he has been made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. far above all the angelic beings, higher than the archangel is the lord jesus christ, the man in glory. there is a future pre-eminence for him. the day of his visible glory and power is approaching. now he is rejected, then he will be enthroned. upon the holy hill of zion he will be the king of glory. his glory will cover the heavens and his majesty the earth. he will be king of kings and lord of lords. he will rule as the only potentate and every knee must bow before him. the song must at last rise in heaven and on earth "worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory and blessing." such is, briefly sketched, the pre-eminence of the lord jesus christ. yea, in all things he hath the pre-eminence. can we do anything less than to give him the first place in all things? he is worthy of it. he died for us. he drank the cup of wrath in our stead. his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. how great has been and still is his love for us, the love, which passeth knowledge. he is worthy of the first place every moment of our lives. he is worthy to possess all we have and are. we are bought with a price, we are not our own. we belong to him. what unspeakable grace from god the father, that he has brought us into fellowship with him to whom he has given the pre-eminence. we please the father as we delight ourselves in the son and walk in that blessed fellowship. we must honor him whom the father has honored, and as we serve the lord jesus christ and accord him the first place, the father will honor us (john xii: ). our hearts too can never fully know the blessed peace of god and rest of faith till we give our lord the first place. anything less than that will mean dishonor to him. "not i--but christ" must be the constant cry of our hearts. not i--but christ in our daily walk; not i--but christ in our service. oh! that we might realize our great and holy calling, our wonderful privilege, a privilege which is ours for but a little while longer to live him, live for him, who has in all things the pre-eminence. nothing save him, in all our ways, giving the theme for ceaseless praise; our whole resource along the road, nothing but christ--the christ of god. "ye are christ's--christ is god's." only a few words, yet how blessedly full of peace and joy! how precious they are to faith! if we, to whom they apply, would remember them daily, how happy in him we would be. in all our ways, in good and evil days, yea, every moment the truth contained in these words ought to be real to the true believer. is not all our failure due to the fact that we live not sufficiently in the consciousness and reality of this wonderful fact, that we belong to christ, that we are one with him? before these words in the third chapter of first corinthians we find the statement "all things are yours." and after these words it is written "christ is god's." we are christ's and christ is god's; all things are ours because grace has brought us into this marvelous relationship. "christ is god's" gives us once more the whole story of god's love and grace. as the only begotten he ever subsisted in the form of god, the image of god, one with him, absolutely god. but he came down, took upon him the form of a servant, taking his place in the likeness of man. in the form of man he wrought the great work of redemption on the cross and now after his resurrection, by which he is proven son of god and his presence as the glorified man in the highest heaven, he is the one in whom and through whom, god the god and father of our lord jesus christ gives all blessing. "christ is god's," then, means what we learn from the following scriptures: "the father loveth the son, and hath given all things into his hands" (john iii: ). "whom he hath appointed heir of all things" (heb. i: ). "christ is god's" is a word which tells us that he who is the creator of all things, the visible and the invisible, came in incarnation, redeemed us and is now, the beginning, the first-begotten from the dead and the head of his body, which is the church. this is how god has brought us to himself in the person of his own son by whom he has redeemed us, in whom he has exalted us and with whom he has given us all things. to that wonderful person, christ, the christ of god, we belong. we are his, who is one with god, by whom and for whom all things were created. the son of god for such as we are, became poor, even to the poverty of the cross. there he took our place and in his own body he bore our sins and died for us. he saw us then the travail of his soul. we can look back to the cross and say, as his apostle said: "who love me and gave himself for me." we belong to him, who has all power in heaven and will have all power before long, as king of kings and lord of lords on earth. we are christ's, whom god has appointed as the second man, the head of the new creation as heir of all things. we are christ's, who is the head of the body, to which we belong. in him and with him we are the heirs of god. god and christ are inseparable and so are christ and we who have trusted in him and have his life. all christ has belongs to us; all christ is we shall be; where christ is there we shall be in all eternity. reader! child of god, pause! does your faith lay hold of this? do you read it only and enjoy it just for a moment or is this great fact of your union with christ and god becoming daily a greater reality in your life? is it really so that you enter deeper and deeper into that love which passeth knowledge? oh! that it may be so with the writer and each believer who reads these feeble words on so great a theme. "ye are christ's." then we are _not our own_. that is exactly what is elsewhere stated in first corinthians. "ye are not your own; we are bought with a price; therefore glorify god in your body and in your spirit, which are god's" ( cor. vi: ). our hearts occupied with himself, increasingly attracted by the glorious person of our adorable lord, realising by the power of his spirit our glory and destiny with the lord of glory, we shall act and walk as such, who are christ's. every step of the way it will resound in our hearts "ye are christ's." in all we do we shall always remember we are christ's. cares, anxieties, worldly ambitions, all manner of temptations, will fall before the fact grasped in faith "i am christ's." we are convinced that _only_ the person of christ put before the heart of the believer through the word of god and the power of his spirit can keep the christian in these awful days of apostasy from going along with the fearful current of the last days. if christ and our blessing in him become more real to us we will be beyond the reach of the god of this age with his wiles and sinister purposes. furthermore the demand of the hour is for us to exalt christ. how he is dishonored is a dread reality. the rejection of christ was never so marked and never so satanic as in these days. god, the god and father of our lord jesus christ expects from us his children that we exalt him in the days of his rejection and thus share his reproach. let us do it! and lastly, if we ever have the person of christ before our hearts, we shall walk in obedience to him as our lord. then if we exalt christ and are obedient to himself we have the fullest assurance that the holy spirit will be with us, upon us and fill us. there is no need to seek "the power" as some express it, nor a baptism of the spirit. he will be with us and in us in the measure as we exalt christ and walk in him. o gracious lord, when we reflect how apt to turn the eye from thee, forget thee, too, with sad neglect, and listen to the enemy, and yet to find thee still the same-- 'tis this that humbles us with shame. astonished at thy feet we fall, thy love exceeds our highest thought, henceforth be thou our all in all, thou who our souls with blood hast bought; may we henceforth more faithful prove, and ne'er forget thy ceaseless love. "him will i make that overcomes and stems the advancing flood, a pillar of might, with glory light, in the temple of my god. on him shall the blest name divine, and my new name be graven; and the city's name, jerusalem, that cometh down from heaven." the wonderful. isaiah ix: . his name shall be called "wonderful" (isaiah ix: ). and long before isaiah had uttered this divine prediction the angel of the lord had announced his name to be wonderful. as such he appeared to manoah. and manoah said unto the angel of jehovah, what is thy name, that when thy sayings come to pass we may do thee honor. and the angel of jehovah said unto him "why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is wonderful" (margin, judges xiii: - ). this angel of jehovah, the person who appeared repeatedly in old testament history is an uncreated angel. of this being we read that he is the redeemer, for jacob speaks of him "the angel which redeemed me from all evil" (genesis xlviii: ). he is the angel whose voice must be obeyed, who has power to pardon transgressions, in whom the name of god is (exodus xxiii: - ). he is the angel of his presence who saved them (isaiah lxiii: ) and exodus xxxiii: must refer to this being "my presence shall go with thee and i will give thee rest." this angel of jehovah speaks in the book of judges and declared, "i made you to go up out of egypt, and have brought you into the land which i sware unto your fathers; and i said i will never break my covenant with you" (judges ii: ). he appeared unto moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush and he spoke to moses as the i am! (ex. iii.) the same one appeared before joshua and he worshipped in his presence. with him jacob wrestled, with jehovah, the god of hosts (hosea xii: - ). malachi iii: shows that the lord himself is this angel, the angel of the covenant, who also visited abraham in the form of man (genesis xviii). and after all these manifestations, seven hundred years after isaiah had announced him, as the wonderful, he appeared in human form in the midst of his people. and now we know by divine revelation in the completed word of god that he is wonderful in his person and in his work; but no mind can fathom, no heart can grasp, no pen can describe, how wonderful he is. he is wonderful if we think of him as the only begotten of the father. "in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. the same was in the beginning with god. all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made" (john i: - ). "by him were all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers, all things were made by him and for him; and he is before all things and by him all things consist" (col. i: - ). he is the image of the invisible god, the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person. how wonderful such a one, who ever was, with no beginning, one with god! how wonderful his humiliation. "who being in the form of god, thought it not robbery to be equal with god, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being in fashion as a man he humbled himself" (phil. ii: - ). "for verily he took not on him the nature of angels, but he took on him the seed of abraham" (hebrews ii: ). wonderful condescension that he who created the angels should be made lower than the angels and lay his glory by, to appear in the form of man on earth. wonderful is he in his incarnation, "that holy thing" as the angel announced him, truly god and man. born of the woman, resting on the bosom of the virgin as a little child and yet he is the one who ever is in the bosom of the father. wonderful that blessed life he lived on earth of which the beloved disciple bears such a beautiful witness. "that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the word of life. for the life was manifested and we have seen it and bear witness and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the father, and was manifested unto us" ( john i: - ). wonderful are the blessed words which came from his lips, wonderful is his moral glory, his untiring service, his love, his patience and everything which the holy spirit has been pleased to tell us of his earthly life. the more our hearts contemplate him the more wonderful he appears. but still greater and more wonderful is it that he went to the cross to give his life as a ransom for many, that the just one should die for the unjust, that he who knew no sin was made sin for us and pay the penalty of sins on the cross. he is the wonderful in his great work on the cross, the depths of which have never been fathomed. and what can we say of his wonderful glory, his wonderful place, his wonderful power, his wonderful grace! how wonderfully he has dealt with us, with each one of us individually. how wonderful it is that he knows each of his sheep, that he guides each, provides for, loveth, succors, stands by, restores, never leaves nor forsakes each who has trusted in him and belongs to him. how wonderful are his ways with us, that he guides with his eyes and that his loving power and omnipotent love is on our side. in his coming manifestation he will be wonderful. wonderful he will be when we shall see him and stand in his presence. what a day it will be when we see him face to face! then we shall know all the loveliness and wonderfulness of his adorable person and his wonder ways with us. with what wonderment we shall then behold him. and when he comes with his saints, when the heavens are lit up with untold glory, when he comes to judge, to establish his kingdom, to speak peace to the nations, to restore creation to its right condition, when he reigns and all his redeemed ones with him--oh how wonderful it all will be! he is altogether lovely and he is altogether wonderful. glory to his name! well has one said: "he pervades the whole of the new testament with his presence, so that every doctrine it teaches, every duty it demands, every narrative it records, every comfort it gives, every hope it inspires, gathers about his person and ministers to his glory." so dear does he thus become to the heart of the believer, that luther may well be excused for exclaiming, 'i had rather be in hell with christ, than in heaven without him.' "we believe in him as our saviour, acts vi: ; confess him as our lord, rom. x: ; we have redemption through his blood, eph. i: ; we look to him as our leader, heb. xii: ; we follow him as our teacher, eph. iv: , ; we feed upon him as our bread, jno. vi: ; we go to him in our thirst, jno. vi: ; we enter by him as our door, jno. x: ; we are in him as our vine, jno. xv: ; we find in him our rest, matt. xi: ; we have in him our example, jno. xiii: ; he is our righteousness, cor. v: ; we are succored by him in temptation, heb. ii: ; we turn to him for sympathy, heb. iv: ; we obtain through him our victory, cor. xv: ; we overcome by him the world, jno. v: ; we have in him eternal life, jno. v: , ; we gain by him the resurrection, phil. iii: , ; we appear with him in glory, col. iii: , we exult in his everlasting love, rev. i: , ." may the holy spirit fill our hearts and eyes with himself and reveal to us through the written word more of the matchless beauty of the wonderful person of our saviour and lord. we honor and adore thee, blessed, blessed lord, and while thou art rejected we thy feeble people would know more of thyself and keep closer at thy feet. amen. "we would see jesus, for the shadows lengthen over this little landscape of our life, we would see jesus, our weak faith to strengthen, for the last weariness, the final strife. we would see jesus, this is _all_ we're needing; strength, joy and willingness come with the sight; we would see jesus, dying, risen, pleading; then welcome day, and farewell mortal night." honour and glory unto him. in revelation v, that great worship scene, beginning some day in heaven and going on into future ages, we read of the lamb to whom honor and glory are due. he alone is worthy. and every heart who knows him rejoicing in his love, cries out, "thou art worthy!" yea, the sweetest song for the redeemed soul is the outburst of praise, which we find on the threshold of his own revelation. "unto him that loveth us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto god and his father; _to him_ be glory and dominion forever and ever. amen." soon the great worship john beheld prophetically may become reality. as long as we his people are here in this present evil age it is god's call to us to honor and glorify his son. this surely is god the father's expectation from his children, who are begotten of him. this is his call to us in the last days of this rapidly closing age. it was on the mountain of transfiguration that the father bore witness to his son. "this is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased." the father bore not alone this witness, but he vindicated the honor of his son, whose glory flashed forth on that mountain. peter had spoken; in fact, he was still speaking when the father's voice was heard. "lord, it is good to be here; if thou wilt let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee and one for moses and one for elias." these were peter's words. at the first glance they appear harmless. indeed, they are generally used in spiritual application of having a good time here. but they have a far different meaning. peter had spoken once more in the impulsiveness of the flesh. by putting the lord of glory alongside of moses and elias, he had lowered the dignity of him. the one whom he had but recently confessed as the christ, the son of the living god, he now put into the same position and place with moses and elias. he lost sight of the wonderful and glorious person of christ. when he uttered this human suggestion the shekinah cloud appeared and its glorious splendor covered them. out of that cloud came the father's voice vindicating the honor of his son. who is moses? who is elias? sinful men they were, man of failure and weakness. but here is another. this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased; hear him. and how that beloved son is in our day dishonored! he was in all eternity the beloved son. when god created all things, for him and by him, he was the delight of god. this is the foundation of our faith. when he spoke of coming into the world, as we read in hebrews x, to do the father's will, the father's love and delight was upon him. in humiliation beginning there in bethlehem he was the beloved son of god. in all he did, every step of the way, the holy one had above himself the loving father. and then he went to the cross, putting away sin by the sacrifice of himself. in the awful suffering on the cross, in the hours of darkness, when as the substitute of sinners he tasted death, god's holy hand rested upon that beloved one in judgment, so that he uttered that never to be forgotten cry "my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?" and god in his mighty power opened the grave and brought him forth. he raised him from the dead. he was received up in the glory, exalted into the highest position. he is the heir of all things, the upholder of all things, all things consist and exist by him. god has given him the pre-eminence in all things. and this blessed one, the beloved son of god is denied, he is rejected, dishonored and refused. god speaks in him, by him, and he who has made known god, in whom redemption for man was procured is dishonored. but how is he dishonored and robbed of his glory? and where is he dishonored? not in the world as such so much but in christendom. the harvest of this destructive and evil criticism of the bible, rejecting the bible as the inspired word of god is being reaped. after the written word has been attacked and lowered the enemy who stands behind "higher criticism" in a disguised form has thrown off the mask and bluntly strikes at the person of the beloved son of god. first the devil in the garb of "reverend criticism" denied isaiah vii: , the promise of the virgin bringing forth a son, as having anything to do with christ, and now the harvest, the denial of the virgin birth of our lord. it would take many pages to mention all how our ever beloved lord is robbed of his glory, how his person is dishonored. this denial of the person of christ is the apostasy. it is the very breath of the personal antichrist, the man of sin, which we feel in these last days. the father's voice is not heard in these days as it was heard on the transfiguration mountain. the heavens are silent to all the dishonor heaped upon him, who is in the heaven of heavens. but god the father looks to his people in whom the holy spirit dwells to honor and glorify his son. the holy spirit gives us the power to stand as bold witnesses for himself and to contend earnestly for the faith once and for all delivered unto the saints. the father expects us that we stand up for the honor of his son. his voice to us is "_honor my son!_" we feel deeply impressed with this great call of god to us at the present time of increasing darkness and apostasy. let each child of god act accordingly. honor your lord wherever you are. "be thou not ashamed of the testimony of our lord" ( tim. i: ). if you cannot publicly stand up and honor christ then honor him, speak well of him, in the home circle or wherever you are. o child of god, walk close to him! sit more at his feet! cast yourself more upon him! let him be your all in all! and as he is the sole object of your heart you will honor him in the day when he is rejected. but this will mean something else. it means separation. god's call to his people is to stand aloft from all which dishonors his son. this means much in our days. how can we honor the beloved one if we have fellowship with that which dishonors him? no child of god should go on with any institution, school or church where the written word is set aside or belittled. the second epistle of timothy, which has special reference to our times is very clear on this separation. no one needs to wait for a special call from god to act and separate from the corruption of christendom. it is all given before hand by the holy spirit. "from such turn away" ( tim. iii: ). and those from whom god commands us to separate are persons who have the form of godliness and deny the power thereof. again it is written: "but in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth, and some to honor and some to dishonor. if a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified and meet for the master's use, prepared unto every good work" ( tim. ii: - ). hear the word of the lord! hear his call! be faithful to him! keep his word and do not deny his name! honor and glorify him who is our lord whom we soon shall see face to face. christ's resurrection song. when the blessed lord appeared in the midst of his disciples and they beheld the risen one in his glorified body of flesh and bones and he ate before them, he told them that all things which were written in the law of moses, and the prophets and _in the psalms_ concerning him, had to be fulfilled (luke xxiv: ). while on the way to emmaus he said to the two sorrowing and perplexed disciples "ought not christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? and beginning at moses and all the prophets he expounded unto them all the scriptures the things concerning himself." it seems to us he must have then spoken much of the psalms, these wonderful prayers and songs of praise, with which his jewish disciples were so familiar. in the psalms the richest prophecies concerning christ are found. there we behold him in his divine perfections as well as in his true humanity; in his suffering and in his glory; in his rejection and in his exaltation. oh that we, the lord's people, might read the psalms more, so that the holy spirit can reveal christ more to our hearts. in many unexpected places we can find him in these songs. there is for instance the xxxvii psalm, so much enjoyed by the saints of god. it contains such precious exhortations to faith, to be patient and to hope. but in taking the comfort of these blessed exhortations and their accompanying promises, we are apt to overlook some verses which tell us of our lord. verses - apply to him. "the mouth of the righteous speaketh wisdom and his tongue talketh of judgment. the law of his god is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. the wicked watcheth the righteous, and seeketh to slay him. jehovah will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged." our lord is this righteous one. words of wisdom and judgment, mercy and truth flowed from his lips while righteousness in heart and life, and perfect obedience were manifested in him. then his death and deliverance are indicated in these words. however, care must be taken not to apply all the experiences of the psalms to christ. we saw recently an exposition of psalm xxxviii: . the words "for my loins are filled with a loathsome disease and there is no soundness in my flesh" were applied to christ. this is a very serious mistake. he knew no sin and therefore no loathsome disease could fill his loins. such exposition is evil. many joyous expressions of praise to god are found in the psalms which properly belong first to him, who is the leader of the praises of his people (heb. ii: ). one of these sweet outbursts of praise is contained in the opening verses of the xl psalm. the first three verses may be called "the resurrection song of christ": "i waited patiently for the lord, and he inclined unto me and heard my cry. he brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay; and set my feet upon a rock, established my goings. and he has put a new song in my mouth; praise unto our god; many shall see it and fear, and shall trust in the lord." it is the experience of our saviour, which must here first of all be considered. patiently he had waited for jehovah. himself jehovah he had taken the place of dependence under god his father and patiently he endured. he was obedient unto death, the death of the cross. he endured the cross, despising the shame. he cried to god. "who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and fears unto him that was able to save him from death, and _was heard_ in that he feared; though he were son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered" (heb. v: - ). the place of death is given in this psalm: "the horrible pit and the miry clay." who can describe all what is meant by these words! "surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken and smitten of god and afflicted. but he was wounded for our transgressions, the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed" (isa. liii: ). he went into the horrible pit, or as it reads literally, the pit of destruction, the place which belongs to fallen man by nature, so that we might be taken out of it. he went into the jaws of death and there the billows and waves, yea all the billows and waves of the judgment of the holy god passed over him. in another psalm the holy spirit describes his agony. (ps. lxix). there we read his cry "save me, o god; for the waters are come in unto my soul. i sink in deep mire, where there is no standing; i am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. i am weary of my crying, my throat is dried; mine eyes fail while i wait for my god." and deeper he went for our sakes. the miry clay has a special meaning. any one who sinks into a pit filled with miry clay cannot help himself. all his struggling does not help; the more he labors the deeper he sinks. one who is in the miry clay cannot save himself. and does this not remind us of the lord and of what was said of him "he saved others, himself he cannot save." he was in the miry clay. he might have saved himself but he would not. his mighty love it was, that love which passeth knowledge, which brought him from heaven's glory down to the horrible pit, the miry clay. but the sufferings of our adorable lord are not so much before us in this psalm as the fact of his resurrection. his cry was heard. the prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears were answered; his resurrection from the dead was god's blessed answer. while in other scriptures it is stated that christ himself arose, here his resurrection is seen as an act of god. "he brought me up." this act of god bears witness to the completeness and perfection of the accomplished salvation. "we believe in him who raised up jesus our lord from the dead. who was delivered for our offences and was raised again for our justification" (rom. iv: - ). but we read also that his feet were set upon a rock. "and set my feet upon a rock." he is the first born from the dead. sin and death are abolished by his mighty work. "knowing that christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. for in that he died, he died unto sin once, but in that he liveth, he liveth unto god" (rom. vi: - ). upon that rock the feet of every believing sinner securely rest. but his ascension is likewise mentioned in this resurrection song. "and established my goings." he "whose goings forth have been from old, from everlasting" (micah v: ) and who came from everlasting glory to walk in obedience to the cross and the grave has gone back into heaven. he was received up into glory; he ascended on high and led captivity captive. and the mighty victor sings now a _new song_. it is the triumphant song of redemption, to the praise of god. on account of him, what he has accomplished in his death on the cross and who is raised from the dead and in glory "many shall see it and fear and shall trust in the lord." but this wonderful resurrection song the lord sings not alone. we, who have trusted in him and know him have part in this song. believing in him we are taken out, yea forever, from the terrible pit and the miry clay. there is no more death and no more wrath for us. we are also risen with him, our feet are planted upon the rock, our goings are established. we belong to the heavenlies where he is. we sing praises in his name unto our god, his god and our god, his father and our father, the god and father of our lord jesus christ. oh! that our hearts may enter deeper into this song of accomplished redemption "praise unto our god;" the loving god who spared not his only begotten. and indeed "many shall see and fear and trust in the lord." this reaches into the future. israel too will be taken from the place of spiritual and national death, and raised to life to join the new song. nations will see it and fear and trust jehovah. at last the great new song of resurrection and the new creation will swell in its divinely revealed length and breadth, heighth and depth. now he sings the song, and his co-heirs sing it too in feebleness, yet by his grace and through his spirit. ere long in his presence all the redeemed will praise in glory with glorified lips. heavenly beings will utter their praise and in a wider circle down on earth, every creature will join in. "and they sung a _new song_ saying, thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof; for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us to god by thy blood, out of every kindred and tongue, and people, and nation. and hast made us unto _our_ god, kings and priests, and we shall reign over the earth. and i beheld, and i heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands. saying with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength and honor, and glory and blessing. and every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard i saying, blessing, and honor, and glory and power, be unto him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the lamb forever and ever" (revel. v: - ). that song will never end. oh may we learn to sing it now, and in his name sing praises unto our god. may we follow the great leader of praise, him who is anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. may the path he followed down here become more and more ours. may we serve, be obedient, give up, wait patiently for the lord, after his own pattern, suffer with him, be rejected with him, bear his reproach and through it all rejoice in him and sing "the new song." how happy we ought to be as linked with him, the blessed christ of god. and as we walk in his fellowship the heart longs to see him as he is. even so; come lord jesus. the glory song. rev. i: - . "unto him who loveth us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto god and his father: to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen" (rev. i: - ). this great outburst of praise may well be called "the glory song." it glorifies the lord jesus christ; it reveals also the glory of those he has redeemed and will be heard throughout eternity. there will never be a moment in the countless ages of eternity when this glory song will be hushed or forgotten. we begin to sing it here on earth. the more we know the christ of god and his great love for us, the more we delight to praise and to worship him. such worship of the heart in the power of the spirit is the atmosphere of heaven upon earth. and some day we shall see him whom we worship and adore in faith. in that glorious moment, when we shall see him as he is we shall realize for the first time the length and breadth, the heighth and depth of his love and know the glory to which he has brought us. then we and all the redeemed will sing this song in a better and more perfect way than we have ever done here. "thou art worthy * * * for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to god by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people and nation; and hast made us unto our god kings and priests and we shall reign over the earth" (rev. v: , ). this blessed word of praise is placed by the holy spirit in the foreground of the book which bears the name, the revelation, or, unveiling of jesus christ. in it is found the great unveiling of the future, the great coming tribulation and judgment period through which the earth must pass, events which precede the glorious manifestation of the lord. but in this last great bible book there is also a complete unveiling of the person, the glory and the dignity of him to whom all judgment is committed. not alone are in this book many of the prophecies, given of old by the holy men of god, rehearsed, but all he is, his name, his power, his glory, his work, and many of his titles are restated. think of what he is called and how he is described in this book. we find him called the son of god, the son of man, the almighty, the lord, the alpha, the omega, the first, the last, the beginning of the creation of god, the amen, the faithful witness, the first begotten from the dead, the word of god, the lamb, the lion of the tribe of judah, the mighty angel, he that liveth, he that was dead, he that is alive evermore, the root and offspring of david, the bright and morning star, the prince of the kings of the earth, the king of kings, the lord of lords. what an array of titles. on earth great ones, kings and princes, have numerous titles. they concern only earthly glories; they are but for a moment. but his titles concern the earth and the heavens. they belong to him because he is god, while others are acquired through his great work of redemption. his glory and his dignity are indescribable. one who reads the book of revelation and reads it again will be increasingly impressed with the glory of him, whom john beheld in all his majesty. before the spirit of god records this glory song, the utterance of praise to be used and to be enjoyed by redeemed sinners, he mentions three titles of our lord. the faithful witness; the first begotten from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. these three titles take in his earthly life, his redemption work and his future glory. on earth he was the faithful witness. he glorified the father. he had come into the world to bear witness unto the truth. he was faithful and nothing marred his witness. he came as the only begotten of the father and the faithful witness, the son of god went to the cross to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. the open and empty tomb is the witness that it was perfectly and righteously accomplished. now he is the first begotten from the dead as well as the first fruits. his death and his resurrection are, therefore, in view in this second title. his glorious future is beheld in the third title, the prince of the kings of the earth. the kingdoms of the earth belong to him; he has a perfect right and title to the earth and its government. now still the god of this age rules, but ere long he comes "whose right it is" and claims his inheritance. in these three wonderful titles we behold all the son of god as son of man has accomplished in his mighty work. he lived the path of faith and obedience on earth, as the faithful witness. he has put away sin and conquered death and the grave as well as him who has the power of death, that is the devil. in the future he will be king of kings and lord of lords. and then follows this outburst of praise. the holy spirit, who is here on earth to glorify him, breaks forth at once into singing and directs the heart to worship him. beloved readers if the holy spirit is ungrieved in us he will lead our hearts into such praise and adoration of the lord; nothing grieves the holy spirit more than when a believer does not appreciate the lord jesus christ and manifest this appreciation by praise and worship. three things are stated in this blessed doxology: _he loved us._ _he washed us._ _he hath made us._ these three things correspond to the three titles which precede this doxology. love it was, which brought him down from the glory to walk upon this earth in humiliation, the faithful witness, and that love knew and saw the cross. love led him there to die for such as we are. what love it was! who can ever declare it! the true translation is not "who loved us," but "who _loveth_ us." his love is an abiding love. he does nothing but love those who belong to him, who have trusted him and are the beloved of god. our sins, our weaknesses, our infirmities and failures can never affect or diminish his love. never, oh child of god, doubt his abiding love. yea, whatever our circumstances are, in trials, in the hard places, in troubles, burdened with cares and full of anxiety, in all our failures we can look up and say, "he loveth me." it is an ever present and eternal love. never, oh child of god, measure that love by your changing feeling or by your experience. and this love he manifested by dying for us. he has washed us from our sins in his own blood. to this his title as "the first begotten from the dead" refers. "who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye are healed" ( pet ii: ). the precious blood of christ has washed us from our sins. they can never come up again. oh blessed knowledge! cleansed by his own blood, the precious blood of the lamb without spot and blemish! and the blessedness of all that is connected with this! oh, the peace forever flowing from god's thoughts of his own son! oh, the peace of simply knowing on the cross that all was done! peace with god, the blood in heaven speaks of pardon now to me: peace with god! the lord is risen! righteousness now counts me free. peace with god is christ in glory; god is just and god is love; jesus died to tell the story, foes to bring to god above. but more than that "he hath made us kings and priests unto god and his father." this belongs also to his mighty love. his future of glory as the prince of the kings of the earth, the king of kings and lord of lords, his fathomless love leads him to share with those for whom he died, whom he purged and fitted by his own blood. he hath made us kings and priests. it is all his work. a more correct translation is "he hath made us a kingdom." this, however, does not mean that he has linked us with a kingdom in which we are to be subjects and governed by him. we are not subjects of a kingdom, but _are_ a kingdom, partakers of it in rule with himself. we shall rule and reign with him over the earth. and because he will be "a priest upon _his_ throne" (zech. vi: ) we, too, will be priests. what it all includes, what glories await us, what enjoyment with him, what riches and blessings, power and honor, no mind can grasp and no tongue nor pen can describe. "to him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen." all glory and dominion to him! thou art worthy! thou art worthy! this is the heart's cry, which really knows him and is devoted to him. "thou art worthy, o lord, to receive glory and honor and power." our crowns we cast before thy throne. amen and amen. reader can you add your "amen"--your, "be it so" to all this? do you sing this glory song? in a day when he, who is worthy, is but little praised, do you praise him thus? do you live in the daily enjoyment of his love? do you give him the pre-eminence to whom god has given the pre-eminence in all things? amen! and oh the happy thought, which helps us so in these evil days, that soon he, who loveth us, who washed us, who hath made us a kingdom and priests, may call us into his own glorious presence. the firstborn. "the firstborn" or "the firstbegotten" is one of the names of our blessed lord. it is applied to him after his resurrection from the dead. as the only begotten he came into this world, the unspeakable gift of god to a lost and ruined world; after the accomplishment of his work on the cross he left the earth, he had created, as the firstborn. as the firstbegotten he is now in the highest heaven and as the firstbegotten the man of glory he will be sent back to this earth and rule in power and glory. paul wrote to the philippians "to write the same things to you, to me indeed is not grievous but for you it is safe" (phil. iii: ). peter's preaching in the opening chapters of the acts might have been called monotonous, for he knew but one theme. the spirit of god filling him gave but one message and that was, the rejected jesus of nazareth risen from the dead. in the gospel of the glory of the blessed god ( tim. i: ), as revealed to the apostle of the gentiles we have one theme, one abiding, ever satisfying, eternal object and that is christ who died for our sins, risen from the dead, as firstborn in glory and our blessed union with him. paul who knew him as the firstborn so well found it not grievous to write the same thing. indeed the more he knew him the more his heart cried out "that i may know him" (phil. iii: ). there is an attraction in him which is supernatural. every child of god will increasingly enjoy the contemplation of this old yet ever new and blessed theme, the firstborn from the dead. only in this our hearts can find perfect rest and abiding joy. and if your heart, dear reader, is not attracted and absorbed by himself, it is because there is a broken communion between you and your lord. oh, return unto thy rest, my soul! the drifting masses of christendom have no use for such a theme. the words written in cor. iv: - find a fearful application in our time. "but if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this age hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of christ who is the image of god, should shine unto them." how little of the gospel of the glory is preached! it is not wanted. all the present day preaching of ethics, of doing good, self improvement and self culture is anti-christian. the preaching which leaves out the cross of christ, the resurrection of christ, the glory of christ, differs not in the least from the ethical-philosophical jumble of buddhistic and other oriental heathen teachers. it is an awful thing which is done in christendom today, this rejection of the lord, the firstborn. some day and that soon, god will judge those who have rejected that gospel and deal with them for the sin of all sins which is unbelief (john xvi: ). but our hearts, beloved in the lord, must turn more and more to him and find their delight in him, who is the firstbegotten. and this we shall do now by meditating on a few scriptures which tell us of him. "he is the _firstborn_ from the dead" (col. i: ). "jesus christ, who is the faithful witness, the _firstbegotten_ of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth" (rev. i: ). what blessed declarations these are! in the first chapter of colossians it is fully revealed who he is, who was dead and who is alive for evermore. not a creature but the creator, the one who images forth god, because he is god. by him were all things created, "that are in heaven, and that are on earth, visible and invisible, thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created by him and for him." and such a one made peace through the blood of his cross. such a one took our place on the cross of shame, tasted death in our stead and all the billows of wrath and judgment passed over his holy head. because he wrought out our redemption it is complete and perfect. raised from the dead, not held by death but bursting forth, leading captivity captive, he is the firstborn and to him belongs all glory and power. "but now is christ risen from the dead, and become the _firstfruits_ of them that slept" ( cor. xv: ). by his glorious resurrection he became the firstfruits. all who believe in him will rise too by virtue of being one with him, who is the resurrection and the life. the mighty power of god which raised him from the dead and seated him in the highest place, at his own right hand, that exceeding greatness of his power is towards us, who believe. that power has quickened us with christ, raised us up together and seated us in the heavenly. in some future day that mighty power, which raised him so that he became the firstfruits will raise all the saints to meet him in the air. "and again, when he bringeth in the _firstbegotten_ into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of god worship him" (heb. i: ). god will bring the firstbegotten back to this earth again. this is a very strong passage revealing the second coming of christ to this earth. the same blessed person, who walked on this earth as man, who is emanuel, god with us, who died on the cross for our sins, who became the firstbegotten from the dead, the firstfruits of them that slept, he who is now as man in glory, the same person, the firstbegotten, will be brought back to this world by the power of god. then worshipping angels will be his attendants and he will bring his saints with him. "for whom he foreknew, he also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the _firstborn_ among many brethren" (romans viii: ). conformed to the glorious image of god's ever blessed son, the lord jesus christ, is the destiny of all, who have cast themselves as lost sinners upon christ and have been saved by grace through faith. it is true even now by beholding as in a glass the glory of the lord we are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the lord ( cor. iii: ). it is true if we abide in him, we shall walk even as he walked ( john ii: ). the exhortation in our great salvation epistle is, not to be conformed to this age, but to be transformed, or as it might be translated, transfigured (rom. xii: ). _but_ to be fully conformed to the image of his son is never to be expected in this world, where sin is ever present; when the firstbegotten calls us into his own presence, when the heir of god summons his beloved co-heirs to meet him and to enter with him into the blood-bought inheritance, then each saved sinner will be conformed to the image of himself. each will shine forth the excellencies of the firstbegotten. _we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is._ hallelujah! this is why god gave up his son, that he might be able to lift those who are his enemies by wicked works into the sonplace and make them like his son in glory. "yet have i set my king upon my holy hill of zion. i will declare the degree; the lord hath said unto me, thou art my _son_; this day have i begotten thee" (ps. ii: - ). in this prophecy he is likewise seen as the firstbegotten. it does not mean the eternal son of god, for as such he had no beginning, but the day in which he was begotten is the third day when he was raised from the dead. paul gives us this truth when he spoke to the jews in antioch and said: "god hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, thou art my son, this day have i begotten thee" (acts xiii: ). up to this time he is not yet enthroned upon the holy hill of zion. when he returns as the firstbegotten and finds the nations of the earth not converted, but in opposition to him (ps. ii: - ), he will become the king and take his throne. "also i will make him my _firstborn_, higher than the kings of the earth" (ps. lxxxix: ). this reveals the exalted station, which he will assume, when his blessed feet touch this earth again. he will be the king of kings, and the lord of lords. this is the glory of the firstborn, the loving sinbearer who endured the cross and despised the shame. he is the heir of god, the heir of all things, the head of all principality and power, the head of his redeemed people, the church. he that filleth all in all, the firstborn, will share his glorious title and possessions with his redeemed. the church to which god's marvelous grace has brought us is the church of the _firstborn_. (heb. xii: ), because the firstborn is the head and beginning and those who are begotten again by the resurrection of jesus christ from the dead have their portion with the firstborn. oh! glorious future we have as his redeemed people! god our father, the god and father of our lord jesus christ, by thy holy spirit, keep the glory of thy son, the firstborn, before our hearts, that we may be changed into the same image and overcome in these dark and evil days. amen. soon shall our eyes behold thee with rapture, face to face; and, resting there in glory, we'll sing thy pow'r and grace: thy beauty, lord, and glory, the wonders of thy love, shall be the endless story of all thy saints above. the waiting christ. waiting for the coming of the lord is one of the blessed characteristics of true christianity. in the parable of the ten virgins the three great marks of a true believer are stated by our lord. these are: _separation_, indicated by the virgins having gone forth. _manifestation_, they had lamps, which are for the giving of light, and _expectation_, they went forth to meet the bridegroom. with five of them it was only an outward profession. the foolish virgins are the type of such who are christians in name only and do not know the reality of these characteristics. the lord knew them not. these three characteristics are seen in paul's first epistle to the thessalonians. that model assembly was composed of such members who possessed these three things. they had turned to god from idols (separation); they served the true and the living god (manifestation); they waited for his son from heaven (expectation), thess. i: , . the same is revealed in the epistle to titus. "for the grace of god that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men." that grace accepted separates unto god. "teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly, in this present world." this is manifestation. the grace of god enables us to live thus. "looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great god and our saviour jesus christ." here we have expectation. other similar passages could be quoted. if we divide the new testament scriptures into three parts we have the same order. in the gospels the grace of god in the son of god appeared. in the epistles we are taught how to manifest him by walking in the spirit. the great new testament prophetic book, the revelation, looks on towards his coming. and how his coming is forgotten! how few of his people truly wait for him! how few pray that important and almost forgotten prayer, even so, come lord jesus! but we must also remember that our lord is likewise waiting. innumerable multitudes of disembodied spirits who are saved by grace are waiting in his own presence for the moment when they will receive their resurrection bodies, which will be when he descends from heaven and comes into the air. the faithful remnant of his people on earth wait for his coming. israel and all creation wait for him as well as the unseen beings in the heavenly. _but he himself is waiting._ this is the testimony of the word of god. first it is the subject of prophecy. in the brief but great th psalm that waiting is predicted. the christ, who is so often seen in the psalms and in the prophets as king, ruling in his earthly kingdom, whose glories in that rule are so blessedly described, is seen in the beginning of that psalm seated at the right hand of god; this heavenly place will be occupied by him till his enemies are made his footstool. how the holy spirit witnessed to this fact at once after his descent on the day of pentecost is more fully revealed in the second chapter of acts. in hebrews x: we read of his waiting attitude in heaven. "but _this man_, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of god, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool." the better word for expecting is "waiting." we may well emphasize the word "man." our blessed lord is not in the presence of god as a spirit being, but he is there in the form of man. the blessed body he had on earth, which he gave on the cross and which laid in the tomb could not see corruption. he was raised on the third day. he ascended in that glorified body into heaven and he is on the right hand of god as man, in him dwells the fullness of the godhead bodily. just one man is there in glory. but oh! what it means! he is the head of his body, the church and in the future all his redeemed people will possess glorified bodies, like unto his glorious body. no wonder the enemy ever aims at the denial of the lord's bodily presence. from many pulpits it is declared to be "too material." the denial of this great truth, the _man_ in glory, is a denial of the entire gospel. it is at this the enemy strikes. as the glorified man on the father's throne he is waiting till his enemies are made his footstool. this does not mean, as so many believe and teach, that the lord jesus christ is waiting till his enemies are gradually overcome, till the church on earth succeeds in converting the whole world. it does not mean that. his enemies will be made his footstool in a far different way. it will be a sudden event. all his enemies will be humbled, all things will be subjected under his feet at the time of his second coming. as there was an appointed time by the father for his first coming, so is there an appointed time for his second coming, when the power of god and his own power will triumph over all his enemies. as he is in his redemptive work subject to the father, therefore is he waiting for that hour. then the father will bring in the firstbegotten into the world (heb. i: ) and he will receive the nations for his inheritance (psalm ii). he is waiting for this great event. but he is also waiting for his co-heirs, which constitute the church. the church, his body, must be first completed as to numbers before the hour can come in which his enemies are made his footstool. he is patiently waiting for that moment. john speaks of that when he calls himself "a companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and _patience_ of jesus christ" (rev. i: ). centuries have come and gone since he took that place upon the father's throne, unseen by human eyes, and during all this time, while the calling out of the church proceeded, he has waited patiently. some day his waiting will come to an end. his church will be completed and then he himself arises from his seat and descends to that place in the air, where he will meet his own, for whom his loving heart yearns so much. what a moment that will be at last! then his waiting as well as his patience will be ended and he will receive his kingdom and be crowned lord of lords and king of kings. no longer will he then be unseen, but his glory will flash out of heaven and he himself will be manifested in glory. then the world can reject him no longer but must accept his righteous rule in which his redeemed people will share. what child of god does not wish this to be soon, very soon. oh that we might cry more earnestly, more in the spirit, yes, incessantly, "come lord jesus." but while he waits and the hour has not yet come we must wait as he waits on the throne. to the thessalonians who had listened to teachers who judaized the blessed hope, fearing they were facing the day of the lord with its tribulation and wrath, the apostle wrote: "and the lord direct your hearts in the love of god, and into the patient waiting for christ" ( thess. iii: ). but we must not only wait patiently _for_ him but also wait _with_ him. he is the rejected one. the world cast him out. as the rejected one he waits in patience for the hour of his triumph and his glory. this place of rejection is our greatest privilege to share. and where is he more rejected than in that which calls itself by his name! to bear his reproach in these closing days of this present age is our blessed opportunity. to suffer with him, if not for him, should be that for which our hearts should long, yea, pray. and we will be glad to be rejected with him, to be nothing at this present time, to have fellowship with his sufferings, if he as the patient waiting lord is ever before our hearts. at the close of the one hundred and tenth psalm stands a word, which we should also remember. "he shall drink of the brook in the way, therefore shall he lift up the head." it has puzzled many readers what this saying might mean. it speaks to our hearts of his humiliation and exaltation. one thinks at once of the three hundred of gideon and how they stooped down to drink. the brook is the type of death. he drank of the brook in the way. his way was from glory to glory, and between were his sufferings. and, therefore, he shall lift up the head. wherefore, god has highly exalted him. may we all, dear readers, follow in his path and suffer with him; ere long in his triumph and glory we shall triumph and glory. "and if children then heirs; heirs of god and joint heirs with christ; if so be we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 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: - ). a vision of the king. one of the most blessed occupations for the believer is the prayerful searching of god's holy word to discover there new glories and fresh beauties of him, who is altogether lovely. shall we ever find out all which the written word reveals of himself and his worthiness? this wonderful theme can never be exhausted. the heart which is devoted to him and longs through the presence and indwelling of the holy spirit to be closer to the lord, to hear and know more of himself, will always find something new and precious. the holy spirit can do this and reveals to our hearts from the inexhaustible word of god the glory of him, whom to exalt the spirit has come. much depends on how we desire just himself. and christ alone and the heart knowledge of himself can satisfy the believer, who has his life and is one spirit with the lord "o christ thou art enough the heart to satisfy." soon we shall see him, whom we contemplate now in faith. soon we shall be in his own glorious presence and look upon that face, which was once marred and smitten, but which now shines out heaven's and the father's glory. the kingly glory of our blessed lord is one of the great themes of the bible. the man of humiliation, who here on earth walked in dependence on god, who did his will, suffered and died is now in the father's presence and on the right hand of the majesty on high. there he sat down with his father in his throne, waiting for the moment when his work as the priest and advocate of his beloved people on earth is accomplished, and when the father will establish him as king, when he will receive the kingdom. alas! that all this glory, which belongs to him and which is still future, his kingship, his kingly glory and rule, as it must be some day, is so unknown and even disowned in christendom. it is but the uncovering of the condition of the heart of the great majority of professing christians. they may talk of religion, of great reform movements, of service to mankind, world progress, but the christ of god in all his glory, past, present and future, has little attraction. far different it is with the heart which knows him and has given him the place he is worthy of, the first place. that heart delights to meditate on all his glory and longs for the time when he will appear, and when at last, crowned with many crowns, he will assume his righteous rule. great is our joy and delight when we follow through the scriptures his earthly life so full of his moral glory. or when we think of him as he died for us and bore in his own body on the tree our sins; we praise him for his mighty love. but what joy to think of him as coming at last into that which belongs to him the lord of glory, by right of redemption, when he will take possession of this earth and claim its satan ruled kingdoms for his own. then it will be true, "the earth is the lord's and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." then the seraph's song will be realized, "the whole earth is full of his glory." how much the word has to say about the king and his glory; and we have never yet taken hold of it with our dull hearts! take the book of psalms, for instance, that book which has been so belittled by the destructive criticism. while we read so much in those precious productions of the holy spirit of christ's sufferings, his humiliation, his prayers, his death, we may find there much more about him as king and his coming manifestation. the tumult of the nations, as predicted in the _second_ psalm, and about to be realized in our own times, the tumult of the nations against the lord and his anointed, will be silenced by the coming of the king. "i have set my king upon my holy hill of zion;" this is what god declares. the god-man christ jesus, the man, who is with him now is, his king. his destiny is the government of the nations, with a rod of iron. the entire _twenty-first_ psalm tells out the glory of the king. christian expositors have rarely discovered this. but jewish exponents always knew it. saith a leading jewish authority of the middle ages: "our old teachers have always applied this psalm as meaning the king messiah." read its stanzas: "the king shall joy in thy strength, jehovah; and in thy salvation, how greatly shall he rejoice. thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the requests of his lips. for thou hast met him with the blessings of goodness; thou hast set a crown of pure gold on his head. he asked life of thee; thou gavest him length of days forever and ever. his glory is great through thy salvation; majesty and splendor hast thou laid upon him. for thou hast made him to be blessings forever; thou hast filled him with joy by thy countenance. for the king confideth in jehovah. through the loving kindness of the highest he shall not be moved." then comes his future action, when he whom faith sees now crowned with majesty and splendor, who rejoices in the presence of god, appears to execute the judgments of god. "thy hand shall find out all thine enemies; thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee. thou shalt make them as a fiery furnace in the time of thy presence. jehovah shall swallow them up in his anger, and the fire shall devour them. their fruit shall thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men. for they intended evil against thee, they imagined a mischievous device, which they could not execute. for thou wilt make them turn their back, thou wilt make ready thy bowstring against their faces. be thou exalted jehovah in thine own strength; we will sing and celebrate thy power." and in the _twenty-fourth_ psalm we have prophetically that triumphant shout, which will be heard when the king comes back to enter his city, jerusalem, again. "lift up your heads, ye gates and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the king of glory shall come in. who is this king of glory? jehovah strong and mighty, jehovah mighty in battle." the _forty-fifth_ psalm is a song of the beloved, touching the king. he is described as coming in his majesty and splendor, how he deals with his enemies and that he will be surrounded by his own redeemed ones. the glory and dominion of his kingdom he will receive is described in the _seventy-second_ psalm. "he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth." and other psalms enlarge upon these glorious visions, which will all be true when the king comes. then jerusalem will be a praise in the earth. "also i will make him, my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth" (ps. lxxxix: ). and how rich are the prophets in telling us of the glory of the king and the glories of his kingdom. "behold a king shall rule in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment" (isaiah xxxii: ). "thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty; they shall behold the land that is afar off" (isaiah xxxiii: ). "a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth" (jerem. xxiii: ). "and there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations and languages, should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom, that which shall not be destroyed" (dan. vii: ). "the king of israel, the lord, is in the midst of thee (the earthly jerusalem); thou shalt not see evil any more" (zeph. iii: ). "and the lord shall be king over all the earth" (zech. xiv: ). these and many, many more utterances of god's blessed prophets give us a vision of the king, of the glory of him, who was crowned with a crown of thorns, the thorns of man's curse, and over whose cross it was written, "jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews." and the new testament fully brings out the same glory of him as king. he is "king of peace" (heb. vii: ); "king of saints" (rev. xv: ); "the lord of lords and king of kings" (rev. xvii: ). at last the unfulfilled message of gabriel will be gloriously fulfilled. "the lord god shall give unto him the throne of his father david; and he shall reign over the house of jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end" (luke i: ). but nowhere is he called "king of the church," nor are we authorized as believers to address him "our king." he will be king, but then he will not be our king, but we shall _be kings with him_. he is not king of the church, but the head of the body, the church; head and body together, christ and his church, will rule and reign over the earth. glory to his name! in loving tenderness he looks upon us, who possess his life, he is not ashamed to call us "brethren," for he is man, the second man, and he beholds in us those, who will ere long share his kingly glory, his kingly rule. oh, beloved readers! does it not warm our hearts! does it not make us feel like falling down on our faces and confess to him our indifference and our nothingness, and humble ourselves in the dust. how little, oh how little we enter into all this. the lord help us to have through his word and in the power of his spirit a greater vision of the king and our blessed, eternal lot with him. they crown him king on high; shall we not crown him here, the blessed christ of calvary, to ransomed sinners dear? they worship him above, shall we not worship too, the son of god, the lord of love, to whom all praise is due? up there they see his face, the lamb who once was slain, and in a new song praise his grace; shall we not join the strain? yonder his servants still serve as their lord commands; oh may we also do his will with loving hearts and hands.--m. f. the fellowship of his son. "god is faithful, by whom ye were called into the fellowship of his son jesus christ our lord" ( cor. i: ). a blessed word this is. by nature the corinthians were in another fellowship. the same epistle (vi: - ) tells us what some of them were. like ourselves by nature they were in the fellowship of sin and death and in fellowship with him, who is the author of sin and the enemy of god, satan. but a faithful god called them and has called us by the gospel into the fellowship of his son jesus christ our lord. if we have obeyed the gospel and accepted the gift of god we are brought through the grace of god into the fellowship of the son of god. all believers are in the same fellowship, one with the lord. but that is a truth and a blessed revelation far deeper than our mind can fathom or our pen could describe. no saint has ever sounded the depths of this wonderful call of god nor can god's saints fully know what that fellowship all means, until the blessed day comes when we shall see him as he is and when joined to him we shall be like him. and yet we can remind ourselves of the little we know and through it encourage our hearts. faith loves to dwell upon the blessed person, whom faith alone through the spirit's power can make a living reality. and god, the faithful god, loves to hear his children speak much of him, whom he loves, the son of his love, the lord jesus christ. fellowship means to have things in common. and that is what god has done. he has taken us through his grace out of the fellowship in which we are by nature, the things we have in common as enemies and children of wrath and has called us into the fellowship of his son. and now called of god into this fellowship we have things in common with his son the lord jesus christ. this brings before us once more the old story, which never grows old, but is eternally new and becomes more blessed the more we hear it. the son of god, he who is the true god and the eternal life, came to this earth and appeared in the form of man. "the life was manifested; and we have seen, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the father, and was manifested unto us" ( john i: ). and he who is the true god and the eternal life, by whom the worlds were made, gave himself for our sins. he came to give his life as a ransom for many, to make propitiation for the whole world. he who knew no sin was made sin for us and on the cross peace was made. there in his own body on the tree he bore our sins. all who believe on him, who have accepted jesus as their saviour, are taken out of that in which they are by nature and are brought into christ. and here we can with praising hearts and full assurance sing of our blessed position in him. lord jesus, are we one with thee? oh height, oh depth, of love! and crucified and dead with thee, now one in heaven above. such was thy grace, that for our sake thou didst from heaven come down; with us of flesh and blood partake, and make our guilt thine own. our sins, our guilt, in love divine, confessed and borne by thee; the gall, the curse, the wrath, were thine, to set thy ransomed free. ascended now, in glory bright, life-giving head thou art; nor life, nor death, nor depth, nor height thy saints and thee can part. but the fellowship of his son into which the grace of god has brought us means more than this blessed new relation and the positional truth that as believers we have been crucified with christ and that we are risen with him. the life we possess as born again is his own life. we possess the life of him, who died in our stead. christ is our life. this means fellowship of his son, we are one with him. we also possess his spirit. the spirit of christ dwelleth in us and we are "one spirit with the lord." this oneness with christ, the fellowship of his son, that we belong to him and he to us, that we have an inheritance in him and he has an inheritance in us, is a great truth. like every other revealed truth it must be a reality in our lives. we are called by god to walk in this fellowship. we know we are in him, and through grace we abide in him. but it is also written, "he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked." his own life must be manifest. in this fellowship of his son we have the strength to walk as he walked, because we have his life and his spirit. there is no need to walk after the flesh, but we can always walk in the spirit and walking thus we walk as he walked. and this spiritual walk becomes possible as our hearts dwell in faith on the fact that we are called into the fellowship of his son. we must have this wonderful fact constantly before our hearts as a real thing. then all we do will be governed by it. if this is real how can we be conformed to this world? the world in all its aspects is the enemy of god. in that fellowship we walked once "according to the course of this world." should we then turn back to it and enjoy its pleasures and ambitions? if we do, we walk in the flesh and then we do not know the joy and peace of the fellowship of his son, but are joyless and miserable. but if the fact of the fellowship of god's son is a reality in power, it will keep us from being conformed to this world. we believe the spirit of god presses this home to the consciences of his people and calls us to a separated walk. and this must lead to another phase of the fellowship of his son jesus christ. it is written "always bearing about in the body the dying of the lord jesus, that the life also of jesus might be made manifest in our body" ( cor. iv: ). this stands in connection with persecution and suffering. walking in the fellowship of his son jesus christ the apostle had one great desire, "that i may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable to his death" (phil. iii: ). to the colossians he wrote "who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church" (col. i: ). he suffered and bore his reproach. his heart in the enjoyment of the fellowship desired the fellowship of his sufferings. we know little of these because we are conformed to this world and not loyal to our lord and god's calling. but if we walk in conscious fellowship with him and are loyal to him we too will know a little of the fellowship of his sufferings. then our hearts long that we may "bear his reproach." the blessed one of god is rejected, can our hearts be satisfied with anything less than being rejected too? perhaps if we were to lift up our voices now against the christ dishonoring things, both in doctrine and practice, which are the leading features of the present-day religious world, we would know a little more of this fellowship. called into the fellowship of his son jesus christ our lord means also to share his work. we are called to serve. he was here as one that serveth, and we are "to serve one another in love." "whosoever will be great among you let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant" (matt. xx: - ). we can be servants with him. he is intercessor and burden-bearer and we have a share in this likewise. and there is the fellowship of his son in its eternal aspect. god's calling is to be like his son. "for whom he did foreknow, he also predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (romans viii: ). we shall be with him forever and like him. and is it so--i shall be like thy son? is this the grace which he for me has won? father of glory, (thought beyond all thought!)-- in glory, to his own blest likeness brought! oh, jesus, lord, who loved me like to thee? fruit of thy work, with thee, too, there to see thy glory, lord, while endless ages roll, myself the prize and travail of thy soul. yet it must be: thy love had not its rest were thy redeemed not with thee fully blest. that love that gives not as the world, but shares all it possesses with its loved co-heirs. may the holy spirit hold these great truths before our hearts and in his power may we be consciously and constantly enjoying the fellowship of his son jesus christ our lord, till we are called by himself to be with him. out of his fulness. john i: . "and of his fulness have all we received, and grace upon grace" (john i: ). this precious word was not spoken by john the baptist. it must be looked upon as an outburst of praise, similar to the one which stands in the beginning of revelation (rev. i: - ). it is the adoring utterance of all believers acknowledging the reception of that unfathomable and never failing grace, which flows from the eternal fountain, the son of god. out of the fulness of himself believing sinners receive grace upon grace. his own fulness is the source, which supplies all the need of those, who by him believe on god, that raised him from the dead and gave him glory ( pet. i: ). that exhaustless fulness is always ready to sustain, to help, to comfort, to strengthen and to fill those, who are in christ, one with him. but what is this fulness of which we receive and receive so abundantly? the blessed son of god possessed in all eternity fulness. the holy spirit in this chapter bears a testimony to this fact by a great revelation. "in the beginning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god. the same was in the beginning with god. all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made 'that was made.' in him was life; and the life was the light of men" (john i: - ). what a wonderful revelation this is! the word which was in the beginning, which ever _was_ god, by whom all was made, without whom nothing came into existence, is the son of god. the fulness of the godhead was his before the world was made, for he is god. then we read in this chapter, "and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth." he came to this earth, he took on the form of man, the eternal word was made flesh, god manifested in the flesh. and as he walked on the earth the fulness of the godhead was pleased to dwell in him (col. i: ). but before we could ever receive out of his fulness grace upon grace, the son of god had to die. if he had not died and accomplished the great work for which he came into the world, his fulness would have been forever inaccessible to sinners. but he went to the cross and finished there the great work. christ died for us; he who knew no sin was made sin for us. and now it is written of him, the glorified one, the man in glory. "for in him dwelleth all the fulness of the godhead bodily. and ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power" (col. ii: - ). he, who possessed eternally all fulness, who came to this earth and in whom the fulness of the godhead dwelt, who died on the cross the just for the unjust, who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree, is now as man in glory and there dwelleth in him bodily the fulness of the godhead. it is all for us; we can now receive grace upon grace, because of him who is the second man, the head of the new creation and with whom god has made us, who believe, one. this is the deep and yet simple gospel. god gave his blessed son, who was forever one with him, that through him we might receive of the fulness of the godhead, grace upon grace. brought to god in such a way, washed, sanctified and justified in the name of the lord jesus, and by the spirit of our god, we are receiving all we need. we receive it not on our merit, because we labor or agonize for it, but we _receive of his fulness_. but who can begin to tell out what that is, grace upon grace? pages upon pages might be written and filled with the good things, the spiritual blessings, the joy, the peace, the comfort, the power and the wisdom and many other things, which are included in "grace upon grace." and after we mentioned all these precious things, we would have to put the pen down and confess our insufficiency to tell out the riches, the fulness and vastness of "grace upon grace." this expression brings a great cataract like niagara to our mind. here we stand and behold the mighty waters rushing down. oh! the mighty rushing waters, who can measure them! what a vast, inexhaustible supply! water upon water dashing down. for ages this has gone on. hundreds of years, more than that, thousands of years have witnessed the same mighty waters. every day, every hour, every minute, every second, every fraction of a second--incessantly mighty rushing waters upon waters! in the same way there is pouring forth out of his fulness, the fulness of the lord in glory--grace upon grace. there is an unlimited, inexhaustible supply of the water of life from him who is the life. for ages the saints of god, saved by grace, have received grace upon grace. a never ceasing stream of grace has been flowing forth and it has not impoverished the marvellous eternal supply. still it flows undiminished--still there is grace upon grace. yea it is grace upon grace by which god's people live. every hour, every minute, every second, every moment it is his grace, grace upon grace which keeps us, surrounds us, flows upon us and overshadows us. and the more we take and enjoy the more we learn to sing. more and more, more and more, _always_ more to follow! oh, his matchless, boundless _grace_, still there's more to follow! will it ever stop? no, never! we shall keep on singing in all eternity "still there's more to follow!--still there's more to follow." hallelujah! "that in the ages to come he might show the _exceeding_ riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through christ jesus" (eph. ii: ). _always more to follow!_ still there's more to follow. all praise to him who died to have it so for us poor lost sinners, whose lot should have been, as it is the lot of all who reject this marvellous grace--always more to follow--in eternal darkness and despair. and how simple it is to receive "of his fulness grace upon grace." look at this never ceasing spring of pure water, it never fails. you approach it a weary, thirsty, dustladen traveler. you need to be refreshed. you need the cooling drink. you need washing. what then is necessary? oh! to fill your cup. just to take for it is for you. and so this wonderful grace which flows out of his fulness. it is for you, just come and take. fill your cup, fill it again! drink oh drink! "of his fulness have all we received, grace upon grace." the twenty-second psalm. the cross of christ. the twenty-second psalm contains a most remarkable prophecy. the human instrument through whom this prophecy was given is king david. the psalm does not contain the experience of the king, though he passed through great sufferings, yet the sufferings he speaks of in this psalm are not his own. they are the sufferings of christ. it is written in the new testament that the prophets searched and enquired diligently about the coming salvation. the spirit of christ, which was in them testified beforehand the sufferings of christ ( peter i: - ). david was a prophet, and in this great prophecy the spirit of christ testified of the sufferings of him, who is both david's lord and david's son. the book of psalms, so rich and full of himself, so inexhaustible in description of our ever blessed lord, is divided into five books, which correspond to the five books with which the bible begins, the pentateuch. the first book (psalm i-xli) contains some of the great prophecies about the christ of god; these prophecies are in the so-called messianic psalms. perfect and divine is the order in which they are revealed. _son of god_--the second psalm. _son of man_ --the eighth psalm. _obedient one_--the sixteenth psalm. _obedient unto death_, the death of the cross--the twenty-second psalm. _highly exalted by god_--revealed in each of these psalms. this is the order in which the holy spirit describes the path of the lord in phil. ii: - . how perfect the word of god is! the twenty-second psalm, the center of the first part of the book of psalms, the genesis portion, corresponds to the twenty-second chapter in the book of genesis. there we see isaac bound upon the altar having been led there and put upon the altar by his father while he opened not his mouth. here we behold the true isaac on the cross. everything in this psalm speaks of our blessed lord; in the first part of his sufferings, in the second part of his glory and exaltation. and we must not overlook the two hebrew words the holy spirit has put over this psalm: _aijeleth shahar_. the margin tells us they mean "the hind of the morning." this has a beautiful, though hidden meaning. some have thought of the innocent suffering of a wounded hind and the dawn of the morning brings relief. they have applied this to the death and resurrection (in the morning dawn) of the lord. but the meaning is better still. the oldest jewish traditions give us the key. they take the expression "aijeleth shahar" to mean the shechina, the glory cloud, which was visible among his people and they speak of "the hind of the morning" as being the dawning of redemption. the dawning of the morning is compared by them with the horns of the hind, on account of the rays of light appearing like horns. according to their tradition the lamb was offered as the sacrifice in the morning as soon as the watcher on the pinnacle of the temple cried out "behold the first rays of morning shine forth." but what pen can describe the predictions and the fulfilment of his sufferings, the sufferings of the holy one! here we behold what it cost him to redeem us. here we have the full description of what his atoning work meant. here we see the full meaning of the sin-offering. well may we bow our heads and hearts here and worship as we gaze upon this picture. the opening word of the psalm expresses the consummation of all the sufferings of christ, that word which came from the darkness, which surrounded the cross and in which we are face to face with the unsearchable depths of his atoning work. "my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me." he who was ever with the father, one with him in all eternity, who could say on earth "i am not alone" was left alone. he was forsaken of god. but more than that. jehovah bruised him; he put him to grief. the spotless one bore the wrath of god alone. it was then that he who knew no sin was made sin for us. how significant it is then that the holy spirit puts that word of the lord jesus christ before the predictions of his physical sufferings. they tell us what our redemption cost him --the awful price, forsaken of god. the psalm also emphasizes what man under the terrible instigation of satan did unto him. we glance at some of these sufferings as expressed by his own spirit. "but i am a worm, and not man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people" (verse ). this is his own complaint. no longer a man but writhing on the ground like a worm, the substitute of sinners, thus the holy one felt when he was numbered among the transgressors. the hebrew word "worm", means the small insect, the coccus, from which the scarlet color is obtained by death of this worm, that color which was used in connection with the tabernacle. thus he died as our substitute that our sins though they are as scarlet might be white as snow. men reproached him; his own people despised and rejected him. then we read how he was mocked and scoffed at. they "laugh me to scorn," they "shoot out the lip," they "shake the head." the very language of the leaders of the people as they surrounded the cross is given by the spirit of god. "he trusted on the lord that he would deliver him, seeing he delighted in him" (verse ). what depths of the depravity of the human heart they reveal! and in all this, while he suffered thus from man his sole trust was in god (verses - ). his whole life was to trust in the lord to lean upon him, till that moment came when god could no longer know him as his own, when the sword, the sword of judgment awoke against the man, the fellow, the companion of the lord of hosts (zech. xiii: ). what that sword did to him is expressed by the cry of the forsaken one. and what else do we find here? we can follow the whole story of the cross in the first part of this psalm. his enemies are described, the bulls and the ravening and roaring lion.--"i am poured out like water."--"all my bones are out of joint."--"my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels." like fire melteth wax so his heart melted in the fire of wrath against sin. the strength of the mighty one, who fainteth not and knows no weariness, failed. his tongue cleaves to his jaws. "dogs" and "the assembly of the wicked" --gentiles and jews were there. "they pierced my hands and feet;" crucifixion, unknown among the jews when david lived, is here predicted by the holy spirit. "i may tell all my bones" as well as the words "all my bones are out of joint" refer to his suffering on the cross. then after they hung the prince of glory at that cross we read "they look and stare upon me" (verse ). "they parted my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture." what man did to him, what he suffered from man and from satan's power is here described. yet it was god who bruised him. concerning man the sufferer spoke what "they" did unto him; but he also addresses god "thou hast brought me into the dust of death." and thus he suffered and died for us. our sins were laid upon him and he bore them in his own body on the tree. at what an infinite cost we have been redeemed! what a price has been paid! the father did not spare his only begotten son, but delivered him up for us all. the son of god, was made sin for us, smitten, stricken and forsaken of god. jehovah bade his sword awake-- o christ, it woke 'gainst thee! thy blood the flaming blade must slake; thy heart its sheath must be-- all for my sake, my peace to make; now sleeps that sword for me. the holy god did hide his face-- o christ, 'twas hid from thee! dumb darkness wrapt thy soul a space-- the darkness due to me. but now that face of radiant grace shines forth in light on me. wonderful love! but how unable we are to realize adequately these blessed facts! how little after all we think of these marvellous things and how weak is our devotion to that blessed, loving lord, who loved us thus! and what do we behold about us? an ever increasing darkness; a turning away from the blessed gospel of the son of god as it centers in the cross; a greater rejection and neglection of the great salvation which god has so graciously provided in the great sacrifice. it is fearful to see the enemies of the cross increasing and rushing on to their coming doom. what is to be our attitude? it is for us to glory more and more in the cross of christ. we must exalt and magnify the person and work of our blessed lord as never before. the more he is rejected by the world, his blessed work on the cross disowned in such latter day delusions as the new theology, christian science and the numerous other systems, the more we must give him the pre-eminence. but it means also for us if we are faithful to him the fellowship of his sufferings. god has called us into the fellowship of his son jesus christ our lord. this includes the fellowship of his sufferings. never, of course, suffering from god as he did. but as he is rejected and despised so are we called to share his rejection and take upon us his reproach. he suffered without the gate and the word exhorts us "let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach." in these last days we must like moses "esteem the reproach of christ greater riches than the treasures of egypt (the world)." and if we are faithful to him, if we walk in _separation from the world_, including the great "religious world" with its christ and the cross rejecting schemes and tendencies, we shall know something of the reproach of christ and the fellowship of his sufferings. oh! that we might know more of that in these easy going days. such a precious word of god as contained in peter iv: - ought to make us long for bearing his reproach and for sufferings with him. "but rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of christ's sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. if ye be reproached for the name of christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of god resteth upon you; on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified." be true to christ and to the cross of christ. live out the doctrine of the cross "crucified with christ"--dead to the things here below, then you will have some suffering from the side of men and satan as well. and what will be the awful judgment for the multitudes, the ever increasing multitudes who reject the cross of christ, who are either opposing it by their ethical gospel, to whom the preaching of the cross is foolishness, or who are indifferent? the holy spirit has told us that where the gospel, the cross of christ is rejected or perverted the anathema, the curse of god must follow (gal. i: ; corinth. xvi: ). well has one said "distance from god was the climax of the lamb's dying sorrow." it is a fearful solemn thought that the world while with heedless selfconfidence it still pursues its way, is no nearer now to god than jesus was when, under the burden of the world's iniquity, he cried, "my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?" how solemn this is! may we learn to say more fully with paul, "but god forbid that i should glory, save in the cross of our lord jesus christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and i unto the world." the glory of christ. the first twenty-one verses of this psalm describe the sufferings of christ. this part closes with an appeal to jehovah for deliverance. "but be thou not far from me, o lord; o my strength, haste thee to help me. * * * save me from the lion's mouth." then comes the joyful statement that he has been heard. the answer he received to his cry is resurrection. we find therefore that the second part of this great psalm, which reveals so fully the cross of christ, is taken up with the glory of the forsaken one. god raised him from the dead, and so we hear at once in this psalm the notes of triumph coming from the lips of him who is dead and now liveth. his triumph and his glory are revealed. all for whom he died, the church, israel, the ends of the earth, the nations are mentioned. he is seen in the midst of the church as well as in the midst of the future great congregation. all the ends of the earth are yet to remember and turn unto the lord. the nations will come to worship before him; his will be the kingdom, he will rule among the nations. but we must look at some of these precious predictions a little closer. we need to consider them as much as the sufferings, the cross of christ. the day of his resurrection is first mentioned. "i will declare thy name unto my brethren "in the midst of the congregation will i praise thee." it is a joyous word which stands at the head of the glory section of this psalm. raised from the dead he met his own with an "all hail" --rejoice. in the gospel of john we see him meeting her who sought the living one among the dead and telling her "go and tell my brethren." how literally this prediction has been fulfilled. and what he tells her of "my father and your father, my god and your god" declares that intimate relationship which is the result of his death on the cross. brought through him to god, we are sons of god and heirs of god. "he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one, therefore he is not ashamed to call them brethren" (heb. ii: ). precious truth! he owns us as brethren. he is the firstborn among many brethren. the congregation mentioned here is the church. in the midst of the church his praise is heard (heb. ii: ). it is true the church is not revealed in the old testament but it is anticipated. and as we, saved by grace, in possession of his life, approach god in his worthy name his own voice is heard; he is the leader of our prayers and our praises. that new and intimate relationship brought about by his atoning death at the cross is mentioned first. he gave himself for the church (eph. v: ). in the next place we hear israel praising him. "all ye the seed of jacob glorify him; and reverence him all ye the seed of israel." they who rejected him, his people who despised him and had such a part in the suffering of christ, now own him. they acknowledge him, whom they thought afflicted of god, as having been heard of god. that time will come when he returns in power and glory, when israel will see the man in glory, the first begotten coming in the clouds of heaven. then they will realize the full truth of isaiah liii. the blessed lord will then have the travail of his soul and be satisfied. but there is more glory still for him. a _great_ congregation is mentioned; there too his praises will be heard. all the ends of the earth will remember and turn unto the lord. nations will worship before him. "for the kingdom is jehovah's and he ruleth among the nations" (verse ). the great congregation are the nations of the millennial age. then the ends of the earth will remember him while he ruleth among the nations. what glory awaits him! now we behold him, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor. it is a spiritual vision; we see him there by faith. but a little while longer and he will appear in the glory of his father bringing his co-heirs with him, the son bringing many sons to glory, the sons he is not ashamed to call brethren, for whom he was forsaken on the cross. what a procession of triumph and glory that will be when the heavens open and he is coming forth, bringing his church with him! what will be his glory when israel at last owns him and nations submit under his rule, when his visible glory will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea! all hail! oh blessed, blessed lord! and we do need to consider all these precious predictions, so numerous in the scriptures, the prophecies of his glory. the god of this age satan is unfolding the glories of this present age which is almost at the end, with a skilful master hand. he knows how to blind the eyes not only of those who believe not, but of many who are christians. he makes everything so attractive and many of god's people have fallen into his snares. we need to look through the word of god upon the brightness of his glory, the glorious things to come, so that our eyes may be blinded to the miserable playthings of the dust, which the fire of god's vengeance will ere long consume. we need these glorious visions of the great realities so that we can go forward with joyfulness to suffer, be rejected of men and bear the bright and blessed testimony, the father expects from his beloved children. take up the watchword of the last days! _true to christ--all in christ--all for christ--onward to glory._ soon he will call us into his glorious presence. "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: ). "for our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory" ( cor. v: ). oh what will be the day when won at last the last long weary battle, we shall come to those eternal gates the king hath passed, returning from our exile to our home; when earth's last dust is washed from off our feet; the last sweat from our brows is wiped away; the hopes that made our pilgrim journey sweet all met around us, realized that day! oh what will be the day, when we shall stand irradiate with god's eternal light; first tread as sinless saints the sinless land, no shade nor stain upon our garments white; no fear, no shame upon our faces then, no mark of sin--oh joy beyond all thought! a son of god, a free-born citizen of that bright city where the curse is not! the exalted one. hebrews i. some thirty-five years ago, when the so-called "higher criticism" had begun its destructive work, a believer living in england, predicted that within thirty years the storm would gather over one sacred head. how this has come true! satan's work of undermining the authority of the bible, a pernicious work still going on, is but the preliminary to an attack of the person of christ. to-day as never before the glorious person of our lord is being belittled in the camp of christendom. this is done not only in the out and out denials of his deity but also in more subtle ways. it is for us who "deny not his name" (revel. iii: ), whose desire is to exalt him, ever to remind ourselves of the blessed one and his glory. at this time we desire to look briefly at the teachings of the first chapter in hebrews. this chapter is divided into two parts. in the first part we find another great description of our adorable lord, and in the second a description of his exaltation. the beginning of the chapter gives us that solid assurance that god has spoken and that the old testament is his word. "god having spoken in many parts and in many ways formerly to the fathers in the prophets, at the end of these days has spoken to us in (the person of the) son." the old testament scriptures are the inspired word of god; at last god spake in son, as it is in the greek. the old testament announced that god would speak in the person of the son. for this reason it is impossible to deny the authority of the old testament without denying the authority of lord jesus christ. the written and the living word stand and fall together. this is followed by a description of himself. seven things are mentioned concerning our lord. . heir of all things. . by whom he made the worlds. . the brightness of god's glory. . the express image of his person. . the upholder of all things. . he has purged our sins. . he sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high. what wonderful seven things these are! oh that we would meditate more on each, how it would strengthen our faith and deepen our fellowship with him. it would give us victory when the hosts of the enemy press upon us. our defeat is the result of losing sight of the object of our faith, christ. we also can divide the description of our lord in the first chapter of hebrews into three parts. . he is the son of god in eternity; one with the father, essentially and absolutely god. this is found in these great statements "by whom he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power." this could never be said of a creature of god. our lord is the creator himself, the express image of the person of god, the one who upholds all things. what it all means! what a lord we have! all this harmonizes with the description of his person in colossians. . he is the son of god in incarnation. this is found in the following sentence "when he had himself purged out sins" or as it is literally "having made by himself the purification of sins." for this great purpose he entered his own world. the mighty creator, the eternal son of god, the holy one is our redeemer. as son of god he walked on the earth in the spirit of holiness, the holy, spotless one, god manifested in the flesh. and this wonderful being was made sin for us, went as the willing sacrifice to the cross. oh what a record! "who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth; who when reviled, reviled not again: when suffering threatened not; . . . . . . . who himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, . . . . by whose stripes ye have been healed." what a foundation for our faith, what assurance! he himself has accomplished the work for us and has made peace in the blood of his cross. he only could do it. . the son of god in resurrection. "he sat down on the right hand of the majesty on high, being made so much better than the angels as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." and in verse we read "whom he (god) hath appointed heir to all things." all this is spoken of him who had died on the cross and who raised from the dead as glorified man is at the right hand of the majesty on high. what he is in that resurrection glory we shall be with him. his love does not stop short of this. the glory the father gave to him, he has given to us. he is the image of the invisible god, because he is god. his redeemed people shall be transformed into his image, that he might be the first born among many brethren. what a thought this is! we shall image him forth in all eternity, as he images the invisible god. into what depths we gaze! then in the second part of this chapter we find a description of his exaltation and glory. the holy spirit shows this marvelous theme from his word. he quotes from seven psalms, that book which is one of the most attacked in the present day. the holy spirit gives us a key in these quotations how we should look for christ in the psalms. what wickedness in face of such scriptures to deny the messianic prophecies contained in the psalms. the psalms quoted are the following: "the ii; lxxxix ( sam. vii: ); xcvii; civ; xlv; cii and cx." they reveal his glory and in what his future glory will exist. and we shall share that exaltation with him. we are destined to be his co-heirs. we shall rule with him and shall be priests with him. he is higher than the angels in his resurrection glory. he was made a little lower than the angels that he could take us with himself into that place above the angels. all glory and praise to his holy name. we worship and adore thee, thou son of god, our saviour and lord! what glory awaits us! what dignity is ours! oh, child of god, you need just this one thing, to know him better, to have the holy spirit make christ and the things of christ, the future glory more real to your souls. let him do it. and soon we shall be with him. lamb of god, thy faithful promise says, "behold, i quickly come;" and our hearts, to thine responsive, cry, "come, lord, and take us home." oh, the rapture that awaits us when we meet thee in the air, and with thee ascend in triumph, all thy deepest joys to share! a glorious vision. the epistle to the hebrews, this profound and blessed portion of the holy scriptures, unfolds a most wonderful vision of the person, the glory and the great redemption work of our adorable lord. the portion of the epistle which is the richest in this respect is the second chapter. here is a vista for the eyes of faith which is sublime. our lord in his person, in his humiliation and exaltation, in his suffering and glory, stands out in a way which makes the believing heart rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. what he has accomplished for us, his present place in glory and intercessory work, his future and dominion over the earth, all are mentioned by the holy spirit in this brief chapter. his humiliation by incarnation is mentioned in these words "thou madest him a little lower than the angels." "forasmuch, then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same." and he is the one "by whom are all things" (verse ). his suffering and death and its blessed results are given in this chapter. "by the grace of god he should taste death for every man." "that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil." he made "reconciliation for sins of the people." we read of the gracious relations into which all believing sinners are brought in virtue of his work on the cross. "for both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren." it is that blessed, deep, eternal relationship of being one with him and one with god. then we find here his presence as man in glory. "but we see jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor." in that attitude he is now "the merciful and faithful high priest." "for in that he himself hath suffered, being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted." the ultimate result of his work is also stated. he is "bringing many sons unto glory." and that glory will be his own glory. not only now but in that future day of glory he will declare "behold i and the children, which god hath given me." furthermore we have the fact of his earthly dominion, that he is to have possession of the earth. "the world to come," that is the habitable earth, not heaven, is to be put in subjection under him. "thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet." all these blessed truths are stated in this chapter of hebrews. in regard to a subdued earth we read: "but now we see not yet all things put under him." that was true when the holy spirit penned these words. this is still true and it will be true until the father bringeth in the first begotten into the world, when not alone all the angels of god will worship him (heb. i: ), but when god will make his enemies the footstool of his blessed feet (psalm cx: ). however this coming triumph for him who was made a little lower than the angels is not the glorious vision of this chapter. it is time by faith we may behold the glorious consummation as revealed in the prophetic word, but here another vision for our present rejoicing and present help is put before us. while we see not yet all things put under his feet "we see jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor." this is the great vision for the present. this is what the holy spirit wants us to behold more than anything else. of stephen it is written: "he being full of the holy spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of god, and jesus standing at the right hand of god" (acts vii: ). and whenever the holy spirit fills us he will direct the vision of the eyes of our heart to him who was made a little lower than the angels and who is now in heaven crowned with glory and honor. and only the _power_ of the holy spirit filling us can make this great fact and vision a reality. but what does this glorious vision mean to _us?_ what does it teach us? oh, much more than the weak pen of the writer can tell out. the blessed one who is there crowned with glory and honor is the one who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death; he bore our sins on the cross and died for us. what a blessed, blessed proof then it is, as we behold him there, that our sins are completely and forever gone! but more than that. in seeing him there we behold ourselves. the deliverer of our souls at the right hand of god, the second man, crowned with glory and honor, is the pattern and forerunner of all who belong to him and whom he is not ashamed to call brethren. grace has raised us up together, and has made us sit down together in the heavenlies in christ jesus (eph. ii: , ). our eternal destiny, beloved in the lord, is to be like him, with him and to share his marvelous inheritance as his co-heirs. that glorious vision is the evidence of our coming glory, when we shall be transformed into his image that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. as we gaze in the spirit on him who is crowned with glory and honor we can see ourselves. and as the age darkens, as the laodicean state becomes more prevalent, temptations and snares increase, the enemy's powers and activities more marked, we need to open our eyes and hearts wider, to take in the vision of our blessed head in glory. only in this way can we be kept in these evil days. the only way of spiritual progress, spiritual enjoyment, spiritual worship is to "behold as in a glass the glory of the lord," and beholding that glorious vision we "are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the spirit of the lord" ( cor. vii: ). this glorious vision will keep us in the place of separation. it will make us heavenly-minded and produce in our lives the practical results of the cross of christ "crucified unto the world and the world crucified unto me." why do real christians, who know the truth and even know and speak of his second coming go along with the world and delight in its ways? it is because the heart is departed from christ and has lost sight of the blessed and glorious vision. years ago a saint of god, who is now present with the lord, made the following statement: "it sometimes happens that christians have got so far away from christ in heart, that they become engrossed in the affairs of this life, and some can even visit and enjoy the poor empty, tinselled shows of this world's vanity. what could be more lamentable? they forget that _death's stamp_ is deeply graven on everything this side of resurrection. but such actions clearly prove that the heart must have been away from christ for some time." reader! if this means you return unto thy rest. arise now and seek his face and behold your saviour, who was made a little lower than the angels crowned with glory and honor. may all our hearts, dear children of god, cry out with him, who knew him so well, the prisoner of the lord "that i may know _him_, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death" (phil. iii: ). soon we shall know him and all his glory. i see a man at god's right hand, upon the throne of god, and there in seven-fold light i see the seven-fold sprinkled blood; i look upon that glorious man, on that blood-sprinkled throne; i know that he sits there for me, the glory is my own. the heart of god flows forth in love, a deep eternal stream; through that beloved son it flows to me as unto him. and, looking on his face, i know-- weak, worthless, though i be-- how deep, how measureless, how sweet, that love of god to me. my brethren. our lord jesus christ calls those for whom he died and who have believed on him "_my brethren_." what a word it is! the brethren of the man in glory! brethren of him who is at the right hand of god, the upholder and heir of all things! pause for a moment, dear reader. let your heart lay hold anew of this wonderful message of god's grace; brethren of the lord jesus christ! what depths of love and grace these words contain! what heights of glory they promise to us, who were bought by his own precious blood! his brethren now; his brethren forever. one with him, one with his father and his god. sharers of his life, sharers of his spirit, sharers of his glory and his inheritance. blessed, glorious truth, he calls us his brethren. it is in the twenty-second psalm where we find this truth revealed prophetically for the first time. that psalm begins, as we have seen before, with the utterance of the deepest distress. it closes with the shout of victory and of triumph. he who was forsaken of god on the cross, the blessed sin bearer, has received glory. in the midst of the congregation, his redeemed people, he praises god, who has delivered him and who gave him glory. in god's own time, in the coming day of his visible manifestation, all the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the lord, and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him. then the kingdom will be the lord's. he who suffered on the cross was heard "from the horns of the unicorn" (ps. xxii: ). resurrection was the answer from god; the power of god raised him from the dead. at once, after the great work had been accomplished, there follows the triumphant declaration of him whose voice had cried so bitterly in death, "i will declare thy name unto my brethren; in the midst of the congregation will i praise thee." and blessed was the fulfilment on that day of joy, when the tomb was empty and he had come forth, the risen christ. to mary magdalene he said on that glorious resurrection morning, "but go and tell _my brethren_, and say unto them, i ascend unto my father and your father, and to my god and your god" (john xx: ). what joy must then have filled his loving heart. from his gracious lips there bursts forth a message such as he never gave to his own before his resurrection. the great work on the cross had been accomplished, sin had been put away by the sacrifice of himself. the only begotten of the father, god's holy son, one with god, became man; then passing through death, in which he fully glorified god, god raised him from the dead. and now he gives the blessed results of his own work for those who believe on him. he has brought us into the same relationship with his father and his god, which he himself holds, as the man christ jesus, raised from the dead. his father, the father of our lord jesus christ, is our father; his god is our god. and again we pause as we write this. let our hearts repeat it: "my father, your father; my god, your god." he has brought us into fellowship with his father; he has brought us to god and the place he has with the father and with god, is the place god's fathomless grace has given to us. how little our hearts take it in! how little reality we possess of all this! and yet he wants us to enjoy it as he enjoys the fulness of joy in his father's and his god's own presence. may the holy spirit work in us unhindered, that through his power we may lay hold in faith of this mighty truth and have it as a _practical power_ in our daily lives. my father, your father; my god, your god and christ, who loved me and gave himself for me, christ, who loveth us, is with his father and his god. in such relationship, brought to the father and to god through the lord jesus christ and kept there by his own grace and power, how happy we should be. and because we possess now in virtue of christ's work this blessed relationship, he owns us joyfully as his brethren. hebrews ii: - puts this more fully before our hearts: "for both he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. saying, i will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will i sing praise unto thee." the lord jesus christ is he that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified by his great work and are in him, are believing sinners, reconciled to god by his blood. both he that sanctifieth and we are all of one and this one is god, the father. therefore he is not ashamed to call them brethren. it is true we possess this relationship with the man in glory, the lord jesus christ, because we are born of god. we have eternal life, his own life, and that makes us one with him. but this is not the truth in view here. it is the truth that he has identified himself with us and through his death and resurrection we are identified with him. and what it means "in the midst of the church will i sing praises unto thee" we shall not follow at this time. but let us keep it before our hearts a little while longer. the lord of glory calls us "my brethren." he who is there in the father's house, in the father's presence and on the father's throne is not ashamed to call us brethren. he knows all about us. he knows all the depths of sin in which we are by nature; that by nature we were enemies by wicked works and children of wrath, but he took it all upon himself and has taken it out of the way and now he looks upon us and all who have accepted him by personal faith as being one with him and one with his father; therefore he is not ashamed to call us brethren. what a comfort it should be to our hearts! what joy it should create in our souls! he himself received from god, his heart's desire and the request of his lips (ps. xxi: ). and all his desire and request was in our behalf, that he might bring us, his many sons, to glory. and now he rejoices in us, for we are his inheritance. he wants us to rejoice in him and with him in an unspeakable joy and full of glory. our souls entering into all this and rejoicing with him in his salvation, enjoying the comfort of it; this honors him and honors god. it should end the discouragement and unbelief from which we so often suffer. though we are weak and erring, imperfect in all our ways, yet he is not ashamed to call us brethren. such a fellowship and relation into which we are brought once and, for all by the son of god, should, if accepted in faith, dispel any doubt about ourselves and free us from all gloom and discouragement. alas! how dull we are not to enter fully into the joy and comfort grace has bestowed upon us! and then think of the dignity and honor which is ours. sons of god with him; heirs of god with him; one with him, perfectly identified with the blessed one in god's presence. therefore he is not ashamed to call us brethren. to walk worthy of the lord is our calling; and worthy of the lord we shall walk if we have the great fact of our fellowship with the son of god as a reality before our souls. it is a sad state to speak theoretically of our position in christ, to know all this with our intellects and not to manifest it in our lives and show forth the excellencies of him, who has called us from darkness into his marvellous light. he is not ashamed to call us brethren. it should strengthen the love for the brethren. love one another. the weakest, the most imperfect believer, that one who appears to us so unlovable and so ignorant, is nevertheless owned by him. just let us remember in looking upon all believers, that he is not ashamed to call them brethren, that no matter where they belong, what their knowledge in the scriptures might be, they belong to christ, and are equally beloved of god. how we need it in a day when satan goes about dividing the people of god. love for the brethren, a deep, real heart love, will possess us as our hearts feed upon the fact of our oneness with him and with his father and his god. he is not ashamed to call them brethren. it will be an incentive to witness for him. dishonored as he is, it falls upon us to honor him by our personal witness. while in the father's presence he sings and is the leader of the praises of his people, we must sing of him here and utter his praise on earth. he is not ashamed of us; _how could we ever be ashamed of him?_ what an honor to speak his worth, to tell out, though in feeble way, his glory and exalt his name. and yet we must beware of an unscriptural familiarity with him, which the holy spirit does not sanction in the scriptures. we must not address him, as it is so often done, as "my brother," or other sentimental terms, which our pen is reluctant to repeat. in all this we must not forget his dignity and glory. while he thus identified himself with us and is not ashamed to call us brethren, he is nevertheless the holy son of god, the lord of all. as such we must adore and worship him. some blessed day we shall be just like him. we are predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the first born among many brethren (rom. viii: ). that will be in the glorious day when we shall meet him face to face. "we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is" (john iii: ). what it all will mean? what day of joy and triumph for him, when he stands as the leader of all whom the father has given unto him, when all according to his prayer will be the sharers of his glory. then he will be glorified in his saints for they will bear his image and reflect his glory. what a destiny! like him and with him. and this future of perfect conformity to the lord jesus christ and possession of the wonderful inheritance, which, in its riches we cannot grasp now with out finite minds, is rapidly approaching. how soon it may burst upon us! oh, friends, beloved in the lord! do we all enjoy this now in faith? is it so that the lord jesus christ becomes daily more real and precious to us? do we live in the power of all this? the patience of christ. "but the lord direct your hearts into the love of god and into the _patience of christ_" ( thess. iii: ). with these words paul exhorted the thessalonian believers. they had many trials and difficulties. they suffered persecutions and were troubled. false alarms had affected their patience of hope in the lord jesus christ. the inspired exhortation puts before their hearts the patience of christ. comfort and joy, encouragement and peace, would surely come to their hearts and strengthen them, if they remembered and entered into the patience of christ. and who can describe or speak fully and worthily of the patience of our blessed lord! it includes so much. all his moral glory and divine perfections are concealed and revealed in this word. the word patience has a wide meaning. it means more than we generally express by it. submission, endurance in meekness, waiting in faith, quietness, contentment, composure, forebearance, suffering in calmness, calmness in suffering; all and more is contained in the one word, patience. and such patience in all its fulness and perfection the son of god exhibited in his earthly life. whenever we look in the gospels, we behold this calm, quiet, restful patience. his whole life here on earth is but a continued record of patience. in patience his childhood was spent, and when in his twelfth year the glory of his deity flashed forth we read "he went down with them, and came to nazareth, and was subject unto them." in patience, he whose mighty power had called the universe in existence, toiled on, content in nazareth, submissive to the father, till after many years the day would come, when the work he had come to do should be begun and finished. to describe that patience during his public ministry from nazareth, where he had been brought up, to golgotha, would necessitate a close scrutiny of every step of the way, every act and every utterance which came from his holy lips. what discoveries of his grace and moral glory we make, if under the guidance of his spirit we meditate on his life here below. humility and submission under god, patient waiting on him, utter absence of all haste, perfect calmness of soul and every other characteristic of perfect patience, we can trace constantly in that wonderful life. what patience is revealed in the forty days in the wilderness, when he hungered and was with the wild beasts (mark i: ). when satan tempted him and asked for stones to be made bread, he exhibited still his patience. in his service, that marvellous service rendered by the perfect servant, no ambitiousness or ostentatiousness can ever be discovered. he pleased not himself but him who sent him. he was constantly going about doing the father's will. his kindness and love were rewarded by rejection and insults, yet no complaint or murmur ever came from his lips. he was always trusting in god, perfectly calm, perfectly satisfied. and how his patience shines out in dealing with men. what patience he had with his disciples and how he bore with them in love. they were slow learners. what patience and tenderness in his conversation with her, whom he had sought, the woman at samaria's well. and greatest above all his patience in suffering. he endured the cross. when he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. ( pet. ii: ). he was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he was brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before his shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. all the buffetings, shame, dishonors, griefs, pains and sorrows he patiently endured. oh! the patience of christ, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame! and into this patience of christ our hearts are to be directed. it is to be the object of our contemplation and to be followed by us, who belong to him. the patience of christ must be manifested in our lives. for even hereunto were ye called, because christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps. his humility, submissiveness, contentment, calmness, patience in endurance, in doing and suffering the will of god, must be reproduced in our lives. but how little we know of it in reality. impatience is the leading characteristic of the closing days of this present evil age. it is alas! but too prominently seen among god's people who are influenced by the present day currents. how little true waiting on the lord and for the lord is practiced! how much reaching out after the things which are but for a moment and which will soon perish! in consequence there is but little enjoyment of that which is the glorious and eternal portion of the saints of god. how great the haste and hurry of present day life! how little quietness and contentment! in suffering and loss, murmurings, fault-finding and words of forced resignation are more frequently heard than joyful songs of praise. unrest instead of rest, discontent instead of contentment, anxiety instead of simple trust, self exaltation instead of self abnegation, ambitiousness instead of lowliness of mind are found on all sides among those who name the name of christ and who carry his life in their hearts. and why? your heart, dear reader, is so often out of touch with christ. you lose sight of him. his spirit is grieved and in consequence there is failure and the impatience of the flesh. return, oh my soul, unto thy rest! direct, o lord, our hearts into the patience of christ. the patience of christ. he is still the patient christ. rejected by the world he has taken his place upon the father's throne. there he waits until his enemies are made his footstool. long ago, in our human reckoning, he entered there. long ago the father said to him, "ask of me and i will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost part of the earth for thy possession" (ps. ii: ). up to now he has not yet asked the father. when he asks it will mean judgment for this world. in infinite patience he has waited and waited in the presence of god. and all this time he has carried on his work as the priest and advocate of his people who live on earth. with what tenderness and patience he has dealt with all who lived in the past centuries. his mighty power kept them and now they are at home with him. the same patience he manifests towards us. how often we have failed him and walked in the flesh instead of walking in the spirit. we came to him and confessed and then we found him so loving towards us. but ere long we failed again and in his loving patience his arms were again around us. and thus a hundred times. he changeth not. he is the same loving, patient lord towards his own in glory as he was on earth. "he shall not be discouraged," the prophet declared. even so his patience knows no discouragement. in all the dishonor done to his holy, worthy name, he endures patiently. he is silent to all what is done by his enemies. the patience of christ. may the lord grant us his patience. john said to himself, "i am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and _patience_ of jesus christ" (rev. i: ). to that kingdom and patience of jesus christ of which john speaks of belonging we belong. the martyrs belonged to it. afflictions, persecutions and sufferings were their part. they are ours. in humility, in endurance, unflinching courage, in the patience of christ, let us suffer with him, share his reproach until his glory is revealed. he shall not keep silent. the heavens have long been silent. it is one of the leading characteristics of this present age, the closed, the silent heavens. but they will not be silent forever. "our god shall come and shall not keep silence" (ps. i: ). in his divine patience the lord has been at the right hand of god for nearly two thousand years. he will not occupy that place forever. it is not his permanent station to be upon the father's throne. he has the promise of his own throne, which he as the king-priest must occupy. nearly two thousand years have gone since he passed through the heavens and during that time he has been rejected by the world. every possible dishonor, insult and shame has been heaped upon his holy head through the instrumentality of the enemy, the devil. never before has the rejection of the man in glory been so pronounced, so radical, so blasphemous as now. those who love the lord jesus christ are constantly seized by an unspeakable grief on account of these awful denials of the christ of god and an horror as well. and still he patiently waits. but he will not always wait. his patience will some day be exhausted. he will pray his unprayed prayer in glory and ask of the father the nations and the uttermost parts of the earth. the father will then send the firstborn back to this earth. when he comes in visible glory to this earth it will mean the day of vengeance. the vengeance of god will fall upon his enemies. all the christ rejecters, the wicked men and women who received not the love of the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness, the enemies of the cross of christ, though they lived amiable lives (one of satan's pet phrases), will meet him not as the patient lamb, but the judge, the lion of the tribe of judah. what will it be when his patience is ended? what will it be when the kingdom and the patience of jesus christ give way to the kingdom and glory of jesus christ? rapidly the day is nearing when the lord jesus christ will be completely rejected. as long as the true church is still here this complete rejection is an impossibility. but the church will some day leave this earth. then conditions are ripe for the complete rejection of the christ and the reception of antichrist who will then appear. and when the beast is worshipped (rev. xiii) and the world defies god and his anointed as never before, when the nations of apostate christendom stand in battle array (rev. xix: ), then he will come as the king whose patience is ended and claim his kingdom. what will it mean when his patience is ended? who can describe it? what judgments will fall then upon a wicked world and be meted out upon the enemies of christ? the day of vengeance is rapidly approaching. it is the day of vengeance for the world. it is the day of the glory of christ. it is the day of the glory of the saints. it is the day of your glory as a believer. let us suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. let us be patient as long as he is patient. "be ye also patient; establish your hearts for the coming of the lord draweth nigh. grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned; behold the judge standeth before the door" (james v: , ). in his patience pray for the unsaved. preach the gospel, give out the gospel, send the gospel, give for the gospel, live the gospel. a little while longer and his patience will end. trusting in the lord thy god, onward go. holding fast his faithful word, onward go. not denying his worthy name, though it brings reproach and shame, spreading still his wondrous fame, onward go. has he said the end is near? onward go. serving him with holy fear, onward go. christ thy portion, christ thy stay-- heavenly bread upon the way, leading on to glorious day-- onward go. the love of christ. the patience of christ was recently the object of our meditation in these pages. blessed and inexhaustible it is. and now a still greater theme is before our hearts. the love of christ. the heart almost shrinks from attempting to write on the matchless, unfathomable love of our blessed and adorable lord. all the saints of god who have spoken and written on the love of christ have never told out its fulness and vastness, its heights and its depths. "the love of christ which passeth knowledge" (ephesians iii: ). and yet we _do_ know the love of christ. while we cannot fully grasp that mighty, eternal love our hearts can enjoy it and we can ever know more of it. and he himself whose love is set upon us wants us to drink constantly of the ocean of his never-changing love and receive new tokens, new glimpses of it. surely his own blessed spirit, though one feels so insufficient for such an object, will guide us in our meditation. he is with us and in us to glorify him and take of the things of christ to show them unto us. the love of christ, the holy spirit ever longs to make known and to impart to our poor and feeble hearts. the love of our lord is an eternal love. it is not a thing of time. it antedates the foundation of the world. "his gracious eye surveyed us ere stars were seen above." he as the son of god in the bosom of god was the object of love. "thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world" (john xvii: ). and then he knew us and his love was even then set upon us, before we ever were in existence. he knew our sinfulness, our enmity, our vileness, and in love which passeth knowledge he looked forward to the time, when he would manifest this love to us his fallen creatures. "such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high i cannot attain unto it" (psalm cxxxix: ). it was love which brought him down from the glory, which he had with god. what love to come into this dark, sin-cursed world, a world full of enemies. what love to leave that bright and glorious home and appear as man, made of a woman entering this world he had called into existence. and there was no room for him in the inn. it passeth knowledge. and then that life, which he lived on earth, was lived in that mighty love. "a love that led thee here below to tread a lonely path in grace, to pass through sorrow, grief and woe, the portion of a ruin'd race." what love we see in him, in every step of that lonely path! what compassion, what tenderness in every action in every word we discover, ever new and fresh, in that blessed life of god's unspeakable gift. wherever we look we behold that love. loving compassion rested upon the multitudes; with love he compassed the poor, the sinful, the oppressed, the heartsick and the outcast. love carried the weak and failing men, who had believed on him, his disciples. a blessed word it is, which stands in the beginning of the thirteenth chapter in the gospel of john. "having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end." his love for his own was expressed by serving them. he pleased not himself but had come to minister. he then girded himself and began to wash the disciples' feet. what humiliation! yet it was the fruit of love. all he did was born of love. his was on earth a constant, a never-tiring, an enduring love. all the selfishness of his disciples could not quench that love. nothing could quench his love for his own. nothing will ever quench it. peter denied him. "and the lord turned and looked upon peter" (luke xxii: ). was it a look of reproach? was it a frown of displeasure which peter saw in that beloved face? far from it. love in its divine perfection shone out of the eyes of the son of god. and after his resurrection that love was still the same. there was no reproach connected with the restoration of peter to service. in the greatest tenderness and love he committed to his disciple, who had so shamefully denied him, the lambs and sheep so dear to his own loving heart. again we say, that love passeth knowledge. how could man's imagination and invention ever have produced such a loving person as our lord, revealing the perfection of divine love! but there is greater love than the love which we behold in his blessed life on earth. the greater love is manifested when he laid down his life. he came into the world to die, to be the propitiation for our sins. he came to take our place on the cross. he came to drink the cup of wrath in our stead and suffer the awful penalty of our sins. "for when we were yet without strength, in due time christ died for the ungodly. for scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. _but god commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, christ died for us_." god in love gave thus his son, and he gave himself in love. from shame to shame, from suffering to suffering, from pain to pain and agony to agony that love went on to plunge into the deepest sorrow, to reach at last the place where his loving lips had to cry "my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?" "to death of shame thy love did reach, god's holy judgment then to bear; ah, lord, what human tongue can teach _or tell the love that brought thee there_." ah! what human tongue can teach or tell the love that brought thee there! it passeth knowledge. but with loving, praising hearts, in worship and adoration we can look up to that cross on which the prince of glory died and say with paul, "he loved me, he gave himself for me." and again we join with the innumerable hosts of his own redeemed in the glory song. "unto him that loveth us and washed us from our sins in his own blood and hath made us kings and priests unto god and his father, to him be glory and dominion forever. amen." and beloved reader, that love which knew you and us all before we ever existed, that love which came from glory for you, that love which went into the jaws of death, endured the cross and despised the shame, that love which gave so willingly, gave as we can never give, that love is still the same. it changes not. his love knows no fluctuations. that perfect love cannot grow cold or indifferent. we all had our first love; when first we saw him with the eyes of faith, how our hearts were enraptured. how soon that love began to grow cold and decreased instead of increased. then our walk and service became affected for thus it must ever be when the heart is not responding to his love and not in living, loving touch with himself. oh! the weeks and months and years of our christian experience spent without the full enjoyment of his love and presence. but has this changed his love? has our unfaithfulness, our waywardness, our failure and backsliding affected his love? no. he is the same loving lord, the same loving christ who has borne us and yearned over us, who has prayed for us and kept us. whenever we turn to him with broken hearts, confessing our sins, when in shame we hide our faces and tell him all our failures, we find him still the same loving lord as he was when his loving eyes rested upon peter. oh! how he must love us! how he must love us, with that love which passeth knowledge. what treasures that love contains! exhaustless it is ever flowing full and free towards his own. how it must grieve him to see us so indifferent, neither hot nor cold. how it must grieve him that we enjoy this love so little that we permit that love so little to serve us and give him so little opportunity to manifest his mighty love towards us. alas! we even mistrust that love. when suffering and loss overtake us, when instead of prosperity adversity is our lot, we doubt that love. fears and anxieties are nothing less than an impeachment of the love, which passeth knowledge. his love will never fail. he will see us safe home. let the forces of the enemy roar, let trials and troubles come, his love will keep us. his love is our eternal portion. "for i am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of god, which is in christ jesus our lord." and soon he will have us with himself. the church he loved, for which he gave himself, the church he sanctified by the washing of water, this church he will present to himself a glorious church (eph. v: - ). even while on earth he made known his loving purpose, for he prayed, "the glory, which thou hast given me i have given to them." it is his love which will make us sharers of his own glory and inheritance. what that love will do then! how we shall drink deeper of that love, than we ever could drink here! oh the depths of the love to be fathomed in all eternity! oh the length and breadth and height to be measured! it can never, no never be exhausted. o, child of god, is not thy poor wandering heart beginning to be warmed? is the warmth of his love, the love of christ refreshing your soul? thank god for it. it is but a demonstration of his love. and do we not want more of it? do we not need it? all our indifference, our cold heartedness, our prayerlessness, our self indulgences, our inactivity and all else which mars our christian lives, is because we do not have the love of christ before our hearts. if we were constantly enjoying his love and this mighty love would constrain us, what self-sacrificing lives we would live! how we would love one another and in love serve one another. what peace there would be among those of like precious faith. with a better heart knowledge of the love of christ, what joy would be ours in all trials and suffering and with what boldness we would approach the throne of grace and make constant use of our god-given privilege, prayer. the love of christ would lead us on and on in love for souls, in service untiring, and yet the same love too will make us long and pray for his coming. oh god our father, grant unto us all and to all thy people throughout this world a greater, a deeper, a more real knowledge of the love of thine ever blessed son, the love of christ, and fill us through it with all the fulness of god. amen. the joy of the lord. it is written "the joy of the lord is your strength." every child of god knows in some measure what it is to rejoice in the lord. the lord jesus christ must ever be the sole object of the believer's joy, and as eyes and heart look upon him, we, too, like "the strangers scattered abroad" to whom peter wrote shall "rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory" ( pet. i: ). but it is upon our heart to meditate with our beloved readers on the joy of our adorable lord, as his own personal joy. the blessed one when his feet walked on the earth spoke not only of "my peace," but he also spoke of "my joy." while he imparts peace and joy and is the peace and joy of our hearts, he also possesses his own peace and his own joy. "the joy of the lord." there was a time "when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of god shouted for joy" (job xxxviii: ). it was in the beginning when the heavens and the earth were created by him, who is before all things and by whom all things consist, the son of god. with what joy he must have beheld what was called into existence by him and for him (col. i: ). but even before the foundation of the world he had joy. with god, in the bosom of the father love, glory and joy were his eternal portion. all was known to him from the beginning. the fall of satan, the fall of man through satan, the entrance of sin with all its results, the cost price of redemption, the suffering in the flesh on the cross for the redemption of the creature, the multitudes, whom no man can number, redeemed through his work, believing in him, brought to god, united with him, sons and heirs with him, the ultimate victory over all enemies, so that god would be "all in all"--all was known to him. what joy must have filled him when at his incarnation he announced, "lo i come to do thy will o god" (heb. x: , ). and then he came and took upon himself the form of a servant, the first word the heavenly messenger spoke, sent to the virgin to announce the incarnation, was a word of joy. never before had gabriel been sent with such a message. "hail" our english version has it; but the greeting means "joy" or "oh the joy!" and the angel later announced "good tidings of great joy." and that blessed life which was lived upon earth to the glory of god, was a life which knew joy. all along the way from bethlehem to golgotha he had joy before his heart. it is true he wept, he had sufferings, he was tempted, he was ill-treated, cast out, maligned, accused of evil and rejected, but joy filled his heart. his god and father was his joy, yea, his exceeding joy. to do his will, who had sent him was his constant joy. his joy was to walk in confidence, in dependence on him. his father's love and delight, which rested upon him were his joy. "whom have i in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that i desire beside thee" (ps. lxxiii: ). this beautiful word must have been his constant declaration; and that is joy. "i have set the lord always before me" (ps. xvi: ) is another utterance of god's spirit concerning the holy life of god's well beloved son. and that meant joy. the seventy he had sent forth had returned again with joy, because the demons were subject unto them. that is sinful man in carnal rejoicing! some power manifested, some great success fills our proud hearts with joy. but his words told them of a different joy. they were not to rejoice that the spirits submitted to them, but that their names were written in heaven. "in that hour jesus _rejoiced_ in spirit, and said, i thank thee, o father, lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and the prudent, and hast revealed them to babes; even so father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. all things are delivered to me of my father; and no man knoweth who the son is, but the father; and who the father is, but the son, and to whom the son will reveal him" (luke x: , ). thus _he_ rejoiced. in the parable of the treasure in the field he speaks of his joy. the man who has found the treasure, for joy thereof goeth and selleth all he hath, and buyeth that field ( matt. xiii: ). the man in the parable is the lord himself and the field is the world. with joy he gave up all and came down here to buy us back. and all his suffering from man and from satan, the persecutions he suffered from his own people to whom he came were borne by him with joy. he told out his own blessed character in the beatitudes and in speaking of those who are reviled and persecuted, he said, "rejoice, and be exceeding glad." thus he must have borne it all with joy. and then the cross. the cross in which he who knew no sin was made sin for us. he was troubled in his holy soul when he looked towards the cross (john xii: ). in the garden he saw the cross. "and being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (luke xii: ). and yet it is written "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of god" (heb. xii: ). all the suffering put upon him by man, acting under satanic impulses and the shame connected with the cross, he despised, the cross itself he could not despise, but he endured that. the joy was that he saw and knew the full and glorious result of all his work he had come to do. he saw then the travail of his soul and was satisfied. but in that cross there was that suffering, which is unfathomable. god's own hand rested upon him. all his sorrowful complaints as predicted by his own spirit were then fulfilled. "_thou_ hast laid me in the dust of death." "all _thy_ waves and billows go over me." "_thine_ hand has pressed me sore." "_thy_ wrath lieth hard upon me." "_thy_ fierce wrath goeth over me." "_thou_ hast laid me in the lowest pit." thus he suffered from god--smitten and afflicted of god. it pleased the lord to bruise him. then from that cross there came that loud and triumphant cry when he gave his life "it is finished!" oh! what joy must have filled then his soul, when he knew the work is done, all is accomplished. and with equal joy god answered the cry of his well beloved son, when he rent the veil from top to bottom. the risen lord in meeting his disciples greeted them, with the greeting of joy, which gabriel had used. "all hail"--literally, _oh the joy!_ (matt. xxviii: .) what joy must then have filled his loving heart as he met his own again. oh the joy! thus they had mocked him when they crowned him with a crown of thorns and bowed the knee and in derision shouted "all hail"--"rejoice"--"king of the jews." but in the resurrection he shouts "oh the joy!" the victory is won. satan, sin, death and the grave are vanquished. and what joy is his now! what joy will be his ere long! with a shout he went up (ps. xlvii: ). what a joy when he passed through the heavens and as the glorified man he entered the holy of holies! what a joy when the father had the well beloved with him again, and he took his seat at his own right hand. what joy for him and the heavens when glory and honor was put upon him and he was proclaimed throughout the depths of the universe as heir of all things! what joy! all power in heaven and on earth is his. oh the joy! as sinners are saved by grace, whom he redeemed by his blood. and as his body is building he rejoiceth as the bridegroom over the bride. in unspeakable joy he carrieth on his loving, tender, priestly work in behalf of those for whom he died. his joy and delight, as well as his love and his power is with them, who are his. but there is greater joy in the future for him, the man in glory. though even now he _is_ "anointed with the oil of gladness above all his fellows." his joy will increase and be full in the future. another glad shout will be heard when he leaves the father's throne and descends into the air. a shout of triumph and joy it will be, which will open the graves of the saints, which will summon those who remain to meet him in the air. oh the joy at last the travail of his soul will be brought into his presence. oh the joy! he will have us then and we will be with him. with _exceeding joy_ he will present us faultless before the presence of his glory (jud. ). in joy and a glorious triumph he will bring many sons to glory. what joy it will be when he leads forth from heaven's glorious mansions, those who are "god's workmanship created by christ jesus!" then all the world will know and angels shout once more for joy in the full and glorious revelation of the new creation. oh! the joy for him! when israel cries out "blessed is he that cometh in the name of the lord!" oh the joy! when creation sings her songs of praise to him, whose pierced hands have removed the curse. oh! the joy! when nations hear war no more but sing the worth of the king of kings and lay their gifts at his feet. if we could measure all which was accomplished on calvary's cross, then we could also measure his joy, the joy of the lord. reader! if you are saved by grace, one with the lord, then all this is yours. the joy in the lord and the joy of the lord is to be your portion now and in the day of his joy and glory. murmuring, discouraged, tempted, complaining, bereaved, downhearted, halfhearted child of god, ponder over these words. let god's spirit lead you into them. the joy of the lord is to be your portion. it will dispel your gloom. it will end your discouragement. it will give you songs in the night. it will lift you into a holy walk. the joy of the lord can do this. he wants you to possess his joy. "these things have i spoken unto you, and that your joy might be full" (john xv: ). let the holy spirit, who is given to you of god, make the lord jesus christ a greater reality in your life. let the joy of the lord be your joy. rejoice in god, the god and father of our lord jesus christ. let your joy be to do his will. accept all from his hands. rejoice in all things. "rejoice in the lord always, and again i say, rejoice" (phil. iv: ). rejoice and glory in tribulation. "count it all joy when ye fall in divers temptations" (james i: ). having christ, brought nigh to god, a perfect access into his presence, yea the right to come with boldness, a rejoicing and praising spirit should be manifested by us. and look at the joy which is set before us. how it ought to lift us over all the present day trials and temptations and give us victory over the cares and anxieties, the pleasures and deceitful riches of this present evil and fast closing age. "enter thou into the joy of _thy_ lord." this _is_ our blessed and glorious future. we shall share his future joy as we shall share his glory. and it is but a little while longer and weeping, which endured for the night, will give way to the _joy of the morning_. "this same jesus." "and he led them out as far as to bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. and it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. and they worshipped him, and returned to jerusalem with great joy and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing god" (luke xxiv: - ). something else is reported in the first chapter in the book of acts in connection with the return of our blessed lord to the father. "and while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, which also said, ye men of galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? _this same jesus_, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven". (acts i: - ). this blessed message must have been the reason why they returned to jerusalem with _great_ joy. instead of tears and sorrow at that parting there was joy, because they knew and believed that he who had said "i will come again and receive you unto myself," this same jesus would come for them. what a blessed truth it is that the same jesus, the same lord who walked on earth, who spoke such words of infinite love and tenderness, who wept, healed the sick, raised the dead and commanded the demons, who calmed the storm, who had gone to the cross to die that awful death in our stead--that this same jesus, raised from the dead, is now in the presence of god for us and our advocate with the father. it is the same loving, tender, caring, mighty lord and saviour, who is there and this same jesus, not another, will come again. the reality of this filled the disciples with joy. they knew he had left them, they knew he lived and that he would come again. this knowledge gave them power to witness and to walk in holiness. the reality of this fills still the believing heart with joy and leads as well as keeps in the blessed faith life of fellowship with himself, into which we have been called by the grace of god. the heart of the believer under the control of the holy spirit has but one desire. it is to know him and know him better. other desires for blessings may come up, but that life which is in the believer ever reaches out after himself who is our life. "that i may know him" was the passion of that wonderful man, who knew him so well (phil. iii: ). and it is just heart knowledge of this same jesus in his loveliness, his patience, his power, his glory, in all his blessed fullness, which we need the most and through this all other needs are met. look up then in faith, child of god, he who is altogether lovely, whose perfect ways of love and grace, were so blessedly made known in his life down here, this same jesus, with all the tenderness of infinite love, the love that never grows cold, is with the father. jesus christ, the same, yesterday, to-day and forever. the disciples heard him pray his great prayer before he went to the cross (john xvii). as they listened to his words addressed to the father, they learned as never before, how dear they all were to him. how he loved them, cared for them, what he had done for them, would continue to do and what their future would be. and whenever we read these words in his high priestly prayer, we can hear him still pray. we know that love for us cannot change; that prayer to keep does not fail; that concern, so deep and gracious, in all who belong to him is unchanged, for it is "this same jesus," who intercedes for us, whose loving eyes watch our going in and our going out, our walk down here. oh! for the reality of this! this same blessed lord is with us, for us, above us. we can count on his unchanging love. we can count on his power. the reality of the person of our exalted lord keeps us down here. oh, draw near, beloved reader, for it is your privilege, your calling, to know him and to enjoy him. his heart is never satisfied unless you drink deep of his love and you lie in blessed dependence at his feet. have you failed him? are days, weeks, perhaps months of wandering your past, days in which you grieved him? return, oh return! it is "this same jesus" who at the lake of tiberias so tenderly restored peter and who waits for thy return. and "this same jesus" comes again. if the joy was so great when he left, because the heavenly messengers gave the good news that this same jesus is coming again, what will be the joy when he _does_ come! he comes as saviour, which is the meaning of his blessed name. "for our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the saviour, the lord jesus christ, who shall change our body of humiliation, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body" (phil. iii: - ). the glorious appearing of the great god and our saviour jesus christ who gave himself for us, will some day take place. and when he comes into the air and gives the shout, he will be "this same jesus." when we are caught up in clouds to meet him in the air we shall meet _him_, the same blessed person, who walked on this earth, who died on the cross, who in his unchanging love kept and carried us and called us home. we shall see him as he is. he comes, this same jesus, to take us to be with him. what will be his joy then when all his blood-washed, redeemed people are at last with him! then this same jesus who bore our sins in his own body on the tree will bestow upon us his glory, the glory the father has given him. reader! is it even now before you such a living reality, this same jesus--is coming again; coming to take us all into the father's house with its many mansions, to the place whose portals were opened with his own blood! and how soon it may be that we shall see him and be with him! if an angelic message were brought to-day to all christians, we said recently in a meeting, and that message would state in terms unmistakably, one week more and the lord jesus christ comes, one week more and we shall see him; what would be the result? we can imagine the eagerness with which all would begin to serve and reach out after the unsaved; what self-denials and boldness we would behold! how all the earthly things, the childish things, the playthings of the dust, would lose their attractiveness. then heaven's glory would break upon us. but such a message is not promised to us. it is nowhere said that it will take place. no angel will come to announce the time when "this same jesus" comes to call us home. the fact is god has told us in his word, that his ever blessed son will come and that he will come suddenly. he may come _to-day_. he may call us home before another morning comes. and if we believe it we shall walk in expectation and in separation. the lord graciously revive the blessed hope in our hearts and through it make us holy in our lives, zealous for the gospel, untiring in service and loving towards all the saints. the wondrous cross. who can tell out the story of the cross! there was a time when we thought we knew much of it; but oh! the depths, the wonderful depths of the cross and the work accomplished there, which constantly break in upon the heart, as one meditates on the cross. one who knew the cross, whose eyes were filled with all its glory, because he beheld him, who hung on the cross, in highest glory has told us "but god forbid that i should glory, save in the cross of our lord jesus christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and i unto the world." crucified unto the world. dead to the world and to sin are the blessed effects of the cross. some time ago while remembering the lord on the lord's day we sang a familiar hymn: when we survey the wondrous cross on which the lord of glory died, our richest gain we count but loss, and pour contempt on all our pride. how true!--contempt must be poured on all our pride when one beholds that sight, the cross on which the lord of glory died. but is it so, "and pour contempt on all our pride?" and when we sang the second verse its truth came home still more to the conscience: forbid it, lord, that we should boast, save in the death of christ, our god; all the vain things that charm us most, we'd sacrifice them to his blood. how true! if such a one died to deliver us out of this present evil age then the vain things that charm us most, not the sinful things, must be relinquished. but is it really so--all the vain things that charm us most--we'd sacrifice them to his blood? there from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flowed mingled down; did e'er such love and sorrow meet, or thorns compose so rich a crown? were the whole realm of nature ours, that were an off'ring far too small; love that transcends our highest powers demands our soul, our life, our all. and then once more the heart said, how true! marvelous sight the lord of glory on that cross for me! forsaken of god, paying the penalty of my sins, drinking the cup of wrath, untasted by me. such love surely demands our soul, our life, our all. but is it so? how often we sing these blessed truths and our lives are strangers to them. god grant that we may live out the truth of the cross in our lives. may the deliverance, the victory, the power of his cross be manifested in our lives. dead to the world and the world dead to me. his legacy. blessed and ever precious are the words, which came from the lips of our loving lord, before he went to the cross. his own were gathered around him; before he ever comforted them and poured out his loving heart, he manifested that love by serving them. he arose from the supper, laid aside his garments, took a towel and girded himself. what a sight the son of god girded! "after that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded" (john xiii: ). it was a great symbolical action. he who stooped so low to wash the feet of his sinful creatures is the same who declared in the old testament "thou hast made me to serve with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thine iniquities" (isaiah xliii: ). the washing typifies the service our beloved lord renders to his saints in cleansing them from defilement; it is "the washing of water by the word." and thus he continues in loving service till at last all his redeemed people are brought home into the presence of the throne and "the sea of glass like unto crystal" (rev. iv: ) where no more defilement is possible and no more washing is needed. many and blessed are the words, which then flowed from his lips, after judas had gone out into the dark night. only he could speak thus. thousands upon thousands, countless multitudes have been fed upon his gracious, comforting words and have been strengthened and upheld. their careful and refreshing power is undiminished. like himself his words are eternal and inexhaustible. the father's house with its many mansions, the fact of his personal return, the gift of the other comforter, who came to abide with and in his own, the promises concerning prayer and assurance that the father himself loves them and many other precious truths were spoken by him ere he left the world to go to the father. at that time he gave his blessed legacy. "_peace i leave with you, my peace i give unto you_" (john xiv: ). and the last word he spoke to his disciples before he uttered that marvelous high priestly prayer, contains also the assurance of peace. "these things have i spoken unto you, that _in me_ ye might have _peace_. in the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer i have overcome the world" (john xvi: ). the adorable lord came to this poor sin cursed earth, a world of sinners and enemies of god by wicked works to make peace. the great work of reconciliation was effected on the cross. by his death on the cross the enemies of god, believing in him, became reconciled to god. he made peace through the blood of his cross (col. i: ). as believing sinners we are justified and _have_ peace with god through our lord jesus christ. not our walk or service, not our faith or repentance or anything we have done or are doing is the ground of peace with god, but what christ has done for us. yea he himself is our peace. and because _he_ is our peace, it is a peace which can never be undone or unsettled. oh, the peace forever flowing from god's thoughts of his own son! oh, the peace of simply knowing on the cross that all was done! peace with god, the blood in heaven speaks of pardon now to me: peace with god! the lord is risen! righteousness now counts me free. when all was finished, the mighty victory over sin, satan, death and the grave had been gained, when every foe had been met and fully conquered, the blessed victor appeared in the midst of his beloved disciples. it was on "the same day" the day when he arose, when the mighty power of god opened the grave, on the same day, he suddenly stood in their midst. the doors were shut. the disciples were full of fears and doubts. thomas was not there at all. all at once their eyes beheld him once more who had been crucified, had died and was buried. "peace be unto you!" this heavenly greeting came from his lips and soothed their sorrows, cleared their doubts and dispelled their fears. and he who stood thus in their midst was the same whom gideon had seen and who answered his fears with "peace be unto you; fear not" (judges vi: ). jehovah is peace; he is our peace. on the glad and glorious resurrection day the gracious lord appeared in their midst and proclaimed peace to them. but he also showed them his hands and his side. the marks of the nails and of the spear were seen there. they are the evidences of his death for his people. but he who was dead is risen and lives evermore. ah! that is peace! the christ who died for our sins, who is risen and is in god's own presence is our peace. would we enjoy that peace in a greater sense and have it more real, then let us just have himself, the person as the object of our hearts. "then were the disciples glad, when they saw the lord." nothing could make them glad aside from the lord himself. alas! that some of god's people try to find joy and peace in their service, experiences, knowledge of truth. dear souls, it is the lord only, who gives us peace and gladness. but the blessed legacy of our lord is not so much the peace with god, as it is "his own peace." the peace which he possessed while on earth, that peace like a majestic river, ever flowing on in silence with not a moment's interruption. his own peace, he bequeathed to his own. what a peace was his! what restfulness the divinely reported scenes of that blessed life breathe! we have written before on his patience, his joy and his love, the love which passeth knowledge. how much might be written too on "his peace." but not half could ever be told. what calmness we see wherever we look. the threatening multitudes did not disturb him, nor did the fierce storm on the galilean sea; peacefully he rested in sleep, while the angry waves tossed the little ship aside and the terror-stricken disciples awoke him. they cried "lord, save us; we perish." and then his eyes opened and in loving tenderness he said unto them, "why are ye so fearful, o ye of little faith?" _then_ he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea and there was a great calm. ah! poor human heart! how canst thou ever doubt with such a lord at thy side! and this peace which was his constant portion, was the result of a constant communion with god. his meat and drink was to do the will of him that sent him. that calm, unruffled peace was the fruit of his constant trust in god and dependence on him. and this peace he wants us to enjoy. in a world full of tribulation, anxiety and care, a world full of increasing evils, conflicts and sufferings, he wants us to have his own peace. the enjoyment of this peace of our lord jesus christ depends on our communion with god and the realization of our union with him. on that blessed evening of the resurrection day the lord spoke a second time, "peace be unto you." why should he repeat the same greeting? the words which follow explain this. "as my father hath sent me, even so send i you" (john xx: ). as christians saved by grace and in christ we are sent by him as he was sent by the father. as we realize this and walk under him, as we set the lord always before our eyes and our life's aim is to do _his_ will and not our own, to please him and not ourselves, to serve him and not man, to let him plan and not we ourselves, to be nothing instead of something, to be in the dust instead of exalted, then shall we enjoy his legacy "his own peace." he wants us to have it. he wants us to be kept in perfect peace. are we willing to have it? and what else honors our absent lord more than a life which manifests his peace. what pleases the father more than to behold his children reminding him by their lives of dependence and peace, the result of the rest of faith, of his own blessed son. and the holy spirit, who produces all this in us will ever lead us on in the fuller enjoyment of the peace of our lord jesus christ. we must expect in the coming days greater tests of faith, greater conflicts, greater trials. it cannot be otherwise in these perilous times. we must not expect anything else. but he can and will keep us. "thou wilt keep him in _perfect peace_, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." and ere long the god of peace will bruise satan completely under our feet. what joy--oh what joy awaits us when we shall see him face to face, who is our peace. "they that trust him wholly find him wholly true." "our god is able." what have i to do with idols? much is said in reproof of ephraim by the prophet hosea. all the wicked dealings and defilement of ephraim is uncovered--and the lord said: "i will be unto ephraim as a lion." again jehovah said: "ephraim is like a cake not turned." "ephraim is like a silly dove without heart." "ephraim hath made many altars to sin." "ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone." but all reproof and chastisement did not bring ephraim back. nothing seemed to be able to draw ephraim's heart away from the idols. at the close of the prophet hosea, however, ephraim is made to speak and a significant word it is. "ephraim shall say, what have i to do any more with idols? i have heard him, and observed him; i am like a green fir tree. from me is thy fruit found" (xiv: ). a familiar yet blessed truth is contained in this statement. ephraim dealt with by judgments after the severe rebukes of the lord could not let go the idols. joined to idols, the lord said, "let him alone." but the day was to come when ephraim would willingly forsake all idols and cry out, "what have i any more to do with idols?" and what brought about ephraim's conversion? ephraim heard him and observed him. the sight of the lord, his love and tenderness, his patience and kindness beheld in faith, was enough for ephraim to forsake all idols and cleave to him alone. thus ephraim became like a green fir tree. and this is still true to-day. there is no other way to be separated from idols and walk wholly with the lord than ephraim's way. why are god's people joined to idols? why are christians half-hearted, conformed to this present evil age, given to covetousness, which is idolatry (col. iii: )? there is but one answer. our hearts do not listen to that blessed voice, which delights to speak to those who belong to him. our eyes do not look upon him in all his glory and beauty. we lose sight of him who is altogether lovely. our minds instead of being occupied with the things of christ are centered upon earthly things. our thoughts are so little brought into captivity to the obedience of christ and are controlled by our own imaginations and the spirit of the times. there is no other way of being delivered from idols, from everything which would draw us away from himself and all which hinders from giving to him the pre-eminence. that way is heart occupation with our lord, conscious communion with him through his word in the power of his spirit. we must hear him, we must observe him. then he appears to our hearts in all his lowliness, in all his majesty and glory, and that vision will be enough to disgust us with the playthings of the dust and he will become the supreme object of our lives. there is no other way to practical holiness than hearing him and observing him. hast thou heard him, seen him, known him? is not thine a captured heart? "chief among ten thousand" own him, joyful choose the better part. idols once they won thee, charmed thee, lovely things of time and sense; gilded, thus does sin disarm thee, honey'd lest thou turn thee thence. what has stript the seeming beauty from the idols of the earth? not the sense of right or duty, but the sight of peerless worth. not the crushing of those idols, with its bitter void and smart, but the beaming of his beauty, the unveiling of his heart. who extinguishes their taper till they hail the rising sun? who discards the garb of winter till the summer has begun? 'tis that look that melted peter, 'tis that face that stephen saw, 'tis that heart that wept with mary. can alone from idols draw-- draw, and win, and _fill completely_, till the cup o'erflow the brim; what have we to do with idols, who have companied with him? reader! gaze afresh in that lovely face of transcendent beauty. think of his great love for you, his never-changing love, his eternal love. follow the dictates of that new nature grace has given to you and have the lord constantly before your eyes and heart. anything less will lead you to idols. what have i to do any more with idols? i have heard him and observed him. the never changing one. "jesus christ the same yesterday, and to-day and forever" (heb. xiii: ). blessed truth and precious assurance for us poor, weak creatures, yea, among all his creatures the most changing; _he_ changeth not. "for i am the lord, i change not" (mal. iii: ). "of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands. they shall all perish, but thou shalt endure: yea all of them shall wax old like a garment, as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed; but thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end" (psalm cii: - and heb. i: - ). the above blessed statement puts him before our hearts as the unchanging son of god, the solid rock of ages. it is a verse which is like himself, infinite, inexhaustible. our adorable lord is here mentioned as having a past, a present and a future, a yesterday, to-day and a forever. this epistle at the close of which we find this word gives us a definition of the yesterday, the today and the forever of the son of god. he is the true god; he had never the beginning of days, a yesterday, a past without a beginning. by him the worlds were made. he is the effulgence of his glory and the expression of his substance (heb. i: ). his yesterday is eternity; his goings forth are from old, from everlasting (micah v: ). and in that yesterday, in the bosom of the father, the great plan of redemption was blessedly known. oh! what a love that knew all and was ever ready to give all to carry out that wonderful scheme. "wherefore coming into the world, he says, sacrifice and offering thou willedst not; but thou hast prepared me a body. thou hadst no pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin. then i said, lo, i come, in the roll of the book it is written of me, to do, o god, thy will" (heb. x: - ). and then he came to manifest the eternal love of god. he came in the form of a servant; he, whose yesterday is eternity, was made a little lower than the angles (heb. ii: ). and while on earth he was the same as in eternity. he showed his power as the creator, over nature, disease and death. though in humiliation, the son of god had glory, yet it was hidden. how blessed it is to trace his way while on earth and what love, mercy, patience, meekness, humility, peace and much more we find here. and then his great work of redemption. it behooved him in all things to be made like unto "his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to god to make propitiation for the sins of the people (heb. ii: ). who in the days of his flesh having offered up both supplications and entreaties to him, who was able to save him out of death; with strong crying and tears (having been heard because of his piety); though he were son yet learned obedience from the things he suffered; and having been perfected, became to all of them that obey him, author of eternal salvation" (v: - ). in his yesterday he made purification of sins; he put away sin by sacrificing himself. he fulfilled the eternal will of god, by which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of jesus christ once for all. and this epistle likewise speaks of his "today," the present of himself. his "to-day" began with the opened tomb, that blessed, glorious resurrection morn. he is the great shepherd of the sheep brought again from the dead, our lord jesus christ (xiii: ). he is the appointed heir of all things, on the right hand of the majesty on high, taking a place so much better than the angels, as he inherits a name more excellent than they (heb. i: - ). he is addressed by god as high priest according to the order of melchisedec (v: ). we gaze into the opened heavens and we see jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor (ii: ). now a summary of the things of which we are speaking is: we have such a one high priest who has sat down at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens; minister of the holy places and the true tabernacle, which the lord has pitched and not man (vii: ). he has a priesthood unchangeable. whence also he is able to save to the uttermost those who approach by him to god, always living to intercede for them (viii: ). for the christ is not entered into holy places made with hands, figures of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of god for us (ix: ). but, he having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down in perpetuity at the right hand of god, waiting from henceforth until his enemies are made his footstool (x: ). such and much more is his "to-day." all power in heaven and on earth is given to him. his "forever" will begin when he leaves the father's throne and when he is brought into the world again, when all things are to be subjected under his feet and he will be in the fullest exercise of his melchisedec priesthood, a priest upon his throne. and in all, yesterday, in the days of his humiliation, to-day upon the father's throne as our advocate and priest, in his glorious future, upon his own throne he is the same, the mighty jehovah, who changeth not, the alpha and the omega, the first and the last. he is the unmovable rock, no storms, no changes can move the rock upon which we stand, and though heaven and earth pass away neither he, the living, eternal word, nor his written word will change. his power, his grace, his love, his patience, is kindness, his sympathy is ever the same towards his own beloved people, who have trusted in him and share his life. having loved his own, who are in the world, and loved them to the end (john xiii: ); and that end is eternity. in the beginning of the last book of the bible, we hear the voice of the holy spirit in the church, worshipping him, in that matchless outburst "unto him that loved us and has washed us from our sins in his own blood." but it does not say "loved," but it reads "unto him that _loveth_ us." the love he has for his own is an abiding, an unchanging love. oh to think more of that love, that changeless love, which passeth knowledge! and how true it is what a saint has sung long ago: "oh! i am weary of my love, that doth so little t'wards thee move; yet do i constantly groan, to know the depth of all thine own. that groan, sweet spirit, is from thee, nor self-begotten e'er can be; no natural heart, oh lord, of mine could long to lose itself in thine. o love of loves, for me that died; the love of jesus crucified! who lowly took his part with me, that i as _one_ with him might be. loved, and for ever on thy throne adored, and loved, thou changeless one; thou wilt thro' one eternal day, the height and depth of all display." meanwhile, thou precious, wondrous lamb content--at least with this i am, to count my love too mean to own, and know but thine--"_thy love alone_." and yet how often we doubt that love and by fear, when we have come short or fallen in sin, insult that mighty changeless love. how often, too, when trials are upon us and we suffer, we lose sight of him, the unchanging one, who loves his own to the end, and deep down in the heart there is unrest, anxiety, as if some evil could come upon us. our weakness, our imperfections, our failures and our sins do not change his love and his grace. as he was yesterday with his own and kept them, carried them, was their strength, their help, their refuge and their safe hiding place, their peace and their comfort, so is he to-day, so will he be forever. and in faith we can bring it stiller nearer to our hearts. he is for each the same loving, sympathizing, caring, interested saviour, friend and lord. he who helped you yesterday, whose love was about you in the past, who has not left you since he found you for a single moment, is the same to-day, and will never be anything less. he will keep each member of his body, he will carry, he will lead onward, and with his unchanging love and power deal with each, as it pleases him. oh that we might cast ourselves more upon him and spend the remainder of our days here (how few indeed!) in a more utter dependence upon him, trusting him, the changeless one. oh for a closer walk with him in these evil days and to taste more of his love, his unchanging love. how happy, restful, without care and anxiety god's people _might_ be if only their hearts were fixed upon him who is the same yesterday, to-day and forever. alas! how often the things seen are more real to us as the real things, the things unseen. what a joy it ought to be to our hearts to follow him now, to learn over and over again that he is the same, who changeth not, to find his power and strength as of old manifested in behalf of his beloved people. be of good cheer. "be of good cheer; it is i; be not afraid" (matthew xiv: ). "let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in god believe also in me. in my father's house are many mansions; if it were not so i would have told you. i go to prepare a place for you. and if i go to prepare a place for you, i will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where i am, there ye may be also" (john xiv: - ). "peace i leave with you, my peace i give unto you; not as the world giveth, give i unto you. let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid" (john xiv: ). "in the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, i have overcome the world" (john xvi: ). "father, i will that they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where i am" (john xvii: ). "lo, i am with you alway, even unto the end of the age" (matthew xxviii: ). "he hath said i will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (hebrews xiii: ). "fear not, i am the first and the last; i am he that liveth and was dead and behold i am alive forevermore, amen; and i have the keys of hades and of death" (rev. i: , ). "behold i come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (rev. iii: ). "surely i come quickly. amen" (rev. xxii. ). these precious words of comfort and cheer came from his loving heart and lips. may we take hold of them. how well it is to remember his words and himself. how worthy he is; the mighty, the loving, the adorable lord! how he loveth us his own, how he careth for us, is mindful of us and carrieth us, no heart can fully understand, no pen describe. how he came from heaven's glory long ago, how he the one, who was rich, became poor for our sakes and died on the cross, that we might share eternal riches and glory with him, is the old story, which never grows old. it is as fresh and new to the believing heart as it ever has been. and he who bought us with his own blood, loveth and carrieth us his poor, weak and sinning people with such love and infinite patience. the past years of our christian lives, so all of us must confess, have been filled with many failures. but as we come to him with our failures, our sins, our burdens, we find him the same loving, tender saviour. ah! who can measure the depths of his love! he will never cease loving those, who have accepted him as their saviour and whom he has accepted as his own. in his gracious hands we are and all his people. the hands which were pierced for us on the cross are over us and about us. they carry us, guide us, hold us and keep us. we are his and nothing can separate us from him in time and in eternity. with a joyful heart we can say "i am my beloved's and his desire is toward me." o lord! 'tis sweet the thought that thou art mine! but brighter still the joy that i am thine. oh, dear christian readers, how happy we might be if only all this were constantly real to our hearts and our minds were occupied with that blessed, glorious one. what joy and blessing we will have, if we walk closer with the lord and live that life to which we have been called, live by the faith of the son of god. and the words he left us are just like himself, love, hope and comfort. there is nothing to fear for one who is in him. he would have his beloved people free from all fear, anxiety and care. twice he has told us "let not your heart be troubled." "fear not!" "be not afraid!" how much these words mean if we consider him who spoke them. they must calm every fear and lift the trusting child of god over all the dark and difficult things on the way. the blessed words we have quoted are the never failing comfort for his people till they are gathered in his own presence. the greatest anodyne, however, he has given to us, the anodyne for all pains and sorrows, griefs and perplexities is the blessed hope. "i will come again and receive you unto myself" was spoken long ago, and yet it is still unfulfilled. almost the last petition of his great high-priestly prayer is the petition to have his own with himself in the father's house. "father, i will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where i am." this prayer is still unanswered. "behold i come quickly" are his own words in the third chapter of revelation, words so full of meaning for us, exhorting us to hold fast what we have. and in the very end of the book, almost the last word of the bible is the last word he ever spoke. "_surely_ i come quickly. amen." he has not spoken again after this last utterance, so full of assurance. the next time his blessed voice will speak will be when he comes into the air and gives the mighty shout ( thess. iv: ) which will call the saints from their graves and ourselves from earth's sorrow together with them to meet him in the air. that blessed hope is the great anodyne, the soothing as well as inspiring truth of the bible, which stands next to and in closest relation with the gospel. that blessed hope is an imminent hope. how cheerless it would be to think that the lord cannot come for many years, that he cannot fulfill his blessed promise. how cheerless, yea, how depressing and discouraging it would be if it were true that the true believers must pass through the great tribulation, suffer under antichrist, taste of the wrath, which will then be poured out. such an expectation would not be a blessed hope, but a depressing outlook. but blessed be god this is not the teaching of the word, but only the invention of man. we are not to wait for the apostasy, the great tribulation, great earthquakes and disasters, but for himself. he may come at any time and call us into his presence. to wait daily for him is the true christian attitude, which is a mighty power in the christian life, walk and service. how we shall be weaned away from the passing things of this age, how we shall look upon all in its true light and be faithful witnesses for our lord, if we walk in this daily expectation of meeting him. and this we need. the lord jesus christ must become more real to our hearts. our fellowship with him, our trust in him, our walk in him, our waiting for him, all must become more real. the holy spirit in his power will accomplish this in our lives. in the awful darkness, which is settling upon this age, only such can abide faithful who cling closer to the lord and who wait for his coming. the lord grant this to all his people. he'll come again, and prove our hope not vain; we wait the moment, oh, so fair; to rise and meet him in the air; his heart, his home, his throne to share-- o wondrous love! make haste. the little book called solomon's song, in the hebrew "the song of songs," because it exalts and describes the bridegroom, closes with that longing cry, "make haste my beloved." how this applies dispensationally we do not follow here. it is the same desire for himself, which is found almost the last thing in the bible, the great prayer, "even so come lord jesus." the soul which knows him, follows closely after him, and gets daily more of himself will ever long for him and for his coming. the desire and prayer will arise many times each day from such a heart, "make haste my beloved" --"even so, come lord jesus." the holy spirit ungrieved and unhindered in the believer will not alone produce this desire, but keep it alive in the soul and make it more intense. one may hold the second coming of christ in a mere intellectual way; there is no profit in that. the blessed hope must have its seat in the heart and affection. it is therefore a good test of our spiritual state. if our hearts are crying more for him, longing to be with the beloved, and we daily sigh for himself to come and take us home, we are then certainly walking in the spirit. such a desire will also lead us into holiness of life and true service for him. and as we look about us at the condition of things, surely only the coming of our lord appears to be the remedy. nothing less than that event can arrest the dreadful conditions and bring the long promised deliverance. "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. and not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of the body" (rom. viii: - ). what a day it will be when at last he descends into the air to call his own, his beloved together! what a day it will be when together with those who are raised from their graves we shall be caught up in clouds to meet him in the sky! what a day when he purges the earth by fire and comes with all his saints to reign. make haste! even so, come lord jesus! lord jesus, come! and take thy people home; that all thy flock, so scattered here, with thee in glory may appear. lord jesus, come! "soon the day-dawn will be breaking and the shadows flee away; now, by faith, in joy and gladness, i await the coming day, for i know my soul is safely hidden in his wounded side; and anon he sweetly tells me i shall soon be satisfied. lo! he tells me _now_ his secret, cheering with his heavenly smile; telling me, in love's low whisper, it is but 'a little while;' yes, for soon, to brightest glory, he will fetch away his bride; then i'll shine in his own likeness, and be ever satisfied!" the angels' song. alexander strahan _strand_, london _grand street_, new york the angels' song by thomas guthrie, d.d. author of "man and the gospel," etc. [illustration: publisher's device] alexander strahan, publisher london and new york contents. page part i., i. that redemption yields the highest glory to god, part ii., ii. redemption glorifies god in the sight of holy angels, iii. redemption glorifies god throughout all the universe, iv. the redeemer and redemption are worthy of our highest praise, part iii., v. they were men of a peaceful calling, vi. they were men of humble rank, vii. they were men engaged in common duties, part iv., viii. jesus restores peace between god and man, part v., ix. jesus brings peace to the soul, x. jesus shall bring peace to the world, part vi., xi. the persons to whom good will is expressed, xii. the person who expresses "good will," _part i._ the birth of an heir to the throne is usually accompanied by circumstances befitting so great an event. no place is deemed worthy of it but a royal palace; and there, at the approach of the expected hour, high nobles and the great officers of state assemble, while the whole country, big with hope, waits to welcome a successor to its long line of kings. cannons announce the event; seaward, landward, guns flash and roar from floating batteries and rocky battlements; bonfires blaze on hill-tops; steeples ring out the news in merry peals; the nation holds holiday, giving itself up to banqueting and enjoyments, while public prayers and thanksgivings rise to him by whom kings reign and princes decree justice. with such pomp and parade do the heirs of earthly thrones enter on the stage of life! so came not he who is the king of kings and lord of lords. on the eve of his birth the world went on its usual round. none were moved for his coming; nor was there any preparation for the event--a chamber, or anything else. no fruit of unhallowed love, no houseless beggar's child enters life more obscurely than the son of god. the very tokens by which the shepherds were taught to recognise him were not the majesty but the extreme meanness of his condition: "this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." in fact, the lord of heaven was to be recognised by his humiliation, as its heirs are by their humility. yet, as we have seen a black and lowering cloud have its edges touched with living gold by the sun behind it, so all the darkest scenes of our lord's life appear more or less irradiated with the splendours of a strange glory. take that night on galilee when a storm roared over land and lake, enough to wake all but the dead. the boat with jesus and his disciples tears through the waves, now whirling on their foaming crests, now plunging into their yawning hollows; the winds rave in his ear; the spray falls in cold showers on his naked face; but he sleeps. i have read of a soldier boy who was found buried in sleep beneath his gun, amid the cries and carnage of the battle; and the powers of nature in our lord seem to be equally exhausted. his strength is spent with toil; and with wan face and wasted form he lies stretched out on some rude boards--the picture of one whose candle is burning away all too fast, and whom excess of zeal is hurrying into premature old age and an untimely grave. was the sight such as to suggest the question, where is now thy god?--how soon it changed into a scene of magnificence and omnipotent power! he wakes--as a mother, whom louder sounds would not stir, to her infant's feeblest wail, he wakes to the cry of his alarmed disciples; and standing up, with the lightning flash illumining his calm, divine face, he looks out on the terrific war of elements. he speaks; and all is hushed. obedient to his will, the winds fold their wings, the waves sink to rest; and there is a great calm. "glory to god in the highest!" how may his people catch up and continue the strain which falls from angels' lips? in disciples plucked from the very jaws of death, and pulling their boat shoreward with strong hands and happy hearts over a moonlit glassy sea, jesus shows us how he will make good these sayings, "fear not, for i am with thee; be not afraid, for i am thy god"--"i have given unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish." the divine glory of that scene is not peculiar to it. for as an eagle, so soon as she has stooped from her realm to the ground, mounts aloft again, soaring into the blue skies of her native heavens, our lord never descends into the abasement of his meanest circumstances without some act which bespeaks divinity, and bears him up before our eyes into the regions of godhead. the grave, where he weeps like a woman, gives up its prisoner at his word. athirst by jacob's well, like any other wayfaring, way-worn traveller, he begs a draught of water from a woman there, but tells her all she ever did. houseless and poor, his banquet hall is the open air, his table the green grass, his feast five barley loaves and a few fishes from the neighbouring lake, yet this scanty fare supplies the wants of five thousand guests. his birth and life and death, his whole history, in fact, resembles one of those treasure-chests which double locks secure; for as that iron safe yields its hoards of gold, silver, pearls, and precious stones to none but him who brings to each lock its own appropriate key, so the riches of divine truth, redeeming love, and saving mercy are open only to such as come to jesus with a belief in his divinity on the one hand, and a belief in his humanity on the other;--who behold in the child, whose birth was sung by angels, the son of mary, and worship the only begotten, well beloved, and eternal son of god. now this mingling of divine and human characters distinguished christ's birth as much as his death. the halo of glory that surrounded his dying, crowned his infant head. his sun rose, as it afterwards set, behind a heavy bank of clouds; but the divinity they screened, touched their edges alike with burning gold; so that he at whose death the rocks were rent, and the sun eclipsed, and graves deserted of their dead, no more entered than he left our world as a common son of adam. not that a world which was to reject him went out to meet its king with homage and royal honours. omen of coming events, it received him in sullen silence. but the heavens declared his glory, the skies sent out a sound; and the tokens of his first advent--unlike the thunders which shall rend the skies when he comes the second time to judgment--were all in beautiful harmony with its object. it was love and saving mercy; there were light, music, and angel forms. with this object all things indeed were in perfect keeping,--the serene night--the shining stars--the pearly dews glistening on the grass--snowy flocks safely pasturing--and the shepherds themselves, to whom the annunciation was made; men who, whether going before their charge, or carrying the lambs in their arms, or gently leading those that were with young, or standing bravely between their flocks and the roaring lion, were the choicest emblems and types of him who, dying to save us, gave his life for the sheep. to them there suddenly appeared a multitude of the heavenly host, turning night into day, and shedding on the soft hills around a bright but gentle radiance. as guard of honour, they had swept in their downward flight by many a sun and star, escorting the son of god to our nether world. and now--ere they left him to tread the wine-press alone, and returned on upward wings to their native heavens, and their service before the throne of god--these celestials bent their loving eyes on the stable; and in anticipation of jesus' triumphs, of men saved, death conquered, graves spoiled, and satan crushed, they sang "glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." this hymn, sung perhaps in parts by different bands of these heavenly choristers consists of three parts; and we now proceed to the illustration of these. i. that redemption yields the highest glory to god. i say the highest; for though his _absolute_ glory, like his eternal being and infinite perfections, admits of no degrees, and is affected by no circumstances whatever, it is otherwise with his _declarative_ glory, as old theologians called it. this, which i speak of, and which angels sung of, consists in the manifestation of his attributes. whatever it be, though only the drop of water, which appears a world of wonders to the eyes of a man of science, any work is glorious which reflects the divine character in any measure, and still more glorious or glorifying which exhibits it in a greater measure. god's glory expands and unfolds itself as we rise upward in the study of his works--from inanimate to living objects; from plants to animals; from animals to man; from man to angels; from these to archangels, upward and still upward, to the being who, bathed in the full blaze of divine effulgence, tops the pyramid, and stands on the highest pinnacle of creation. that being is god manifest in the flesh, our lord jesus christ--the redemption which he wrought for us, through blood and suffering and death, being the work which reveals god most fully to our eyes, and forming a looking-glass, so to speak, to reflect the whole measure of divinity. this will appear if we look at-- the redeemer.--one of his many titles is the _wonderful_. anticipating the royal birth at bethlehem, and speaking of christ in terms which no other key can open but the doctrine of his divinity, isaiah says, "unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called wonderful, counsellor, the mighty god, the everlasting father, the prince of peace." with pencils of sunlight god paints the rose; by arts of a divine chemistry he turns foul decay into the snow-white purity and fragrant odours of a lily; he fashions the infant in the darkness of the mother's womb; he inspires dead matter with the active principle of life; in man he unites an ethereal spirit to a lump of clay--wonders these which have perplexed the wisest men, and remain as incomprehensible to philosophers as to fools. yet, as if there was no mystery in these but what our understanding could fathom--as if there was nothing in these to teach proud man humility and rouse his admiration--as if there was indeed no wonder but christ himself in all this great and glorious universe, he is called by way of eminence the _wonderful_. and why? because, as the stars cease to shine in presence of the sun, quenched by the effulgence, and drowned in the flood of his brighter beams, these lose all their wonders beside this little child. to a meditative man it is curious to stand over any cradle where an infant sleeps; and, as we look on the face so calm, and the little arms gently folded on the placid breast, to think of the mighty powers and passions which are slumbering there; to think that this feeble nursling has heaven or hell before it; that an immortal in a mortal form is allied to angels; that the life which it has begun shall last when the sun is quenched, enduring throughout all eternity. much more wonderful the spectacle the manger offers, where shepherds bend their knees, and angels bend their eyes! here is present, not the immortal, but the eternal; here is not one kind of matter united to another, or a spiritual to an earthly element, but the creator to a creature, divine omnipotence to human weakness, the ancient of days to the infant of a day. what deep secrets of divine wisdom, power, and love lie here, wrapped up in these poor swaddling-clothes! mary holds in her arms, in this manger with its straw, what draws the wondering eyes, and inspires the loftiest songs of angels. if that be not god's greatest, and therefore most glorifying work, where are we to seek it? in what else is it found? "the depth saith, it is not in me; and the sea saith, it is not in me!" were we to range the vast universe to find its rival, we should return, like the dove to its ark, to the stable-door, and the swaddled babe, there to mingle human voices with the heavenly choir--singing, glory to god in the highest! the fact that redemption yields god the highest glory will appear also if we look at-- the redeemed.--it is in them, in sinners saved, not in the happy and holy angels, that god stands out fully revealed as in a mirror; long and broad enough, if i may say so, to show forth all his attributes. to vary the figure; the cross of christ is the focus in which all the beams of divinity, all the attributes of the godhead, are gathered into one bright, burning spot, with power to warm the coldest and melt the stoniest heart. no man hath seen god at any time, otherwise than in his works; and though created things are immeasurably inferior to their creator, they may still help us to form some conception of his character. a drop of water is an ocean, a spark of fire is a sun, every grain of sand on the sea-shore is a world, in miniature; and as those who have never seen ocean, or sun, or world, may form some idea of their appearance by magnifying these their miniatures millions of millions of times, so, by immensely magnifying the age, the power, the wisdom, the holiness of an angel, we could form some dim conception of god. not that we would not have still to ask, "who can by searching find out god? who can find out the almighty to perfection?"--not that when we had exclaimed, in the sublime words of job, "hell is naked before him, and destruction hath no covering. he stretcheth out the north over the empty place, and hangeth the earth on nothing. he bindeth up the waters in his thick clouds. he holdeth back the face of his throne. the pillars of heaven tremble and are astonished at his reproof. he divideth the sea with his power. by his spirit he hath garnished the heavens;"--we would not have to add with the patriarch, "these are parts of his ways; but how little a portion is heard of him? but the thunder of his power who can understand?" study him, for example, in the angels who sung this birth-song! they are holy, and we may conclude that their maker is infinitely holy; they are wise, and he who made them must possess infinite wisdom; they are powerful, and he must be omnipotent; the god of good angels must be infinitely good, as the avenger of sin and evil ones must be infinitely just. this is sound reasoning--for, as david says, "he that planted the ear, shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see? he that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? he that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?" still, however lofty and worthy were the conceptions which we thus formed of god, he had never been discovered in the full glory of his gracious character by this or any corresponding process. unspeakable honour to man and unspeakable grace in god, the fulness of his character is revealed, not by seraphs but by saints--in redeemed and ransomed sinners. and so mary magdalene, as reflecting his attributes more fully than angels, wears in heaven a brighter glory than crowns their unfallen heads. she, and all with her, who have washed their robes in the blood of the lamb, are trophies of free, saving mercy; monuments of that love which, when stern justice had dragged us to the mouth of the pit, and angels, who had seen their fellows punished by one awful act of vengeance, stood in dread and silent expectation of another, graciously interposed, saying, "deliver from going down to the pit, i have found a ransom." then, blessed son of god, thou didst step forward to say, and i am that ransom! from that day heaven was happier. it found a new joy. angels tuned their golden harps to higher strains; and now, these blessed spirits, above the mean jealousies of earth's elder brothers, whenever they see christ born anew in a soul--a sinner born again, called, converted, apparelled in jesus' righteousness, rejoicing in his arms, or even weeping at his feet, wake up the old, grand birth-song, singing, "glory to god in the highest!" "there is joy," said jesus, "in the presence of the angels of god over one sinner that repenteth--joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." _part ii._ no man hath seen god at any time; so saith the scriptures. he who is confined to no bounds of space cannot in the nature of things have any visible form. god has however occasionally made revelations of himself; and such are described in language which seems opposed alike to the declarations of scripture and the deductions of reason. it is said, for instance, of moses and aaron, when they ascended mount sinai, that "they saw the god of israel;" and isaiah tells how he "saw the lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple." believing with the jews that if any man saw god he could not survive, but would die as by a flash of lightning, the prophet was struck with terror, and cried, in expectation of immediate death, "i am undone; for mine eyes have seen the lord of hosts." the object seen in these and also other cases was no doubt the schekinah--that holy and mysterious flame whereby god made his presence known in the days of old. we know little concerning it beyond this, that it was of the nature of light. the fairest, purest, oldest of created things, passing untainted through pollution, turning gloomy night into day, and imparting their varied beauties to earth and air and ocean, this of all material elements was the fittest symbol of god. a circumstance this to which we probably owe the ancient practice of worshipping the divinity by fire, and certainly such figures as these: "god is light;" "he clothes himself with light as with a garment;" "he dwelleth in light that is inaccessible and full of glory." this light, said to have been intensely luminous, brighter than a hundred suns, was not always nor even usually visible; although, like a lamp placed behind a curtain, it may have usually imparted to the cloud which concealed it a tempered and dusky glow. there were occasions when the veil of this temple was rent asunder; and then the light shone out with intense splendour--dazzling all eyes, and convincing sceptics that this cloud, now resting on the tabernacle, and now, signal for the host to march, floating upward in the morning air, was not akin to such as are born of swamps or sea; and which, as emblems of our mortality, after changing from rosy beauty into leaden dullness, melt into air, leaving the place that once knew them to know them no more for ever. this symbol and token of the divine presence was of all the types and figures of jesus christ in some respects both the most apposite and glorious: a cloud with god within, and speaking from it--going before to guide the host--placing himself for their protection between them and their enemies--by day their grateful shade from scorching heat, by night their sun amid surrounding darkness. it was one, and not the least singular of its aspects, that this cloud always grew light when the world grew dark--the cloudy pillar of the day blazing forth at night as a pillar of fire. so shone the divinity in him who was "emmanuel, god with us," his darkest circumstances, his deepest humiliations, being the occasions of his greatest glory. he was buried, and being so, was greatly humbled; but angels attended his funeral, and guarded his tomb. he was crucified, condemned to the death of the vilest criminal, and being so, was greatly humbled; but those heavens and earth which are as little moved by the death of the greatest monarch as by the fall of a withered leaf, expressed their sympathy with the august sufferer--the sun hid his face, and went into mourning, the earth trembled with horror at the deed. he was born, and in like manner he was greatly humbled, and had been, though his birth had happened in a palace and his mother had been a queen; but with a poor woman for his mother, a stable for his birthplace, a manger for his cradle, and straw for his bed, these meannesses, like its spots on the face of the sun, were lost in a blaze of glory. earth did not celebrate his advent, but heaven did. illumining her skies, she sent herald angels to proclaim the news, and lighted up a new star to guide the feet which sought the place where man's best hopes were cradled. the most joyful birth that ever happened, it was meet that it should be sung by angel lips,--and all the more because, redemption glorifies god in the sight of holy angels. ii. redemption glorifies god in the sight of holy angels. they take a lively interest in the affairs of our world, as the scriptures show, and as jacob saw in his vision; for what else means that ladder where they appeared to his dreaming eye ascending and descending between earth and heaven? to the care of john our dying lord committed his mother; but god, when he sent his son into the world, committed him to their care,--"he hath given his angels charge over thee, that thou dash not thy foot against a stone." the care which their head enjoyed is extended to all the members. how happy are the people that are in such a case! think of the poor saint who has none to wait on him, or the pious domestic who serves a table, and humbly waits on others, having angels to wait on her! are they not said in scripture to be "ministering spirits sent forth to minister to them who are heirs of salvation?"--however the world may despise them, "this honour have all his saints." however lowly their earthly state, the saints are a kingly race; and as our highest nobles deem it an honour to wait on the princes of the blood, accepting and soliciting offices at court, the angels are happy to serve such as, through their union with his incarnate son, stand nearer the throne of god than themselves. unseen by him, these celestials guard the good man's bed; watch his progress; wait on his person; guide his steps; and ward off many a blow the devil aims at his head and heart. they are the nurses of christ's babes; the tutors and teachers of his children. a belief in guardian saints is a silly popish superstition; but we have good authority in scripture for believing that in this our state of pupilage and probation, along all the way to sion, in the conflicts with temptation, and amid the thick of battle, god commits his saints to angels' care; and that, as it is in their loving arms that the soul of an aged saint is borne away to glory, every child of god has its own celestial guardian, and sleeps in its little cradle beneath the feathers of an angel's wing. what said our lord? on setting a child before the people as a pattern for them to copy, "take heed," he said, "that ye despise not one of these little ones; for i say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my father which is in heaven." but whether we are, or are not, the happier for angels, there is no question that they are the happier for us. they always loved god; but since man's redemption they love him more, and employ higher strains and loftier raptures to praise his wisdom, power, holiness, justice, and love. it has disclosed to them new views of god, and opened up in heaven new springs of pleasure. heaven has grown more heavenly, and though they might have deemed it impossible to add one drop to their happiness, they are holier and happier angels. there is joy among the angels of heaven over every sinner that repenteth; and to the joyful cry, my son that was dead is alive again, they respond, as they receive the returned penitent from the father's arms into their own, my brother that was dead is alive again, that was lost is found! never from surf-beaten shore or rocky headland do spectators watch with such anxious interest the life-boat, as, now seen and now lost, now breasting the waves and now hurled back on the foaming crest of a giant billow, she makes for the wreck, as they watch those who, with the bible in their hearts and hands, go forth to save the lost. and when the poor perishing sinner throws himself into jesus' arms, what gratulations among these happy spirits! "there is joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons." the event is one which i can fancy was in the prophet's eye, when, fired with rapture, he cried, "sing, o ye heavens; for the lord hath done it: shout, ye lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, ye mountains, o forest, and every tree therein: for the lord hath redeemed jacob, and glorified himself in israel!" and the heavens do sing. while the saints, descending from their thrones, cast their sparkling crowns at jesus' feet, and ten times ten thousand harps sound, and ten times ten thousand angels sing, "worthy is the lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." iii. redemption glorifies god throughout all the universe. with a small band of fishermen at his side, and no place on earth where to lay his head, jesus pointed to the sun, riding high in heaven or rising over the hill-tops to bathe the scene in golden splendour, and said, "i am the light of the world." a bold saying; yet the day is coming, however distant it appears, when the tidings of salvation carried to the ends of the earth, and jesus worshipped of all nations, shall justify the speech; and the wishes shall be gratified, and the prayers answered, and the prophecies fulfilled, so beautifully expressed in these lines of heber: "waft, waft, ye winds, his story, and you, ye waters, roll, till, like a sea of glory, it spreads from pole to pole." but shall our world be the limits of the wondrous tale? though ever and deeply interesting as the scene of redemption, just as to patriots is the barest moor where a people fought and conquered for their freedom, our earth holds in other respects but a very insignificant place in creation. in a space of the sky no larger than a tenth part of the moon's disc, the telescope discovers many thousands of stars, each a sun, attended probably by a group of planets like our own: their number indeed is such that many parts of the heavens appear as if they were sprinkled with gold-dust; and probably there are as many suns and worlds in the universe as there are leaves in a forest, or rather, sands on the ocean shore. boldly venturing out into the regions of speculation, some have thought that, if sin defile any of these worlds, its inhabitants may share in the benefits of the atonement which christ offered in ours; and that beings further removed than we from the scenes of calvary, and differing more from us than we from the jews of whom the messiah came, may, as well as we, find a saviour by faith in jesus; and that for this end the work of redemption has perhaps been revealed to such as, removed from our earth many millions of miles, never even saw the planet that was its theatre and scene. there may be nothing in this. i dare not say it is impossible; but these speculations touch the deep things of god, and we would not attempt to be wise above that which is written. still, scripture affords ground for believing, for hoping, at least, that the story of redemption has been told in other worlds than ours, and that the love of god in christ--that fairest, fullest manifestation of our father's heart--links all parts of creation together, and links all more closely to the throne of god. "he that hath seen me, philip," said our lord to that disciple, "hath seen the father also;" and as i believe that he who delights to bless all his unfallen creatures would not withhold from the inhabitants of other spheres the happiness of knowing him in his most adorable, gracious, and glorious character, i can fancy them eagerly searching their skies for a sight of our world,--the scene of that story which has conveyed to them the fullest knowledge of him they love, their deepest sense of his ineffable holiness and unspeakable mercy. not from pole to pole, but from planet to planet, and from star to star, the love of christ deserves to be proclaimed; and it is a thought as grand as it is probable, that the story of calvary, not yet translated into all the tongues of earth, is told in the ten times ten thousand tongues of other worlds, and that the name which is above every name--the blessed name which dwells in life in a believer's heart and trembles in death on his lips--is known in spheres which his foot never trod and his eye never saw. such honours crown the head man once crowned with thorns; and therefore did david, with the eye of a seer and the fire of a poet, while calling for praise from kings of the earth and all people, princes and all judges, young men and children, rise to a loftier flight, exclaiming: "praise him in the heights. praise ye him, all ye angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light." iv. the redeemer and redemption are worthy of our highest praise. let us bend the head, and, in company of the shepherds, enter the stable. heard above the champing of bits, the stroke of hoofs, the rattling of chains, and the lowing of oxen, the feeble wail of an infant turns our steps to a particular stall: here a woman lies stretched on a bed of straw, and her new-born child, hastily wrapped in some part of her dress, finds a cradle in the manger. a pitiful sight!--such a fortune as occasionally befalls the arabs of society--such an incident as may occur in the history of one of those vagrant, vagabond, outcast families who, their country's shame, tent in woods and sleep under hedges, when no barn or stable offers a covering to their houseless heads. yet princes on their way to the crown, brides on their way to the marriage, bannered armies on their way to the battle, and highest angels in their flight from star to star, might stop to say of this sight, as moses of the burning bush, "let me turn aside, and see this great sight!" the prophet foretells a time when the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and, bound in the same stall, and fed at the same manger, the lion shall eat straw with the ox. here is a greater wonder! this stable is the house of god, the very gate of heaven: under this dusty roof, inside those narrow walls, he lodges whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain: the tenant of this manger is the son, who, leaving the bosom of his father to save us, here pillows his head on straw; of this feeble babe the hands are to hurl satan from his throne, and wrench asunder the strong bars of death; this one tender life, this single corn-seed is to become the prolific parent of a thousand harvests, and fill the garners of glory with the fruits of salvation. mean as it looks, yet more splendid than marble palaces,--more sacred than the most venerable and hallowed temples, here the son of god was born, and with him were born faith, hope, and charity--our peace, our liberty, and our eternal life. had he not been born, we had never been born again; had he not lain in a manger, we had never lain in abraham's bosom; had he not been wrapped in swaddling-clothes, we had been wrapped in everlasting flames; had his head in infancy not been pillowed on straw, and in death on thorns, ours had never been crowned in glory. but that he was born, better we had never been; life had been a misfortune to which time had brought no change, and death no relief, and the grave no rest. "glory to god in the highest" that he was born: we had otherwise been lifting up our eyes in torment with this unavailing, endless cry, "o that my mother had been my grave! cursed be the day wherein i was born?" if language cannot express the love and gratitude we owe to the saviour, let our lives do so. shallow streams run brawling over their pebbly beds, but the broad, deep river pursues its course in silence to the sea; and so is it with our strongest, deepest feelings. great joy like great sorrow, great gladness like great grief, great admiration like great detestation, take breath and speech away. on first seeing mont blanc as the sun rose to light up his summit and irradiate another and another snow-clad pinnacle, i remember the silent group who had left their couches to witness and watch the glorious scene: before its majesty and magnificence all were for awhile dumb, opening not the mouth. i have read, when travellers reached the crest of the hill, and first looked down on jerusalem,--the scene of our saviour's sorrow, the garden that heard his groans, the city that led him out to die, the soil that was bedewed with his tears and crimsoned with his blood,--how their hearts were too full for utterance. if a sight of the city where he died so affects christians, as the scenes of his last hours rush on their memory and rise vividly to their imagination, how will they look on that scene where, surrounded by ten times ten thousand saints and thousands of angels, he reigns in glory! i can fancy the saint who has shut his eyes on earth to open them in heaven, standing speechless; and as the flood of music fills his ear, and the blaze of glory his eye, and the thought of what he owes to jesus his heart,--i can fancy him laying the crown, which he has received from his saviour's hands, in silent gratitude at his feet; and as he recovers speech, and sees hell and its torments beneath him, earth and its sorrows behind him, an eternity of unchequered, unchanging bliss, before him,--i can fancy the first words that break from his grateful lips will be, "glory to god, glory to god in the highest!" never till then, nowhere but there, will our praise be worthy of jesus and his redemption. meanwhile, let him who demonstrates god's highest glory and fills heaven's highest throne, hold the highest place in our hearts. let us surround his name with the highest honours; and, laying our time and talents, our faculties and our affections, our wealth, and fame, and fortunes at his feet, crown him lord of all. _part iii._ some years ago the question which agitated the heart of europe was, peace or war? the interests of commerce, the lives of thousands, the fate of kingdoms, trembled in the balance. navies rode at anchor, and opposing armies, like two black thunder-clouds, waited for statesmen to issue from the council-chamber, bearing the sword or the olive-branch. esteeming the arbitrament of battle one which necessity only could justify, britain longed for peace; but, with ships ready to slip their cables, and soldiers standing by their guns, she was grimly prepared for war. had ambassadors from the nation with which we were ready to join issue approached our shores at this crisis, what eager crowds would have attended their advent, and how impatiently would they have waited the course of events! and had peace been the result of the conference, how would the tidings, as they passed from mouth to mouth, and were flashed by the telegraph from town to town, have filled and moved the land! the pale student would have forgot his books, the anxious merchant his speculations, the trader his shop, the tradesman his craft, tired labour her toils, happy children their toys, and even the bereaved their griefs; and like the whirlpool, which sucks straws and sea-weed, boats and gallant ships--all things, big or small--into its mighty vortex, the news would have absorbed all other subjects. the one topic of conversation at churches and theatres, at marriages and funerals, in halls and cottages, in crowded cities and in lonely glens; ministers had carried it in their sermons to the pulpit, and devout christians in their thanksgivings to the throne of grace. in a much greater crisis, where the stakes were deeper, the question being not one of peace or war between man and man, but between man and god, an embassy from heaven reached the borders of our world. unlike elijah, rough in dress, of aspect stern and speech severe, whose appearance struck ahab with terror, and wrung from the pale lips of the conscience-stricken king the cry, "hast thou found me, o mine enemy?"--unlike jonah as he walked the wondering streets, and woke their echoes with his doleful cry, "yet forty days, and nineveh shall be destroyed,"--the ambassadors were "a multitude of shining angels." leaving the gates of heaven, they winged their flight down the starry sky to descend and hover above the fields of bethlehem, and in the form of a song, as became such joyful tidings, to proclaim news of peace--their song, "glory to god in the highest, on earth peace, good-will toward men." nothing presents a more remarkable example of "much in little" than these few but weighty words. in small crystals, that coat, as with shining frost-work, the sides of a vessel, we have all the salts which give perpetual freshness to the ocean, their life to the weeds that clothe its rocks, and to the fish that swim its depths and shallows. in some drops of oil distilled from rose-leaves of indian lands, and valued at many times their weight in gold, we have enclosed within one small phial the perfume of a whole field of roses--that which, diffused through ten thousand leaves, gave every flower its fragrance. essences, as they are called, present, in a concentrated form, the peculiar properties of leaves or flowers or fruits, of the animal, vegetable, or earthly bodies from which they are extracted; and, like these, this hymn presents the whole gospel in a single sentence. here is the bible, the scheme of redeeming love, that grand work which saved a lost world, gladdened angels in heaven, confounded devils in hell, and engaged the highest attributes of the godhead, summed up in one short, glorious, glowing paragraph. for what so much as the gospel, what, indeed, but the gospel, yields jehovah the highest glory, blesses our earth with peace, and expresses heaven's good-will to the sons of men? such were the ambassadors, and such the embassage! when the king of babylon, hearing how the shadow had travelled back ten degrees on the dial of ahaz, sent ambassadors to hezekiah to inquire about this strange phenomenon, hezekiah received them with the greatest respect; paid them honours, indeed, which cost both him and his country dear. the news of an embassy having come to joshua spread like wildfire among the israelites, moving the whole camp. seized with eager curiosity, all ran to hear what the strangers had to say, and gaze with wonder on their soiled and ragged dress, their clouted shoes and mouldy bread. the herald angels, though arrayed in heavenly splendours, and bringing glad tidings of peace, were received with no such honours, excited no such interest. strange and sad omen of the indifference with which many would hear the gospel! while angels sung, the world slept; and none but some wakeful watchers heard their voices or beheld this splendid vision. they were humble shepherds, to whom the ambassadors of heaven delivered their message; and it may be well to pause and look at those who were privileged and honoured to hear it. we do not pretend to know certainly the reasons why god, who giveth no account of his ways, conferred an honour so distinguished on them rather than on others. but we may guess; and in any case may find the employment profitable and instructive, if we are wise enough to find "sermons in stones, books in the running brooks, and good in everything." v. they were men of a peaceful calling. the highest view of the profession of arms is, that the soldier, deterring evil-doers and maintaining order at home, on the one hand, and prepared, on the other, to resist hostile invasion, is in reality, notwithstanding his deadly weapons and warlike garb, an officer or instrument of peace. a day is coming--alas! with the roar of cannon booming across the ocean, how far distant it seems!--when christianity shall exert a paramount influence throughout all the world: then, tyrants having ceased to reign, and slaves to groan, and nations to suffer from the lust of gold or power, this beautiful picture of the prophet shall become a reality: "the whole earth," said the seer, "is at rest, and is quiet; they break forth into singing." till then, paradoxical though it appears, the cause of peace may be pled with most effect by the mouths of cannon. fitness for war is often the strongest security for peace; and a nation whose wishes and interests both run in the direction of peace, may find no way of warning restless and unprincipled and ambitious neighbours that it is not to be touched with impunity, but by showing itself, thistle-like, all bristling over with bayonets. "necessity," said paul, "is laid on me to preach." it may be laid on a people to fight. nor, when the sword has been drawn in a good cause, has god refused his sanction to that last, terrible resort. it was he who imparted strength to the arm before whose resistless sweep the philistines fell in swathes, like grass to the mower's scythe. it was he who guided the stone that, shot from david's sling, buried itself in the giant's brow. it was he who gave its earthquake-power to the blast of the horns which levelled the walls of jericho with the ground. and when night came down to cover the retreat of the amorites and their allies, it was he who interposed to secure the bloody fruits of victory--saying, as eloquently put by a rustic preacher, "'fight on, my servant joshua, and i will hold the lights;' and 'the sun stood still on gibeon, and the moon in the valley of ajalon.'" admitting war to be an awful scourge, these cases show that the duties of a soldier are not inconsistent with the calling of a christian. yet it was over no battle-field, the most sacred to truth and liberty, these angels hovered; no blazing homesteads nor burning cities shed their lurid gleam on the skies they made radiant with light; nor was it where their sweet voices strangely mingled with the clash of arms and the shouts of charging squadrons that they sang of glory, good-will, and peace. this had been out of keeping with the congruity which characterises all god's works of nature, and which will be found equally characteristic of his works of providence and grace. as was meet, the glad tidings of peace were announced to men who were engaged in an eminently peaceful occupation; who passed tranquil lives amid the quietness of the solemn hills, far removed alike from the ambitious strife of cities and the bloody spectacles of war. lying amid the solitudes of the mountains, where no sounds fall on the ear but the bleating of flocks, the lowing of cattle, the hum of bees, the baying of a watch-dog from the lonely homestead, the murmur of hidden rills, the everlasting rush of the waterfall as it plunges flashing into its dark, foaming pool, pastoral are eminently peaceful scenes. indeed, the best emblem of peace which a great painter has been able to present he owes to them--it is a picture of a quiet glen, with a lamb licking the rusty lips of a dismounted gun, while the flocks around crop the grass that waves above the slain. apt scholars of the devil, wicked men have used holy scripture to justify the most impious crimes. others, with more fancy than judgment, have drawn the most absurd conclusions from its facts; but we seem warranted to conclude, that by selecting shepherds to receive the first tidings of jesus' birth, apart from the circumstance that they were christ's own favourite types of himself, god intended to confer special honour on the cause, and encourage the lovers and advocates of peace. deer are furnished by nature with horns, dogs with teeth, eagles with talons, serpents with poison, and bees with stings; but men have no weapons of offence. yet, acting under the dominion of their lusts, men have a passion for fighting, and, easily fired with the spirit, and dazzled with the glory of war, are ready to abandon arguments for blows; and i cannot but think that he who would not permit david, the man after his own heart, to build him a house because he had been a man of blood, conferred this honour on these humble shepherds because they were men of peace. whether it be with himself or our own consciences, in the midst of our families, among our neighbours, or between nation and nation, he enjoins us to cultivate peace: in his own emphatic words, we are to "seek peace and pursue it." vi. they were men of humble rank. many in humble, as well as in more coveted circumstances, are discontented with their position. they repine at their lot, and murmur against the providence which has assigned it. this is not only wicked but absurd, since true happiness lies much less in changing our condition than in making the best of it, whatever it be. besides, god says, "i will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of ophir;" and the estimate which he forms of us turns in no respect whatever on the place we fill. one artist paints a grand, another a common, or even a mean, subject; but we settle their comparative merits, praising this one and condemning that, not by the subjects they paint, but by the way they paint them. to borrow an illustration from the stage, (as paul did from heathen games,) one player, tricked out in regal state, with robes, and crown, and sceptre, performs the part of a king, and another that only of a common soldier or country boor; yet the applause of the audience is not given to the parts the actors play, but to the way they play them. even so, it is not the place that man fills, whether high or humble, but the way he fills it to which god has, and we should have, most regard. not that we would reduce the inequalities of society any more than those of the earth, with its varied features of swelling hill and lovely dale, to one dull, long, common level. death, the great grim leveller, does that office both for cottagers and kings. let it be left to the sexton's spade. the mountains which give shelter to the valleys, and gather the rains that fill their rivers and fertilise their pastures, have important uses in nature, and so have the corresponding heights of rank and wealth and power in society. setting our affections on things above, let us be content to wait for the honours and rest of heaven; let us seek to be good rather than great; to be rich in faith rather than in wealth; to stand high in god's esteem rather than in man's; saying, with paul, "i have learned in whatsoever state i am, therewith to be content;"--or singing with the boy in the "pilgrim's progress," who, meanly clad, but with "a fresh and well-favoured countenance," fed his father's sheep,-- "he that is down needs fear no fall; he that is low, no pride; he that is humble ever shall have god to be his guide. "i am content with what i have, little be it or much; and, lord, contentment still i crave, because thou savest such." "do you hear him?" said the guide. "i will dare to say that this boy lives a merrier life, and wears more of that herb called heart's-ease in his bosom, than he that is clad in silk and velvet." why should a man blush for his humble origin? the saviour's mother was a poor woman; and no head ever lay in a meaner cradle than the manger where mary laid her first-born--the son of the most high god. why should any be ashamed of honest poverty? men of immortal names, the apostles, were called from the lowest ranks, and went forth to conquer and convert the world without a penny in their purse. was not our lord himself poor? he earned his bread, and ate it, with the sweat of his brow, while others lay luxuriously on down; he had often no other roof than the open sky, or warmer bed than the dewy ground; and never had else to entertain his guests than the coarsest and most common fare--barley-loaves and a few small fishes. though rich in the wealth of godhead, with the resources of heaven and of earth at his sovereign command, poverty attended his steps like his shadow, along the way from a humble cradle to a bloody grave. he made himself poor that he might make us rich; and it seemed meet that to poor rather than to rich men god should reveal the advent of him who came to enrich the poor, whether kings or beggars, peers or peasants. as if to censure the respect paid to rank apart from merit, or to wealth apart from worth, he who has no respect for persons honoured in these shepherds honest poverty and humble virtue. they received ambassadors not accredited to sovereigns; as cottages, not palaces, housed him whom the heavens have received, and the heaven of heavens cannot contain. vii. they were men engaged in common duties. mothers cumbered with a load of domestic cares, merchants worried with business, statesmen charged with their country's affairs, and thousands who have a daily fight to keep the wolf from the door, fancy that, if they enjoyed the leisure some have, and could bestow more time on divine things, they would be more religious than they are, and, rising to higher, calmer elevations of thought and temper, would maintain a nearer communion with god. it may reconcile such to their duties to observe how the men were employed on whom god bestowed this unexpected and exalted honour. they were engaged in the ordinary business of their earthly calling; of a hard and humble one. types of him to whose care his people owe their safety amid the temptations, and their support amid the trials of life, these shepherds were watching their flocks; peering through the gloom of night; listening for the stealthy step of the robber; ready, starting to their feet, to beat off the sneaking wolf, or bravely battle with the roaring lion. he whose sun shines as brightly on the lowliest as on the stateliest flower, regards with complacency the humblest man who wins his daily bread, and discharges the duties of his station, whatever they be, in such a way as to glorify god and be of advantage to his fellow-creatures. heaven, as this case brilliantly illustrates, is never nearer men, nor are they ever nearer it, than in those fields or workshops, where, with honest purpose and a good conscience, they are diligently pursuing their ordinary avocations. no doubt--for god does not cast his pearls before swine--these shepherds were pious men. one passing a night in their humble dwellings would have seen the father with reverent mien gather his household to prayer; and one passing these uplands, where they held their watch, might have heard their voices swaying on the midnight air, as they sang together the psalms of david amid the very scenes where he tuned his harp and fed his father's flocks. but people are too apt to suppose that religion lies mainly, if not exclusively, in prayers, reading the bible, listening to sermons, and attending on sacraments; in time spent, or work done, or offerings made, or sacrifices endured, for what are called, in common language, religious objects. these are the means, not the end. he who rises from his knees to his daily task, and, with an eye not so much to please men as god, does it well, carries divine worship to the workshop, and throws a sacred halo around the ordinary secularities of life. that, indeed, may be the highest expression of religion; just as it is the highest expression of devoted loyalty to leave the precincts of the court and the presence of the sovereign, to endure the hardships of a campaign, and stand in soiled and tattered regimentals by the king's colours amid the deadly hail of battle. he who goes to common duties in a devout and christian spirit proves his loyalty to god; and, as this case proves, is of all men the most likely to be favoured with tokens of the divine presence--communications of grace which will sustain his patience under a life of toil, and fit him for the rest that remaineth for the people of god. _part iv._ mingled with its rattling shingle, the sea-beach bears hazel-nuts and fir-tops--things which once belonged to the blue hills that rise far inland on the horizon. dropped into the brooks of bosky glens, they have been swept into the river, to arrive, after many windings and long wanderings, at the ocean; to be afterwards washed ashore with shells and wreck and sea-weed. the gulf stream, whose waters by a beautiful arrangement of providence bring the heat of southern latitudes to temper the wintry rigour of the north, throws objects on the western coasts of europe which have performed longer voyages--fruits and forest-trees that have travelled the breadth of the atlantic, casting the productions of the new world on the shores of the old. like these, the record of events which happened in the earliest ages of the world has been carried along the course of time, and spread by the diverging streams of population over the whole surface of the globe. the facts are, as was to be expected, always more or less changed, and often, indeed, fragmentary. still, like old coins, which retain traces of their original effigies and inscriptions, these traditions possess a high historic value. their remarkable correspondence with the statements of the bible confirms our faith in its divinity; and their being common to nations of habits the most diverse, and of habitations separated from each other by the whole breadth of the earth, proves the unity of our race. if they cannot be regarded as pillars, they are buttresses of the truth; being inexplicable on any theory but that which infidelity has so often, but always vainly, assailed, namely, that all scripture is given by inspiration of god, and that he has made of one blood all the nations of the earth. to take some examples. look, for instance, at a custom common among the red indians, ages before white men had crossed the sea and carried the bible to their shores! at the birth of a child, as humboldt relates, a fire was kindled on the floor of the hut, and a vessel of water placed beside it; but not with the murderous intent of those savage tribes who practise infanticide, and, pressed by hunger, destroy their children to save their food. the infant here was first plunged into the water--buried, as we should say, in baptism; and afterwards swept rapidly and unharmed through the flaming fire. a very remarkable rite; and one that, as we read the story, recalled to mind this double baptism, "he shall baptize you," said jesus, "with the holy ghost and with fire;" "except a man be born of water and of the spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of god." its administration to infants, to such as had committed no sin, nor knew, indeed, their right hand from their left, implied a belief in the presence, not of acquired, but of original impurity. it is based on that; and without it this rite is not only mysterious, but meaningless. blind is the eye which does not see in this old pagan ceremony a tradition of the primeval fall, and dull the ear which does not hear in its voice no faint echo of these words, "i was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.... create in me a clean heart, o god; and renew a right spirit within me." like the fall, the flood also was an event which, though it may have worn no channel in the rocks, has left indelible traces of its presence on the memory of mankind. the greeks had strange traditions of this awful judgment; so had the romans; and so had almost all the heathen nations of antiquity--strange legends, to which the bible supplies the only key. its account of the deluge explains the traditions, and the traditions corroborate it; and by their general mutual correspondence we are confirmed in our belief that its authors were holy men of old, who spoke as they were moved by the holy ghost. to evade this argument, infidels may trace these legends to jews, who, led captive of the heathen, related to them the mosaic story, and took advantage of man's love of the marvellous to practise on his credulity. the attempt is vain; since, on turning from the old world to the new, we find the very same traditions there; and there, long ages before jew or christian knew of its existence, or had landed on its shores. those paintings which were to mexicans and peruvians substitutes for history, for a written or printed language, embody the story of the flood. one of these pictures, for example, shows us a man afloat with his family in a rude boat on a shoreless sea; in another, the raven of bible story is cleaving on black wing the murky sky; in a third, the heads of the hills appear in the background like islands emerging from the waste of waters, while, with such confusion as is inseparable from traditionary lore, the raven is substituted for the dove, and appears making its way to the lone tenants of the boat with evidence of the subsidence of the waters--a fir-cone in its bloody beak. rolled down the long stream of ages, the true history is more or less changed, and even fragmentary, like a water-worn stone. still, between these traditionary records and bible story there is a remarkable agreement. they sound like its echo. in them pagan voices proclaim the holiness of god. lest we also should perish with those who, looking on the placid sea and starry sky of the old world's last night, asked, "where is the promise of his coming?" they warn us to flee from wrath to come. of all these venerable legends painted in colours or embalmed in verse, written in story or sculptured on stone, none are more remarkable than those where the serpent appears. old divines imagined that the creature whose shape satan borrowed for the temptation had originally no malignant aspect; neither the poisoned fangs, nor eyes of fire, nor cold, scaly, wriggling form which man and beast recoil from with instinctive horror. they fancied that the curse, "upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat," was followed by a sudden metamorphosis, and that till then the appearance of the serpent was as lovely as it is now loathsome. they gave the words of the curse a literal interpretation. they bear a deeper meaning, no doubt; yet the fancy of these old divines may have approached nearer to fact than many perhaps suppose. science reads the history of remote ages as she finds it inscribed on the rocks; and, on turning over these stony leaves, we find that the earliest form of the serpent was different from that which, as it crawls and wriggles along the ground, so forcibly recalls the very words of the curse. though they have now only such powers of motion as belong to the meanest worm, those skeletons which the rocks entomb show that the serpent tribe had once feet to walk with, and even wings to spurn the ground and cleave the air. such is the testimony of the rocks! and, taking the words of scripture in their literal sense, there is, to say the least of it, a very curious coincidence between the voices of the rocks and the voice of revelation. but, be that as it may, what else but fragmentary traditions of eden and the fall are the forms of serpent worship among the heathen, who acted, as they still often act, on the principle of propitiating the powers of evil, the many old monuments on which its figure is sculptured, and the many old legends in which it plays a conspicuous part? what else was the belief of our pagan fathers, that within a dark cave in the bowels of the earth there sat a great scaly dragon, brooding on gold? what else was the fabled garden of the hesperides, where the trees, guarded by a fierce and formidable serpent, bore apples of gold? what else was the tragic story of a father and his sons dying by the bites and crushed within the scaly folds of a coil of serpents; and on which, as touchingly represented in the sculptured marble, we have never looked without recalling the fate of adam and his unhappy offspring? and what else is the old legend of him who with rash hand sowed serpent's teeth, and saw spring from the soil, not clustering vines, or feathery palms, or stalks of waving corn, but a crop of swords, and spears, and armed men? read that fable by the light of the bible, and the wild legend stands out the record of an awful fact. to the serpent the world owes it wars, and discords, and the sin which is their source. disguised in its form, satan brought in sin; and when sin entered on the scene, peace departed--peace between god and man, peace between man and man, peace between man and himself--the peace which, with all its blessings, he descended from heaven to restore who is our peace, and whom angels ushered on the scene of his toils and triumphs, of his atoning death and glorious victory, with songs of "glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward men." viii. jesus restores peace between god and man. there are things which god cannot do--which it were not to honour but dishonour him to believe he could. he can neither tempt, nor be tempted, to sin. the sinner he may love, but not his sin; that is impossible; as the prophet expresses it, "thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity." indeed, i would as soon believe that god could condemn a holy spirit to the pains of hell, as admit a guilty one, unjustified and unsanctified, to the joys of heaven. in that terrible indictment which god thunders out against israel by the mouth of ezekiel, he says, "thou art the land which is not cleansed. her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain. her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, saying, thus saith the lord god, when the lord hath not spoken. the people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy; therefore have i poured out mine indignation upon them; i have consumed them with the fire of my wrath: their own way have i recompensed upon their heads, saith the lord." so he arraigns this and the other class. and how of the priests? "her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they showed difference between the unclean and the clean." he censures his servants for not separating between the clean and unclean; and it insults him to suppose that he could do in his own practice what he condemns in theirs. events, such as old murders brought to light, ever and anon occur to show that god's mill, as runs the proverb, though it grinds slow, grinds sure; yet because he does not execute judgment speedily on workers of iniquity--giving them space to repent; because he often seems, like one far remote from earth, to treat its crimes and virtues with equal indifference, men have not believed these solemn words, "there is no peace, saith my god, to the wicked." but let the wicked hear his words, and take the warning, "thou hatest instruction; thou castest my words behind thee. when thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him. thou hast been partaker with adulterers. thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue practiseth deceit. thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son. these things hast thou done, and i kept silence; thou thoughtest that i was altogether such an one as thyself: but i will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. consider this, ye that forget god, lest i tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver." the universal conscience of mankind is stricken with a sense of guilt. alarmed by an instinctive sense of danger, men have felt the need of reconciliation; and, under a sense of his displeasure, have everywhere, and in all ages, sought to make their peace with god. for this end altars were raised and temples built; sacrifices offered, and penances endured. if the colossal structures of egypt, and the lovely temples of greece and rome, were erected, as well to adorn the state as to please the gods, it was less to please approving, than to appease angry divinities, that their courts resounded with the cries of victims, and smoking altars ran red with blood. so much did the heathen feel their need of peace, such store did they set by it, that many of them sought it at any price. they would buy peace at any cost; nor did they shrink from giving all their fortune, even the fruit of their body, for the sin of their souls. for peace with god the hindoo walked to his distant temples in sandals that, set with spikes, pierced his flesh at every step, and marked all the long, slow, painful journey with a track of blood; for peace with god the syrian led his sweet boy up to the fires of moloch, and, unmoved in purpose by cries, or curses, or passionate entreaties, cast him shrieking on the burning pile; for peace with god the indian mother approached the river's brink with streaming tears and trembling steps, and, tearing the suckling from her bursting heart, kissed it, to turn away her eyes, and fling it into the flood. we pity their ignorance. but how do they rebuke the indifference of many; their unwillingness to submit to any sacrifice whatever for the honour of jesus and the interests of their souls? these heathens may pity thousands whom they shall rise up in judgment to condemn. neglecting the great salvation, preferring the pleasures of sin, what a contrast do these offer to a poor hindoo, who, hearing a missionary tell of the blood of christ, sprang from the ground, and, loosing his bloody sandals, flung them away to exclaim, "now, now i have found what i want!" the peace which he found all men want, and shall find in jesus, if they seek it honestly, earnestly. god has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. he never had. we pronounce him an unnatural father, who, on a breach occurring between him and his child, though he is the injured and not the injurer, does not long to be reconciled--is not the first to make advances and overtures of peace. in this feature of the parental character god has stamped upon our hearts the beautiful image of his own. yearning over them as the kind old man over his wayward prodigal, his exiled child, god was willing to receive back sinners to his arms; to reinstate them in his family, and restore them to his favour. but how was this to be done?--done without dishonour to his holy law, and with due regard to his character as a god of truth. he had said, "the soul that sinneth shall die;" nor could peace be restored between him and man but on such terms as maintained his truth. a father or mother punishes one child, and allows another, guilty of the same offence, to go free. but had god cast fallen angels into hell, and, without any regard to his word, admitted fallen men to heaven, what had angels, what had devils, what had men themselves thought of a god who conducted his government with such caprice--playing fast and loose with his most solemn words? "the way of the lord," said ancient israel, "is not equal;" and in such a case there had been ground for the charge, and none for the indignation with which he repels it, saying, "hear now, o israel, is not my way equal? are not yours unequal?" there was only one way of restoring peace; but it involved a sacrifice on god's part which the most sanguine had never dared to hope for. if the lord of heaven and earth, veiling his glory, would assume our nature, would take the form of a servant, would stoop to the work of a subject, would die the death of a sinner, we might be saved--not otherwise; if he would leave heaven, we might enter it--not otherwise; if he would die, we might live--not otherwise; if he would enter the grave its captor, we might leave it its conquerors--not otherwise; if he, as our substitute, would fulfil the requirements of the law, both in doing our work and discharging our debt, both obeying and suffering in our stead, peace could be restored--not otherwise. for these ends god did not spare his son, but gave him up to death, "that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life;" and the "set time" having come at length, jesus descended on our world, to make peace through the blood of his cross--his angel-train, ere they returned to heaven, holding a concert in the skies. dying, the just for the unjust, he has made peace; and these are the easy terms, "believe on the lord jesus christ, and thou shalt be saved." how gladly should we accept them? if men reject peace, what chance for them in war? "hast thou an arm like god? canst thou thunder with a voice like him?" "let the potsherds strive with the potsherds of the earth; but woe to the man who striveth with his maker!" he has proclaimed a truce--granting a suspension of arms, and offering most generous proposals of peace. how should men improve the pause, and accept the overtures!--as eagerly seizing salvation through the cross of christ as a drowning man life through the rope some kind hand flings within his reach. in warfare patriots have stood up gallantly against overwhelming odds, and, closing their broken ranks, have said, "better fall on the field, better lose life than honour;" but when sinners, dropping the weapons of rebellion, yield themselves up to god, honour is not lost, but won, in a crown that fadeth not away. brave men have said, "better fight to the last, die with our swords in our hands, than become captives to pine away a weary, ignoble life within the walls of a prison;" but when the sinner gives himself up to god, he goes not to exile but home; not to chains and a dungeon, but to glorious freedom, a palace, and a throne. god asks you to give up your sins that they, not you, may be slain. it is of them, not of you, he says, "but those mine enemies which would not that i should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me!" in these circumstances, oh for the wisdom of her who showed herself on the city walls in the thick of the assault, crying to joab, "hear, hear, come near hither, i pray you, that i may speak with thee!" a woman's figure there, her voice sounding above the thunder of the captains and the shouting, suspends the attack. assailants and assailed alike rest on their arms; and as one marked as a leader by his plume and bearing, covered with the dust and blood of battle, steps forward, she bends over the battlements to ask, "art thou joab?" "i am he," is the reply. "then hear the words of thy handmaid," she cries; "i am one of them that are peaceable and faithful in israel: thou seekest to destroy a city and a mother in israel!" he solemnly repudiates the charge. "far be it from me," he answers, "that i should swallow up and destroy. the matter is not so: but a man of mount ephraim, sheba, the son of bichri, hath lifted up his hand against the king, against david: deliver him only, and i will depart from the city." she accepts the terms; and saying "behold, his head shall be thrown to thee over the wall"--vanishes. prompt in action as wise in counsel, she goes to the people, deals with them, sways the multitude to her will; and ere the last hour of the brief truce has closed, a bloody head goes bounding over the wall. it rolls like a ball to the feet of joab; and in its grim and ghastly features they recognise the face of the son of bichri. so joab blows the trumpet, and the host retires from the walls, every man to his own tent. so let men deal with their sins. let them die with the son of bichri: they have "lifted up their hand against the king." why should we spare them, and lose our souls? by his precious blood jesus has opened up a way to peace. he has come, but not "to swallow up and destroy." blessed lord, he came to save, not to destroy. "o earth, earth, earth," cried the prophet, "hear the word of the lord;" and be it known to the world's utmost bounds that god willeth not the death of the sinner, but rather that he would turn to him and live. with her flaming sword, red with the blood of men and angels, justice holds to us no other language but that of joab, "deliver up your sins only, and i will depart!" and, inspired of god with the wisdom that chooseth the better part, and maketh wise unto salvation, let us say, "better my sins die than i; better satan be cast, than jesus be kept out of it; better strike off the heads of a thousand sins that have lifted up their hands against the king, than that i should fall--sparing my sins to lose my soul!" _part v._ ahab and jezebel, two of the worst characters in sacred story, had a son; and with such blood as theirs in his veins, no wonder that joram, on succeeding to the throne of one parent, exhibited the vices of both. his mother does not seem to have had a drop of human-kindness in her breast. yet he was not altogether dead to humanity, as appears by an incident which occurred during the siege that reduced his capital to the direst extremities. the ghastly aspect of a famished woman who throws herself in his way with a wild, impassioned, wailing cry of "help, my lord, o king!" touches him; and he asks, "what aileth thee?" stretching out a skinny arm to one pale and haggard as herself, she replies, with hollow voice, "this woman said unto me, give thy son, that we may eat him to-day, and we will eat my son to-morrow. so we boiled my son, and did eat him: and i said unto her on the next day, give thy son, that we may eat him; and she hath hid her son." struck with horror at the story, joram rent his clothes. he had pity, but no piety. "why should ye be stricken any more? ye will but revolt more and more." never were these words, never was the fact that unsanctified afflictions have the same hardening effect on men which fire, that melts gold, has on clay, more strikingly illustrated than on this occasion. so far from rending his heart with his garment, and humbling himself before the lord, joram flares up into fiercer rebellion; and turning from these victims of the famine to his courtiers, he grinds his teeth to profane god's name and vow vengeance on his prophet, saying, "god do so and more also to me, if the head of elisha the son of shaphat shall stand on him this day." impotent rage against the only man who could have weathered the storm, and saved the state! the prophet's head stood on his shoulders when that of this son of a murderer--as elisha called him--lay low in death in the dust of naboth's vineyard. the day arrives which sees the cup of joram's iniquity full, and that of god's patience empty--drained to the last drop. the chief officers of the army are sitting outside their barrack, when one wearing a prophet's livery approaches them. singling out jehu from the group, he says, i have an errand to thee, o captain! the captain rises; they pass in alone; the door is shut; and now this strange, unknown man, drawing a horn of oil from his shaggy cloak, pours it on jehu's head. as if it had fallen on fire, it kindled up his smouldering ambition--so soon at least as this speech interpreted the act, "thus saith the lord god of israel, i have anointed thee king over the people of this land. thou shall smite the house of ahab thy master; dogs shall eat jezebel in the portion of jezreel, and there shall be none to bury her." having spoken so, the stranger opens the door, and flies. but faster flies god's vengeance. ere his feet have borne the servant to elisha's door, the banner of revolt is up, unfurled; troops are gathering to the sound of trumpets; and soldiers, eager for change and plunder, are making the air ring to the cry, jehu is king! launched like a thunderbolt at the house of ahab, jehu makes right for jezreel with impetuous, impatient speed. a watchman on the palace tower catches afar the dust of the advancing cavalcade, and cries, i see a company! guilt, which sleeps uneasy even on downy pillows, awakens, on the circumstance being reported to him, the monarch's fears. a horseman is quickly despatched with the question, is it peace? thus, pulling up his steed, he accosts the leader of the company, who, drawing no rein, replies, in a tone neither to be challenged nor disobeyed, what hast thou to do with peace? get thee behind me! failing the first's return, a second horseman gallops forth to carry the same question and meet the same reception. sweeping on like a hurricane, the band is now near enough for the watchman to tell, "he came near unto them, and cometh not again;" and also to add, as he marks how their leader is shaking the reins and lashing the steeds of his bounding chariot, "the driving is like the driving of jehu, the son of nimshi; for he driveth furiously." displaying a courage that seemed his only redeeming quality, or bereaved of sense, according to the saying, whom god intends to destroy he first makes mad, joram instantly throws himself into his chariot, advances to meet the band, and demands of its leader, is it peace, jehu? what peace, is the other's answer, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother and her witchcrafts are so many? with the words that leave his lips an arrow leaves his bow to transfix the flying king--entering in at his back and passing out at his breast; and when he is cast, a bloody corpse, into naboth's vineyard, and dogs are crunching his mother's bones, and jehu has climbed the throne, and elisha walks abroad with his head safe on his shoulders, and the curtain falls on the stage of these tragic and righteous scenes, it was a time for the few pious men of that guilty land to sing, "lo thine enemies, o lord, lo thine enemies shall perish; but the righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree: they shall grow like a cedar of lebanon." such was the mission of jehu, the son of nimshi. how different that of jesus, the son of god! they might have been identical; presented at least grounds of comparison rather than grounds of striking contrast. yet so remarkable is the contrast that jehu's mission--and therefore have we related the story--forms as effective a background to christ's, as the black rain-cloud to the bright bow which spans it. the cause of the difference lies in god's free, gracious, sovereign mercy--in nothing else; for had mankind, at the tidings that the son of god, attended by a train of holy angels, was approaching, met him on the confines of our world with joram's question, "is it peace?" that question might justly have met with jehu's answer, "what hast thou to do with peace?"--what have you done to obtain it, or to deserve it? yet, glory be to god in the highest, it is peace--peace more plainly and fully announced in these most gracious words, "it pleased the father that in him should all fulness dwell; and, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself, whether they be things on earth, or things in heaven." ix. jesus brings peace to the soul. having reconciled us to god by the blood of his cross, christ is "our peace," as the apostle says. he is called so, first, because he restores us to a state of friendship with god; and, secondly, because a sense of that fills the whole soul with a peace which passeth understanding. so, speaking of the righteousness which christ wrought out for us, the prophet says, "the work of righteousness is peace"--his righteousness being the root, and our peace the fruit--that the spring, and this the stream. to describe for the comfort of the church the constancy of the last and the fulness of the first, another prophet borrows two of nature's grandest images, "thy peace shall be like a river, and thy righteousness like the waves of the sea"--the believer's peace flowing like a broad, deep stream, with life in its waters and smiling verdure on its banks; and a saviour's righteousness covering all his sins, as the waves do the countless sands of their shore, when, burying them out of sight, the tide converts the whole reach of dull, dreary sand into a broad liquid mirror, to reflect the light of the sky and the beams of the sun. christ's imputed righteousness is bestowed equally on all believers--none, the least any more than the greatest sinner, being more justified than another. feeling assured or not of their salvation, all his are equally safe--"those whom thou hast given me i have kept, and none of them are lost." there is no such equal enjoyment among believers of peace in believing; some walking all their days under a cloud, and some who walk in darkness and have no light, only reaching heaven, like a blind man guided homewards by the hand of his child, by their hold of the promise, who is he that feareth the lord and obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light; let him trust in the name of the lord, and stay himself in his god. but where there is peace springing from a sense of forgiveness, of all the fruits of the spirit that grow in christ's fair garden, this is sweetest. among the blessings enjoyed on earth, it has no superior, or rival even. it passeth understanding, says an apostle. nor did david regard any as happy but those who enjoyed it--pronouncing "blessed," not the great, or rich, or noble, or famous, but "the man," whatever his condition, "whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." and so he might. with this peace the believer regards death as the gate of life: enters the grave as a quiet anchorage from seas and storms; and looks forward to the scene of final judgment as a prince to his coronation, or a happy bride to her marriage day. a sense of forgiveness lays the sick head on a pillow softer than downs; lightens sorrow's heaviest burdens; makes poverty rich beyond the wealth of banks; spoils death of his sting; arms the child of god against the ills of life; and, lifting him up above its trials, makes him like some lofty mountain, at whose feet the lake may be lashed into foaming billows, and adown whose seamed and rugged sides clouds may fall in gloomy folds, but whose head, shooting up into the calm blue heavens, reposes in unbroken peace, rejoices in perpetual sunshine. happy such as obtain a firm hold of christ, and, having made their calling and election sure, enjoy unclouded peace! feeling that there is now no more condemnation for them, because they believe in jesus, and walk not after the flesh but after the spirit, they see a change come on objects such as imparts pleasure and surprise in what are called dissolving views. where death, with grim and grisly aspect, stood by the mouth of an open grave, shaking his fatal dart, we see an angel form opening with one hand the gate of heaven, and holding in the other a shining crown--from the face of god we see the features of an angry, stern, inexorable judge melt all away, and in room of an object of terror we behold the face and form of a kind, loving, forgiving father, with open arms hastening to embrace us. the god of hope give you joy and peace in believing, is the prayer of the apostle--a prayer in many cases so fully answered that the dying saint has been borne away from all his earthly moorings; and, ready to part from wife and children, has exclaimed with simeon when he held the infant saviour in his joyful arms, "now, lord, lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation." "be at peace among yourselves," is a blessed injunction which an apostle lays on families, on friends, and on churches. in happy contrast to the storm which, hurtling through the troubled air, and shaking doors and windows, goes raving round every corner of the house, let peace reign on the domestic hearth, and also within the church, when, like the ark of old, she drifts on the billows of a shoreless sea--god only at the helm. it is good to be at peace with our brethren, but to be at peace with one's-self is better. at peace with conscience, one can afford, if god will have it so, to be at war with all men. it is painful, when we cannot be at peace with all men--to have enemies without; but his case is infinitely worse who lodges an enemy in his own breast--in a guilty, uneasy conscience, in self-reproaches, in terror of death, in the knowledge that god and he are not friends, nor can be so, so long as he cherishes his sins. there is no peace, saith my god, to the wicked. there cannot be. drugged with narcotics, you may sleep as quietly on a bed of thorns as of roses. drugged with narcotics, you may lie down on the cold pavement, and fancy as you throw your arms around the curbstone that it is the wife of your bosom. drugged with narcotics, you may go to sleep in a cell with visions of home playing round the head that shall be capped for hanging to-morrow. but no more than i call these peaceful sights, can i apply the name of peace to the insensibility of a conscience seared by sin; to the calmness, or rather callousness of one who has allowed the devil to persuade him that god is too merciful to reckon with us for our transgressions. the peace we are to seek, and, seeking to pursue, is not that of death, but life,--not that the lake presents in winter, when no life appears on its shores, nor sound breaks the silence of its frozen waters; but that of a lake which, protected from tempests by lofty mountains, carries life in its waters, beauty on its banks, and heaven mirrored in its unruffled bosom. being justified by faith we have peace with god through our lord jesus christ. such is the peace which we are to seek--a peace which, springing from a sense of reconciliation through the blood of the lamb and wrought within the soul by the in-dwelling of the holy spirit, has so raised the saint above all fears of death, and shed such a flood of glory around his dying head, that wicked men have turned from the scene to exclaim, may i die the death of the righteous, and may my last end be like his! x. jesus shall bring peace to the world. how many pages of history are written with the point of the sword--not with ink, but tears and blood? it is chiefly taken up with the recital of wars. what age has not been the era, what country the scene of bloody strifes? what soil does not hold the dust of thousands that have fallen by brothers' hands? our glebes have been fattened with the bodies of the slain? on those fields where, with the lark carolling overhead, the peasant drives his ploughshare, other steel than the sickle has glanced, and other shouts have risen than those of happy reapers bearing some blushing, sun-browned maid on their broad shoulders at the harvest home. the tall gray stones, the hoary cairns, tell how on other days these quiet scenes were disturbed by the roar of battle, and lay red with another dye than that of heath or purple wild flowers. go wherever our foot may wander, we find tokens of war; and select what age soever we may, since abel fell beneath a brother's hand, we find in man's first death, and the earth's first lone grave, a bloody omen of future and frequent crimes. what a commentary is human history on these words of holy scripture, "the whole creation groaneth, and travaileth in pain till now!--nor shall it cease to groan, or hail the day of its redemption, till the prince of peace is enthroned in the heart of all nations, and the labours of missionaries have extended that kingdom to the ends of the earth, whose triumphs are bloodless--whose walls are salvation and her gates praise." without disparagement to the happy influence of education, the extension of commerce, and the efforts of benevolent men, the real peace society is the church of god; the olive branch which the spirit, dove-like, is bearing on blessed wing to a troubled world, is the word of god; and the gospel's is the voice which, like christ's on galilee's waves, shall speak peace to a distracted earth, and change its wildest passions into a holy calm. till all nations receive the bible in its integrity and own it as their only rule of policy, till kings reign for christ and lay their crowns at his feet, a lasting peace is an idle dream. treaties will no more bind nations that lie under the influence of unsanctified passions, that chains him who dwelt among the tombs, and within whom dwelt a legion of devils. till other and better days come, the best cemented peace is only a pause--a truce--an armistice; the breathing-time of exhausted combatants. alas, that it should be so: yet true it is, that that nation dooms itself to disaster, if not destruction, which, pursuing only the arts of peace, leaves its swords to rust, and its navies to rot, and forts with empty embrasures to moulder into ruins. the trumpet of the world's jubilee has not yet sounded, nor have all the vials of the apocalypse been emptied of the wrath of god. and so, till the nations have emerged from spiritual darkness; till god's word is an open book, and duly honoured in all lands; till immorality has ceased to weaken the bonds of social happiness, discontent to rankle in the bosom of the people, and ambition to fire the breasts of kings, the world may expect ever and anon to hear the voice of joel sounding out this trumpet call, "prepare ye war; wake up the mighty men; let all the men of war draw near--beat your ploughshares into swords and your pruning-hooks into spears--put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe." better days are coming--some think near at hand. turning a seer's eye on futurity, isaiah descried them in the far distance--saw the reign of the prince of peace--jesus crowned king of kings and lord of lords--swords beaten into ploughshares and spears into pruning-hooks--every man, whether at hall or cottage door, sitting under the shade of his vine and fig-tree--the whole earth quiet, and at rest. and glad is the church, as, weary of strife and sin and sorrow, she looks up into the darksome sky, and cries, watchman, what of the night? to get a hopeful response,--to catch any sign, in break, or blush, or gray gleam however feeble, that seems to reply, the morning cometh! come blessed morn, come prince of peace--come lord jesus--come quickly! let wars cease unto the ends of the earth! scatter thou the people that delight in war. the vision tarries, but come it shall. in answer to the cry of blood that rises to heaven with a different voice from that of abel's, peace shall reign and wars shall cease. by the hands that men nailed to a cross god will break the bow, the battle, and the spear--burning the chariot in the fire. and though any peace which our age may enjoy should be only a breathing-time, but a pause in the roar of the bloody tempest, let us improve it to remedy all wrongs at home; to educate our ignorant and neglected masses; to eradicate the vices that disgrace and degrade our nation; to build up the church wherever it lies in ruins; to extend not so much britain's empire as christ's kingdom abroad, and so hasten forward the happy time when the song of the angels shall be echoed from every land, and the voices of the skies of bethlehem shall be lost in the grander, fuller, nobler chorus of all nations, singing, glory to god in the highest, peace on earth, good will toward men! _part vi._ though the last to be dropped into its place, the keystone is of all the stones of an arch the first in importance; the others span no flood, carry no weight, are of no value, without it. it gives unity to the separate parts, and locking all together, makes them one. of such consequence to the other parts of the angels' song is its last clause. it was not simply glory to god, nor peace on earth, but good will toward men, which made the angels messengers of mercy, and the news they brought tidings of great joy. glory to god! amid the rush of the waters that drowned the world, and the roar of the flames that laid sodom in ashes, they sang glory to god. god is glorious in acts of judgment as well as in acts of mercy--"the god of glory thundereth." so on shores strewn with the corpses of the dead, beside a sea which opened its gates for the escape of israel and closed them on egypt, burying king and bannered host beneath its whirling waves, moses and miriam cried, sing ye to the lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he cast into the sea! then the deep lifted up its voice, and all the waves of the sea sang glory to god! as, bearing the dead in on their foaming crests, they laid them at moses' feet. and when that judgment comes to which these are but as the big drops that prepare us for a burst of thunder and the rushing rain, when the great white throne is set, and the books are opened, and the judge rises in awful majesty to pronounce words of doom, the voices of ten times ten thousand saints shall add, amen; and in an outburst of praise that drowns the wail of the lost, the whole host of angels shall sing, glory to god! with such ascription of praise christ's heralds would have announced his advent, had he come not to save, but to destroy. "glory to god," the first clause of this song, does not, therefore, necessarily involve good will towards men; and no more does the second, "peace on earth." peace! peace was in the valley where the prophet stood with the grim wrecks of war around him,--friend and foe sleeping side by side, skeletons silently turning to dust, and swords to rust. peace is in the battle-field when the last gun is fired, and, the last of the dying having groaned out his soul in a gush of blood, the heaving mass is still. peace was on the sea and the storm suddenly became a calm, when the waves leaping up against the flying ship obtained their prey, and from the deck where he stood summoned by the voice, arise, o thou that sleepest, and call upon thy god, jonah was flung into the jaws of death. peace was in that land he had ravaged of whom men said, "he made a solitude, and called it peace,"--all its homesteads lay in ashes, and its cities stood in silent ruins. peace was in israel, when, provoked by their sins, god cast his people out: swept them all into captivity. the land had its sabbaths then. the angels' song might have announced a similar, but greater, judgment--that, as a landlord clears his estate of turbulent, lawless, bankrupt tenants, god, who had repented long ago that he had made man, was at length coming to clear the earth of his guilty presence, and make room for better tenants; a purer, holier race. it is the last clause of this hymn, therefore, that gives it an aspect of mercy--the revenue of glory which god was to receive, and the peace which earth was to enjoy, flowing from that fountain of redeeming love which had its spring in god's good will. of this christ was the divine expression, and angels were the happy messengers. happy messengers indeed! no wonder they hastened their flight to earth, and having announced the good tidings, lingered over the fields of bethlehem, singing as they hovered on the wing. to announce bad news is the unenviable office often imposed on ministers of the gospel; and recollecting with what slow, reluctant steps my feet approached the house where i had to break to a mother the tidings of the wreck, and how her sailor boy with all hands had perished; or, in the news of a husband's sudden death, i had to plant a dagger in the heart of a young, bright, happy wife. i never have read the story of absalom's tragic end, without wondering at the race between ahimaaz and cushi who should first carry the tidings to david. it had been easier, i think, to look the foe in the face and hear the roar of battle than see the old man's grief, and hear that heart-broken cry, "o absalom, my son, my son absalom, would god i had died for thee, o absalom, my son, my son!" i can enter into the feelings of the two marys, when, to quote the words of holy scripture, "they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy, and did run to bring the disciples word." i see them, as, regardless of appearances, and saluting no one, they press on, along the road, through the streets, with panting breath and gleaming eye and streaming hair and flying feet, striving who shall be first to proclaim the resurrection, and burst in on the disciples with the glad tidings, crying, "the lord is risen!" teaching the churches how to strive, their only rivalry who shall first carry the tidings of salvation to heathen lands, i dare to say those holy women never took such bounding steps, nor sped on their way with such haste before. and never, i fancy, did angels leave the gates of heaven so fast behind them, pass suns and stars in downward flight on such rapid wing, as when they hasted to earth with the tidings of great joy. may we be as eager to accept salvation as they were to announce it! may the love of god find a responsive echo within our bosoms! would that our wishes for his glory corresponded to his for our good, and that his good will toward us awoke a corresponding good will toward him--felt in hearts glowing with zeal for christ's cause, and expressed in lives wholly consecrated to his service. in studying this, we shall now consider the persons to whom good will is expressed. xi. the persons to whom good will is expressed. it is expressed to men--to all men; so that if we are finally lost, the blame as well as the bane is ours. god has no ill will to us, or to any. he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked; nor is he willing that any should perish, but that all should come to him, and live. his good will embraces the world. "when i consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" so said the royal psalmist. and, in a sense, time should only have deepened the astonishment which this question expresses. for man's ideas of the magnificence of the heavens have grown with the course of ages; and though the stars in the transparent atmosphere of palestine shone with a brilliancy unknown to us, our conceptions of the heavens are grander and more true than david's--thanks to the discoveries of modern science. as navigators, so soon as by help of the mariner's compass they could push their bold prows into untravelled seas, were ever adding new continents to the land and new islands to the ocean, so, since the invention of the telescope, science has been discovering new stars in the heavens; filling up their empty spaces with stellar systems, and vastly enlarging the limits of creation. and since every new orb has added to the lustre of jehovah's glory, another world to his kingdom, another jewel to his crown, these discoveries, by exalting god still higher, have added point and power to the old question, "what is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" yet, apart from man's sinfulness, i cannot feel that he is beneath the regards of the maker and monarch of the starry heavens. i can fancy that an earthly sovereign who, dwelling apart from his people, is jealous of their intrusion within his palace gates, and sits enthroned amid an exclusive though brilliant circle of proud and powerful barons, may neither know nor care about the fortunes of lowly cottagers; but there could be no greater mistake than out of such a man's character to weave our conceptions of god, or fancy that because we are infinitely beneath his rank, we are therefore beneath his notice. a glance at the meanest of his creatures refutes and rebukes the unworthy thought. it needs no angels from heaven to inform us that god cherishes good will to all the creatures of his hand, nor deems the least of them beneath his kind regards. look at bird, or butterfly, or beetle! observe the lavish beauty that adorns his creatures, the bounty that supplies their wants, the care taken of their lives, the happiness, expressed in songs or merry gambols or mazy dances, which he has poured into their hearts. the whole earth is full of the glory of god's infinite benignity and good will. insignificant as i--a speck on earth, and earth itself but a speck in creation--seem to myself when, standing below the starry vault, i look up into the heavens, yet, apart from the thought that i am a sinner, i cannot say, what is man, that thou art mindful of him? how can i, when i see him mindful of the brood that sleep in their rocking nest, of the moth that flits by my face on muffled wing, of the fox that howls on the hill, of the owl that hoots to the pale moon from ivy tower or hollow tree? are you not of more value than many sparrows? said our lord. fashioned originally after the divine image, with a soul outweighing in value the rude matter of a thousand worlds, able to rise on the wings of contemplation above the highest stars and hold communion with god himself, man, apart from his sinfulness, was every way worthy of divine good will; that god should be mindful of him. but we are sinners--sinners by nature as well as practice; polluted; unholy; so unclean that our emblem is that hideous form which, from the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, is wounds and bruises and putrifying sores; and the news that god cherishes good will to such guilty creatures may well evoke the old, wondering cry, hear, o heavens; be astonished, o earth! on recalling the happy days of early life, when, a child, he lay in his father's arms; a boy, he sat on his knee; a youth, he walked by his side--the tears that at parting streamed over the old man's cheeks--his kind counsels, his tender warnings, his warm kisses, and how he had stood and watched his departing steps till the brow of a hill or a turn of the road hid him from view, the poor prodigal ventured to hope that his father would not turn him from his door; for the sake of the past and of his mother in the grave, would grant him at least a servant's place. weighed down by a sense of guilt, his hopes rose to no higher flight--expected nothing beyond a menial's office. to be received with open arms, to be welcomed back again like some youth who has gone abroad to win a fortune or be crowned with laurels--that his should be the fairest robe, the finest ring, the fatted calf--that instead of stealing in under the cloud of night to be concealed from strangers' eyes, the old house on his return should ring to the sound of music, and floors should shake to the dancers' feet, and the whole neighbourhood should be called to rejoice with a father whose shame and sorrow he had been, was a turn of fortune he never dreamt of; never dared to hope for. on the part of that loving, forgiving father, what amazing good will! but how much more amazing this which god proclaimed by the lips of angels, and proved by the death of his beloved son! i have known fathers and mothers who were sorely tried by wayward, wicked children--i have seen their gray hairs go down with sorrow to the grave. with hearts bleeding under wounds from the hands of one they loved, i have seen them welcome the grave; saying as they descended into its quiet rest, "the days of my mourning are ended." it is a horrid crime to wring tears from such eyes, to crush such hearts: but was ever patient, hoping, loving parent tried as we have tried our father in heaven? not without reason does he ask, "if i be a father, where is mine honour? if i be a master, where is my fear?" and who that thinks of his sins, their guilt, their number, and, as committed against infinite love and tender mercy, their unspeakable atrocity, but will acknowledge the truth of these words, "because i am god, and not man, therefore the children of men are not consumed"--just as it is because the ship rides by a cable, and not a cobweb, that, when sails are rent, and yards are gone, and breakers are foaming on the reef, she mounts the billows and survives the storm. that we are not suffering the pains of hell, that we have hopes of heaven and ever shall be there, we owe not to our good works, but to god's good will; to that only. till converted, man does not desire this good will; and never deserves it. we have no claim to it whatever. it is "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy god saves us, by the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the holy ghost"--therefore his good will has no root in any good works of ours. a sacred mystery, we may apply to it the words which job, contemplating the grand mysteries of nature, applied to our earth when, seeing this great globe floating in ethereal space, sustained by no pillars, nor suspended by any chain that linked it to the skies, he said, thou hast hung it upon nothing! xii. the person who expresses "good will." the person is god--he who spake by holy men of old, speaking here by the lips of angels. where there is a will, there is a way, is a brave and admirable proverb. yet, though comparatively true in most cases, to some it is altogether inapplicable. look, for example, at the women who, when the men had turned cowards, boldly follow our lord to calvary, bewailing and lamenting him! what tears they shed, what a wail they raise, when the door opens, and, surrounded by armed guards, jesus comes forth from the judgment hall, bleeding, bound, crowned with thorns. when he sank down on the street under the weight of the cross, and his blessed head lay low in the dust, had there been a chance of saving him, how had they rushed to his help; and, giving their naked breasts to the roman spears, burst through the circle to rescue him; to die with him rather than desert him. but they were helpless. their good will availed the loved object nothing--beyond this, that the sympathy flowing in their tears and expressed in their looks, somewhat soothed the sorrows of his heart, and fell like balm drops on his smarting wounds. again, what good will did david bear to jonathan! did jonathan love david as his own soul? and under circumstances calculated to dissolve all common friendships, and work such change on the heart as wine suffers when it turns into vinegar, did jonathan's sentiments continue unchanged, his affection unabated to the last? his love was strong as death; many waters could not quench it. but it was amply requited. david proved that with his harp; had he been present on that fatal field where the bow of jonathan was broken, he had proved it with his sword. with what a lion spring had he answered jonathan's cry for help; how had he bestrode his fallen friend, covering him with his battered shield; mowing a way through the ranks of the philistines, how had he borne him off to a place of safety, or falling in the attempt, left others to compose their elegy, and sing, they were pleasant in their lives, and in death they were not divided! god is a very present help in time of trouble; but there was no help for jonathan in david. far away from that bloody field, his good will availed jonathan nothing--beyond embalming his rare virtues in immortal song, and in an imperishable lament raising an imperishable monument to the memory of a man whose love to him was wonderful, passing the love of women. again, what good will in his father's heart to esau? but the old man's hands are tied. fresh from the chase, and ignorant of what has happened in his absence, esau approaches isaac, saying, let my father arise and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me! who art thou? says the blind old man--astonished that any should ask what he has already given away. recognising the beloved voice which replied, i am thy son, thy first-born esau, and dreading some dire calamity, isaac trembled exceedingly, crying, "who? where is he that hath taken venison and brought it me; and i have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall be blessed." by the basest, cruelest fraud, jacob has possessed himself of the blessing; and if their mother, his own partner in guilt, was watching the issue of this perfidious plot, how had it pierced her heart to hear esau, when the truth flashed on his mind and he saw the treasure stolen, cry, "with a great and exceeding bitter cry, bless me, even me also, o my father!" the strong man, the bold hardy hunter, lifted up his voice and wept; seeking repentance, as the apostle says--to get isaac to undo the deed--with tears but found it not. what availed his father's good will to him, his favourite son? what was done must stand. the blessing was gone; and isaac, though he had the will, had no way to recall it. but what need to ransack old history for examples? how often have our hearts overflowed with good will, yet we could only weep with them that wept--pity sorrows we could not soothe, wants we were powerless to relieve? tears we might give, but they could not clothe the naked, or feed the hungry, or save the dying, or recall the dead, or close the wounds which death had made. in dying chambers how are we made painfully, bitterly to feel that man's power is not commensurate with his will? what good will, what tender affection toward some dear, beloved object! yet, as we hung over the dying couch, all we could do was to moisten the speechless lips, to wipe the clammy sweat from death's cold brow and watch the sinking pulses of life's ebbing tide. what would we not have done to meet the wishes of the eye that, when speech was gone, turned on us imploring, never-to-be-forgotten looks! alas, our good will availed them nothing! such recollections, by the contrast which they present to god's good will, greatly enhance its preciousness. "his favour is life, his loving-kindness is better than life." where god has a will, god always has a way. at the throne of divine grace, none had ever to shed esau's tears, or cry with him, hast thou but one blessing, o my father? our father in heaven is affluent in blessings, plenteous in redemption, abundant in goodness and in truth. who ever turned an imploring eye on god, and brought to prayer the earnestness of him that bends the knee to yon blind old man, but became in time the happy object of god's loving, saving mercy. let men trust in the lord. in the name of christ let them throw themselves on his mercy. what though they cannot see it? it is around them, like the invisible but ambient air on which the eagle, with an awful gulf below, throws herself from her rocky nest in fearless freedom, and with expanded wings. so let men, trusting in god's faithful word, spread out the wings of faith, and cast them on his good will. wrapping the world round in an atmosphere of mercy, it shall sustain their weight, and bear them aloft, till, ascending into the calm regions of christian hope, they bathe their eyes in the beams of the sun of righteousness, and feel their feet firmly planted on the rock of ages. but let one thing be remembered, this, namely, that god will not save any against their will. let us therefore seek, and seek till we obtain, a change of heart. he draws, not drives--will not force any into heaven--nor be served by the hands of a slave. if i would not have a sullen, crouching slave wait at my table, work in my house, stand in my poor presence, much less he who says, give me thy heart, my son! he makes his people willing in the day of his power. softened in the flames of divine love, their stubborn wills yield to his, and, under the hand of his holy spirit and the hammer of his mighty word, take the fashion and form of his own. thus, his will and their wills being brought into perfect harmony, his people feel their duty to be their delight, and regard his holy service as no irksome bondage, but the truest liberty and highest honour. the end. _ballantyne, roberts, & co., printers, edinburgh._ transcriber's note: minor printer errors (omitted letters or punctuation) have been corrected without note. any variations in spelling or hyphenation have been left as they appeared in the original. none the threshold grace _meditations in the psalms_ by percy c. ainsworth author of 'the pilgrim church.' 'the blessed life,' etc. prefatory note during his brief ministry mr. ainsworth published a series of meditations in the columns of the _methodist times_, which are here reprinted by the kind permission of the editor, dr. scott lidgett. the rare interest aroused by the previous publication of mr. ainsworth's sermons encourages the hope that the present volume may find a place in the devotional literature to which many turn in the quiet hour. a.k.s. contents i. the threshold grace ii. the habit of faith iii. the one thing desirable iv. eyes and feet v. the safeguarded soul vi. a plea for tears vii. deliverance with honour viii. petition and communion ix. haunted hours x. the wings of the dove xi. a new song i. the threshold grace the lord shall keep thy going out and thy coming in, from this time forth and for evermore. ps. cxxi, . going out and coming in. that is a picture of life. beneath this old hebrew phrase there lurks a symbolism that covers our whole experience. but let us just now look at the most literal, and by no means the least true, interpretation of these words. one of the great dividing-lines in human life is the threshold-line. on one side of this line a man has his 'world within the world,' the sanctuary of love, the sheltered place of peace, the scene of life's most personal, sacred, and exclusive obligations. and on the other side lies the larger life of mankind wherein also a man must take his place and do his work. life is spent in crossing this threshold-line, going out to the many and coming in to the few, going out to answer the call of labour and coming in to take the right to rest. and over us all every hour there watches the almighty love. the division-lines in the life of man have nothing that corresponds to them in the love of god. we may be here or there, but he is everywhere. _the lord shall keep thy going out._ life has always needed that promise. there is a pledge of help for men as they fare forth to the world's work. it was much for the folk of an early time to say that as they went forth the lord went with them, but it is more for men to say and know that same thing to-day. the _going out_ has come to mean more age after age, generation after generation. it was a simpler thing once than it is now. 'thy going out'--the shepherd to his flocks, the farmer to his field, the merchant to his merchandise. there are still flocks and fields and markets, but where are the leisure, grace, and simplicity of life for him who has any share in the world's work? men go out to-day to face a life shadowed by vast industrial, commercial, and social problems. life has grown complicated, involved, hard to understand, difficult to deal with. tension, conflict, subtlety, surprise, and amid it all, or over it all, a vast brooding weariness that ever and again turns the heart sick. oh the pains and the perils of the going out! there are elements of danger in modern life that threaten all the world's toilers, whatever their work may be and wherever they may have to do it. there is the danger that always lurks in _things_--a warped judgement, a confused reckoning, a narrowed outlook. it is so easily possible for a man to be at close grips with the world and yet to be ever more and more out of touch with its realities. the danger in the places where men toil is not that god is denied with a vociferous atheism; it is that he is ignored by an unvoiced indifference. it is not the babel of the market-place that men need to fear; it is its silence. if we say that we live only as we love, that we are strong only as we are pure, that we are successful only as we become just and good, the world into which we go forth does not deny these things--but it ignores them. and thus the real battle of life is not the toil for bread. it is fought by all who would keep alive and fresh in their hearts the truth that man doth not live by bread alone. for no man is this going out easy, for some it is at times terrible, for all it means a need that only this promise avails to meet--'the lord shall keep thy going out.' he shall fence thee about with the ministry of his spirit, and give thee grace to know, everywhere and always, that thou art in this world to live for his kingdom of love and truth and to grow a soul. _the lord, shall keep ... thy coming in._ it might seem to some that once a man was safely across the threshold of his home he might stand in less need of this promise of help. but experience says otherwise. the world has little respect for any man's threshold. it is capable of many a bold and shameless intrusion. the things that harass a man as he earns his tread sometimes haunt him as he eats it. no home is safe unless faith be the doorkeeper. 'in peace will i both lay me down and sleep, for thou, lord, alone makest me to dwell in safety.' the singer of that song knew that, as in the moil of the world, so also in the shelter of the place he named his dwelling-place, peace and safety were not of his making, but of god's giving. sometimes there is a problem and a pain waiting for a man across his own threshold. many a man can more easily look upon the difficulties and perils of the outer world than he can come in and look into the pain-lined face of his little child. if we cannot face alone the hostilities on one side of our threshold we cannot face alone the intimacies on the other side of it. after all, life is whole and continuous. whatever the changes in the setting of life, there is no respite from living. and that means there is no leisure from duty, no rest from the service of obedience, no cessation in the working of all those forces by means of which, or in spite of which, life is ever being fashioned and fulfilled. and now let us free our minds from the literalism of this promise and get a glimpse of its deeper application to our lives. the threshold of the home does not draw the truest division-line in life between the outward and the inward. life is made up of thought and action, of the manifest things and the hidden things. 'thy going out.' that is, our life as it is manifest to others, as it has points of contact with the world about us. we must go out. we must take up some attitude toward all other life. we must add our word to the long human story and our touch to the fashioning of the world. we need the pledge of divine help in that life of ours in which, for their good or ill, others must have a place and a part. 'and thy coming in'--into that uninvaded sanctum of thought. did we say uninvaded? not so. in that inner room of life there sits regret with her pale face, and shame with dust on her forehead, and memory with tears in her eyes. it is a pitiable thing at times, is this our coming in. more than one man has consumed his life in a flame of activity because he could not abide the coming in. 'the lord shall keep ... thy coming in.' that means help for every lonely, impotent, inward hour of life. look at the last word of this promise--'for evermore.' going out and coming in for evermore. i do not know how these words were interpreted when very literal meanings were attached to the parabolic words about the streets of gold and the endless song. but they present no difficulty to us. indeed, they confirm that view of the future which is ever taking firmer hold of men's minds, and which is based on the growing sense of the continuity of life. to offer a man an eternity of music-laden rest is to offer him a poor thing. he would rather have his going out and his coming in. yes, and he shall have them. all that is purest and best in them shall remain. hereafter he shall still go out to find deeper joys of living and wider visions of life; still come in to greater and ever greater thoughts of god. ii. the habit of faith trust in him at all times, ye people. pour out your heart before him. god is a refuge for us. ps. lxii. . here the psalmist strikes the great note of faith as it should be struck. he sets it ringing alike through the hours and the years. _trust in him at all times._ faith is not an act, but an attitude; not an event, but a principle; not a last resource, but the first and abiding necessity. it is the constant factor in life's spiritual reckonings. it is the ever-applicable and the ever-necessary. it is always in the high and lasting fitness of things. there are words that belong to hours or even moments, words that win their meaning from the newly created situation. but faith is not such a word. it stands for something inclusive and imperial. it is one of the few timeless words in earth's vocabulary. for the deep roots of it and the wide range of it there is nothing like unto it in the whole sweep of things spiritual. so the 'all times' trust is not for one moment to be regarded as some supreme degree of faith unto which one here and there may attain and which the rest can well afford to look upon as a counsel of perfection. this exhortation to trust in god at all times concerns first of all the _nature_ of faith and not the _measure_ of it. all real faith has the note of the eternal in it. it can meet the present because it is not of the present. we have grown familiar with the phrase, 'the man of the moment.' but who is this man? sometimes he is very literally a man of the moment--an opportunist, a gambler with the hours, a follower of the main chance. the moment makes him, and passing away unmakes him. but the true man of the moment is the man to whom the moment is but one throb in the pulse of eternity. for him the moment does not stand out in splendid isolation. it is set in its place between that which hath been and that which shall be. and its true significance is not something abiding in it, but something running through it. so is it in this great matter of faith. only the faith that can trust at all times can trust at any time. the moment that faith heeds the dictation of circumstance it ceases to be faith and becomes calculation. all faith is transcendent. it is independent of the conditions in which it has to live. it is not snared in the strange web of the tentative and the experimental. he that has for one moment felt the power of faith has got beyond the dominion of time. _trust in him at all times._ that is the only real escape from confusion and contradiction in the judgements we are compelled to pass upon life. times change so suddenly and inexplicably. the hours seem to be at strife with each other. we live in the midst of a perpetual conflict between our yesterdays and our to-days. there is no simple, obvious sequence in the message of experience. the days will not dovetail into each other. life is compact of much that is impossible of true adjustment at the hands of any time-born philosophy. and in all this seeming confusion there lies the necessity for faith. herein it wins its victory. we are to trust god not because we cannot trace him, but that by trusting him we may ever be more able to trace him and to see that he has a way through all these winding and crossing paths. faith does more than hold a man's hand in the darkness; it leads him into the light. it is the secret of coherence and harmony. it does not make experience merely bearable, it makes it luminous and instructive. it takes the separate or the tangled strands of human experience and weaves them into one strong cable of help and hope. _trust in him at all times._ then faith at its best is a habit. indeed, religion at its best is a habit, too! we are sometimes too ready to discount the worth of the habitual in our religious life. we put a premium on self-consciousness. we reduce the life of faith to a series of acts of faith of varying difficulty and import, but each detached from the rest and individually apprehended of the soul. surely this is all wrong. in our physical life we are least conscious of those functions that are most vital and continuous, and the more perfectly they do their work the less we think about them. the analogy is incomplete and must be drawn with care. but when you have conceded that faith has to be acquired, that it has to be learned, there is still this much in the analogy. if faith is a long and hard lesson, the value of the lesson to us is not the effort with which we learn it, but the ease with which we apply it. the measure of conscious effort in our faith is the measure of our faith's weakness. when faith has become a spontaneity of our character, when it turns to god instinctively, when it does its work with the involuntariness of habit, then it has become strong. _pour out your heart before him._ how this singer understood the office and privilege of the 'all times' trust! he knew that there is a fullness of heart that is ill to bear. true, in more than one simple way the full heart can find some slight relief. there is work. the full heart can go out and do something. there is a brother's trouble in which a man may partly forget his own. there is sympathy. surely few are so lonely that they cannot find any one ready to offer the gift of the listening ear, any one willing to share with them all of pain and burden that can be shared. ah! but what of that which cannot be shared? what of the sorrow that has no language, and the shame and confusion that we would not, and even dare not, trail across a friend's mind? so often the heart holds more than ever should be poured out into another's ear. there are in life strained silences that we could not break if we would. and there is a law of reticence that true love and unselfishness will always respect. if my brother hath joy, am i to cloud it with my grief? if he hath sorrow, am i to add my sorrow unto his? when our precious earthly fellowship has been put to its last high uses in the hour of sorrow or shame, the heart has still a burden for which this world finds no relief. but there is another fellowship. there is god our father. there is the ear of heaven. we may be girt with silence among our fellows, but in looking up the heart finds freedom. in his presence the voice of confession can break through the gag of shame, and the pent-up tide of trouble can let itself break upon the heart of eternal love. _god is a refuge for us._ that is the great discovery of faith. that is the merciful word that comes to be written so plainly in the life that has formed the habit of faith. god our refuge. it may be that to some the word 'refuge' suggests the occasional rather than the constant need of life. but the refuge some day and the faith every day are linked together. a thing is no use to you if you cannot find it when you want it. and you cannot find it easily if it be not at hand. the peasant built his cottage under the shadow of his lord's castle walls. in the hour of peril it was but a step to the strong fortress. 'trust in him at all times.' build your house under the walls of the eternal help. live in the presence. find the attitude of faith, and the act of faith will be simple. trust in him through every hour, and when a tragic hour comes one step shall take you into the innermost safety. iii. the one thing desirable one thing have i desired of the lord, that will i seek after; that i may dwell in the house of the lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the lord, and to inquire in his temple. ps. xxvii. . _i have desired ... i will seek._ amid the things that are seen, desire and quest are nearly always linked closely together. the man who desires money seeks after money. the desire of the world is often disappointed, but it is rarely supine. it is dynamic. it leads men. true, it leads them astray; but that is a reflection on its wisdom and not on its effectiveness. among what we rightly call the lower things men do not play with their desires, they obey them. but amid the unseen realities of life it is often quite otherwise. in the religious life desire is sometimes strangely ineffective. it is static, if that be not a contradiction in terms. in many a life-story it stands written: one thing have i desired of the lord, that will i dream of, that will i hope for, that will i wait for. many things help to explain this attitude, and, explaining it, they condemn it also. we allow our surroundings to pass judgement on our longings. we bring the eternal to the bar of the hour, and postpone the verdict. or it may be in the worldliness of our hearts we admit the false plea of urgency and the false claim of authority made by our outward life. and perhaps more commonly the soul lacks the courage of its desires. it costs little to follow a desire that goes but a little way, and that on the level of familiar effort and within sight of familiar things. it is another thing to hear the call of the mountains and to feel the fascination of some far and glittering peak. that is a call to perilous and painful effort. and yet again, high desire sometimes leaves life where it found it because the heart attaches an intrinsic value to vision. it is something to have _seen_ the alpine heights of possibility. yes, it is something, but what is it? it is a golden hour to the man who sets out to the climb; it is an hour of shame and judgement, hereafter to be manifest, to the man who clings to the comforts of the valley. _one thing have i desired._ when a man speaks thus unto us, we have a right to ponder his words with care. we naturally become profoundly interested, expectant, and, to the limit of our powers, critical. if a man has seen one thing that he can call simply and finally the desire of his heart, it ought to be worth looking at. we expect something large, lofty, inclusive. and we find this: '_that i may dwell in the house of the lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the lord, and to inquire in his temple._' let us examine this desire, and, first of all, we must free our minds from mere literalism. if we do not, we shall find in this desire many things that are not in it, and miss everything that is in it. this is not the longing for a cloistered life, the confession of one who is weary of this heavy world, doubtful of its promises and afraid of its powers. 'the house of the lord' is not a place, but a state, not an edifice, but an attitude. it is a fair and unseen dwelling-place builded by the hands of god to be the home, here and hereafter, of all the hearts that purely love and worship him. we read of one who, a day's march from his father's house, lay down and slept; and in his sleep god spake to him, and lo, out in a wild and lonely place, jacob said, 'this is none other but the house of god.' for every one to whom the voice of god has come, and who has listened to that voice and believed in its message, the mountains and valleys of this fair world, the breath of every morning and the hush of every evening, are instinct with a presence. wordsworth dwelt in the house of the lord all the days of his life. and if the wonder and beauty of the earth lift up our hearts unto our god in praise and worship, we dwell there also. yes, but this world is a world of men. in city or on hillside the great persistent fact for us, the real setting of our life, is not nature, but humanity. life is not a peaceful vision of earthly beauty. our experience is not a dreamy pastoral. there are shamed and broken lives. the world is full of greed and hate and warfare and sorrow. nature at its best cannot by itself build for us a temple that humanity at its worst, or even at something less than its worst, cannot pull down about our ears. for the psalmist, probably david himself, the temple was symbolic of all heavenly realities. it stood for the holiness and the nearness and the mercy of god, and for the sacredness and the possibility of human life. in the light and power and perfect assurance of these things he desired to dwell all the days of his life. for us there is the life and word of one greater than the temple. jesus of nazareth dwelt in the house of the lord. between him and god the father there was perfect union. and no one ever saw the worth of human life as jesus saw it. and no one ever measured the sacred values of humanity as he measured them. and now, in the perfect mercy of god, there is no man but may dwell in the house of god alway and feel life's sacredness amidst a thousand desecrations, and know its preciousness amidst all that seeks to obscure, defile, and cheapen it. _to behold the beauty of the lord._ it is only in the house of the lord, the unseen fane of reverence, trust, and communion, that a man can learn what beauty is, and where to look for it. out in the world beauty is held to be a sporadic thing. it is like a flower growing where no one expected a blossom. it is an unrelated and unexplained surprise. it is a green oasis in the desert of unlovely and unpromising things. but for the dweller in the house of the lord beauty is not on this wise. said one such dweller, 'the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose.' he looked across the leagues of burning sand and saw the loveliness of carmel by the sea, and of sharon where the lilies grow. to the artist beauty is an incident, to the saint beauty is a law of life. it is the thing that is to be. it is the positive purpose, throbbing and yearning and struggling in the whole universe. when it emerges and men behold it, they behold the face of truth; and if it emerges not, it is still there, the fundamental fact and the vital issue of human life. to dwell in the divine presence by faith and obedience; to live so near to god that you can see all about yourself and every human soul the real means of life, and straight before you the real end of life; to know that though so often the worst is man's dark choice, yet ever the best is his true heritage; and to learn to interpret the whole of life in the terms of god's saving purpose,--this is to behold the beauty of the lord. _and to inquire in his temple._ the psalmist desired for himself an inward attitude before god that should not only reveal unto him the eternal fitness of all god's ways and the eternal grace of all his purposes, but should also put him in the way of solving the various problems that arise to try the wisdom and strength of men's lives. sometimes the first court of appeal in life, and always the last, is the temple court. when all the world is dumb, a voice speaks to them that worship. reverential love never loses its bearings. in this world we need personal and social guidance, and there must be many times when both shall be wanting unless we have learned to carry the burden of our ignorance to the feet of the eternal wisdom. and perhaps a man can desire no better thing for himself than that the reverence and devotion of his life should be such as to make the appeal to god's perfect arbitrament an easy thing. iv. eyes and feet mine eyes are ever toward the lord, for he shall pluck my feet out of the net. ps. xxv. . in any man's life a great deal depends upon outlook. in some ways we recognize this fact. we do not by choice live in a house whose windows front a blank wall. a little patch of green grass, a tree, a peep of sky, or even the traffic of a busy street--anything rather than a blank wall. that is a sound instinct, but it ought to go deeper than it sometimes does. this outlook and aspect question is important when you are building a house, but it is vastly more important when you are building a character. the soul has eyes. the deadliest monotony is that of a dull soul. life is a poor affair for any man who looks out upon the blind walls of earthly circumstance and necessity, and cannot see from his soul's dwelling-place the pink flush of the dawn that men call hope, and who has no garden where he may grow the blossoms of faith and sweet memory, the fair flowers of holy human trusts and fellowships. only the divinity of life can deliver us from the monotony of living. 'mine eyes are ever toward the lord.' this man has an infinite outlook. it matters not whether he looked out through palace windows or lived in the meanest house in jerusalem's city. it is the eye that makes the view. this man had a fairer prospect than ever man had who looked seaward from carmel or across the valleys from the steeps of libanus. it was his soul that claimed the prospect. from the window of the little house of life he saw the light of god lying on the everlasting hills. that is the real deliverance from the monotony of things. the man who is weary of life is the man who has not seen it. the man who is tied to his desk sometimes thinks everything would be right if only he could travel. but many a man has done the grand tour and come back no better contented. you cannot fool your soul with mont blanc or even the himalayas. so many thousand feet, did you say?--but what is that to infinity! the cure for the fretful soul is not to go _round_ the world; it is to get _beyond_ it. _mine eyes are ever toward the lord._ that is the view we want. we gaze contemptuously on the little one-story lodge just inside the park gates, and fail to get a glimpse of the magnificent mansion, with its wealth of adornment and treasure, that lies a mile among the trees. no wonder that men grow discontented or contemptuous when they mistake the porch for the house. if a man would understand himself and discover his resources and put his hand on all life's highest uses, he must look out and up unto his god. then he comes to know that sunrise and sunset, and the beauty of the earth, and child-life and old age, and duty and sorrow, and all else that life holds, are linked to the larger life of an eternal world. that is the true foresight. they called him a far-seeing man. how did he get that name? well, he made a fortune. he managed to make use of the ebb and flow of the market, and never once got stranded. he was shrewd and did some good guessing, and now, forsooth, they say he is 'very far-seeing.' but he has not opened his bible for years, and the fountains of sympathy are dried up in his soul. he can see as far into the money column as most men, but the financial vista is not very satisfying for those who see it best. the gospel of st. john is a sealed book to him, and that is in god's handwriting and opens the gates of heaven. far-seeing? why, the man is in a tiny cell, and he is going blind. 'mine eyes are ever toward the lord.' that is the far-sighted man. he can see an ever larger life opening out before him. he can see the glory of the eternal righteousness beneath his daily duties and the wonder of eternal love in the daily fellowships and fulfilments of the brotherhood. this is measuring life by the heavenly measurement. this is the vision we need day by day and at the end of the days. for interest in some things must wane, and life must become less responsive to all that lies about it, and many an earthly link is broken and many an earthly window is darkened, and the old faces and old ways pass, and the thing the old man cherishes is trodden under foot by the impetuous tread of a new generation, and desire fails. then it is well with him whose eyes have already caught glimpses of 'the king in his beauty,' and 'the land that is very far off.' but think for a moment of the present value of the divine outlook upon life. it brings guidance and deliverance. set side by side the two expressions 'eyes unto the lord,' and 'feet out of the net.' life is more than a vision; it is a pilgrimage. we see the far white peaks whereon rests the glory of life, but reaching them is not a matter of eyes, but of feet. here, maybe, the real problem of godly living presents itself to us. here our christian idealism lays a burden on us. it is possible to see distances that would take days to traverse. even so we can see heights of spiritual possibility that we shall not reach while the light holds good unless we foot it bravely. and it is not an easy journey. there are so many snares set for the pilgrims of faith and hope. there are subtle silken nets woven of soft-spun deceits and filmy threads of sin; and there are coarse strong nets fashioned by the strong hands of passion and evil desire. there are nets of doubt and pain and weakness. but think of the man whose eyes were ever towards the lord. he came through all right. he always does. he always will. he looked steadily upward to his god. when we get into the net we yield to the natural tendency to look down at our feet. we try to discover how the net is made. we delude ourselves with the idea that if only we take time we shall be able to extricate ourselves; but it always means getting further entangled. it is a waste of time to study the net. life is ever weaving for us snares too intricate for us to unravel and too strong for us to break. god alone understands how they are made and how they may be broken. he does not take us round the net or over it, but he does not leave us fast by the feet in the midst of it. he always brings a man out on the heavenward side of the earthly difficulty. look upward and you are bound to go forward. v. the safeguarded soul the lord shall keep thee from all evil; he shall keep thy soul. ps. cxxi. . one of the great offices of religion is to help men to begin at the beginning. if you wish to straighten out a tangle of string, you know that it is worth your while to look patiently for one of the ends. if you make an aimless dash at it the result is confusion worse confounded, and by-and-by the tangle is thrown down in despair, its worst knots made by the hands that tried in a haphazard way to simplify it. life is that tangle; and religion, if it does not loosen all the knots and straighten all the twists, at least shows us where the two ends are. they are with god and the soul. god deals with a man's soul. we cannot explain the facts of our experience or the fashion of our circumstance save in as far as we can see these things reflected in our character. the true spiritual philosophy of life begins its inquiry in the soul, and works outward into all the puzzling mass of life's details. and the foundation of such a philosophy is not experience, but faith. it is true that experience often confirms faith, but faith interprets experience. experience asks more questions than it can answer. it collects more facts than it can explain. it admits of many different constructions being put upon it. it puts us first of all into touch with the problem of life rather than the solution. if the gentle, patient words of the saint are the utterance of one who has suffered, so also are the bitter protests of the disappointed worldling. the fashion of the experience may be the same in each case. it is faith that makes the lesson different. it is a want of faith that makes us expect the lower in life to explain the higher, the outward to shed light upon the inward. we pluck with foolish, aimless fingers at this strange tangle of human life. we judge god's way with us as far as we can see it, and we think we have got to the end of it. we draw our shallow conclusions. faith teaches us that god's way with us is a longer and a deeper way, and the end of that way is down in the depths of our spirit, hidden in the love of our character. it is not here and now. it is in what we shall be if god have his will with us. all the true definitions of things are written in the soul. it was here that the psalmist found his definition of evil. 'the lord shall keep thee from all evil; he shall keep thy soul.' then evil is something that threatens the soul. it is not material, but spiritual. it is not in our circumstances themselves, but in their effect upon the inward life. the same outward conditions of life may be good or evil according to their influence on our character. good and evil are not qualities of things. they have no meaning apart from the soul. the world says that health and wealth are good, and that sickness and poverty are evil. if that were true the line that separates the healthy from the sick, the rich from the poor, would also separate the happy from the miserable. but we find joy and sorrow on both sides of that line. we are drawn to look deeper than this for our definition of good and evil. we have to make the soul the final arbiter amid these conflicting voices. here we must find the true definition of evil. the first question we ask when we hear of a house having been burnt down is this: 'was there any loss of life?' all else lies on a vastly lower plane of interest and importance. so must we learn to distinguish between the house of circumstance, or the house of the body, and the soul that dwells in it. the only real loss is the 'loss of life,' the loss of any of these inner things that go to make the soul's strength and treasure. the man who has lost everything except faith and hope has, maybe, lost nothing at all. there are some among the pilgrims of faith to-day who would never have been found there had not god cast upon their shoulders the ragged cloak of poverty; and if you know anything about that band of pilgrims you will know that the man who outstrips his companions is often a man who is lame on both his feet. o sceptic world, this is the final answer to your scepticism, an answer none the less true because you cannot receive it: _the lord keepeth the souls of his saints._ have you not seen men thinning out a great tree, cutting off some of its noblest branches and marring its splendid symmetry? and very likely you have felt it was a great shame to do so. but that work of maiming and spoiling meant light and sunshine and air in a close and darkened room. it meant health to the dwellers in the house over which the tree had cast its shadow. it is much to have tall and stately trees in the garden of life. but by-and-by that great oak of vigour begins to darken the windows of faith, and god lops some of the branches. we call it suffering, but it means more light. or it may be that those firs of lordly ambition have grown taller than the roof-tree, and god sends forth his storm-wind to lay them low. we call it failure, but it means a better view of the stars. ah, yes, we are over-anxious about the trees in the garden. god cares most of all that the light of his truth and the warmth of his love and the breath of his spirit shall reach and fill every room in the house of life. _he shall keep thy soul._ that is a promise that can fold us in divine comfort and peace, and that can do something towards interpreting for us every coil of difficulty, every hour of pain. but if this is to be so, we must ourselves be true to the view of life the promise gives us. we must think of the soul as god thinks of it. we live in a world where souls are cheap. they are bought and sold day by day. it is strange beyond all understanding that the only thing many a man is not afraid of losing is the one thing that is really worth anything to him--his soul. sometimes the lusts of the world drag down our heart's desire, and we have to confess with shame to moments in our experience when we have not been at all concerned with what became of our soul so long as the desire of the hour was fulfilled or satisfied. we need to seek day by day that the masterful and abiding desires of our heart may be set upon undying good, and that our aspiration may never fold its wings and rest on anything lower than the highest. this shall not make dreamers of us. it shall stand us in good stead in the thick of the world. the man who gets 'the best of the bargain' is always the man who is most honest; for the most precious thing that a man stands to win or lose in any deal is the cleanness of his soul. the man who gets the best of the argument is always the man who is most truthful; for a quiet conscience is better than a silenced opponent. the man who gets the best of life is the man who keeps the honour of his soul; for jesus said: 'what shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?' so then, amid the manifold uncertainties of human life and the ever-changing forms and complexions of human experience, one thing is pledged beyond all doubt to every man who seeks the will of god and the promise for the safeguarding of his soul. he may write this at the top of every page in the book of life. he may take it for his light in dark days, his comfort in sad days, his treasure in empty days. he may have it on his lips in the hour of battle and in his heart in the day of disappointment. he may meet his temptations with it, interpret his sufferings with it, build his ideal with it. and it shall come to pass that he shall learn to look with untroubled eyes upon the outward things of life, nor fear the touch of its thousand grasping hands, knowing that his soul is in the hands of one who can keep it safe in all the world's despite, even god himself. vi. a plea for tears they that sow in tears shall reap in joy. he that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him. ps. cxxvi. , . it is almost impossible to recall the joys and sorrows of life without having some thought of their compensative relation. we set our bright days against our dark days. we weigh our successes against our failures. when the hour through which we are living is whispering a bitter message, we recall the kindlier messages of other hours and say that we have much for which we ought to be thankful. and such a deliberate handling of experience, such a quiet adjustment of memories, is not without its uses. any view of life that will save a man from whining is worth taking. any reckoning that will prevent a man from indulging in self-pity--that subtlety of selfishness--is worth making. there is, moreover, something very simple and obvious in this way of thinking and judging. to make one kind of experience deal with another kind, to set the days and the hours in battle array--or shall we say to arrange a tourney where some gaily-caparisoned and well-mounted yesterday is set to tilt with a black-visored and silent to-day--is a way of dealing with life which seems to have much to commend it. but it has at the best serious limitations, and at the worst it may issue in a tragedy. the wrong knight may be unhorsed. the award may go to him of the black plume. pitting one experience against another has gone to the making of many a cynic and not a few despairing souls. the compensative interpretation of joy and sorrow may bring an answer of peace to a man's soul, or it may not. but in this matter we are dealing with things in which we cannot afford to risk an equivocal or a despairing answer. we must win in every encounter. it is not an hour's joy, but a life's outlook that is at stake. no hour's fight was ever worth fighting if it was fought for the sake of the hour. the moments are ever challenging the eternal, the swift and busy hours fling their gauntlets at the feet of the ageless things. the real battle of life is never between yesterday and to-day; it is always between to-day and the forever. to isolate an experience is to misinterpret it. we may even completely classify experiences, and yet completely misunderstand experience. to understand life at all we must get beyond the incidental and the alternating. life is not a series of events charged with elements of contrast, contradiction, or surprise. it is a deep, coherent, and unfaltering process. and one feels that it was something more than the chance of the moment that led the singer of old to weave the tears and the rejoicings of men's lives into a figure of speech that stands for unity of process, even the figure of the harvest. _they that sow in tears shall reap in joy._ the sweep of golden grain is not some arbitrary compensation for the life of the seed cast so lavishly into the ground, and biding the test of darkness and cold. it is the very seed itself fulfilled of all its being. even so it is with the sorrows of these hearts of ours and the joy unto which god bringeth us. he does not fling us a few glad hours to atone for the hours wherein we have suffered adversity. there is a deep sense in which the joys of life are its ripened sorrows. _they that sow in tears.... he that goeth forth and weepeth._ these are not the few who have been haunted by apparent failure, or beset with outwardly painful conditions of service. they are not those who have walked in the shadow of a lost leader, or toiled in the grey loneliness of a lost comrade or of a brother proved untrue. for apparent failure, outward difficulty and loneliness, often as we may have to face them, are, after all, only the accidents of godward toil. and if the bearer of seed for god's great harvest should go forth to find no experience of these things, still, if he is to do any real work in the fields of the lord, he must go forth weeping. he must sow in tears. let a man be utterly faithful and sincere, let him open his heart without reserve to the two great claims of the ideal and sympathy, and he shall come to know that he has not found the hidden meaning of daily service, nor learned how he can best perform that service, until he has tasted the sorrow at the heart of it. the tears that are the pledge of harvest are not called to the eyes by ridicule or opposition. they are not the tears of disappointment, vexation, or impotence. they are tears that dim the eyes of them that see visions, and gather in the heart of them that dream dreams. to see the glory of god in the face of jesus christ and the blindness of the world's heart to that glory; to see unveiled the beauty that should be, and, unveiled too, the shame that is; to have a spiritual nature that thrills at the touch of the perfect love and life, and responds to every note of pain borne in upon it from the murmurous trouble of the world,--this is to have inward fitness for the high work of the kingdom. yes, and it is the pledge that this work shall be done. there is such a thing as artistic grief. there is the vain and languorous pity of aestheticism. its robe of sympathy is wrapped about itself and bejewelled with its own tears. and it never goes forth. you never meet it in 'the darkness of the terrible streets.' _he that goeth forth and weepeth._ it is his tears that cause him to go forth. it is his sorrow that will not let him rest. true pity is a mighty motive. when the real abiding pathos of life has gripped a man's heart, you will find him afield doing the work of the lord. you will not see his tears. there will be a smile in his eyes and, maybe, a song on his lips. for the sorrow and the joy of service dwell side by side in a man's life. indeed, they often seem to him to be but one thing. it were a mistake to refer the whole meaning of the words about a man's coming 'again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him' to some far day when the reapers of god shall gather the last great harvest of the world. through his tears the sower sees the harvest. through all his life there rings many a sweet prophetic echo of the harvest home. _he that goeth forth and weepeth._ no man ever wept like that and went not forth, but some go forth who have not wept. and they go forth to certain failure. they mishandle life, and with good intent do harm. but that is not the worst thing to be said about these toilers without tears. it is not that they touch life so unskilfully, but they touch so little of it. it is only through his tears that a man sees what his work is and where it lies. tearless eyes are purblind. we have yet much to learn about the real needs of the world. so many try very earnestly to deal with situations they have never yet really seen. for the uplifting of men and for the great social task of this our day we need ideas, and enthusiasm, and all sorts of resource; but most of all, and first of all, we need vision. and the man who goes farthest, and sees most, and does most, is 'he that goeth forth and weepeth.' vii. deliverance with honour he shall call upon me, and i will answer him; i will be with him in trouble: i will deliver him, and honour him. with long life will i satisfy him, and show him my salvation. ps. xci. , . _he shall call upon me._ he shall need me. he shall not be able to live without me. as the years pass over his head he shall learn that there is one need woven into human life larger and deeper and more abiding than any other need--and that need is god. thus doth divinity prophesy concerning humanity. thus doth infinite foresight predict a man's need. we peer in our purblind fashion into the future and try to anticipate our needs. we fence ourselves in with all sorts of fancied securities, and then we comfort ourselves with the shrewdness and completeness of our forecasting and provision-making. and sometimes it is just folly with a grave face. 'he shall call upon me.' a man has learned nothing until he has learned that he needs god. and we take a long time over that lesson. it has sometimes to be beaten into us--written in conscience and heart by the finger of pain. how the little storehouse of life has to be almost stripped of its treasures, how our faith in the things of the hour has to be played with and mocked, ere we call upon god in heaven to fill us with abiding treasure and fold us in eternal love. _he shall call upon me, and, i will answer him._ but i have called, says one, and he has not answered. i called upon him when my little child was sick unto death, and, spite my calling, the little white soul fluttered noiselessly into the great beyond. my friend, you call that tiny green mound in the churchyard god's silence. some day you will call it god's answer. our prayers are sometimes torn out of our hearts by the pain of the moment. god's answers come forth from the unerring quiet of eternity. 'he shall call upon me.' 'he shall ask me to help him, but he does not know how he can be helped. he is hedged about by a thousand limitations of thought. his life is full of distortions. he cannot distinguish between a blessing and a curse. i cannot heed the dictations of his prayers, but i will answer him.' this is the voice of him to whom the ravelled complexities of men's minds are simplicity itself; who dwells beyond the brief bewilderments and mistaken desirings and false ideals of men's hearts. oh these divine answers! how they confuse us! it is their perfection that bewilders us; it is their completeness that carries them beyond our comprehension. there is the stamp of the local and the temporary on all our asking. the answer that comes is wider than life and longer than time, and fashioned after a completeness whereof we do not even dream. _i will be with him in trouble._ trouble is that in life which becomes to us a gospel of tears, a ministry of futility. this is because we have grasped the humanity of the word and missed the divinity of it. we are always doing that. always gathering the meaning of the moments and missing the meaning of the years. always smarting under the sharp discipline and missing the merciful design: 'with him in trouble.' that helps me to believe in my religion. trouble is the test of the creeds. a fig for the orthodoxy that cannot interpret tears! write vanity upon the religion that is of no avail in the house of sorrow. when the earthly song falls on silence we are disposed to call it a pitiable silence. not so. let us say a divinely opportune silence, for when the many voices grow dumb the one voice speaks: 'i will be with him in trouble,' and the man who has lost the everything that is nothing only to find the one thing that is all knows what that promise means. _i will deliver him._ what a masterful, availing, victorious presence is this! how this promise goes out beyond our human ministries of consolation! how often the most we can do is to walk by our brother's side whilst he bears a burden we cannot share! how often the earthly sympathy is just a communion of sad hearts--one weak hand holding another! 'i will deliver him.' that is not merely sympathy, it is victory. the divine love does not merely condole, it delivers. you cannot add anything to this promise. it is complete. the time of the deliverance is there, the manner of it is there, the whole ministry of help is there. you say you cannot find anything about time and manner. you can only find the bare promise of deliverance. my friend, there are no bare promises in the lips of the heavenly father. in the mighty, merciful leisure of omnipotence, in the perfect fitness of things, in a way wiser than his thinking and better than his hoping and larger than his prayer, 'i will deliver him.' _and honour him._ it will be no scanty, obscure, uncertain deliverance. there shall be light in it, glory in it. the world battles with its troubles and seems sometimes to be successful, until we see how those troubles have shaken its spirit and twisted its temper; and see, too, how much of the beautiful and the strong and the sweet has been lost in the fight. 'i will deliver him' with an abundant and an honourable deliverance--he shall come forth from his tribulations more noble, tender, and self-possessed. hereafter there shall be given him the honour of one whom the stress of life has driven into the arms of god. oh how we miss this ministry of ennoblement! we reap a harvest of insignificance from the seeds of sorrow sown in our hearts. we let our cares dishonour us. the little cares rasp and fret and sting the manliness and the womanliness and the godlikeness out of us. and the great cares crush us earthward till there is scarcely a sweet word left in our lips or a noble thought in our heart. a man cannot save his _soul_ in the day of trouble. he cannot by himself make good the wear and tear of anxieties and griefs. he can hold his head high and hide his secret deep, but he cannot keep his life sweet. only christ can teach a man how to find the nameless dignity of the crown of thorns. the kingship of suffering is a secret in the keeping of faith and love. if a man accepts this deliverance of his god folded in flashes of understanding, ministries of explanation, revivals of faith, and gifts of endurance, he shall find the honour that is to be won among life's hard and bitter things. _with long life will i satisfy him, and show him my salvation._ we have seen a grey-headed libertine, and we have missed from among the clean-hearted and the faithful some brave young life that was giving itself vigorously to the holy service. but perhaps we have had the grace not to challenge the utter faithfulness of god. the measure of life is not written on a registrar's certificates of birth and death. there is something here that lies beyond dates and documents. life here and hereafter is one, and death is but an event in it. who lives to god lives long, be his years many or few. it is reasonable to expect some relationship between godliness and longevity. but we are nearer the truth when we see how that faith and prayer discover and secure the eternal values of fleeting days. _and show him my salvation._ that is the whole text summed up in one phrase. that is the life of the godly man gathered into the compass of the divine promise. for every one who goes the way of faith and obedience, life in every phase of it, life here and hereafter, means but one thing and holds but one thing, and that is _the salvation of the lord_. viii. petition and communion hear me speedily, o lord.... cause me to hear ... for i lift up my soul unto thee. ps. cxliii. , . you will notice that the first verse begins 'hear me,' and the second begins 'cause me to hear'; and the second is greater than the first. let us look, then, at these two attitudes of a man in his hour of prayer. _hear me._ the psalmist began, where all men must begin, with himself. he had something to utter in the hearing of the almighty. he had something to lay before his god--a story, a confession, a plea. his heart was full, and must outpour itself into the ear of heaven. 'hear me speedily, o lord.' we have all prayed thus. we have all faced some situation that struck a note of urgency in our life, and all your soul has come to our lips in this one cry that went up to the father, 'hear me.' a sudden pain, a surprise of sorrow, a few moments of misty uncertainty in the face of decisions that had to be made at once, times when life has tried to rush us from our established position and to bear us we know not where--and our soul has reached out after god as simply and naturally as a man grasps at some fixed thing when he is falling. there are times, too, when prayer is an indefinable relief. we all know something about the relief of speech. we must speak to somebody. our need is not, first of all, either advice or practical help. we want a hearing. we want some one to listen and sympathize. we want to share our pain. that is what 'hear me' sometimes means. whatever thou shalt see fit to do for me, at least listen to my cry. let me unburden my soul. let me get this weight of silence off my heart. this fashion of relief is part of the true office of prayer. herein lies the reasonableness of telling our story in the ear of one who knows that story better than we do. we need not inform the all-knowing, but we must commune with the all-pitiful. we make our life known unto god that we may make it bearable unto ourselves. but let us look at the attitude of mind and heart revealed in this second position, _cause me to hear_. now we are coming to the larger truth about prayer, and the deeper spirit of it. prayer is not merely claiming a hearing; it is giving a hearing. it is not only speaking to god; it is listening to god. and as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are the words we hear greater than the words we speak. let us not forget this. let us not pauperize ourselves by our very importunity. maybe we are vociferous when god is but waiting for a silence to fall in his earthly temples that he may have speech with his children. we talk about 'prevailing prayer,' and there is a great truth in the phrase. all prayer does not prevail. there is that among men which passes for prayer but has no spiritual grip, no assurance, no masterful patience, no fine desperation. there is a place for all these things, and a need for them, in the life of prayer. we need the courage of a great faith and the earnestness that is born of necessity. we need to be able to lift up our faces toward heaven in the swelling joys and the startling perils of these mortal hours and cry, 'hear me,' knowing that god does hear us and that the outcrying of every praying heart rings clear and strong in the courts of the heavenly king. but we need something more; we need a very great deal more than this, if we are to enter into the true meaning of prevailing prayer. the final triumph of prayer is not ours; it is god's. when we are upon our knees before him, it is he, and not we, that must prevail. this is the true victory of faith and prayer, when the father writes his purpose more clearly in our minds, lays his commandment more inwardly upon our hearts. we do not get one faint glimpse into the meaning of that mysterious conflict at peniel until we see that the necessity for the conflict lay in the heart of jacob and not in the heart of god. the man who wrestled with the angel and prevailed passes before us in the glow of the sunrise weary and halt, with a changed name and a changed heart. so must it be with us; so shall it be, if ever we know what it is to prevail in prayer. importunity must not become a blind and uninspired clamouring for the thing we desire. such an attitude may easily set us beyond the possibility of receiving that which god knows we need. we must not forget that our poor little plea for help and blessing does not exhaust the possibilities of prayer. our words go upward to god's throne twisted by our imperfect thinking, narrowed by our outlook, sterilized by the doubts of our hearts, and we do not know what is good for us. his word comes downward into our lives laden with the quiet certainty of the eternal, wide as the vision of him who seeth all, deep as the wisdom of him who knoweth all. so, however much it may be to say 'hear me,' it is vastly more to say 'cause me to hear.' however much i have to tell him, he has more to tell me. this view of prayer will help to clear up for us some of the difficulties that have troubled many minds. we hear people speak of unanswered prayer; but there is no such thing, and in the nature of things there cannot be. i do not mean by that, that to every prayer there will come a response some day. to every prayer there is a response now. in our confused and mechanical conception of the god to whom we pray, we separate between his hearing and his answering. we identify the answer to prayer with the granting of a petition. but prayer is more than petition. it is not our many requests, it is an attitude of spirit. we grant readily that our words are the least important part of our prayers. but very often the petitions we frame and utter are no part of our prayers at all. they are not prayer, yet uttering them we may pray a prayer that shall be heard and answered, for every man who truly desires in prayer the help of god for his life receives that help there and then, though the terms in which he describes his need may be wholly wide of the truth as god knows it. so the real answer to prayer is god's response to man's spiritual attitude, and that response is as complete and continuous as the attitude will allow it to be. the end of prayer is not to win concessions from almighty power, but to have communion with almighty love. 'cause me to hear'; make a reverent, responsive, receptive silence in my heart, take me out beyond my pleadings into the limitless visions and the fathomless satisfactions of communion with thyself. speak to me. that is true prayer. in the quietness of life, when the flowers have shut their eye, and a stainless breadth of sky bends above the hill of strife, then, my god, my chiefest good, breathe upon my lonelihood: let the shining silence be filled with thee, my god, with thee. ix. haunted hours wherefore should i fear in the days of evil, when iniquity at my heels compasseth me about? ps. xlix. . iniquity _at my heels_. temptation is very often indirect. it is compact of wiles and subtleties and stratagems. it is adept at taking cover. it does not make a frontal attack unless the obvious state of the soul's defences justifies such a method of attempting a conquest. the stronger a man is, the more subtle and difficult are the ways of sin, as it seeks to enter and to master his life. there are many temptations that never face us, and never give us a chance of facing them. they follow us. we can hear their light footfall and their soft whisperings, but the moment we turn round upon them they vanish. if they disappeared for good, they would be the easiest to deal with of all the ill things that beset our lives. but they do not. the moment we relax our bold, stern search for the face of the enemy, there the evil thing is again--the light footfall and the soft voice. it is terrible work fighting a suggestion. there are the thoughts that a man will not cherish and cannot slay. they may never enter the programme of his life, but there they are, haunting him, waiting, so to speak, at the back of his brain, till he gets used to them. when he seeks to grapple with these enemies his hands close on emptiness. one straight blow, one decisive denial, one stern rebuke, one defiant confession of faith will not suffice for these things. they compass a man's heels. he cannot trample them down. the fashion of the evils that compass us determines the form of the fight we wage with them. preparations that might amply suffice the city in the day when an army with banners comes against it are no good at all if a plague has to be fought. so there is a way we have to take with 'the iniquity at our heels.' it calls for much patience and much prayer. if we cannot prevent sin from following us, we can at least prevent ourselves from turning and following it. a man can always choose his path if he cannot at every moment determine his company. and as a man goes onward and upward steadfastly toward the city of light, the evil things fall off and drop behind, and god shall bring him where no evil thing dare follow, and where no ravenous beast shall stalk its prey. the battle with sin is not an incident in the christian life; it is the abiding condition of it. while there are some temptations that we have to slay, there are others we have to outgrow. they are overcome, not by any one supreme assertion of the will, but by the patient cultivation of all the loftiest and most wholesome and delicate and intensely spiritual modes of feeling and of being. again, let me suggest that iniquity at our heels is sometimes an old sin in a new form. you remember the difficulty that hiawatha had in hunting down pau-puk keewis. that mischievous magician assumed the form of a beaver, then that of a bird, then that of a serpent; and though each in turn was slain, the magician escaped and mocked his pursuer. surely a parable of our strife with sin. we smite it in one form and it comes to life in another. one day a man is angry--clenched fingers and hot words. he conquers his anger; but the next day there is a spirit of bitterness rankling in his heart, and maybe a tinge of regret that he did not say and do more when his heart was hot within him and fire was on his lips. the sin he faced and fought yesterday has become iniquity at his heels. having failed to knock him down, it tries to trip him up. maybe many waste their energies trying to deal with the _forms_ of sin, and never grapple with the _fact_ of sin. hence the evil things that compass men's souls about with their dread ministries of suggestion, and flutter on unhallowed wings in the wake of life. the sin that confronts us reveals to us our need of strength, but the sin that dogs our steps has, maybe, a deeper lesson to teach us--even our need of heart-deep holiness. good resolution will do much to clear the path ahead, but only purity of character can rid us of the persistent haunting peril of the sin that plucks at the skirt of life. the deliverance god offers to the struggling soul covers not only the hour of actual grappling with the foe, but all the hours when it is the stealth and not the strength of evil that we most have cause to fear. _iniquity at my heels._ these words remind us that sin is not done with after it is committed. god forgives sin, but he does not obliterate all its consequences, either in our own lives or in the lives of others. a man may have the light of the city of god flashing in his face, and a whole host of shameful memories and bitter regrets crowding at his heels. we do not know what sin is till we turn our backs on it. then we find its tenacity and its entanglement. what would we not give if only we could leave some things behind us! what would we not do if only we could put a space between ourselves and our past! the fetters of evil habit may be broken, but their marks are upon us, and the feet that bore the fetters go more slowly for them many days. the hands that have been used to grasping and holding do not open without an effort, even though the heart has at last learned that it is more blessed to give than to receive. yes, and our sins come to life again in the lives of others. the light word that ought to have been a grave word and that shook another's good resolution, the cool word that ought to have been a warm word and that chilled a pure enthusiasm--we cannot have done with these things. parents sometimes live to see their sins of indulgence or of neglect blighting the lives of those to whom they owed a debt of firmness and kindness. it is iniquity at the heels. these passages of carelessness and unfaithfulness haunt men, be their repentance never so bitter and their amendment never so sincere and successful. but all this is for discipline and not for despair. it casts us back upon god's mercy. it keeps the shadow of the cross upon all our path. it has something to do with the making of 'a humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient heart.' the memory of the irreparable is a sorrow of the saints. saint, did i say? with your remembered faces, dear men and women whom i sought and slew! ah, when we mingle in the heavenly places, how will i weep to stephen and to you! only let us not be afraid nor wholly cast down. rather let us say, 'wherefore should i fear when the iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?' by the grace of god the hours of the soul's sad memory and of clinging regrets shall mean unto us a ministry of humility and a passion of prayer. and through them god shall give us glimpses of the gateway of that life where regret and shame and sorrow fall back unable to enter. there is a place whither the iniquity at a man's heels can no longer follow him, and where in the perfect life the soul, at last, is able to forget. x. the wings of the dove and i said, oh that i had wings like a dove! then would i fly away, and be at rest.... i would haste me to a shelter from the stormy wind and tempest. ps. lv. , . these words are the transcript of a mood. the writer is not unfolding to us any of the deep persistent longings of his spirit; he is telling us of a thought that shadowed his soul for an hour. let us look into this mood of his. it is not his in any unique or even peculiar sense. in moods, as in manners, history is wont to repeat itself. the writer of this poem has voiced one of the great common experiences of humanity. but let us be quite clear as to what that experience really is. let us not be misled by the music and the seeming unworldliness of these words about winged flight from a world of trouble and strife. the psalmist was not looking heavenward, but earthward, when this plea for wings broke from his heart. he was moved to speak as he did, not by the surpassing charm of a heavenly vision, but by the dark unrest of the earthly outlook. the emphatic note here is that of departure, not of destination. it is necessary to remind ourselves that this is so, for these words have become the classic of the home-sick soul. they have been used to voice the farthest and most truly divine desires of the human heart. and by virtue of such use they have gathered a meaning which was not theirs at the beginning. at that meaning we will presently look, but let us first of all look at this longing as it stands in the psalm and as it represents an experience that is threaded through the history of humanity. _oh that i had wings ... then would i fly away._ here the idea of fleeing away suggests itself as a possible solution of life; and whenever it comes to a man like this it is a source of weakness. it is not a desire to find the joys of heaven; it is a desire to escape the pains of earth. there is no vista, no wistful distance, no long, alluring prospect. the soul is hemmed in by its enemies, crushed down by its burdens, beset on all sides by the frets of the earthly lot; and there comes a vague desire to be out of it all. it is not aspiration, it is evasion. it is not response to the ideal, it is recoil from the actual. it is not the spell of that which shall be that is upon the soul, but the irksomeness or the dreadfulness of that which is. this is a mood that awaits us all. no man faces life as it should be faced, but some can hardly be said to face it at all. their face is ever turned towards a seductive vision of quietness. the solution of life for them is not in a fight, but in a retreat. of course we know there is no going back, and no easy deliverance from the burden and the battle, but in the thick of any fight there is a great difference between the man who wants victory and the man who merely wants a cessation of hostilities. this plea for wings does not necessarily betoken 'a desire to depart.' it rather indicates a desire to remain under more favourable and comfortable conditions. such a mood is not the highest and the healthiest experience of the soul. it is rather something against which we must fight relentlessly. very often the longing for wings results only in lagging footsteps. picturing to ourselves the luxury of laying life down will not help us to face the duty of taking life up. the secret of enervation is found not in the poverty of our resources, but in the cowardliness and selfishness of our attitude towards life. the battle is half won when we have looked the enemy in the face. the burden is the better borne as we stoop under the full weight of it. _oh that i had wings like a dove!_ that is a short-sighted and a selfish desire. supposing you had wings, what would you do? fly away from the moil of the world and find rest and shelter for yourself? is that the best and noblest thing to desire to do? after all, we know other and loftier moods than this. we know that staying is better than going when there is so much to stay for. we know that working is better than resting when there is so much to do. we have something better to think about than a quiet lodgement in the wilderness, we who live in a world where the strength of our hands and the warmth of our hearts count for something. to give your tired brother a lift is a vastly more profitable occupation than sitting at the roadside and wishing you could fly. man, you ought to be glad that you can walk--in a world where there are so many cripples that want help. _oh that i had wings!... then would i fly away._ that desire has never taken any one to heaven, but it has made them less useful upon earth. the breath of this desire is able to blight the flowers of social service. no one would be foolish enough to indict suburbanism as a mode of life. the day must surely come when few or none will dwell in the smoke-grimed heart of the city. but in as far as a man seeks the fairest suburb open to him in order that he may see little of, and think little of, 'the darkness of the terrible streets,' then the very life that restores health to his body shall sow seeds of disease in his soul. there is only one way to rest, and that lies right through the heart of the world's work and pain. rest is not for those who flee away from life's difficulties, but for those who face them. 'take my yoke ... and ye shall find rest.' it were not well for our own sakes that we had wings. it were not well for us to be able to avoid the burden-bearing and the tale of tired days, for god has hidden the secret of our rest in the heart of our toiling. they who come unto the city of god come there not by the easy flight of a dove, but by the long, slow pilgrimage of unselfishness. yet there is a beauty and a fitness in this longing. it is expressive of more than the weariness of a world-worn spirit, or the thinly disguised selfishness of one who fears to pay the price of life. when the long working-day of life is wearing away its last hours and verging towards the great stillness, the voices of time fall but faintly on the ear, the adorations and ideals and fashions and enthusiasms of the world come to mean little to a man who in his day has followed them as eagerly as any, and the heart within him asks only for rest. god, if there be none beside thee dwelling in the light, take me out of the world and hide me somewhere behind the night. when, like simeon the seer with the christ-child in his arms, a man feels that for him life has said its last word and shown its last wonder and uttered its last benediction, the desire for rest is a pure and spiritually normal thing; it is just the soul's gaze turned upward where beyond these toils god waiteth us above, to give to hand and heart the spoils of labour and of love. and maybe this mood of which we are thinking may have a not unworthy place in a strenuous life. as a tired woman pauses amid her tasks and looks out of her cottage window to take into her heart the quiet beauty of the woods where she knows the ground is fair with lilies, so do we find ourselves looking out of life's small casement and thinking upon the fresh, free, 'outdoor' life the soul will some day live. and such a mood as this is surely a sign of the soul's growth, a testimony of its responsiveness to the divine touch, a sudden sense of its splendid destiny borne in upon it among the grey and narrow circumstances of its service. oh that i had a dove's swift, silver wings, i said, so i might straightway leave behind this strife of tongues, this tramp of feet, and find a world that knows no struggles and no stings, where all about the soul soft silence flings her filmy garment, and the vexèd mind grows quiet as there floats upon the wind the soothing slumber-song of dreamless things. and lo! there answered me a voice and said, man, thou hast hands and heart, take back thy prayer; covet life's weariness, go forth and share the common suffering and the toil for bread. look not on rest, although her face be fair, and her white hands shall smooth thy narrow bed. xi. a new song o sing unto the lord a new song. ps. xcvi. . time and again in the psalter we find this appeal for a new song. first of all, and most obviously, the appeal concerns the contents of the song. it reminds us of the duty of making our grateful acknowledgement of god's goodness to us expand with our growing experience of that goodness. it is, if, one may so phrase it, a reminder to us that our praise needs bringing up to date. a hymn considerably later in date than this psalm exhorts us to 'count' our 'blessings,' and to 'name them one by one.' this exhortation to attempt the impossible is perhaps more worthy of being heeded than the form in which it is presented to us might lead some to suppose. there is no getting away from the simple fact that a man's thankfulness has a real and proportionate relationship to the things for which he has cause to be thankful. if in our daily life the phrase 'the goodness of god' is to have a deepening and cumulative significance, it must be informed and vitalized continually by an alert and responsive recognition of the forms in which that goodness is ever freshly manifested to us. whilst the roots of the tree of praise lie deep beneath the surface, and wind their thousand ways into dim places where memory itself cannot follow them, yet surely the leaves of the tree are fresher and greener for rain that even now has left its reviving touch upon them, and for the sunshine that is even now stirring the life in all their veins. the figure is imperfect. we are not trees. we do not respond automatically to all the gracious and cheering ministries of the eternal goodness in our lives. we may easily overlook many a good gift of our god. and though in our forgetfulness and unthankfulness we profit by the sunlight and the dew and by each tender thought of god for his creatures, yet the full and perpetual profit of all good things is for each of us bound up with the power to see them, the wisdom to appraise them, the mindfulness that holds them fast, and the heart that sings out its thanksgiving for them. 'o sing unto the lord a new song.' bring this day's life into the song. bring the gift that has come to thee this very hour into the song. look about thee. see if there be but one more flower springing at the path-side. see if the bud of yesterday has but unfolded another leaf. behold the loaf on thy table, feel the warmth of thy hearth, yea, feel the very life within thee that woke again and stirred itself with the morning light, and say these gifts are like unto the gifts of yesterday, but they are not yesterday's gifts. yesterday's bread is broken, and yesterday's fire is dead, and yesterday's strength is spent. o god, thy mercies are new every morning! so shall a new song break from the heart. it is quite possible, in taking what we believe to be a broad view of life, to overlook many of the things that go to make life. too much generalizing makes for a barren heart. the specific has a vital place in the ministry of praise. it is true that the highest flights of praise always carry the soul beyond any conscious reckoning with the details of its experience. tabulation is not the keystone of the arch of thanksgiving. but to behold the specific goodness of god in each day's life, to review the hours and to say to one's own soul, thus and thus hath my god been mindful of me, is perhaps the surest and the simplest way to deepen and vitalize the habit of praise in our life, and to set the new notes ringing in our psalm of thanksgiving. but in this appeal for a new song of praise to god there is something more than a recognition of new blessings. the new song is not merely the response to new mercies and the tuneful celebration of recent good. if there is to be ever a new note in the song, there must be ever a new note in the singer's heart. and this cometh not by observation, but by inspiration. you may change the words of the song and it may still be the old song. you may sing the same words and it may yet be a new song. for as is the singer, so is the song. _o sing unto the lord a new song._ that is a plea for a deeper and a wider life. it is a plea that sounds the depth of the heart and takes the measure of the soul. the new song comes not of a truer enumeration of life's blessings, but of a truer understanding of the blessedness of life itself. the key to such understanding is character. when by the grace of the clean heart and the enlightened and responsive spirit a man can get beneath the events of each day's life and commune with that eternal law of love to which each one of those events bears some relation--or had we not better say commune with the eternal father by whom that law exists?--then is his song of praise ever new. it is something to catch a glimpse of the mercy of god, and to think and feel as one has not thought or felt before about some part of life's daily good. but it is vastly more to learn to interpret the whole of life in the terms of the goodness of god. the saint sings where the worldling sighs. and if we find in that song only the apotheosis of courage and resignation, we have neither found the source of the song nor the message of it. the new song comes not from the thrill of peril faced and defied, nor from the victorious acceptance of hard and bitter things. it comes from that deep life of the soul in god, a life beyond the threat of peril and beyond the touch of pain. it finds its deepest and freshest notes not in contemplating the new gains and good of any day, but in a growing sense of the timeless gain and eternal good of every day. and if all this be so, it surely follows that the service of praise is not something unto which we may pass by one effort of the will or that depends upon the stimulus of outward experience. it is conditioned rather by our character, and by our power to see the unveiled face of life reflecting always the light of perfect love. and it is to produce in us the right character and the true insight that god disciplines us all our days. it is to set a new song in our hearts. said a professor of music at leipzig of a girl whom he had trained for some years and who was the pride of the conservatoire, 'if only some one would marry her and ill-treat her and break her heart she would be the finest singer in europe.' he missed something in the song, and knew it could never come there save from the heart of the singer. trouble always strikes a new note in life, and often the deepest note that is ever struck. but, be our experience joyous or sorrowful, the true end of it must ever be to deepen our own hearts that there may be in us ever a more catholic recognition of, and response to, the eternal love. the human soul is not a mere repository of experiences. memory is not the true guardian of life's treasure. that treasure is invested in character. in the moral world we _have_ what we _are_. so we may recall that which we have never possessed, and may possess that which we can never recall. and it is out of that which we have _become_ by god's grace, rather than out of that which we have received of that grace, that the new song comes. so, as day by day we pray for the grace of new thanksgiving, we are seeking something more than a new power to behold what good things each day brings us, a readier way of reckoning the wealth of the passing hours. we are seeking for a larger life in god, and for a spirit able, as it were, to secrete from every experience its hidden meed of everlasting blessing. for if the heart grow purer, the will stronger, the vision clearer, the judgement truer--indeed, if there come to the soul each day some increase of life--it shall surely find its way into living praise. and a living song is always a new song. the way of peace by james allen author of "as a man thinketh," "out from the heart" contents the power of meditation the two masters, self and truth the acquirement of spiritual power the realization of selfless love entering into the infinite saints, sages, and saviors; the law of service the realization of perfect peace the power of meditation spiritual meditation is the pathway to divinity. it is the mystic ladder which reaches from earth to heaven, from error to truth, from pain to peace. every saint has climbed it; every sinner must sooner or later come to it, and every weary pilgrim that turns his back upon self and the world, and sets his face resolutely toward the father's home, must plant his feet upon its golden rounds. without its aid you cannot grow into the divine state, the divine likeness, the divine peace, and the fadeless glories and unpolluting joys of truth will remain hidden from you. meditation is the intense dwelling, in thought, upon an idea or theme, with the object of thoroughly comprehending it, and whatsoever you constantly meditate upon you will not only come to understand, but will grow more and more into its likeness, for it will become incorporated into your very being, will become, in fact, your very self. if, therefore, you constantly dwell upon that which is selfish and debasing, you will ultimately become selfish and debased; if you ceaselessly think upon that which is pure and unselfish you will surely become pure and unselfish. tell me what that is upon which you most frequently and intensely think, that to which, in your silent hours, your soul most naturally turns, and i will tell you to what place of pain or peace you are traveling, and whether you are growing into the likeness of the divine or the bestial. there is an unavoidable tendency to become literally the embodiment of that quality upon which one most constantly thinks. let, therefore, the object of your meditation be above and not below, so that every time you revert to it in thought you will be lifted up; let it be pure and unmixed with any selfish element; so shall your heart become purified and drawn nearer to truth, and not defiled and dragged more hopelessly into error. meditation, in the spiritual sense in which i am now using it, is the secret of all growth in spiritual life and knowledge. every prophet, sage, and savior became such by the power of meditation. buddha meditated upon the truth until he could say, "i am the truth." jesus brooded upon the divine immanence until at last he could declare, "i and my father are one." meditation centered upon divine realities is the very essence and soul of prayer. it is the silent reaching of the soul toward the eternal. mere petitionary prayer without meditation is a body without a soul, and is powerless to lift the mind and heart above sin and affliction. if you are daily praying for wisdom, for peace, for loftier purity and a fuller realization of truth, and that for which you pray is still far from you, it means that you are praying for one thing while living out in thought and act another. if you will cease from such waywardness, taking your mind off those things the selfish clinging to which debars you from the possession of the stainless realities for which you pray: if you will no longer ask god to grant you that which you do not deserve, or to bestow upon you that love and compassion which you refuse to bestow upon others, but will commence to think and act in the spirit of truth, you will day by day be growing into those realities, so that ultimately you will become one with them. he who would secure any worldly advantage must be willing to work vigorously for it, and he would be foolish indeed who, waiting with folded hands, expected it to come to him for the mere asking. do not then vainly imagine that you can obtain the heavenly possessions without making an effort. only when you commence to work earnestly in the kingdom of truth will you be allowed to partake of the bread of life, and when you have, by patient and uncomplaining effort, earned the spiritual wages for which you ask, they will not be withheld from you. if you really seek truth, and not merely your own gratification; if you love it above all worldly pleasures and gains; more, even, than happiness itself, you will be willing to make the effort necessary for its achievement. if you would be freed from sin and sorrow; if you would taste of that spotless purity for which you sigh and pray; if you would realize wisdom and knowledge, and would enter into the possession of profound and abiding peace, come now and enter the path of meditation, and let the supreme object of your meditation be truth. at the outset, meditation must be distinguished from _idle reverie_. there is nothing dreamy and unpractical about it. it is _a process of searching and uncompromising thought which allows nothing to remain but the simple and naked truth_. thus meditating you will no longer strive to build yourself up in your prejudices, but, forgetting self, you will remember only that you are seeking the truth. and so you will remove, one by one, the errors which you have built around yourself in the past, and will patiently wait for the revelation of truth which will come when your errors have been sufficiently removed. in the silent humility of your heart you will realize that "there is an inmost centre in us all where truth abides in fulness; and around, wall upon wall, the gross flesh hems it in; this perfect, clear perception, which is truth, a baffling and perverting carnal mesh blinds it, and makes all error; and to know, rather consists in opening out a way whence the imprisoned splendour may escape, than in effecting entry for a light supposed to be without." select some portion of the day in which to meditate, and keep that period sacred to your purpose. the best time is the very early morning when the spirit of repose is upon everything. all natural conditions will then be in your favor; the passions, after the long bodily fast of the night, will be subdued, the excitements and worries of the previous day will have died away, and the mind, strong and yet restful, will be receptive to spiritual instruction. indeed, one of the first efforts you will be called upon to make will be to shake off lethargy and indulgence, and if you refuse you will be unable to advance, for the demands of the spirit are imperative. to be spiritually awakened is also to be mentally and physically awakened. the sluggard and the self-indulgent can have no knowledge of truth. he who, possessed of health and strength, wastes the calm, precious hours of the silent morning in drowsy indulgence is totally unfit to climb the heavenly heights. he whose awakening consciousness has become alive to its lofty possibilities, who is beginning to shake off the darkness of ignorance in which the world is enveloped, rises before the stars have ceased their vigil, and, grappling with the darkness within his soul, strives, by holy aspiration, to perceive the light of truth while the unawakened world dreams on. "the heights by great men reached and kept, were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night." no saint, no holy man, no teacher of truth ever lived who did not rise early in the morning. jesus habitually rose early, and climbed the solitary mountains to engage in holy communion. buddha always rose an hour before sunrise and engaged in meditation, and all his disciples were enjoined to do the same. if you have to commence your daily duties at a very early hour, and are thus debarred from giving the early morning to systematic meditation, try to give an hour at night, and should this, by the length and laboriousness of your daily task be denied you, you need not despair, for you may turn your thoughts upward in holy meditation in the intervals of your work, or in those few idle minutes which you now waste in aimlessness; and should your work be of that kind which becomes by practice automatic, you may meditate while engaged upon it. that eminent christian saint and philosopher, jacob boehme, realized his vast knowledge of divine things whilst working long hours as a shoemaker. in every life there is time to think, and the busiest, the most laborious is not shut out from aspiration and meditation. spiritual meditation and self-discipline are inseparable; you will, therefore, commence to meditate upon yourself so as to try and understand yourself, for, remember, the great object you will have in view will be the complete removal of all your errors in order that you may realize truth. you will begin to question your motives, thoughts, and acts, comparing them with your ideal, and endeavoring to look upon them with a calm and impartial eye. in this manner you will be continually gaining more of that mental and spiritual equilibrium without which men are but helpless straws upon the ocean of life. if you are given to hatred or anger you will meditate upon gentleness and forgiveness, so as to become acutely alive to a sense of your harsh and foolish conduct. you will then begin to dwell in thoughts of love, of gentleness, of abounding forgiveness; and as you overcome the lower by the higher, there will gradually, silently steal into your heart a knowledge of the divine law of love with an understanding of its bearing upon all the intricacies of life and conduct. and in applying this knowledge to your every thought, word, and act, you will grow more and more gentle, more and more loving, more and more divine. and thus with every error, every selfish desire, every human weakness; by the power of meditation is it overcome, and as each sin, each error is thrust out, a fuller and clearer measure of the light of truth illumines the pilgrim soul. thus meditating, you will be ceaselessly fortifying yourself against your only _real_ enemy, your selfish, perishable self, and will be establishing yourself more and more firmly in the divine and imperishable self that is inseparable from truth. the direct outcome of your meditations will be a calm, spiritual strength which will be your stay and resting-place in the struggle of life. great is the overcoming power of holy thought, and the strength and knowledge gained in the hour of silent meditation will enrich the soul with saving remembrance in the hour of strife, of sorrow, or of temptation. as, by the power of meditation, you grow in wisdom, you will relinquish, more and more, your selfish desires which are fickle, impermanent, and productive of sorrow and pain; and will take your stand, with increasing steadfastness and trust, upon unchangeable principles, and will realize heavenly rest. the use of meditation is the acquirement of a knowledge of eternal principles, and the power which results from meditation is the ability to rest upon and trust those principles, and so become one with the eternal. the end of meditation is, therefore, direct knowledge of truth, god, and the realization of divine and profound peace. let your meditations take their rise from the ethical ground which you now occupy. remember that you are to _grow_ into truth by steady perseverance. if you are an orthodox christian, meditate ceaselessly upon the spotless purity and divine excellence of the character of jesus, and apply his every precept to your inner life and outward conduct, so as to approximate more and more toward his perfection. do not be as those religious ones, who, refusing to meditate upon the law of truth, and to put into practice the precepts given to them by their master, are content to formally worship, to cling to their particular creeds, and to continue in the ceaseless round of sin and suffering. strive to rise, by the power of meditation, above all selfish clinging to partial gods or party creeds; above dead formalities and lifeless ignorance. thus walking the high way of wisdom, with mind fixed upon the spotless truth, you shall know no halting-place short of the realization of truth. he who earnestly meditates first perceives a truth, as it were, afar off, and then realizes it by daily practice. it is only the doer of the word of truth that can know of the doctrine of truth, for though by pure thought the truth is perceived, it is only actualized by practice. said the divine gautama, the buddha, "he who gives himself up to vanity, and does not give himself up to meditation, forgetting the real aim of life and grasping at pleasure, will in time envy him who has exerted himself in meditation," and he instructed his disciples in the following "five great meditations":-- "the first meditation is the meditation of love, in which you so adjust your heart that you long for the weal and welfare of all beings, including the happiness of your enemies. "the second meditation is the meditation of pity, in which you think of all beings in distress, vividly representing in your imagination their sorrows and anxieties so as to arouse a deep compassion for them in your soul. "the third meditation is the meditation of joy, in which you think of the prosperity of others, and rejoice with their rejoicings. "the fourth meditation is the meditation of impurity, in which you consider the evil consequences of corruption, the effects of sin and diseases. how trivial often the pleasure of the moment, and how fatal its consequences. "the fifth meditation is the meditation on serenity, in which you rise above love and hate, tyranny and oppression, wealth and want, and regard your own fate with impartial calmness and perfect tranquillity." by engaging in these meditations the disciples of the buddha arrived at a knowledge of the truth. but whether you engage in these particular meditations or not matters little so long as your object is truth, so long as you hunger and thirst for that righteousness which is a holy heart and a blameless life. in your meditations, therefore, let your heart grow and expand with ever-broadening love, until, freed from all hatred, and passion, and condemnation, it embraces the whole universe with thoughtful tenderness. as the flower opens its petals to receive the morning light, so open your soul more and more to the glorious light of truth. soar upward upon the wings of aspiration; be fearless, and believe in the loftiest possibilities. believe that a life of absolute meekness is possible; believe that a life of stainless purity is possible; believe that a life of perfect holiness is possible; believe that the realization of the highest truth is possible. he who so believes, climbs rapidly the heavenly hills, whilst the unbelievers continue to grope darkly and painfully in the fog-bound valleys. so believing, so aspiring, so meditating, divinely sweet and beautiful will be your spiritual experiences, and glorious the revelations that will enrapture your inward vision. as you realize the divine love, the divine justice, the divine purity, the perfect law of good, or god, great will be your bliss and deep your peace. old things will pass away, and all things will become new. the veil of the material universe, so dense and impenetrable to the eye of error, so thin and gauzy to the eye of truth, will be lifted and the spiritual universe will be revealed. time will cease, and you will live only in eternity. change and mortality will no more cause you anxiety and sorrow, for you will become established in the unchangeable, and will dwell in the very heart of immortality. star of wisdom star that of the birth of vishnu, birth of krishna, buddha, jesus, told the wise ones, heavenward looking, waiting, watching for thy gleaming in the darkness of the night-time, in the starless gloom of midnight; shining herald of the coming of the kingdom of the righteous; teller of the mystic story of the lowly birth of godhead in the stable of the passions, in the manger of the mind-soul; silent singer of the secret of compassion deep and holy to the heart with sorrow burdened, to the soul with waiting weary:-- star of all-surpassing brightness, thou again dost deck the midnight; thou again dost cheer the wise ones watching in the creedal darkness, weary of the endless battle with the grinding blades of error; tired of lifeless, useless idols, of the dead forms of religions; spent with watching for thy shining; thou hast ended their despairing; thou hast lighted up their pathway; thou hast brought again the old truths to the hearts of all thy watchers; to the souls of them that love thee thou dost speak of joy and gladness, of the peace that comes of sorrow. blessed are they that can see thee, weary wanderers in the night-time; blessed they who feel the throbbing, in their bosoms feel the pulsing of a deep love stirred within them by the great power of thy shining. let us learn thy lesson truly; learn it faithfully and humbly; learn it meekly, wisely, gladly, ancient star of holy vishnu, light of krishna, buddha, jesus. the two masters, self and truth upon the battlefield of the human soul two masters are ever contending for the crown of supremacy, for the kingship and dominion of the heart; the master of self, called also the "prince of this world," and the master of truth, called also the father god. the master self is that rebellious one whose weapons are passion, pride, avarice, vanity, self-will, implements of darkness; the master truth is that meek and lowly one whose weapons are gentleness, patience, purity, sacrifice, humility, love, instruments of light. in every soul the battle is waged, and as a soldier cannot engage at once in two opposing armies, so every heart is enlisted either in the ranks of self or of truth. there is no half-and-half course; "there is self and there is truth; where self is, truth is not, where truth is, self is not." thus spake buddha, the teacher of truth, and jesus, the manifested christ, declared that "no man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. ye cannot serve god and mammon." truth is so simple, so absolutely undeviating and uncompromising that it admits of no complexity, no turning, no qualification. self is ingenious, crooked, and, governed by subtle and snaky desire, admits of endless turnings and qualifications, and the deluded worshipers of self vainly imagine that they can gratify every worldly desire, and at the same time possess the truth. but the lovers of truth worship truth with the sacrifice of self, and ceaselessly guard themselves against worldliness and self-seeking. do you seek to know and to realize truth? then you must be prepared to sacrifice, to renounce to the uttermost, for truth in all its glory can only be perceived and known when the last vestige of self has disappeared. the eternal christ declared that he who would be his disciple must "deny himself daily." are you willing to deny yourself, to give up your lusts, your prejudices, your opinions? if so, you may enter the narrow way of truth, and find that peace from which the world is shut out. the absolute denial, the utter extinction, of self is the perfect state of truth, and all religions and philosophies are but so many aids to this supreme attainment. self is the denial of truth. truth is the denial of self. as you let self die, you will be reborn in truth. as you cling to self, truth will be hidden from you. whilst you cling to self, your path will be beset with difficulties, and repeated pains, sorrows, and disappointments will be your lot. there are no difficulties in truth, and coming to truth, you will be freed from all sorrow and disappointment. truth in itself is not hidden and dark. it is always revealed and is perfectly transparent. but the blind and wayward self cannot perceive it. the light of day is not hidden except to the blind, and the light of truth is not hidden except to those who are blinded by self. truth is the one reality in the universe, the inward harmony, the perfect justice, the eternal love. nothing can be added to it, nor taken from it. it does not depend upon any man, but all men depend upon it. you cannot perceive the beauty of truth while you are looking out through the eyes of self. if you are vain, you will color everything with your own vanities. if lustful, your heart and mind will be so clouded with the smoke and flames of passion, that everything will appear distorted through them. if proud and opinionative, you will see nothing in the whole universe except the magnitude and importance of your own opinions. there is one quality which pre-eminently distinguishes the man of truth from the man of self, and that is _humility_. to be not only free from vanity, stubbornness and egotism, but to regard one's own opinions as of no value, this indeed is true humility. he who is immersed in self regards his own opinions as truth, and the opinions of other men as error. but that humble truth-lover who has learned to distinguish between opinion and truth, regards all men with the eye of charity, and does not seek to defend his opinions against theirs, but sacrifices those opinions that he may love the more, that he may manifest the spirit of truth, for truth in its very nature is ineffable and can only be lived. he who has most of charity has most of truth. men engage in heated controversies, and foolishly imagine they are defending the truth, when in reality they are merely defending their own petty interests and perishable opinions. the follower of self takes up arms against others. the follower of truth takes up arms against himself. truth, being unchangeable and eternal, is independent of your opinion and of mine. we may enter into it, or we may stay outside; but both our defense and our attack are superfluous, and are hurled back upon ourselves. men, enslaved by self, passionate, proud, and condemnatory, believe their particular creed or religion to be the truth, and all other religions to be error; and they proselytize with passionate ardor. there is but one religion, the religion of truth. there is but one error, the error of self. truth is not a formal belief; it is an unselfish, holy, and aspiring heart, and he who has truth is at peace with all, and cherishes all with thoughts of love. you may easily know whether you are a child of truth or a worshiper of self, if you will silently examine your mind, heart, and conduct. do you harbor thoughts of suspicion, enmity, envy, lust, pride, or do you strenuously fight against these? if the former, you are chained to self, no matter what religion you may profess; if the latter, you are a candidate for truth, even though outwardly you may profess no religion. are you passionate, self-willed, ever seeking to gain your own ends, self-indulgent, and self-centered; or are you gentle, mild, unselfish, quit of every form of self-indulgence, and are ever ready to give up your own? if the former, self is your master; if the latter, truth is the object of your affection. do you strive for riches? do you fight, with passion, for your party? do you lust for power and leadership? are you given to ostentation and self-praise? or have you given up the love of riches? have you relinquished all strife? are you content to take the lowest place, and to be passed by unnoticed? and have you ceased to talk about yourself and to regard yourself with self-complacent pride? if the former, even though you may imagine you worship god, the god of your heart is self. if the latter, even though you may withhold your lips from worship, you are dwelling with the most high. the signs by which the truth-lover is known are unmistakable. hear the holy krishna declare them, in sir edwin arnold's beautiful rendering of the "bhagavad gita":-- "fearlessness, singleness of soul, the will always to strive for wisdom; opened hand and governed appetites; and piety, and love of lonely study; humbleness, uprightness, heed to injure nought which lives truthfulness, slowness unto wrath, a mind that lightly letteth go what others prize; and equanimity, and charity which spieth no man's faults; and tenderness towards all that suffer; a contented heart, fluttered by no desires; a bearing mild, modest and grave, with manhood nobly mixed, with patience, fortitude and purity; an unrevengeful spirit, never given to rate itself too high--such be the signs, o indian prince! of him whose feet are set on that fair path which leads to heavenly birth!" when men, lost in the devious ways of error and self, have forgotten the "heavenly birth," the state of holiness and truth, they set up artificial standards by which to judge one another, and make acceptance of, and adherence to, their own particular theology, the test of truth; and so men are divided one against another, and there is ceaseless enmity and strife, and unending sorrow and suffering. reader, do you seek to realize the birth into truth? there is only one way: _let self die_. all those lusts, appetites, desires, opinions, limited conceptions and prejudices to which you have hitherto so tenaciously clung, let them fall from you. let them no longer hold you in bondage, and truth will be yours. cease to look upon your own religion as superior to all others, and strive humbly to learn the supreme lesson of charity. no longer cling to the idea, so productive of strife and sorrow, that the savior whom you worship is the only savior, and that the savior whom your brother worships with equal sincerity and ardor, is an impostor; but seek diligently the path of holiness, and then you will realize that every holy man is a savior of mankind. the giving up of self is not merely the renunciation of outward things. it consists of the renunciation of the inward sin, the inward error. not by giving up vain clothing; not by relinquishing riches; not by abstaining from certain foods; not by speaking smooth words; not by merely doing these things is the truth found; but by giving up the spirit of vanity; by relinquishing the desire for riches; by abstaining from the lust of self-indulgence; by giving up all hatred, strife, condemnation, and self-seeking, and becoming gentle and pure at heart; by doing these things is the truth found. to do the former, and not to do the latter, is pharisaism and hypocrisy, whereas the latter includes the former. you may renounce the outward world, and isolate yourself in a cave or in the depths of a forest, but you will take all your selfishness with you, and unless you renounce that, great indeed will be your wretchedness and deep your delusion. you may remain just where you are, performing all your duties, and yet renounce the world, the inward enemy. to be in the world and yet not of the world is the highest perfection, the most blessed peace, is to achieve the greatest victory. the renunciation of self is the way of truth, therefore, "enter the path; there is no grief like hate, no pain like passion, no deceit like sense; enter the path; far hath he gone whose foot treads down one fond offense." as you succeed in overcoming self you will begin to see things in their right relations. he who is swayed by any passion, prejudice, like or dislike, adjusts everything to that particular bias, and sees only his own delusions. he who is absolutely free from all passion, prejudice, preference, and partiality, sees himself as he is; sees others as they are; sees all things in their proper proportions and right relations. having nothing to attack, nothing to defend, nothing to conceal, and no interests to guard, he is at peace. he has realized the profound simplicity of truth, for this unbiased, tranquil, blessed state of mind and heart is the state of truth. he who attains to it dwells with the angels, and sits at the footstool of the supreme. knowing the great law; knowing the origin of sorrow; knowing the secret of suffering; knowing the way of emancipation in truth, how can such a one engage in strife or condemnation; for though he knows that the blind, self-seeking world, surrounded with the clouds of its own illusions, and enveloped in the darkness of error and self, cannot perceive the steadfast light of truth, and is utterly incapable of comprehending the profound simplicity of the heart that has died, or is dying, to self, yet he also knows that when the suffering ages have piled up mountains of sorrow, the crushed and burdened soul of the world will fly to its final refuge, and that when the ages are completed, every prodigal will come back to the fold of truth. and so he dwells in goodwill toward all, and regards all with that tender compassion which a father bestows upon his wayward children. men cannot understand truth because they cling to self, because they believe in and love self, because they believe self to be the only reality, whereas it is the one delusion. when you cease to believe in and love self you will desert it, and will fly to truth, and will find the eternal reality. when men are intoxicated with the wines of luxury, and pleasure, and vanity, the thirst of life grows and deepens within them, and they delude themselves with dreams of fleshly immortality, but when they come to reap the harvest of their own sowing, and pain and sorrow supervene, then, crushed and humiliated, relinquishing self and all the intoxications of self, they come, with aching hearts to the one immortality, the immortality that destroys all delusions, the spiritual immortality in truth. men pass from evil to good, from self to truth, through the dark gate of sorrow, for sorrow and self are inseparable. only in the peace and bliss of truth is all sorrow vanquished. if you suffer disappointment because your cherished plans have been thwarted, or because someone has not come up to your anticipations, it is because you are clinging to self. if you suffer remorse for your conduct, it is because you have given way to self. if you are overwhelmed with chagrin and regret because of the attitude of someone else toward you, it is because you have been cherishing self. if you are wounded on account of what has been done to you or said of you, it is because you are walking in the painful way of self. all suffering is of self. all suffering ends in truth. when you have entered into and realized truth, you will no longer suffer disappointment, remorse, and regret, and sorrow will flee from you. "self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul; truth is the only angel that can bid the gates unroll; and when he comes to call thee, arise and follow fast; his way may lie through darkness, but it leads to light at last." the woe of the world is of its own making. sorrow purifies and deepens the soul, and the extremity of sorrow is the prelude to truth. have you suffered much? have you sorrowed deeply? have you pondered seriously upon the problem of life? if so, you are prepared to wage war against self, and to become a disciple of truth. the intellectual who do not see the necessity for giving up self, frame endless theories about the universe, and call them truth; but do thou pursue that direct line of conduct which is the practice of righteousness, and thou wilt realize the truth which has no place in theory, and which never changes. cultivate your heart. water it continually with unselfish love and deep-felt pity, and strive to shut out from it all thoughts and feelings which are not in accordance with love. return good for evil, love for hatred, gentleness for ill-treatment, and remain silent when attacked. so shall you transmute all your selfish desires into the pure gold of love, and self will disappear in truth. so will you walk blamelessly among men, yoked with the easy yoke of lowliness, and clothed with the divine garment of humility. o come, weary brother! thy struggling and striving end thou in the heart of the master of ruth; across self's drear desert why wilt thou be driving, athirst for the quickening waters of truth when here, by the path of thy searching and sinning, flows life's gladsome stream, lies love's oasis green? come, turn thou and rest; know the end and beginning, the sought and the searcher, the seer and seen. thy master sits not in the unapproached mountains, nor dwells in the mirage which floats on the air, nor shalt thou discover his magical fountains in pathways of sand that encircle despair. in selfhood's dark desert cease wearily seeking the odorous tracks of the feet of thy king; and if thou wouldst hear the sweet sound of his speaking, be deaf to all voices that emptily sing. flee the vanishing places; renounce all thou hast; leave all that thou lovest, and, naked and bare, thyself at the shrine of the _innermost_ cast; the highest, the holiest, the changeless is there. within, in the heart of the silence he dwelleth; leave sorrow and sin, leave thy wanderings sore; come bathe in his joy, whilst he, whispering, telleth thy soul what it seeketh, and wander no more. then cease, weary brother, thy struggling and striving; find peace in the heart of the master of ruth. across self's dark desert cease wearily driving; come; drink at the beautiful waters of truth. the acquirement of spiritual power the world is filled with men and women seeking pleasure, excitement, novelty; seeking ever to be moved to laughter or tears; not seeking strength, stability, and power; but courting weakness, and eagerly engaged in dispersing what power they have. men and women of real power and influence are few, because few are prepared to make the sacrifice necessary to the acquirement of power, and fewer still are ready to patiently build up character. to be swayed by your fluctuating thoughts and impulses is to be weak and powerless; to rightly control and direct those forces is to be strong and powerful. men of strong animal passions have much of the ferocity of the beast, but this is not power. the elements of power are there; but it is only when this ferocity is tamed and subdued by the higher intelligence that real power begins; and men can only grow in power by awakening themselves to higher and ever higher states of intelligence and consciousness. the difference between a man of weakness and one of power lies not in the strength of the personal will (for the stubborn man is usually weak and foolish), but in that focus of consciousness which represents their states of knowledge. the pleasure-seekers, the lovers of excitement, the hunters after novelty, and the victims of impulse and hysterical emotion lack that knowledge of principles which gives balance, stability, and influence. a man commences to develop power when, checking his impulses and selfish inclinations, he falls back upon the higher and calmer consciousness within him, and begins to steady himself upon a principle. the realization of unchanging principles in consciousness is at once the source and secret of the highest power. when, after much searching, and suffering, and sacrificing, the light of an eternal principle dawns upon the soul, a divine calm ensues and joy unspeakable gladdens the heart. he who has realized such a principle ceases to wander, and remains poised and self-possessed. he ceases to be "passion's slave," and becomes a master-builder in the temple of destiny. the man that is governed by self, and not by a principle, changes his front when his selfish comforts are threatened. deeply intent upon defending and guarding his own interests, he regards all means as lawful that will subserve that end. he is continually scheming as to how he may protect himself against his enemies, being too self-centered to perceive that he is his own enemy. such a man's work crumbles away, for it is divorced from truth and power. all effort that is grounded upon self, perishes; only that work endures that is built upon an indestructible principle. the man that stands upon a principle is the same calm, dauntless, self-possessed man under all circumstances. when the hour of trial comes, and he has to decide between his personal comforts and truth, he gives up his comforts and remains firm. even the prospect of torture and death cannot alter or deter him. the man of self regards the loss of his wealth, his comforts, or his life as the greatest calamities which can befall him. the man of principle looks upon these incidents as comparatively insignificant, and not to be weighed with loss of character, loss of truth. to desert truth is, to him, the only happening which can really be called a calamity. it is the hour of crisis which decides who are the minions of darkness, and who the children of light. it is the epoch of threatening disaster, ruin, and persecution which divides the sheep from the goats, and reveals to the reverential gaze of succeeding ages the men and women of power. it is easy for a man, so long as he is left in the enjoyment of his possessions, to persuade himself that he believes in and adheres to the principles of peace, brotherhood, and universal love; but if, when his enjoyments are threatened, or he imagines they are threatened, he begins to clamor loudly for war, he shows that he believes in and stands upon, not peace, brotherhood, and love, but strife, selfishness, and hatred. he who does not desert his principles when threatened with the loss of every earthly thing, even to the loss of reputation and life, is the man of power; is the man whose every word and work endures; is the man whom the afterworld honors, reveres, and worships. rather than desert that principle of divine love on which he rested, and in which all his trust was placed, jesus endured the utmost extremity of agony and deprivation; and today the world prostrates itself at his pierced feet in rapt adoration. there is no way to the acquirement of spiritual power except by that inward illumination and enlightenment which is the realization of spiritual principles; and those principles can only be realized by constant practice and application. take the principle of divine love, and quietly and diligently meditate upon it with the object of arriving at a thorough understanding of it. bring its searching light to bear upon all your habits, your actions, your speech and intercourse with others, your every secret thought and desire. as you persevere in this course, the divine love will become more and more perfectly revealed to you, and your own shortcomings will stand out in more and more vivid contrast, spurring you on to renewed endeavor; and having once caught a glimpse of the incomparable majesty of that imperishable principle, you will never again rest in your weakness, your selfishness, your imperfection, but will pursue that love until you have relinquished every discordant element, and have brought yourself into perfect harmony with it. and that state of inward harmony is spiritual power. take also other spiritual principles, such as purity and compassion, and apply them in the same way, and, so exacting is truth, you will be able to make no stay, no resting-place until the inmost garment of your soul is bereft of every stain, and your heart has become incapable of any hard, condemnatory, and pitiless impulse. only in so far as you understand, realize, and rely upon, these principles, will you acquire spiritual power, and that power will be manifested in and through you in the form of increasing dispassion, patience and equanimity. dispassion argues superior self-control; sublime patience is the very hall-mark of divine knowledge, and to retain an unbroken calm amid all the duties and distractions of life, marks off the man of power. "it is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." some mystics hold that perfection in dispassion is the source of that power by which miracles (so-called) are performed, and truly he who has gained such perfect control of all his interior forces that no shock, however great, can for one moment unbalance him, must be capable of guiding and directing those forces with a master-hand. to grow in self-control, in patience, in equanimity, is to grow in strength and power; and you can only thus grow by focusing your consciousness upon a principle. as a child, after making many and vigorous attempts to walk unaided, at last succeeds, after numerous falls, in accomplishing this, so you must enter the way of power by first attempting to stand alone. break away from the tyranny of custom, tradition, conventionality, and the opinions of others, until you succeed in walking lonely and erect among men. rely upon your own judgment; be true to your own conscience; follow the light that is within you; all outward lights are so many will-o'-the-wisps. there will be those who will tell you that you are foolish; that your judgment is faulty; that your conscience is all awry, and that the light within you is darkness; but heed them not. if what they say is true the sooner you, as a searcher for wisdom, find it out the better, and you can only make the discovery by bringing your powers to the test. therefore, pursue your course bravely. your conscience is at least your own, and to follow it is to be a man; to follow the conscience of another is to be a slave. you will have many falls, will suffer many wounds, will endure many buffetings for a time, but press on in faith, believing that sure and certain victory lies ahead. search for a rock, a principle, and having found it cling to it; get it under your feet and stand erect upon it, until at last, immovably fixed upon it, you succeed in defying the fury of the waves and storms of selfishness. for selfishness in any and every form is dissipation, weakness, death; unselfishness in its spiritual aspect is conservation, power, life. as you grow in spiritual life, and become established upon principles, you will become as beautiful and as unchangeable as those principles, will taste of the sweetness of their immortal essence, and will realize the eternal and indestructible nature of the god within. no harmful shaft can reach the righteous man, standing erect amid the storms of hate, defying hurt and injury and ban, surrounded by the trembling slaves of fate. majestic in the strength of silent power, serene he stands, nor changes not nor turns; patient and firm in suffering's darkest hour, time bends to him, and death and doom he spurns. wrath's lurid lightnings round about him play, and hell's deep thunders roll about his head; yet heeds he not, for him they cannot slay who stands whence earth and time and space are fled. sheltered by deathless love, what fear hath he? armored in changeless truth, what can he know of loss and gain? knowing eternity, he moves not whilst the shadows come and go. call him immortal, call him truth and light and splendor of prophetic majesty who bideth thus amid the powers of night, clothed with the glory of divinity. the realization of selfless love it is said that michael angelo saw in every rough block of stone a thing of beauty awaiting the master-hand to bring it into reality. even so, within each there reposes the divine image awaiting the master-hand of faith and the chisel of patience to bring it into manifestation. and that divine image is revealed and realized as stainless, selfless love. hidden deep in every human heart, though frequently covered up with a mass of hard and almost impenetrable accretions, is the spirit of divine love, whose holy and spotless essence is undying and eternal. it is the truth in man; it is that which belongs to the supreme: that which is real and immortal. all else changes and passes away; this alone is permanent and imperishable; and to realize this love by ceaseless diligence in the practice of the highest righteousness, to live in it and to become fully conscious in it, is to enter into immortality here and now, is to become one with truth, one with god, one with the central heart of all things, and to know our own divine and eternal nature. to reach this love, to understand and experience it, one must work with great persistency and diligence upon his heart and mind, must ever renew his patience and keep strong his faith, for there will be much to remove, much to accomplish before the divine image is revealed in all its glorious beauty. he who strives to reach and to accomplish the divine will be tried to the very uttermost; and this is absolutely necessary, for how else could one acquire that sublime patience without which there is no real wisdom, no divinity? ever and anon, as he proceeds, all his work will seem to be futile, and his efforts appear to be thrown away. now and then a hasty touch will mar his image, and perhaps when he imagines his work is almost completed he will find what he imagined to be the beautiful form of divine love utterly destroyed, and he must begin again with his past bitter experience to guide and help him. but he who has resolutely set himself to realize the highest recognizes no such thing as defeat. all failures are apparent, not real. every slip, every fall, every return to selfishness is a lesson learned, an experience gained, from which a golden grain of wisdom is extracted, helping the striver toward the accomplishment of his lofty object. to recognize "that of our vices we can frame a ladder if we will but tread beneath our feet each deed of shame," is to enter the way that leads unmistakably toward the divine, and the failings of one who thus recognizes are so many dead selves, upon which he rises, as upon stepping-stones, to higher things. once come to regard your failings, your sorrows and sufferings as so many voices telling you plainly where you are weak and faulty, where you fall below the true and the divine, you will then begin to ceaselessly watch yourself, and every slip, every pang of pain will show you where you are to set to work, and what you have to remove out of your heart in order to bring it nearer to the likeness of the divine, nearer to the perfect love. and as you proceed, day by day detaching yourself more and more from the inward selfishness the love that is selfless will gradually become revealed to you. and when you are growing patient and calm, when your petulances, tempers, and irritabilities are passing away from you, and the more powerful lusts and prejudices cease to dominate and enslave you, then you will know that the divine is awakening within you, that you are drawing near to the eternal heart, that you are not far from that selfless love, the possession of which is peace and immortality. divine love is distinguished from human loves in this supremely important particular, _it is free from partiality_. human loves cling to a particular object to the exclusion of all else, and when that object is removed, great and deep is the resultant suffering to the one who loves. divine love embraces the whole universe, and, without clinging to any part, yet contains within itself the whole, and he who comes to it by gradually purifying and broadening his human loves until all the selfish and impure elements are burnt out of them, ceases from suffering. it is because human loves are narrow and confined and mingled with selfishness that they cause suffering. no suffering can result from that love which is so absolutely pure that it seeks nothing for itself. nevertheless, human loves are absolutely necessary as steps toward the divine, and no soul is prepared to partake of divine love until it has become capable of the deepest and most intense human love. it is only by passing through human loves and human sufferings that divine love is reached and realized. all human loves are perishable like the forms to which they cling; but there is a love that is imperishable, and that does not cling to appearances. all human loves are counterbalanced by human hates; but there is a love that admits of no opposite or reaction; divine and free from all taint of self, that sheds its fragrance on all alike. human loves are reflections of the divine love, and draw the soul nearer to the reality, the love that knows neither sorrow nor change. it is well that the mother, clinging with passionate tenderness to the little helpless form of flesh that lies on her bosom, should be overwhelmed with the dark waters of sorrow when she sees it laid in the cold earth. it is well that her tears should flow and her heart ache, for only thus can she be reminded of the evanescent nature of the joys and objects of sense, and be drawn nearer to the eternal and imperishable reality. it is well that lover, brother, sister, husband, wife should suffer deep anguish, and be enveloped in gloom when the visible object of their affections is torn from them, so that they may learn to turn their affections toward the invisible source of all, where alone abiding satisfaction is to be found. it is well that the proud, the ambitious, the self-seeking, should suffer defeat, humiliation, and misfortune; that they should pass through the scorching fires of affliction; for only thus can the wayward soul be brought to reflect upon the enigma of life; only thus can the heart be softened and purified, and prepared to receive the truth. when the sting of anguish penetrates the heart of human love; when gloom and loneliness and desertion cloud the soul of friendship and trust, then it is that the heart turns toward the sheltering love of the eternal, and finds rest in its silent peace. and whosoever comes to this love is not turned away comfortless, is not pierced with anguish nor surrounded with gloom; and is never deserted in the dark hour of trial. the glory of divine love can only be revealed in the heart that is chastened by sorrow, and the image of the heavenly state can only be perceived and realized when the lifeless, formless accretions of ignorance and self are hewn away. only that love that seeks no personal gratification or reward, that does not make distinctions, and that leaves behind no heartaches, can be called divine. men, clinging to self and to the comfortless shadows of evil, are in the habit of thinking of divine love as something belonging to a god who is out of reach; as something outside themselves, and that must for ever remain outside. truly, the love of god is ever beyond the reach of self, but when the heart and mind are emptied of self then the selfless love, the supreme love, the love that is of god or good becomes an inward and abiding reality. and this inward realization of holy love is none other than the love of christ that is so much talked about and so little comprehended. the love that not only saves the soul from sin, but lifts it also above the power of temptation. but how may one attain to this sublime realization? the answer which truth has always given, and will ever give to this question is,--"empty thyself, and i will fill thee." divine love cannot be known until self is dead, for self is the denial of love, and how can that which is known be also denied? not until the stone of self is rolled away from the sepulcher of the soul does the immortal christ, the pure spirit of love, hitherto crucified, dead and buried, cast off the bands of ignorance, and come forth in all the majesty of his resurrection. you believe that the christ of nazareth was put to death and rose again. i do not say you err in that belief; but if you refuse to believe that the gentle spirit of love is crucified daily upon the dark cross of your selfish desires, then, i say, you err in this unbelief, and have not yet perceived, even afar off, the love of christ. you say that you have tasted of salvation in the love of christ. are you saved from your temper, your irritability, your vanity, your personal dislikes, your judgment and condemnation of others? if not, from what are you saved, and wherein have you realized the transforming love of christ? he who has realized the love that is divine has become a new man, and has ceased to be swayed and dominated by the old elements of self. he is known for his patience, his purity, his self-control, his deep charity of heart, and his unalterable sweetness. divine or selfless love is not a mere sentiment or emotion; it is a state of knowledge which destroys the dominion of evil and the belief in evil, and lifts the soul into the joyful realization of the supreme good. to the divinely wise, knowledge and love are one and inseparable. it is toward the complete realization of this divine love that the whole world is moving; it was for this purpose that the universe came into existence, and every grasping at happiness, every reaching out of the soul toward objects, ideas and ideals, is an effort to realize it. but the world does not realize this love at present because it is grasping at the fleeting shadow and ignoring, in its blindness, the substance. and so suffering and sorrow continue, and must continue until the world, taught by its self-inflicted pains, discovers the love that is selfless, the wisdom that is calm and full of peace. and this love, this wisdom, this peace, this tranquil state of mind and heart may be attained to, may be realized by all who are willing and ready to yield up self, and who are prepared to humbly enter into a comprehension of all that the giving up of self involves. there is no arbitrary power in the universe, and the strongest chains of fate by which men are bound are self-forged. men are chained to that which causes suffering because they desire to be so, because they love their chains, because they think their little dark prison of self is sweet and beautiful, and they are afraid that if they desert that prison they will lose all that is real and worth having. "ye suffer from yourselves, none else compels, none other holds ye that ye live and die." and the indwelling power which forged the chains and built around itself the dark and narrow prison, can break away when it desires and wills to do so, and the soul does will to do so when it has discovered the worthlessness of its prison, when long suffering has prepared it for the reception of the boundless light and love. as the shadow follows the form, and as smoke comes after fire, so effect follows cause, and suffering and bliss follow the thoughts and deeds of men. there is no effect in the world around us but has its hidden or revealed cause, and that cause is in accordance with absolute justice. men reap a harvest of suffering because in the near or distant past they have sown the seeds of evil; they reap a harvest of bliss also as a result of their own sowing of the seeds of good. let a man meditate upon this, let him strive to understand it, and he will then begin to sow only seeds of good, and will burn up the tares and weeds which he has formerly grown in the garden of his heart. the world does not understand the love that is selfless because it is engrossed in the pursuit of its own pleasures, and cramped within the narrow limits of perishable interests mistaking, in its ignorance, those pleasures and interests for real and abiding things. caught in the flames of fleshly lusts, and burning with anguish, it sees not the pure and peaceful beauty of truth. feeding upon the swinish husks of error and self-delusion, it is shut out from the mansion of all-seeing love. not having this love, not understanding it, men institute innumerable reforms which involve no inward sacrifice, and each imagines that his reform is going to right the world for ever, while he himself continues to propagate evil by engaging it in his own heart. that only can be called reform which tends to reform the human heart, for all evil has its rise there, and not until the world, ceasing from selfishness and party strife, has learned the lesson of divine love, will it realize the golden age of universal blessedness. let the rich cease to despise the poor, and the poor to condemn the rich; let the greedy learn how to give, and the lustful how to grow pure; let the partisan cease from strife, and the uncharitable begin to forgive; let the envious endeavor to rejoice with others, and the slanderers grow ashamed of their conduct. let men and women take this course, and, lo! the golden age is at hand. he, therefore, who purifies his own heart is the world's greatest benefactor. yet, though the world is, and will be for many ages to come, shut out from that age of gold, which is the realization of selfless love, you, if you are willing, may enter it now, by rising above your selfish self; if you will pass from prejudice, hatred, and condemnation, to gentle and forgiving love. where hatred, dislike, and condemnation are, selfless love does not abide. it resides only in the heart that has ceased from all condemnation. you say, "how can i love the drunkard, the hypocrite, the sneak, the murderer? i am compelled to dislike and condemn such men." it is true you cannot love such men _emotionally_, but when you say that you must perforce dislike and condemn them you show that you are not acquainted with the great over-ruling love; for it is possible to attain to such a state of interior enlightenment as will enable you to perceive the train of causes by which these men have become as they are, to enter into their intense sufferings, and to know the certainty of their ultimate purification. possessed of such knowledge it will be utterly impossible for you any longer to dislike or condemn them, and you will always think of them with perfect calmness and deep compassion. if you love people and speak of them with praise until they in some way thwart you, or do something of which you disapprove, and then you dislike them and speak of them with dispraise, you are not governed by the love which is of god. if, in your heart, you are continually arraigning and condemning others, selfless love is hidden from you. he who knows that love is at the heart of all things, and has realized the all-sufficing power of that love, has no room in his heart for condemnation. men, not knowing this love, constitute themselves judge and executioner of their fellows, forgetting that there is the eternal judge and executioner, and in so far as men deviate from them in their own views, their particular reforms and methods, they brand them as fanatical, unbalanced, lacking judgment, sincerity, and honesty; in so far as others approximate to their own standard do they look upon them as being everything that is admirable. such are the men who are centered in self. but he whose heart is centered in the supreme love does not so brand and classify men; does not seek to convert men to his own views, not to convince them of the superiority of his methods. knowing the law of love, he lives it, and maintains the same calm attitude of mind and sweetness of heart toward all. the debased and the virtuous, the foolish and the wise, the learned and the unlearned, the selfish and the unselfish receive alike the benediction of his tranquil thought. you can only attain to this supreme knowledge, this divine love by unremitting endeavor in self-discipline, and by gaining victory after victory over yourself. only the pure in heart see god, and when your heart is sufficiently purified you will enter into the new birth, and the love that does not die, nor change, nor end in pain and sorrow will be awakened within you, and you will be at peace. he who strives for the attainment of divine love is ever seeking to overcome the spirit of condemnation, for where there is pure spiritual knowledge, condemnation cannot exist, and only in the heart that has become incapable of condemnation is love perfected and fully realized. the christian condemns the atheist; the atheist satirizes the christian; the catholic and protestant are ceaselessly engaged in wordy warfare, and the spirit of strife and hatred rules where peace and love should be. "he that hateth his brother is a murderer," a crucifier of the divine spirit of love; and until you can regard men of all religions and of no religion with the same impartial spirit, with all freedom from dislike, and with perfect equanimity, you have yet to strive for that love which bestows upon its possessor freedom and salvation. the realization of divine knowledge, selfless love, utterly destroys the spirit of condemnation, disperses all evil, and lifts the consciousness to that height of pure vision where love, goodness, justice are seen to be universal, supreme, all-conquering, indestructible. train your mind in strong, impartial, and gentle thought; train your heart in purity and compassion; train your tongue to silence and to true and stainless speech; so shall you enter the way of holiness and peace, and shall ultimately realize the immortal love. so living, without seeking to convert, you will convince; without arguing, you will teach; not cherishing ambition, the wise will find you out; and without striving to gain men's opinions, you will subdue their hearts. for love is all-conquering, all-powerful; and the thoughts, and deeds, and words of love can never perish. to know that love is universal, supreme, all-sufficing; to be freed from the trammels of evil; to be quit of the inward unrest; to know that all men are striving to realize the truth each in his own way; to be satisfied, sorrowless, serene; this is peace; this is gladness; this is immortality; this is divinity; this is the realization of selfless love. i stood upon the shore, and saw the rocks resist the onslaught of the mighty sea, and when i thought how all the countless shocks they had withstood through an eternity, i said, "to wear away this solid main the ceaseless efforts of the waves are vain." but when i thought how they the rocks had rent, and saw the sand and shingles at my feet (poor passive remnants of resistance spent) tumbled and tossed where they the waters meet, then saw i ancient landmarks 'neath the waves, and knew the waters held the stones their slaves. i saw the mighty work the waters wrought by patient softness and unceasing flow; how they the proudest promontory brought unto their feet, and massy hills laid low; how the soft drops the adamantine wall conquered at last, and brought it to its fall. and then i knew that hard, resisting sin should yield at last to love's soft ceaseless roll coming and going, ever flowing in upon the proud rocks of the human soul; that all resistance should be spent and past, and every heart yield unto it at last. entering into the infinite from the beginning of time, man, in spite of his bodily appetites and desires, in the midst of all his clinging to earthly and impermanent things, has ever been intuitively conscious of the limited, transient, and illusionary nature of his material existence, and in his sane and silent moments has tried to reach out into a comprehension of the infinite, and has turned with tearful aspiration toward the restful reality of the eternal heart. while vainly imagining that the pleasures of earth are real and satisfying, pain and sorrow continually remind him of their unreal and unsatisfying nature. ever striving to believe that complete satisfaction is to be found in material things, he is conscious of an inward and persistent revolt against this belief, which revolt is at once a refutation of his essential mortality, and an inherent and imperishable proof that only in the immortal, the eternal, the infinite can he find abiding satisfaction and unbroken peace. and here is the common ground of faith; here the root and spring of all religion; here the soul of brotherhood and the heart of love,--that man is essentially and spiritually divine and eternal, and that, immersed in mortality and troubled with unrest, he is ever striving to enter into a consciousness of his real nature. the spirit of man is inseparable from the infinite, and can be satisfied with nothing short of the infinite, and the burden of pain will continue to weigh upon man's heart, and the shadows of sorrow to darken his pathway until, ceasing from his wanderings in the dream-world of matter, he comes back to his home in the reality of the eternal. as the smallest drop of water detached from the ocean contains all the qualities of the ocean, so man, detached in consciousness from the infinite, contains within him its likeness; and as the drop of water must, by the law of its nature, ultimately find its way back to the ocean and lose itself in its silent depths, so must man, by the unfailing law of his nature, at last return to his source, and lose himself in the great ocean of the infinite. to re-become one with the infinite is the goal of man. to enter into perfect harmony with the eternal law is wisdom, love and peace. but this divine state is, and must ever be, incomprehensible to the merely personal. personality, separateness, selfishness are one and the same, and are the antithesis of wisdom and divinity. by the unqualified surrender of the personality, separateness and selfishness cease, and man enters into the possession of his divine heritage of immortality and infinity. such surrender of the personality is regarded by the worldly and selfish mind as the most grievous of all calamities, the most irreparable loss, yet it is the one supreme and incomparable blessing, the only real and lasting gain. the mind unenlightened upon the inner laws of being, and upon the nature and destiny of its own life, clings to transient appearances, things which have in them no enduring substantiality, and so clinging, perishes, for the time being, amid the shattered wreckage of its own illusions. men cling to and gratify the flesh as though it were going to last for ever, and though they try to forget the nearness and inevitability of its dissolution, the dread of death and of the loss of all that they cling to clouds their happiest hours, and the chilling shadow of their own selfishness follows them like a remorseless specter. and with the accumulation of temporal comforts and luxuries, the divinity within men is drugged, and they sink deeper and deeper into materiality, into the perishable life of the senses, and where there is sufficient intellect, theories concerning the immortality of the flesh come to be regarded as infallible truths. when a man's soul is clouded with selfishness in any or every form, he loses the power of spiritual discrimination, and confuses the temporal with the eternal, the perishable with the permanent, mortality with immortality, and error with truth. it is thus that the world has come to be filled with theories and speculations having no foundation in human experience. every body of flesh contains within itself, from the hour of birth, the elements of its own destruction, and by the unalterable law of its own nature must it pass away. the perishable in the universe can never become permanent; the permanent can never pass away; the mortal can never become immortal; the immortal can never die; the temporal cannot become eternal nor the eternal become temporal; appearance can never become reality, nor reality fade into appearance; error can never become truth, nor can truth become error. man cannot immortalize the flesh, but, by overcoming the flesh, by relinquishing all its inclinations, he can enter the region of immortality. "god alone hath immortality," and only by realizing the god state of consciousness does man enter into immortality. all nature in its myriad forms of life is changeable, impermanent, unenduring. only the informing principle of nature endures. nature is many, and is marked by separation. the informing principle is one, and is marked by unity. by overcoming the senses and the selfishness within, which is the overcoming of nature, man emerges from the chrysalis of the personal and illusory, and wings himself into the glorious light of the impersonal, the region of universal truth, out of which all perishable forms come. let men, therefore, practice self-denial; let them conquer their animal inclinations; let them refuse to be enslaved by luxury and pleasure; let them practice virtue, and grow daily into high and ever higher virtue, until at last they grow into the divine, and enter into both the practice and the comprehension of humility, meekness, forgiveness, compassion, and love, which practice and comprehension constitute divinity. "good-will gives insight," and only he who has so conquered his personality that he has but one attitude of mind, that of good-will, toward all creatures, is possessed of divine insight, and is capable of distinguishing the true from the false. the supremely good man is, therefore, the wise man, the divine man, the enlightened seer, the knower of the eternal. where you find unbroken gentleness, enduring patience, sublime lowliness, graciousness of speech, self-control, self-forgetfulness, and deep and abounding sympathy, look there for the highest wisdom, seek the company of such a one, for he has realized the divine, he lives with the eternal, he has become one with the infinite. believe not him that is impatient, given to anger, boastful, who clings to pleasure and refuses to renounce his selfish gratifications, and who practices not good-will and far-reaching compassion, for such a one hath not wisdom, vain is all his knowledge, and his works and words will perish, for they are grounded on that which passes away. let a man abandon self, let him overcome the world, let him deny the personal; by this pathway only can he enter into the heart of the infinite. the world, the body, the personality are mirages upon the desert of time; transitory dreams in the dark night of spiritual slumber, and those who have crossed the desert, those who are spiritually awakened, have alone comprehended the universal reality where all appearances are dispersed and dreaming and delusion are destroyed. there is one great law which exacts unconditional obedience, one unifying principle which is the basis of all diversity, one eternal truth wherein all the problems of earth pass away like shadows. to realize this law, this unity, this truth, is to enter into the infinite, is to become one with the eternal. to center one's life in the great law of love is to enter into rest, harmony, peace. to refrain from all participation in evil and discord; to cease from all resistance to evil, and from the omission of that which is good, and to fall back upon unswerving obedience to the holy calm within, is to enter into the inmost heart of things, is to attain to a living, conscious experience of that eternal and infinite principle which must ever remain a hidden mystery to the merely perceptive intellect. until this principle is realized, the soul is not established in peace, and he who so realizes is truly wise; not wise with the wisdom of the learned, but with the simplicity of a blameless heart and of a divine manhood. to enter into a realization of the infinite and eternal is to rise superior to time, and the world, and the body, which comprise the kingdom of darkness; and is to become established in immortality, heaven, and the spirit, which make up the empire of light. entering into the infinite is not a mere theory or sentiment. it is a vital experience which is the result of assiduous practice in inward purification. when the body is no longer believed to be, even remotely, the real man; when all appetites and desires are thoroughly subdued and purified; when the emotions are rested and calm, and when the oscillation of the intellect ceases and perfect poise is secured, then, and not till then, does consciousness become one with the infinite; not until then is childlike wisdom and profound peace secured. men grow weary and gray over the dark problems of life, and finally pass away and leave them unsolved because they cannot see their way out of the darkness of the personality, being too much engrossed in its limitations. seeking to save his personal life, man forfeits the greater impersonal life in truth; clinging to the perishable, he is shut out from a knowledge of the eternal. by the surrender of self all difficulties are overcome, and there is no error in the universe but the fire of inward sacrifice will burn it up like chaff; no problem, however great, but will disappear like a shadow under the searching light of self-abnegation. problems exist only in our own self-created illusions, and they vanish away when self is yielded up. self and error are synonymous. error is involved in the darkness of unfathomable complexity, but eternal simplicity is the glory of truth. love of self shuts men out from truth, and seeking their own personal happiness they lose the deeper, purer, and more abiding bliss. says carlyle--"there is in man a higher than love of happiness. he can do without happiness, and instead thereof find blessedness. ... love not pleasure, love god. this is the everlasting yea, wherein all contradiction is solved; wherein whoso walks and works, it is well with him." he who has yielded up that self, that personality that men most love, and to which they cling with such fierce tenacity, has left behind him all perplexity, and has entered into a simplicity so profoundly simple as to be looked upon by the world, involved as it is in a network of error, as foolishness. yet such a one has realized the highest wisdom, and is at rest in the infinite. he "accomplishes without striving," and all problems melt before him, for he has entered the region of reality, and deals, not with changing effects, but with the unchanging principles of things. he is enlightened with a wisdom which is as superior to ratiocination, as reason is to animality. having yielded up his lusts, his errors, his opinions and prejudices, he has entered into possession of the knowledge of god, having slain the selfish desire for heaven, and along with it the ignorant fear of hell; having relinquished even the love of life itself, he has gained supreme bliss and life eternal, the life which bridges life and death, and knows its own immortality. having yielded up all without reservation, he has gained all, and rests in peace on the bosom of the infinite. only he who has become so free from self as to be equally content to be annihilated as to live, or to live as to be annihilated, is fit to enter into the infinite. only he who, ceasing to trust his perishable self, has learned to trust in boundless measure the great law, the supreme good, is prepared to partake of undying bliss. for such a one there is no more regret, nor disappointment, nor remorse, for where all selfishness has ceased these sufferings cannot be; and whatever happens to him he knows that it is for his own good, and he is content, being no longer the servant of self, but the servant of the supreme. he is no longer affected by the changes of earth, and when he hears of wars and rumors of wars his peace is not disturbed, and where men grow angry and cynical and quarrelsome, he bestows compassion and love. though appearances may contradict it, he knows that the world is progressing, and that "through its laughing and its weeping, through its living and its keeping, through its follies and its labors, weaving in and out of sight, to the end from the beginning, through all virtue and all sinning, reeled from god's great spool of progress, runs the golden thread of light." when a fierce storm is raging none are angered about it, because they know it will quickly pass away, and when the storms of contention are devastating the world, the wise man, looking with the eye of truth and pity, knows that it will pass away, and that out of the wreckage of broken hearts which it leaves behind the immortal temple of wisdom will be built. sublimely patient; infinitely compassionate; deep, silent, and pure, his very presence is a benediction; and when he speaks men ponder his words in their hearts, and by them rise to higher levels of attainment. such is he who has entered into the infinite, who by the power of utmost sacrifice has solved the sacred mystery of life. questioning life and destiny and truth, i sought the dark and labyrinthine sphinx, who spake to me this strange and wondrous thing:-- "concealment only lies in blinded eyes, and god alone can see the form of god." i sought to solve this hidden mystery vainly by paths of blindness and of pain, but when i found the way of love and peace, concealment ceased, and i was blind no more: then saw i god e'en with the eyes of god. saints, sages, and saviors: the law of service the spirit of love which is manifested as a perfect and rounded life, is the crown of being and the supreme end of knowledge upon this earth. the measure of a man's truth is the measure of his love, and truth is far removed from him whose life is not governed by love. the intolerant and condemnatory, even though they profess the highest religion, have the smallest measure of truth; while those who exercise patience, and who listen calmly and dispassionately to all sides, and both arrive themselves at, and incline others to, thoughtful and unbiased conclusions upon all problems and issues, have truth in fullest measure. the final test of wisdom is this,--how does a man live? what spirit does he manifest? how does he act under trial and temptation? many men boast of being in possession of truth who are continually swayed by grief, disappointment, and passion, and who sink under the first little trial that comes along. truth is nothing if not unchangeable, and in so far as a man takes his stand upon truth does he become steadfast in virtue, does he rise superior to his passions and emotions and changeable personality. men formulate perishable dogmas, and call them truth. truth cannot be formulated; it is ineffable, and ever beyond the reach of intellect. it can only be experienced by practice; it can only be manifested as a stainless heart and a perfect life. who, then, in the midst of the ceaseless pandemonium of schools and creeds and parties, has the truth? he who lives it. he who practices it. he who, having risen above that pandemonium by overcoming himself, no longer engages in it, but sits apart, quiet, subdued, calm, and self-possessed, freed from all strife, all bias, all condemnation, and bestows upon all the glad and unselfish love of the divinity within him. he who is patient, calm, gentle, and forgiving under all circumstances, manifests the truth. truth will never be proved by wordy arguments and learned treatises, for if men do not perceive the truth in infinite patience, undying forgiveness, and all-embracing compassion, no words can ever prove it to them. it is an easy matter for the passionate to be calm and patient when they are alone, or are in the midst of calmness. it is equally easy for the uncharitable to be gentle and kind when they are dealt kindly with, but he who retains his patience and calmness under all trial, who remains sublimely meek and gentle under the most trying circumstances, he, and he alone, is possessed of the spotless truth. and this is so because such lofty virtues belong to the divine, and can only be manifested by one who has attained to the highest wisdom, who has relinquished his passionate and self-seeking nature, who has realized the supreme and unchangeable law, and has brought himself into harmony with it. let men, therefore, cease from vain and passionate arguments about truth, and let them think and say and do those things which make for harmony, peace, love, and good-will. let them practice heart-virtue, and search humbly and diligently for the truth which frees the soul from all error and sin, from all that blights the human heart, and that darkens, as with unending night, the pathway of the wandering souls of earth. there is one great all-embracing law which is the foundation and cause of the universe, the law of love. it has been called by many names in various countries and at various times, but behind all its names the same unalterable law may be discovered by the eye of truth. names, religions, personalities pass away, but the law of love remains. to become possessed of a knowledge of this law, to enter into conscious harmony with it, is to become immortal, invincible, indestructible. it is because of the effort of the soul to realize this law that men come again and again to live, to suffer, and to die; and when realized, suffering ceases, personality is dispersed, and the fleshly life and death are destroyed, for consciousness becomes one with the eternal. the law is absolutely impersonal, and its highest manifested expression is that of service. when the purified heart has realized truth it is then called upon to make the last, the greatest and holiest sacrifice, the sacrifice of the well-earned enjoyment of truth. it is by virtue of this sacrifice that the divinely-emancipated soul comes to dwell among men, clothed with a body of flesh, content to dwell among the lowliest and least, and to be esteemed the servant of all mankind. that sublime humility which is manifested by the world's saviors is the seal of godhead, and he who has annihilated the personality, and has become a living, visible manifestation of the impersonal, eternal, boundless spirit of love, is alone singled out as worthy to receive the unstinted worship of posterity. he only who succeeds in humbling himself with that divine humility which is not only the extinction of self, but is also the pouring out upon all the spirit of unselfish love, is exalted above measure, and given spiritual dominion in the hearts of mankind. all the great spiritual teachers have denied themselves personal luxuries, comforts, and rewards, have abjured temporal power, and have lived and taught the limitless and impersonal truth. compare their lives and teachings, and you will find the same simplicity, the same self-sacrifice, the same humility, love, and peace both lived and preached by them. they taught the same eternal principles, the realization of which destroys all evil. those who have been hailed and worshiped as the saviors of mankind are manifestations of the great impersonal law, and being such, were free from passion and prejudice, and having no opinions, and no special letter of doctrine to preach and defend, they never sought to convert and to proselytize. living in the highest goodness, the supreme perfection, their sole object was to uplift mankind by manifesting that goodness in thought, word, and deed. they stand between man the personal and god the impersonal, and serve as exemplary types for the salvation of self-enslaved mankind. men who are immersed in self, and who cannot comprehend the goodness that is absolutely impersonal, deny divinity to all saviors except their own, and thus introduce personal hatred and doctrinal controversy, and, while defending their own particular views with passion, look upon each other as being heathens or infidels, and so render null and void, as far as their lives are concerned, the unselfish beauty and holy grandeur of the lives and teachings of their own masters. truth cannot be limited; it can never be the special prerogative of any man, school, or nation, and when personality steps in, truth is lost. the glory alike of the saint, the sage, and the savior is this,--that he has realized the most profound lowliness, the most sublime unselfishness; having given up all, even his own personality, all his works are holy and enduring, for they are freed from every taint of self. he gives, yet never thinks of receiving; he works without regretting the past or anticipating the future, and never looks for reward. when the farmer has tilled and dressed his land and put in the seed, he knows that he has done all that he can possibly do, and that now he must trust to the elements, and wait patiently for the course of time to bring about the harvest, and that no amount of expectancy on his part will affect the result. even so, he who has realized truth goes forth as a sower of the seeds of goodness, purity, love and peace, without expectancy, and never looking for results, knowing that there is the great over-ruling law which brings about its own harvest in due time, and which is alike the source of preservation and destruction. men, not understanding the divine simplicity of a profoundly unselfish heart, look upon their particular savior as the manifestation of a special miracle, as being something entirely apart and distinct from the nature of things, and as being, in his ethical excellence, eternally unapproachable by the whole of mankind. this attitude of unbelief (for such it is) in the divine perfectibility of man, paralyzes effort, and binds the souls of men as with strong ropes to sin and suffering. jesus "grew in wisdom" and was "perfected by suffering." what jesus was, he became such; what buddha was, he became such; and every holy man became such by unremitting perseverance in self-sacrifice. once recognize this, once realize that by watchful effort and hopeful perseverance you can rise above your lower nature, and great and glorious will be the vistas of attainment that will open out before you. buddha vowed that he would not relax his efforts until he arrived at the state of perfection, and he accomplished his purpose. what the saints, sages, and saviors have accomplished, you likewise may accomplish if you will only tread the way which they trod and pointed out, the way of self-sacrifice, of self-denying service. truth is very simple. it says, "give up self," "come unto me" (away from all that defiles) "and i will give you rest." all the mountains of commentary that have been piled upon it cannot hide it from the heart that is earnestly seeking for righteousness. it does not require learning; it can be known in spite of learning. disguised under many forms by erring self-seeking man, the beautiful simplicity and clear transparency of truth remains unaltered and undimmed, and the unselfish heart enters into and partakes of its shining radiance. not by weaving complex theories, not by building up speculative philosophies is truth realized; but by weaving the web of inward purity, by building up the temple of a stainless life is truth realized. he who enters upon this holy way begins by restraining his passions. this is virtue, and is the beginning of saintship, and saintship is the beginning of holiness. the entirely worldly man gratifies all his desires, and practices no more restraint than the law of the land in which he lives demands; the virtuous man restrains his passions; the saint attacks the enemy of truth in its stronghold within his own heart, and restrains all selfish and impure thoughts; while the holy man is he who is free from passion and all impure thought, and to whom goodness and purity have become as natural as scent and color are to the flower. the holy man is divinely wise; he alone knows truth in its fullness, and has entered into abiding rest and peace. for him evil has ceased; it has disappeared in the universal light of the all-good. holiness is the badge of wisdom. said krishna to the prince arjuna-- "humbleness, truthfulness, and harmlessness, patience and honor, reverence for the wise, purity, constancy, control of self, contempt of sense-delights, self-sacrifice, perception of the certitude of ill in birth, death, age, disease, suffering and sin; an ever tranquil heart in fortunes good and fortunes evil, ... ... endeavors resolute to reach perception of the utmost soul, and grace to understand what gain it were so to attain--this is true wisdom, prince! and what is otherwise is ignorance!" whoever fights ceaselessly against his own selfishness, and strives to supplant it with all-embracing love, is a saint, whether he live in a cottage or in the midst of riches and influence; or whether he preaches or remains obscure. to the worldling, who is beginning to aspire towards higher things, the saint, such as a sweet st. francis of assisi, or a conquering st. anthony, is a glorious and inspiring spectacle; to the saint, an equally enrapturing sight is that of the sage, sitting serene and holy, the conqueror of sin and sorrow, no more tormented by regret and remorse, and whom even temptation can never reach; and yet even the sage is drawn on by a still more glorious vision, that of the savior actively manifesting his knowledge in selfless works, and rendering his divinity more potent for good by sinking himself in the throbbing, sorrowing, aspiring heart of mankind. and this only is true service--to forget oneself in love towards all, to lose oneself in working for the whole. o thou vain and foolish man, who thinkest that thy many works can save thee; who, chained to all error, talkest loudly of thyself, thy work, and thy many sacrifices, and magnifiest thine own importance; know this, that though thy fame fill the whole earth, all thy work shall come to dust, and thou thyself be reckoned lower than the least in the kingdom of truth! only the work that is impersonal can live; the works of self are both powerless and perishable. where duties, howsoever humble, are done without self-interest, and with joyful sacrifice, there is true service and enduring work. where deeds, however brilliant and apparently successful, are done from love of self, there is ignorance of the law of service, and the work perishes. it is given to the world to learn one great and divine lesson, the lesson of absolute unselfishness. the saints, sages, and saviors of all time are they who have submitted themselves to this task, and have learned and lived it. all the scriptures of the world are framed to teach this one lesson; all the great teachers reiterate it. it is too simple for the world which, scorning it, stumbles along in the complex ways of selfishness. a pure heart is the end of all religion and the beginning of divinity. to search for this righteousness is to walk the way of truth and peace, and he who enters this way will soon perceive that immortality which is independent of birth and death, and will realize that in the divine economy of the universe the humblest effort is not lost. the divinity of a krishna, a gautama, or a jesus is the crowning glory of self-abnegation, the end of the soul's pilgrimage in matter and mortality, and the world will not have finished its long journey until every soul has become as these, and has entered into the blissful realization of its own divinity. great glory crowns the heights of hope by arduous struggle won; bright honor rounds the hoary head that mighty works hath done; fair riches come to him who strives in ways of golden gain. and fame enshrines his name who works with genius-glowing brain; but greater glory waits for him who, in the bloodless strife 'gainst self and wrong, adopts, in love, the sacrificial life; and brighter honor rounds the brow of him who, 'mid the scorns of blind idolaters of self, accepts the crown of thorns; and fairer purer riches come to him who greatly strives to walk in ways of love and truth to sweeten human lives; and he who serveth well mankind exchanges fleeting fame for light eternal, joy and peace, and robes of heavenly flame. the realization of perfect peace in the external universe there is ceaseless turmoil, change, and unrest; at the heart of all things there is undisturbed repose; in this deep silence dwelleth the eternal. man partakes of this duality, and both the surface change and disquietude, and the deep-seated eternal abode of peace, are contained within him. as there are silent depths in the ocean which the fiercest storm cannot reach, so there are silent, holy depths in the heart of man which the storms of sin and sorrow can never disturb. to reach this silence and to live consciously in it is peace. discord is rife in the outward world, but unbroken harmony holds sway at the heart of the universe. the human soul, torn by discordant passion and grief, reaches blindly toward the harmony of the sinless state, and to reach this state and to live consciously in it is peace. hatred severs human lives, fosters persecution, and hurls nations into ruthless war, yet men, though they do not understand why, retain some measure of faith in the overshadowing of a perfect love; and to reach this love and to live consciously in it is peace. and this inward peace, this silence, this harmony, this love, is the kingdom of heaven, which is so difficult to reach because few are willing to give up themselves and to become as little children. "heaven's gate is very narrow and minute, it cannot be perceived by foolish men blinded by vain illusions of the world; e'en the clear-sighted who discern the way, and seek to enter, find the portal barred, and hard to be unlocked. its massive bolts are pride and passion, avarice and lust." men cry peace! peace! where there is no peace, but on the contrary, discord, disquietude and strife. apart from that wisdom which is inseparable from self-renunciation, there can be no real and abiding peace. the peace which results from social comfort, passing gratification, or worldly victory is transitory in its nature, and is burnt up in the heat of fiery trial. only the peace of heaven endures through all trial, and only the selfless heart can know the peace of heaven. holiness alone is undying peace. self-control leads to it, and the ever-increasing light of wisdom guides the pilgrim on his way. it is partaken of in a measure as soon as the path of virtue is entered upon, but it is only realized in its fullness when self disappears in the consummation of a stainless life. "this is peace, to conquer love of self and lust of life, to tear deep-rooted passion from the heart to still the inward strife." if, o reader! you would realize the light that never fades, the joy that never ends, and the tranquillity that cannot be disturbed; if you would leave behind for ever your sins, your sorrows, your anxieties and perplexities; if, i say, you would partake of this salvation, this supremely glorious life, then conquer yourself. bring every thought, every impulse, every desire into perfect obedience to the divine power resident within you. there is no other way to peace but this, and if you refuse to walk it, your much praying and your strict adherence to ritual will be fruitless and unavailing, and neither gods nor angels can help you. only to him that overcometh is given the white stone of the regenerate life, on which is written the new and ineffable name. come away, for awhile, from external things, from the pleasures of the senses, from the arguments of the intellect, from the noise and the excitements of the world, and withdraw yourself into the inmost chamber of your heart, and there, free from the sacrilegious intrusion of all selfish desires, you will find a deep silence, a holy calm, a blissful repose, and if you will rest awhile in that holy place, and will meditate there, the faultless eye of truth will open within you, and you will see things as they really are. this holy place within you is your real and eternal self; it is the divine within you; and only when you identify yourself with it can you be said to be "clothed and in your right mind." it is the abode of peace, the temple of wisdom, the dwelling-place of immortality. apart from this inward resting-place, this mount of vision, there can be no true peace, no knowledge of the divine, and if you can remain there for one minute, one hour, or one day, it is possible for you to remain there always. all your sins and sorrows, your fears and anxieties are your own, and you can cling to them or you can give them up. of your own accord you cling to your unrest; of your own accord you can come to abiding peace. no one else can give up sin for you; you must give it up yourself. the greatest teacher can do no more than walk the way of truth for himself, and point it out to you; you yourself must walk it for yourself. you can obtain freedom and peace alone by your own efforts, by yielding up that which binds the soul, and which is destructive of peace. the angels of divine peace and joy are always at hand, and if you do not see them, and hear them, and dwell with them, it is because you shut yourself out from them, and prefer the company of the spirits of evil within you. you are what you will to be, what you wish to be, what you prefer to be. you can commence to purify yourself, and by so doing can arrive at peace, or you can refuse to purify yourself, and so remain with suffering. step aside, then; come out of the fret and the fever of life; away from the scorching heat of self, and enter the inward resting-place where the cooling airs of peace will calm, renew, and restore you. come out of the storms of sin and anguish. why be troubled and tempest-tossed when the haven of peace of god is yours! give up all self-seeking; give up self, and lo! the peace of god is yours! subdue the animal within you; conquer every selfish uprising, every discordant voice; transmute the base metals of your selfish nature into the unalloyed gold of love, and you shall realize the life of perfect peace. thus subduing, thus conquering, thus transmuting, you will, o reader! while living in the flesh, cross the dark waters of mortality, and will reach that shore upon which the storms of sorrow never beat, and where sin and suffering and dark uncertainty cannot come. standing upon that shore, holy, compassionate, awakened, and self-possessed and glad with unending gladness, you will realize that "never the spirit was born, the spirit will cease to be never; never was time it was not, end and beginning are dreams; birthless and deathless and changeless remaineth the spirit for ever; death hath not touched it at all, dead though the house of it seems." you will then know the meaning of sin, of sorrow, of suffering, and that the end thereof is wisdom; will know the cause and the issue of existence. and with this realization you will enter into rest, for this is the bliss of immortality, this the unchangeable gladness, this the untrammeled knowledge, undefiled wisdom, and undying love; this, and this only, is the realization of perfect peace. o thou who wouldst teach men of truth! hast thou passed through the desert of doubt? art thou purged by the fires of sorrow? hath ruth the fiends of opinion cast out of thy human heart? is thy soul so fair that no false thought can ever harbor there? o thou who wouldst teach men of love! hast thou passed through the place of despair? hast thou wept through the dark night of grief? does it move (now freed from its sorrow and care) thy human heart to pitying gentleness, looking on wrong, and hate, and ceaseless stress? o thou who wouldst teach men of peace! hast thou crossed the wide ocean of strife? hast thou found on the shores of the silence, release from all the wild unrest of life? from thy human heart hath all striving gone, leaving but truth, and love, and peace alone? mater christi meditations on our lady _by the same author_ with a preface to each volume by the rev. joseph rickaby, s.j. sponsa christi. meditations on the religious life. passio christi. meditations for lent. dona christi. meditations for ascension-tide, whitsun-tide, and corpus christi. longmans, green, and co. london, new york, bombay, calcutta, and madras mater christi meditations on our lady by mother st paul house of retreats, birmingham author of "sponsa christi," "passio christi," etc. with a preface by rev. joseph rickaby, s.j. _mater christi, ora pro nobis_ new impression longmans, green and co. paternoster row, london fourth avenue and th street, new york bombay, calcutta, and madras all rights reserved =nihil obstat= josephus rickaby, s.j. _censor deputatus._ =imprimatur= [+] eduardus _archiep. birmingamien._ _die oct. ._ preface _jesus christ, yesterday and to-day, the same also for ever._ (heb. xiii. .) his salvation extends to all generations. _my salvation shall endure for ever, and my righteousness shall not fail._ (isaias li. .) also he says: _my words shall not pass away_. (matt. xxiv. .) he is the teacher of all times, and that as well by his actions as by his words, by what he said and by what he did. it was his _to do and to teach_. (acts i. .) it is ours, ours in this twentieth century, to listen to what he says, and to mark what he does. it is ours to hear him and to see him, spiritually. that we do by reading of his gospel, by listening to sermons, and very particularly by meditation, or by what st ignatius calls "contemplation" of the mysteries of his life. to "contemplate" in the ignatian sense is to make yourself present at some scene of our saviour's life and behold it all, as it were, re-enacted before your eyes. it is the process called in modern philosophy "visualisation." these meditations are composed on the ignatian plan of _visualising_ what our lord did, said, and suffered. _blessed are they who hear the word of god and keep it._ (luke xi. .) blessed are they who take pains thus to _hear_ what their saviour _says_, to _contemplate_ and _visualise_ what he _does_. they are the persons most likely, with mary, to _keep all these words in their heart_ (luke ii. ), and in their measure to fulfil the teaching of the _teacher of all nations_. (matt. xxviii. .) joseph rickaby, s.j. _ th october ._ _dignare me laudare te, virgo sacrata_ contents page prayers before and after meditation meditations . immaculate! . mary's birthday . her presentation in the temple . her marriage . hail mary! . mary's first word. ("_how shall this be done?_") . her second word. ("_behold the handmaid of the lord_") . her third word. (her salutation to elizabeth) . her fourth word. (the _magnificat_) . her silence . her expectation . the stable . the circumcision of her son . her purification . wise men and babes . egypt . mary's fifth word. ("_son, why hast thou done so to us?_") . nazareth . mary's sixth word. ("_they have no wine_") . her seventh word. ("_whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye_") . "who is my mother?" . the fourth and fifth dolours. (_meeting jesus with his cross, and the crucifixion_) . the sixth and seventh dolours. (_the taking down from the cross and the burial_) . the first glorious mystery . the second and third glorious mysteries . mary's exile . her death . her tomb . "who is she?" (the fourth glorious mystery) . mary's coronation. (the fifth glorious mystery) . salve regina mater christi prayers before meditation o holy ghost, give me a great devotion and a great attraction towards mary, thy spouse; a great support in her maternal bosom, and an abiding refuge in her mercy; so that in her and by her thou mayest form in me jesus christ. (_blessed grignon de montfort._) memorare, o piissima virgo maria, non esse auditum a sæculo, quemquam ad tua currentem præsidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia, esse derelictum. ego, tali animatus confidentia, ad te virgo virginum, mater, curro. ad te venio; coram te gemens peccator assisto. noli, mater verbi, verba mea despicere; sed audi propitia et exaudi. amen. remember, o most gracious virgin mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, and sought thy intercession was left unaided. inspired with this confidence, i fly to thee, o virgin of virgins, my mother. to thee i come; before thee i stand, sinful and sorrowful. o mother of the word incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. amen. (_ days, each time._) after meditation my queen and my mother, to thee i offer myself without reserve; and to give thee a mark of my devotion, i consecrate to thee during this day, my eyes, my ears, my mouth, my heart, and my whole person. since then i belong to thee, o my good mother, preserve and defend me, as thy property and possession. amen. (_ days, once a day, if said morning and evening._) sub tuum præsidium confugimus, sancta dei genitrix! nostras deprecationes ne despicias in necessitatibus nostris, sed a periculis cunctis, libera nos semper virgo gloriosa et benedicta. we fly to thy patronage, o holy mother of god. despise not our petitions in our necessities, but deliver us always from all dangers, o glorious and blessed virgin. immaculate! "_thy holy tabernacle which thou hast prepared from, the beginning._" (wisdom ix. .) _ st prelude._ a picture or medal of the immaculate conception. _ nd prelude._ grace to understand. _point i._--the preparation of the tabernacle why should mary be called a tabernacle? she tells us herself--for the church applies these words to mary: "he that created me rested in my tabernacle." (ecclus. xxiv. .) he sojourned there for a time who "was made flesh and dwelt (_tabernacled_ the greek word means) among us." when did god begin to prepare his tabernacle? was it on the day of the holy and immaculate conception? was it when he spoke to our first parents of "the seed of the woman"? was it just before the war in heaven, when he revealed his plans to the first creatures of his hands? long, long before! "from the beginning," the holy tabernacle was being prepared. and _he_ says this, who had no beginning, with whom is "neither beginning of days nor end of life," (heb. vii. ), who says of himself: "i am alpha and omega, the beginning and the end." (apoc. i. .) from all eternity, then, the holy tabernacle was being prepared in the mind of god. what care god took in the preparation of mary, because she was to be the mother of his son! and what care he takes in his preparation of me! i, too, have always been in the mind of god. "from the beginning" he has prepared me to fulfil the end for which he created me. here on earth we are very careful about the training of those who are destined to fill certain offices, and the higher the office the more careful the training. how carefully are princes of royal blood trained! how careful is the preparation of a priest, of a religious! but god has been at work at the preparation long before we begin ours, and he is training for a most important office, namely, the salvation of the soul--the end for which he created every single child of adam. all the chequered picture of the life of god's child forms a part of his preparation--all the ups and downs, and windings and turnings, and things that seemed at the time, perhaps, so useless. mistakes and failures--even sin itself, he can, by means of the contrition which it causes, turn to good account, as he did in the cases of st mary magdalen, of st peter, and of innumerable others. he knows how to bring good out of evil, and to make all work together for good to those who love him. what have i got to do, then, in the matter? do as mary did, prove my love to him by _co-operation_ in his plans for me. there must be no complaint about what he arranges. faith must be strong enough to believe that, not only now in the present, all things are working together to enable me to fulfil the end for which god created me; but that in the past, too--that past which i so often allow to disturb my peace--god was working, and preparing me step by step for what he intended me to be. it is want of faith, really, which is often at the bottom of all my problems and difficulties. i will not believe that he forgives and forgets and brings good out of the evil. this it is which interferes in god's preparation of me, and makes me unfit for the work for which he has so patiently been preparing me. let me think to-day of mary's perfect co-operation, and ask her to obtain for me more faith and more love. _point ii._--the holy tabernacle what was it? a human body and soul specially prepared by god to be the tabernacle where his son should rest--a body, we may well believe, more than usually beautiful, for that body from which he that was "fairer than the sons of men" was to take flesh, must needs be fair too. "thou art _all_ fair." but it was the _soul_ which made the tabernacle holy. here the preparation had been special and unique. mary's soul had a beauty all its own, for neither original sin nor any of its effects had ever touched it. not only was it sinless, as my soul was after baptism, but, instead of being prone to evil, it was upright, and ever aspiring after good. never once was there a wilful imperfection in mary's soul. it is probable, too, that her understanding was enlightened, and that she had the full use of reason from the moment of her conception, that is, from the moment when her body and soul were joined together. in her will there was no weakness, it was in perfect conformity with god's will; and in her heart there was no concupiscence. her body, too, shared in this wondrous liberty, for it knew neither sickness nor corruption. but are we not making mary almost equal with her son? no, for the gulf between them is that between the creator and the creature. could any gulf be wider? her son was god, and was impeccable _by nature_. mary was impeccable _by grace_. mary was sinless because god her creator chose to make her so, so that at the moment of her conception he was able to say: "thou art all fair--there is no spot in thee." such was "the holy tabernacle prepared from the beginning." and mary is my model! does it seem impossible? does it almost weary me to have such perfection given me to copy? let me answer my question by another: _could_ god do otherwise? would it be worthy of himself if he were to give me anything less than a _perfect_ copy? if for our pupils, who are studying merely things of time, we seek ever the best models, can we expect god, who is training for eternity, to give his pupils a copy that is less than perfect? and the task need not discourage us. god is not a hard master expecting to reap where he has not sown. he does not expect more than he has given; he does not expect perfection; but he does expect generous efforts. he does expect fidelity, and correspondence to the grace he has given. it was her constant perseverance in these virtues which kept mary always full of grace and pleasing to god, not the privilege of her immaculate conception. "o mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." pray that i, who with all a child's love and admiration desire to copy my mother, may never be discouraged, but may go on, ever aiming at perfection, and never surprised at the want of it; full of faults and failings always, but full, too, of love and confidence and conformity to god's will. so shall i one day, with my mother's prayers and help, be presented "spotless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy." (jude .) _colloquy._ "o god, who by the immaculate conception of a virgin didst prepare a worthy habitation for thy son, we beseech thee that thou, who through the foreseen death of thy same son didst preserve her from all stain of sin, wouldst grant also to us through her intercession to come pure to thee." (_collect for the feast of the immaculate conception._) _resolution._ to strive to copy my model. _spiritual bouquet._ "be diligent, that ye may be found undefiled and unspotted to him in peace." ( peter iii. .) mary's birthday "_in me is all grace._" (ecclus. xxiv. .) _ st prelude._ a picture of our lady's nativity. st anne is holding up her babe, just swaddled, and offering it to god; the nurse is waiting to put the little one in its cradle. st joachim is coming into the room. a dove is hovering over the babe's head. angels are looking on. _ nd prelude._ grace to look on with the angels, and try to understand. _point i._--the angels what does it all mean? why are the angels so full of interest? was the birth of this little one so different from any other? it was indeed miraculous, but joachim and anne were by no means the only ones thus favoured. no, there is something beyond this which is engaging the interest of the angels. they see in this little babe, whom anne is offering to god, a sight to make them wonder and adore--they see a soul which has never been touched by original sin. they had seen adam created in grace; they had seen jeremias, and later would see john baptist, both spotless from their birth, but spotless because they had been _cleansed_ from original sin before birth. in these souls, however, they saw no more than they see in each little soul as it leaves the baptismal font, grace having taken the place of original sin. but in mary they see a sight which they have never seen before--a soul whose sanctity surpasses that of angels and of men, a soul which will glorify god more perfectly than any other creature ever has done, or will do. no wonder the angels are lost in admiration! they have known about the incarnation ever since the war in heaven; now they see one of the steps by which it was to be accomplished. they see the "tabernacle prepared," and at its side they will never cease to wonder and praise god, as long as that pure soul stays in this land of exile. _point ii._--the babe mary was born with an end to fulfil, just as i was. she was created to praise, reverence, and serve god, just as i was; created to save her soul, just as i was. and because of her absolute purity, she understood her end perfectly from the first moment of her existence, and followed it always without swerving. while her mother was offering her to god, she, with the full use of her reason (as many hold) offered herself to fulfil the end for which she had been created. she did not know what the _particular_ end was to be--god did not reveal to her till the day of the incarnation, that she was to be the mother of god--but she offered herself to do what god wished, she put herself at his disposal. and this is what i must do every day of my life if i would fulfil the end for which god has created me. here i am, lord, to do thy bidding, to do whatever thou didst intend me to do to-day. i may not know, any more than did the immaculate babe in her cradle, what the _particular_ end is for which he has destined me; but that does not matter. if i am found faithfully doing my duty of the moment, whatever it may be--doing it, that is to say, for god, praising, reverencing, and serving him in it--i shall not miss the important moment in my life when god calls me to the special work for which he has destined me. i can, if i will, do each little duty of my everyday life for god, with the pure motive of giving him pleasure. it is the surest way of making myself indifferent as to whether or not the duty gives _me_ pleasure! and it ensures that, from one point of view, _all_ duties will be a pleasure. i was created by god to do this particular thing for him at this particular moment, so i do it. what an uplifting thought! it puts me at once on to another plane--the supernatural plane--where the whole aspect is different. this is the truth, which the little one whose birthday i am thinking about to-day understood so perfectly. "behold the handmaid of the lord," was her cry even then. it was because mary understood the value of the "sacrament of the moment," as it has been called, that when _the_ moment of her life came, and her great end was revealed to her, she was able to say: "_ecce ancilla domini!_" she was used to saying it; it was the most natural thing for her to say. and so will it be for me, if only i will practise as mary did. i shall bow to his will in the _great_ crises of my life--not naturally but supernaturally--because i have formed the habit in all the _little_ things that make up my life. _point iii._--the dove overshadowing his spouse is the holy ghost. he it was who filled her with grace at the moment of the immaculate conception. he it is who will keep her "full of grace" at every moment of her life. never for one instant will he leave her. never for one instant will she cease to be the temple of the holy ghost. ( cor. vi. .) always will he be able to say to her: "thou art all fair, o my love, and there is not a spot in thee." (cant. iv. .) why? because mary will never "_extinguish_ the holy spirit." ( thess. v. .) she will never "_grieve_" him. (eph. iv. .) and not only will she never resist a single one of his inspirations, but she will never let _one_ pass by unnoticed. her correspondence to grace will be perfect. oh, what need i have to turn to the little one in her cradle to-day, and say: "pray for me _now_"! pray that i may never extinguish the holy spirit, but live always in a state of grace. pray that i may never grieve him, whose temple i am, by resisting his pleadings with me. _colloquy_ with the babe in her cradle. _resolution._ to make much of the "sacrament of the moment" to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "in me is all grace." (ecclus. xxiv. .) mary's presentation in the temple "_in the holy dwelling-place i have ministered before him._" (ecclus. xxiv. .) _ st prelude._ the child on the temple steps. _ nd prelude._ grace to present myself to god. _point i._--mary at the age of three years, tradition tells us, mary left her home to go and live in the temple--not merely, as other little girls of her time, to attend the temple school, but to dedicate herself to god, and to live continually under the shadow of his presence, as samuel of old had done. her desire, even at that tender age, was to confirm her parents' dedication of her at her birth, by giving herself up entirely to god, to live a hidden life with him away from everything, however lawful, that might disturb her union with him. she waited only for his call, and as soon as it was given, she left all and followed--even her parents must take a second place. so, joyously and eagerly, did mary fulfil her end of the moment. god called her, and she went to him. she did not know what he wanted her for, nor did she seek to know. sufficient for her that he wanted her, and was calling. at once she presented herself before him as the little samuel of old. "here am i, for thou didst call me. speak, for thy servant heareth." ( kings iii. .) she was ready for anything that he might want. and this should be the attitude of all who would serve him--a constant presentation of themselves to him for whatever he wants. this attitude can only be arrived at by the spirit of sacrifice. to be always at liberty for god's service, the soul must be disentangled from all else, free from all that would hold it back. and this means sacrifice. mary, presenting herself at the temple, is specially, though not exclusively, the model of those who are called to the religious life. but do not let us make any mistake--a religious is not _free_ to give himself to god because he has left parents and home and possessions. he may go through all these preliminaries, and yet not be, by any means, at god's service. the great work of disentangling the soul and setting it free is done _inside_ the cloister, while the religious is learning that it is _self_ which stands in the way, and that until _that_ is crushed, he is not able to render to god free and joyous service, such as mary did. and this lesson has to be learned by those outside the cloister too, if they would follow mary in being always ready to answer god's calls and do his biddings. it is not their home and friends and possessions that they are asked to quit, but _themselves_. god will constantly want them in the midst of their busy lives, and they will never be too much occupied or engrossed to answer his calls, if self is out of the question. "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto god, your reasonable service." (rom. xii. .) present yourselves each day, each hour, each moment, with each joy, each sorrow, each duty, each difficulty--present all as an offering to him, who expects your reasonable service. this is the lesson which the child on the temple steps teaches us to-day--the lesson of _self-sacrifice_. _point ii._--joachim and anne her parents did not thwart her in her wish. they had made their sacrifice three years before, and they were not likely to take it back now. they had probably told mary the story of their long, childless years; of their earnest prayers to god; and of their promise to give the child back to him should he bless them with one. they would have told her, too, that they had offered her to god at birth, and that, as soon as she was old enough, she would present herself in god's temple, as something dedicated to his service. and now, to-day, they accompany their little one to the "holy dwelling-place" where she is to "minister before him," and watch her climbing the temple steps, at the top of which the priest is waiting to receive her in god's name. desolate though their home would now be, joachim and anne would rather have it so than interfere in any way with the call of god to their child. they recognised that god has _his_ rights, and that these must come first. what an honour god shows to parents, when he gives a vocation to a child of theirs; and what a blessing is thereby bestowed on the whole family! and surely, if there is merit laid up for the one who, in answer to god's call, leaves father, mother, brother, sister, friend, to follow him, there is merit also for those who make perhaps an equally great sacrifice, even if it is somewhat grudgingly made. god will not forget the hearts and homes which have been made desolate because he has ravished a heart there. he is never outdone in generosity. those who have given up their treasure on earth will find treasure in heaven. children sometimes give themselves unnecessary pain by presuming too readily that their parents' consent will be withheld. they will often find their parents more ready than they think to make the sacrifice. it is not likely that god would give a vocation in a family without making _some_ sort of preparation there for it. his ways are not our ways, and so it happens that there are many surprises. _point iii._--mary's vow it is not known exactly when she made it--probably not on the day of her presentation. she would take then the _temporary_ vow of virginity, as all the pupils at the temple school did till they left to be married. but some time during her stay in the temple, mary, probably unknown to anyone but god, who inspired her, took a vow of _perpetual_ virginity. she could keep nothing back from god; he must have all. she presented herself "wholly acceptable unto god." to understand what a strange thing this vow of mary's was, we must remember that in those days _everyone_ married, even priests and high priests, and everyone hoped--and especially now that the expectation was getting keener--that his would be the favoured family in which the messias was to be born. mary had more reason to hope than many others, for was she not of the tribe of judah, and of the house of david? yet she took a vow which cut her off from all hope that this greatest of blessings would be hers. why? because her sacrifice of self was perfect. self was laid entirely on one side, and, as a consequence, her humility was so great that she never thought it possible that the honour of being the mother of the messias could be hers, and she cut herself off from all prospect of it. it was this very self-abnegation which was fitting mary for the destiny god intended for her. her vow of virginity, made in response to god's inspirations, was the necessary means for the carrying out of his plans. god's ways are not our ways. "behold a _virgin_ shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called emmanuel." (is. vii. .) but there were no virgins; and the fact that every mother in israel was hoping to be the mother of the messias was a proof that this "sign," which god himself gave, was wholly ignored. it was contrary to the spirit of the age. and this was god's moment. clearly he gave his call: "hearken, o daughter, and see, and incline thy ear, and forget thy people and thy father's house; and the king shall greatly desire thy beauty." (ps. xliv. , .) and as the little one, in answer to the appeal, joyously mounted the temple steps, the angels were already saluting her as _queen of virgins_. she was the first; how many would follow in her train! "_after her_ shall virgins be brought to the king; her neighbours shall be brought to thee; they shall be brought with gladness and rejoicing; they shall be brought into the temple of the king. instead of thy fathers, sons shall be born unto thee." (verses - .) may there not be a warning here for those who, having, in imitation of mary, taken the vow of virginity, desire too ardently to be the "spiritual mothers of children"? mary had no such desires. her whole desire was for union with god--there was not a tinge of self in it. the soul which thinks itself unworthy of being used is the one god uses, the soul which is wrapped up in seeking after its own perfection, hiding itself in its interior life, living its life in solitude with god and for god. blessed are the mothers of spiritual children! yes, but rather blessed are they who hear the word of god and keep it. there should be no limit to our zeal for souls, but it should be covered up by an annihilation of self, and an unobtrusive humility--a humility which teaches us to _act_, not to talk, as if _we_ could never be the ones chosen by god to do his work. humility, far from being an obstacle, always makes it easier for god to carry out his plans. _colloquy._ "o mary, queen of virgins, grant that by thy intercession we may deserve to be presented one day to the most high in the temple of his glory." (_collect for the feast of the presentation, b.v.m., nov. ._) _resolution._ to present myself often to god to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "congratulate me, all ye that love the lord, because when i was a little one, i pleased the most high." (_common office of our lady._) mary's marriage "_joseph, the husband of mary, of whom was born jesus, who is called christ._" (st matt. i. .) _ st prelude._ picture of the marriage of our lady and st joseph. _ nd prelude._ the grace of confidence in god. _point i._--mary twelve years have passed since the little child mounted the temple steps to present herself to god. never, during that time, has she taken back the smallest part of her offering. always has she been presenting herself as a living sacrifice; always has she been _full_ of grace, doing god's will perfectly, glorifying him by her every thought, word, and action, as no human creature had ever glorified him. how much mary added during those twelve years to the treasury of merits from which the church was to draw, through all time, in answer to the appeals of her children, who were anxious to make satisfaction for their sins! in return for a little indulgenced prayer, or act, the church unlocks the treasury, and the superabundant merits of mary, added to the infinite merits of her divine son, are given to the suppliant, either to make satisfaction for his own sins, or, if he will, to be applied to the souls in purgatory, and thus lessen the debt they owe to god, and shorten the distance that lies between them and the beatific vision, for which they so earnestly long. oh, blessed treasury of merits! jesus, who poured into it his infinite merits, has an interest in it. mary, whose wondrous merits all went into it, has an interest in it. the saints, whose superabundant satisfactions are stored up there, have an interest in it. the holy souls must watch with the keenest interest for the moments when the church, coming with the keys, entreats from him, who alone has jurisdiction in purgatory, that her treasures may be handed to this or that particular soul; and he, whose justice, as well as his mercy, is infinite, will distribute them as he will. and shall not i, too, take an interest in this wondrous treasury? let me never forget to make use of it; and let my prayer every morning be a fervent and a heart-felt one: "i desire to gain all the indulgences that i can this day." but the time came when mary had to leave the seclusion of the temple, and give herself in marriage. she was helpless to prevent this, for her vow was a secret, unknown even to her parents. all she could do was to leave the matter in god's hands. it was to him she had offered her virginity, and she trusted him to guard it. how simple and child-like was her trust! the path pointed out to her _appeared_ to be directly opposite to the one she had chosen, but it was pointed out by those whom god had chosen to represent himself to her--the priests of the temple, or her parents, or both. her faith was great enough to believe that god can make no mistakes, that he cannot call in two different directions, that all will work together to fulfil his will, if only his will is put _first_. what a lesson for us! how often in my life has something happened, some way opened, which seemed to cut at the very root of some cherished plan! and yet, on looking back, i see that had i not followed god's call along the path which _seemed_ to be leading the wrong way, i should never have been able to carry out that plan which i had made for his glory. why was abraham called the friend of god? was it not because of his confidence in god--confidence shown in his readiness to follow wherever god called--even when he called him to sacrifice the child of the promises? god loves to lead us about, by circuitous paths, and thus to bring out our love and trust and obedience. had mary taken a line of her own, and refused to marry because of her vow, she would have frustrated god's plans for the incarnation. i do not want to frustrate his plans for me. let me remember this the next time i am tempted to turn a deaf ear to a call of his, which does not fit in with my tastes and desires and hopes. _point ii._--joseph the husband, chosen by god for this most delicate and most responsible position, was our dear st joseph. he was the one man in all the world of whom god could be sure. he was "a just man," one who would put no obstacle to god's designs, but would, by his silence, tact, self-sacrifice, and fidelity lend himself to further them. let me dwell for a little while on these qualities--qualities which god values and looks for, when he wants someone to whom he can entrust his work or his secrets; and perhaps i shall discover things which may help me to be more zealous in his service, to be less for self and more for him. some have thought that mary confided her secret to joseph; and that he showed his sympathy, and readiness to enter into all her interests, by taking the vow of virginity too, thus preparing himself to be the husband of mary and the foster-father of jesus. _point iii._--the marriage and so this most beautiful marriage took place; and the holy spirit, who was ever watching over his spouse, blessed and sanctified the union of these two virgin souls. it was a union in which the body was forgotten--or rather, the spiritual life had reached such heights by means of the body, that is, of the senses, that the soul was able to live entirely in those heights. the soul was helped upwards by the body, as god intended it to be. when the body is dead, the soul can grow no more. the level of the spiritual life, at which i am found at death, will be mine through all eternity. the converse of this truth is, that the body is necessary for the growth of the spiritual life, and that the soul grows in proportion to the help it gets from the body. these thoughts will help me to understand how much the chaste marriage of joseph and mary must have aided their spiritual life, and how the angels must have rejoiced at a union which savoured so much more of heaven than of earth. now, all was ready. the virgin who was to conceive and bear a child, whose name was to be emmanuel--god with us--had got a guardian. god could work his stupendous miracle, and keep it hidden, as he willed it to be for the present, from the curious gaze of unbelievers. mary, by her self-abandonment, was supplying god with all he needed, never thwarting him, nor putting the least obstacle in his way. and so we leave her, doing the work of the little cottage at nazareth, while her carpenter-husband labours to support her. mary has changed her abode; her outward circumstances have altered; but her union with god suffers no change; it remains unbroken, undisturbed; nothing has the power to disturb her thoughts of him. and mary is my model. what i have to aim at, too, is a union with god so real and so close that the changes and chances of this mortal life have no power to interrupt it. this blessed lot will be mine when i have faith enough to see god's hand in every circumstance of my life. if i know that he is there, why need i trouble so much about the ups and downs? the sea of life is bound to have waves. what i have to do is to see to it that my little barque rides on the top of them in the most perfect security and peace. the master is at the helm, and i am _with him_ in the boat. my thoughts, surely, will be fixed on him rather than on the changes in the weather! _colloquy_ with our lady, asking her to get me more faith. _resolution._ to let nothing interrupt my union with god. _spiritual bouquet._ "sancta virgo virginum, ora pro nobis." hail mary! "_the angel gabriel was sent from god into a city of galilee, called nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was joseph, of the house of david; and the virgin's name was mary. and the angel, being come in, said unto her: hail! full of grace, the lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women!_" (st luke i. - .) _ st prelude._ gabriel saying the first _hail mary_. _ nd prelude._ grace to say my _hail maries_ well. when all was ready and god's moment had arrived--"when the fulness of the time was come" (gal. iv. )--heaven opened, and one of god's messengers, gabriel, an archangel, was sent to nazareth on a secret errand to mary. he knew her well, and he expressed his knowledge in the first _hail mary_ that was ever said. let us meditate on these familiar words, and try to find a few thoughts which may help us to say our _hail maries_ better. _point i._--hail! reverently he salutes her; for though she is not yet the mother of god, she is immaculate, and worthy of all honour; besides, he is in the secret, and knows god's designs. "hail! full of grace." what does it mean--this word "_ave_," _hail!_ with which gabriel begins his message? it is an expression of respect, honour, and reverence. it was the salutation always given to the roman emperor: _ave! cæsar imperator._ but it is not only a form of greeting; it implies also that he who uses it is anxious to attract attention because he has something to say or some favour to ask. how often i say it!--_hail mary!_ what do i mean by it? i ought to mean that i am saluting the queen of heaven with all respect, honour, and reverence; and also that i, her child, am calling my mother's attention. when she hears my _hail!_ she expects that i have something to say to her, or that i want something. is it so? and if mary turned and said: "yes, my child, what is it?" should i know? my _hail!_ should be also to call my mother's attention to the fact that i am there if _she_ has anything to say to me, or if she wants anything. hail mary! your child is here, ready to do anything for you. when she turns at my _hail!_ to ask me for something, does she always get it? or is she disappointed to find that her child's thoughts are not really with her at all? what shall i do, for i know that i stand convicted; and much though i should like each _hail mary_ that i say to mean all this, i know that it does _not_? would it be better not to say it at all, than to risk any want of respect to that mother whom i love so dearly? oh no. does not a mother love to hear the voice of her babe in its cradle, even though the sounds it makes are quite inarticulate, and it cannot say what it wants? she always understands, and is able to interpret the baby language, and will give it what is good for it, though it may be all unconscious of its needs. none but the mother would recognise that the babe was calling her attention--not even the babe itself. is not this something like my _hail maries_ carelessly and lightly said? i say them because i am mary's child; it is the most natural thing to do; and she will interpret them as her mother's heart knows how. and, like the babe in its cradle, i love to feel that she is at my side, because i have attracted her attention, even though i may have done it almost from habit, and may not know exactly why. hail mary! i will say the blest words as often as i can, putting into them all the meaning and fervour of which i am capable, and leaving it to my mother to make up all deficiencies. _point ii._--full of grace how is mary full of grace? . because she was conceived without sin: that is, her soul was full of grace instead of original sin. she was full of grace always--even before she was the mother of the author of grace. . because of her correspondence to grace. she was always faithful to grace. she never let one single opportunity pass by her unused. the more faithful i am to the inspirations of grace, the fuller shall i be of grace. it is a question of my fidelity, not of god's generosity. he never fails--the grace is always there waiting for me. . because she was always meriting grace. each correspondence to grace entitled her to more, as it does me. it is by virtue of her merits that she can obtain from her divine son all the grace that her children need. confidently may they appeal to her, for she is the "mother of divine grace." "_in me is all grace of the way._" (ecclus. xxiv. .) so mary says to her children, and she has all i need for the way--that is, for my journey through life. the way is hard--it is the highway of the cross, the way that jesus trod before me. let me never attempt to tread it alone--not for a single hour, for the pitfalls are many; but let me ask mary to accompany me--mary with her never-failing supply of grace. it was jesus himself who gave me his mother, and he gave her also all the grace that he knew i should need for the way. what a provision he has made for me! if i drew upon my stores more confidently, i should be much fuller of grace than i am. _hail mary! full of grace_, thou art my mother. let me put my hands in thine and keep close to thee. so shall the way have no terrors for me, and so shall i be able to tread in the footsteps of thy son, along his own highway of the cross. _point iii._--the lord is with thee. blessed art thou among women _the lord is with thee._ these words were often said of or to those to whom god was about to entrust some special work. he was "with joseph" while he was in putiphar's prison, preparing him for the great work of serving the nation during the famine. (gen. xxxix. .) "i will be with thee," god said to moses at the burning bush, when he told him that it was he who was to bring the children of israel out of egypt. (ex. iii. .) and to josue, who had to bring the chosen people into the promised land, he said: "as i have been with moses, so i will be with thee. fear not, and be not dismayed: because the lord thy god is with thee in all things whatsoever thou shalt go to." (jos. i. - .) "the lord is with thee, o most valiant of men." this was the message the angel brought to gedeon at the threshing floor, for he was to leave his wheat and go to deliver god's people from idolatry and from their enemies. (jud. vi. .) and now when mary is being singled out for the greatest work that was ever entrusted to any child of adam--that of being the mother of him who was to save not one nation only, but the whole world, god sends an archangel and bids him say to her: _the lord is with thee_. god was with mary always; but now all three persons of the blessed trinity are to be with her in a very special way, to enable her to co-operate with god's designs for her. but the message goes further: "blessed art thou among women." gabriel tells her that god's message to her is that she is blessed, and more blessed than all other women! it is praise indeed, and praise from god himself. but god can trust mary with praise. she is full of humility, for she is full of grace; and god knows that she will look at things from his point of view--not from her own. i may get some consolation from these words for myself. god sometimes gives me work to do for him. how blessed i am to be picked out and chosen by him! and i may be quite sure that he is _with me_ for it. it is his own work, and he will look after it himself; but he needs an instrument. the workman is never far from his tools, unless he has thrown them on one side as useless. "the lord is with thee." if i see to it that i am an instrument fit and ready for his service, i need have no other anxiety. he will use me when he wants me; the responsibility of the work will be all his, and he will be with me, doing his work by means of me. o mary, my mother, help me to see things from god's point of view, as thou didst. obtain for me the grace to be full of confidence about any work with which god may entrust me. and while i rejoice to be amongst those _blessed_ ones whom he picks out to do his work, obtain for me the grace of humility. and if the workman should allow any words of praise to be given to the instrument, may it be because he can count on the humility of his instrument--because he knows that the praise will all be passed on to himself. _colloquy_ with my mother as we walk along "the way" together--a colloquy about correspondence to grace, about being never alone in my work, about the blessedness of being chosen by him, about humility. _resolution._ to let my rosary recall some of these thoughts to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "among the blessed she shall be blessed." (ecclus. xxiv. .) mary's first word "_and mary said to the angel: how shall this be done, because i know not man?_" (st luke i. .) _ st prelude._ a picture of the annunciation. _ nd prelude._ that my love for god may be great enough to separate me from all else. _point i._--mary's silence we do not know what mary was doing when the heavenly visitor arrived with his message. she is generally represented as kneeling in contemplation. she may have been: or she may have been about her work. in any case, she was engaged in prayer, for mary's heart and mind were ever lifted up to god; and that is prayer. and god can reveal his secrets just as easily to those who are working as to those who are given up to contemplation. no wonder mary's attention is arrested, for not only does she see one of god's archangels, but it is to _her_ that he has come, to _her_ that he is showing such reverence and honour, to _her_ that he is now delivering his message: "hail! ... full of grace; the lord is with thee.... blessed art thou among women." each sentence of the message seems more wonderful and startling than the last. mary does not speak, but she is _troubled_, as she thinks within herself what manner of salutation this is. her intelligence is perfect, and she knows at once what the message means. it means that she, the one woman who has cut herself off from every prospect of being the mother of the messias; that she, who has felt herself so utterly unworthy that legend tells us she used to pray that she might be his mother's _servant_; that _she_ has been singled out by god as the one who was to be blessed among women. and she is _troubled_. it is not the presence of the angel nor the dignity of his message which is disquieting her--her trouble goes deeper; but still she does not speak--she waits in silence for god to explain himself or to direct her. how much wiser in _most_ cases it would be for me, if i kept silence, for a time at any rate, when i am face to face with trouble, or difficulty, or perplexity. of one thing i may be sure--that the trouble is a message from god, and if i wait patiently, he will reveal more to me, and throw light upon what seems so obscure. nothing is gained by making complaints, and losing my calm and self-possession. much is gained by silence; for silence to man, at such times, generally means converse with god, and to obtain this more intimate union with my heart is one of his chief reasons for sending me his messages. gabriel, seeing that she is troubled, hastens to reassure her: "fear not, mary." he is god's messenger, and he is giving god's consolation, so he calls her by her name. consolation is never far off when it is to god alone that we turn for it. gabriel then tells her quite plainly what are god's intentions concerning her, if she gives her consent and co-operation--that she is indeed to be the mother of the messias; that she is to call him jesus; that her son is to be great, and is to be called the son of the most high; that god will give him a throne and a kingdom; and that of his kingdom there shall be no end. _point ii._--mary's first word she has pondered in her heart, and now she speaks: "_how shall this be done?_" st bernardine, who calls the seven recorded words of our lady, "_seven flames of love_," calls this first word "a flame of _separating_ love" (_flamma amoris separantis_). let us try to find out why. "how shall this be done?" her question shows clearly what is the cause of her trouble. it is the thought of her vow of virginity--that precious offering which, as a little child, she had made to god. this it is which forces mary, who so values silence, to speak. "how shall this be done," and yet my vow be left intact? to it at any cost i must be faithful. mary, by her first word, shows that her love for god is so intense that it separates her from all else besides. it was out of love for him that she made that vow. it was a flame of separating love that burnt within her, making a clear division between god and anything, however lawful and even desirable in itself, which might hinder her union with him. and it is the same flame of love which now impels her to speak: "how shall this be done?" seeing that i am separated, consecrated to god. her love so detaches her from all else that even the honour of being singled out to be the mother of god has no attraction for her in comparison with keeping that contract made with god, by which she promised to be wholly his. am i, like mary, absolutely faithful to any contract that i may have made with god? do i say: "how can this be done?" seeing i have made that promise, seeing i am a christian, seeing i have been to holy communion, seeing i have taken certain vows. all these are so many cords of love which should separate me from the world. my contract with god must come before everything else--all turns upon my fidelity to it. mary was troubled because she feared her vow was in danger; and her trouble was pleasing to god. mary's separating love for god was the outcome of god's separating love for mary. her very vow of virginity, which, humanly speaking, made it impossible for her to be the mother of the messias, was part of god's plan, separating her from the rest of the world for this honour. when god wants something done, he separates the soul which he has chosen to do it, though at the moment the soul may be wholly unconscious of the reasons for the process which gives it so much pain. the separation may be one of place, or family, or affections, or cherished hopes and plans. god's separating love takes various forms: but in some way or other he must and will separate from self those whom he intends to use for his service. st paul says of himself that god separated him from his earliest infancy. (gal. i. .) none would have guessed that he was separated when he was haling the christians to death and persecuting the church of god beyond measure. we understand so little of god's plans, and of his preparation of souls for his service. st paul tells us that later he was "separated unto the gospel of god." (rom. i. .) and when our lord wanted him for a special mission, the order went forth to the church: "separate me saul and barnabas for the work whereunto i have taken them." help me, my mother, to co-operate with grace, lest i hinder god's designs for me; and while _his_ love is a separating one, may mine be the same--a love strong enough to separate me from all but his will. _colloquy_ with mary, asking her to obtain for me the grace to say with her: "how shall this be done?" whenever the least thing comes between me and my duty to god. _resolution._ to let nothing to-day separate me from the love of god. (rom. viii. .) _spiritual bouquet._ "how shall this be done?" mary's second word "_the holy ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most high shall overshadow thee. and therefore also the holy, which shall be born of thee, shall be called the son of god. and mary said: behold the handmaid of the lord; be it done to me according to thy word._" (st luke i. , .) _ st prelude._ picture of the annunciation. _ nd prelude._ grace to meditate more deeply on the _first joyful mystery_. _point i._--gabriel's explanation in answer to mary's question, the angel explains quite simply how god's plans are to be brought about. "_the holy ghost shall come upon thee._" no prophecy had ever said a word of this; the agency of the holy ghost had never been hinted at till the angel made it known to mary to quiet her legitimate trouble. and as soon as mary knew that it was to be the work of the holy ghost, she was at rest--all trouble disappeared. do i follow my mother's example in this? as soon as i know that whatever is being asked of me is the holy spirit's doing, am i at rest? is there no more trouble, no more indecision, no more questioning, even though the inspiration may seem to be going to upset my plans, and may be contrary to all that has hitherto seemed right? it is not necessary to _understand_ god's dealings with me, but as soon as i know that they are his dealings, it _is_ necessary to co-operate at whatever cost--otherwise there will be trouble in my soul. the co-operation with the work of the holy spirit will produce a calm and a peace which no exterior things, however changed they may be, will have the power to disturb. and then the angel tells her about her cousin elizabeth and the miraculous things which are happening to her, in order to prove to mary that "no word is impossible with god"--that he, the god of nature, has power over nature's laws--that when he makes such promises as she has just heard, "the holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the son of god," all will be fulfilled. _point ii._--mary's second word then mary speaks again: "behold the handmaid of the lord; be it done to me according to thy word." she gives her consent, shows herself ready to co-operate with god; and at the same moment, the word is made flesh; gabriel adores the god-man, as he had pledged himself to do at the time of the war in heaven, and, his mission accomplished, departs from her. st bernadine calls this second word: "a flame of _transforming_ love" (_flamma amoris transformantis_). it was certainly _love_ that prompted the word, but in what sense was it a _transforming_ love? ( ) _it was a transformation for mary._ her first word _separated_ her for him who loved her; her second word _transformed_ her into him who loved her. it made them for ever one. "behold the handmaid of the lord." here i am for thee to do whatever thou wilt with me. i put no obstacle in thy way. _fiat._ "be it done to me according to thy word." this word was not only the outcome and the proof of her perfect union with god, it was also the turning point of her life--and not only of her life but of the life of the whole world. heaven--and earth too, though unconsciously--was waiting for this word of mary's, a word which she could have withheld. the word was spoken, and by it she lent herself to god as his co-worker; by it she was transformed from a maid into a mother, and in that moment of transformation she saw all that it meant--she saw calvary, and she said _fiat_. "be it done to me." she saw herself transformed into the image of christ ( cor. iii. ) by pain and suffering, and yet she would not withhold her _fiat_. why? because she _loved_, and from that moment the transforming process was ever going on in her soul; and the flame of transforming love was ever burning more brightly, showing her the way to greater heights and deeper depths of the love of god, and so transforming her at each further step, that she shrank from nothing. ( ) _it was a transformation for the world._ this word of mary's, by which she gave her consent to god's plan of redemption, changed the face of the whole world. it began a new era--a.d. instead of b.c. it settled the moment of the arrival of the "fulness of time" (gal. iv. )--of god's time. as a result of it, god was already tabernacling among men. the leaven of the gospel, which was to leaven the whole world, was already beginning to work. mary's word produced a transformation in the world, and though it "knew him not," it was never the same world again. ( ) this word is a _transformation for the soul_ which makes it its own. any soul which really says: "behold the handmaid of the lord: be it done to me according to thy word," is transformed, for it is "made conformable to the image of his son." (rom. viii. .) nothing but love has the power to bring about this transformation in the soul, for it means the effacement of self; it means a readiness to do god's will at whatever cost; it means a holy indifference to one's own plans and theories and even judgment--it means what it says: "_fiat_," for everything that god arranges. when this is so there is a complete transformation; the selfish soul becomes selfless; the weak, strong; the timid, courageous; the hesitating, decided; the doubting, confident; the agitated, peaceful and calm. heaven has already begun in the soul. love--god's love for it first, and then its love for god--has transformed it. are these great things possible for me? yes, quite possible. how was mary transformed? by christ dwelling within her. how was the world transformed? by christ dwelling within it. and this is how i am to be transformed, by christ dwelling within me. each communion should be to me a "flame of transforming love." it is then that, in answer to the appeal: "my child, give me thy heart," i say to him: "be it done to me according to thy word," and he comes to do what he will in my heart; and if only i put no obstacles in his way, his love will transform me into all that he wants me to be. _colloquy_ with our lady, asking her to get me the grace of submission, which alone can transform me. _resolution._ to do nothing to-day to hinder the transforming process in me. _spiritual bouquet._ "angelus domini nuntiavit mariæ et concepit de spiritu sancto." mary's third word "_and she entered into the house of zachary, and saluted elizabeth._" (st luke i. .) _ st prelude._ mary saluting elizabeth. _ nd prelude._ the grace of charity. _point i._--mary's charity when the angel left her, mary's thoughts seem to have been fixed, not, as we should have expected, on the part of the heavenly message which concerned herself, but on what had been incidentally revealed to her about her cousin elizabeth. what a total oblivion of self there is in mary and what charity! she picks out just the little bit of the message that concerns somebody else, decides that it is not for nothing that she has been told this--it may be that her cousin has need of her; and so, instead of giving herself up to dwelling on the great things that have been said and done to her, she rises up in those days and goes into the hill country, with haste, to pay a visit of charity. and she takes jesus with her. mary is my model, and i can surely find some lessons to study here. one is that charity passes before everything, even sometimes before spiritual exercises and contemplation and meditation, going to mass and benediction. i see too that though i must be ever mindful of god's benefits, i need not dwell too much--if at all--on the interior graces he has given to my soul; on any words of praise--though they may have come almost directly from himself; on any piece of work that he has effected through my instrumentality. it is far more wholesome to be rising up to go to the next duty, starting forth into the hill country of difficulties, if need be, and thus taking my thoughts off myself by doing something for somebody else. i shall not, by thus acting, lose any of the graces or any of the sweetness, for i shall take jesus with me, and together we shall face the difficulties of the next bit of life's journey. _point ii._--mary's salutation she _saluted_ elizabeth. we are not told what this salutation was, but we know that words were spoken, because elizabeth _heard_ them. "the voice of thy salutation sounded in my ears," she says. it was probably just the form of salutation customary among the jews: "the lord is with you!" but what a different meaning the words have on mary's lips! she, the mother of the word incarnate, has brought him with her to the house of zachary. the lord himself is indeed there in a way that he has never been before. john the baptist, yet unborn, understands the salutation, and leaps to adore his god; and at that moment jesus, whose work on earth has already begun, cleanses his forerunner from the stain of original sin. elizabeth also understands in what sense the words are spoken; for the holy ghost, who has been doing great things for her too, has communicated to her the heavenly secret about the mother and the child. she is expectant and ready for her visitors, and when mary gives her wondrous salutation: "the lord is with you," filled with the holy ghost she answers: "blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb"; and then she thinks of the great honour which god is showing to her home by permitting mary with her child to visit it. "whence is this to me, that the mother of my lord should come to me?" next she tells mary of the joy that has been caused within her, and adds: "blessed art thou that hast believed, for all that the lord hath spoken about the child will now be accomplished." thus mary receives the blessed assurance that all is true--not that she doubted, and not that she needed any confirmation, but it must, nevertheless, have been a comfort to her to hear herself called "the mother of my lord," and that by one who had not heard the news from any human lips. it was because elizabeth was "filled with the holy ghost" that she saw all so clearly and believed that mary was indeed the mother of god. it is a truth which many people in the twentieth century have not yet grasped. the reason is that they have not yet grasped the meaning of the incarnation. "_nos cum prole pia benedicat virgo maria._" ("may mary the virgin bless us with her holy child.") _point iii._--mary's third word st bernardine describes this third word as a "flame of _communicating_ love" (_flamma amoris communicantis_.) no sooner has mary become "the mother of fair love" than she wants to communicate that love to others--not to communicate her secret--no, of that she does not speak--but to let the flame of love, which is burning within her, reach others also. so it is not mary only, but jesus within her, who "makes haste" to go into the "hill country." he is in a hurry to begin his work. it is jesus, divine love, who enters into the house of zachary and salutes elizabeth. it is the heart of jesus, burning already with love for sinners, which speaks to the heart of john. it is because god, who for love of us men became incarnate, is communicating that love to her, that elizabeth is able to grasp so clearly the mysteries by which she is surrounded. ah, yes, mary's third word is indeed one of communicating love, because she communicates to all around her, jesus, who is love. o mother of fair love, why do the poor banished children of eve so continually turn to thee? is it not just because of this flame of communicating love? is it not because they know that to go to mary is to go to jesus; that when they appeal to the heart of mary it is the heart of jesus which answers through her; that her chief work is to communicate his love to them? three months mary abode in zachary's house, and all that time the flame of communicating love abode there too, burning ever more brightly within her. what a privilege for the house of zachary! we read in sacred history that once "the ark of the lord abode in the house of obededom the gethite for three months; and the lord blessed obededom and all his household." ( kings vi. .) what then must have been the blessings bestowed on zachary's household, while mary the "ark of the covenant" abode there! "_foederis arca, ora pro nobis._" pray that we too may get the blessings of those who receive thee as their constant guest. but mary is my example. is there anything in which i can copy her in her visit to her cousin elizabeth? let me make a self-examination on a few points suggested by this meditation. am i in _haste_ to perform acts of charity, especially when the request for them comes at inconvenient moments? do i always take jesus with me when i go to visit my friends? do those whom i visit feel that i create an atmosphere--an atmosphere which makes them more ready to bless jesus and mary? these things can only be so by my having a flame of communicating love within me. where can i get it? at each communion, when jesus comes to me in the sacrament of his love. and if i put no hindrance in his way, he will communicate himself to others through me. let me, then, aim at being a christ-bearer. "glorify and bear christ in your body." ( cor. vi. .) it is often through his children that jesus does his work in the world, and communicates his love to others. _colloquy_ with our lady. _resolution._ to be a christ-bearer to all whom i greet, remembering that even a little act of politeness may turn the scale in the conversion of a soul. a visit paid, a word dropped in conversation, may be a necessary part of god's plans. _spiritual bouquet._ "flamma amoris communicantis." mary's fourth word _and mary said: "my soul doth magnify the lord."_ _ st prelude._ mary saying the _magnificat_. _ nd prelude._ grace to catch something of the spirit in which she said it. _point i._--the magnificat as soon as elizabeth has finished "crying out with a loud voice" her praise of mary and of jesus, and of the benefits god has wrought for herself and her son, mary speaks, and in the longest of her recorded "words" gives vent to the thoughts pent up in her breast. she at once closes the door against any praise given to herself: "my soul doth magnify the _lord_"--he it is whom we must praise and make much of--"and my spirit hath rejoiced in god my saviour." mary understands what it is that is making her so full of joy. it is the presence of jesus her _saviour_. she has him within her, who has saved her from the stain of original sin, and who will save her each moment that she lives from actual sin. well may her spirit rejoice! she goes on to explain more fully the cause of her joy and exultation. it is because god has done such great things for her. he has regarded the humility of his handmaid. the word used means _humiliation_ rather than humility. mary is too humble to speak of her humility. she is referring rather to her humble circumstances, her low estate. the same word is translated in st james i. as "low condition." he whose name is holy has regarded _me_! and his mercy is not only for me, but for all that fear him. it is because of the great things he has done to me that "all generations shall call me blessed." mary passes on all the praise and honour to god. she speaks of herself only to recall her low estate--only to let her littleness magnify god's greatness in the eyes of others--only that in calling her blessed they may be lifted up to "the god and father of our lord jesus christ, who is blessed for ever." ( cor. xi. .) gabriel stands at the head of "all generations." when he was delivering god's message he called her blessed. elizabeth, inspired by the holy ghost, did the same. and yet there are those to-day (and their name is legion!) who think it would defile their lips to speak of the _blessed_ virgin mary! can it be that they do not believe that god did great things for her? can it be that they _prefer_ to be among the proud whom he scatters in the conceit of their heart, among the mighty whom he puts down from their seat, among the rich whom he sends away empty? can it be that they refuse to listen to the inspiration of the holy spirit who tells them that mary is blessed among women? and yet they sing the _magnificat_, which tells them how ready god is to "exalt the humble" and to "fill the hungry with good things." o blessed virgin mary, mother of god, pray for all those who honour thee by singing thy _magnificat_, that they may honour thee also by understanding it. grant that they too may fulfil thy prophecy--"all generations shall call me blessed"--and get in return the blessings thou art so ready to bestow on thy children. before i go on, let me ask myself to what extent i am copying my mother in at once passing on to god all praise that may come to me? he it is who does all for me, and in me, and by me; and the more he gives, the more he ought to get. he knew it would be so with mary, and therefore he could trust her with "great things." he knew that he would have all the glory. let me see how much i take into account god's glory. is it my first motive and object? if he gives me some little thing--for example, an "original" thought, a happy idea, a solution to a problem, some word to help another--is my first thought to thank him and to praise him because this will bring glory to him? is it not rather to go and tell it to someone else--to quote my words and deeds--not with the object of edifying others (satan, to quiet my conscience, tells me that this is the reason), but of gaining glory and praise for myself out of something that is not mine at all? thus do i rob god of his glory, deliberately taking for myself what belongs to him! oh, my mother, teach thy child what real humility means, and that _all_ praise belongs of right to god. _point ii._--a flame of joyful love this is the name that st bernardine gives to mary's fourth word--"_flamma amoris jubilantis_." her love for god was so strong that it made her burst out into this joyful song of praise. she could no longer keep to herself all that god had done to her; she must tell others; she was so full of joy that she must sing god's praises. and all her love and joy found expression in the _magnificat_--a song of thanksgiving for the incarnation--a song which showed clearly that mary's joy was caused by the glory that was given to god by the incarnation. all through those blessed three months during which mary abode with zachary and elizabeth, she was singing _magnificat_. all through her life she sang _magnificat_, even though she was the mother of sorrows, for the thought of god's glory ever lifted her out of herself and made her praise him for all he did. it was because mary had said her _fiat_ that she could say her _magnificat_. what do i know of this flame of joyful love? if it is caused by the great things god has done, surely it ought to be burning in me. surely he has done enough for me to make my love so great that it is a flame of _joy_ within me. is it so? does the joy that is in my heart show itself in my countenance, in my manner, in my actions, and sometimes perhaps in my words? does my happiness, even in the midst of trial, make others understand what great things god _can_ do for those who love him? if so, i am praising him and obtaining praise and glory for him. oh, my mother, look upon thy child, so often discontented, sad, distrustful, murmuring, and obtain for me "the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for the spirit of grief." (isaias lxi. .) teach me to say my _fiat_ for everything, and out of it will spring a joyful _magnificat_. teach me to love god's will, and to praise him for all he does. _colloquy_ with our lady. _resolution._ to let others see my joy to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "our lady sings _magnificat_ in songs surpassing sweet." mary's silence "_mary abode with elizabeth about three months, and she returned to her own house._" (st luke i. .) _ st prelude._ a statue of our lady. _ nd prelude._ grace to leave all that concerns me in god's hands. _point i._--mary's return we know nothing of what went on during those three months, but we may presume that things continued as they began. it is not likely that elizabeth said her "_ave_" only once, and only once spoke of the honour she considered it to have the mother of god in her house. it is not likely that the unborn forerunner never again saluted his master, in whose presence he so continually was. it is impossible to conceive that mary sang god's praises and her own unworthiness no more during those three months. and what about jesus? these were the first three months of his life on earth, and grace was surely going out from him to his blessed mother first, and then to all who knew the secret. and we must not forget the head of the household, zachary. he, at any rate after the birth of his son, knew the secret too, for he spoke in his song of praise of the "_orient_ from on high (which) hath visited us." (st luke i. .) "dumb" he had been and "unable to speak," but mary with her son had been sojourning in his house, with the result that his doubts had all disappeared, and that he understood already something of the "joy and gladness" which gabriel had promised should be his (verse ), and understood also how it came to pass that his son was "filled with the holy ghost, even from his mother's womb." (verse .) but the time comes when mary has to leave this highly favoured household and go home. her work of charity is over. elizabeth no longer needs her, and her thoughts turn to joseph, her husband, and to nazareth--to the spot where gabriel had visited her, and where the holy ghost had wrought such great things in her. _point ii._--mary's silence to st joseph when last we thought about st joseph, he was abandoning himself to a life of self-sacrifice by his vow of virginity. since then he has made the sacrifice of sparing mary from their little home to go and do an act of charity for her kinswoman, and now that that is over, it is probably joseph himself who goes to fetch her home again. of the visit of the archangel to his wife joseph knows nothing, and mary keeps the secret locked within her heart. she has not revealed it to anyone. (it was the holy ghost who told elizabeth, and jesus himself who saluted john.) but trouble is in store for those two faithful souls. this is natural. it would be strange if god did not take us at our word when we make the sacrifice of ourselves to him! it would look as if he did not believe us. "mary was found with child of the holy ghost. whereupon joseph her husband, being a just man and not willing publicly to expose her, was minded to put her away privately." (st matt. i. , .) how much is told in those few simple words! what anguish of soul do they cover! how could joseph bear to have suspicions of his wife, whom he considered to be purity itself, and whom he loved so tenderly? and yet he was forced to suspect, and as a just man was obliged to keep the law--namely, write a bill of divorce, give it in her hand, and send her out of his house. (deut. xxiv. .) he made up his mind to do this as _privately_ as possible, shielding her secret from everyone except the two witnesses who were necessary for the bill of divorce. how nobly joseph acted! he was ready, for the sake of right, to sacrifice what was most dear to him, to crush at one blow his most cherished affections! no wonder the holy spirit calls him a just man! no wonder that he was the one in all the world whom god could trust to co-operate with himself! and if joseph suffered, how much more did mary in seeing him thus troubled, and knowing that she was the cause of his distress. one word from her would have been sufficient to clear away all the difficulties--and it almost seemed as if it would be for the glory of god to say the word--at any rate it would have justified her, put an end to joseph's trouble, and saved her from suspicion, and even perhaps shame and humiliation. but mary has made her sacrifice--has said her _fiat_--and this is her first great trial, caused entirely by the fact of her nearness to jesus, and of the union between her life and his. and so she does not say the word--she does not take back her sacrifice, but meets it generously. it is not for her to publish god's secrets. his dealings with her are for herself, and are not to be shared even with one as dear to her as is st joseph, unless god bids her. mary is silent and abandons herself and her trouble and all that concerns her to god. and this is god's moment--when the need is at its height, when both his children have proved their fidelity, and their readiness to abandon themselves to him and his will, cost what it may. in his sleep an angel appears to joseph and reveals the secret to him, and his sorrow is changed to an unspeakable joy. if i am striving to tread the way trodden by mary and the saints, i shall do well to let self-justification alone. i am not likely to be put to as great a test as were mary and joseph, but there are sure to be many little occasions in my life when it is left to my choice either to clear myself of suspicion or to leave the matter in god's hands, and out of love to him keep silence, and thus sacrifice a little of my self-love. it is a difficult question, perhaps, when to keep silence and when to speak; but at any rate i need not be in such a hurry to excuse myself and shield myself from blame as i generally am. nothing will be lost by _waiting_. mary and joseph _waited_, with the result that god himself cleared things up for them and brought them consolation. if joseph had questioned mary, or if mary had allayed joseph's suspicions, both would have acted in a most natural way; but god would not have been glorified, and they would have missed the consolation which he reserves for those who are generous in their sacrifices to him. _colloquy_ with mary. _resolution._ to be silent the next time fault is found with me. _spiritual bouquet._ "fear not, joseph." mary's expectation "_his left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me._" (cant. ii. .) "_my beloved to me and i to him._" (verse .) _ st prelude._ mary and joseph waiting. _ nd prelude._ grace to believe that god's plans are the best. _point i._--at nazareth we should like to penetrate into those remaining six months, which mary and joseph spent together, before the birth of the holy child. scripture is silent about them, but it is not difficult for a sanctified imagination to picture something of what was taking place. perhaps the thought of the altar of repose on maundy thursday will bring the realities home to us better than anything else could. though he is hidden from our sight, all know that he is there. angels are in constant adoration, and the faithful do not forget him. all try to get near and to hold silent communion with him; and all are expecting the great day when he will rise again and show himself to them. and he is spending the time in giving his blessing and his grace to all who, by faith, seek him. the house at nazareth was in very deed god's sanctuary, containing the altar of repose, where the saviour of the world was resting. angels were in constant adoration before their king. the faithful consisted of mary and joseph, whose thought and conversation could be about nothing else but the child who was coming into the world. and who shall measure the graces and blessings, which that child was showering upon mary and her faithful spouse, during those months of waiting and prayer and holy converse, while they planned and arranged with such care and minuteness, as parents are wont to do, every detail connected with the birth of the firstborn? but man proposes and god disposes. god, who "ordereth all things sweetly," (wisdom viii. ), was stirring up the whole civilised world so that the scripture might be fulfilled which said: "and thou, _bethlehem_ ephrata, ... out of _thee_ shall he come forth to me, that is to be the ruler in israel; and his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity." (micheas v. .) it was in _bethlehem_--not at _nazareth_, that the child was to be born. and to effect this, "in those days there went out a decree from cæsar augustus, that the whole world should be enrolled.... and all went to be enrolled, every one into his own city. and joseph also went ... out of the city of nazareth ... to the city of david, which is called bethlehem (because he was of the house and family of david), to be enrolled with mary his espoused wife." (st luke ii. - .) what a trial this order must have been to mary! to leave home, to forego all her plans, to take a long journey, to interrupt her days of solitude and calm and peace--and all at the bidding of a heathen emperor. but mary knew how to take her trials. _fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum._ "be it done to me according to thy word." for her there were no second causes. it was ever god who was ordering "all things sweetly" for her, and she had nothing to say but "_ecce ancilla--fiat_." she waited for nothing but god's will. and as _he_ arranged it, she could spend her time of waiting just as well on the public highway to bethlehem as in the seclusion of nazareth. oh, my mother, teach me this lesson too: if i could only learn it, how different my life would be! my life--every detail of it--is in god's hands. he is "ordering it sweetly," and i _complain_! how little is my faith! when my faith is great enough, i shall take all things, as sweetly as god orders them, even though they may upset my most cherished plans. _point ii._--on the way to bethlehem and so, in obedience to the command, mary and joseph leave the calm and quiet and solitude of their little home, and go to face poverty and difficulties and the unknown. but jesus is with them, and this makes them independent of exterior circumstances--their calm and quiet are unbroken, and they can find solitude even in the busy thoroughfares. mary is communing with her child, and is peaceful with the peace he gives. joy, too, fills her heart as she thinks how fast the time is approaching when she will see his face. oh, how i should love to be allowed to go with them on this journey! at my request, mary readily consents to take me as her servant, and i am so glad to be in that blessed company that i forego everything else--i know that the family i have come to live with is _poor_, and i am determined not to ask them to get any special things for _me_. the table has the barest necessities--perhaps hardly these, for true poverty consists in the want of necessities; but it is the company that i care about, and nothing else matters. i can see that all sorts of inconveniences and privations and hardships will be mine, but i cannot be an exception in that family; and somehow, now that i am so close to the blessed mother, i do not wish to be. my great desire is to be like her, and to share all with her and her son. at bethlehem joseph begins his weary and anxious search for a lodging; but all in vain--no one wants the holy family. how joseph suffers at each refusal--not for himself but for mary! mary is too much taken up with her joy to heed the suffering. and the servant--does she regret that she is not in one of the big hotels, as she might have been, or does she turn with joy to follow the holy family to the cave, saying: with jesus and mary i have all i want, and i love every hardship and every privation which comes to me, because i have made myself one with them? oh, my mother, i thank thee for allowing me to be thy servant; i thank thee for bringing me into such close contact with thy son; i thank thee for every privation, every difficulty, every hardship, every inconvenience, every crossing of my own will which has come to me, because i chose to be in thy company and in that of thy son. help me to persevere bravely, thinking all worth while for the sake of the company. _colloquy_ with mary, asking her to get me grace to be always joyous, because i am living my life with her and her blessed son. _resolution._ to show myself worthy of the company i am in, by the way i face the little difficulties of my everyday life. _spiritual bouquet._ "i am thy servant and the son of thy handmaid." (ps. cxv. .) the stable "_mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart._" (st luke ii. .) _ st prelude._ mary and joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. _ nd prelude._ grace to ponder with mary _point i._--the birth of her son "she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger." she has seen his face at last; she has folded him in her arms and pressed him to her bosom--her son and her god. and she ponders--she meditates--she cannot tell her thoughts to any human soul--but she can tell them to her son. _dico ego opera mea regi._ i will speak of my works to the king. (ps. xliv. .) many works had been wrought in and through mary by the holy ghost, but they were all the king's secrets, and she pondered over them, speaking of them to him alone. there was her vow of virginity, which she did not even speak of to her parents; there was the visit of the king's messenger, of which she spoke to no one--not to elizabeth, nor even to st joseph; there was the painful journey to bethlehem, and the difficulty about finding a lodging. she might have told st luke all about it, and had it all written down in the gospel--but no, there is not a word except the mere fact that they went to bethlehem, and that there was no room for them in the inn. her sufferings were those of the king, and she shared them with him alone. and now that she has got her jesus, she spends her time in pondering--in telling him her thoughts and her secrets, which are his too. how much i should gain if i could be a little more like my mother in this!--if, instead of being so ready to go and talk of all the things that have been said and done to me, or of what i have said or done, or of what i have had to suffer, i were just to speak to my king about it--let it be something between us which nobody else knows anything about. it may often be my duty to speak, as it was mary's later on, when she was obliged, for example, to tell st luke all about the angel's visit and what he said to her, because god wanted that piece of revelation to be written. but this was later. she did not go at once and tell elizabeth all about it. let us learn from mary to let our _first_ words, at any rate, be for our king; and, if this is so, it is probable that in many cases the matter will go no further, and others as well as ourselves will be saved from the miseries which so often follow from our being too ready to talk. _dico ego opera mea regi._ to _him_ i can never say too much, and he loves those silent heart-to-heart colloquies. he loves the things which are talked over with him only--the king's secrets. _point ii._--the shepherds "they came with haste, and they found mary and joseph, and the infant lying in a manger." and during their visit they "understood," and went away to tell the good news to wondering listeners, leaving mary still pondering. each moment of her son's life on earth brings her fresh matter for meditation. she has scarcely time to think of the miraculous birth before she hears "a multitude of the heavenly army" proclaiming the birth, praising god, and telling of the glory that is being given to him, and of the peace that is being brought to earth. and mary realises that she no longer has her babe all to herself, that heaven and earth claim him. then the shepherds arrive; and after they have adored the saviour who is born to them, they tell his mother of all the wonders of that night: of the angel of the lord who suddenly stood by them in the night watches; of the "brightness of god"; of how they feared; of how the angel bid them: "fear not"; of the good tidings that he brought, and of the great joy which was to be for everyone; that the angel had actually told them that the child was the messias, and that he had given them the strangest sign by which they could know him--he will be wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger! and lastly, how they had come in haste, as soon as the angels had gone back to heaven, and had found it all to be true. what joy this beautiful, simple, story must have brought to the mother's heart! what fresh subjects for meditation now were hers! what a tender welcome she would give to these simple shepherds, whom god had picked out for such signal favours, and had allowed to be the first worshippers of her son! how she would realise all the "great things" that god was doing now that she heard them from the mouths of these "little ones" to whom god had revealed them! (st matt. xi. .) how graciously she would accept the poor offerings of these poor men to her child who had chosen to be poor! and how proud she would be that she, as his mother, had the right to lift that little hand, to convey the blessing which his heart was giving to those who were going to be his first witnesses and apostles. "mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart." how easy meditation was to mary! why? because she lived always in the closest possible union with jesus. if i find my meditations difficult, let me examine myself, and see whether the cause may not be that my union with him is not so close as it was, that i have let something come between us, that i am not telling all my secrets to the king. if this is so, let me hasten to put things right with him; and then i shall find again that my most precious moments are those in which i can devote my thoughts entirely to my king and ponder over the simple stories told of him and his blessed mother. _colloquy._ _the alma redemptoris mater_:--"sweet mother of our redeemer, gate whereby we enter heaven, and star of the sea, help us, we fall; yet do we long to rise. nature looked upon thee with admiration when thou didst give birth to thy divine creator, thyself remaining before and after it a pure virgin. gabriel spoke his _hail_ to thee; we sinners crave thy pity." (_anthem from advent to the purification._) _resolution._ to ponder more and speak less. _spiritual bouquet._ "dico ego opera mea regi." the circumcision of mary's son "_and after eight days were accomplished that the child should be circumcised, his name was called jesus, which was called by the angel before he was conceived._" (st luke ii. .) _ st prelude._ mary with her child. _ nd prelude._ grace to learn more about them both. _point i._--the circumcision after one week of peace and joy, mary is called upon to suffer with, and on account of, her son. the law of god is clear. "on the eighth day, the infant shall be circumcised." (lev. xii. .) and there is no doubt in the minds of mary and joseph, that, though the holy child has no need of the rite which probably cleansed away original sin, he must nevertheless submit to it, as being part of his father's law, every jot and tittle of which he has come to fulfil. so jesus, of his own free will, classes himself with sinners, and offers to god the firstfruits of that blood which he will shed for them on calvary. the circumcision of her son means much to mary; she sees him suffer; she hears his cry of pain; she sees the blood flow; and she understands that to be the mother of god means being the _mater dolorosa_; and now she has fresh matter for her meditations. her son is to be the victim for sin, and she unites her sacrifice to his. the rite of circumcision was to the jew a sign of the covenant that god had made with his nation--it marked him out as one of god's own people; it was a mark of his dependence on god, and also of his slavery to sin till god set him free. "circumcision is that of the heart," st paul tells us, "in the spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of god." (rom. ii. .) by assisting with mary at the circumcision of her son, i mean that i want to understand something of this circumcision of the _heart_--understand, that is, that god has made a covenant with me, that i belong to him, and am dependent on him; i mean that i am ready with the knife of mortification to cut away all that prevents me from being a good servant, ready to "resist unto blood," if need be, but, at any rate, ready to make myself a victim with jesus, as mary did, willing to suffer anything which he calls upon me to suffer. _point ii._--his name--jesus his name was chosen by his heavenly father, and revealed both to mary and joseph before his birth--to mary by the angel gabriel at the annunciation, and to joseph by the angel who was sent to allay his suspicions about his wife. jesus--the "name which is above every name"! god gave it him because "he humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death--even the death of the cross." (phil. ii. .) he earned his name by the cross, and it was given him at the moment when he shed the first drops of his precious blood. he could have allowed this first shedding of his blood to redeem the world, had he so willed. he could have made it the _redeeming_ blood, but it was not yet his will; his time had not yet come; he wished to live and to suffer long years on earth before he shed the blood which he intended to be efficacious for the redemption of the world. "thou shalt call his name jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." (st matt. i. .) and when at length he did shed his redeeming blood on calvary, there was a title nailed to the cross, proclaiming his name to all: "this is jesus," the saviour. he is saving his people from their sins. it cost him much to be the saviour, and it cost mary much to be the mother of the saviour; but both cheerfully made the sacrifice in advance--both entered into god's plan for my salvation. jesus had come to do his father's will--he was content to do it--and his mother was content to be identified in everything with her son, and to say her _fiat_. if my salvation cost jesus and mary so much, ought it not to cost me something too? would it be fair if all were easy and smooth for me? surely not. surely, if i have a part in the saviour, i ought to have a part in his cross. let the thought of the holy babe shedding his first drops of blood on his mother's knee brace me up to meet suffering, of whatever kind god chooses for me; let it hush my murmurs and my discontent; let it make me not only willing but anxious to suffer, and thus to have an opportunity of being like him, who was in such a hurry to shed his blood, that it seemed as though it were too long for him to wait till calvary. he must make the sacrifice in advance, and offer at any rate the firstfruits of his blood to his father. _colloquy_ with mary, who is identifying herself with the sufferings, intentions, and desires of her son. teach me, my mother, not only to expect but to appreciate suffering. how can i be like jesus, and a child of thine without it? i want to look upon it always as a sign of love, as a sign that i am recognised as one of the holy family. _resolution._ to understand that my very existence on earth means suffering, and that my identification with jesus and mary means suffering willingly and cheerfully. _spiritual bouquet._ "i come to do thy will, o my god." her purification "_they carried him to jerusalem to present him to the lord._" _ st prelude._ jesus, mary, and joseph going to the temple. _ nd prelude._ grace to go too, and learn the lessons. _point i._--mary's purification it is the fortieth day after the birth of her son, the day when it is mary's turn to keep the legal observances, and so to identify herself in all things with her son. there is no need for her to be purified, before she is allowed to enter god's temple; neither is there any need for her to present her firstborn in the temple and pay the ransom money for him, for his name is saviour and he is himself the ransom for his people. there is no _need_; but mary gladly does both, that she may enter more closely into the spirit of her son, who had undergone the rite of circumcision. how many unnecessary humiliations and unpleasant duties do i undertake just for the sake of identifying myself with jesus and mary, and sharing their spirit? we may imagine the holy family quietly setting out for their two hours' walk to the temple, attracting no more notice than was usually attached to an event so common. passing remarks were probably made as to its being the first time she was out; as to the disparity in their age; as to their poverty, for joseph was carrying two doves, the offering of the poor, to be offered by mary for her purification. ah, how little the world sees! extraordinary things are going on, though they are hidden, as is ever god's wont, under things most ordinary. mary, the purest of creatures, the virgin of virgins, the queen of heaven, of angels and of men, is bearing in her arms the lord of glory, who is on his way to visit his temple for the first time, and thus to fill it with a greater glory than ever solomon's temple had possessed. angels are worshipping and adoring at every step of that journey, and presently they will throw open wide the gate of the temple to let the king of glory in. and the humble and silent joseph is playing a part which no jew before or since has ever played; for though the verdict of the world is that he is too poor to afford to take a lamb, in reality he is too rich to need one, for is he not bringing to the temple the lamb of god--an offering which no one has ever been rich enough to make before? let us try to see things and judge them from god's point of view--not from the world's. _point ii._--the presentation of her son this involved three sacrifices. ( ) the sacrifice made by jesus. _ecce venio._ "lo, i come to do thy will, o my god." he has come to the temple to offer himself as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to his father. this is the morning sacrifice--the evening sacrifice will be on calvary. this is like the _offertory_ at mass, when the priest offers to god the bread and wine which he will use presently to accomplish the sacrifice at the consecration. he is the "firstborn amongst many brethren," (rom. viii. ), that is why he must be presented in the temple. he is our elder brother. he represents us all, and answers to god for all those who are united to him. he offers himself as a ransom that all the rest of the family may go free. am i prepared to ratify this offering that my elder brother made in my name? have i any right to claim the privileges? yes, if i am united with him, identified with him; if i am saying as he did: "behold, i come to do thy will," and this in the little sacrifices of my everyday life. ( ) the sacrifice made by mary. _ecce ancilla._ "behold the handmaid of the lord." mary knows perfectly well what she is doing when she puts her jesus into the arms of the priest. she knows that she is offering to god the firstfruits--the earnest of what is to come; and she makes her sacrifice whole-heartedly, zealously, lovingly. she said her _fiat_ at the incarnation, and she will never take it back. she is his mother--it is with blood drawn from her veins that he will one day redeem the world; and she offers to god now, not only the victim who is to be the redeemer, but herself as a co-victim--herself to suffer with him. "behold the handmaid of the lord"--ready to give him all that he requires. how perfectly mary identifies herself with jesus! it is her intense love which enables her to copy so exactly. ( ) the sacrifice made by joseph. _ecce adsum._ "behold, i am here too, ready for any sacrifice." joseph is so closely connected with jesus and mary that he must share their spirit and do what they do. but his sacrifice is made in the dark, as ours are for the most part. he does not know what jesus and mary are doing. he cannot gauge the extent of their sacrifices--enough for him to unite his intention with theirs, and to offer with perfect detachment his two treasures to god, begging him to use them as he will. am i ready to make my sacrifice--even a blind one--ready to say: _ecce adsum_--"behold, here i am"--and to trust where i cannot understand? _point iii._--the first dolour the sacrifice was no sooner made than god took mary at her word. simeon, holding "the christ of the lord" in his arms, called him "the _salvation_ which thou hast prepared; a light to the revelation of the gentiles and the glory of thy people israel." and while his father and mother were wondering at these things which were spoken concerning him, simeon addressed himself to "mary his mother," and spoke in no hidden language of the passion; and the sword pierced her soul, for though she knew it all, it was the first time she had heard it from the lips of another. it was the first of the _seven dolours_. she heard that her child was to be:-- . "... _for the fall of many_": that is, the _ruin_ of many. what a lifelong sorrow for the heart of mary to know that for many her son's passion would be in vain--that he was to be the "touchstone," with the result that, in many cases, he would be "rejected of men"! . "... _for a sign which shall be contradicted_." war was to be waged against him in all places, and that to the end of time. this was the treatment he, who had come to be the saviour and the light of the world, was to receive. and then simeon added: "_thy own soul a sword shall pierce_." he identified mary with her son, and spoke not only of his passion but of her compassion. the queen of sorrows was now on her throne; there was no longer any doubt about it. god had accepted her sacrifice. jesus was the victim, and she was his mother--the mater dolorosa. but simeon's prophecy was not the last word that mary was to hear before she left the temple courts, which she loved so well. god, who in his love had permitted the wound, had provided also some balm to be poured into it. a little act of courtesy was waiting for mary to do before she was free to ponder over all that had happened in the temple, and especially over the new revelation which had stabbed her to the quick. well did old anna, the prophetess, know the maiden whose happy childhood had been spent in the temple! how gladly mary went up to her and renewed her friendship with her! how proud she was to show her little son to her! mary was wondering how much anna knew; but she did not speak, she revealed nothing. soon she found out that the holy old woman had been rewarded for her fasting and prayers and vigils, by a special revelation, in consequence of which she "confessed to the lord and spoke of him to all that looked for the redemption of israel." and mary heard, and balm was poured into that first sword-wound. can i, sweet mother of sorrows, pour balm into that terrible wound? i cannot bear to think of thee going home, pressing thy babe against thy aching heart. let me accompany thee; i will keep close to thee, and i will speak continually of thy child. never will i speak against him--to me, at least, he shall not be a contradiction, but a resurrection from all from which he has come to save me. _colloquy_ with mary, about the _fourth joyful mystery_, and the _first dolour_. _resolution._ to throw in my lot with jesus and mary. _spiritual bouquet._ "ecce adsum." wise men and babes "_thy heart shall wonder and be enlarged when the strength of the gentiles shall come to thee._" (isaias lx. .) _ st prelude._ a picture of the wise men. _ nd prelude._ grace to understand that nearness to jesus and mary means the cross. _point i._--the wise men mary had much to meditate about as she turned her steps homewards to bethlehem. she knew, for the angels had said so at his birth, that her son was to be the saviour for "all the people"; but simeon in his song of praise had gone further, and said that he was to be for "all peoples," emphasising the fact that he was to be "a light to the revelation of the _gentiles_." and so the subjects to ponder over were ever increasing, and mary's heart was ever enlarging. she had now to pray for the great world outside, as well as for god's chosen people. thus was her heart being prepared to receive the next worshippers at the shrine of the infant god, and it may be that when they arrived--perhaps soon after the first anniversary of her son's birth--it was no surprise to her that they were _gentiles_. "gentiles shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy rising; they shall come from afar, bringing gold and frankincense and showing forth praise to the lord." (isaias lx. - .) all this was fulfilled in the little house at bethlehem. the wise men, firstfruits of the gentile world, had had faith enough to overcome every obstacle, and during their journey of, perhaps, some months, had had but one idea--namely, to follow the star which god had put in the heavens for them, and by its means to find the new king, who was to be their saviour. mary's prayers had no doubt helped them to make light of their many difficulties, and when their star had brought them right to the house which they sought, "they entered in and found the child with mary, his mother." they were quite at home at once; their faith was so strong, that the unexpected surroundings and the poverty did not strike them as incongruous. they had found what they sought, and their joy and satisfaction were complete. as soon as they were in the real presence their conversion was an accomplished fact. mary showed them her child, "and falling down they adored him." it was to _mary_ that they offered their gifts out of gratitude for all that the holy child, to whom they felt that they now belonged, had done for them. it was _mary_ whom they thanked for her gracious hospitality. it was _mary_ who guided the little hand to bless them ere they took their departure. it was to _mary_ that they explained that from henceforth their lives would be devoted to the service of the new king and the spreading of his kingdom among the gentiles. it was _mary_, the mother of the way, who bade them godspeed on their journey. how interested she was in those first great converts from the gentiles! how their visit widened her outlook, and enlarged her maternal heart! she is not less interested now in converts than she was then. she has been praying for them ever since. "mary's prayers shall bring them back." let us remember this when we are dealing with them; we are not working alone. mary, the great advocate, is pleading with her son. let us bring them, as often as we can, into the real presence--they may be all unconscious, but _he_ is not. he will act upon them. virtue will go out of him to them: they will not go empty away, for it is impossible for them to be under the direct rays of his presence without being influenced. _point ii._--the baby martyrs their visit over, the three kings took leave of the holy child and his mother, and, warned by god not to go and give their good news to herod, they returned to their country by another way. this so exasperated herod that he gave an order which plunged not only bethlehem but all the neighbourhood into the most profound grief and desolation. how the heart of mary went out in sympathy to the bereaved mothers! how big her heart felt as it dilated to take them all in! she understood now what it meant to be the mother of sorrows, and that only by having this title could she have the other--_consolatrix afflictorum_ (consoler of the afflicted). how quickly simeon's prophecy was being fulfilled! her son was already a sign being contradicted, in those hebrew mothers and their innocent babes. each mother was sacrificing her babe that mary might not have to sacrifice hers. each babe was giving its life to save the life of jesus. their sufferings were all because of jesus and mary. how the sword pierced mary's heart as she heard the bitter cries of mothers and children! "poor banished children of eve," born to sorrow and trouble! but from henceforth their cause will be espoused by a "most gracious advocate," who will take a special interest in all troubles and sufferings that come to her children on account of the sacrifices that they make for her son, or which are caused by their nearness to him. at that moment of anguish the jewish mothers _were_ making a sacrifice, though it was an unwilling one and made in ignorance. god, in his mercy, rewards even such. had their children lived, they might have been among the murderers of jesus; now they are saved from all sin, they escape purgatory, and, the first to give their lives for him, they will follow the lamb for ever. happy little innocents! happy those who have the honour to be their mothers! happy all those who make the least sacrifice for him! and happy, thrice happy, the queen of martyrs, who is now entering into the possession of her new kingdom! the more closely i am identified with jesus and mary, the more i must expect suffering. the training for the kingdom is the same, whether for wise men or babes. the wise men learnt from the child on mary's knee to view suffering in a new light, and they went back to their country prepared to sacrifice all for the child and his mother, shrinking from nothing till they laid down their lives for him whose star they had so diligently followed. so simeon's sword is piercing; the cross is already showing that the followers of the babe are to be victims too--all is getting clearer and clearer to mary, and as she wonders her heart is enlarged. _colloquy_ with mary. _resolution._ to follow the generosity of the wise men and the babes. _spiritual bouquet._ "mater dolorosa, consolatrix afflictorum, regina martyrum, ora pro nobis." egypt "_that it might be fulfilled which the lord spake by the prophet, saying: out of egypt have i called my son._" (st matt. ii. .) _ st prelude._ picture of jesus, mary, and joseph. _ nd prelude._ grace to believe that no circumstances in which god has placed me can hinder my spiritual life. _point i._--the flight into egypt only one child escaped the cruel sword of herod, and that one was mary's son. he was safe in the arms of his mother, who was fleeing with him into egypt, with an anguish of heart so great that it constituted the _second dolour_. but no design of herod, however powerful and clever, could touch that life before his hour was come. the child knew it, and his mother knew it--yet they fled from those who sought his life; for in all things mary's son must be made like unto his brethren. he could have protected himself, had he so wished, without giving so much trouble and anxiety to his parents. he heard "rachel bewailing her children"; he heard the cry of each one of those little innocents, who was giving his life for him--yet he did not raise a finger to prevent all the misery, because he had come to do his father's will, and he left all in his hands; and also because he is our model, and he was showing us how to act. he wants us to have a perfect acquiescence in god's will, a boundless confidence, a profound peace, and even _joy_, in the midst of the most trying and perplexing circumstances. he wants us to lie quiet in god's arms, as he lay in his mother's, content to know nothing except that god's will is being done. he who knew least about it all, and yet had apparently to take the chief part and bear all the anxiety, was joseph. he it was who received the warning message from the angel; he it was who had to break the news to mary that the child's life was in danger and that they must fly immediately--even in the middle of the night. he it was who took the child and his mother into egypt, in accordance with what to anyone else but joseph would have seemed a very arbitrary and unreasonable command. but those who live their lives close to jesus and mary do not criticise god's dealings: such an idea never occurs to them; they have only one thing to do--to obey. when a criticising, discontented spirit comes over me, i shall find that the reason is always the same--i have not been keeping close to jesus and mary. how much mary suffers during that long journey across the desert--anxiety, fatigue, hunger, thirst, want of shelter! but it is all on account of her son; the sword is piercing her heart every day, but the babe is pressed against the wounds. angels are following and longing to help their queen, but they cannot without a permission from their little master, and the permission will not be given, for he and his mother have made their sacrifice--they have laid themselves on the altar as victims and are already being consumed; and the desert is rejoicing and flourishing like the lily, (isaias xxxv. ), because mary with her child is passing through it. o mary, look upon thy children who are crossing the desert of this world. the wilderness has lost all its terrors since thou with thy son didst pass through it. thou knowest its difficulties and its hardships; "turn, then, thine eyes of mercy towards us, and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, jesus." _point ii._--the land of egypt mary now finds herself in a heathen land, and her interest in the gentiles must have greatly increased. but her heart is also enlarged in another direction--namely, towards the jews of the dispersion. legend tells us that it was at heliopolis, one of the cities where the egyptian jews lived and where they had built a temple, that the holy family took up their abode while they stayed in egypt. what a blessing and a joy to those faithful souls to have the holy family living amongst them! how it must have stirred up their zeal and courage! it may have been mary's influence on many a mother's heart, and the influence of jesus on many a little playmate, which produced in after years some of the great preachers to the gentiles who came from amongst the jews of the dispersion. it was not for nothing that mary and her son were sent into egypt. god has his reasons, though he does not often reveal them, because he loves to have our confidence. now, for a time--_perhaps_ only for a few months, for herod died soon after the slaughter of the innocents--egypt was the centre of the world; nobody guessed it, but the angels were there worshipping, adoring, wondering. it is a true picture of the blessed sacrament, hidden away in so many tabernacles, surrounded by people who do not suspect its presence. it is nothing to thousands who pass by. but what is it to those who know? what was jesus to mary in the land of her exile? he was her all--_with him_ exile was no exile; _with him_ god's will was easy, god's arrangements the best; _with him_ it was impossible to complain, impossible to have any regrets about the past, or impatient wonderings about the future. she was absorbed in the present, because she had jesus with her. he had to be taken care of, fed, taught, thought about, worked for, lived for. what a lesson for those who are inclined to look upon their surroundings as _egypt_, who say too readily: "how shall we sing the song of the lord in a strange land?" (ps. cxxxvi. .) how can i do this or that _here_? it was in egypt that the child grew, and it was there that mary heard his first words, watched his first tottering steps, and taught him his first (vocal) prayers. and while her child grew in wisdom and age, mary was growing too--growing in grace and virtue; imbibing more and more of the spirit of her son from the services she rendered to him; making great progress in her new school, the school of the cross; getting daily more food for meditation and prayer; enlarging her heart and preparing herself to be a second eve--the mother of all living. it _is_ possible, then, to grow in egypt! and not only is it _possible_, but if god sends me there, it is the soil most suitable for my growth at that particular epoch of my life. how many of god's children have had to live in uncongenial surroundings, and with those who have no sympathy with their faith, from the earliest confessors and martyrs to the present-day converts to the faith! if jesus had spent all his lifetime in the holy land, such might have been tempted to say: "he is my model, but he was never in my circumstances!" but no, jesus spent some time with his mother in egypt, and he _grew_ there. let me learn the lesson that god is with me wherever i am and in whatever circumstances; and let me try to copy mary in being so absorbed by him, and by all that i have to do for him, in the person of his "least brethren," that my surroundings matter little. _point iii._--the return from egypt "be thou there until i shall tell thee," was the only order given to joseph--there was no hint of how long the time would be; and so mary said her _fiat_ each day, ready either to stay in egypt or to go back to her own land--both were the same to her as long as they were the expression of god's will. at last the angel came again with a message: "arise and take the child and his mother, and go into the land of israel; for they are dead that sought the life of the child." their own dear land, then, was no longer dangerous to them. god gave his reasons this time--but when he does not, what then? then my faith must be strong enough to believe that the fair land, which looks as if it would be so congenial, holds dangers for me which egypt does not; there are enemies there who seek after my soul to destroy it, and whom i can only escape by the hard discipline of egypt. then i will be thankful for egypt as long as it lasts, and thankful, too, that my life--every detail of it--is arranged for me by one who _knows_. and so the faces of mary and jesus were set towards the land of israel--and to them both it meant calvary. mary would doubtless have preferred to take her son back to bethlehem, and bring him up near the temple, but again the warning voice told them that it was not god's will. and so they "retired into the quarters of galilee," and mary found herself back again in nazareth--the city of so many memories; and two more of the prophecies concerning her son have been fulfilled: "out of egypt have i called my son," and, "he shall be called a nazarene." _colloquy._ o mary, get thy child grace to learn some of the precious lessons that egypt has to teach--that blind obedience and submission which bring perfect rest; that waiting for god's orders without any complaining, or impatience, or suggestions of something else; that quiet uniting of all sufferings with those of jesus; that entire acquiescence in all his plans for me. _resolution._ to put no obstacle in the way of god's direction of me to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "fly into egypt, and be there until i shall tell thee." mary's fifth word "_and his mother said to him: son, why hast thou done so to us? behold, thy father and i have sought thee sorrowing._" (st luke ii. .) _ st prelude._ a picture of mary and joseph finding jesus in the temple. _ nd prelude._ grace to seek jesus as our lady sought him. _point i._--the loss of her son once more the holy family has come up to the temple; and it is here that mary speaks her next recorded word. her son was not yet born when she spoke her last. since then he has been her constant companion through infancy and boyhood, in trouble and in joy, at bethlehem, in egypt, and at nazareth. he is twelve years old now, and counts under the law as a man; it is time to decide his calling in life. he is old enough to go with his parents to the passover feast at jerusalem. so once again the real passover lamb goes up to his temple; and we can think of mary and joseph praying there to the child who is kneeling between them, mary pondering over her last visit to the temple with him, when she presented him to the lord as a little baby and when the sword pierced her soul for the first time. when it was all over, the child jesus "remained in jerusalem," without saying anything to his parents! it was only when they halted for the night that mary and joseph would find out their loss, for the men and women left the temple by different gates, and the children might go with either group. mary had lost her child! it was the third of the _seven dolours_, and it has been revealed to the saints that her spiritual desolation was greater than that ever experienced by any of god's children. not only was she suffering intense desolation, but her grief was enhanced by the fear that he had left her because she had done something of which he did not approve. she also had to bear the sight of her dearly loved spouse "sorrowing," perhaps blaming himself for his want of care, and in any case not so well able as she to bear the anxiety and grief. mary shows us how to act in our times of desolation. diligently she searched for him during those three days, "in the company among their kinsfolks and acquaintance," and in all the places where he had been. then they retraced their steps to jerusalem. no time was lost, no pains were spared; they sought him sorrowing for his loss, and for any fault that might be theirs. how jesus loves to be sought thus! it is one of his reasons for hiding himself, to force us back to the company where we enjoyed his presence, to the places where we had him with us, and to everything that reminds us of what he said to us and what we said to him. he is not far from the souls that thus seek him. _point ii._--they found him in the temple it was the most natural place to find him. do i in my times of desolation turn instinctively to his house, where i know that he is hidden? do i feel that i must spend all the time i possibly can close to the tabernacle, that my body, at any rate, may be near to him, while my spirit is calling out in its distress: "oh, that i knew where i might find him!" who can measure what must have been mary's joy and relief when she saw her son sitting in the midst of the doctors, listening to their teaching! she "wondered"; she was perplexed; and then it was that she uttered her fifth word. it was a word of reproach rather than of joy, though it was joy that caused it, and the reproach was full of tenderness. st bernardine calls this word, _flamma amoris saporantis_, "a flame of savouring or relishing love," because, he says, it belongs to love to "distinguish and discern, and, as it were, taste the divine effects and qualities of that which is loved." it was her love which made mary _savour_ the intense pain caused by the absence of her son and by the anxiety of her spouse. the flame of love within her enabled her to _relish_ both the love and the pain. mary does not try to conceal her pain--that is not the outcome of true love. she says straight out what she is feeling, with that holy familiarity to which her love gives her a right: "son, why hast thou done so to us? behold, thy father and i have sought thee sorrowing." why? none knew better than he what the agony of those three days had been to his mother, and he could have prevented it. why, then, has he done so? because he was beginning the principle which he carried out all through. he was the "man of sorrows," and she was the "mother of sorrows," and he would not spare her one drop in the cup of suffering. he knew its value too well, and his love for her was too great. when we have to undergo suffering that seems so unnecessary and that could (perhaps we think) with a little forethought have been so easily avoided, instead of allowing ourselves to give way to discontent, and regrets, and even rebellion, how much better it would be to say: yes, it is quite true, jesus could have prevented this, but he is treating me in some degree as he treated his blessed mother, not saving me the pain and trouble and inconvenience, but letting me have the opportunity of sanctifying my soul and of gaining greater merit. "why hast thou done so?" and he answers: "did you not know that i must be about my father's business?" by his answer he prepares his mother for the future; he raises her above the human in him to the divine; he announces himself, though obscurely, to the doctors as the messias; he teaches the great lesson of detachment, and shows that even our best natural affections must be supernaturalised. "my father's business"--that must ever come first. "for this came i into the world," (st john xviii. ), and i _must_ be about it, even if by so doing i give pain to those dearest to me. they were her son's first recorded words, and mary "understood" them not; they were words full of mystery and full of meaning; her mingled feelings of pain and relief, of sorrow and joy, would prevent her from seeing the gist of their meaning at once; but as time went on, and her spiritual horizon increased, she would understand more and more what his "father's business" was, though perhaps not till she stood at the foot of the cross did she understand the words in all their fulness. "_why hast thou done so?_" it is a question mary often puts to her other children--sometimes in surprise and amazement, sometimes in anxiety and sorrow, sometimes in love and tenderness. well for us if we can always answer, like our elder brother: the "father's business." this is an answer which will always satisfy the flame of love within her which prompts the question. _colloquy_ with mary, asking for grace that i may be so taken up with my "father's business" that i cause her no anxiety. _resolution._ to put my "father's business" first, to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "why hast thou done so to us?" nazareth "_and he went down with them, and came to nazareth, and was subject to them. and his mother kept all these words in her heart. and jesus advanced in wisdom and age, and grace with god and men._" (st luke ii. .) _ st prelude._ jesus, mary, and joseph going back to nazareth. _ nd prelude._ grace to go there too, and to study its lessons. _point i._--mary with jesus and joseph the lesson has been given now; jesus has shown his parents that he is the son of god before he is the son of mary; that god's will, and god's business, and god's work, are the reasons for his being on earth. now, because he is perfect man, he will live for eighteen years in subjection to his parents, to show us that subjection is one of god's laws; that the father's business can only be done by a perfect submission to his will and to his orders, expressed and given by those under whom his providence places us. all the direction needed for the spiritual life is contained in these two sentences: "_i must be about my father's business_," and "_he was subject to them_." the father's business is to be done in his way--not in mine; it will only be done by a perfect submission of my will to his, by subjection all along the line, by the crushing of self. his mother kept all these words in her heart. as she went home she was pondering and meditating again. she had no need to make a "_composition of place_," as she had to do a few hours ago, for her boy was at her side once again; it was upon his words that she was meditating. they had made her realise that he was a man now, that he would have "business" to do that she must no longer expect wholly to understand. no doubt she prepared herself in her meditation to be ready from henceforth to find that his sweet, childish, obedience was over. just as we, in our meditations, make the sacrifice beforehand about something that we dread, and then when we come up to it during the day, it is not there! but god is pleased, nevertheless, that we made our sacrifice. one of the many uses of meditation is that we may be fore-armed for the day's battles. so it was with mary. when she got back to nazareth, it is true that there was a change; it is true that the boyhood of her son was fast passing into manhood; but his subjection was the same--only it was far more touching to his mother's heart just because he was no longer a child. and what was mary's part? if jesus was "subject," mary had to command; if jesus obeyed, it was because mary gave her orders--and this till he was thirty years old! what an absolute repression of self and of her own ideas there must have been in mary before she could bring herself to give an order to him whom she was worshipping as her god! with what reverence, and honour, and humility, and searchings of heart, and preparation, and care she would give her orders! only the knowledge that it was his wish that she should stand in god's place to him, could have given her courage. her authority over him was god's authority, and it was only by constantly referring it to god that she dared to maintain it. what a lesson mary gives here to parents and superiors and to all whose duty it is to command others! whether they have to command the unruly and the unsubmissive, or those whom they know to be in every way superior to themselves, a few thoughts suggested by the contemplation of mary commanding her son at nazareth may help to make easier a position which must often be irksome and difficult:-- . god has put me into this position because he intends me to be his delegate. . my orders are all given in his name, and all my authority refers back to him. . my only sure weapons are--_humility_, that is, a real belief in my own weakness; and _self-effacement_, to the extent of letting those who are under me see, not me, but god, in my orders. . i must see jesus in all whom i command. if they are thankless and unruly, they are nevertheless amongst his "least brethren," and he wants them trained to live with their elder brother in his father's house. if they are already so like him in their docility and humility that the very sight of them makes me adore god in them, i will remember that mary gave her orders to jesus because god wished it; and that thought will give me courage to be his faithful representative and to give those under my care every possible opportunity of advancing in wisdom and grace by the submission of their will. . i must be firmly persuaded that god never puts anyone into a position without giving the grace to fill it. mary needed far more grace to command jesus than ever i shall need! _point ii._--mary a widow neither sacred nor profane history gives the exact date of that sad day in mary's life when death deprived her of her beloved spouse. joseph had shared all mary's sacred joys and sorrows from her school-days. he it was who had trained her son in his work as a carpenter; and to him alone could she speak freely of him. what a wonderfully happy and blessed death must have been st joseph's--the last people he saw, jesus and mary; his last messages given to jesus and mary; all he had to leave, left to jesus and mary; the last words he heard, those of jesus and mary! he is the _patron of a good death_: that is, he will help those who invoke him, to die with jesus and mary. and now from henceforth mary will have no one to talk to about her son, no one to share her joy in all these new lessons which she is ever learning from him. but, on the other hand, from henceforth her son will be her _all_. he, who later raised the dead man because "he was the only son of his mother and she was a widow," knew how to wipe away the tears from his mother's eyes. he knew how to be to her more than a husband. from henceforth the son and the mother were all in all to each other--he her sole support, and she keeping the little home for him alone. they were alone for their meals, and alone in the evenings when the day's work was done. it may have been during those blessed evenings that jesus explained to mary what his "father's business" was, so that she might understand all about it; that he unfolded to her the wonderful plan of redemption; that he told her about his public life, about the church that he was going to found, and which she was to nurse during its infancy. perhaps he told her, too, of the extension of the incarnation--his great secret, the blessed sacrament. who had a greater right to know it than mary, through whose means the incarnation took place? and as the time of the hidden life drew to a close, he would explain to her that his "father's business" was calling him away from nazareth, that he would have to give up his home and his life with her, but that they would still work together for the redemption of the world, their interests would still be one. oh, blessed converse! the secrets of jesus and mary! more than ever was her heart being enlarged; more than ever would she have need to ponder these things in her heart. with the undivided attention of such a master, what progress she must have made in virtue and in grace! _point iii._--mary alone but the day came at last when her son was to leave their little home. mary knew that it would come; again she had made her sacrifice beforehand, and she was ready. she was saying her _fiat_ while simeon's ever-active sword was piercing her heart. there was the last meal, the last kiss, the last blessing--and he was gone. she watched him till he was out of sight and then turned to her empty house. it would never be the same again. never again would she have him all to herself. but mary was a "valiant woman," and no grief of hers would spoil her son's work. three thoughts supported her in her trial; and the same three will support us in our trials too. . this separation was god's will--and that was always dearer to mary than _anything_ else. . the very sacrifice of her son that she was called upon to make, was a proof of her union with him and with his interests. . the knowledge that the separation was no real separation. it is true that never again will he come in from his work and share the simple meal with her; true that there will be no more talking over their plans together; but such a perfect union as theirs cannot be broken by separation. does not everything in the house speak of him? mary has had her time of _consolation_; now she is to have her time of _desolation_. let me learn from her how to act under these changed conditions, which are sure to be mine at some time or other in my life. how does mary act? does she sit still and mourn over the days that are gone? not at all. she acts as though they were _not_ gone; as though there were no difference between consolation and desolation; there _is_ no difference really, but faith and love must be very strong before this fact can be grasped. mary does her work as usual with her son and for her son. her heart is with him all the time; everything reminds her of him, and she is thinking of him, talking to him, telling him everything just as she did before. how far am i like her? "sedes sapientiæ, ora pro nobis." _colloquy_ with mary, asking her to get me grace to ponder over these wonderful mysteries. _resolution._ never to allow myself to make any change in my spiritual life during a time of desolation. _spiritual bouquet._ "he was subject to them." mary's sixth word "_the mother of jesus saith to him: they have no wine._" (st john ii. .) _ st prelude._ the marriage feast. _ nd prelude._ grace to remember the interest that mary takes in her children. _point i._--"they have no wine" it looks, from the context, as though our blessed lady were staying in the house at cana where the wedding feast took place, for while st john tells us that jesus and his disciples were _invited_, he says that "the mother of jesus was _there_." we need not suppose that she remained long at nazareth after her son began his public ministry--it is more probable that she stayed with friends in the neighbourhood of his work. after this first miracle of her son's, she went with him and his disciples to capharnaum, but "remained there not many days," st john tells us. (chap. ii. .) at all events, she was at cana at the time of the marriage feast, and it may be that it was in st john's house that she was staying; for there is a very old tradition which tells that the bridegroom was none other than john himself. if the tradition be true, it lends an additional significance to this sixth word of our lady; for, as st bernardine suggests, it would probably be the miracle produced by this word which made him decide to give up the wedded state, even before he had entered upon it, for one of perpetual virginity--a decision which endeared him to the hearts of our lord and his blessed mother. eighteen years had passed since mary's last recorded word. it was spoken to our lord himself, as also was this one. st bernardine calls the sixth word "a word of compassionating love" (_flamma amoris compatientis_). we shall see why as we continue our meditation. it is not difficult to picture that little family feast in which jesus and mary took part. their presence produced, as it ever must, joy, peace, and harmony. but now, apparently, there was going to be a hitch in the proceedings; mary's watchful eyes noticed that the wine was running short; she wanted to save the newly married pair from any confusion and humiliation that would spoil their mirth on this glad day, and she showed her _compassionating_ love by anticipating their need. mary is the same now; she is full of compassionating love, pity, and thought for her children; she anticipates their needs and will save them, if possible, from the dangers which threaten them, by telling jesus. what a comfort it should be to me to remember that i have a mother in heaven who is looking out for the difficulties and dangers which threaten me, and doing her best to avert them! how far am i like my mother in this? do i, by my tact and forethought and observation, try to smooth away difficulties and avert little unpleasantnesses that i see lying in the path of another? to what extent is this _flamma amoris compatientis_ burning in me? do others feel that if i am there, not only will there be more joy and mirth, but also more harmony and good feeling--in short, that things are sure to run smoothly, because one of mary's children--"a child of mary"--is there. the mother of jesus was there. _point ii._--the answer of jesus jesus, too, had noticed that the wine was running short, and he knew that he was going to work a wonderful miracle of transubstantiation, foreshadowing the miracle worked at every mass. he knew also that he would not work the miracle till his mother had intervened. at nazareth he made her a participator in all his work. though separated from him, she was still to have her share; and her share was _prayer_--the great work of intercession. by this means, doubtless, she had had her share in her son's baptism, in the fasting and temptation in the wilderness, in the calling of the first six apostles. now, in this first miracle, he will give a lesson to these apostles and show them the position his mother is to occupy in his church. she understands that he addresses her as "woman" rather than as mother, to show them that he, and they too, must be detached from all natural affections and ties. he has his father's business to do, and they have been chosen to help him in it, and she is acting in her _official_ position as intercessor. my hour for working this miracle is not yet come, but now that you have spoken it soon will come, seems to be the meaning of his answer. it was by this miracle that jesus manifested forth his glory, "so that his disciples believed on him." and one of mary's reasons for saying: "they have no wine," and thus asking for the miracle, may have been that she knew it would confirm the faith of the new apostles in her son. what a loving, compassionating mother she already is! how her heart is enlarging to take in all that concerns her son--his work, his interests, his miracles, his apostles! she notices the needs, and just hints them to jesus; there is no need to explain and go into details; they understand each other--it is heart-to-heart work. if the flame of compassionating love is burning in her heart, it is because it has been lighted at the fire of the sacred heart. in after years, especially during the passion and after the ascension, when the apostles must so often have turned to our lady for consolation, help, and direction, how they would look back to the time of the feast in cana of galilee, when they heard her say her first _official_ word: "they have no wine"! and how the remembrance of it would strengthen their faith, not only in him, in whom from that moment they "believed," but also in her whom he had then so clearly pointed out as his co-worker, and as the one from whom they might expect help in their needs. if mary did so much for her children when she was on earth, without even being asked; and if she supplied needs, of which they were scarcely conscious, what will she not do now, when, as the great intercessor at her son's right hand in heaven, she hears the entreaties of her children on earth? she still co-operates with jesus; her work is still to find out the needs of her children and to tell him of them. when i am in need, perplexity, or trouble, what a consolation and strength it would be to remember that this very need of mine is a subject of conversation between jesus and mary; and that, when his hour is come, her pleadings for me will be heard, and the need will be supplied! _colloquy_ with the mother of compassion. "mater misericordiæ, ora pro nobis." _resolution._ to try to-day to prevent little unpleasantnesses happening to others. _spiritual bouquet._ "the mother of jesus was there." her seventh word _his mother saith to the waiters: "whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye."_ (st john ii. .) _ st prelude._ the marriage feast. mary speaking to the waiters. _ nd prelude._ grace to obey. _point i._--love's consummation--obedience the perfect understanding that existed between mary and her son made her quite sure from his answer that all would be well, that a miracle would be worked, and the need supplied; and so she prepared the way for it by speaking her seventh recorded word. it is to the waiters that she speaks--to those whose work it is to minister to the needs of jesus and his brethren. "whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." st bernardine calls this word "a flame of consummating love," (_flamma amoris consummantis_), because mary shows by it that her love for her son and for all her other children is so great, that she desires that all should obey him, and accomplish his commandments perfectly. she is not content with loving and serving him herself, the flame of love that makes her own obedience so perfect, burns that others too may consummate their love by their obedience: "whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." if you want my son to show you some special favour, be very careful about your obedience. mary's word is for _all_ her children, but it is intended principally for the waiters, to whom it was primarily addressed. it is those who have, in any way, to minister to jesus under the guise of his "least brethren," who have to remember so specially that they are to do only what _he_ says--that they are only his agents waiting for his orders. how much better his servants would do their work if they carried out his mother's direction, and did all that he says and only what he says! his "least brethren," who are sick, would never feel neglected, would never hear that impatient word which makes them long to get up, and wait on themselves, instead of being left to the tender mercies of the servants of jesus and mary! his "least brethren" who are tiresome and difficult to get on with--perhaps only because they are lonely and in need of sympathy--would be quite sure of never getting an unkind, cutting, or thoughtless word from those who are waiting on jesus and mary; it is what _he_ saith that they will say and do--nothing else. and amongst the waiters themselves there would be no jealousies, and heart-burnings, and envyings, and criticisms; no thinking that others are preferred to them, that they are left out and taken no notice of, that their services are not wanted. the waiters would remember that they are waiting upon _his_ brethren, and that they have no right to do or say or plan anything that he does not tell them; and if he tells them nothing for the moment, and they have to stand by, and see others do his work, they are nevertheless his servants, waiting for his next orders. "whatsoever he shall say, do." obedience, then, is love's consummation. mary's love--strong flame though it is--cannot get beyond obedience; there is nothing higher; it is the proof, the crown, the consummation of love. when, for the moment, her request seems unheeded--even rejected--her consolation is: "whatsoever he shall say" will be right; whatever it is, it will be the answer for me. "_ecce ancilla domini._" behold the servant waiting. _point ii._--result--water changed to wine the waiters have not long to wait for their orders. when his mother has prepared us and we are standing waiting ready to do "whatsoever" he shall say, the order is quite clear. we know exactly what he means, and what it is that he wants done; and though the order may seem unreasonable, and we run the risk of humiliating ourselves before others, yet we shall do it, for his mother said: "whatsoever." and by doing it we shall prove that our love, like hers, is a consummating love--a love that finds its consummation in obedience. this kind of love is like a fairy's wand; it changes all that it touches, water is wine everywhere--that is, we get the best out of everything; not perhaps immediately, or at any rate we are not so quick to _detect_ the "good wine" as the steward of the feast was; the path of obedience is often, as it was for mary, a path beset with difficulty and sorrow; but love has touched it, the result is the same, the water _is_ changed, and changed into "_good_ wine." it would not be good for us to drink of it to the full now. god reserves the good wine till the end, and when we have well drunk of the cup of suffering and sorrow here, he will hand us the cup of joy that inebriates. here we may only "_taste_ and see that the lord is sweet"; (ps. xxxiii. ); but one day, when the _flamma amoris consummantis_ is perfected in us, when we have done all that he saith to us, and paid our debts even to "the last farthing," (st matt. v. ), then we shall drink to the full of the joy of his countenance, (ps. xv. ), and he will say: "i have inebriated the weary soul, and i have _filled_ every hungry soul." (jer. xxxi. .) _colloquy_ with our lady, asking that i may always hear her voice telling me to obey her son. _resolution._ to remember that obedience turns water into wine. _spiritual bouquet._ "whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." who is my mother? "_my mother and my brethren are they who hear the word of god and do it._" (st luke viii. .) _ st prelude._ our lady standing waiting on the outskirts of the crowd. _ nd prelude._ grace to "hear the word of god and do it." _point i._--his mother standing without this one incident in which mary is mentioned between the time of the marriage at cana and holy week, happened during the second year of her son's ministry. we do not know whether or not she had been near him during this time. according to the opinion of some, she was one of the little band of women who followed him about, to minister to his needs and those of his apostles. but whether she followed him actually or not, we know that her spirit was ever with him, and that she followed him with her prayers, and interest, and sympathy, _knowing_ him more as he manifested himself more by his healing and miracles, and therefore _loving_ him and _imitating_ him more, and _therefore_, growing in grace, of which she was ever full. such, we are quite sure, is a true picture of mary, though this one instance at capharnaum is the only occasion on which we are able to make an actual picture of her. her son had probably come to capharnaum for a rest after one of his missionary rounds; it may be that he had come to have a little time of refreshment with her. and she and his brethren--his relatives--went to meet him, desiring to speak to him. we are not told what it was that they were so anxious to tell him. when they arrived he was already addressing a crowd which was _sitting_ about him, and which was so great that his mother and his brethren could not get near him; and so "they _stood_ without"--on the outskirts--and thus attracted the notice of someone who attracted _his_ notice; someone, in fact, who interrupted him in the middle of his discourse, by telling him that his mother and his brethren wanted him. such is the simple incident, and by it mary affords her son the opportunity of giving two most important lessons to his apostles, and also to those who would, during all time, have any kind of apostolic work to do. _point ii._--a lesson on interruptions he is preaching, and he is interrupted. what does he do? shows, as he had shown so clearly before, when he was only twelve years old, that his "father's business" must come first--that he is perfectly indifferent to all natural ties when that is concerned, and that his followers have got to be the same. he is preaching to the people--that is his work, and not even for a desire of his mother will he interrupt it. he preaches by example what he had already preached by word: "he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that taketh not up his cross and followeth me is not worthy of me." (st matt. x. .) incidentally, he shows us what we may do with our interruptions. we are so prone to let them worry us, to think that they spoil our work, to say: but for these endless interruptions, i could do so much more! what did our lord do with his interruption, which was a very real one, and far more disturbing than are many of ours of which we complain so readily? he turned it into good use, so that his work was the gainer by it and not the loser. if we cannot always follow his example literally by making the interruption a _direct_ help to our work, we can always make it help _indirectly_ by taking it as a message from god, who would give his apostle an opportunity of practising patience, self-control, and self-repression. our work will gain more by these divinely planned interruptions than by the smooth, easy, methods which we had planned for ourselves. _point iii._--a lesson on relationships to the interrupter he said: "who is my mother? and who are my brethren?" and, looking round on them who sat about him, he saith: "behold my mother and my brethren! for my mother and my brethren are they who hear the word of god and do it." it is the same lesson that he gave to the woman, who probably was one of the very crowd he was now addressing, and who could not refrain from proclaiming before everyone the _blessedness_ of his mother. to her he said: "yea, rather, blessed are they who hear the word of god and keep it." (st luke xi. , .) the lesson, then, is that he holds as his nearest and dearest those who do his father's will. his mother was, it is true, dearer to him than all besides, was, it is true, blessed above all women; but only because she did his father's will more perfectly than any other. who is my mother? any of these in the crowd have as much right to me as she has, if they do my father's will as she does it. this is the lesson that mary is giving him the opportunity of teaching. would i be dear to him as his mother was; would i have that close union of heart; would i see things from his point of view; would i be willing to be put in the background and kept standing there if it furthers the "father's business"; would i be ready to suffer anything for the spread of his kingdom? there is only one way--do as she did. "whosoever shall do the will of my father that is in heaven, the same is my mother." _colloquy_ with mary standing in the background. thou whose unique privilege it is to be the mother of god, teach me to do his will in such a way that i may share in some degree thy _spiritual_ maternity. this was thine by _detachment_--even from the visible presence of jesus, by a perfect _performance of the will of god_, and by _suffering_. by thy ceaseless intercession help me to struggle ceaselessly till i know something of these three things. _resolution._ to prove my close relationship with jesus and mary to-day by the way i do god's will. _spiritual bouquet._ "his mother stood without." the fourth and fifth dolours "_and thy own soul a sword shall pierce._" (st luke ii. .) _ st prelude._ ( ) mary meeting jesus with his cross. ( ) mary witnessing the crucifixion of her son. _ nd prelude._ grace to understand what a precious gift suffering is. _point i._--mary's suffering mary, with the knowledge which she had all her life of her son's passion, must have known when the hour was approaching. she had noticed the ever-increasing envy and hatred of the chief priests. she knew of the various attempts on his life, and of the organised plot to kill him. and when the passion itself began, we may be quite sure that, even if she were not actually a witness of some of the scenes, the apostles kept her informed of what was going on. she would hear of the agony in the garden, of judas' betrayal, of the desertion of the apostles; then of the trials, of the scourging and crowning with thorns, of pilate's vain attempts to save him; _she_ knew that they would be vain. and when at length the death sentence was passed, she set out with the other ministering women to be as near to him as she could while he carried his cross to calvary. _once_, at any rate, on the way of the cross they caught sight of each other, and had that unspeakable consolation which no one could give to jesus but mary, and no one to mary but jesus. but though it was a consolation, it was also an anguish so great, that this meeting of jesus with his blessed mother is counted as one of the seven swords that pierced her heart. it is the _fourth dolour_. then, on calvary's hill, she must have heard, even if she did not see, the nails being driven in; and heard, too, something that gave her strength and courage at that terrible moment--her son speaking to his father, the crowning point of whose "business" he had now reached: "father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." who can measure what the pain of this _fifth dolour_ was to mary! what was it that gave her an almost superhuman courage? the firm belief that everything she saw and heard was god's will; and such was the intensity with which she had said her _fiat_, that his will was nearer to her even than her own sufferings. in proportion as this is the case with us shall we get the good that god intends out of suffering, and join, as mary did, our prayers with those of jesus by asking god's forgiveness for all who cause us suffering. _point ii._--mary's sacrifice then, as soon as the darkness permitted her to draw near without observation, she allowed john to take her to the foot of the cross, and there took up her stand. her sacrifice was very near to its completion now. this is what she meant when she said her _fiat_ to the angel gabriel thirty-three years ago. this is what she meant when she presented him to the lord when he was forty days old. the three days' loss, and the separation when he left his home at nazareth, had been a foreshadowing of this. now the consummation of her sacrifice had arrived: "and there stood by the cross of jesus his mother"! she had never flinched, had never looked back. it had been _fiat_ all along the line. she was a "valiant woman" to the end, bravely doing her part, and offering her son to god. this was mary's sacrifice--but what is her part in the sacrifice that her son is offering to his father for the world's redemption? just this, that she provided the victim. she did not withhold her son--her only son. (gen. xxii. .) jesus on calvary offered himself to the father; and mary assisted--not only by the perfect union of her will and intention with his, but _actually_, by providing him with the body which he was offering to his father. her position was that of the deacon at high mass. his part is not the offering of the sacrifice--the priest alone can do that--but he provides the priest with the bread and wine which he is going to use for the sacrifice, and without which there could be no sacrifice. "a _body_ hast thou prepared me"; and that body came from mary--it was with blood drawn from her veins that he redeemed the world. but the sacrificial act was his, and his alone: "i have trodden the wine-press alone." (isaias lxiii. .) _point iii._--mary's legacy as she stood there taking her part, how her heart was enlarging! he was dying for the whole world--for the whole human race, past, present, and future--and she was his mother; she was standing by and assisting; all his interests were hers. she had seen the conversions worked by him on the way of the cross; she had seen the change in the dying thief; now jesus addressed himself to her, and by his third word from the cross made her the second eve, the mother of all living--of all for whom he was dying. "woman, behold thy son!" again he used the official title--_woman_; he was not treating her now as _his_ mother, but rather as the mother of all. behold thy son; take john for thy son, and with him take the whole human race. he counted on her power of suffering, and it was through that suffering that she became the universal mother. he knew how the sword would stab when she heard that she was to take john in his place, but he knew also that the wound made by that sword-thrust would enlarge her heart to take in her new family. he was dying, and his legacy to his mother was the whole human race. the idea was not a new one to her, for he had been gradually training her up to it, as we have seen, ever since the incarnation. he added another word to make all sure. he spoke now to john as the representative of the human race: "behold thy mother!" the immediate meaning of his words john very well understood--that he was to cherish, support, and take care of her; be a son to her now that her own son was being taken from her. but he had an intention in that word for each one of us. to each and all he said: "_behold thy mother!_" and from that moment all who will, have the right to take her to their own. to what extent have i taken this word seriously? have i really believed that jesus had me in his mind as well as st john when he said: "behold thy mother!" that it was of me that he thought and to me that he spoke? have i felt the responsibility as well as the honour of being a child of mary, and that it is my bounden duty to love and cherish her, to support and take care of her--that is, to stand up for her and shield her from those who _will_ not behold her as their mother? o my mother, i want more than ever to take thee to _my own_, as thy first adopted son did. come home with me, live side by side with me, talk to me of jesus, and thus help to pass the time when you see me getting weary; help me to imitate him as thou didst, and to share his work by my prayer and sacrifice as thou didst. and then, mother, thou wilt always be there to show me what sacrifice really means--how it enters into all the little details of everyday life--to show me what having my will united to thy son's means. thou wilt be there to put a restraining hand upon me and make me live as a child of mary should; thou, to whom jesus was subject, wilt teach me what real submission means. yes, i am decided that to-day it shall be recorded of me in heaven: "from that hour that disciple took her to his own." _colloquy_ with mary. _resolution._ to take mary as the special gift of jesus to me. _spiritual bouquet._ "there stood by the cross of jesus his mother." the sixth and seventh dolours "_and joseph, buying fine linen and taking him down, wrapped him in the fine linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewed out of a rock._" (st mark xv. .) _ st prelude._ a picture of the thirteenth station. _ nd prelude._ grace to be unselfish in my grief. _point i._--mater dolorosa as mary stands at her post, praying for her new family for whom her son is dying, and uniting herself more closely than ever with his intentions, the sword never ceases to pierce afresh her wounded heart. she has to listen to the cry: "i thirst!" from the parched lips and throat of him from whom she had never heard a complaint; and she has to appear to be deaf to his needs. again she hears a cry, more full of agony even than the last: "my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me!" and she who once lost her son for three days (the _third dolour_) can understand in some small degree the anguish of that cry. then after his next words: "all is consummated," she hears him commend his soul to his father, and she watches him die. she is alone! and not only is she alone, but she has a sense of responsibility. just as on the occasion of a death among us, the one next has to rise to the responsibility and act _at once_, so it was with mary. she was the one _next_. she knew that it was to her that the apostles and all his friends would turn to know what to do--what he would like done. he who had died on the cross "was indeed the son of god," and she was his mother; she, if anyone did, must know all about him. so, although all is over, there is no time for mary to relax and give way to her grief. there is work to be done--work that he has left her. "it is finished" for him, but she is only just beginning her work as mother of the church. and so she still stands at the foot of the cross, reverently worshipping the dead body to which the divinity is still united. her meditation was suddenly interrupted--"one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side"; and again simeon's prophecy was fulfilled: "thine own soul a sword shall pierce." soon followed what is called her _sixth dolour_--the taking down of her son from the cross. he was in the hands of friends now, and all was done with the greatest reverence and loving tenderness. but nothing could stay the sword from piercing mary's heart when she received into her hands the blood-stained crown of thorns and the rough nails. nothing could stay it when she had her jesus once more in her arms, and was able to see for herself the cruel wounds as she washed them and bound them up. then when the precious body had been wrapped in the winding sheet, she accompanied the little cortège which carried it to the tomb. and when, after a few minutes' adoration, she beckoned them all away, and the great stone was rolled to its place, the sword pierced her heart again--it was the _seventh dolour_--the burial of jesus. she allowed john to escort her past the three crosses, along the way which he had trodden, back to the cenacle. "that disciple took her to his own." the next time we make the way of the cross, let us make it with mary as john did. she will explain to us better than anyone else can, the meaning of each "station." mary has left him now, but she is with him still in spirit and in heart--hence her strength. what a lesson she gives us on how to act in times of bereavement! we are never to lose sight of the fact that this particular kind of suffering is intended for our sanctification. this will prevent us from allowing it to make us morbid, selfish, gloomy, inconsiderate, ungrateful, acting as though _our_ suffering were greater than that of everybody else, being exacting and fastidious about things that remind us of our lost one--even of having the name mentioned in our presence! what about our sacrifice? are not all such things as these a part of it? we have no business to add to the trials of others by our tyrannical selfishness. sorrow ought to brace the soul up to greater heights of sanctity; if it depresses it to a lower level of spirituality, there is something very wrong with us. we are not copying mary, neither are we uniting our sufferings to those of jesus--the only way of making them meritorious. let us see to it that our grief is a source of joy and blessing to everyone else in the house. this means self put on one side; it means a smiling face, a bright, cheery, voice in spite of a breaking heart. it means a great sympathy with the grief of others--and it _often_ means that we shall get the credit of not really caring, of not having much depth of affection, not much heart! but this again is part of the sacrifice which we gladly offer if only it may aid suffering in doing its blessed work. there were those, no doubt, who were ready enough to say that mary's calm courage was unnatural. but _we_ know that it was supernatural: let us try to copy her in it. _point ii._--mater misericordiÆ what must have been the grief of the apostles--their friend, teacher, and lord dead, their hopes all dashed, and their consciences ill at ease as they thought of their base desertion of him in his hour of need! they were scattered everyone to his own, but probably one by one they found their way back to the cenacle. it was the last house where they had been all together with him, and it seemed natural to go there again--and besides, his mother was there. she was next to him, and therefore more to them than anyone else could be. _she_ had been faithful to the end. she could tell them more about him than anyone else could. her very voice and manner reminded them of him. somehow, they felt that she would look at things from his point of view, and that if _she_ forgave them for the wrong they had done to her son, _he_ would. then they would learn from john what jesus had said about her with his dying lips--that they might now regard her in very deed as their mother; that she was now in fact the mother of the church which he had founded; and that they could turn to her in their times of perplexity and difficulty. "behold thy mother"--the mother of good counsel and the mother of mercy! was it not just what they wanted? how well he knew! how thoughtful it was of him to leave us mary! and so we may think of mary on holy saturday rallying her new family round her, loving them for her son's sake, making excuses for their weaknesses, as a mother ever does, and putting fresh heart and courage into them. and then we may think of her stealing away to ponder--to make the first meditation on the passion, presenting willingly her heart to the sword once more, that her compassion might fit her for her position as mother of mercy. _colloquy_ with mary, who says to me: for you, too, my child, "i am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits. he that hearkeneth unto me shall not be confounded; and they that work by me shall not sin." (ecclus. xxiv. - .) _resolution._ to take my troubles and difficulties to mary to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "mater dolorosa, mater misericordiæ, ora pro nobis." the first glorious mystery "_he shall reign for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end._" (st luke i. , .) _ st prelude._ a picture or statue of our lady. _ nd prelude._ grace to learn from mary how to rejoice. _point i._--mary's easter day "of his kingdom there shall be no end." it was to mary that these words were said, before her son was born; and she believed them. she knew, therefore, that he would rise again; she knew that all was not finished when she left the precious body in joseph's new tomb. in all probability, too, jesus had told her, as he told the apostles, that he would rise again on the third day. and while they "believed not nor understood," _she_ did both. but this supernatural gift of faith, which she exercised to the full, had not the power to prevent the sword from piercing on good friday and holy saturday. she felt the full weight of all her sorrow, but she sorrowed, as all christian mourners should do, "not without hope." what must her expectation have been as she knelt on that holy saturday night counting the minutes till the day dawned! she knew that he would rise again--but would she see him? would he come to her? he had kept her so much in the background during his ministry, perhaps he will do so still, and it will be to those who need him most that he will come. no, sweet mother, the meek and lowly of heart ever attract him; it is to the heart which _desires_ him most that he will come. a pure, disinterested desire to have jesus ever proves to him an invincible attraction. no one on earth desired to see jesus as mary did, and it was to her, as the traditions of the holy fathers testify, that he came first--as soon as the easter day dawned and "death could no longer be holden of him." the evangelists are silent about this appearance of jesus to his blessed mother, for the very good reason that she told them nothing about it. there was no need to do so, as, for example, there was to tell various little details about his birth, because god wished us to know them. at this meeting of the son and the mother even angels would fear to intrude; and we ordinary mortals simply should not understand what took place, even were it narrated to us. all those to whom he appeared would take it for granted that his mother had seen him--why write down a thing that everybody knew? "according to thy faith be it unto thee." mary was the _only_ one who had faith enough to believe that her son would rise again, and it was only natural that she should be the first to see him. she was the one who had entered most deeply into his sorrows, and she would be the one to whom he would first communicate the easter joy. let us now think a little about mary's joy. _point ii._--mary's joy and its causes what joy it must have been to mary to see that precious body which he had taken from her, which she had nurtured and tended and loved, which she had seen so recently covered with scars and gaping wounds! what joy it must have been to her to see it in all the beauty of its resurrection--to see it glorified! her joy was so intense that the saints tell us it was only by a miracle that her body could master her soul and keep it still a prisoner. and then the consolation of knowing that never again would he suffer--the joy of seeing the five wounds and knowing that he would keep them always, as precious memorials of his death and of his victory over death, of his undying love for his church, and of his right to give it all that it should ever claim, because with those wounds he had more than paid for all that it would ever need. mary entered into all these truths as no one else could, and therefore her easter joy was greater than that of anybody else. her joy was greater, too, because her _love_ was greater. her love for jesus was wholly unselfish, and so was her joy; it was wholly on account of the joy of her son. she forgot her own joy for the moment; she forgot the long exile that lay before her; she forgot everything but his joy. her _suffering_ also was indirectly another cause of her joy. our capacity for joy is in proportion to our capacity for suffering. we have seen something of what mary's capacity for suffering was, and so we can understand in some small measure how full was her cup of joy. mary had other joys too, which were incidental to the joy of seeing her son risen and glorified. she saw the saints who rose with him, for he would be sure to present them to his mother. some would need no introduction--her dear spouse st joseph, her parents st joachim and st anne. yes, mary's joys more than made up for her sorrows. one day, if we try to receive our cup of sorrow as mary did, that is, take it _for_ jesus and _with_ jesus, we too shall receive the cup of joy, and we shall be able to say with st paul as we put the two side by side: "the sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory." (rom. viii. .) teach me, o holy mother of god, something of this real joy--the joy that is arrived at through faith, through suffering, through a perfect union of heart with the sacred heart of jesus, and through conformity to god's will; the joy of the risen life--the new life that rises out of the death to self. _colloquy._ the _regina coeli_:-- "queen of heaven, rejoice,--alleluia for he whom thou wast made worthy to bear--alleluia hath risen as he said--alleluia. pray for us to god--alleluia." (_anthem from easter to trinity._) _resolution._ to say my _fiat_ bravely with mary, as the surest way of sharing her joy. _spiritual bouquet._ "causa nostræ lætitiæ, ora pro nobis." the second and third glorious mysteries "_all these were persevering with one mind in prayer, with the women, and mary the mother of jesus, and with his brethren._" (acts i. .) _ st prelude._ ( ) a picture of the ascension--our lady kissing the footprints. ( ) a picture of the descent of the holy ghost--a tongue of fire resting on the head of our lady, who is seated in the midst of the apostles. _ nd prelude._ grace to enter into the dispositions of mary. _point i._--mary on ascension day many, no doubt, were the visits that jesus paid to his blessed mother during the forty days that his glorified body still lingered in this world of ours, as though he were loath to leave it. he was bracing her up for the time of exile that lay before her, filling her with stores of consolation upon which she would be able to draw in her times of desolation. she probably knew that the fortieth day was the last, and that, when he led his little flock out "as far as bethania," it was his last walk with them. she knew of the "mountain appointed" where he wished all his brethren to assemble--"more than five hundred at once." ( cor. xv. .) she heard his last words, heard him charge his _witnesses_: "going, therefore, teach (_make disciples of_) all nations: and behold i am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world." (st matt. xxviii. , .) she was not to be a witness--though she was ever the silent witness of his humanity--but it was only fitting that she should hear all the orders that were given to her children. she heard of the promise of the father, and that they were to stay in the city till it was fulfilled. she saw him lift up his hands in blessing--the last blessing; she watched with the rest his glorified body raised up from their midst--watched till "a cloud received him out of their sight," then she knelt in humble acquiescence to god's will and kissed the ground where he had just stood--the favoured bit of earth which was the last to be touched by his blessed feet. when she looked up, it was to see two angels asking the astonished disciples why they were gazing into heaven, and telling them that the same jesus who was taken up from them into heaven would so come again as they had seen him go. it was not to _her_ that the angels were speaking--_she_ was not gazing up. she _knew_ the lesson that the others were being taught, knew that her son was already in heaven, sitting at the right hand of god. (st mark xvi. .) when the apostles realised sufficiently what had happened, they, "adoring, went back to jerusalem with joy," (st luke xxiv. ), and mary led them to the cenacle to "wait for the promise of the father," as her son had bidden them. thus she taught them the lesson she would teach all her children--that the only thing to do in times of desolation and sorrow is to follow closely the commands of jesus: "whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye." it is no use to stand gazing after what has gone; this is no time for regrets; he gave a clear command: "go to jerusalem and wait." we shall always find that there is no balm for sorrow like fidelity to duty. it costs something; human nature longs to stay and hug its sorrow; but it is far wiser to turn away from the loved spot and go bravely hand in hand with the mother of sorrows to do the next thing to which duty--that is the voice of jesus--calls us. _point ii._--mary on the day of pentecost nine days they spent with mary the mother of jesus, persevering with one mind in prayer, (acts i. ), and going constantly to the temple to praise and bless god. (st luke xxiv. .) it was a novena of prayer and thanksgiving. it was mary's first official act as mother of the church. she kept the little flock together, kept them close to her son by obedience to his last command, by intercession for the great gift that he had promised to send them, and by thanksgiving for all that he had been to them and done for them. it was the first retreat, and they made it with mary, the mother of god. what must mary's prayers have been during those nine days! she was now more united than ever to her son; her eye of faith saw him at the right hand of god in heaven; she saw eye to eye with him; she knew all his interests and intentions; she had still a mother's right to command him; she knew that nothing in their relationship was changed, and that he would not refuse her behests in heaven any more than he had done on earth. and so, as her eyes swept the wide horizon which was now hers, the mother of the church made a novena for pentecost, praying with all her knowledge and all her power, for the holy ghost to come down upon her children--to come and fill that church of which she was the mother, that church which her son had founded, for which he had given his life. these first retreatants had no books. they needed none--their lives were so closely bound up with the life of jesus; the holy spirit prayed within them; and mary was ever with them directing, and setting them an example. in proportion as these things are true of us are we independent of _exterior_ help in our prayers. and the more we are able to dispense with exterior help, the more interior and real will be our prayers. then "when the days were accomplished"--when the novena was over--the holy ghost came down as jesus had promised that he should--came down as a tongue of fire upon each one: a proof that he had entered into each one of those expectant, faithful souls, filling each according to his capacity, and giving each the power needful to carry on the work that was appointed for him to do. what, then, must have been the measure with which mary was "filled with the holy ghost," for what was the apostles' work compared with hers? she had always been "full of grace"--she had long been the spouse of the holy ghost, ever since he had overshadowed her at the incarnation, and he had always been filling her according to her ever-increasing capacity. we have seen how, under her son's training, her horizon was ever enlarging--how much wider it became on calvary, how pain and joy had dilated her heart, how her intercourse with her divine son during those forty days had still more widened her outlook; and now, with all the fresh territory over which she was to reign, in her mind and in her heart, she had been praying--the holy ghost had been praying within her--for him to come and overshadow her once again, and fill her with grace that she might be able to meet all her new responsibilities as mother of the church. mary had more need of the holy ghost than any of the hundred and twenty souls gathered in the cenacle; her desire to receive him too was greater than theirs; and so we may well believe that she received him in a fuller measure. she had no need of the gifts of tongues and miracles, which were a necessity to the apostles, to help them in the beginning of their difficult work. her work during the remaining years of her life was that of intercession, and it was to be carried on in secret and obscurity. the gifts she needed from the holy ghost were those of hiddenness, patience, humility, conformity to god's will. she needed him in all his plenitude to pray within her with "unutterable groanings" for all the needs of the church throughout all time. her work was still, as it ever had been, to _ponder_ in her heart--to meditate and hold colloquies with her divine son, through the agency of the holy spirit, about all the interests which they had in common. _colloquy._ "our lady of light, spouse of the holy ghost, i offer thee my whole heart, my soul and my body, to keep for jesus, that i may be his for ever. our lady of light, pray for me." (_prayer of blessed grignon de montfort._) _resolution._ to think more of the holy spirit praying within me. _spiritual bouquet._ "sacrarium spiritus sancti, ora pro nobis." (sanctuary of the holy spirit, pray for us.) mary's exile "_woe is me that my sojourning is prolonged._" (ps. cxix. .) _ st prelude._ a statue or picture of our lady. _ nd prelude._ grace to learn how an exiled child of eve should live. _point i._--mary's exile tradition tells us that st john took the holy mother to his house in jerusalem, and that it was there that she died, though she spent some of the time of her exile at ephesus. in solitude and silence she pondered over all the wonderful mysteries of her life; she interceded for her new-born child, the church, which had already so many needs; and she helped the apostles by her prayers. they were soon scattered in different directions, "making disciples of all nations," as their master had bidden them; and it would only be at rare intervals that they could come and see their mother, and talk over their difficulties, and get the advice of her who saw eye to eye with her son. but what a comfort and strength it must have been to them to know that she was always there, telling her divine son of their needs! and during those long years--according to some opinions fifteen, to others, twenty-three--what was mary's strength? the same as it had ever been--union with her son. every day, tradition tells us, she received him in the blessed sacrament at the hands of st john. what communions must those have been, when mary said again: _ecce ancilla domini, fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum_, and her god was again incarnate within her! what made those communions so intense? the fact that his love and desire in coming were _reciprocated_. the love and desire are never wanting on his side, but unfortunately there is so little of either on ours! it takes more than one to make a good communion. _a joining together_ of two is the meaning of the word. if the union is to be strong, fervent, real, lasting, each must do his part. oh, teach me, dear mother, how to receive thy son in holy communion. thy whole life was centred in him; thy every thought was with him; everything thou didst was done for him; every moment of thy exile gladly borne for him; every sigh a spiritual communion; and when each day the glad moment of actual communion came, it was just his embrace--he pressed thee to his heart for a few minutes, telling thee it would not be long before thy exile would be over, and thou wouldst see his face again. thy communions were an ecstasy of love--help me to put a little more love into mine; teach me to regard them as the bread from heaven sent specially for the exile; teach me to make them the centre of my life; teach me to live my whole life with him, so that my communion may never be interrupted. this should be the aim, surely, of every communicant; it is the ideal life; it is the life that jesus intended when he said: "he that eateth me, he shall live by me." it is possible; but oh, how far i come short! _point ii._--the reason for mary's exile why did her son leave her behind to suffer so intensely, as he well knew she would, from the separation? would not the beatific vision in heaven have been better than her communions on earth? could not her intercession for the church have been even more effectual had she been close to her son's throne in heaven? could she not have been the mother of good counsel in heaven for those who had to guide the church in its infancy, as she has been ever since? we can think of many reasons why jesus left her in exile for a time:-- . she had to _nurse the new-born church_ by strengthening and encouraging the apostles with her example, so like that of the master himself, and by supplying the evangelists with many details of his life, which they could not have learnt from any lips but hers. . she had to _establish her position_ as mother of the church--the tradition was to be handed down by the apostles that it was _she_ who guided, and tended, and cared for the church during the early and tender years of its existence; that it was to her they turned in times of perplexity and doubt; that her constant intercession for them was their strength. this could not have been so had she left the earth with her son. during those long years of exile the new child learnt to regard mary as its mother, and when she was taken away into heaven, it was quite natural to it still thus to regard her, and to teach all who came after to do the same. . our lord would give her still more time to _increase her merits_ by suffering. he wanted her crown to be the most beautiful possible, and even for the mother of god there was only one way to make it so--the way of suffering, which intensified her love and humility and submission to god's will. . may not another reason have been in order that she might be the _better able to sympathise_ with the exiled children of eve (_exules filii evæ_)? had he taken her with him, they would surely have felt that their mother could not quite understand their position. and what is such an effectual barrier to sympathy as the feeling that we are not understood? so mary was left in exile to gain much that she could not have gained otherwise. i am one of the exiled children of eve. what have _i_ got to do as an exile? . _i have to establish my position._ there is a certain place prepared for me in heaven, which _may_ be mine through all eternity. what is to decide whether i get it or not? the way i "pass the time of my sojourning" here. by the time my exile is over, i must so have lived that there must be no doubt about it that i belong to the heavenly land; that i am a child of god and an heir to his kingdom; that i seek not the things of earth but those which are above; that heaven is my home. and what will be my position there? mary earned her position as queen of angels, of patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, virgins, as mother of the church. what position shall i earn? that depends, as mary's did, on my fidelity to grace. i shall have just that degree of glory and merit to which i have attained when i am called hence to give an account of my stewardship--no less and no more. the position i have to establish, then, during my exile, is that of being known by all the inhabitants of heaven--all the angels and saints--as one who is sure to join them one day. "make your calling and election _sure_." . _i have to suffer._ one of the actual reasons for my being here on earth is that i may _suffer_--not that suffering is in itself good, but it gives me the means--perhaps the greatest means--of developing the virtues which must be mine if i am to enter the kingdom one day. our lord chose for himself and for his mother a life of suffering, to make us understand and to show us how suffering may aid us--yes, the very same suffering which hardens the sinner. what is the secret, then, of suffering? that by means of it, and because of it, we may make acts of love and contrition and submission to god's will. suffering is too powerful an instrument to leave our human nature untouched by it; we _must_ do something under it--either _curse_ god and die, as job's wife advised him to do, or _bless_ him all the more fervently, as job did. let me remember, then, that one of the things i have to do as an exile is to see to it that god gets, out of each piece of suffering that he sends me, the extra _love_ that he expected would result from it. . _to do the work god wants me to do_; to work in my little corner of his vineyard; to co-operate with him in his great work of the salvation of souls; and to show sympathy and kindness to my fellow-exiles. _colloquy._ _the salve regina_:--"hail, holy queen, mother of mercy; hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! to thee do we cry, poor banished children of eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning, and weeping in this vale of tears. turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy towards us; and after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, jesus: o clement, o loving, o sweet virgin mary." (_anthem from trinity to advent._) _resolution._ to learn the exile's lessons. _spiritual bouquet._ "for we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come." (heb. xiii. .) mary's death "_they that work by me shall not sin._" (from the epistle for the vigil of the assumption, ecclus. xxiv. .) _ st prelude._ a picture of mary's death. _ nd prelude._ to prepare for death by living "by mary." _point i._--"the sting of death is sin" ( cor. xv. ) sin had never touched mary; there was therefore for her no sting in death. she had no penalty to pay, neither had she to die for others as her son died. why, then, should mary die? . because she had a mortal nature. she belonged to the great human race, and it was therefore appointed unto her to die. (heb. ix. .) . because she chose to die (the fathers say her son gave her the choice) that she might be conformable in all things to her son, and also that she might be the better able to help, and pray for, and sympathise with her children, who throughout all time would be constantly saying: "pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." . because our lord wanted her to have a specially chosen death--one that came neither from old age nor sickness, but simply from _love_. her love for him was so great that her body could no longer hold her soul captive. . because god would not deprive her of the inestimable privilege of making the sacrifice of her life to him, and such a life! this practice it is which makes the death of his saints precious in the sight of the lord. (ps. cxv. .) let us learn two lessons:-- . to _choose_ to be in all things conformable to jesus, even though this choice means death to self. . how precious a thing in god's sight is the sacrifice of their lives to him by his children! let us resolve to make him this sacrifice often beforehand--at least every night before we take from his hands the precious gift of sleep which "he giveth his beloved." _point ii._--mary's preparation for death we are told that some little while before her death an angel (probably gabriel) was sent to tell her that her time was at hand. she answered: _ecce ancilla domini_ ("behold the handmaid of the lord"), and made once again the sacrifice of her life. she then told the news to john, who made it known to the faithful. how great their sorrow must have been at the prospect of losing such a mother! st denis tells us that our lord brought all the apostles and missionaries, who were scattered all over the world, to witness her death. she blessed them, and encouraged them to continue their work, saying that she would help them powerfully in heaven. her joy was full because the time, which was to unite her to her son, had come at last; but mary was not selfish in her joy any more than she had been in her grief. she did not forget the sorrow of her children; they were still to be exiles, but exiles with a mother in the homeland--a mother who would be there to befriend them and take an interest in all they were doing. do i realise this--that while i am an exile here i have a mother in heaven who is taking the keenest interest in all that concerns me, in all that is preparing me for my home; a mother who is waiting there for me, ready to welcome me? _point iii._--how mary died there was no sickness, no wearing out nor decay of that beautiful body, no effects in it of original sin. of what, then, did mary die? of two things--_love_ and _desire_; and these were so intense that even _her_ body, strong and perfect though it was, had not the power to detain the soul captive any longer. mary died of love, as her son had died of grief--a grief which was the outcome of an immense love. did mary receive the last sacraments? the sacrament of penance was out of the question for her sinless soul; we may doubt about extreme unction; but with what intensity of love and desire must she have received her viaticum! and when jesus came with all his court to fetch her immaculate soul, we are told that she said: "thy will be done; for a long time i have sighed after thee, my son and my god; nothing can be more delightful than to join thee and be where thou art for ever." then the angels began to sing--all who were present heard them--and while they sang, mary said her _fiat_ and died, and her most pure soul began its eternal happiness in the sight of the beatific vision. the eternal trinity gave it the glory which was its due--the reward of her love so pure, so generous, so constant. she had a higher degree of glory and a clearer vision of god than all the saints, because glory depends on grace, virtue, and merit, of which she had far more than any of them. what does mary's death say to me? "they that work by me shall not sin." you cannot be sinless, as i was, you cannot die of love, as i did, (st theresa and st philip of neri did), but you can, by keeping close to me, and doing all your work at my side, keep from all wilful sin, and you can thus love jesus so much that when he comes to fetch you, death will have no terrors for you, and you, too, will be able to say: _ecce ancilla domini_, here i am, thy servant, doing thy work. "blessed is that servant whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching"; and the best way to watch is to work at mary's side. and let me never forget that my degree of glory in heaven will be according to the amount of grace and merit that i have at the moment of my death. how thankful i should be that i still have power to increase these! and how eager and zealous to use my time to the best advantage! death cometh when no man can work--when no more merit, no more reparation will be possible. the point i have then reached will be mine through all eternity. "as the tree falls, so will it lie." holy mary, mother of god, pray for me now and at the hour of my death. _colloquy_ with mary, my mother in heaven, who is pleading for me; who is letting me do all my work close to her side; and who will be there at the hour of my death, to put me back into the hands of her son, who gave me to her when he was on the cross, saying: "take this child and nurse it for me." and he will see to it that none shall pluck me out of his hands, for it is impossible for a child of mary to be lost. _resolution._ to let love for her son keep me close to mary's side to-day, listening to all her directions about my work, so that i may do it to please him. _spiritual bouquet._ "they that work by me shall not sin." mary's tomb "_i gave a sweet smell like cinnamon and aromatical balm; i yielded a sweet odour like the best myrrh._" (ecclus. xxiv. .) "_in the holy city likewise i rested, and my_ abode _is in the full assembly of the saints._" (verses , .) _ st prelude._ the apostles carrying the body of their mother to the grave. _ nd prelude._ the grace of faith and love to penetrate into these mysteries. _point i._--mary's body the angels still continued singing, while the apostles and missionaries and women wept around the body. but the heavenly music was catching, and it was not long before the mourners dried their tears and joined in the angels' hymn of praise. we are told that the sick and the blind and the lame were allowed to come and kiss the precious body, and that in so doing they were instantly healed. why was mary's body so precious? because it had been the tabernacle of the son of god. why is mine so precious? because it, too, is so often the tabernacle of jesus christ. do i realise that this makes my body holy? and do i regard it as something precious, consecrated and dedicated, god's temple, his own dwelling-place? often have angels adored before it! how much respect, then, ought i to show it! how careful i ought to be as to what i do with it, and to what use i put it! we are told that when the apostles carried the bier to the grave, near the garden of gethsemani, all the faithful accompanied them, and the angels never ceased their singing. the precious body exhaled a sweet fragrance which perfumed every place the procession had to pass through, and there were miracles and conversions all along the route. they laid their precious burden in the grave, put a great stone over it, and then dispersed. but they did not leave the grave alone. the apostles watched and prayed there in turn, listening to, and rejoicing in the angels' song. _point ii._--the empty tomb on the third day, st thomas arrived from the indies (the apostles felt sure that it was our lord's plan that he should be late), and naturally wanted to look once again on his mother's face. so they removed the stone, but only to find an empty tomb. they found the linen and clothes all in order, and they noted the delicious fragrance, but the body was gone; the soul had come back for it and fetched it to share in its glory. then the apostles remembered that during the morning the celestial singing had suddenly stopped, and they knew that their mother, clothed in her glorified body, was even then sitting at the right hand of her son in heaven. why was it? why was her body not left in the tomb? because it was impossible for that body, from which the word had taken flesh, and which had never been touched by sin, to "see corruption." also, although mary had to die, and to bear the separation of soul and body, there was no necessity in her case for that penalty to be prolonged. god would not keep her--a perfect human creature--in an imperfect state, which the soul without the body must ever be. so, though not yet a dogma, the assumption of the blessed virgin mary has ever been a belief of the church. if we need a _proof_, let us call to mind the fact that no one has ever pretended to possess relics of our lady's body. our lord would surely never have deprived the church of such treasures, had they existed. _point iii._--the fourth glorious mystery let me turn from the empty tomb, and try to realise the other side of the picture--mary in heaven. this fourth glorious mystery was foretold more than once in holy scripture: "arise, o lord, into thy resting-place; thou, and the ark which thou hast sanctified." (ps. cxxxi. .) what is this ark sanctified by god but mary's body, of which the son of god took flesh? "the queen stood on thy right hand in gilded clothing surrounded with variety." who is this but the queen of heaven clothed with her glorious body of immortality? "a throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand," ( kings ii. ), in all the dazzling beauty of her glorified body, surrounded by adoring saints and angels. her son on his throne is saying to her: ask, my mother, for i will not say thee nay. the beauty of the scene is so entrancing, the light is so dazzling, the music is so enchanting, the mystery is so wonderful, that i feel almost bewildered and want to shut my eyes and think what it all means. it means this--that i have a mother in heaven, and that when her son bends towards her from his throne, and when all the hosts of heaven hold their breath to catch what their queen is saying, they hear her ask some little favour for me, her child on earth. why? because i am saying: "holy mary, mother of god, pray for me now." let me, with the eye of faith and love, penetrate the thin veil, which hides these wondrous mysteries from my sight. let me try to see things as they really are, and then my prayers will be less formal. _colloquy_ with mary on the right hand of jesus in heaven. _resolution._ to think of her there when i say my rosary to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "holy mary, mother of god, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." "who is she?" (the fourth glorious mystery) "_quæ est ista quæ progreditur quasi aurora consurgens, pulchra ut luna, electa ut sol, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata?_" "_who is she that cometh forth as the morning rising, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, terrible as an army set in array?_" (cant. vi. .) _ st prelude._ the angels asking three times: "who is she?" (cant. iii. ; vi. ; viii. .) _ nd prelude._ grace to understand who she is. _point i._--"who is she?" "who is she?" ask the angels, as they see mary coming into heaven. once before had one clothed in the robe of his beautiful, glorified body passed through heaven's portals; and the angels had said: "who is this that cometh with dyed garments from bosra, this beautiful one in his robe?" (isaias lxiii. ), and they had opened wide heaven's gate to let in the conqueror of sin and death, the king of glory, the lord mighty in battle. but who is _she_--a woman, who, though she is beautiful as the morning rising, fair as the moon, and bright as the sun, is also terrible as an army set in array? she also has come from the battlefield; she also is a conqueror, for she has crushed the serpent's head; she has undone eve's terrible work, and, as far as a creature can, has made reparation for it. she it is who has stood like a rock amidst the most crushing sorrows. her strength is terrible to the devil, but the angels rejoice in it, and her children flee to her as the _refugium peccatorum_, saying: _da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos_. (give me, too, strength against thy enemies.) and so the angels open wide heaven's gates again, to let in the mother of the king--the queen of heaven--_their_ queen--who has earned her right to her throne; not by being the mother of god, but by nobly fighting the battle against sin, the world, the flesh, and the devil. "maria mater gratiæ, dulcis parens clementiæ, tu nos ab hoste protege, et mortis hora suscipe." (o mary, mother of grace, sweet fount of gentleness, do thou protect us from the enemy, and receive us in the hour of our death.) and she _will_; she is there for her children. "who is she?" she is our mother; she will never forget it, though she is the queen of heaven, of angels, and of saints; and she will ever be terrible to all who dare to attack her children. _point ii._--"who is she?" "who is she that goeth up by the desert as a pillar of smoke, of aromatical spices, of myrrh and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer?" (cant. iii. .) that is: who is she who is adorned with all possible graces and virtues? "who is she?" she is the "fairest among women" (chap. i. ) because of her _humility_, answers the angel who heard her say: _ecce ancilla domini_, at the most exalted moment of her life. "who is she?" she is the "fairest among women" because of her conformity to god's will, say those who have heard over and over again her _fiat_ when the sword was piercing her soul. "who is she?" we, too, can answer the question, for we know her. we have watched her, and meditated upon her life, from the moment of her immaculate conception till her holy death of love and desire; and we have seen that she has always been growing in grace and in conformity to her divine son. yes, she is the "fairest among women," and she is my mother and my model. how is it with me? am i known to my friends, to those who live with me, to my guardian angel, yea, to the blessed trinity, as one, who is growing in virtue and grace; as one, whose conformity to jesus and his will, is apparent from the use i make of the _ecce ancilla_ and the _fiat_? there must be some resemblance between the child and the mother. _point iii._--"who is she?" for the third time the angels ask the question: "who is she that cometh up from the desert flowing with delights, leaning upon her beloved?" (chap. viii. .) there is no doubt about it now--she is his mother, and her beloved is jesus, the son of god and of mary. what unspeakable joy is hers to find herself once more in the arms of her beloved! "his left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me," (chap. ii. ), and she leans upon him. she had never left him really; she had been leaning on him all the time of her exile: by her memory, by her love, by her communions, by her constant doing of his will. this is why i can so safely lean on mary, the mother of good counsel, because to lean on her is to lean on jesus, on whom she leans. she nurses her children _for him_. "who is she that cometh up from the desert?" in spirit mary had ever been coming up. always had she sought "the things that are above, where christ sitteth at the right hand of god." her treasure was in heaven, and nothing on earth had power to attract or attach her. how far do i copy my mother in this? are my affections set on things above, where jesus and mary are? have things of earth no attraction for me in comparison with heavenly things? am i ready to give them up to him to whom they belong when he asks for them? is my whole heart in heaven because my treasure is there? this is what is meant by going up from the desert. it means striving always after what is more perfect. it means that each day finds me _more_ charitable, _more_ faithful, _more_ careful about occasions of sin, _more_ like my mother. and it means also _sursum corda_ (lift up your hearts) whenever the difficulties and sorrows of the desert seem too much. _colloquy_ with mary. _resolution._ to ask myself the question often to-day: "who is she?" _spiritual bouquet._ "pulchra es et decora filia jerusalem, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata." (thou art fair and comely, o daughter of jerusalem, terrible as an army set in array.) mary's coronation (the fifth glorious mystery) "_thou wast made exceeding beautiful and wast advanced to be a queen._" (ezech. xvi. .) _ st prelude._ the great sign which appeared in heaven: "a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars." (apoc. xii. .) _ nd prelude._ the grace so to live and die, that i may one day be crowned. _point i._--mary's coronation _specie tua et pulchritudine tua, intende, prospere procede, et regna._ (in thy comeliness and thy beauty go forth, proceed prosperously, and reign.) the culminating point is reached, and mary is led in triumph to receive her crown from the blessed trinity. god the father crowns her as a _victor_; god the son as a _queen_; and god the holy ghost as a _bride_. we give our crowns on earth to victors, to queens and to brides. mary was all of these for she had conquered the devil; she was the king's mother, and she was the spouse of the holy ghost. . she was crowned as a _victor_, as a sign of her courage and bravery. god the father had seen the world, which he had created and had pronounced to be "very good," spoiled by sin. the arch-fiend had entered paradise, and had stolen away the hearts of his children, robbing them of his grace, and leaving them and all their descendants stained by sin. to satan god had spoken of a woman whose child would be his enemy; and of her he said: "she shall bruise thy head." now the old prophecy has been fulfilled, and mary stands before him waiting for her crown. she has crushed the serpent; she has been terrible to all god's enemies; and the crown that the eternal father places on the head of his daughter is a token that she is indeed a victor. how did mary win the victor's crown? by her fidelity to grace. no one ever had so many occasions of grace, and she did not miss one of them. "there _is_," somewhere in the heavenly courts, "a crown laid up for _me_." ( tim. iv. .) but "the lord, the just judge" will only give it me if "i have fought a good fight." (verse .) "to him that shall _overcome_ will i give to sit with me in my throne." (apoc. iii. ). "be thou faithful unto death, and i will give thee a crown of life." (chap. ii. .) "hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (chap. iii. ). all, then, depends on my efforts. i have got to be _faithful_, to _fight_, to _overcome_, and to _hold fast_. my consolation is that my mother is interceding for me; my enemies are the same as hers, and she has overcome them. _da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos._ . she is crowned as a _queen_. her son is the king of heaven, and he crowns her as the queen-mother. "a throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand." ( kings ii. .) "the queen stood at thy right hand in gilded clothing, clothed round about with varieties." (ps. xliv. .) kings and queens wear their crowns in token of their power and authority. jesus crowned his mother in token of _her_ power and authority. he made her queen of angels, of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and gave her not only authority over all these, but also, in a certain sense, if we may say so reverently, over himself. he allowed her still to keep the sweet authority which she had exercised over him at nazareth, when he was "subject" to her; for he says to her: "my mother, ask, for i _must_ not turn away thy face." ( kings ii. .) how he loves us--even to the extent of pledging himself to answer the intercessory prayer of one who he knows will make full use of her privilege--one who is even now turning to me, her child, and saying: "i will speak for thee to the king." (verse ). let me determine to have my share in this blessed compact between the son and the mother, by continually asking my queen-mother for her intercession. _sancta dei genitrix, ora pro nobis._ . the holy ghost crowns her as his _spouse_. "come from libanus, my spouse; come and thou shalt be crowned." (cant. iv. .) "faithful unto death" she had been; ever since her immaculate conception she had always listened to the least inspiration of grace which her divine spouse had suggested, and now she receives her reward, the "crown of life." the end is attained, and there is joy in the presence of the angels of god. _point ii._--the joy of the angels _de cujus assumptione gaudent angeli et collaudant filium dei._ at whose assumption the angels rejoice and praise together the son of god. (_introit for the feast of the assumption._) what were the causes of their joy? . mary's joy at her re-union with her son. . her reception and coronation as their queen. . her being placed on the throne at her son's right hand. . the sight of her beautiful glorified body--the means of the incarnation--before which, as before the tabernacle, they had so often worshipped their hidden god. . the likeness between the mother and the son--a likeness which had been increasing during her years of exile, by means of the blessed sacrament. . hearing jesus call her _mother_. "my mother, ask." . seeing the great intercessor at her work praying for sinners, in whom they take such an interest. and the result of their joy is that "they praise together the son of god"--that is, they perfectly fulfil the end for which they were created, teaching us the great lesson that the more we know mary and rejoice in her joy, her position and her work, the more we shall know and praise her divine son, and so fulfil the end for which we were created. but it is not only the angels who are rejoicing. she is "_queen of all saints_" as well as "_queen of angels_," and the church triumphant is swelling the chorus of joy. each member of that spotless multitude has already been a cause of joy in heaven, for there is joy in the presence of the angels of god over every sinner that doeth penance. (st luke xv. .) "joy cometh in the morning" after the night of doing penance. "no cross, no crown." it is because mary is the "_mother of sorrows_" that she is able to be the "_cause of our joy_," and we must all pass by the same route. help me, my mother, to share the joy of the angels and saints even in the "valley of tears." it is possible, but it can only be done by a faith strong enough to see things as they really are. and what about mary's joy? as she stands in the midst of that great multitude of angels and saints, who are vying with each other to do her honour, her heart too is overflowing with joy, but it is all for her son. the honour and worship that are being paid to her are _his_; they are because of "the great things _he_ has done" for her. she is only his handmaid, and she is always singing her _magnificat_: "my soul doth magnify the lord, my spirit doth _rejoice_ in god my saviour." _humility_ is ever her greatest virtue, and she shows it on her coronation day by casting her crown at the feet of him who redeemed her with his blood--her son, her saviour, and her god. _colloquy._ the _ave regina cælorum_:--"hail, queen of heaven! hail, lady of the angels! hail, blessed root and gate, from which came light upon the world! rejoice, o glorious virgin, that surpassest all in beauty! hail, most lovely queen! and pray to christ for us." (_anthem from purification to easter._) _resolution._ to work for my crown to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "ora pro nobis, sancta dei genitrix, ut digni efficiamur promissionibus christi." salve regina (according to the second method of prayer[ ]) salve. this anthem of the blessed virgin, which the church bids her children use from trinity to advent, begins with a _salutation_. in addressing our mother, we are to copy the archangel who, when he came with a message to the lowly child at nazareth, begins by _saluting_ her. hail! full of grace. but though the word, which is here put into the lips of us sinners, means, "be thou safe and well," it is not a wholly disinterested salutation; there is an idea of wanting a favour implied in it, though we do not actually ask for it. it is like the cheerful "good-morning, sir!" of the beggar. our _hail_ here has not so much the majesty of the salutation of an archangel as the cry of distress of a banished child. regina. she is appealed to as a queen; she asks as a queen; she is answered as a queen; she gives as a queen. "i pray thee speak to the king, for he cannot deny thee anything.... i will speak for thee to the king.... and the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne. and a throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand. and she said to him: i desire one small petition of thee; do not put me to confusion. and the king said to her: my mother, ask, for i must not turn away thy face." ( kings ii. - .) such is the beautiful picture holy scripture portrays for us of king solomon and his mother bethsabee. "but a greater than solomon is here"; and we are addressing his mother. with what confidence then may we say our _salve regina_! she has pledged herself to speak to the king for us, and her royal son will give her all that she asks. she is the queen of patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins--yes, queen of _all_ saints. why? because when they were "poor banished children" on earth they recognised her as their queen, and did not address their _salve_ to her in vain. mater. not only is she queen of heaven and my queen, but also she is the mother of each one of the banished children. "i will not leave you orphans," jesus said when he was leaving the sorrowing disciples; and a little later, when his last moment drew near, he showed them their mother, saying to st john, who represented the whole human race: "behold thy mother!" and to her: "behold thy son," and in him all thy banished children! what a consolation it would be to me if i realised more that i have a mother in heaven! my first thought in any trouble, difficulty, or perplexity would be: "salve sancta parens!" misericordiÆ. she is the mother of so many virtues--of fair love, of knowledge, of good counsel, of holy hope, of divine grace--yes, and the mother of sorrows too; but here her children love to call her "mother of _mercy_," of _pity_, for they are exiles, and it is she who can effect their ransom. _mercy_--this is what they who say the _salve regina_ need. they are poor, banished, weeping children, and they need the pity, the mercy, the sympathy of their mother. how comes it that there is no sorrow with which the heart of mary cannot sympathise? how is it that "never is it heard of that her children turn to her in vain"? because the "sword pierced her own heart also." no heart except that of her divine son can sympathise like the seven-times pierced heart of mary. it is because she understands so well the sorrows of a bleeding heart, that not the smallest need of any one of her smallest children, who appeals to her, is overlooked. how merciful should they be who have such a merciful mother! "go thou and do in like manner," was our blessed lord's injunction when he had been telling of the mercy of the good samaritan. (st luke x. .) am i merciful in my judgments of others; merciful when i am talking of them; merciful to those who have wronged me; merciful to those who come to me for pardon; merciful in my thoughts? o virgin most merciful, pray for me! vita. she is our _life_, for it was she who gave life to our redeemer. it was from mary's veins that he took the blood which he shed for our salvation. she did not spare her son, her only son, (gen. xxii. ), but offered him up for a sacrifice for us. in every truth she can say: "in me is all hope of life." (ecclus. xxiv. .) dulcedo. our sweetness. think of her sweetness all through her life--when the angel came to her; during the three months that she helped elizabeth; when there was no room for her in the inn at bethlehem; when her son seemed to take no notice of her during his ministerial work; when she met him on the way of sorrows; when she stood by the cross; when she gently bathed his wounds and prepared his body for the grave; when she consoled the mourning disciples; when he appeared to her on easter day; when she kissed his footprints as he ascended to heaven; when the holy ghost came down upon her. even from her body after the soul had left it, and even from her grave after the body had left it, there came a delicious odour, reminding all who enjoyed it of the _sweetness_ of the mother who had left them. and this sweetness her children must try to copy. is my sweetness for ever proclaiming itself to all with whom i come in contact--by my patience under the little trials of everyday life, by the kind word with which i meet the sharp, sarcastic one, by my extreme care of the feelings of others, by my universal kindness, by the humility with which i bear humiliations, by the ready way in which i prefer everybody else to myself? o my mother, pray for thy child, and teach me how to copy thee! et spes nostra. how necessary is _hope_ to the poor banished children! without it they would indeed be in a desperate condition; but mary is ever inspiring them with hope. _ego mater sanctæ spei._ (i am the mother of holy hope.) and her hope is all for her children: she has no need of it for herself. she is a true mother--always hopeful of her children, never giving them up. it is impossible for a child of mary not to share her mother's holy hope. a child of mary _cannot_ despair! when we think about death and final perseverance, what holy hope at once fills our hearts as we remember that we have put that terrible moment into the hands of our mother! _ora pro nobis, nunc et in hora mortis nostræ._ (pray for us now and at the hour of our death.) "hail, our hope!" before these words all fears disappear. for never has it been known that those who appeal to the mother of holy hope appeal in vain. salve. we repeat our salutation. we do not want her to forget us. the importunate are ever dear to the heart of mary as they are to the heart of her divine son. let us constantly greet her with our _salve_--it will be enough to appeal to her mother-heart, and she will give us whatever we are needing. ad te. to _thee_. to whom should we go if not to the mother whom jesus has given us. "behold thy mother!" it is only natural that we should turn to thee. _monstra te esse matrem._ show thyself to be a mother by hearkening to our cry. clamamus--_do we cry_. it is a direct cry for help now--we make no secret of it--the children are calling aloud for their mother--their need is so great that they care not who hears them. exules. at last we describe ourselves; one word is sufficient--_exules_. we are _exiles_; we are not at home; we are banished from our country. there is something so pathetic about an exile. how he cherishes any news of his dear country! how he writes every little detail of his life and of the strange land to his mother at home! how he longs for her letters! mary is my mother, and i am an exile. do i love to hear about my own country? do i tell my mother of all the difficulties of the way and allow her to console me with stories of the homeland? "how shall we sing in a strange land?" it _is_ possible, by keeping in touch with mary. she will so inspire us with hope and with love for our heavenly country that we shall often find our hearts light enough to soar beyond this land of exile, and to join in the ceaseless praises of those who have reached home. queen of heaven, give me a _real_ desire for heaven. filii evÆ. we account for our exile by explaining that we are children of _eve_. we had another mother once, and she brought misery on all her children, and they were all with her "driven out from paradise," and an angel with a flaming sword was put at the entrance to prevent their getting back. poor children! is there any use in crying for re-admittance? yes, for before the justice of god drove out eve and her children, he spoke of another mother, who was, through her divine son, to undo all the harm that eve had done, and to "open the kingdom of heaven to all believers." to whom, then, is it more natural for the poor banished children of eve to turn than to the mother whose one idea is to get them back? and with our cries are joined those of other banished children whose cry: "how long!" is ever ascending to heaven. it is their mother mary whom they long to see; for as the turn of each one's banishment expires, she it is who comes to open the gate and bring them to the "better country" which they have so long desired. when we say our _salve_, let us remember those souls who, though they are holy, are still banished children, and let us intercede with their mother for them. ad te suspiramus. to thee do we send up our sighs. the idea is that each breath is a sigh, and a sigh meant for our mother to hear. well would it be for us if this were true! it would change the character of our exile. a sigh meant for our blessed lady could not be one of discontent and murmuring and rebellion against our lot. the very fact that it is intended for her would make it full of love and hope and submission to god's will. it would be like the sigh of a child whose mother has promised it some little pleasure. the time seems very long to the little one, and as she sits patiently by her mother's side, a sigh escapes her now and then--a very marked and intentional sigh! what does it mean? it means that though she will not speak or do anything that her mother might not like, yet she would remind her mother of her presence and let her know that she is feeling the time very long. does the mother mind the sighs? oh no, for each one tells her of the love of her child, and makes her anxious to shorten the time of waiting if she can. gementes et flentes. the sighs become more audible--_groaning_ and _weeping_--the exiles are _mourning_ the loss of things they can never have again till they get home. it is one of the times when they feel that the harps must be hung up, (ps. cxxxvi.), when mirth and joy are altogether out of place. such times will come in our land of exile; and these are the times when we shall do well to cry out to our mother. o mary, look upon thy weeping children, and as the great wail of suffering humanity rises up to thee, "show thyself a mother," the mother of consolation. come to the suffering hearts that cry for thee, and make them understand that joy and gladness is for them, even in the land of their exile ever since the sun of justice has risen over it "with healing in his wings." whisper to each heartbroken one, words of hope and consolation; tell of reparation, of mortification, of detachment, of the immense value of suffering, till the sorrowing heart is willing, yea _glad_, to suffer. in hoc lacrymarum valle. in this _vale_. our land of exile is a valley of humiliation. it was here that jesus came to stay, when he _humbled_ himself even to the death of the cross; and here it is that he would have each one of his children wait till the humiliations of the valley have taught them to conquer self-love. "be you humbled, therefore, under the mighty hand of god, that he may exalt you in the time of visitation." ( pet. v. .) it is a vale of _tears_--a vale where jesus wept; a vale which has been sanctified by the tears of a magdalen, and a peter, and of multitudes of others who have learnt here to be saints; a vale where every tear shed by his children is treasured by god. "thou hast set my tears in thy sight." (ps. lv. .) we read of two occasions on which jesus wept--once for the sorrows of his friends (st john xi. ), and once for the sins of his enemies. (st luke xix. .) i need not then be ashamed of tears--not even if i have to say with the psalmist: "my tears have been my bread day and night." (ps. xli. .) but i must be careful that they resemble those of jesus, that the cause of them is never self-love or self-pity, but sorrow for my own sins and those of others, and for anything which grieves the heart of jesus. "they that sow in tears shall reap in joy," for he himself "will wipe away all tears from their eyes." (ps. cxxv. , and apoc. vii. .) eia ergo advocata nostra. _therefore_, just because of our misery and need--it is our only plea, and one which appeals more than any other to a mother's heart--we appeal to her as _our advocate_: one who will plead our cause, who will speak to the king for us and tell him of our needs, as she did long ago at cana of galilee. had ever banished children such an advocate--one to whom the judge has pledged himself: "i must not turn away thy face!" o _advocata nostra_, plead for me with thy son when i stand before him to be judged! in that terrible moment remember my _salve_, for i shall be unable to say it then. misericordes oculos ad nos converte. _turn thy merciful eyes upon us._ we only ask her to _look_. it is quite enough for a mother to see her child in trouble. she does not need to be told what to do. et jesum benedictum fructum ventris tui nobis post hoc exilium ostende. here we get to the point of the prayer--the sighs, and groans, and cries, and tears of the banished children are all because they want to see jesus. _and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, jesus._ "we would see jesus" (st john xii. ), and we come to ask his mother to show him to us. this is her great work; and she turns to the children and says: "whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye," and you shall see his face one day. _after this our exile._ "when the voyage is o'er, o stand on the shore and show him at last to me." it is because i cannot see jesus that i am so often in trouble in the land of exile. if my faith were strong enough i should see him continually, and sorrow would flee away. we have not got to wait till the voyage is o'er before seeing him. many and many a glimpse of the blessed fruit of her womb does our mother give us. to be near her means that we are near him too. each communion, each absolution--yea, each humiliation and sorrow is our mother letting us see jesus if we will only look; and when she stands on the shore to show him _at last_, we shall see that it is the "same jesus" who so often walked with us in the land of our exile, though our eyes were for the most part holden by our want of faith, and we did not recognise him. o clemens, o pia, o dulcis virgo maria. _o clement, o loving, o sweet virgin mary._ we multiply our words in trying to express to our mother something of what we feel towards her, but they all mean the same thing--that she is a _mother_. her sweetness is as ointment poured forth, and attracts all to it. her kindness and love, too, have been known to all since she stood at the foot of the cross, and received all her banished children into her stricken heart. never in vain can we appeal to our sweet mother. and so with renewed confidence we will say our _salve_, rejoicing even in this vale of tears because we have a mother who knows all about us, and who will never forget us; whose one desire is to show us the blessed fruit of her womb, jesus; who will teach us to sing the lord's song in a strange land, even as she sang her _magnificat_; and who will one day, when the days of our exile are over, sing with us the ever "new song" of redemption to "him who loved us and washed us in his blood." till then, dear mother, help us to be patient, and help us to learn the lessons of the valley, remembering that they will never be learned at all if they are not learned here. _colloquy._ the _salve regina_. footnote: [footnote : _note._--there are times when we get a little tired of preludes and points, and feel that a change of method would be a help to our meditation. st ignatius knew this, and knew also that to some minds preludes and points would be a positive hindrance; and so he has given us, in his book of the _spiritual exercises_, "three (other) methods of prayer." our meditation to-day is according to the _second method_, which "consists in considering the signification of each word of a prayer." (text of the _exercises_.) st ignatius says that if one or two words give us sufficient matter for thought and spiritual relish and consolation, we are not to be anxious to pass on, even though the whole time of the meditation be spent on _one_ word, but leave the rest till the next day. so we may take to-day as many words of the _salve regina_ as we find spiritual relish for. this method, st ignatius tells us, may be applied to "_any other prayer whatsoever_."] _dei genitrix, intercede pro nobis._ printed in great britain by neill and co., ltd., edinburgh. * * * * * transcriber's notes: obvious spelling and punctuation errors were repaired, but unusual period spellings and grammar uses were retained. original placed punctuation such as semi-colons outside closing quotation marks; this was retained. table of contents entries do not always agree with chapter headings in the original; these differences were retained. gospel references throughout the main text begin with "st" as in "st luke." in two exceptions--p. and --the "st" was missing and has been added by the transcriber for consistency. the preface, by a different author, does not use "st" before gospel references. a few uses of "god" were left out of small-caps in the original. these were placed in small-caps to agree with majority use. three uses of "ch." were changed to match three uses of "chap." for consistency. p. : transcriber added a paragraph break between "sacrifices." and ( ) for consistent treatment of numbered paragraphs. blocking of numbered paragraphs on p. - and is faithful to the original. [transcriber's note: bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and italic text by _underscores_.] thoughts for the quiet hour edited by d. l. moody [illustration] fleming h. revell company chicago : new york : toronto _publishers of evangelical literature_ copyrighted by fleming h. revell company to the reader one of the brightest signs of the times is that many christians in our young people's societies and churches are observing a "quiet hour" daily. in this age of rush and activity we need some special call to go apart and be alone with god for a part of each day. any man or woman who does this faithfully and earnestly cannot be more than twenty-four hours away from god. the selections given in this volume were first published in the monthly issues of the "_record of christian work_," and were found very helpful for devotional purposes. they are also a mine of thoughts, to light up the verses quoted. being of permanent value, it has been thought desirable to transfer them from the pages of the magazine to this permanent volume. may they have a helpful ministry, leading many into closer communion with god! [illustration: d. l. moody] index of texts quoted in this volume. =genesis= : , : , : , , , : , : , : , : , , : , : , : , , , : , , , , : , , : , =exodus= : , : , : , , : , : , : , : , : , =numbers= : , : , : , , =deuteronomy= : , : , : , : , , =joshua= : , : , : , : , =judges= : , : , =i. samuel= : , , , , : , : , =ii. samuel= : , : , =i. kings= : , : , , : , , =ii. kings= : , : , : , , =i. chronicles= : , =job= : , =psalms= : , : , : , , : , : , , : , : , : , , : , : , : , : , : , : , : , , : , , , : , : , , , : , : , : , , : , , =proverbs= : , , : , : , : , : , =ecclesiastes= : , =song of solomon= : , , : , , : , : , : , =isaiah= : , : , : , : , , , , , : , , : , : , : , , : , : , =jeremiah= : , : , =ezekiel= : , : , : , : , =daniel= : , : , : , : , =hosea= : , =jonah= : , =micah= : , =zechariah= : , , : , =malachi= : , , =matthew= : , , : , , , , , : , , , : , : , , : , , , : , : , , : , , - , : , , : , : , , , , =mark= : , : , : , : , : , : , : , , =luke= : , , , : , , : , : , , : , , , : , : , , , , =john= : , , , , , : - , , , : , : , , , , , : , : , , : , - , : , , : , , , , : , , , =acts= : , , , , , : , , , : , , , : , : , : , : , : , , : - , : , , : , , , : - , =romans= : , : , : , : , , : , : , =i. corinthians= : , , : , : , : , : , : , : , =ii. corinthians= : , , : , , =galatians= : , : , , , : , : , , , , , =ephesians= : , , , : , , , , : , : , , , =philippians= : , : , , , , , : , , : , , , , , =colossians= : , : , , , , , , , , : , , , =i. thessalonians= : , , , , =i. timothy= : , , =ii. timothy= : , : , , , , =hebrews= : , : , , : , : , , , , , : , , : , , , , , , : , =james= : , , , , : , , , =i. peter= : , , , : , , : , =ii. peter= : , , : , , =i. john= : , , : , , , : , : , , , , : , =jude= , =revelation= : , , , : , : , : , : , : , , [illustration: january] =january st.= _come up in the morning . . . and present thyself . . . to me in the top of the mount. ex. xxxiv. ._ my father, i am coming. nothing on the mean plain shall keep me away from the holy heights. help me to climb fast, and keep thou my foot, lest it fall upon the hard rock! at thy bidding i come, so thou wilt not mock my heart. bring with thee honey from heaven, yea, milk and wine, and oil for my soul's good, and stay the sun in his course, or the time will be too short in which to look upon thy face, and to hear thy gentle voice. morning on the mount! it will make me strong and glad all the rest of the day so well begun.--_joseph parker._ =january nd.= _my reward is with me. rev. xxii. ._ we are to be rewarded, not only for work done, but for burdens borne, and i am not sure but that the brightest rewards will be for those who have borne burdens without murmuring. on that day he will take the lily, that has been growing so long among thorns, and lift it up to be the glory and wonder of all the universe; and the fragrance of that lily will draw forth ineffable praises from all the hosts of heaven.--_andrew bonar._ =january rd.= _where art thou? gen. iii. ._ art thou hiding thyself away from him who would send thee forth to do his own blessed work in his own way? oh, let me say to thee this morning, "the lord hath need of thee." it may seem to be only a little thing he has for you to do, but it is an important one. he has "need of thee." turn not thy back upon him; put not thyself out of the way of being employed by him; do not begin by laying down laws for thyself as to what thou wilt do and what thou wilt not do; but cry out from the very depth of thy heart, "here am i, send me,"--_w. hay aitken._ =january th.= _many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the lord delivereth him out of them all. psa. xxxiv. ._ all the afflictions of the righteous open out into something glorious. the prisoner is not merely delivered, but he finds an angel waiting for him at the door. and with every deliverance comes a specific blessing. one angel is named faith; another, love; another, joy; another, longsuffering; another, gentleness; another, goodness; another, meekness; another, temperance; another, peace. each of these graces says, "we have come out of great tribulation."--_g. bowen._ =january th.= _the lord is my . . . song. psa. cxviii. ._ let us think of god himself becoming our song. this is the fulness and perfection of knowing god: so to know him that he himself becomes our delight; so to know him that praise is sweetest, and fullest, and freshest, and gladdest, when we sing of him. he who has learned this blessed secret carries the golden key of heaven--nay, he hath fetched heaven down to earth, and need not envy the angels now.--_mark guy pearse._ =january th.= _fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the lord. ex. xiv. ._ often god seems to place his children in positions of profound difficulty--leading them into a wedge from which there is no escape; contriving a situation which no human judgment would have permitted, had it been previously consulted. the very cloud conducts them thither. you may be thus involved at this very hour. it does seem perplexing and very serious to the last degree; but it is perfectly right. the issue will more than justify him who has brought you hither. it is a platform for the display of his almighty grace and power. he will not only deliver you, but in doing so he will give you a lesson that you will never forget; and to which, in many a psalm and song in after days, you will revert. you will never be able to thank god enough for having done just as he has.--_f. b. meyer._ =january th.= _now are ye light in the lord: walk as children of light. eph. v. ._ the influence we exert in the world is created by our relationship to jesus christ; and our relationship to jesus christ is revealed by our influence.--_selected._ =january th.= _take good heed therefore unto your souls. josh. xxiii. ._ (_margin._) gold cannot be used for currency as long as it is mixed with the quartz and rock in which it lies imbedded. so your soul is useless to god till taken out from sin and earthliness and selfishness, in which it lies buried. by the regenerating power of the spirit you must be separated unto christ, stamped with his image and superscription, and made into a divine currency, which shall bear his likeness among men. the christian is, so to speak, the circulating medium of christ, the coin of the realm by whom the great transactions of mercy and grace to a lost world are carried on. as the currency stands for the gold, so does the christian stand for christ, representing his good and acceptable will.--_a. j. gordon._ =january th.= _he that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in much. luke xvi. ._ the least action of life can be as surely done from the loftiest motive as the highest and noblest. faithfulness measures acts as god measures them. true conscientiousness deals with our duties as god deals with them. duty is duty, conscience is conscience, right is right, and wrong is wrong, whatever sized type they be printed in. "large" and "small" are not words for the vocabulary of conscience. it knows only two words--right and wrong.--_alex. mclaren._ =january th.= _my god shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by christ jesus. phil. iv. ._ what a source--"god"! what a standard--"his riches in glory"! what a channel--"christ jesus"! it is your sweet privilege to place _all your need_ over against _his riches_, and lose sight of the former in the presence of the latter. his exhaustless treasury is thrown open to you, in all the love of his heart; go and draw upon it, in the artless simplicity of faith, and you will never have occasion to look to a creature-stream, or lean on a creature-prop.--_c. h. m._ =january th.= _count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations. james i. ._ we cannot be losers by trusting god, for he is honored by faith, and most honored when faith discerns his love and truth behind a thick cloud of his ways and providence. happy those who are thus tried! let us only be clear of unbelief and a guilty conscience. we shall hide ourselves in the rock and pavilion of the lord, sheltered beneath the wings of everlasting love till all calamities be overpast.--_selected._ =january th.= _blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. john xx. ._ the seen are shadows: the substance is found in the unseen. . . . no doubt, in christ, the foundation of our faith is unseen; but so is that of yonder tower that lifts its tall erect form among the waves over which it throws a saving light. it appears to rest on the rolling billows; but, beneath these, invisible and immovable, lies the solid rock on which it stands secure; and when the hurricane roars above, and breakers roar below, i could go calmly to sleep in that lone sea tower. founded on a rock, and safer than the proudest palace that stands on the sandy, surf-beaten shore, it cannot be moved. still less the rock of ages! who trusts in that is fit for death, prepared for judgment, ready for the last day's sounding trumpet, since, "the lord redeemeth the soul of his servants, and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate."--_guthrie._ =january th.= _herein is my father glorified that ye bear much fruit. john xv. ._ what a possibility, what an inspiration, that we can enhance the glory of "our father"! our hearts leap at the thought. how can this be done? by bearing "leaves,"--a _profession_ of love for him? no. by bearing _some_ fruit? no. "that ye bear _much_ fruit." in the abundance of the yield is the joy, the glory of the husbandman. we should, therefore, aim to be extraordinary, "hundred-fold" christians, satisfied with none but the largest yield. our lives should be packed with good deeds. then at harvest time we can say, "father, i have glorified thee on the earth!"--_w. jennings._ =january th.= _every day will i bless thee; and i will praise thy name for ever and ever. psa. cxlv. ._ there is a very beautiful device by which the japanese are accustomed to express their wishes for their friends. it is the figure of a drum in which the birds have built their nest. the story told of it is that once there lived a good king, so anxiously concerned for the welfare of his people that at the palace gate he set a drum, and whoever had any wrong to be redressed or any want, should beat the drum, and at once, by day or night, the king would grant the suppliant an audience and relief. but throughout the land there reigned such prosperity and contentment that none needed to appeal for anything, and the birds built their nests within it and filled it with the music of their song. such gracious access is granted to us even by the king of heaven, and day and night his ready hearing and his help are within the reach of all that come to him; but of all men most blessed are they who have found on earth a blessedness in which all want is forgotten, and trust rests so assured of safety in the father's care that prayer gives place to ceaseless praise. they _rejoice in the lord alway_.--_mark guy pearse._ =january th.= _they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.--isa. xl. ._ this, my soul, is the triumph of thy being--to be able to _walk_ with god! flight belongs to the young soul; it is the _romance_ of religion. to run without weariness belongs to the _lofty_ soul; it is the _beauty_ of religion. but to walk and not faint belongs to the _perfect_ soul; it is the _power_ of religion. canst thou walk in white through the stained thoroughfares of men? canst thou touch the vile and polluted ones of earth and retain thy garments pure? canst thou meet in contact with the sinful and be thyself undefiled? _then_ thou hast surpassed the flight of the eagle!--_george matheson._ =january th.= _and moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights. ex. xxiv. ._ the life of fellowship with god cannot be built up in a day. it begins with the habitual reference of all to him, hour by hour, as moses did in egypt. but it moves on to more and longer periods of communion; and it finds its consummation and bliss in days and nights of intercession and waiting and holy intercourse.--_f. b. meyer._ =january th.= _elisha said, lord, i pray thee, open his eyes that he may see. kings vi. ._ this is the prayer we need to pray for ourselves and for one another, "lord, open our eyes that we may see"; for the world all around us, as well as around the prophet, is full of god's horses and chariots, waiting to carry us to places of glorious victory. and when our eyes are thus opened, we shall see in all the events of life, whether great or small, whether joyful or sad, a "chariot" for our souls. everything that comes to us becomes a chariot the moment we treat it as such; and, on the other hand, even the smallest trial may be a juggernaut car to crush us into misery or despair if we so consider them. it lies with each of us to choose which they shall be. it all depends, not upon what these events are, but upon how we take them. if we lie down under them, and let them roll over us and crush us, they become juggernaut cars, but if we climb up into them, as into a car of victory, and make them carry us triumphantly onward and upward, they become the chariots of god.--_smith._ =january th.= _all things work together for good to them that love god. rom. viii. ._ in one thousand trials it is not five hundred of them that work for the believer's good, but nine hundred and ninety-nine of them, and one beside.--_george müller._ =january th.= _thou shalt make holy garments for aaron. ex. xxviii. ._ have we no garments of blue, and purple, and beautiful suggestiveness? we have garments of praise; we are clothed with the lord jesus. and have we no ornaments? the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is, in the sight of god, of great price. and have we no golden bells? we have the golden bells of holy actions. our words are bells, our actions are bells, our purposes are bells. whenever we move, our motion is thus understood to be a motion towards holy places, holy deeds, holy character.--_joseph parker._ =january th.= _my voice shalt thou hear in the morning, o lord; in the morning will i direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. psa v. ._ the morning is the gate of the day, and should be well guarded with prayer. it is one end of the thread on which the day's actions are strung, and should be well knotted with devotion. if we felt more the majesty of life we should be more careful of its mornings. he who rushes from his bed to his business and waiteth not to worship is as foolish as though he had not put on his clothes, or cleansed his face, and as unwise as though he dashed into battle without arms or armor. be it ours to bathe in the softly flowing river of communion with god, before the heat of the wilderness and the burden of the way begin to oppress us.--_spurgeon._ =january st.= _show me thy ways, o lord; teach me thy paths. psa. xxv. ._ there is a path in which every child of god is to walk, and in which alone god can accompany him.--_denham smith._ =january nd.= _there remaineth therefore a rest to the people of god. heb. iv. ._ how sweet the music of this first heavenly chime floating across the waters of death from the towers of the new jerusalem. pilgrim, faint under thy long and arduous pilgrimage, hear it! it is rest. soldier, carrying still upon thee blood and dust of battle, hear it! it is rest. voyager, tossed on the waves of sin and sorrow, driven hither and thither on the world's heaving ocean of vicissitude, hear it! the haven is in sight; the very waves that are breaking on thee seem to murmur--"_so he giveth his beloved_ rest." it is the long-drawn sigh of existence at last answered. the toil and travail of earth's protracted week is at an end. the calm of its unbroken sabbath is begun. man, weary man, has found at last the long-sought-for _rest_ in the bosom of his god!--_macduff._ =january rd.= _under his shadow. song of sol. ii. ._ frances ridley havergal says: i seem to see four pictures suggested by that: under the shadow of a rock in a weary plain; under the shadow of a tree; closer still, under the shadow of his wing; nearest and closest, in the shadow of his hand. surely that hand must be the piercèd hand, that may oftentimes press us sorely, and yet evermore encircling, upholding and shadowing! =january th.= _he made as though he would have gone further. luke xxiv. ._ is not god always acting thus? he comes to us by his holy spirit as he did to these two disciples. he speaks to us through the preaching of the gospel, through the word of god, through the various means of grace and the providential circumstances of life; and having thus spoken, he makes as though he would go further. if the ear be opened to his voice and the heart to his spirit, the prayer will then go up, "lord, abide with me." but if that voice makes no impression, then he passes on, as he has done thousands of times, leaving the heart at each time harder than before, and the ear more closed to the spirit's call.--_f. whitfield._ =january th.= _my god shall be my strength. isa. xlix. ._ oh, do not pray for easy lives! pray to be stronger men! do not pray for tasks equal to your powers; pray for powers equal to your tasks! then the doing of your work shall be no miracle. but you shall be a miracle. every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come in you by the grace of god.--_phillips brooks._ =january th.= _despising the shame. heb. xii. ._ and how is that to be done? in two ways. go up the mountain, and the things in the plain will look very small; the higher you rise the more insignificant they will seem. hold fellowship with god, and the threatening foes here will seem very, very unformidable. another way is, pull up the curtain and gaze on what is behind it. the low foot-hills that lie at the base of some alpine country may look high when seen from the plain, as long as the snowy summits are wrapped in mist; but when a little puff of wind comes and clears away the fog from the lofty peaks, nobody looks at the little green hills in front. so the world's hindrances and the world's difficulties and cares look very lofty till the cloud lifts. but when we see the great white summits, everything lower does not seem so very high after all. look to jesus, and that will dwarf the difficulties.--_alex. mclaren._ =january th.= _are there not twelve hours in the day? john xi. ._ the very fact of a christian being here, and not in heaven, is a proof that some work awaits him.--_william arnot._ =january th.= _not as i will, but as thou wilt. matt. xxvi. ._ there are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of god.--_faber._ =january th.= _the living god. dan. vi. ._ how many times we find this expression in the scriptures, and yet it is just this very thing that we are so prone to lose sight of! we know it is written "_the living god_"; but in our daily life there is scarcely anything we practically so much lose sight of as the fact that god is the living god; that he is now whatever he was three or four thousand years since; that he has the same sovereign power, the same saving love towards those who love and serve him as ever he had, and that he will do for them now what he did for others two, three, four thousand years ago, simply because he is the living god, the unchanging one. oh, how therefore we should confide in him, and in our darkest moments never lose sight of the fact that he _is_ still and ever _will be_ the living god!--_george müller._ =january th.= _therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. rom. vi. ._ that is the life we are called upon to live, and that is the life it is our privilege to lead; for god never gives us a call without its being a privilege, and he never gives us the privilege to come up higher without stretching out to us his hand to lift us up. come up higher and higher into the realities and glories of the resurrection life, knowing that your life is hid with christ in god. shake yourself loose of every incumbrance, turn your back on every defilement, give yourself over like clay to the hands of the potter, that he may stamp upon you the fulness of his own resurrection glory, that you, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the lord, may be changed from glory to glory as by the spirit of the lord.--_w. hay aitken._ =january st.= _christ is all, and in all. col. iii. ._ the _service_ of christ is the _business_ of my life. the _will_ of christ is the _law_ of my life. the _presence_ of christ is the _joy_ of my life. the _glory_ of christ is the _crown_ of my life.--_selected._ [illustration] =february st.= _continue in prayer. col. iv. ._ dost thou want nothing? then i fear thou dost not know thy poverty. hast thou no mercy to ask of god? then may the lord's mercy show thee thy misery. a prayerless soul is a christless soul. prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling asleep in jesus.--_spurgeon._ =february nd.= _in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the lord. eph. ii. ._ the life-tabernacle is a wondrous building; there is room for workers of all kinds in the uprearing of its mysterious and glorious walls. if we cannot do the greatest work, we may do the least. our heaven will come out of the realization of the fact that it was god's tabernacle we were building, and under god's blessing that we were working.--_joseph parker._ =february rd.= _love not the world. john ii. ._ love it not, and yet love it. love it with the love of him who gave his son to die for it. love it with the love of him who shed his blood for it. love it with the love of angels, who rejoice in its conversion. love it to do it good, giving your tears to its sufferings, your pity to its sorrows, your wealth to its wants, your prayers to its miseries, and to its fields of charity, and philanthropy, and christian piety, your powers and hours of labor. you cannot live without affecting it, or being affected by it. you will make the world better, or it will make you worse. god help you by his grace and holy spirit so to live in the world as to live above it, and look beyond it; and so to love it that when you leave it, you may leave it better than you found it.--_guthrie._ =february th.= _thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing. psa. cxlv. ._ desire, it is a dainty word! it were much that he should satisfy the _need_, the _want_; but he goeth far beyond that. pity is moved to meet our need; duty may sometimes look after our wants; but to satisfy the _desire_ implies a tender watchfulness, a sweet and gracious knowledge of us, an eagerness of blessing. god is never satisfied until he has satisfied our desires.--_mark guy pearse._ =february th.= _ye servants of the lord, which by night stand in the house of the lord. . . . the lord that made heaven and earth bless thee out of zion. psa. cxxxiv. , ._ if i would know the love of my friend, i must see what it can do in the winter. so with the divine love. it is very easy for me to worship in the summer sunshine, when the melodies of life are in the air and the fruits of life are on the tree. but let the song of the bird cease, and the fruit of the tree fall; and will my heart still go on to sing? will i stand in god's house by night? will i love him in his own night? will i watch with him even one hour in his gethsemane? will i help to bear his cross up the via dolorosa? my love has come to him in his humiliation. my faith has found him in his lowliness. my heart has recognized his majesty through his mean disguise, and i know at last that i desire not the gift, but the giver. when i can stand in his house by night, i have accepted him for himself alone.--_george matheson._ =february th.= _he that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk even as he walked. john ii. ._ the preaching that this world needs most is the _sermons in shoes_ that are walking with jesus christ.--_selected._ =february th.= _then shall we know, if we follow on to know the lord. hosea vi. ._ the lord has brought us into the pathway of the knowledge of him, and bids us pursue that path through all its strange meanderings until it opens out upon the plain where god's throne is. our life is a following on to know the lord. we marvel at some of the experiences through which we are called to pass, but afterwards we see that they afforded us some new knowledge of our lord. . . . we have not to wait for some brighter opportunity; but by improvement of the present are to build for ourselves a bridge to that future.--_g bowen._ =february th.= _get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house. gen. xii. ._ _abraham . . . was gathered to his people. gen. xxv. ._ after all communion we dwell as upon islands, dotted over a great archipelago, each upon his little rock with the sea dashing between us; but the time comes when, if our hearts are set upon that great lord whose presence makes us one, there shall be no more sea and all the isolated rocks shall be parts of a great continent . . . if we cultivate that sense of detachment from the present and of having our true affinities in the unseen, if we dwell here as strangers because our citizenship is in heaven, then death will not drag us away from our associates nor hunt us into a lonely land, but will bring us where closer bonds shall knit the "sweet societies" together, and the sheep shall couch close by one another because all gathered round the one shepherd. then many a tie shall be re-woven, and the solitary wanderer meet again the dear ones whom he had "loved long since and lost awhile."--_alex. mclaren._ =february th.= _therefore will the lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you. isa. xxx. ._ this is god's way. in the darkest hours of the night his tread draws near across the billows. as the day of execution is breaking, the angel comes to peter's cell. when the scaffold for mordecai is complete, the royal sleeplessness leads to a reaction in favor of the threatened race. ah, soul, it may have come to the worst with thee ere thou art delivered; but thou wilt be! god may keep thee waiting, but he will ever be mindful of his covenant, and will appear to fulfil his inviolable word.--_f. b. meyer._ =february th.= _he loveth our nation and he hath built us a synagogue. luke vii. ._ marble and granite are perishable monuments, and their inscriptions may be seldom read. _carve your names on human hearts_; they alone are immortal!--_theodore cuyler._ =february th.= _as many as i love i . . . chasten. rev. iii. ._ i once saw a dark shadow resting on the bare side of a hill. seeking its cause i saw a little cloud, bright as the light, floating in the clear blue above. thus it is with our sorrow. it may be dark and cheerless here on earth; yet look above and you shall see it to be but a shadow of his brightness whose name is love.--_dean alford._ =february th.= _what means these stones? josh. iv. ._ _ye also as living stones. pet. ii. . (r. v.)_ there should be something so remarkable, so peculiar about the life and conversation of a christian that men should be compelled to ask, "what does this mean?". . . . is there anything in your character, words, and habits of life so different from the world around you that men are involuntarily compelled to ask themselves or others, "what does this mean?" not that there is to be a forced singularity, a peculiarity for the sake of being peculiar; that were merely to copy the pharisaism of ancient days. . . . oh, that we might realize that this is the purpose for which god sends us into the world, as he sent his only begotten son!--_s. a. blackwood._ =february th.= _all . . . saw his face as it had been the face of an angel acts vi. ._ the face is made every day by its morning prayer, and by its morning look out of windows which open upon heaven.--_joseph parker._ =february th.= _at the commandment of the lord they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the lord they journeyed. num. ix. ._ this is the secret of peace and calm elevation. if an israelite, in the desert, had taken it into his head to make some movement independent of jehovah; if he took it upon him to move when the crowd was at rest, or to halt while the crowd was moving, we can easily see what the result would have been. and so it will ever be with us. if we move when we ought to rest, or rest when we ought to move, we shall not have the divine presence with us.--_c. h. m._ =february th.= _in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy spirit of promise. eph. i. ._ the lord puts a seal upon his own, that everybody may know them. the sealing in your case is the spirit producing in you likeness to the lord. the holier you become, the seal is the more distinct and plain, the more evident to every passer-by, for then will men take knowledge of you that you have been with jesus.--_andrew bonar._ =february th.= _boast not thyself of to-morrow. prov. xxvii. ._ the only preparation for the morrow is the right use of to-day. the stone in the hands of the builder must be put in its place and fitted to receive another. the morrow comes for naught, if to-day is not heeded. neglect not the call that comes to thee this day, for such neglect is nothing else than boasting thyself of to-morrow.--_g. bowen._ =february th.= _i will help thee, saith the lord. isa. xli. ._ o my soul, is not this enough? dost thou need more strength than the omnipotence of the united trinity? dost thou want more wisdom than exists in the father, more love than displays itself in the son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the spirit? bring hither thine empty pitcher! surely this well will fill it. haste, gather up thy wants, and bring them here--thine emptiness, thy woes, thy needs. behold, this river of god is full for thy supply; what canst thou desire beside? go forth, my soul, in this thy might. the eternal god is thine helper!--_spurgeon._ =february th.= _to every man his work. mark xiii. ._ he does the most for god's great world who does the best in his own little world.--_selected._ =february th.= _bring of the fish which ye have now caught. john xxi. ._ why was this? oh, the lord wants us to minister to him as well as to receive from him, and our service finds its true end when it becomes food for our dear lord. he was pleased to feed on their fish while they were feeding on his. it was the double banquet of which he speaks in the tender message of revelation, "i will sup with him, and he with me."--_a. b. simpson._ =february th.= _by faith abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed. heb. xi. ._ whither he went, he knew not; it was enough for him to know that he went with god. he leant not so much upon the promises as upon the promiser. he looked not on the difficulties of his lot, but on the king, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise god, who had deigned to appoint his course, and would certainly vindicate himself. o glorious faith! this is thy work, these are thy possibilities: contentment to sail with sealed orders, because of unwavering confidence in the love and wisdom of the lord high admiral: willinghood to rise up, leave all, and follow christ, because of the glad assurance that earth's best cannot bear comparison with heaven's least.--_f. b. meyer._ =february st.= _the lord is a god of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. sam. ii. ._ god does not _measure_ what we bring to him. he _weighs_ it.--_mark guy pearse._ =february nd.= _after ye were illuminated ye endured a great fight of afflictions. heb. x. ._ our boldness for god _before the world_ must always be the result of individual dealing with god _in secret_. our victories over self, and sin, and the world, are always first fought where no eye sees but god's. . . . if we have not these _secret_ conflicts, well may we not have any _open_ ones. the _outward_ absence of conflict betrays the _inward_ sleep of the soul.--_f. whitfield._ =february d.= _philip findeth nathaniel and saith unto him, we have found him of whom moses in the law and the prophets did write. . . . come and see. john i. , ._ the next thing to knowing that "we have found him" is to find someone else, and say, "come and see."--_frances ridley havergal._ =february th.= _the wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it goeth; so is every one that is born of the spirit. john iii. ._ we know that the wind listeth to blow where there is a vacuum. if you find a tremendous rush of wind, you know that somewhere there is an empty space. i am perfectly sure about this fact: if we could expel all pride, vanity, self-righteousness, self-seeking, desire for applause, honor, and promotion--if by some divine power we should be utterly emptied of all that, the spirit would come as a rushing mighty wind to fill us.--_a. j. gordon._ =february th.= _thy gentleness hath made me great. sam. xxii. ._ the gentleness of christ is the comeliest ornament that a christian can wear.--_william arnot._ =february th.= _jacob went on his way, and the angels of god met him. gen. xxxii. ._ it is in the path where god has bade us walk that we shall find the angels around us. we may meet them, indeed, on paths of our own choosing, but it will be the sort of angel that balaam met, with a sword in his hand, mighty and beautiful, but wrathful too; and we had better not front him! but the friendly helpers, the emissaries of god's love, the apostles of his grace, do not haunt the roads that we make for ourselves.--_alex. mclaren._ =february th.= _i am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the father but by me. john xiv. ._ heaven often seems distant and unknown, but if he who made the road thither is our guide, we need not fear to lose the way. we do not want to see far ahead--only far enough to discern him and trace his footsteps. . . . they who follow christ, even through darkness, will surely reach the father.--_henry van dyke._ =february th.= _forgetting those things which are behind . . . i press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of god in christ jesus. phil. iii. , ._ it is not by regretting what is irreparable that true work is to be done, but by making the best of what we are. it is not by complaining that we have not the right tools, but by using well the tools we have. what we are, and where we are, is god's providential arrangement--god's doing, though it may be man's misdoing. life is a series of mistakes, and he is not the best christian who makes the fewest false steps. he is the best who wins the most splendid victories by the retrieval of mistakes.--_f. w. robertson._ [illustration: march] =march st.= _come up in the morning . . . and present thyself unto me in the top of the mount. ex. xxxiv. ._ the morning is the time fixed for my meeting the lord. this very word _morning_ is as a cluster of rich grapes. let me crush them, and drink the sacred wine. in the morning! then god means me to be at my best in strength and hope. i have not to climb in my weakness. in the night i have buried yesterday's fatigue, and in the morning i take a new lease of energy. sweet morning! there is hope in its music. blessed is the day whose morning is sanctified! successful is the day whose first victory was won in prayer! holy is the day whose dawn finds thee on the top of the mount! health is established in the morning. wealth is won in the morning. the light is brightest in the morning. "wake, psaltery and harp; i myself will awake early."--_joseph parker._ =march nd.= _whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. gal. vi. ._ the most common actions of life, its every day and hour, are invested with the highest grandeur, when we think how they extend their issues into eternity. our hands are now sowing seeds for that great harvest. we shall meet again all we are doing and have done. the graves shall give up their dead, and from the tombs of oblivion the past shall give up all that it holds in keeping, to bear true witness for or against us.--_guthrie._ =march rd.= _there are eleven days' journey from horeb, by the way of mount seir, unto kadesh-barnea. deut. i. ._ eleven days, and yet it took them forty years! how was this? alas! we need not travel far for the answer. it is only too like ourselves. how slowly we get over the ground! what windings and turnings! how often we have to go back and travel over the same ground, again and again. we are slow travelers because we are slow learners. our god is a faithful and wise, as well as a gracious and patient teacher. he will not permit us to pass cursorily over our lessons. sometimes, perhaps, we think we have mastered a lesson and we attempt to move on to another, but our wise teacher knows better, and he sees the need of deeper ploughing. he will not have us mere theorists or smatterers; he will keep us, if need be, year after year at our scales until we learn to sing.--=c. h. m.= =march th.= _if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. john i. ._ the same moment which brings the consciousness of sin ought to bring also the confession of it and the consciousness of forgiveness.--_smith._ =march th.= _as captain of the host of the lord am i now come. josh. v. ._ surely israel might now face the foe with unwavering confidence, and sing of victory even before the battle was gained. and so may the christian. it is to no conflict of uncertain issue that he advances; the result of the battle is not doubtful. the struggle may be severe, the warfare long; he may sometimes, like the pilgrim, be beaten to the ground, and well-nigh lose his sword; but "though cast down" he is "not destroyed." the captain of salvation is on his side, and in the midst of sharpest conflict he can say, "thanks be unto god, who giveth us the victory through our lord jesus christ."--_s. a. blackwood._ =march th.= _to me to live is christ, and to die is gain. phil. i. ._ live in christ, and you are in the suburbs of heaven. there is but a thin wall between you and the land of praises. you are within one hour's sailing of the shore of the new canaan.--_william rutherford._ =march th.= _he that sent me is with me; the father hath not left me alone, for i do always those things that please him. john viii. ._ he who holds nearest communion with heaven can best discharge the duties of everyday life.--_selected._ =march th.= _quench not the spirit. thess. v. ._ in order that you may not quench the spirit, you must make it a constant study to know what is the mind of the spirit. you must discriminate with the utmost care between his suggestions and the suggestions of your own deceitful heart. you will keep in constant recollection what are the offices of the spirit as described by christ in the gospel of john. you will be on your guard against impulsive movements, inconsiderate acts, rash words. you will abide in prayer. search the word. confess christ on all possible occasions. seek the society of his people. shrink from conformity to the world, its vain fashions, unmeaning etiquette. be scrupulous in your reading. "what i say unto you, i say unto all, watch!" "have oil in your lamps." "quench not the spirit."--_bowen._ =march th.= _when he cometh into the world, he saith, . . . a body hast thou prepared me. heb. x. ._ this word of christ must be adopted by each of his followers. nothing will help us to live in this world and keep ourselves unspotted but the spirit that was in christ, that looked upon his body as prepared by god for his service; that looks upon our body as prepared by him too, that we might offer it to him. like christ, we too have a body in which the holy spirit dwells. like christ, we too must yield our body, with every member, every power, every action, to fulfil his will, to be offered up to him, to glorify him. like christ, we must prove in our body that we are holy to the lord.--_andrew murray._ =march th.= _full of [satisfied with] years. gen. xxv. ._ scaffoldings are for buildings, and the moments and days and years of our earthly lives are scaffolding. what are you building inside it? what kind of a structure will be disclosed when the scaffolding is knocked away? days and years are ours, that they may give us what eternity cannot take away--a character built upon the love of god in christ, and moulded into his likeness. has your life helped you to do that? if so, you have got the best out of it, and your life is completed, whatever may be the number of its days. quality, not quantity, is the thing that determines the perfectness of a life. has your life this completeness?--_alex. mclaren._ =march th.= _keep yourselves in the love of god. jude ._ fruit ripened in the sun is sweetest.--_selected._ =march th.= _ye shall receive power after that the holy ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me. acts i. ._ look at it! think of it! a hundred and twenty men and women having no patronage, no promise of any earthly favor, no endowment, no wealth--a company of men and women having to get their living by common daily toil, and busied with all the household duties of daily life--and yet _they_ are to begin the conquests of christianity! to them is entrusted a work which is to turn the world upside down. none so exalted but the influence of this lowly company shall reach to them, until the throne of the cæsars is claimed for christ. none so far off but the power of this little band gathered in an upper room shall extend to them until the whole world is knit into a brotherhood! not a force is there on the earth, either of men or devils, but they shall overcome it, until every knee shall bow to their master, and every tongue shall confess that he is lord. a thing impossible, absurd, look at it as you will, until you admit this--_they are to be filled with the holy ghost_. then difficulties melt into the empty air. then there is no limit to their hopes, for there is no limit to their power. their strength is not only "as the strength of ten," it is as the strength of the almighty. this is christ's idea of christianity; the idea not of man--it is infinitely too sublime--the idea of god!--_mark guy pearse._ =march th.= _he that abideth in me, and i in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. john xv. ._ too much taken up with our work, we may forget our master; it is possible to have the hand full, and the heart empty. taken up with our master we cannot forget our work; if the heart is filled with his love, how can the hands not be active in his service?--_adolphe monod._ =march th.= _he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. john vi. ._ to feed on christ is to get his strength into us to be our strength. you feed on the corn field, and the strength of the corn field comes into you, and is your strength. you feed on christ, and then go and live your life; and it is christ in you that lives your life, that helps the poor, that tells the truth, that fights the battles, and that wins the crown.--_phillips brooks._ =match th.= _i sought him, but i found him not. song of sol. iii. ._ tell me where you lost the company of christ, and i will tell you the most likely place to find him. have you lost christ in the closet by restraining prayer? then it is there you must seek and find him. did you lose christ by sin? you will find him in no other way than by the giving up of the sin, and seeking by the holy spirit to mortify the member in which the lust doth dwell. did you lose christ by neglecting the scriptures? you must find him in the scriptures. it is a true proverb, "look for a thing where you dropped it; it is there." so look for christ where you lost him, for he has not gone away.--_spurgeon._ =march th.= _come behind in no gift. cor. i. ._ the scripture gives four names to christians, taken from the four cardinal graces so essential to man's salvation: _saints_ for their holiness, _believers_ for their faith, _brethren_ for their love, _disciples_ for their knowledge.--_thomas fuller._ =march th.= _they rest not day and night. rev. iv. ._ o blessed rest! when we rest not day and night, saying, "holy, holy, holy, lord god almighty!"--when we shall rest from sin, but not from worship; from suffering and sorrow, but not from joy! o blessed day, when i shall rest with god; when i shall rest in knowing, loving, rejoicing, and praising; when my perfect soul and body shall together perfectly enjoy the most perfect god; when god, who is love itself, shall perfectly love me, and rest in his love to me, and i shall rest in my love to him; when he shall rejoice over me with joy, and joy over me with singing, and i shall rejoice in him!--=baxter.= =march th.= _they that wait upon the lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint. isa. xl. ._ the eagle that soars in the upper air does not worry itself as to how it is to cross rivers.--_selected._ =march th.= _their eyes were holden. luke xxiv. ._ _their eyes were opened. luke xxiv. ._ there is much precious significance in this. the lord is often present in our lives in things that we do not dream possess any significance. we are asking god about something which needs his mighty working, and the very instrument by which he is to work is by our side, perhaps for weeks and months and years all unrecognized, until suddenly, some day it grows luminous and glorious with the very presence of the lord, and becomes the mighty instrument of his victorious working. he loves to show his hand through the unexpected. often he keeps us from seeing his way until just before he opens it, and then, immediately that it is unfolded, we find that he was walking by our side in the very thing, long before we even suspected its meaning.--_a. b. simpson._ =march th.= _all things work together for good to them that love god. rom. viii. ._ if our circumstances find us in god, we shall find god in all our circumstances.--_selected._ =march st.= _he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. ps. xxiii. ._ he always has a purpose in his leading. he knows where the bits of green pasture are, and he would lead his flock to these. the way may be rough, but it is the right way to the pasture. "paths of righteousness" may not be straight paths; but they are paths that lead somewhere--to the right place. many desert paths are illusive. they start out clear and plain, but soon they are lost in the sands. they go nowhere. but the paths of righteousness have a goal to which they unerringly lead.--_j. r. miller._ =march nd.= _and he said, o my lord, send, i pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send. ex. iv. ._ it was a very grudging assent. it was as much as to say, "since thou art determined to send me and i must undertake the mission, then let it be so; but i would that it might have been another, and i go because i am compelled." so often do we shrink back from the sacrifice or obligation to which god calls us, that we think we are going to our doom. we seek every reason for evading the divine will, little realizing that he is forcing us out from our quiet homes into a career which includes, among other things, the song of victory on the banks of the red sea; the two lonely sojourns for forty days in converse with god; the shining face; the vision of glory; the burial by the hand of michael; and the supreme honor of standing beside the lord on the transfiguration mount.--_f. b. meyer._ =march rd.= _see then that ye walk circumspectly. eph. v. ._ there is no such thing as negative influence. we are all positive in the place we occupy, making the world better or making it worse.--_t. dewitt talmage._ =march th.= _she took for him an ark of bulrushes . . . and she laid it in the flags by the river's brink. ex. ii. ._ the mother of moses laid the ark in the flags by the river's brink. ay, but before doing so, she laid it on the heart of god! she could not have laid it so courageously upon the nile, if she had not first devoutly laid it upon the care and love of god. we are often surprised at the outward calmness of men who are called upon to do unpleasant and most trying deeds; but could we have seen them in secret, we should have known the moral preparation which they underwent before coming out to be seen by men. be right in the sanctuary, if you would be right in the market-place. be steadfast in prayer, if you would be calm in affliction. start your race from the throne of god itself, if you would run well, and win the prize.--_joseph parker._ =march th.= _bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of christ. gal. vi. ._ by lifting the burdens of others we lose our own.--_selected._ =march th.= _i have finished the work which thou gavest me to do. john xvii. ._ was the work of the master indeed done? was not its heaviest task yet to come? he had not yet met the dread hour of death. why did he say that his work was done? it was because he knew that, when the will is given, the battle is ended. he was only in the shadows of the garden; but to conquer these shadows was already to conquer all. he who has willed to die has already triumphed over death. all that remains to him is but the outer husk, the shell. the cup which our father giveth us to drink is a cup for the will. it is easy for the lips to drain it when once the heart has accepted it. not on the heights of calvary, but in the shadows of gethsemane is the cup presented; the act is easy after the choice. the real battle-field is in the silence of the spirit. conquer there, and thou art crowned.--_george matheson._ =march th.= _a great multitude . . . stood before the throne. rev. vii. ._ a _station on the feet_ in front of the throne in _heaven_ is the effect of being often _on the knees_ before the throne on _earth_.--_selected._ =march th.= _god saw the light, that it was good: and god divided the light from the darkness. gen. i. ._ no sooner is there a good thing in the world than a _division is necessary_. light and darkness have no communion; god has divided them, let us not confound them. sons of light must not have fellowship with deeds, doctrines, or deceits of darkness. the children of the day must be sober, honest, and bold in their lord's work, leaving the works of darkness to those who shall dwell in it forever. we should by our distinct separation from the world divide the light from the darkness. in judgment, in action, in hearing, in teaching, in association, we must discern between the precious and the vile, and maintain the great distinction which the lord made upon the world's first day. o lord jesus, be thou our light throughout the whole of this day, for thy light is the light of men.--_spurgeon._ =march th.= _the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. prov. iv. ._ have i begun this path of heavenly love and knowledge now? am i progressing in it? do i feel some dawnings of the heavenly light, earnests and antepasts of the full day of glory? let all god's dealings serve to quicken me in my way. let every affection it may please him to send, be as the moving pillar-cloud of old, beckoning me to move my tent onward, saying, "arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest." let me be often standing now on faith's lofty eminences, looking for "the day of god"--the rising sun which is to set no more in weeping clouds. wondrous progression! how will all earth's learning, its boasted acquirements and eagle-eyed philosophy sink into the lispings of very infancy in comparison with this manhood of knowledge! heaven will be the true "_excelsior_," its song, "_a song of degrees_," jesus leading his people from height to height of glory, and saying, as he said to nathaniel, "_thou shalt see greater things than these!_"--_macduff._ =march th.= _take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom. song of sol. ii. . (r. v.)_ how numerous the little foxes are! little compromises with the world; disobedience to the still, small voice in little things; little indulgences of the flesh to the neglect of duty; little strokes of policy; doing evil in little things that good may come; and the beauty, and the fruitfulness of the vine are sacrificed!--_j. hudson taylor._ =march st.= _the children of your father which is in heaven. matt. v. ._ the best name by which we can think of god is father. it is a loving, deep, sweet, heart-touching name, for the name of father is in its nature full of inborn sweetness and comfort. therefore, also, we must confess ourselves children of god, for by this name we deeply touch our god, since there is not a sweeter sound to the father than the voice of the child.--_martin luther._ [illustration: april] =april st.= _in the morning came the word of the lord unto me. ezek. xii. ._ a quiet hour spent alone with god at the beginning of the day is the best beginning for the toils and cares of active business. a brief season of prayer, looking above for wisdom and grace and strength, and seeking for an outpouring of the holy spirit, helps us to carry our religion into the business of the day. it brings joy and peace within the heart. and as we place all our concerns in the care and keeping of the lord, faithfully striving to do his will, we have a joyful trust that however dark or discouraging events may appear, our father's hand is guiding everything, and will give the wisest direction to all our toils.--_selected._ =april nd.= _the lord god formed man out of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. gen. ii. ._ and so this soul of mine is a compound of two worlds--dust and deity! it touches the boundary line of two hemispheres. it is allied on one side to the divine; on the other, to the beast of the field. its beginning is from beneath, but its culmination is from above; it is started from the dust of the ground, but it is finished in the breath of god. my soul, art thou living up to thy twofold origin? art thou remembering thy double parentage, and therefore thy double duty? thou hast a duty to thy god, for his breath is in thee; thou hast a duty to the earth, for out of it wast thou taken.--_george matheson._ =april rd.= _always rejoicing. cor. vi. ._ no christian can ever know what is meant by those two little words, "always rejoicing," but the christian who takes up his cross and follows jesus.--_w. hay aitken._ =april th.= _all the land which thou seest, to thee will i give it, and to thy seed forever. gen. xiii. ._ god's promises are ever on the ascending scale. one leads up to another, fuller and more blessed than itself. in mesopotamia god said, "i will show thee the land." at bethel, "this is the land." here, "i will give thee all the land, and children innumerable as the grains of sand." and we shall find even these eclipsed. it is thus that god allures us to saintliness. not giving anything till we have dared to act--that he may test us. not giving everything at first--that he may not overwhelm us. and always keeping in hand an infinite reserve of blessing. oh, the unexplored remainders of god! whoever saw his last star?--_f. b. meyer._ =april th.= _that night they caught nothing. john xxi. ._ god may let the sinful world succeed in their forbidden schemes, but, blessed be his name, he does not allow his chosen ones to prosper in the path which leads them out of his holy will! he has a storm to send after every jonah, and an empty net for every unbelieving and inconsistent simon.--_a. b. simpson._ =april th.= _they made me keeper of the vineyards; but mine own vineyard have i not kept. song of sol. i. ._ our attention is here drawn to a danger which is preeminently one of this day: the intense activity of our times may lead to zeal in service _to the neglect of personal communion_; but such neglect will not only lessen the value of the service, but tend to incapacitate us for the highest service.--_j. hudson taylor._ =april th.= _we came unto the land whither thou sentest us . . . we saw the children of anak there. num. xiii. , ._ it is when we are in the way of _duty_ that we find _giants_. it was when israel was going _forward_ that the giants appeared. when they turned back into the wilderness they found none.--_selected._ =april th.= _each one resembled the children of a king. judg. viii. ._ frances ridley havergal says: "if the king is indeed near of kin to us, the royal likeness will be recognizable." =april th.= _he maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. psa. xxiii. ._ this suggests the rest into which our good shepherd leads his flock. life is not all toil. god gives us many quiet resting-places in our pilgrim way. night is one of these, when, after the day's toil, struggle, and exhaustion, we are led aside, and the curtains are drawn to shut out the noise, and he giveth his beloved sleep, in sleep giving the wonderful blessings of renewal. the sabbath is another of these quiet resting-places. god would have us drop our worldly tasks, and have a day for the refreshing of both body and soul. . . . friendship's trysts are also quiet resting-places, where heart may commune with heart, where jesus comes, too, unseen, and gives his blessing. all ordinances of christian worship--seasons of prayer and devotion, hours of communion with god--are quiet resting-places. far more than we are apt to realize do we need these silent times in our busy life, needing them all the more the busier the life may be.--_j. r. miller._ =april th.= _a daily rate for every day. kings xxv. ._ one staff aids a traveler, but a bundle of staves is a heavy burden.--_spurgeon._ =april th.= _bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of christ. gal. vi. ._ however perplexed you may at any hour become about some question of truth, one refuge and resource is always at hand: you can do something for some one beside yourself. at the times when you cannot see god, there is still open to you this sacred possibility, to _show_ god: for it is the love and kindness of human hearts through which the divine reality comes home to men, whether they name it or not. let this thought, then, stay with you: there may be times when you cannot _find_ help, but there is no time when you cannot _give_ help.--_george merriam._ =april th.= _work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is god which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. phil. ii. , ._ it is not your business and mine to study whether we shall get to heaven, or even to study whether we shall be good men; it is our business to study how we shall come into the midst of the purposes of god and have the unspeakable privilege in these few years of doing something of his work.--_phillips brooks._ =april th.= _god . . . hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of god in the face of jesus christ. cor. iv. ._ christian! rest not until thou knowest the full, the unbroken shining of god in thy heart. to this end, yield to every stirring of it that shows thee some unconquered and perhaps unconquerable evil. just bring it to the light; let the light shine upon it, and shine it out. wait upon the lord more than watchers for the morning, for "the path of the just is as the shining light, shining more and more unto the perfect day." count upon it that god wants to fill thee with the light of his glory: wait on him more than watchers for the morning. "wait, i say, on the lord."--_andrew murray._ =april th.= _my soul, wait thou only upon god. psa. lxii. ._ did it ever occur to you that if you do not hear god's answer to prayer, it may be not because he is dumb, but because you are deaf; not because he has no answer to give, but because you have not been listening for it? we are so busy with our service, so busy with our work, and sometimes so busy with our praying, that it does not occur to us to stop our own talking and listen if god has some answer to give us with "the still small voice"; to be passive, to be quiet, to do nothing, say nothing, in some true sense think nothing; simply to be receptive and waiting for the voice. "wait thou only upon god," says the psalmist; and again "wait on the lord."--_selected._ =april th.= _could ye not watch with me one hour? matt. xxvi. ._ oh! ye who sigh and languish, and mourn your lack of power, heed ye this gentle whisper, "could ye not watch one hour?" to fruitfulness and blessing, there is no "royal road"; the power for holy service is intercourse with god. --_selected._ =april th.= _my meat is to do the will of him that sent me. john iv. ._ seek your life's nourishment in your life's work.--_phillips brooks._ =april th.= _it is god which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. phil. ii. ._ full salvation is to realize that everything we see in christ, our example, may be ours, not by imitation, but by reproduction.--_selected._ =april th.= _lo, i am with you all the days. matt, xxviii. . (r. v., margin.)_ "all the days"--in winter days, when joys are fled; in sunless days, when the clouds return again and again after rain; in days of sickness and pain; in days of temptation and perplexity, as much as in days when the heart is as full of joy as the woodlands in spring are full of song. that day never comes when the lord jesus is not at the side of his saints. lover and friend may stand afar, but he walks with them through the fires; he fords with them the rivers; he stands by them when face to face with the lion. we can never be alone. we must always add his resources to our own when making our calculations.--_f. b. meyer._ =april th.= _having . . . boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of jesus . . . let us draw near with a true heart. heb. x. , ._ oh, the glory of the message! for fifteen centuries israel had a sanctuary with a holiest of all, into which, under pain of death, no one might enter. its one witness was: man cannot dwell in god's presence; cannot abide in his fellowship. and now how changed is all! as then the warning sounded: "no admittance! enter not!" so now the call goes forth: "enter in! the veil is rent; the holiest is open; god waits to welcome you to his bosom; henceforth you are to live with him." this is the message. child! thy father longs for thee to enter, to dwell, and to go out no more forever.--_andrew murray._ =april th.= _there stood by me this night the angel of god . . . saying, fear not, paul. . . . god hath given thee all them that sail with thee. wherefore . . . be of good cheer: for i believe god, that it shall be even as it was told me. acts xxvii. , , ._ an active faith can give thanks for a promise, though it be not yet performed; knowing that god's bonds are as good as ready money.--_matthew henry._ =april st.= _in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto god. phil, iv. ._ the natural temptation with every difficulty is to plan for it, to put it out of the way yourself; but stop short with all your planning, your thinking, your worry, and talk to him! "cast thy burden upon the lord, and he shall sustain thee." you may not always be able to do this in a moment or two. then keep on with supplication until you know he has it, and prayer becomes praise. rest, trust, and wait, and see how he does that which you wanted to do, and had so much care about. "stand still and see the salvation of the lord."--_a. e. funk._ =april nd.= _they that wait upon the lord shall . . . mount up with wings as eagles. isa. xl. ._ all creatures that have wings can escape from every snare that is set for them, if only they will fly high enough; and the soul that uses its wings can always find a sure "way to escape" from all that can hurt or trouble it.--_smith._ =april rd.= _perfect love casteth out fear. john iv. ._ fear and love rise up in antagonism to each other as motives in life, like those two mountains from which respectively the blessings and curses of the old law were pronounced--the mount of cursing all barren, stony, without verdure and without water; the mount of blessing green and bright with many a flower, and blessed with many a trickling rill. fear is barren. love is fruitful. the one is a slave, and its work is little worth. the other is free, and its deeds are great and precious. from the blasted summit of the mountain which gendereth to bondage may be heard the words of the law; but the power to keep all these laws must be sought on the sunny hill where liberty dwells in love and gives energy to obedience. therefore, if you would use in your own life the highest power that god has given us for our growth in grace, draw your arguments, not from fear, but from love.--_alex. mclaren._ =april th.= _the love of christ constraineth us. cor. v. ._ the love of christ is too large for any heart to hold it. it will overflow into others' hearts: it will give itself out, give itself away, for the enriching of other lives. the heart of christ is a costly thing for any one to have. it will lead those who have it where it led him. if it cost him the cross, it will cost them no less.--_j. m. campbell._ =april th.= _i the lord thy god will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, fear not, i will help thee. isa. xli. ._ don't try to hold god's hand; let him hold yours. let him do the _holding_, and you do the _trusting_.--_h. w. webb peploe._ =april th.= _consider how great things he hath done for you. sam. xii. ._ look back on all the way the lord your god has led you. do you not see it dotted with ten thousand blessings in disguise? call to mind the needed succor sent at the critical moment; the right way chosen for you, in stead of the wrong way you had chosen for yourself; the hurtful thing to which your heart so fondly clung, removed out of your path; the breathing-time granted, which your tried and struggling spirit just at the moment needed. oh, has not jesus stood at your side when you knew it not? has not infinite love encircled every event with its everlasting arms, and gilded every cloud with its merciful lining? oh, retrace your steps, and mark his footprint in each one! thank him for them all, and learn the needed lesson of leaning more simply on jesus.--_f. whitfield._ =april th.= _he . . . said . . . i . . . hid thy talent in the earth. . . . his lord answered and said unto him, thou wicked and slothful servant. matt. xxv. - ._ between the great things we cannot do and the small things we will not do, the danger is that we shall do nothing.--_monod._ =april th.= _to him be glory both now and forever. pet. iii. ._ believer, you are anticipating the time when you shall join the saints above in ascribing all glory to jesus; but are you glorifying him _now_? the apostle's words are, "to him be glory both _now_ and forever."--_c. h. spurgeon._ =april th.= _thou shall know that i am the lord: for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me. isa. xlix. ._ j. hudson taylor says: "quiet waiting before god could save from many a mistake and from many a sorrow." =april th.= _be it unto thee even as thou wilt. matt. xv. ._ oh, the victories of prayer! they are the mountain-tops of the bible. they take us back to the plains of mamre, to the fords of peniel, to the prison of joseph, to the triumphs of moses, to the transcendent victories of joshua, to the deliverances of david, to the miracles of elijah and elisha, to the whole story of the master's life, to the secret of pentecost, to the key-note of paul's unparalleled ministry, to the lives of saints and the deaths of martyrs, to all that is most sacred and sweet in the history of the church and the experience of the children of god. and when, for us, the last conflict shall have passed, and the footstool of prayer shall have given place to the harp of praise, the spots of time that shall be gilded with the most celestial and eternal radiance, shall be those, often linked with deepest sorrow and darkest night, over which we have the inscription, "jehovah-shammah: the lord was there!"--_a. b. simpson._ [illustration: may] =may st.= _thou art my god: early will i seek thee. psa. lxiii. ._ in a world where there is so much to ruffle the spirit's plumes, how needful that entering into the secret of god's pavilion, which will alone bring it back to composure and peace! in a world where there is so much to sadden and depress, how blessed the communion with him in whom is the one true source and fountain of all true gladness and abiding joy! in a world where so much is ever seeking to unhallow our spirits, to render them common and profane, how high the privilege of consecrating them anew in prayer to holiness and to god.--_archbishop trench._ =may nd.= _in him was life; and the life was the light of men. john i. . ye are the light of the world. matt. v. ._ in the light we can walk and work. we walk in the light and become entirely children of light. we let our light, the light of god, shine, so that men may see our good works, and glorify our father in heaven. gently, silently, lovingly, unceasingly, we give ourselves to transmit the light and the love god so unceasingly shines into us. our one work is to wait, and admit, and then transmit the light of god in christ.--_andrew murray._ =may d.= _be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the lord. cor. xv. ._ activity in doing good is one recipe for being cheerful christians; it is like exercise to the body, and it keeps the soul in health.--_bishop ryle._ =may th.= _looking up to heaven he sighed. mark vii. ._ too often we sigh and look within; jesus sighed and looked without. we sigh, and look down; jesus sighed, and looked up. we sigh, and look to earth; jesus sighed, and looked to heaven. we sigh, and look to man; jesus sighed, and looked to god.--_stork._ =may th.= _we glory in tribulations. rom. v. ._ have you ever thought that some day you will never have anything to try you or anybody to vex you again?--_a. b. simpson._ =may th.= _set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. col. iii. ._ he who has his affections set on things above is like one who hangs on by the skies; and, having a secure hold of these, could say, though he saw the world roll away from beneath his feet, "my heart is fixed; my heart is fixed; o lord, i will sing and give praise!"--_guthrie._ =may th.= _the lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to simon. luke xxiv. ._ _they . . . gladly received (peter's) word; and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. acts ii. ._ before the lord can use us in his service we must have close individual dealing with himself. he always will have to do in _secret_ with that soul that he intends to use in blessing others. do you want to speak for jesus to those around you? then you must go to jesus himself for your message. what you say _for_ jesus must be got _from_ jesus. oh, how much breath falls powerless on every side because it has not been inhaled in the sanctuary! we want more secret dealing with the living god. we run without being sent: we speak before god has spoken to us: no wonder we so often fail. oh, what secret prayer and what heart-searching discipline the heart needs before god can use it!--_f. whitfield._ =may th.= _the righteous eateth to the satisfying of his soul. prov. xiii. ._ christ must satisfy; then, if we are not satisfied, it must be because we are not feeding on him wholly and only. the fault is not in the provision which is made.--_frances ridley havergal._ =may th.= _whom the lord loveth he chasteneth. heb. xii. ._ it has been well said that "earthly cares are a heavenly discipline," but they are even something better than discipline; they are god's chariots, sent to take the soul to its high places of triumph. in the canticles we are told of "a chariot paved with love." we cannot always see the love lining to our own particular chariot--it often looks very unlovely; but every chariot sent by god must necessarily be paved with love, since god is love. it is his love, indeed, that sends the chariot. look upon your chastenings, then, no matter how grievous they may be for the present, as god's chariots, sent to carry your souls into the "high places" of spiritual achievement and uplifting, and you will find that they are, after all, "paved with love."--_smith._ =may th.= _the blood of jesus christ, his son, cleanseth us from all sin. john i. ._ learn a lesson from the eye of the miner, who all day long is working amid the flying coal dust. when he emerges in the light of day his face may be grimy enough; but his eyes are clear and lustrous, because the fountain of tears in the lachrymal gland is ever pouring its gentle tides over the eye, cleansing away each speck of dust as soon as it alights. is not this the miracle of cleansing which our spirits need in such a world as this? and this is what our blessed lord is prepared to do for us by his cleansing blood, if only we will trust him.--_f. b. meyer._ =may th.= _whatsoever he sayeth unto you, do it. john ii. ._ florence nightingale said: "if i could give you information of my life, it would be to show how a woman of very ordinary ability has been led by god in strange and unaccustomed paths to do in his service what he has done in her. and if i could tell you all, you would see how god has done all, and i nothing. i have worked hard, very hard, that is all; and i have never refused god anything." =may th.= _i know how to abound. phil. iv. ._ it is a dangerous thing to be prosperous. the crucible of adversity is a less severe trial to the christian than the refining-pot of prosperity. it needs more than human skill to carry the brimming cup of mortal joy with a steady hand; yet paul had learned that skill, for he declares, "in all things i am instructed both to be full and to be hungry." when we have much of god's providential mercies it often happens that we have but little of god's grace; satisfied with earth, we are content to do without heaven. rest assured, it is harder to know how to be full than it is to know how to be hungry, so desperate is the tendency of human nature to pride and forgetfulness of god. take care that you ask in your prayers that god would teach you "how to be full."--_spurgeon._ =may th.= _whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. luke xiv. ._ . . . if you ask the way to the crown--'tis by the cross; to the mountain--'tis by the valley; to exaltation 'tis he that humbleth himself.--_j. h. evans._ =may th.= _for their sakes i sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. john xvii. ._ do you remember, when jesus was sitting with his disciples at the last supper, how he lifted up his voice and prayed, and in the midst of his prayer there came these wondrous words: "for their sakes i sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified"? is there anything in all the teachings that man has had from the lips of god that is nobler, that is more far-reaching than that--to be my best not simply for my own sake, but for the sake of the world? you can help your fellow-men--you must help your fellow-men; but the only way you can help them is by being the noblest and the best man that it is possible for you to be.--_phillips brooks._ =may th.= _he that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city. prov. xvi. ._ more dear in the sight of god and his angels than any other conquest is the conquest of self, which each man, with the help of heaven, can secure for himself.--_dean stanley._ =may th.= _for this child i prayed, and the lord hath given me my petition which i asked of him: therefore also i have lent him to the lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the lord. sam. i. , ._ god sometimes bestows gifts just that love may have something to renounce. the things that he puts into our hands are possibly put there that we may have the opportunity of showing what is in our heart. oh, that there were in us a fervor of love that would lead us to examine everything that belongs to us, to ascertain how it might be made a means of showing our affection to christ!--_george bowen._ =may th.= _seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. matt. vi. ._ we need have only one care, that we put the first thing first--faithfulness to god. then all else we need for both worlds will be supplied. god will never fail us; but we forget, sometimes, in our rejoicing over such an assurance, that we must fulfil our part if we would claim the divine promise. it will not always be easy. to-morrow it may mean a distasteful task, a disagreeable duty, a costly sacrifice for one who does not seem worthy. life is full of sore testings of our willingness to follow the good shepherd. we have not the slightest right to claim this assurance unless we have taken christ as the guide of our life.--_j. r. miller._ =may th.= _his praise shall continually be in my mouth. psa. xxxiv. ._ let not thy praises be transient--a fit of music, and then the instrument hung by the wall till another gaudy day of some remarkable providence makes thee take it down. god comes not guestwise to his saints' house, but to dwell with them. david took this up for a life work: "as long as i live, i will praise thee."--_gurnall._ =may th.= _i am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. num. xi. ._ it is most needful for all servants of christ to remember that whenever the lord places a man in a position of responsibility, he will both fit him for it and maintain him in it. it is, of course, another thing altogether if a man will rush unsent into any field of work, or any post of difficulty or danger. in such a case we may assuredly look for a thorough breakdown, sooner or later. but when god calls a man to a certain position, he will endow him with the needed grace to occupy it. this holds good in every case. we can never fail if we only cling to the living god. we can never run dry if we are drawing from the fountain. our tiny springs will soon dry up; but our lord jesus christ declares, "he that believeth in me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."--_c. h. m._ =may th.= _then said i, woe is me, for i am undone: because i am a man of unclean lips, and i dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the king, the lord of hosts. isa. vi. ._ it is not the sight of our sinful heart that humbles us; it is a sight of jesus christ. i am undone because mine eyes have seen the king.--_andrew a. bonar._ =may st.= _while i was musing the fire burned. psa. xxxix. ._ my soul, if thou wouldst muse more, the fire would burn more. why dost thou not retire oftener with thyself? thou wouldst be better fitted for the world if thou wert less worldly. if thou hadst more heavenly fire thou wouldst have more earthly power. is there no secret pavilion into which thou canst go and warm thyself? is there no holy of holies where thou canst catch a glow of impulse that will make thee strong? is it not written of the son of man that "as he _prayed_ the fashion of his countenance was altered"? yes; it was from his prayer that his transfigured glory came. it was from the glow of his heart that there issued the glow of his countenance. it was when he was musing that the fire kindled. o my soul, wouldst thou have thy life glorified, beautified, transfigured to the eyes of men? get thee up into the secret place of god's pavilion, where the fires of love are burning. thy life shall shine gloriously to the dwellers on the plain. thy prayers shall be luminous; they shall light thy face like the face of moses when he wist not that it shone. thy words shall be burning; they will kindle many a heart journeying on the road to emmaus. thy path shall be lambent; when thou hast prayed in elijah's solitude thou shalt have elijah's chariot of fire.--_george matheson._ =may nd.= _whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily i say unto you, he shall in nowise lose his reward. matt. x. ._ we are in danger of looking too far for opportunities of doing good and communicating. in reaching for rhododendrons we trample down the daisies.--_selected._ =may rd.= _hide thyself by the brook. kings xvii. ._ not by the _river_, but by the _brook_. the river would always contain an abundant supply, but the brook might dry up at any moment. what does this teach us? god does not place his people in luxuriance here. the world's abundance might withdraw their affections from him. he gives them not the river, but the brook. the brook may be running to-day, to-morrow it may be dried up. and wherefore does god act thus? to teach us that we are not to rest in his gifts and blessings, but in himself. this is what our hearts are always doing--resting in the gift, instead of the giver. therefore god cannot trust us by the river, for it unconsciously takes up his place in the heart. it is said of israel that when they were full they forgot god.--_f. whitfield._ =may th.= _his kingdom ruleth over all. psa. ciii. ._ _his kingdom ruleth over all_--therefore thou canst find nothing which is not matter for praise, since there is nothing which is not the matter of thy lord's gracious permission, or planning, or control. _over all_--nowhere canst thou step outside his realm, nor in anything get beyond his care and government. _over all_--therefore take all as from god; hold all as from god; and by thy gratitude give all back to god again, and thus complete the circle, making him the alpha and omega, the beginning and the ending of all things.--_mark guy pearse._ =may th.= _if we suffer we shall also reign with him. tim. ii. ._ the highest bidder for the crown of glory is the lowliest wearer of the cross of self-denial.--_a. j. gordon._ =may th.= _keep thy heart with all diligence: for out of it are the issues of life. prov. iv. ._ he who would keep his heart pure and holy, must plant a sentinel at every avenue by which sin may find access there, guarding against none more than the "little" sins, as they are called. the man of god has his _eyes_ to keep, and so job said, "i have made a covenant with mine eyes"--his _tongue_, and hence the exhortation, "keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile"--his _ears_, and hence the warning, "cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err"--his _feet_, and hence david says, "i have refrained my feet from every evil way, that i might keep thy word." and since there is no gate of the five senses by which the enemy may not come in like a flood, unless the spirit lift up a standard against him, we have need to guard every port, and write over every portal, "here there entereth nothing to hurt or to defile."--_guthrie._ =may th.= _whatsoever ye do, . . . do all in the name of the lord jesus. col. iii. ._ do little things as if they were great, because of the majesty of the lord jesus christ, who dwells in thee; and do great things as if they were little and easy, because of his omnipotence.--_pascal._ =may th.= _him they compelled to bear his cross. matt. xxvii. ._ there are many christians of whom this is true. they are compelled to bear the cross, but how does it come? it comes by their running away from it. they make up their minds they won't have christ's cross; and they find when the cross does come that it comes in a more terrible form, with a more crushing weight than ever it would have come had they only been content to submit themselves to the divine direction; for the cross has to come to all who are to be prepared for glory hereafter.--_w. hay aitken._ =may th.= _our lord jesus christ . . . gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world. gal. i. ._ attachment to christ is the only secret of detachment from the world.--_a. j. gordon._ =may th.= _ye are the light of the world. a city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. matt. v. ._ lamps do not talk, but they do shine. a lighthouse sounds no drum, it beats no gong; and yet far over the waters its friendly spark is seen by the mariner. so let your actions shine out your religion. let the main sermon of your life be illustrated by all your conduct.--_spurgeon._ =may st.= _without me ye can do nothing. john xv. ._ _i can do all things, through christ which strengtheneth me. phil. iv. ._ apart from him we can do nothing. whilst we are abiding in him nothing is impossible. the one purpose of our life should therefore be to remain in living and intense union with christ, guarding against everything that would break it, employing every means of cementing and enlarging it. and just in proportion as we do so, we shall find his strength flowing into us for every possible emergency. we may not feel its presence; but we shall find it present whenever we begin to draw on it. there is no temptation which we cannot master; no privation which we cannot patiently bear; no difficulty with which we cannot cope; no work which we cannot perform; no confession or testimony which we cannot make, if only our souls are living in healthy union with jesus christ; for as our day or hour, so shall our strength be.--_f. b. meyer._ [illustration: june] =june st.= _as my father hath sent me, even so send i you. john xx. ._ we should never leave our room until we have seen the face of our dear master, christ, and have realized that we are being sent forth by him to do his will, and to finish the work which he has given us to do. he who said to his immediate followers, "as my father hath sent me, even so send i you," says as much to each one of us, as the dawn summons us to live another day. we should realize that we are as much sent forth by him as the angels who "do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word." there is some plan for each day's work, which he will unfold to us, if only we will look up to him to do so; some mission to fulfil; some ministry to perform; some lesson patiently to learn, that we may be able to "reach others also." as to our plans we need not be anxious; because he who sends us forth is responsible to make the plan, according to his infinite wisdom; and to reveal it to us, however dull and stupid our faculties may be. and as to our sufficiency, we are secure of having all needful grace; because he never sends us forth, except he first breathes on us and says, "receive ye the holy ghost." there is always a special endowment for special power.--_f. b. meyer._ =june nd.= _a fountain . . . for sin and for uncleanness. zech. xiii. ._ you that have faith in the fountain, _frequent it_. beware of two errors which are very natural and very disastrous. beware of thinking any sin too great for it; beware of thinking any sin too small. there is not a sin so little, but it may be the germ of everlasting perdition; there is not a sin so enormous, but a drop of atoning blood will wash it away as utterly as if it were drowned in the depths of the sea.--_james hamilton._ =june rd.= _i am black . . . as the tents of kedar. song of sol. i. ._ _i am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me. song of sol. vii. ._ nothing humbles the soul like sacred and intimate communion with the lord; yet there is a sweet joy in feeling that _he_ knows _all_, and, notwithstanding, loves us still.--_j. hudson taylor._ =june th.= _david enquired of the lord. sam. v. ._ christian, if thou wouldst know the path of duty, take god for thy compass; if thou wouldst steer thy ship through the dark billows, put the tiller into the hand of the almighty. many a rock might be escaped if we would let our father take the helm; many a shoal or quicksand we might well avoid if we would leave it to his sovereign will to choose and to command. the puritan said, "as sure as ever a christian carves for himself he'll cut his own fingers." "i will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go," is god's promise to his people. let us, then, take all our perplexities to him and say, "lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" leave not thy chamber this morning without _enquiring of the lord_.--_spurgeon._ =june th.= _a certain man . . . who never had walked . . . heard paul speak: who . . . perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said . . . stand upright on thy feet. and he leaped and walked. acts xiv. , , ._ where true faith is, it will induce obedience and where it does induce obedience, it will always, in one form or another, bring a blessing.--_w. hay aitken._ =june th.= _then said martha unto jesus, lord . . . i know that . . . whatsoever thou wilt ask of god, god will give it thee. jesus saith unto her, thy brother shall rise again. martha saith unto him, i know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. john xi. , , , ._ beware, in your prayer, above everything, of limiting god, not only by unbelief, but by fancying that you know what he can do. expect unexpected things, _above all that_ we ask or think. each time you intercede, be quiet first and worship god in his glory. think of what he can do, of how he delights to hear christ, of your place in christ; and expect great things.--_andrew murray._ =june th.= _as many of you as have been baptized into christ have put on christ. gal. iii. ._ not simply the righteousness of our savior, not simply the beauty of his holiness or the graces of his character, are we to put on as a garment. the lord himself is our vesture. every christian is not only a christ-bearer but a christ-wearer. we are so to enter into him by communion, to be so endued with his presence, and embued with his spirit that men shall see him when they behold us, as they see our garments when they look upon our bodies.--=a. j. gordon.= =june th.= _thou shalt never wash my feet. john xiii. ._ whatever hinders us from receiving a blessing that god is willing to bestow upon us is not humility, but the mockery of it. a genuine humility will ever feel the need of the largest measures of grace, and will be perfected just in the degree in which that grace is bestowed. the truly humble man will seek to be filled with all the fulness of god, knowing that when so filled there is not the slightest place for pride or for self.--_george bowen._ =june th.= _cast thy burden upon the lord, and he shall sustain thee. psa. lv. ._ he that taketh his own cares upon himself loads himself with an uneasy burden. the fear of what _may_ come, expectation of what _will_ come, desire of what will _not_ come, and the inability to redress all these, must needs bring him continual torment. _i_ will cast my cares upon _god_: he hath bidden me. they cannot hurt him: he can redress them.--_hall._ =june th.= _well done, good and faithful servant. . . . thou wicked and slothful servant. matt. xxv. , ._ god holds us responsible not for what we _have_, but for what we _might have_; not for what we _are_, but for what we _might_ be.--_mark guy pearse._ =june th.= _jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship. matt. xiv. ._ jesus _constrained_ them to go! one would think that if ever there was the certain promise of success in a mission, it was here. surely, here, if anywhere, a triumphant issue might have been confidently predicted; and yet here, more than anywhere, there was seeming failure. he sent them out on a voyage, and they met such a storm as they had never yet experienced. let me ponder this, for it has been so with me, too. i have sometimes felt myself impelled to act by an influence which seemed above me--constrained to put to sea. the belief that i was constrained gave me confidence, and i was sure of a calm voyage. but the result was outward failure. the calm became a storm; the sea raged, the winds roared, the ship tossed in the midst of the waves, and my enterprise was wrecked ere it could reach the land. was, then, my divine command a delusion? nay; nor yet was my mission a failure. he did send me on that voyage, but he did not send me for _my_ purpose. he had one end and i had another. my end was the outward calm; his was my meeting with the storm. my end was to gain the harbor of a material rest; his was to teach me there is a rest even on the open sea.--_george matheson._ =june th.= _study to shew thyself approved unto god, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. tim. ii. ._ have thy tools ready; god will find thee work.--_charles kingsley._ =june th.= _come out from among them, and be ye separate. cor. vi. ._ with all the world in his choice, god placed his ancient people in a very remarkable situation. on the north they were walled in by the snowy ranges of lebanon; a barren desert formed their eastern boundary; far to the south stretched a sterile region, called the howling wilderness; while the sea--not then, as now, the highway of the nations, facilitating rather than impeding intercourse--lay on their west, breaking on a shore that had few harbors and no navigable rivers to invite the steps of commerce. may we not find a great truth in the very position in which god placed his chosen people? it certainly teaches us that to be holy, or sanctified, we must be a separate people--living in the world, but not of it--as oil, that may be mixed, but cannot be combined with water.--_guthrie._ =june th.= _i am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land. gen. xxviii. ._ "with thee," companionship; "keep thee," guardianship; "bring thee," guidance. =june th.= _i have set thee . . . that thou shouldst be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. acts xiii. ._ _ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . unto the uttermost parts of the earth. acts i. ._ men are questioning now, as they never have questioned before, whether christianity is, indeed, the true religion which is to be the salvation of the world. christian men, it is for us to give our bit of answer to that question. it is for us, in whom the christian church is at this moment partially embodied, to declare that christianity, that the christian faith, the christian manhood can do that for the world which the world needs. you ask, "what can i do?" you can furnish one christian life. you can furnish a life so faithful to every duty, so ready for every service, so determined not to commit every sin, that the great christian church shall be the stronger for your living in it, and the problem of the world be answered, and a certain great peace come into this poor, perplexed, phase of our humanity as it sees that new revelation of what christianity is.--_phillips brooks._ =june th.= _i know whom i have believed. tim. i. ._ personal acquaintance with christ is a living thing. like a tree that uses every hour for growth, it thrives in sunshine, it is refreshed by rain--even the storm drives it to fasten its grip more firmly in the earth for its support. so, troubled heart, in all experience, say, "this comes that i may make closer acquaintance with my lord."--_selected._ =june th.= _wait for the promise of the father. acts i. ._ _when the day of pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place . . . and they were all filled with the holy ghost. acts ii. , ._ obedience to a divine prompting transforms it into a permanent acquisition.--_f. b. meyer._ =june th.= _we have known and believed the love that god hath to us. john iv. ._ the secret of walking closely with christ, and working successfully for him, is to fully realize that we are his beloved. let us but feel that he has set his heart upon us, that he is watching us from those heavens with tender interest, that he is working out the mystery of our lives with solicitude and fondness, that he is following us day by day as a mother follows her babe in his first attempt to walk alone, that he has set his love upon us, and, in spite of ourselves, is working out for us his highest will and blessing, as far as we will let him, and then nothing can discourage us. our hearts will glow with responsive love. our faith will spring to meet his mighty promises, and our sacrifices shall become the very luxuries of love for one so dear. this was the secret of john's spirit. "we have known and believed the love that god hath to us." and the heart that has fully learned this has found the secret of unbounded faith and enthusiastic service.--_a. b. simpson._ =june th.= _endure . . . as a good soldier of jesus christ. tim. ii. ._ life is not victory, but battle. be patient a little longer. by and by, each in his turn, we shall hear the sunset gun.--_selected._ =june th.= _whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple. luke xiv. ._ there is always the shadow of the cross resting upon the christian's path. is that a reason why you should avoid or not undertake the duty? have you made up your mind that you will follow your master everywhere else, save when he ascends the path that leads to the cross? is that your religion? the sooner you change it, the better. the religion of the lord jesus christ is the religion of the cross, and unless we take up our cross, we can never follow him.--_w. hay aitken._ =june st.= _these . . . have turned the world upside down. acts xvii. ._ the serene beauty of a holy life is the most powerful influence in the world next to the might of god.--_pascal._ =june nd.= _what i do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. john xiii. ._ god keeps a school for his children here on earth and one of his best teachers is disappointment. my friend, when you and i reach our father's house, we shall look back and see that the sharp-voiced, rough; visaged teacher, disappointment, was one of the best guides to train us for it. he gave us hard lessons; he often used the rod; he often led us into thorny paths; he sometimes stripped off a load of luxuries; but that only made us travel the freer and the faster on our heavenward way. he sometimes led us down into the valley of the death-shadow; but never did the promises read so sweetly as when spelled out by the eye of faith in that very valley. nowhere did he lead us so often, or teach us such sacred lessons, as at the cross of christ. dear, old, rough-handed teacher! we will build a monument to thee yet, and crown it with garlands, and inscribe on it: _blessed be the memory of disappointment!_--_theodore cuyler._ =june rd.= _as thy days, so shall thy strength be. deut. xxxiii. ._ _i can do all things through christ which strengtheneth me. phil. iv. ._ he will not impose upon you one needless burden. he will not exact more than he knows your strength will bear. he will ask no peter to come to him on the water, unless he impart at the same time strength and support on the unstable waves. he will not ask you to draw water if the well is too deep, or to withdraw the stone if too heavy. but neither at the same time will he admit as an impossibility that which, as a free and responsible agent, it is in your power to avert. he will not regard as your misfortune what is your crime.--_macduff._ =june th.= _thy heart is not right in the sight of god. acts viii. ._ the worst of all mockeries is a religion that leaves the heart unchanged: a religion that has _everything_ but the love of christ enshrined in the soul.--_f. whitfield._ =june th.= _the holy ghost said, separate me barnabas and saul for the work whereunto i have called them. acts xiii. ._ we have such a nice little quiet, shady corner in the vineyard, down among the tender grapes, with such easy little weedings and waterings to attend to. and then the master comes and draws us out into the thick of the work, and puts us in a part of the field where we never should have thought of going, and puts larger tools into our hands, that we may do more at a stroke. and we know we are not sufficient for these things, and the very tools seem too heavy for us, and the glare too dazzling and the vines too tall. ah! but would we dally, go back? he would not be in the shady corner with us now; for when he put us forth he went before us, and it is only by closer following that we can abide with him.--_frances ridley havergal._ =june th.= _small things. zech. iv. ._ it is the little words you speak, the little thoughts you think, the little things you do or leave undone, the little moments you waste or use wisely, the little temptations which you yield to or overcome--the little things of every day that are making or marring your future life.--_selected._ =june th.= _be perfect, be of good comfort. cor. xiii. ._ a glance at the words is enough to make us feel how contradictory they are. _be perfect_--that is a word that strikes us with despair; at once we feel how far away we are from our own poor ideal, and alas! how much further from god's ideal concerning us. _be of good comfort_--ah, that is very different! that seems to say, "do not fret; do not fear. if you are not what you would be, you must be thankful for what you are." now the question is this--how can these two be reconciled? it is only the religion of jesus christ that reconciles them. he stands in our midst, and with the right hand of his righteousness he pointeth us upward, and saith, "be perfect." there is no resting-place short of that. yet with the left hand of his love he doth encompass us, as he saith, "soul, be of good comfort; for that is what i came to do for thee."--_mark guy pearse._ =june th.= _be ye therefore perfect, even as your father which is in heaven is perfect. matt. v. ._ seeking the aid of the holy spirit, let us aim at perfection. let every day see some sin crucified, some battle fought, some good done, some victory won; let every fall be followed by a rise, and every step gained become, not a resting-place, but a new starting-point for further and higher progress.--_guthrie._ =june th.= _sleep on now, and take your rest. mark xiv. ._ never did that sacred opportunity to watch with christ return to his disciples. lost then, it was lost forever. and now when jesus is still beholding the travail of his soul in the redemption of the world, if you fail to be with him watching for souls as they that must give account, remember that the opportunity will never return. "watch, therefore," says your lord, "lest coming suddenly, he may find you sleeping."--_a. j. gordon._ =june th.= _let us not sleep, as do others. thess. v. ._ there are many ways of promoting christian wakefulness. among the rest, let me strongly advise christians to converse together concerning the ways of the lord. christian and hopeful, as they journeyed towards the celestial city, said to themselves: "to prevent drowsiness in this place, let us fall into good discourse." christians who isolate themselves and walk alone are very liable to grow drowsy. hold christian company, and you will be kept wakeful by it, and refreshed and encouraged to make quicker progress in the road to heaven.--_spurgeon._ [illustration: july] =july st.= _he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, fear not. rev. i. ._ one of wellington's officers, when commanded to go on some perilous duty, lingered a moment as if afraid, and then said: "let me have one clasp of your all-conquering hand before i go; and then i can do it." seek the clasp of christ's hand before every bit of work, every hard task, every battle, every good deed. bend your head in the dewy freshness of every morning, ere you go forth to meet the day's duties and perils, and wait for the benediction of christ, as he lays his hands upon you. they are hands of blessing. their touch will inspire you for courage and strength and all beautiful and noble living.--_j. r. miller._ =july nd.= _being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of god. acts i. ._ this lingering for forty days is the crowning proof of christ's tender regard for his little flock. he who had laid down his life for them is loath to leave them. though they had forsaken him, and doubted him, they had not wearied, much less had they worn out, his love. he stays to look again, and yet again, and yet again, upon them, as if turning back and lingering to bless them. it is all of a piece with his life of love. everywhere he meets them without a touch of upbraiding, without recalling a single memory of all his bitter suffering, revealing himself to the disciples with a tenderness and blessedness indescribably beautiful. how can he go till he has healed the magdalene's broken heart? he must linger till poor peter can venture near to have his forgiveness assured. he must stay to strengthen thomas' faith. he must tarry with them till he has made them feel that he is just the same friendly, brotherly jesus that he has ever been, caring for them in their work, watching them with a yearning pity, stooping to kindle a fire for their warmth, and to cook the fish for their meal, and then to bid them come and dine.--_mark guy pearse._ =july rd.= _jesus, . . . being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well. . . . (for his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) . . . and many of the samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, he told me all that ever i did. john iv. , , ._ the bits of wayside work are very sweet. perhaps the odd bits, when all is done, will really come to more than the seemingly greater pieces! . . . it is nice to know that the king's servants are always really on duty, even while some can only stand and wait.--_frances ridley havergal._ =july th.= _peace i leave with you, my peace i give unto you . . . let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. john xiv. ._ dark hours come to us all; and if we have no clew to a peace that can pass unbroken through their murky gloom, we shall be in a state of continual dread. any stone flung by a chance passer-by may break the crystal clearness of the lake of peace and send disturbing ripples across it, unless we have learnt to trust in the perpetual presence of him who can make and keep a "great calm" within the soul. only let nothing come to you which you shall not instantly hand over to him--all petty worries, all crushing difficulties, all inability to believe.--_f. b. meyer._ =july th.= _isaac dwelt by the well lahai-roi. gen. xxv. ._ isaac dwelt there, and made the well of the living and all-seeing god his constant source of supply. the usual tenor of a man's life, the _dwelling_ of his soul, is the true test of his state. let us learn to live in the presence of the living god. let us pray the holy spirit that this day, and every other day, we may feel, "thou god seest me." may the lord jehovah be as a well to us, delightful, comforting, unfailing, springing up unto eternal life. the bottle of the creature cracks and dries up, but the well of the creator never fails. happy is he who dwells at the well, and so has abundant and constant supplies near at hand! glorious lord, constrain us that we may never leave thee, but dwell by the well of the living god!--_spurgeon._ =july th.= _judas iscariot . . . was a thief, and had the bag, and bore what was put therein. john xii. , ._ _freely ye have received, freely give. matt. x. ._ ah, but if we should go thoroughly into this matter, should we not probably find that many of us are guilty, in some modified and yet sufficiently alarming sense, of treachery to the poor? are we not, some of us, sent to them with benefactions which never reach them, and are only unconscious of guilt because so long accustomed to look upon the goods as bestowed on us, whereas the light of god's word would plainly reveal upon those goods the names of the poor and needy?--_george bowen._ =july th.= _let every man take heed how he buildeth. cor. iii. ._ our business is not to build quickly, but to build upon a right foundation, and in a right spirit. life is more than a mere competition as between man and man; it is not who can be done first, but who can work best; it is not who can rise highest in the shortest time, but who is working most patiently and lovingly in accordance with the designs of god.--_joseph parker._ =july th.= _as thy days, so shall thy strength be. deut. xxxiii. ._ no day without its duty; no duty without strength to perform it.--_selected._ =july th.= _surely the lord is in this place, and i knew it not. gen. xxviii. ._ "surely the lord was in this place, and i knew it not." my soul, this is also thine experience! how often hast thou said in thy sorrow, "verily thou art a god that hidest thyself!" how often hast thou slept for very heaviness of heart, and desired not to wake again! and when thou didst wake again, lo, the darkness was all a dream! thy vision of yesterday was a delusion. god had been with thee all the night with that radiance which has no need of the sun. o my soul, it is not only after the future thou must aspire; thou must aspire to see the glory of thy past. thou must find the glory of that way by which thy god has led thee, and be able even of thy sorrow to say, "this was the gate of heaven!"--_george matheson._ =july th.= _my meat is to do the will of him that sent me. john iv. ._ the real secret of an unsatisfied life lies too often in an unsurrendered will.--_j. hudson taylor._ =july th.= _giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue. pet. i. ._ you will find it less easy to unroot faults than to choke them by gaining virtues. 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.--_john ruskin._ =july th.= _awake, o north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. song of sol. iv. ._ sometimes god sends severe blasts of trial upon his children to develop their graces. just as torches burn most brightly when swung violently to and fro; just as the juniper plant smells sweetest when flung into the flames; so the richest qualities of a christian often come out under the north wind of suffering and adversity. bruised hearts often emit the fragrance that god loveth to smell. almost every true believer's experience contains the record of trials which were sent for the purpose of shaking the spice tree.--_theodore cuyler._ =july th.= _awake, o north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. song of sol. iv. ._ there are two winds mentioned in this beautiful prayer. god may send either or both, as seemeth him good. he may send the north wind of conviction, to bring us to repentance, or he may send the south wind of love, to melt us into gratitude and holy joy. if we often require the sharp blasts of trial to develop our graces, do we not also need the warm south breezes of his mercy? do we not need the new sense of christ's presence in our hearts and the joys of the holy ghost? do we not need to be melted, yes, to be overpowered by the love of jesus?--_theodore cuyler._ =july th.= _behold the man! john xix. ._ "behold the man!" was pilate's jeer. that is what all the ages have been doing since, and the vision has grown more and more glorious. as they have looked, the crown of thorns has become a crown of golden radiance, and the cast-off robe has glistened like the garments he wore on the night of the transfiguration. martyrs have smiled in the flames at that vision. sinners have turned at it to a new life. little children have seen it, and have had awakened by it dim recollections of their heaven-home. toward it the souls of men yearn ever.--_robert e. speer._ =july th.= _he (john) saith, behold the lamb of god! and the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed jesus. john i. , ._ to be a christian means to know the presence of a true personal christ among us, and to follow.--_phillips brooks._ =july th.= _ye shall not eat of it. gen. iii. ._ the sin of paradise was eating the tree of knowledge before the tree of life. life must ever be first. knowing and not being, hearing and not doing, admiring and not possessing, all are light without life.--_selected._ =july th.= _let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. james i. ._ are you where god would have you be? if not, come out, and at once, for you certainly ought not to be there. if you are, then be afraid to complain of circumstances which god has ordained on purpose to work out in you the very image and likeness of his son.--_mark guy pearse._ =july th.= _sow beside all waters. isa. xxxii. ._ never mind whereabouts your work is. never mind whether it be visible or not. never mind whether your name is associated with it. you may never see the issues of your toils. you are working for eternity. if you cannot see results here in the hot working day, the cool evening hours are drawing near, when you may rest from your labors and then they will follow you. so do your duty, and trust god to give the seed you sow "a body as it hath pleased him,"--_alex. mclaren._ =july th.= _hold thou me up, and i shall be safe. psa. cxix. ._ do not spoil the chime of this morning's bells by ringing one half a peal! do not say, "hold thou me up," and stop there, or add, "but all the same i shall stumble and fall!" finish the peal with god's own music, the bright words of faith that he puts into your mouth: "hold thou me up, _and i shall be safe!_"--_frances ridley havergal._ =july th.= _lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy. matt. viii. ._ we, in this age of the church, are in the position of that sick servant at capernaum. to the eye of sense we are separated from the savior. we see him not--we can touch him not--the hand cannot steal amid the crowd to catch his garment hem--we cannot hear his loved footsteps as of old on our threshold; but faith penetrates the invisible; the messenger--prayer--meets him in the streets of the new jerusalem; and faith and prayer together, the twin delegates from his church below, he has never yet sent empty away.--_macduff._ =july st.= _work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is god which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. phil. ii. , ._ what a staggering weight of thought is excited by these words! stay, my soul, and wonder that the eternal god should stoop to work within thy narrow limits. is it not a marvel indeed, that he, whom the heavens cannot contain, and in whose sight they are not clean, should trouble himself to work on such material, so unpromising, and amidst circumstances so uncongenial? how careful should we be to make him welcome, and to throw no hindrance in his way! how eager to garner up all the least movements of his gracious operation, as the machinist conserves the force of his engine; and as the goldsmith, with miserly care, collects every flake of gold leaf! surely we shall be sensible of the _fear_ of holy reverence and the _trembling_ of eager anxiety; as we "work out," into daily act and life, all that god our father is "working in."--_f. b. meyer._ =july nd.= _. . . sinners of whom i am chief. . . . now unto the king, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise god, be honor and glory for ever and ever. amen. tim. i. , ._ only those who have struck the deepest note of penitence can reach the highest note of praise.--_a. j. gordon._ =july rd.= _blessed is the man . . . that keepeth the sabbath. isa. lvi. ._ the sabbath is the savings-bank of human life, into which we deposit one day in seven to be repaid in the autumn of life with compound interest.--_selected._ =july th.= _cleanse thou me from secret faults. psa. xix. ._ the world wants men who are saved from secret faults. the world can put on an outside goodness and go very far in uprightness and morality, and it expects that a christian shall go beyond it, and be free from secret faults. a little crack will spoil the ring of the coin. . . . the world expects, and rightly, that the christian should be more gentle, and patient, and generous, than he who does not profess to be a disciple of the lord jesus. for the sake of those who take their notion of religion from our lives, we need to put up this prayer earnestly, "cleanse thou me from secret faults."--_mark guy pearse._ =july th.= _do thou that which is good. kings x. ._ keep as few good intentions hovering about as possible. they are like ghosts haunting a dwelling. the way to lay them is to find bodies for them. when they are embodied in substantial deeds they are no longer dangerous.--_william arnot._ =july th.= _grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our lord and savior, jesus christ. pet. iii. ._ grace has its dawn as well as day; grace has its green blade, and afterwards its ripe corn in the ear; grace has its babes and its men in christ. with god's work there, as with all his works, "in all places of his dominion," progress is both the prelude and the path to perfection. therefore we are exhorted to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our lord and savior jesus christ, to go on to perfection, saying with paul, "i count not myself to have apprehended; but this one thing i do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, i press towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of god in christ jesus."--_guthrie._ =july th.= _sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived, and by it slew me. rom. vii. ._ christian, beware how thou thinkest lightly of sin. take heed lest thou fall by little and little. sin, a _little_ thing? is it not a poison? who knows its deadliness? sin, a little thing? do not the little foxes spoil the grapes? doth not the tiny coral insect build a rock which wrecks a navy? do not little strokes fell lofty oaks? will not continual droppings wear away stones? sin, a little thing? it girded the redeemer's head with thorns, and pierced his heart! it made _him_ suffer anguish, bitterness and woe. could you weigh the least sin in the scales of eternity, you would fly from it as from a serpent, and abhor _the least appearance of evil_. look upon all sin as that which crucified the savior, and you will see it to be "exceeding sinful."--_spurgeon._ =july th.= _your heavenly father knoweth. matt. vi. ._ the master judges by the result, but our father judges by the effort. failure does not always mean fault. he knows how much things cost, and weighs them where others only measure. your father! think how great store his love sets by the poor beginnings of the little ones, clumsy and unmeaning as they may be to others. all this lies in this blessed relationship, and infinitely more. do not fear to take it all as your own.--_mark guy pearse._ =july th.= _ye are dead, and your life is hid with christ in god. col. iii. ._ it is neither talent, nor power, nor gifts that do the work of god, but it is that which lies within the power of the humblest; it is the simple, earnest life hid with christ in god.--_f. w. robertson._ =july th.= _the mother of jesus saith unto him, they have no wine. jesus saith unto her, woman, what have i to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. his mother saith unto the servants, whatsoever he saith unto you, do it. john ii. , , ._ in asking for temporal blessings, true wisdom lies in putting the matter into the lord's hand, and leaving it there. he knows our sorrows, and, if he sees it is good for us that the water should be turned into wine, he will do it. it is not for us to dictate: he sees what is best for us. when we ask for prosperity, perhaps the thing which we should have is trial. when we want to be relieved of a "thorn in the flesh," he knows what we should have is an apprehension of the fact that his grace is sufficient for us. so we are put into his school, and have to learn the lessons he has to teach us.--_w. hay aitken._ =july st.= _let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. cor x. ._ angels fell in heaven, adam in paradise, peter in christ's presence.--_theophilus polwheile._ [illustration: august] =august st.= _continue in prayer. col. iv. ._ the greatest and the best talent that god gives to any man or woman in this world is the talent of prayer. and the best usury that any man or woman brings back to god when he comes to reckon with them at the end of this world is a life of prayer. and those servants best put their lord's money to the exchangers who rise early and sit late, as long as they are in this world, ever finding out, and ever following after better and better methods of prayer, and ever forming more secret, more steadfast, and more spiritually fruitful habits of prayer, till they literally pray without ceasing, and till they continually strike out into new enterprises in prayer, and new achievements, and new enrichments.--_alex. whyte._ =august nd.= _he entered into one of the ships . . . and . . . sat down. luke v. iii._ when jesus sits in the ship everything is in its right place. the cargo is in the hold, _not in the heart_. cares and gains, fears and losses, yesterday's failure and today's success do not thrust themselves in between us and his presence. the heart cleaves to _him_. "goodness and mercy shall _follow_ me," sang the psalmist. alas, when the goodness and mercy come before us, and our blessings shut jesus from view! here is the blessed order--the lord ever first, i following him, his goodness and mercy following me.--_mark guy pearse._ =august rd.= _now are ye light in the lord: walk as children of light. eph. v. ._ we do not realize the importance of the unconscious part of our life ministry. it goes on continually. in every greeting we give to another on the street, in every moment's conversation, in every letter we write, in every contact with other lives, there is a subtle influence that goes from us that often reaches further, and leaves a deep impression than the things themselves that we are doing at the time. it is not so much what we _do_ in this world as what we _are_, that tells in spiritual results and impressions.--_j. r. miller._ =august th.= _created in christ jesus unto good works. eph. ii. ._ let us ask him to work in us to _will_ those good works, so that our _will_, without being impaired in its free operation, may be permeated and moulded by his will, just as light suffuses the atmosphere without displacing it. and let us also expect that he will infuse into us sufficient strength that we may be able to _do_ his will unto all pleasing. thus, day by day, our life will be a manifestation of those holy volitions and lovely deeds which shall attest the indwelling and inworking of god. and men shall see our good works, and glorify our father which is in heaven.--_f. b. meyer._ =august th.= _go in this thy might . . . have not i sent thee? judges vi. ._ god never leaves his child to fail when in the path of obedience.--_theodore cuyler._ =august th.= _set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. col. iii. ._ _whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. eccles. ix. ._ if we are to live separate from the world, how, since men only do well what they do with a will, are we, with affections fixed on things above, to perform aright the secular, ordinary duties of life? if our hearts are engrossed with heavenly things, how are we to obey this other, and equally divine, commandment, "whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might"? the two are perfectly consistent. man standing between the celestial and terrestrial worlds is related to both; and resembling neither a flower, which, springing from the dust and returning to it, belongs altogether to the earth, nor a star which, shining far remote from its lower sphere, belongs altogether to the heavens, our hearts may be fitly likened to the rainbow that, rising into heaven but resting on earth, is connected both with the clods of the valley and the clouds of the sky.--_guthrie._ =august th.= _let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto jesus. heb. xii. , ._ think, as you sit here, of anything that you are doing that is wrong, of any habit of your life, of your self-indulgence, or of that great, pervasive habit of your life which makes you a creature of the present instead of the eternities, a creature of the material earth instead of the glorious skies. ask yourself of any habit that belongs to your own personal life, and bring it face to face with jesus christ.--_phillips brooks._ =august th.= _they took knowledge of them, that they had been with jesus. acts iv. ._ if i think of the world, i get the impress of the world; if i think of my trials and sorrows, i get the impress of my trials and sorrows; if i think of my failures, i get the impress of my failures; if i think of christ, i get the impress of christ.--_selected._ =august th.= _ye call me teacher, and lord: and ye say well; for so i am. john xiii. . (r. v. margin)._ how wonderful a teacher we have! sometimes we seek him in the house, but he is not there. we go forth seeking him and find him perhaps in the wilderness or on a mountain praying, or leading some poor blind man by the hand, or eating with publicans or sinners, or asleep in a storm or conversing with a samaritan woman, or surrounded by wrathful men, or bearing a cross. it is not merely his words that instruct. his place, his occupation, his companions, his environment, his garment, his silence, his submission--all teem with instruction. and they that learn of him are made like unto him.--_george bowen._ =august th.= _the father sent the son to be the savior of the world. john iv. ._ it is a sweet thought that jesus christ did not come forth without his father's permission, authority, consent, and assistance. he was sent of the father that he might be the savior of men. . . . didst thou ever consider the depth of love in the heart of jehovah, when god the father equipped his son for the great enterprise of mercy? if not, be this thy day's meditation. the _father_ sent him! contemplate that subject. think how jesus works what the _father_ wills. in the wounds of the dying savior see the love of the great i am. let every thought of jesus be also connected with the eternal, ever-blessed god.--_spurgeon._ =august th.= _they that wait upon the lord shall change their strength. isa. xl. . (r. v.)_ lord, what a change within us one short hour spent in thy presence will prevail to make! what heavy burdens from our bosoms take! what parched grounds refresh as with a shower! we kneel--and all around us seems to lower. we rise--and all the distant and the near stand forth in sunny outline, brave and clear. we kneel--how weak: we rise--how full of power. why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong or others--that we are not always strong; that we are ever overborne with care; that we should ever weak or heartless be, anxious or troubled, while with _us_ is prayer, and joy and strength and courage are with _thee_? --_archbishop trench._ =august th.= _as for thee, the lord thy god hath not suffered thee so to do. deut. xviii. ._ what a stepping-stone! we give thanks, often with a tearful, doubtful voice, for our spiritual mercies _positive_; but what an almost infinite field there is for mercies _negative_! we cannot even imagine all that god has suffered us _not_ to do, _not_ to be.--_frances ridley havergal._ =august th.= _jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick. . . . and when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come he was there alone. matt. xiv. , ._ do we, like him, combine the two great elements of human character? are our _public_ duties, the cares, and business, and engrossments of the world, finely tempered and hallowed by a _secret_ walk with god? if the world were to follow us from its busy thoroughfares, would it trace us to our family altars and our closet devotions? action and meditation are the two great components of christian life, and the perfection of the religious character is to find the two in unison and harmony.--_macduff._ =august th.= _leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps. pet. ii. . (r. v.)_ i have long since ceased to pray, "lord jesus, have compassion on a lost world!" i remember the day and the hour when i seemed to hear the lord rebuking me for making such a prayer. he seemed to say to me, "i have had compassion upon a lost world, and now it is for you to have compassion."--_a. j. gordon._ =august th.= _thou shalt have no other gods before me. ex. xx. ._ if you find yourself beginning to love any pleasure better than your prayers, any book better than your bible, any house better than god's, any table better than the lord's, any person better than your savior, any one better than your soul, a present indulgence better than the hope of heaven--take alarm!--_guthrie._ =august th.= _be ye followers of me, even as i also am of christ. cor. xi. ._ when in the mexican war the troops were wavering, a general rose in his stirrups and dashed into the enemy's line, shouting, "men, follow!" they, seeing his courage and disposition, dashed on after him, and gained the victory. what men want to rally them for god is an example to lead them. all your commands to others to advance amount to nothing so long as you stay behind. to effect them aright, you need to start for heaven yourself, looking back only to give the stirring cry of "men, follow!"--_t. dewitt talmage._ =august th.= _serving the lord with all humility of mind. acts xx. ._ there is a legend of an artist who long sought for a piece of sandalwood, out of which to carve a madonna. he was about to give up in despair, leaving the vision of his life unrealized, when in a dream he was bidden to carve his madonna from a block of oak wood, which was destined for the fire. he obeyed, and produced a masterpiece from a log of common fire-wood. many of us lose great opportunities in life by waiting to find sandalwood for our carvings, when they really lie hidden in the common logs that we burn.--_orison swett marden._ =august th.= _my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. cor. xii. ._ god's way of answering his people's prayers is not by removing the pressure, but by increasing their strength to bear it. the pressure is often the fence between the narrow way of life and the broad road to ruin; and if our heavenly father were to remove it, it might be at the sacrifice of heaven. oh, if god had removed that thorny fence in answer, often to earnest prayers, how many of us would now be castaways! how the song of many a saint now in glory would be hushed! how many a harp would be unstrung! how many a place in the mansions of the redeemed would be unfilled! if god answered all the prayers we put up to heaven, we should need no other scourge. blessed it is that we have one who is too loving to grant what we too often so rashly ask.--_f. whitfield._ =august th.= _abide in me, and i in you. as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. john xv. ._ from moment to moment, and from hour to hour, the inner nature of man is to be continuously sustained with the life of god. only as i am constantly receiving his fulness into my emptiness am i really living in the true, full, deep sense of the word, that life of eternity, which is my privilege now, and will be my glory hereafter.--_w. hay aitken._ =august th.= _by faith noah . . . prepared an ark to the saving of his house. heb. xi. ._ what a humble, what a modest sphere for the exercise of faith! one would have said that the purpose was quite disproportionate to the work. the ark was a great undertaking, but what was it undertaken for? to save his own family. is so narrow a sphere worthy to be the object of faith? is so commonplace a scene as the life of the family circle fit to be a temple for the service of god? . . . my soul, when thou hast finished thy prayers and ended thy meditations, do not say that thou hast left the house of god. god's house shall to thee be everywhere, and thine own house shall be a part of it. thou shalt feel that all the duties of this place are consecrated; that it is none other than the house of god and one of the gates to heaven. thou shalt feel that every one of its duties is an act of high communion. therefore be it thine to make thy house _his_ house. be it thine to consecrate each word and look and deed in the social life of home. be it thine to build thine ark of refuge for the wants of common day; verily, thy labor of love shall be called an act of faith.--_george matheson._ =august st.= _we are his workmanship, created in christ jesus unto good works which god hath before ordained that we should walk in them. eph. ii. ._ no man is born into the world whose work is not born with him. there is always work, and tools to work withal, for those who will.--_j. b. lowell._ =august nd.= _he . . . began to wash the disciples' feet. john xiii. ._ we forget that jesus christ is the same to-day, when he is sitting on the throne, as he was yesterday, when he trod the pathway of our world. and in this forgetfulness how much we miss! what he was, that he is. what he said, that he says. the gospels are simply specimens of the life that he is ever living; they are leaves torn out of the diary of his unchangeable being. to-day he is engaged in washing the feet of his disciples, soiled with their wilderness journeyings. yes, that charming incident is having its fulfilment in thee, my friend, if only thou dost not refuse the lowly loving offices of him whom we call master and lord, but who still girds himself and comes forth to serve. and we must have this incessant cleansing if we would keep right. it is not enough to look back to a certain hour when we first knelt at the feet of the son of god for pardon; and heard him say, "thy sins, which are many, are all forgiven." we need daily, hourly cleansing--from daily, hourly sin.--_f. b. meyer._ =august rd.= _i am the lord, i change not. mal. iii. ._ our hope is not hung upon such untwisted thread as "i imagine so," or "it is likely"; but the cable, the strong rope of our fastened anchor, is the oath and promise of him who is eternal verity. our salvation is fastened with god's own hand and christ's own strength to the strong stake of god's unchanging nature.--_william rutherford._ =august th.= _i will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. ezek. xxxiv. ._ what is thy _season_ this morning? is it the season of drought? then that is the season for showers. is it a season of great heaviness and black clouds? then that is the season for showers. "as thy days so shall thy strength be." "i will give thee _showers_ of blessing." the word is in the plural. all kinds of blessings god will send. all god's blessings go together, like links in a golden chain. if he gives converting grace, he will also give comforting grace. he will send "showers of blessings." look up to-day, o parched plant, and open thy leaves and flowers for a heavenly watering.--_spurgeon._ =august th.= _nevertheless, at thy word. luke v. ._ oh, what a blessed formula for us! this path of mine is dark, mysterious, perplexing; _nevertheless, at thy word_ i will go forward. this trial of mine is cutting, sore for flesh and blood to bear. it is hard to breathe through a broken heart, thy will be done. but, _nevertheless, at thy word_ i will say, even so, father! this besetting habit, or infirmity, or sin of mine, is difficult to crucify. it has become part of myself--a second nature; to be severed from it would be like the cutting off of a right hand, or the plucking out of a right eye; _nevertheless, at thy word_ i will lay aside every weight; this idol i will utterly abolish. this righteousness of mine it is hard to ignore; all these virtues, and amiabilities, and natural graces, it is hard to believe that they dare not in any way be mixed up in the matter of my salvation; and that i am to receive all from first to last as the gift of god, through jesus christ my lord. _nevertheless, at thy word_ i will count all but loss for the excellency of his knowledge.--_macduff._ =august th.= _if we suffer, we shall also reign with him. tim. ii. ._ the photographer must have a negative, as he calls it, in order to furnish you with a picture. now, the earthly cross is the negative from which the heavenly crown is to be made; the suffering and sorrow of the present time determining the glory, honor and immortality of the life to come.--_a. j. gordon._ =august th.= _the word of god, which liveth and abideth forever. pet. i. ._ the word abideth. the jew hated it--but it lived on, while the veil was torn away from the shrine which the shekinah had forsaken, and while jerusalem itself was destroyed. the greek derided it--but it has seen his philosophy effete and his acropolis in ruins. the romans threw it into the flames--but it rose from its ashes, and swooped down upon the falling eagle. the reasoner cast it into the furnace, which his own negligence had heated "seven times hotter than its wont"--but it came out without the smell of fire. the formalist fastened serpents around it to poison it--but it shook them off and felt no harm. the infidel cast it overboard in a tempest of sophistry and sarcasm--but it rode gallantly upon the crest of the proud waters. and it is living still--yet heard in the loudest swelling of the storm--it has been speaking all the while--it is speaking now!--_punshon._ =august th.= _let the peace of god rule in your hearts. col. iii. ._ years ago one of our fleets was terribly shattered by a violent gale--but it was found that some of the ships were unaffected by its violence. they were in what mariners call "the eye of the storm." while all around was desolation, they were safe. so it is with him who has the peace of god in his heart.--_pilkington._ =august th.= _ye serve the lord christ. col. iii. ._ our business as christians is to serve the lord in every business of life.--_mark guy pearse._ =august th.= _love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. john ii. ._ if you will go to the banks of a little stream, and watch the flies that come to bathe in it, you will notice that, while they plunge their _bodies_ into the water, they keep their _wings_ high out of the water; and, after swimming about a little while, they fly away with their wings unwet through the sunny air. now, that is the lesson for us. here we are immersed in the cares and business of the world; but let us keep the wings of our soul, our faith and our love, out of the world, that, with these unclogged, we may be ready to take our flight to heaven.--_j. inglis._ =august st.= _i would have you without carefulness. cor. vii. ._ do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear. rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, god, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. he has kept you hitherto--do you but hold fast to his dear hand, and he will lead you safely through all things; and when you cannot stand, he will bear you in his arms. do not look forward to what may happen to-morrow. the same everlasting father who cares for you to-day will take care of you to-morrow, and every day. either he will shield you from suffering, or he will give you unfailing strength to bear it. be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.--_francis de sales._ [illustration: september] =september st.= _thus saith the lord god, i will yet for this be inquired of by the house of israel, to do it for them. ezek. xxxvi. ._ prayer is the forerunner of mercy. turn to sacred history and you will find that scarcely ever did a great mercy come to this world unheralded by supplication. prayer is always the preface to blessing. it goes before the blessing _as the blessing's shadow_. when the sunlight of god's mercies rises upon our necessities it casts the shadow of prayer far down upon the plain. or, to use another illustration, when god piles up a hill of mercies he himself shines behind them, and he casts on our spirits the shadow of prayer so that we may rest certain, if we are much in prayer, our pleadings are the shadows of mercy. prayer is thus connected with the blessing to show us the value of it.--_spurgeon._ =september nd.= _let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. gal. vi. ._ the hours of this present life are the ages in embryo of the life to come.--_a. j. gordon._ =september rd.= _my presence shall go with thee. ex. xxxiii. ._ we should never leave our prayer closets in the morning without having concentrated our thoughts deeply and intensely on the fact of the actual presence of god there with us, encompassing us, and filling the room as literally as it fills heaven itself. it may not lead to any distinct results at first, but, as we make repeated efforts to realize the presence of god, it will become increasingly real to us. and, as the habit grows upon us, when alone in a room, or when treading the sward of some natural woodland temple, or when pacing the stony street--in the silence of night, or amid the teeming crowds of daylight--we shall often find ourselves whispering the words, "thou art near; thou art here, o lord."--_f. b. meyer._ =september th.= _to the lord our god belong mercies and forgiveness. dan. ix. ._ as a spring lock closes itself, but cannot be unlocked without a key, so we ourselves may run into sin, but cannot return without the key of god's grace.--_cawdray._ =september th.= _it is high time to awake out of sleep. rom. xiii. ._ i have heard of a painter who loved to work by the morning light. he said that the colors were better understood by the light of the early day, and so he was wont to be in his studio waiting for the rising of the sun. then every moment it grew lighter, and he found he could accomplish things which he could not reach if he waited till the day had advanced. is there not work waiting for us--work that no one else can do--work, too, that the master has promised to help us perform? shall he come and find that we still sleep? or shall the son of righteousness, when he appears, find us waiting, as that painter waited, looking and longing for the first gleam of day? surely those of us who thus wait on the lord shall renew our strength, and, eagle-like, rise to greet the sun.--_thomas champness._ =september th.= _the church of god, which he hath purchased with his own blood. acts xx. ._ surely he may do what he will with his own. the price he has paid to make them his own is a sufficient guarantee that he will never make light of anything in which their welfare is at all concerned. we are precious to him by the virtue of the blood which he has shed for us, and for him to be found at any time wanting in solicitude for our happiness would be for him to treat that blood of his as the sinners of this world treat it. the persuasion of christ's love must be graven in our hearts so deeply that no semblance of indifference on his part will ever make the slightest impression upon us. this is the victory which overcometh the world.--_george bowen._ =september th.= _the god of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the holy ghost. rom. xv. ._ in spiritual as in earthly things there is great strength in hope, and, therefore, god's people are carefully to cultivate that grace. a well-grounded hope that, having been made new creatures in jesus christ, we are his; that with our names, though unknown to fame, written in the book of life, we have grace in possession and heaven in prospect; that after a few more brief years, pure as the angels that sing before the throne, we shall be brought with gladness into the palace of the king, to be like christ and with christ, seeing him eye to eye and face to face--such hopes are powerful springs of action.--_guthrie._ =september th.= _he asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days or ever and ever. psa. xxi. ._ when poor men make requests of us we usually answer them as the echo does the voice--the answer cuts off half the petition. we shall seldom find among men jael's courtesy, giving milk to those that ask water, except it be as this was, an entangling benefit, the better to introduce a mischief. there are not many naamans among us, that, when you beg of them one talent, will force you to take two; but god's answer to our prayers is like a multiplying glass, which renders the request much greater in the answer than it was in the prayer.--_bishop reynolds._ =september th.= _this beginning of miracles did jesus. john ii. ._ it was out of the common thing that the precious thing was brought; and it is out of the common things of daily life, presented obediently to jesus and laid at his feet, that he brings his own glorious gifts, so that our whole lives become one great sacrament.--_w. hay aitken._ =september th.= _in the daytime . . . he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a light of fire. psa. lxxviii. ._ my day is my prosperity; it is the time when the sun of fortune is bright above me, and, therefore, it is the time when i need a shade. if my sunshine were not chequered i would forget thee, o my god. but i have nights to meet as well as days. the night is my adversity; it is the time when the sun of fortune has gone down behind the hills, and i am left alone, and then it is, o my father, that i need the light of thy fire! my light of fire for the night is the vision of calvary--the vision of thy love in the cross. i need the light of thy fire "_all_ the night."--_george matheson._ =september th.= _now are we the sons of god: and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. john iii. ._ "now are we the sons of god." that is the pier upon one side of the gulf. "it doth not yet appear what we shall be, but when he shall appear we shall be like him." that is the pier on the other. how are the two to be connected? there is only one way by which the present sonship will blossom and fruit into the future perfect likeness, and that is, if we throw across the gulf, by god's help day by day, the bridge of growing likeness to himself, and purity therefrom.--_alex. mclaren._ =september th.= _behold, we go up to jerusalem. matt. xx. ._ never had there been such a going up to jerusalem as that which jesus here proposes to his disciples. he goes up voluntarily. the act was not enforced by any external compulsion. jerusalem might at this time have been avoided. it was deliberately sought. it was a going up to a triumph to be reached through defeat, a coronation to be attained through ignominy and humiliation. o believer, in your walk through the world to-day, be strengthened, be comforted, be inspired, by the spectacle of the captain of your salvation thus going up to jerusalem! and remember, in all those apparently _downward_ passages of life, where sorrow, and it may be death, lie before you, that all such descents, made or endured in the spirit of jesus, are really _upgoing_ steps, leading you to the mount of god and the resurrection glory.--_j. b. stratton._ =september th.= _these were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work. chron. iv. ._ anywhere and everywhere we may dwell "with the king for his work." we may be in a very unlikely or unfavorable place for this; it may be in a little country life, with little enough to be seen of the "goings" of the king around us; it may be among hedges of all sorts, hindrances in all directions; it may be, furthermore, with our hands full of all manner of pottery for our daily task. no matter! the king who placed us "there" will come and dwell there with us; the hedges are all right, or he would soon do away with them; and it does not follow that what seems to hinder our way may not be for its very protection; and as for the pottery, why, this is just exactly what he has seen fit to put into our hands, and therefore it is, for the present, "his work."--_frances ridley havergal._ =september th.= i will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go; _i will guide thee with mine eye. psa. xxxii. ._ when god does the directing, our life is useful and full of promise, whatever it is doing; and discipline has its perfecting work.--_h. e. cobb._ =september th.= _the son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. matt. xx. ._ we are so to surrender ourselves to christ that this great purpose of his coming shall claim and possess the whole life. we are to live, like god, to bless others. this is his will, his purpose concerning us. this is what his power waits to do for us. and this too, is the claim of his great love upon us. do not sigh a poor assent to the truth of it, and then pass by neglectfully on the other side. do not think about it and pray about it without even a passing hope that the prayer will be answered. do not gather yourself up in great resolutions to be good and useful. kneel in sight of the crucified. in the cross of christ spell out his great purpose and yearning love to men. let the heart feel all the might of the appeal that comes to us from those torn hands and feet and bleeding brow, from all the dreadful shame and agony of our dear lord. and, bought and bound by all this, surrender yourself to him for his great purpose. take him as your strength for this life-work.--_mark guy pearse._ =september th.= _jesus . . . went about doing good. acts x. ._ the finest of all fine arts is the art of doing good; and yet it is the least cultivated.--_t. dewitt talmage._ =september th.= _and the angel of the lord said unto her [hagar], return to thy mistress, and submit thyself under her hands. gen. xvi. ._ submission is a great christian law, but we find it early in genesis, early in the history of mankind, and angel-given.--_selected._ =september th.= _then spake solomon . . . i have surely built thee an house to dwell in. kings viii. , ._ solomon, the prince of peace, alone could build the temple. if we would be soul-winners and build up the church, which is god's temple, let us note this; not by discussion nor by argument, but by lifting up christ shall we draw men unto him.--_j. hudson taylor._ =september th.= _i have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. isa. xlviii. ._ does not the word come like a soft shower, assuaging the fury of the flame? yea, is it not an asbestos armor, against which the heat hath no power? let affliction come--god has chosen me. poverty, thou mayest stride in at my door--but god is in the house already, and he has chosen me. sickness, thou mayest intrude, but i have a balsam ready--god has chosen me. whatever befalls me in this vale of tears i know that he has "chosen" me. fear not, christian; jesus is with thee. in all thy fiery trials his presence is both thy comfort and safety. he will never leave one whom he has chosen for his own. "fear not, for i am with thee," is his sure word of promise to his chosen ones in the "furnace of affliction."--_spurgeon._ =september th.= _base things of the world and things which are despised hath god chosen. cor. i. ._ in some of the great halls of europe may be seen pictures not painted with the brush, but mosaics, which are made up of small pieces of stone, glass, or other material. the artist takes these little pieces, and, polishing and arranging them, he forms them into the grand and beautiful picture. each individual part of the picture may be a little worthless piece of glass or marble or shell; but, with each in its place, the whole constitutes the masterpiece of art. so i think it will be with humanity in the hands of the great artist. god is picking up the little worthless pieces of stone and brass that might be trodden under foot unnoticed, and is making of them his great masterpiece.--_bishop simpson._ =september st.= _serve the lord with gladness; come before his presence with singing. psa. c. ._ god wants our life to be a song. he has written the music for us in his word and in the duties that come to us in our places and relations in life. the things we ought to do are the notes set upon the staff. to make our life beautiful music we must be obedient and submissive. any disobedience is the singing of a false note, and yields discord.--_j. r. miller._ =september nd.= _when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy father, which is in secret. matt. vi. ._ this is faith's stronghold; here she weapons herself for the daily conflict. silence in that closet of prayer bespeaks death throughout all the house. when that door is suffered to rust on its hinges, and that chamber is deserted, then the heart-house is soon retaken by satan, and evil spirits come in and dwell there.--_theodore cuyler._ =september rd.= _be ye holy; for i am holy. pet. i. ._ the highway of holiness is along the commonest road of life--along your very way. in wind and rain, no matter how it beats--it is only going hand in hand with him.--_mark guy pearse._ =september th.= _and the lord said, shall i hide from abraham that thing which i do? gen. xviii. ._ abraham, in communion with god, knew long before lot, in sodom, of the destruction of that city. oh for more communion!--_selected._ =september th.= _the life which i now live in the flesh. gal. ii. ._ i expect to pass through this world but once--therefore, if there be any kindness i can show or any good thing i can do to any fellow human being, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for i shall not pass this way again.--_marcus aurelius._ =september th.= _so teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. psa. xc. ._ every day is a little life; and our whole life is but a day repeated: whence it is that old jacob numbers his life by days; and moses desires to be taught this point of holy arithmetic--to number not his years, but his days. those, therefore, that dare lose a day, are dangerously prodigal; those that dare misspend it, desperate.--_bishop hall._ =september th.= _christ in you the hope of glory. col. i. ._ religion is not the simple fire-escape that you build in anticipation of a possible danger, upon the outside of your dwelling, and leave there until danger comes. you go to it some morning when a fire breaks out in your house, and the poor old thing that you built up there, and thought that you could use some day, is so rusty and broken, and the weather has so beaten upon it and the sun so turned its hinges, that it will not work. that is the condition of a man who has built himself what seems a creed of faith, a trust in god in anticipation of the day when danger is to overtake him, and has said to himself, i am safe, for i will take refuge in it then. but religion is the house in which we live, it is the table at which we sit, it is the fireside at which we draw near, the room that arches its graceful and familiar presence over us; it is the bed on which we lie and think of the past, and anticipate the future, and gather our refreshment.--_phillips brooks._ =september th.= _wait for the promise of the father. acts i. ._ tarry at a promise till god meets you there. he always returns by way of his promises.--_selected._ =september th.= _this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. john v. ._ the world conquers me when it succeeds in hindering me from seeing, loving, holding communion with, and serving my father, god. i conquer it when i lay my hand upon it and force it to help me to get nearer him, to get more like him, to think oftener of him, to do his will more gladly and more constantly. the one victory over the world is to bend it to serve me in the highest things--the attainment of a clearer vision of the divine nature, the attainment of a deeper love to god himself, and a more glad consecration and service to him. that is the victory--when you can make the world a ladder to lift you to god. when the world comes between you and god as an obscuring screen, it has conquered you. when the world comes between you and god as a transparent medium you have conquered it. to win victory is to get it beneath your feet and stand upon it, and reach up thereby to god.--_alex. mclaren._ =september th.= _he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. psa. xci. ._ count no duty too little, no round of life too small, no work too low, if it come in thy way, since god thinks so much of it as to send his angels to guard thee in it.--_mark guy pearse._ [illustration: october] =october st.= _at jesus' feet. luke x. ._ at jesus' feet--that is our place of privilege and of blessing, and here it is that we are to be educated and fitted for the practical duties of life. here we are to renew our strength while we wait on him, and to learn how to mount on wings as eagles; and here we are to become possessed of that true knowledge which is power. here we are to learn how real work is to be done, and to be armed with the true motive power to do it. here we are to find solace amidst both the trials of work--and they are not few--and the trials of life in general; and here we are to anticipate something of the blessedness of heaven amidst the days of earth; for to sit at his feet is indeed to be in heavenly places, and to gaze upon his glory is to do what we shall never tire of doing yonder.--_w. hay aitken._ =october nd.= _god is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in god, and god in him. john iv. ._ _god is love_; and it is good, as it is true, to think that every sun-ray that touches the earth has the sun at the other end of it; so every bit of love upon god's earth has god at the other end of it.--_mark guy pearse._ _october rd._ _they took knowledge of them that they had been with jesus. acts iv. ._ a christian should be a striking likeness of jesus christ. you have read lives of christ, beautifully and eloquently written, but the best life of christ is his living biography, written out in the words and actions of his people. if we were what we profess to be, and what we should be, we would be pictures of christ; yea, such striking likenesses of him that the world would not have to hold us up by the hour together, and say, "well, it seems somewhat of a likeness": but they would, when they once beheld us, exclaim, "he has been with jesus; he has been taught of him; he is like him; he has caught the very idea of the holy man of nazareth, and he works it out in his life and every day actions."--_spurgeon._ =october th.= _be not afraid, only believe. mark v. ._ be not downcast if difficulties and trials surround you in your heavenly life. they may be purposely placed there by god to train and discipline you for higher developments of faith. if he calls you to "toiling in rowing," it may be to make you the hardier seaman, to lead you to lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and, above all, to drive you to a holier trust in him who has the vessel and its destinies in his hand, and who, amid gathering clouds and darkened horizon and crested billows is ever uttering the mild rebuke to our misgivings--"said i not unto thee, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldst see the glory of god."--_macduff._ =october th.= _happy is the man whom god correcteth. job v. ._ happy, because the correction is designed to bring him into paths of blessedness and peace. happy, because there is no unnecessary severity in it. happy, because the chastisement is not so much against us, as against our most cruel enemies--our sins. happy, because we have abundant words of consolation. happy, because whom the lord loveth he chasteneth. happy, because our light affliction is but for a moment.--_george bowen._ =october th.= _when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. matt. ii. ._ we who look for jesus ought to be joyful; it is no credit to our lord when we look as though we were seeking his grave. the dull looks of christ's followers have injured him in the sight of the world. let us, then, smile as we go, for we have the star if we will look up and put ourselves in the right path.--_thos. champness._ =october th.= _when i sit in darkness the lord shall be a light unto me. micah vii. ._ if you are willing to choose the seeming darkness of faith instead of the illumination of reason, wonderful light will break out upon you from the word of god.--_a. j. gordon._ =october th.= _i (daniel) was left alone, and saw this great vision. dan. x. ._ solitude is the antechamber of god; only one step more and you can be in his immediate presence.--_landor._ =october th.= _come and dine. john xxi. ._ this morning the voice of the beloved of our soul is heard giving us his invitation. "children," he asks, "have ye any meat?" we answer, "no; of ourselves we have nothing but hunger and starvation. o god, we cannot feed ourselves!" then it is that his own sweet voice replies, "come and dine!"--_w. hay aitken._ =october th.= _o lord god, thou knowest! ezek. xxxvii. ._ here is the response of faith. "thou knowest!"--what a pillow for the heart to repose upon! "thou knowest!"--what few but comprehensive words to sum up and express the heart's difficulties and perplexities and trials. "thou knowest!"--what an inexpressibly sweet resting-place in the midst of life's tumultuous heavings; in the midst of a sea that knows no calm; in the midst of a scene in which tossings to and fro are the hourly history! what an answer they contain for every heart that can find no words to express its big emotions; for a heart whose sorrows are too deep for language to find its way to god! oh, that they were ever uppermost in the soul, as the response to every difficulty in our path! they are god's answer to everything we cannot fathom; god's answer for our hearts to rest upon, and our lips to utter, when every way is hedged up so that we cannot pass. "o lord god, thou knowest!" rest here, believer. lean thy soul on these words. repose calmly on the bosom of thy god, and carry them with thee into every scene of life. "o lord god, thou knowest."--_f. whitfield._ =october th.= _behold, a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. gen. xxviii. ._ think of that mystic ladder, which descends from the throne of god to the spot, however lowly, where you may be. it may be a moorland waste; a humble cottage; a ship's cabin; a settler's hut; a bed of pain; but jesus christ finds you out, and comes just where you are. the one pole of this ladder is the gold of his deity; the other is the silver of his manhood; the rungs are the series of events from the cradle of bethlehem to the right hand of power, where he sits. that ladder sways beneath a weight of blessing for you. oh, that you would send away your burdens of sin, and care, and fear, by the hands of the ascending angels of prayer and faith!--so as to be able to receive into your heart the trooping angels of peace, and joy, and love, and glory.--_f. b. meyer._ =october th.= _surely god is in this place, and i knew it not. gen. xxviii. ._ the parish priest, of austerity, climbed up in the high church steeple to be nearer god, that he might hand his word down to the people. and in sermon script he daily wrote what he thought was sent from heaven; and he dropped it down on the people's heads two times one day in seven. in his age god said, "come down and die." and he cried out from the steeple: "where art thou, lord?" and the lord replied: "down here among my people."--_selected._ =october th.= _now therefore, hearken, o israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments which i teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the lord god of your fathers giveth you. deut. iv. ._ "hearken" and "do," that ye may "live" and "possess." this is a universal and abiding principle. it was true for israel, and it is true for us. the pathway of life and the true secret of possession is simple obedience to the holy commandments of god. we see this all through the inspired volume, from cover to cover. god has given us his word, not to speculate upon it or discuss it, but that we may obey it. and it is as we, through grace, yield a hearty and happy obedience to our father's statutes and judgments, that we tread the bright pathway of life, and enter into the reality of all that god has treasured up for us in christ.--_c. h. m._ =october th.= _i live; yet not i, but christ liveth in me; and the life which i now live in the flesh i live by the faith of the son of god, who loved me, and gave himself for me. gal. ii. ._ the man who lives in god knows no life except the life of god.--_phillips brooks._ =october th.= _let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. thess. v. ._ _faith, love, hope_--these three form the defensive armor that guards the soul; and these three make self-control possible. like a diver in his dress who is let down to the bottom of the wild, far-weltering ocean, a man whose heart is girt by faith and charity, and whose head is covered with the helmet of hope, may be dropped down into the wildest sea of temptation and of worldliness, and yet will walk dry and unharmed through the midst of its depths, and breathe air that comes from a world above the restless surges. _faith_ will bring you into communication with all the power of god. _love_ will lead you into a region where all the temptations round you will be touched as by ithuriel's spear, and will show their own foulness. and _hope_ will turn away your eyes from looking at the tempting splendor around, and fix them upon the glories that are above. and so the reins will come into your hands in an altogether new manner, and you will be able to be king over your own nature in a fashion that you did not dream of before, if only you will trust in christ and love him, and fix your desires on the things above. then you will be able to govern yourself, when you let christ govern you.--_alex. mclaren._ =october th.= _the word of our god shall stand forever. isa. xl. ._ the word of god is the water of life; the more ye lave it forth, the fresher it runneth. it is the fire of god's glory; the more ye blow it, the clearer it burneth. it is the corn of the lord's field; the better ye grind it, the more it yieldeth. it is the bread of heaven; the more it is broken and given forth, the more it remaineth. it is the sword of the spirit; the more it is scoured, the brighter it shineth.--_bishop jewel._ =october th.= _i spake unto thee in thy prosperity. jer. xxii. ._ we shade our eyes with the hand to shut out the glare of the strong daylight when we want to see far away. god thus puts, as it were, his hand upon our brows, and tempers the glow of prosperity, that we may take in the wider phases of his goodness. it is a common experience that, looking out from the gloom of some personal affliction, men have seen for the first time beyond the earth plane, and caught glimpses of the beulah land. let us not shrink from the hand which we know is heavy only with blessing.--_ludlow._ =october th.= _surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler. psa. xci. ._ _he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler._ that is, from the little things, the hidden traps and nets that are set for us. great sins frighten where little snares entangle. it is easier to escape the huntsman's arrow than the crafty lure. and where are they not set? riches and poverty, sickness and strength, prosperity and adversity, friendship and loneliness, the work and the want of it--each has its snare, wherein not only are the unwary caught, but the wise and the watchful sometimes fall a prey. little things, mere threads, hardly worth guarding against--yet they are strong enough to hold us and hinder us, and may be the beginning of our destruction.--_mark guy pearse._ =october th.= _the lord set a mark upon cain. gen. iv. ._ we speak of the mark of cain as if it was the mark of a curse. in reality it was the mark of god's mercy, a defence against his enemies.--_d. j. burrell._ =october th.= _who is among you that feareth the lord . . . that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the lord, and stay upon his god. isa. l. ._ "in fierce storms," said an old seaman, "we can do but one thing, there is only one way; we must put the ship in a certain position and keep her there." this, christian, is what you must do. sometimes, like paul, you can see neither sun nor stars, and no small tempest lies on you; and then you can do but one thing; there is only one way. reason cannot help you. past experiences give you no light. even prayer fetches no consolation. only a single course is left. you must put your soul in one position and keep it there. you must stay upon the lord; and, come what may--winds, waves, cross seas, thunder, lightning, frowning rocks, roaring breakers--no matter what, you must lash yourself to the helm, and hold fast your confidence in god's faithfulness, his covenant engagement, his everlasting love in christ jesus.--_richard fuller._ =october st.= _be thou faithful unto death, and i will give thee a crown of life. rev. ii. ._ there is a heaven at the end of every faithful christian's journey.--_cuyler._ =october nd.= _flee into egypt. matt. ii. ._ why? because there is a cruel king who will seek the young child's life. is christ born in thee? is thy life like that manger--precious as a casket, because of what it holds? then have a care; for, craftier and more unscrupulous than herod, the destroyer of souls will seek to destroy thee. there is a day coming when they shall say, "they are dead which sought the young child's life." grace shall survive the foe, and we shall yet return to enjoy the comforts of life, with no herod to threaten us. after all, it is sin which is short-lived, for goodness shall flourish when the evil one is chained up for ever.--_thos. champness._ =october rd.= _as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. kings ii. ._ there is something infinitely better than doing a great thing for god, and the infinitely better thing is to be where god wants us to be, to do what god wants us to do, and to have no will apart from his.--_g. campbell morgan._ =october th.= _let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your father which is in heaven. matt. v. ._ they say the world has an eagle eye for anything inconsistent, an eye sharp to discover the vagaries and inconsistencies in the defaulty and the unworthy. it has an eagle eye; but the eagle winks before the sun, and the burning iris of its eye shrinks abashed before the unsullied purity of noon. let your light so shine before men, that others, awed and charmed by the consistency of your godly life, may come to enquire, and to say you have been with jesus.--_punshon._ =october th.= _the eleven disciples went . . . into a mountain where jesus had appointed them . . . jesus came and spake unto them saying . . . go ye and teach all nations. matt. xxviii. , , ._ the considerable actions in the world have usually very small beginnings. of a few letters, how many thousand words are made! of ten figures, how many thousand numbers! a point is the beginning of all geometry. a little stone flung into a pond makes a little circle, then a greater, till it enlarges itself to both the sides. so from small beginnings god doth cause an efflux through the whole world.--_charnock._ =october th.= _behold, i bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. luke ii. ._ it is true that these good tidings of great joy were to be "for all people," but not _first_. the message falls on our own ears, and is first for our own souls. oh, ponder this well! take all god's truths home _first_ to thine own heart. ask in earnest prayer that the spirit may write them with the pen of heaven on thine own conscience. then wilt thou be a vessel fitted for the master's use, and carry his message with spiritual power to the souls of others.--_f. whitfield._ =october th.= _whom the lord loveth he chasteneth. heb. xii. ._ earthly prosperity is no sign of the special love of heaven: nor are sorrow and care any mark of god's disfavor, but the reverse. god's love is robust, and true, and eager--not for our comfort, but for our lasting blessedness; it is bent on achieving this, and it is strong enough to bear misrepresentation and rebuke in its attempts to attune our spirits to higher music. it therefore comes instructing us. let us enter ourselves as pupils in the school of god's love. let us lay aside our own notions of the course of study; let us submit ourselves to be led and taught; let us be prepared for any lessons that may be given from the blackboard of sorrow: let us be so assured of the inexhaustible tenacity of his love as to dare to trust him, though he slay us. and let us look forward to that august moment when he will give us a reason for all life's discipline, with a smile that shall thrill our souls with ecstasy, and constrain sorrow and sighing to flee away forever.--_f. b. meyer._ =october th.= _whatsoever ye shall ask the father in my name, he will give it you. john xvi. ._ prayer must be based upon promise, but, thank god, his promises are always broader than our prayers! no fear of building inverted pyramids here, for jesus christ is the foundation.--_frances ridley havergal._ =october th.= _he riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. after that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded. john xiii. , ._ acts are common and mean because they are ordinarily expressive of the common and mean thoughts of men. let us not accuse the acts that make up our daily life of meanness, but our ignoble souls that reveal themselves so unworthily through those acts. the same act may successively mount up through every intermediate stage from the depth of unworthiness to a transcendent height of excellence, according to the soul that is manifested by it. one of the glorious ends of our lord's incarnation was that he might propitiate us with the details of life, so that we should not disdain these as insignificant, but rather disdain ourselves for our inability to make these details interpreters of a noble nature. oh, let us then look with affectionateness and gratitude upon the daily details of life, seeing the sanctifying imprint of the hand of jesus upon them all!--_george bowen._ =october th.= _he placed . . . cherubims, and a flaming sword . . . to keep the way of the tree of life. gen. iii. ._ _blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life. rev. xxii. ._ how remarkable and how beautiful it is that the last page of the revelation should come bending round to touch the first page of genesis. the history of man began with angels with frowning faces and flaming swords barring the way to the tree of life. it ends with the guard of cherubim withdrawn; or rather, perhaps, sheathing their swords and becoming guides to the no longer forbidden fruit, instead of being its guards. that is the bible's grand symbolical way of saying that all between--the sin, the misery, the death--is a parenthesis. god's purpose is not going to be thwarted. the end of his majestic march through history is to be men's access to the tree of life, from which, for the dreary ages--that are but as a moment in the great eternities--they were barred out by their sin,--_alex. mclaren._ =october st.= _that the god of our lord jesus christ, the father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened. eph. i. , ._ we were coming down a mountain in switzerland one evening, when a black thunder-storm blotted out the day, and all things were suddenly plunged into darkness. we could only dimly see the narrow, dusty footpaths, and the gloomy sides that were swallowed up in deeper gloom. what, then, of the majesty all about us, heights, and depths, and wonders? all was darkness. then came the lightning--not flashes, but the blazing of the whole sky, incessant, and on every side. what recesses of glory we gazed into! what marvels of splendor shone out of the darkness! think how with us, in us, is one who comes to make the common, dusty ways of life resplendent, illuminating our dull thoughts by the light of the glory of god; clearing the vision of the soul, and then revealing the greatness of the salvation that is ours in christ.--_mark guy pearse._ [illustration: november] =november st.= _jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. john viii. ._ alone with jesus! what a sweet and holy spot! what a blessed refuge to which the soul may betake itself from the charges of satan, the accusations of the world, and the sorrows of life! sweet spot for the heart to unfold itself, to tell its hidden tale in the ear of infinite love, tenderness, and compassion! alone with jesus! how different a front would christianity present to the world if the lord's people were oftener there! what humility, and gentleness, and love, would characterize all their dealings! what holiness stamped on the very brow, that all might read! what few judgments passed on others, how many more on ourselves! what calmness and resignation and joyful submission to all the lord's dealings! be much "alone with jesus!" then will the passage to glory be one of sunshine, whether it be through the portals of the grave or through the clouds of heaven.--_f. whitfield._ =november nd.= _thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. psa. xvi. ._ the man who walks along the path of life lives in the presence of the joy-giving god. just in so far as he is true to that path of life, and wanders neither to the right hand nor to the left, his joy becomes deeper, nay! he becomes partaker of that very fullness of joy in which god himself lives, and moves, and has his being. and while such is his experience in the midst of all the trials of life, he has also the privilege of looking forward to grander things yet in store for him, when that higher world shall be reached, and the shadows of time have passed away forever. "at thy right hand," exclaims the psalmist, "there are pleasures for evermore."--_w. hay aitken._ =november rd.= _be clothed with humility. pet. v. ._ is it not one of the difficulties of church work that we have more officers than men? we need more of the rank and file, who are willing to march anywhere, and to do the lowliest of tasks. we shall succeed in doing greater things when we are all of us willing to be subject. it is the bayonet rather than the gold lace which is wanted when the enemy is to be subdued.--_thomas champness._ =november th.= _jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold, esau came, and with him four hundred men. gen. xxxiii. ._ do not lift up your eyes and look for esaus. those who look for troubles will not be long without finding trouble to look at. lift them higher--to him from whom our help cometh. then you will be able to meet your troubles with an unperturbed spirit. those who have seen the face of god need not fear the face of man that shall die. to have power with god is to have power over all the evils that threaten us.--_f. b. meyer._ =november th.= _let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of god. cor. vii. ._ the tree of life, according to some of the old rabbinical legends, lifted its branches, by an indwelling motion, high above impure hands that were stretched to touch them; and until our hands are cleansed through faith in jesus christ, its richest fruit hangs unreachable, golden above our heads. the fullness of the life of heaven is only granted to those who, drawing near jesus christ by faith on earth, have thereby cleansed themselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.--_alex. mclaren._ =november th.= _the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them. ex. xiv. ._ it is not always guidance that we most need. many of our dangers come upon us from behind. they are stealthy, insidious, assaulting us when we are unaware of their nearness. the tempter is cunning and shrewd. he does not meet us full front. it is a comfort to know that christ comes behind us when it is there we need the protection.--_j. r. miller._ =november th.= _iniquities prevail against me: as for our transgressions, thou shall purge them away. psa. lxv. ._ there is much earnest religion that lives in the dreary compass of these first four words, "iniquities prevail against me," and never gets a glimpse beyond it. but do not put a full stop there. fetch in one who can help. "as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away." the moment we bring the lord in, that moment defeat is turned to triumphant deliverance! write that up in golden letters--thou! and do not find in this word only a trembling hope, or a wondering wish. listen to its full assurance--thou shalt! there is but one result that can warrant the agony of calvary; there is but one result that can satisfy either our blessed savior or ourselves; and that is our being conquerors over sin.--_mark guy pearse._ =november th.= _speaking the truth in love. eph. iv. ._ the best way of eradicating error is to publish and practice truth.--_w. arnot._ =november th.= _so he arose, and went to zarephath. kings xvii. ._ let it be equally said of you to whatever duty the lord may call you away, "he arose and went." be the way ever so laborious or dangerous, still arise, like elijah, and go. go cheerfully, in faith, keeping your heart quietly dependent on the lord, and in the end you will surely behold and sing of his goodness. though tossed on a sea of troubles you may anchor on the firm foundation of god, which standeth sure. you have for your security his exceeding great and precious promises, and may say with the psalmist, "why art thou cast down, o my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in god, for i shall yet praise him who is the health of my countenance, and my god."--_f. w. krummacher._ =november th.= _a daily rate for every day. kings xxv. ._ the acts of breathing which i performed yesterday will not keep me alive to-day; i must continue to breathe afresh every moment, or animal life ceases. in like manner yesterday's grace and spiritual strength must be renewed, and the holy spirit must continue to breathe on my soul from moment to moment in order to my enjoying the consolations, and to my working the works of god.--_toplady._ =november th.= _and when the vessel that he made of the clay was marred in the hand of the potter, he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it. jer. xviii. . (r. v.)_ god's fairest, highest place of service in the land that lies beyond will be filled by the men and women who have been broken upon the wheel on earth.--_g. campbell morgan._ =november th.= _examine yourselves. cor. xiii. ._ if your state be good, searching into it will give you that comfort of it. if your state be bad, searching into it cannot make it worse; nay, it is the only way to make it better, for conversion begins with conviction.--_bishop hopkins._ =november th.= _choose you this day whom ye will serve. josh. xxiv. ._ choice and service--these were demanded of the israelites; these are demanded of you, these only. choice and service--in these are the whole of life.--_mark hopkins._ =november th.= _lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. psa. xc. ._ you cannot detain the eagle in the forest. you may gather around him a chorus of the choicest birds; you may give him a perch on the goodliest pine; you may charge winged messengers to bring him choicest dainties; but he will spurn them all. spreading his lordly wings, and with his eye on the alpine cliff, he will soar away to his own ancestral halls amid the munitions of rocks and the wild music of tempest and waterfall. the soul of man, in its eagle soarings, will rest with nothing short of the rock of ages. its ancestral halls are the halls of heaven. its munitions of rocks are the attributes of god. the sweep of its majestic flight is eternity! "lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations!"--_macduff._ =november th.= _he hath said. heb. xiii. ._ if we can only grasp these words of faith, we have an all-conquering weapon in our hand. what doubt is there that will not be slain by this two-edged sword? what fear is there which shall not fall smitten with a deadly wound before this arrow from the bow of god's covenant? "he hath said!" yes; whether for delight in our quietude, or for strength in our conflict, "he hath said!" must be our daily resort. since "he hath said" is the source of all wisdom, and the fountain of all comfort, let it dwell in you richly, as "a well of water, springing up unto everlasting life." so shall you grow healthy, strong, and happy, in the divine life.--_spurgeon._ =november th.= _not i, but christ liveth in me. gal. ii. ._ the wonder of the life in jesus is this--and you will find it so, and you have found it so, if you have ever taken your new testament and tried to make it the rule of your daily life--that there is not a single action that you are called upon to do of which you need be, of which you will be, in any serious doubt for ten minutes as to what jesus christ, if he were here, jesus christ being here, would have you do under those circumstances and with the material upon which you are called to act. the soul that takes in jesus' word, the soul that through the words of jesus enters into the very person of jesus, the soul that knows him as its daily presence and its daily law--it never hesitates.--_phillips brooks._ =november th.= _who is my neighbor? luke x. ._ "who is thy neighbor?" it is the sufferer, wherever, whoever, whatsoever he be. wherever thou hearest the cry of distress, wherever thou seest anyone brought across thy path by the chances and changes of life (that is, by the providence of god), whom it is in thy power to help--he, stranger or enemy though he be--_he_ is thy neighbor.--_a. p. stanley._ =november th.= _he which stablisheth us . . . in christ, and hath anointed us, is god; who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the spirit in our hearts. cor. i. , ._ when a christian is "sealed" by the holy ghost, "sealed" as the property of his master, there will be no need to ask, "whose image and superscription is this" upon the "sealed" one? the king's, of course. anyone can see the image. of what use is a "seal" if it cannot be seen? is the king's image visibly, permanently, stamped upon us? it is on every spirit-filled, "sealed" believer.--_john mcneil._ =november th.= _they shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of zerubbabel. zech. iv. ._ it is joy to the christian to know that the plummet is now in the hands of our great zerubbabel, and that when he comes forth, the world's misrule shall be over. the false standards and false estimates of men shall be swept away. the standards of "expediency," of "conscience," of "every man thinking as he likes, if he is only _sincere_"--these, and all similar refuges of lies shall be like a spider's web. the measure of all things will be christ, and christ the measurer of all things. how everything will be reversed! what a turning upside down of all that now exists! blessed day, and longed for--the world's great jubilee, the earth's long-looked-for sabbath, groaning creation's joy, and nature's calm repose! who would not cry, "come, lord jesus, and end this troubled dream! shatter the shadows of the long, dark night of sin and sorrow, sighing and tears, despair and death!"--_f. whitfield._ =november th.= _in the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; i have overcome the world. john xvi. ._ tribulation is god's threshing--not to destroy us, but to get what is good, heavenly, and spiritual in us separated from what is wrong, earthly, and fleshly. nothing less than blows of pain will do this. the evil clings so to the good, the golden wheat of goodness in us is so wrapped up in the strong chaff of the old life that only the heavy flail of suffering can produce the separation.--_j. r. miller._ =november st.= _i . . . heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying . . . write. rev. i. , ._ it is very sweet to note that a voice from heaven said to john, "write." does not that voice come to us? are there not those who would taste the joys of heaven if we wrote them words of forgiveness and affection? are there not others who would dry their tears if we would remind them of past joys, when we were poor as they are now? nay, could not some, who read these plain words, place inside the envelope something bearing their signature which would make the widow's heart dance for joy? what is our pen doing? is it adding joy to other men's lives? if so, then angels may tune their harps when we sit at our desk. they are sent to minister to the heirs of salvation, and would be glad to look upon our pen as writing music for them to sing, because what we write makes their client's joy to be full.--_thomas champness._ =november nd.= _whom the lord loveth he chasteneth. heb. xii. ._ we should ever bear in mind that the discipline of our heavenly father's hand is to be interpreted in the light of our father's countenance; and the deep mysteries of his moral government to be contemplated through the medium or his tender love.--_selected._ =november rd.= _faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it. thess. v. ._ earthly faithfulness is possible only by the reception of heavenly gifts. as surely as every leaf that grows is mainly water that the plant has got from the clouds, and carbon that it has got out of the atmosphere, so surely will all our good be mainly drawn from heaven and heaven's gifts. as certainly as every lump of coal that you put upon your fire contains in itself sunbeams that have been locked up for all these millenniums that have passed since it waved green in the forest, so certainly does every good deed embody in itself gifts from above. and no man is pure except by impartation; and every good thing and every perfect thing cometh from the father of lights.--_alex. mclaren._ =november th.= _singing with grace in your hearts to the lord. col. iii. ._ remember your life is to be a singing life. this world is god's grand cathedral for you. you are to be one of god's choristers, and there is to be a continual eucharistic sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving going up from your heart, with which god shall be continually well pleased. and there should be not only the offering of the lips, but the surrender of the life with joy. yes, with _joy_, and not with _constraint_. every faculty of our nature should be presented to him in gladsome service, for the lord jehovah is my song as well as my strength.--_w. hay aitken._ =november th.= _call to remembrance the former days. heb. x. ._ _the former days_--times of trial, conflict, discouragement, temptation. did we oftener call these to remembrance, with how much more delight would we make the covert of god's faithfulness our refuge, exclaiming with the psalmist, "because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will i rejoice."--_r. fuller._ =november th.= _the lord . . . thy habitation. psa. xci. ._ we go home without arrangement. we plan our visits, and then go home because they are over. duty, want, a host of things, lead us forth elsewhere; but the heart takes us home. blessed, most blessed is he whose thoughts pass up to god, not because they are driven like a fisherman's craft swept by the fierceness of the storm, not because they are forced by want or fear, not because they are led by the hand of duty, but because god is in his habitation and his home. loosed from other things, the thoughts go home for rest. in god the blessed man finds the love that welcomes. there is the sunny place. there care is loosed and toil forgotten. there is the joyous freedom, the happy calm, the rest, and renewing of our strength--at home with god.--_mark guy pearse._ =november th.= _these have turned the world upside down. acts xvii. ._ _none of these things move me. acts xx. ._ the men that move the world are the ones who do not let the world move them.--_selected._ =november th.= _he touched the hollow of jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank. gen. xxxii. ._ whatever it is that enables a soul, whom god designs to bless, to stand out against him, god will touch. it may be the pride of wealth, or of influence, or of affection; but it will not be spared--god will touch it. it may be something as _natural_ as a sinew; but if it robs a man of spiritual blessing god will touch it. it may be as _small_ a thing as a sinew; but its influence in making a man strong in his resistance of blessing will be enough to condemn it--and god will touch it. and beneath that touch it will shrink and shrivel, and you will limp to the end of life. remember that the sinew never shrinks save beneath the touch of the angel hand--the touch of tender love.--_f. b. meyer._ =november th.= _with god all things are possible. mark x. ._ unbelief says, "how can such and such things be?" it is full of "hows"; but faith has one great answer to the ten thousand "hows," and that answer is--god!--_c. h. m._ =november th.= _ye are the temple of the living god; as god hath said, i will dwell in them, and walk in them. cor. vi. ._ these temples were reared for him. let him fill them so completely that, like the oriental temple of glass in the ancient legend, the temple shall not be seen, but only the glorious sunlight, which not only shines into it, but through it, and the transparent walls are all unseen.--_a. b. simpson._ [illustration: december] =december st.= _without christ. eph. ii. ._ without a hope to cheer, a pilot to steer, a friend to counsel, grace to sustain, heaven to welcome us, and god to console!--_selected._ =december nd.= _when i am weak, then am i strong. cor. xii. ._ this is god's way. we advance by going backwards, we become strong by becoming weak, we become wise by being fools.--_f. whitfield._ =december rd.= _holy men of god spake as they were moved by the holy ghost. pet. i. ._ the bible is the writing of the living god. each letter was penned with an almighty finger. each word in it dropped from the everlasting lips. each sentence was dictated by the holy spirit. albeit that moses was employed to write his histories with his fiery pen, god guided that pen. it may be that david touched his harp, and let sweet psalms of melody drop from his fingers; but god moved his hands over the living strings of his golden harp. solomon sang canticles of love and gave forth words of consummate wisdom; but god directed his lips, and made the preacher eloquent. if i follow the thundering nahum, when his horses plough the waters; or habakkuk, when he sees the tents of cushan in affliction; if i read malachi, when the earth is burning like an oven; if i turn to the smooth page of john, who tells of love; or the rugged chapters of peter, who speaks of fire devouring god's enemies; if i turn aside to jude, who launches forth anathemas upon the foes of god--everywhere i find god speaking; it is god's voice, not man's; the words are god's words; the words of the eternal, the invisible, the almighty, the jehovah of ages. this bible is god's bible; and when i see it, i seem to hear a voice springing up from it, saying, "i am the book of god. man, read me. i am god's writing. study my page, for i was penned by god. love me, for he is my author, and you will see him visible and manifest everywhere."--_spurgeon._ =december th.= _they all forsook him, and fled. mark xiv. ._ separation never comes from his side.--_j. hudson taylor._ =december th.= _belshazzar the king made a great feast. dan. v. ._ there was one guest not invited, but he came, and the work of his finger glowed upon the wall.--_selected._ =december th.= _he that watereth shall be watered also himself. prov. xi. ._ the effective life and the receptive life are one. no sweep of arm that does some work for god but harvests also some more of the truth of god, and sweeps it into the treasury of life.--_phillips brooks._ =december th.= _and they came unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy. mark ii. ._ had it not been for the palsy, this man might never have seen christ!--_selected._ =december th.= _bless the lord, o my soul, and forget not all his benefits . . . who crowneth thee with loving kindness and tender mercies. ps. ciii. , ._ we talk about the telescope of faith, but i think we want even more the microscope of watchful and grateful love. apply this to the little bits of our daily lives, in the light of the spirit, and how wonderfully they come out!--_frances ridley havergal._ =december th.= _when thou passest through the waters i will be with thee. is. xliii. ._ god's presence in the trial is much better than exemption from the trial. the sympathy of his heart with us is sweeter far than the power of his hand for us.--_selected._ =december th.= _then shall ye discern between the righteous and the wicked. mal. iii. ._ said anne of austria to cardinal richelieu: "god does not pay at the end of every week, but he pays at last!"--_selected._ =december th.= _what is your life? it is even a vapor, that appeared for a little time, and then vanisheth away. james iv. ._ "only one life; 'twill soon be past-- and only what's done for christ will last."--_selected._ =december th.= _he (jesus) . . . looked up to heaven. mark vi. ._ in working for god, first look to heaven. it is a grand plan. over and over again our lord jesus christ looked to heaven and said, "father." let us imitate him; although standing on the earth, let us have our conversation in heaven. before you go out, if you would feed the world, if you would be a blessing in the midst of spiritual dearth and famine, lift up your head to heaven. then your very face will shine, your very garments will smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia out of the ivory palaces where you have been with your god and savior. there will be stamped upon you the dignity and power of the service of the most high god.--_mcneil._ =december th.= _the disciples were called christians first in antioch. acts xi. ._ this name suggests that the clear impression made by our character, as well as by our words, should be that we belong to jesus christ. he should manifestly be the center and the guide, the impulse and the pattern, the strength and reward, of our lives. we are christians. that should be plain for all folks to see, whether we speak or be silent. is it so with you?--_alex. mclaren._ =december th.= _having therefore these promises. cor. vii. ._ the forests in summer days are full of birds' nests. they are hidden among the leaves. the little birds know where they are; and when a storm arises, or when night draws on, they fly, each to his own nest. so the promises of god are hidden in the bible, like nests in the great forests; and thither we should fly in any danger or alarm, hiding there in our soul's nest until the storm be overpast. there are no castles in this world so impregnable as the words of christ.--_j. r. miller._ =december th.= _now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. cor. xiii. . (r. v.)_ love is the greatest thing that god can give us: for himself is love; and it is the greatest thing we can give to god: for it will give ourselves, and carry with it all that is ours.--_jeremy taylor._ =december th.= _he (thomas) . . . said, except i shall see . . . i will not believe. . . . jesus . . . said . . . be not faithless, but believing. john xx. , ._ every doubt in the heart of a christian is a dishonor done to the word of god, and the sacrifice of christ.--_selected._ =december th.= _lot . . . pitched his tent toward sodom. gen. xiii. ._ and soon lot moved into sodom; and before long sodom moved into him.--_theodore cuyler._ =december th.= _cleanse thou me from secret faults. psa. xix. ._ the world needs men who are free from secret faults. most men are free from gross, public faults.--_selected._ =december th.= _a hearer of the word . . . a doer of the work. jas. i. , ._ religion may be learned on sunday, but it is lived in the week-day's work. the torch of religion may be lit in the church, but it does its burning in the shop and on the street. religion seeks its life in prayer, but it lives its life in deeds. it is planted in the closet, but it does its growing out in the world. it plumes itself for flight in songs of praise, but its actual flights are in works of love. it resolves and meditates on faithfulness as it reads its christian lesson in the book of truth, but "faithful is that faithful does." it puts its armor on in all the aids and helps of the sanctuary as its dressing-room, but it combats for the right, the noble, and the good in all the activities of practical existence, and its battle ground is the whole broad field of life.--_john doughty._ =december th.= _ye know not what shall be on the morrow. james iv. ._ "to-morrow" is the devil's great ally--the very goliath in whom he trusts for victory. "now" is the stripling sent forth against him. . . . the world will freely agree to be christians to-morrow if christ will permit them to be worldly to-day.--_william arnot._ =december st.= _the sea wrought, and was tempestuous. jonah i. ._ sin in the soul is like jonah in the ship. it turns the smoothest water into a tempestuous sea.--_selected._ =december nd.= _be not doubtful, but followers of them also, through faith and patience, inherit the promises. heb. vi. ._ god makes a promise. faith believes it. hope anticipates it. patience quietly awaits it.--_selected._ =december rd.= _go and sit down in the lowest room. luke xiv. ._ he who is willing to take the lowest place will always find sitting room; there is no great crush for the worst places. there is nothing like the jostling at the back there is at the front; so if we would be comfortable, we shall do well to keep behind.--_thomas champness._ =december th.= _continue in prayer. col. iv. ._ our prayers often resemble the mischievous tricks of town children, who knock at their neighbor's houses and then run away; we often knock at heaven's door and then run off into the spirit of the world; instead of waiting for entrance and answer, we act as if we were afraid of having our prayers answered.--_williams._ =december th.= _a multitude of the heavenly host praising god, and saying, glory to god in the highest. luke ii. , ._ angels had been present on many august occasions, and they had joined in many a solemn chorus to the praise of their almighty creator. they were present at the creation: "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of god shouted for joy." they had seen many a planet fashioned between the palms of jehovah, and wheeled by his eternal hands through the infinitude of space. they had sung solemn songs over many a world which the great one had created. we doubt not, they had often chanted, "blessing and honor, and glory, and majesty, and power, and dominion, and might, be unto him that sitteth on the throne," manifesting himself in the work of creation. i doubt not, too, that their songs had gathered force through ages. as when first created, their first breath was song, so when they saw god create new worlds, then their song received another note; they rose a little higher in the gamut of adoration. but this time, when they saw god stoop from his throne and become a babe hanging upon a woman's breast, they lifted their notes higher still; and reaching to the uttermost stretch of angelic music, they gained the highest notes of the divine scale of praise and they sang, "glory to god _in the highest_," for higher in goodness they felt god could not go. thus their highest praise they gave to him in the highest act of his godhead.--_spurgeon._ =december th.= _god forbid that i should glory save in the cross of our lord jesus christ. gal. vi. ._ the cross is the great center of god's moral universe! to this center god ever pointed, and the eye of faith ever looked forward, until the savior came. and now we must ever turn to that cross as the center of all our blessing, and the basis of all our worship, both on earth and in heaven--in time and throughout all eternity. =december th.= _he ever liveth. heb. vii. ._ it is our hope for ourselves, and for his truth, and for mankind. men come and go. leaders, teachers, thinkers, speak and work for a season, and then fall silent and impotent. he abides. they die, but he lives. they are lights kindled, and therefore, sooner or later quenched, but he is the true light from which they draw all their brightness, and he shines for evermore.--_alex. mclaren._ =december th.= _the friendship of the world is enmity with god. james iv. ._ it is like the ivy with the oak. the ivy may give the oak a grand, beautiful appearance, but all the while it is feeding on its vitals. are we compromising with the enemies of god? are we being embraced by the world by its honors, its pleasures, its applause? this may add to us in the world's estimation, but our strength becomes lost.--_denham smith._ =december th.= _she (hannah) . . . prayed unto the lord, and wept sore . . . she spake in her heart. sam. i. , ._ for real business at the mercy-seat give me a home-made prayer, a prayer that comes out of the depths of my heart, not because i invented it, but because god the holy ghost, put it there, and gave it such living force that i could not help letting it out. though your words are broken, and your sentences disconnected, if your desires are earnest, if they are like coals of juniper, burning with a vehement flame, god will not mind how they find expression. if you have no words, perhaps you will pray better without them than with them. there are prayers that break the backs of words; they are too heavy for any human language to carry.--_spurgeon._ =december th.= _noah found grace in the eyes of the lord. gen. vi. ._ noah found grace in the same way that paul obtained mercy ( tim. : ), namely, by mercy's taking hold of him.--_selected._ =december st.= _which hope we have as an anchor to the soul. heb. vi. ._ anchor to the throne of god, and then shorten the rope!--_selected._ * * * * * transcriber's notes: obvious punctuation errors repaired. page , there was a reference " : " listed under ephesians. as ephesians doesn't have eleven chapters, the transcriber checked page . ephesians , written as ii, is on page and is already listed under ephesians. the reference to : being on page was removed. page , "i." added to "thessalonians". pge , "regetting" changed to "regretting" (by regretting what is) page , "jnue" changed to "june" (june nd) page , "closee" changed to "closer" (by closer following) page , "porals" changed to "portals" (portals of the grave) our lady saint mary by j. g. h. barry, d.d. would that it might happen to me that i should be called a fool by the unbelieving, in that i have believed such things as these. --origen. to the members of the league of the blessed virgin this volume is hopefully dedicated preface the two papers in part i have been published in the american church magazine. of part ii chapter has been published separately; chapters , , , and have been published in the holy cross magazine. the rest of the volume is here published for the first time. i would emphasise the fact that the contents of part ii is a series of sermons which were prepared as such, and were preached in the church of s. mary the virgin, new york city, for the most part in the winter of - . in preparing them for publication in this volume no attempt has been made to alter their sermon character. it is not a theological treatise on the blessed virgin that i have attempted, but a devotional presentation of her life. i have added to the text as originally prepared certain prayers and poems. the object of the selection of the prayers, almost exclusively from the liturgies of the catholic church, is to illustrate the prevalence of the address of devotion to our lady throughout christendom. the poems are selected with much the same thought, and have been mostly gathered from mediaeval sources, and so far as possible, from british. i have no special knowledge of devotional poetry, but have selected such poems as i have from time to time copied into my note books. this fact has made it impossible for me to give credit for them to the extent that i should have liked. i trust that any one who is entitled to credit will accept this apology. much of the difficulty felt by anglicans at expressions commonly found in prayers and hymns addressed to our lady is due to prevalent unfamiliarity with the devotional language of the catholic church throughout the ages. those whose background of thought is the theology of the catholic church, not in any one period, but in the whole extent of its life, will have no difficulty in such language because the limitations which are implied in it will be clear to them. to others, i can only say that it is fair to assume that the great saints of the church of god in all times and in all places did not habitually use language which was idolatrous, and our limitations are much more likely to be at fault than their meaning. it is not true in any degree that the teaching of catholics as to the place of the virgin intrudes on the prerogative of our lord. it is, as matter of fact catholics, and not those who oppose the catholic religion who are upholding that prerogative. this has been excellently expressed by a modern french theologian. "we are established in the friendship of god, in the divine adoption, in the heavenly inheritance, solely in virtue of the covenent by which our souls are bound to the son of god, and by which the goods, the merits, and the rights of the son of god are communicated to our souls, as in the natural order, the property of the husband becomes the property of the wife. surely, one can say nothing more than we say here, and assuredly the sects opposed to the church have never said more: indeed, they are far to-day from saying so much to maintain intact this truth, that jesus christ is our sole redeemer, and to give that truth the entire extent that belongs to it." contents part i. chapter i. of loyalty. ii. the meaning of worship. part ii. i. mary of nazareth. ii. the annunciation i. iii. the annunciation ii. iv. the visitation i. v. the visitation ii. vi. s. joseph. vii. the nativity. viii. the magi. ix. the presentation. x. egypt. xi. nazareth. xii. the temple. xiii. cana i. xiv. cana ii. xv. who is my mother? xvi. holy week i. xvii. holy week ii. xviii. the crucifixion. xix. the descent and burial. xx. the resurrection. xxi. the forty days. xxii. the ascension. xxiii. the descent of the holy spirit. xxiv. the home of s. john. xxv. the assumption. xxvi. the coronation. part one chapter i of loyalty o god, who causes us to rejoice in recalling the joys of the conception, the nativity, the annunciation, the visitation, the purification, and the assumption of the blessed and glorious virgin mary; grant to us so worthily to devote ourselves to her praise and service, that we may be conscious of her presence and assistance in all our necessities and straits, and especially in the hour of death, and that after death we may be found worthy, through her and in her, to rejoice in heaven with thee. through &c. sarum missal. the dream of the middle ages was of one christian society of which the church should be the embodiment of the spiritual, and the state of the temporal interests. as there is one humanity united to god in incarnate god, all its interests should be capable of unification in institutions which should be based on that which is essential in humanity, and not on that which is accidental: men should be united because they are human and christian, and not divided because of diversity of blood or color or language. the dream proved impossible of realization, and the struggle for human unity went to pieces on the rocks of the rapidly developing nationalism of the later middle ages. the reformation was the triumph of nationalism and the defeat of catholic idealism. it resulted in a shattered christendom in which the interests of local and homogeneous groups became supreme over the purely human interests. in state and church alike patriotism has tended more and more to become dominant over the interests that are supralocal and universal. the last few years have seen an intensification of localism. we have seen bitter scorn heaped on the few who have labored for internationalism in thought and feeling. we have seen the attempt of labor at internationalism utterly break down under the pressure of patriotic motive. we are finding that the same concentration on immediate and local interests is an insuperable bar to the realization of an ideal of internationalism which would effectively deal with questions arising between nations and put an end to war. the church failed to establish a spiritual internationalism; the indications are that it will be long before humanitarian idealists will be able to effect a union among nations still infected with patriotic motive, such as shall bring about a subordination of local and immediate interests to the interests of humanity as such. that the general interests are also in the end the local interests is still far from the vision of the patriot. what the growth of nationalities with its consequent rise of international jealousies and hostilities has effected in civil society, has been brought about in matters spiritual by the divisions of christendom. the various bodies into which christendom has been split up are infected with the same sort of localism as infects the state. they dwell with pride upon their own peculiarities, and treat with suspicion if not with contempt the peculiarities of other bodies. the effort to induce the members of any body of christians to appreciate what belongs to others, or to try to construe christianity in terms of a true catholicity, is almost hopeless. all attempts at the restoration of the visible unity of the church have been wrecked, and seem destined for long to be wrecked, on the rocks of local pride and local interests. the motives which in secular affairs lead a man to put, not only his body and his goods, as he ought, at the disposal of his country; but also induce him to surrender his mind to the prevailing party and shout, "my country, right or wrong," in matters ecclesiastical lead him to cry, "my church, right or wrong." it is only by transcending this localism that we can hope for progress in church or state--can hope to conquer the wars and fightings among our members that make peace impossible. this infection of localism is not peculiar to any body of christians. the oriental churches have been largely state-bound for centuries, and, in addition, have been mentally immobile. the roman church with its claims to exclusive ownership of the christian religion has lost the vision it once had and subordinated the catholic interests of the church to the local interests of the papacy. the fragments of protestantism are too small any longer to claim the universalism claimed by the east and west, and perforce acknowledge their partial character; but it is only to indulge in a more acute patriotism, and assertion of rights of division, and the supremacy of the local over the general. the churches of the anglican rite are less bound, perhaps, than others. they are restless under the limitations of localism and are haunted by a vision of an unrealized catholicity; but they are torn by internal divisions and find their attempts at movement in any direction thwarted by the pull of opposing parties. one result of the mental attitude generated by the conditions indicated above is that any attempt to deal with subjects other than those which are authorized because they are customary, or tolerated because they are familiar, is liable to be greeted with cries of reproach and accusations of disloyalty. such and such teachings we are told, without much effort at proof, are contrary to the teachings of the anglican church, or are not in harmony with that teaching, or are illegitimate attempts to bring in doctrines or practices which were definitely rejected by our fathers at the reformation. those who are implicated in such attempts are told that they are disturbers of the peace of the church and are invited to go elsewhere. as one who is not guiltless of such attempts, and as one who is becoming accustomed to be charged with novelty in teaching, and disloyalty in practice to that which is undoubtedly and historically anglican, i have been compelled to ask myself, "what is loyalty to the anglican church? is there, in fact, some peculiar and limited form of christianity to which i owe allegiance?" i had got accustomed to think of myself as a catholic christian whose lot was cast in a certain province of the catholic church which was administratively separated from other parts of that church. this i felt--this separation--to be unfortunate; but i was not responsible for it, and would be glad to do anything that i could to end it. i had not thought that this administrative separation from other provinces of the catholic church meant that i was pledged to a different religion; i had not thought of there being an anglican religion. i have all my life, in intention and as far as i know, accepted the whole catholic faith of which it is said in a creed accepted by the anglican church that "except a man believe faithfully he cannot be saved." i do not intend to believe any other faith than that, and i intend to believe all of that; and i have not thought of myself as other than a loyal anglican in so doing. but criticism has led me to go back over the whole question and ask whether there is any indication anywhere in the approved documents of the anglican communion of an intention at all to depart from the faith of christendom as it was held by the whole catholic church, east and west, at the time when an administrative separation from rome was effected. was a new faith at any time introduced? has there at any time been any official action of the anglican church to limit my acceptance of the historic faith? that many anglican writers have denied many articles of the catholic faith i of course knew to be true. that some anglican writer could be found who had denied every article of the catholic faith i thought quite possible. but i was not interested in the beliefs or practices of individuals. i am not at all interested in what opinions may or may not have been held by cranmer at various stages of his career, or what opinions may be unearthed from the writings of bale by experts in immoral literature; i am interested solely in the official utterances of the anglican communion. in following out this line of investigation i have spent many weeks in the reading of many dreary documents: but fortunately documents are not important in proportion to the element of excitement they contain. i have read the documents contained in the collection of gee and hardy entitled "documents illustrative of english church history." i have read the "formularies of faith put forth by authority during the reign of henry viii." i have read cardwell's "synodalia." and i have also read "certain sermons or homilies appointed to be read in churches at the time of queen elizabeth of famous memory." i doubt whether any other extant human being has read them. and the upshot of the whole matter is that in none of these documents have i found any expressed intention to depart from the faith of the catholic church of the past as that faith had been set forth by authority. no doubt in the homilies there are things said which cannot be reconciled with the faith of catholic christendom. but the homilies are of no binding authority, and i have included them in my investigation only because i wanted their point of view. that is harmonious with the rest of the authoritative documents--the intention is to hold the faith: unfortunately the knowledge of some of the writers was not as pure as their intention. the point that i am concerned with is this: there is no intention anywhere shown in the authoritative documents of the anglican church to effect a change in religion, or to break with the religion which had been from the beginning taught and practised in england. the reformation did not mean the introduction of a new religion, but was simply a declaration of governmental independence. i will quote somewhat at length from the documents for the purpose of showing that there is no indication of an intention to set up a new church. one or two quotations from pre-reformation documents will make clear the customary phraseology in england during the middle ages. king john's ecclesiastical charter of uses the terms "church of england" and "english church." the magna charta of grants that the "church of england shall be free and have her rights intact, and her liberties uninjured." the articuli cleri of speak of the "english church." the second statute of provisors of uses the title "the holy church of england." "the english church" is the form used in the act "de hæretico comburendo" of , as it is also in "the remonstrance against the legatine powers of cardinal beaufort" of [ ]. [footnote : documents in gee & hardy.] these quotations will suffice to show the customary way of speaking of the church in england. if this customary way of speaking went on during and after the reformation the inference is that there had no change taken place in the way of men's thinking about the church; that they were unconscious of having created a new or a different church. we know that the protestant bodies on the continent and the later protestant bodies in england did change their way of thinking about the church from that of their fathers and consequently their way of speaking of it. but the formal documents of the church of england show no change. "the answer of the ordinaries" of appeals as authoritative to the "determination of scripture and holy church," and to the determination of "christ's catholic church." the "conditional restraint of annates" of protests that the english "as well spiritual as temporal, be as obedient, devout, catholic, and humble children of god and holy church, as any people be within any realm christened." in the act for "the restraint of appeals" of , which is the act embodying the legal principle of the english reformation, it is the "english church" which acts. the statement in the "act forbidding papal dispensations and the payment of peter's pence" of is entirely explicit as to the intention of the english authorities. it declares that nothing in this act "shall be hereafter interpreted or expounded that your grace, your nobles and subjects intend, by the same, to decline or vary from the congregation of christ's church in any things concerning the very articles of the catholic faith of christendom[ ]." [footnote : gee & hardy.] these documents date from the reign of henry viii. in the same reign another series of authoritative documents was put forth which contains the same teaching as to the church. "the institution of a christian man" set forth in , in the article on the church has this: "i believe assuredly--that there is and hath been from the beginning of the world, and so shall endure and continue forever, one certain number, society, communion, or company of the elect and faithful people of god.... and i believe assuredly that this congregation ... is, in very deed the city of heavenly jerusalem ... the holy catholic church, the temple or habitacle of god, the pure and undefiled espouse of christ, the very mystical body of christ," "the necessary doctrine and erudition for any christian man" of in treating of the faith declares that "all those things which were taught by the apostles, and have been by an whole universal consent of the church of christ ever sith that time taught continually, ought to be received, accepted, and kept, as a perfect doctrine apostolic." it is further taught in the same document in the eighth article, that on "the holy catholic church," that the church is "catholic, that is to say, not limited to any one place or region of the world, but is in every place universally through the world where it pleaseth god to call people to him in the profession of christ's name and faith, be it in europe, africa, or asia. and all these churches in divers countries severally called, although for the knowledge of the one from the other among them they have divers additions of names, and for their most necessary government, as they be distinct in places, so they have distinct ministers and divers heads in earth, governors and rulers, yet be all these holy churches but one holy church catholic, invited and called by one god the father to enjoy the benefit of redemption wrought by our lord and saviour jesu christ, and governed by one holy spirit, which teacheth this foresaid one truth of god's holy word in one faith and baptism[ ]." [footnote : formularies of faith in the reign of henry viii.] with the accession of edward vi. the protestant element in the reformation gained increased influence. our question is, did it succeed in imprinting a new theory of the nature and authority of the church on the formal and authoritative utterances of the church in england? the first "act of uniformity" of contains the now familiar appeal to scripture and to the primitive church, and the book set forth is called "the book of common prayer and administration of the sacraments, and other rites and ceremonies of the church, after the use of the church of england." the "second act of uniformity," , uses the same language about the church of england and the primitive church. passing on to the reign of elizabeth, in the "injunctions" of there is set forth "a form of bidding the prayers," which begins: "ye shall pray for christ's holy catholic church, that is for the whole congregation of christian people dispersed throughout the whole world, and especially for the church of england and ireland." in the "act of supremacy" of the same year it is provided that an opinion shall "be ordered, or adjudged to be heresy, by the authority of the canonical scriptures, or by the first four general councils, or any of them, or by any other general council wherein the same was declared heresy by the express and plain words of the said canonical scriptures." this test of doctrine is repeated in canon vi of the canons of . "preachers shall ... see to it that they teach nothing in the way of a sermon ... save what is agreeable to the teaching of the old or new testament, and what the catholic fathers and ancient bishops have collected from this self-same doctrine[ ]." [footnote : documents in gee & hardy.] it is hardly worth while to spend much time on the homilies. i will simply note that they continue the appeal to the primitive church which is asserted to have been holy, godly, pure and uncorrupt; and to the "old holy fathers and most ancient learned doctors" which are quoted as authoritative against later innovations. they still speak of the church of england as continuous with the past. i do not find that they treat the contemporary reformers as of authority or quote them as against the traditional teaching of the church. we will go on to one more stage, that is, to the canons of which represent the mind of the church of england at the time of the accession of james i. they declare that "whosoever shall hereafter affirm, that the church of england, by law established under the king's majesty, is not a true and an apostolical church, teaching and maintaining the doctrine of the apostles; let him be excommunicated." (iii) they appeal to the "ancient fathers of the church, led by the example of the apostles." (xxxi) in treating of the use of the sign of the cross in baptism they assert that its use follows the "rules of scripture and the practice of the primitive church." and further, "this use of the sign of the cross in baptism was held in the primitive church, as well by the greeks as the latins, with one consent and great applause." and replying to the argument from abuse the canon goes on: "but the abuse of a thing doth not take away the lawful use of it. nay, so far was it from the purpose of the church of england to forsake and reject the churches of italy, france, spain, germany, or any such like churches, in all things that they held and practised, that, as the apology of the church of england confesseth, it doth with reverence retain those ceremonies, which do neither endanger the church of god, nor offend the minds of sober men." (xxx) it appears clear from a study of the passages quoted and of many others of kindred nature that the anglican church did not start out upon its separate career with any intention of becoming a sect; it did not complain of the corruption of the existing religion and declare its purpose to show to the world what true and pure religion is. it did not put forward as the basis of its action the existing corruption of doctrine, but the corruption of administration. its claim was a claim to manage its own local affairs, and was put into execution when the convocation of canterbury voted in the negative on the question submitted to it, viz., "whether the roman pontiff has any greater jurisdiction bestowed on him by god in holy scripture in this realm of england, than any other foreign bishop?" the attitude indicated is one that has been characteristic of the anglican church ever since. it has always been restless in the presence of a divided christendom; the sin of the broken unity has always haunted it. it never has taken the smug attitude of sectarianism, a placid self-satisfaction with its own perfection. it has felt the constant pull of the catholic ideal and has been inspired by it to make effort after effort for the union of christendom. it has never lost the sense that it was in itself not complete but a part of a greater whole. it has never seen in the existing shattered state of the christian church anything but the evidences of sin. its appeal has constantly been, not to its own sufficiency for the determination of all questions, but to the scriptures as interpreted by the undivided church. if it has at times been prone to overstress the authority of some ideal and undefined primitive church, it was because it thought that there and there only could the catholic church be found speaking in its ideal unity. this the attitude of the anglican church of the past is its attitude to-day. the lambeth conference of gave voice to it: "the conference urges on every branch of the anglican communion that it should prepare its members for taking their part in the universal fellowship of the re-united church, by setting before them the loyalty which they owe to the universal church, and the charity and understanding which are required of the members of so inclusive a society." commenting upon this utterance of the lambeth conference the three bishops who are the joint authors of "lambeth and reunion" say: the bishops at lambeth "beg for loyalty to the universal church. the doctrinal standards of the undivided church must not be ignored. nor must modern developments, consistent with the past, be ruled out merely because they are modern. men must hold strongly what they have received; but they must forsake the policy of denying one another's positive presentment of truth. that only must be forbidden which the universal fellowship cannot conceivably accept within any one of its groups[ ]." [footnote : lambeth and rennion. by the bishops of peterborough, zanzibar and hereford.] the bishops just quoted add: "we rejoice indeed at this new mind of the lambeth conference." whether it is a new mind in lambeth conferences we need not consider; it is certainly no new mind in the anglican church, but is precisely its characteristic attitude of not claiming perfection or finality for itself, but of looking beyond itself to catholic christendom, and longing for the time when reunion of the churches which now make up its "broken unity" will enable it to speak with the same voice of authority with which it did in its primitive and undivided state. in attempting to decide what as a priest of the anglican communion one may or may not teach or practice, one is bound to have regard, not to what is asserted by anyone, even by any bishop, to be "disloyal" or "unanglican," but to the principles expressed or implied in the utterances of the church itself. from those utterances as i have reviewed them, it appears to me that a number of general principles may be deduced for the guidance of conduct. i. the churches of the anglican communion are bound by the entire body of catholic dogma formulated and accepted universally in the pre-reformation church. the anglican documents, to be sure, speak constantly of the "primitive church," but they do not anywhere define what they mean by that; and frequently, by their appeal to the "undivided church," and to "general councils," they seem to include in their undefined term much more than is commonly understood. in any case, the church has no special authority because it is _primitive_: its authority results not from its being primitive but from its being _church_. the only point of the anglican appeal would be the universal acceptance of a given doctrine. such universal acceptance must be taken as proof of its primitiveness, that is, of its being contained, explicitly or implicitly, in the original deposit of faith. the anglican church was content with the summing up of this faith in the three creeds, and attempted to formulate no new greed of her own--the xxxix articles are not strictly a creed: they are not articles of faith but of religion. but the very history of the creeds implies that they are not final, that is, complete, but that they are a summing up of the catholic religion to date. there are truths which the circumstances of the church in the conciliar period had not brought into prominence which later events compelled the church to express its mind upon. such a truth is that of the real presence of our lord in the sacrament of the altar. this truth had attained explicit acceptance throughout the church before the reformation, sufficiently witnessed by the liturgies in use. it is also embodied in the anglican liturgy. if anyone thinks the language of the anglican church doubtful on this point, the principles enunciated by the church compel interpretation in accord with the mind of the universal church. there are other truths which are binding on us on the same basis of universal consent, but i am not seeking to apply the principle in every case but only to illustrate it. ii. there is another class of truths or doctrines widely held in christendom, which yet cannot be classed as dogmas of the faith. such a doctrine is that of the immaculate conception of the blessed virgin mary. this doctrine has been made of faith in the roman communion, but has not yet ecumenical acceptance, and therefore may be doubted without sin by members of the greek or anglican churches. what we need to avoid, as the lambeth conference has reminded us, is a purely insular and provincial attitude in relation to doctrines which have not been formally set forth by anglican authority. the anglican church has tried its best to impress upon us that there is no such thing as an anglican religion; there is but one religion--the religion of god's catholic church. what we are to seek to know is not the mind "of the anglican reformers," or the mind "of the caroline divines," but the mind of the catholic church. wherever we shall find that mind expressed, though in terms unfamiliar to us, we are bound to treat it with respect. we are to seek to know the truth that the truth may make us free--from all pride and prejudice, as well as from heresy and blasphemy. and we shall best come at this mind in its widest meaning by the study of the writings of the saints of all ages and of all parts of the church. it may fairly be inferred that those who have attained great perfection in the catholic life have achieved it by the application of catholic truth to every day living. iii. the members of the anglican church have the same freedom as other catholics in the matter of theological speculation. what was done at the reformation was not final in the sense that we are never to believe or to teach anything that is not found in anglican formularies. the fact that a certain doctrine like that of the invocation of saints was omitted from the anglican formularies is not fatal to its practice. the grounds of its omission in practice may or may not have been well judged. but the theory of it was never denied, it is indeed contained in the creeds themselves, and change in circumstances may justify its revival in practice. moreover, the theology of the christian church is not a body of static doctrine, but is the expression of the ceaseless meditation of the saints upon the truths revealed to us by god. to suppose that any age whatever has exhausted the meaning of the revealed truth would be absurd. it is inexhaustible. so long as the mind of the church is pondering it, it brings out from it things old and new. among ourselves it is perhaps at present more desirable that we should bring out the old things than seek to find the new. the historic circumstances of the anglican church have been such as to lead to the practical disuse of much that is of great spiritual value in the treasury of the church. it is largely in the attempt to bring into use the riches that have been abandoned that some are to-day incurring the charge of disloyalty--a charge that they are not careful to answer, if they may be permitted to minister to a larger spiritual life in the church they love. at the same time the development of doctrine is a real mode of enrichment of the theology of the church. the devout mind pondering divine truth will ever penetrate deeper into its meaning. thus it was that in the course of centuries the church arrived at a complete statement of the doctrine of our lord's person. and what it could rightly do in the supreme case, it surely can rightly do in cases of lesser moment. we need not be afraid of this movement of thought, for the mind of the united church may be trusted not to sanction any error. our lord has promised that the gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. we can trust him to fulfil his promise. he has also promised us that the holy spirit shall lead us into all the truth. can he trust us not to thwart the work of the spirit by a provincial attitude as of those who already in the utterances of the anglican formularies claim to possess all truth? iv. there is one other inference to be drawn from what i conceive to be the anglican position, and that is one that relates, not primarily to doctrine but to practice. for many years now the anglican churches have been greatly disturbed by varieties of practice, though it is difficult to see why varieties of practice should be in themselves disturbing. but without going into that matter, which would carry us far afield, i would simply state that the principle already laid down in regard to doctrine seems to apply here in the matter of practice: that is, the anglican has the right to use any practice which has not been explicitly forbidden by the authorities of the local church. the churches of the anglican communion have never set forth any competent guide for the conduct of worship, and by refraining from so doing have left the matter in the hands of those who have to conduct services and provide for the spiritual needs of those over whom they have been given cure of souls. there is nothing more absurd than to assume that nothing rightly can be done in these matters except what has been directed by authority; that no services can be held but such as have formal authorization; that no ceremonies can be introduced but such as the custom of the time since the reformation has made familiar to many. in such matters authority naturally and necessarily goes along with the cure of souls; the priest of the parish must perforce provide for the spiritual needs of his parish. if he finds those needs satisfied with the rendering of morning and evening prayer--well and good; but those who do not find the needs of their parish so satisfied must seek to satisfy them by the providing of other spiritual means. and in seeking thus to provide for the spiritual growth of souls committed to his care, the priest, on the principles of the anglican formularies, is justified and entitled to make use of the means in use throughout catholic christendom. he is quite justified in calling his people together for a prayer meeting, if in his judgment that will be for their spiritual good; or if his judgment is different, he is equally justified in inviting them to join him in saying the rosary. he may incite to greater devotion by a shortened form of evening prayer or by popular vespers. i do not think that there is anything in the christian religion or in the formularies of the anglican church that forbids him to have moving pictures or special musical services. nor is there any reason why, if it be in his judgment promotive of holiness, he should not provide for his parish such services as benediction of the blessed sacrament. there can be no legitimate criticism of a service on the ground of its _provenance_. it is a common reproach against the anglican communion that is "does not know its own mind." it would be much truer to say that there are many members of it who have been at no pains to ascertain whether it have a mind or what that mind is: who have been content to confound the mind of the church with the mind of the party to which they are attached by the accident of birth or of preference. i do not for a moment contend that the party (to use an ugly but necessary word) to which i am attached stands, in all things, in perfect alignment with the anglican formularies. there are circumstances in which it appears to me to be necessary to appeal from anglican action to the mind of that larger body, the whole church of christ throughout the world, to which the anglican church points me as its own final authority. in so doing i do not feel that i am disloyal, but that i am actually doing what authority tells me to do. these are cases in point. i do not believe that a local church can suppress and permanently disuse sacraments of the universal church. the anglican church by its suppression of the sacraments of unction and by its almost universal disuse for centuries of the sacrament of penance, compelled those who would be loyal to the catholic church to which it appealed to act on their own initiative in the revival of the use of those sacraments. i do not believe that the local church has the right or the power to forbid or permanently disuse customs which are of universal currency in the catholic church. i do not believe that it has the right to neglect and fail to enforce the catholic custom of fasting, and especially of fasting before communion. i do not believe that any christian who is informed on these things has the right to neglect them on the ground that the anglican church has not enforced them. on the basis of its own declarations the ecumenical overrides the local; and if it be said, "what is a priest, that he should undertake to set the practice of his church right?" the answer is that he is a man having cure of souls for whose progress in holiness he is responsible before god, and if those who claim authority in such matters will not act, he must act, though it be at the risk of his immortal soul. these things seem to be true with the truth of self-evidence. and because they seem to be true, i have not hesitated to preach, and now to print, the sermons on the life and words of our lady contained in this volume. i am told by many that such teaching is dangerous, but i am not told by any of any danger that is intelligible to me. that such devotions to our lady as are here commended trench on the prerogative of god, and exalt our lady above the place of a creature is sufficiently answered by the fact that the very act of asking the prayers of blessed mary is an assertion of her creaturehood--one does not ask the prayers of god. and when it is said that devotion to her takes away from devotion to her son, one has only to ask in reply, who as a matter of fact have maintained and do maintain unflinchingly the divinity of our lord? certainly the denials of the divinity of our lord are found where there is also a denial that any honor is due or may rightly be given to his blessed mother; and where that mother receives the highest honor, there we never for a moment doubt that the full godhead of jesus will be unflinchingly and unhesitatingly maintained. wherefore in praise, the worthiest that i may, jesu! of thee, and the white lily-flower which did thee bear, and is a maid for aye, to tell a story i will use my power; not that i may increase her honour's dower, for she herself is honour, and the root of goodness, next her son, our soul's best boot. o mother maid! o maid and mother free! o bush unburnt; burning in moses' sight! that down didst ravish from the deity, through humbleness, the spirit that did alight upon thy heart, whence, through that glory's might, conceived was the father's sapience, help me to tell it in thy reverence. lady! thy goodness, thy magnificance, thy virtue, and thy great humility, surpass all science and all utterance; for sometimes, lady, ere men pray to thee thou goest before in thy benignity, the light to us vouchsafing of thy prayer, to be our guide unto thy son so dear. my knowledge is so weak, o blissful queen! to tell abroad thy mighty worthiness, that i the weight of it may not sustain; but as a child of twelve months old or less, even so fare i; and therefore, i thee pray, guide thou my song which i of thee shall say. chaucer. the prioress' tale. version by wordsworth. part one chapter ii the meaning of worship o lord jesus christ, from whom all holy thoughts do come; who hast taught thy servants to honour thy glorious mother; mercifully grant us so to celebrate her on earth with the solemn sacrifice of praise and with due devotion, that by her intercession we may be found worthy to reign in joy in heaven. who livest &c. sarum missal. there are thoughts and actions which so enter the daily conduct of our lives that we take them for granted and never pause to analyse them. if perchance something occurs to make us ask what these thoughts and actions truly and deeply mean we are surprised to find that we have, in fact, no adequate understanding of them. we have a feeling about them and we are quite sure that this feeling is a good and right one. we have ends that we are seeking and we are satisfied that the ends are in all ways desirable. but suddenly confronted with the question why, unexpectedly asked to explain, to justify ourselves, we find ourselves dumb. we cannot find adequate exposition for what we nevertheless know that we are justified in. it is so with much that we admire; we have never tried to justify our admiration, have never thought that it needed an explanation; and then, unexpectedly, we find ourselves challenged, we find our taste criticised, and in our efforts at self-defence we blunder and stumble and hesitate about what we still feel that we are quite right in holding fast. it is common things that we thus take for granted; it is daily activities that we thus assume need no explanation. for us who habitually gather to the services of the church there is no more taken-for-granted act than worship. worship is a part of our daily experience. at certain times each day we offer to god stated and formal acts of worship. many times a day most likely we pause and for a moment lift our thought to our blessed lord for a brief communion with him. it is a part of our settled experience thus to draw strength from the inexhaustible source which at all times is at our disposal. we know how the tasks of the day are lightened and our strength to meet them renewed by these momentary invasions of the supernatural. there are also special times in each week when we meet with other members of the one body of christ in the offering of the unbloody sacrifice. we know that in that act heaven and earth join, and that not only our brethren who are kneeling beside us are uniting with us in the offering of the sacrifice, not only are we one with all those other members of the body who on this same morning are kneeling at the numberless altars of christendom, but that all those who are in christ are with us partakers of the same sacrifice, and that in its offering we are joined with all the holy dead, and by our partaking of christ are brought close to one another. we therefore lovingly take their names upon our lips, and enkindle their memory in our hearts; and find that death, which we had thought of as a separation, has but broken the barriers to the deepest and most blessed communion, and that we are now, as never before, united to those whom we find in christ jesus our lord. and then comes the unexpected challenge: "what does all this mean: these repeated and diverse acts that you are accustomed to speak of and to think of as acts of worship? what, ultimately, do you mean by worship, and can there possibly be found any common feature in these so diverse acts which can justify you in regarding them as essentially one? this act which is in truth presenting yourself before the majesty of god in humble adoration, in the guise of a suppliant child depending upon the love of the father for the supply of the daily needs; or this other act which is of such deepest mystery that we approach any attempted statement of it with awe, which is in fact the representation of the sacrifice of calvary; and then these invocations by which we ask the loving co-operation of our fellow members of christ that they may associate themselves with us in the work of prayer and mutual intercession--how can all these acts be brought together under a common rubric, how can they all be designated as worship? what in fact is it that you mean by worship?" so are we challenged. so are we thrown back, and in the end thrown back most beneficially, to the analysis of our acts. worship, we tell ourselves, is _worth_-ship; it is the attribution of worth or honor to whom these are properly due. "honour to whom honour is due," we hear the apostle saying. worship is therefore not an absolute value but a varying value, the content of any act of which will be determined by the nature of the object toward which it is directed. it is greatly like love in this respect; its nature is always the same, but its present value is determined by the object to which it is directed. we are to love the lord our god, and we are also to love our neighbour; the nature of the love is in each case the same; and yet we are not to love our neighbour with the limitless self-surrender with which we love god. the love of god is the passionate giving of ourselves to him with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength. the love of the neighbour is measured and restrained, having in view his good that we are seeking, the promotion of his salvation as our fellow member in the body of christ. in the same way worship will take its colour, its significance, its tone, its intensity, not from some abstract conception, but from the end it seeks. this is made plain, too, when we look at our bibles and prayer books for the actual use of the word. there we find much of the worship of god: but we also find a limited use of the word. "then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee." (s. luke, xiv, .) and in the marriage service of the english prayer book we read: "with this ring i thee wed, and with my body i thee worship." the same limited content of the word is found in the old title of respect--"your worship." but so thoroughly has the word worship become associated with our approach to god, that we still, many of us, no doubt, feel the shock of the unaccustomed when we hear the worship of the blessed virgin or of the saints spoken of. it does not help us much to fall back on the latin word, _cultus_, for we understand that the meaning is the same. we are helped, i think, if we substitute the parallel word honour for worship in the places of its use. we meet in the church to honour god, and we offer the blessed sacrifice as the act of supreme honour which is due to him alone; but in connection with the supreme honour offered to god we also honour the saints of god by the observance of their anniversaries with special services including the holy sacrifice. the word honour does not sound so ill to ears unaccustomed to a certain type of catholic expression as the word worship: but the meaning is untouched. let us go on then to the analysis of the notion of worship. in the writings of theologians we find an analysis of the notion of worship into three degrees. there is, first of all, that supreme degree of worship which is called _latria_ and which is the worship due to god alone. if we ask what essentially it is that differentiates _latria_ from all other degrees of worship or honour we find that it is the element of sacrifice that it contains. sacrifice is the supreme act of self-surrender to another, of utter self-immolation, and it can have no other legitimate object than god himself. the central notion of sacrifice is the surrender of self. the sacrifices of the old covenant were of value because they were the representatives of the nation and of the individuals who offered them; because of the self-identification of nation or individual with the thing offered, which must therefore be in some sense the offerer's, must, so to say, _contain him_: must be that in which he merges himself. so the one sacrifice of the new covenant gets its essential value in that it is the surrender of the son to the will of the father. "i am come to do thy will, o god." christ's sacrifice is self-sacrifice: the voluntary surrender of the whole life to the divine purpose. and when we actually worship god, worship him with the worship of _latria_, our act must be of the same essential nature; it must be an act of sacrifice, of self-giving; the offering of ourselves to the will of the father. so it is in our participation in the offering of the blessed sacrifice. the full meaning of our joining in that act is that we are uniting ourselves with our lord's offering of himself, and as members of his body share in the sacrifice of the body which is the supreme act of worship. and our other acts of worship lay hold on and proceed from this which is the ground of their efficacy. all our subordinate acts of worship, so to call them, have their character and vitality as christian acts of the worship of god because of the relation of the worshipper to god as a member of the body of his son. they are offered through the son and derive their potency from their association with him and his sacrifice. they reach god through the sacrifice of the one mediator. worship, then, in this complete sense, is due to god alone; and it is separated by a whole heaven from any worship, that is, honour, which can be offered to any creature, however exalted. no instructed person would for a moment imagine that the prayers which we address to the saints are in any degree such worship as is offered to god; but in as much as those who are unfamiliar with the forms of the catholic religion in its devotional expression may easily be led astray, it seems needful to stress this fact of the difference between simple petition and such acts and prayers as involve the highest degree of worship. one of the chief sources of confusion in this matter is the failure to distinguish between the nature of the act of worship, which is determined by the person to whom it is directed, and the mere adjuncts of the act. but an act of _latria_ is not constituted such by the fact that it is aided in its expression by such circumstances as banners, lights, incense and so on. these are quite appropriate to any act of honour, and have been customarily so used in relation to human beings. there was a certain hesitation in the church for some time in the matter of incense which under the older covenant had been especially appropriated to god, because in the experience of the early church it was demanded, and necessarily refused, as an acknowledgment of the divinity of the emperor. but with the passing of the pagan empire incense as the universal symbol of prayer came into use in all manner of services wherein intercession was a part. such adjuncts therefore are not foreign to those subordinate acts of worship or honour which are technically known as _dulia. dulia_--this word means service--is such honour as may be rightly rendered to creatures without at all encroaching upon the majesty of god. it is _that_ degree of worship that we have in mind when we speak of the worship of the saints. that _dulia_ of the saints is expressed when we ask for the intercession of this or that saint, and is not essentially different from the asking for the prayers of any other human beings. we commonly ask for one another's prayers and feel that in doing so we are exercising our brotherhood in the body of christ in calling into action its mutual love and sympathy. we should be beyond measure astonished if we were told that such requests for the prayers of our brethren were encroachments upon the honour of god and the sin of idolatry! but if in this case our surprise is justified, it is difficult to see how the case is at all altered by the fact that the fellow members of the body whose prayers we are asking happen to be _dead_, that is, as we believe and imply in our request for their intercession, have passed into a new and closer relation to our blessed lord. nor, again, does the case seem to be at all altered, if the brother whose prayers we ask has been dead a long time, and has, by the common consent of catholic christendom, been received into the number of the saints. the ways in which the human mind works under the influence of prejudice are always interesting. there are many devout persons who feel that it is a valuable element in their religion to have the privilege of following the kalendar of the church and to keep the saints' days therein indicated by attendance at divine service; who yet would be horrified if it were suggested that a prayer should be offered to the saint whose day is being observed, and that the saint should be made the object of an act of worship. but what essentially _is_ the keeping of a saint's day, with a celebration of the holy communion with special collect, epistle and gospel, but an act of worship _(dulia)_ of the saint? the nature of the act would be in no way changed if in addition to our accustomed collects there were added one which plainly asked for the prayers of the saint in whose honour we are keeping the feast. in the worship of the church of god a place apart is assigned to the honour to be paid to the blessed mother of our lord. as the highest of all creatures, as highly favoured above all, as she whom god chose to be the mother of his son, the devout thought of generations of christians has felt that their recognition of her relation to god in the incarnation called for a special degree of honour rightly to express it. the thought of the faithful lingers about all that was in any degree associated with the coming of god in the flesh: so great was the deliverance thereby wrought for man that man's gratitude ever seeks new means of expression and ever finds the means inadequate to his love. many of the expressions that are found in devotional writers associated with the cultus of the blessed virgin mary are an outcome of this attitude of mind. to those who are unused to them they seem exaggerated; in the vast mass of the devotional writings of catholic christendom there is no difficulty in finding expressions which _are_ exaggerated; but it is well to remember when thinking of this that the exaggeration is the exaggeration of love. the tendency of love _is_ to exaggerate the forms of its expression. it is, however, we feel on reflection, an error to judge by the exaggeration rather than by the love. it is perhaps well to ask ourselves whether we are saved from exaggeration by greater sanity or by lesser love. but exaggeration apart, this feeling of the unique position of the blessed mother in relation to the incarnate son, as calling forth a special honour for her is embodied in the designation of the honour to be rendered her as _hyperdulia_--a specially devoted service. it is hardly necessary after what has been said to point out that even here in the highest honour rendered to any saint there is no passing of the infinite gulf which separates creator from creature, any infringement upon the honour of god. no catholic could dream that blessed mary would be in any wise honoured by the attribution to her of what belongs to her son. these are no doubt commonplaces, but it is better to be commonplace than to be misunderstood. the intercession that is asked of the blessed mother is the intercession of one who by god's election is more closely associated with god than any other human being is or can be. her power of prayer is felt to proceed from the depth of her sanctity; from, in other words, the perfection of her relation to her blessed son who is the only mediator and the saviour of us all. let me say in conclusion that this giving of honour to our lord, and to all his saints as united to him, and the celebration of their days according to the church's year, and the asking of the help of their intercession in all the needs of our lives, is not simply a thing to be tolerated in those who are inclined to it, is not simply a privilege which we are entitled to if we care for it, but is a duty which all christians ought to fulfil because otherwise they are failing to make real to them a very important article of the christian creed. the communion of saints, like all other articles of the creed, needs to be put into active use, and will be when we believe it as distinguished from assent to it. when we believe that all who live unto god in the body of his dear son are inspired with active love one toward another, we shall ourselves feel the impulse of that love, and be compelled both to seek an outlet for it toward all other members of the body, and also will equally feel compelled to seek our own share in the action of that love by asking for the prayers of the saints for ourselves and for all in whom we are interested. then will we find in the "worship of the saints" one great means whereby we can worship the god of the saints by the devout recognition of the greatness of his work in them, may god be praised and glorified in all his saints. o virgin mother, daughter of thy son, lowly, and higher than all creatures raised, term by eternal council fixed upon, thou art she who didst ennoble man, that even he who had created him to be himself his creature disdained not. within thy womb rekindled was the love, by virtue of whose heat this flower thus is blossoming in the eternal peace. here thou art unto us a noon-day torch of charity, and among mortal men below, thou art a living fount of hope. lady, thou art so great and so prevailest, that who seeks grace without recourse to thee, would have his wish fly upward without wings. thy loving-kindness succors not alone him who is seeking it, but many times freely anticipates the very prayer. in thee is mercy, pity is in thee, in thee magnificence, whatever good is in created being joins in thee. dante, par. xxxiii, - . (trans. h. johnson.) part two chapter i mary of nazareth mary, of whom was born jesus. s. matt. i. . my maker and redeemer, christ the lord, o immaculate, coming forth from thy womb, having taken my nature upon him, hath delivered adam from the primal curse; wherefore, to thee, immaculate, the mother of god and virgin in very sooth, we cry aloud unceasingly the ave of the angel, "hail, o lady, protection and shelter and salvation of our souls!" byzantine. the silences of the holy scriptures have always provoked speculation as to what is left untold. the devout imagination has played about the hints we receive and woven them into stories which far outrun any true implication of the facts. thus has much legendary matter gathered about the childhood of our lord, containing the stories, not always very edifying according to our taste, which are set down in the apocryphal gospels. the same eagerness to know more than we are told has produced the developed legend of the childhood of our lady. we can of course place no reliance on most of the statements that are there made; perhaps the most that we can lay hold of is the fact that s. mary's father was joachim and her mother anna. the rest may be left to silence. but if the facts of the external life of mary of nazareth cannot be hoped for, certain general truths evidently follow from god's plan for her and from her relation to our blessed lord. there are certain inferences from her vocation which are irresistible and which the theologians of the church did not fail to make as they thought of her function in relation to the incarnation. we know that the work of redemption by which it was god's purpose to lead back a sinful world to himself was a purpose that worked from the very beginning of man's fatal separation from the source of his life and happiness. the essential meaning of holy scripture is that it is a history of the origin of god's purpose and of his bringing it to a successful issue in the mission of our lord. in the scriptures we are permitted to see the unfolding of the divine purpose and the preparation of the instruments by which the purpose is to be effected. we see the divine will struggling with the human will, and in appearance baffled again and again by the selfishness and the stupidity of man. we see too that the divine will is in the long run successful in securing a point of action in humanity, in winning the allegiance of men of good will to co-operation with the purpose of god. we see spiritual ideals assimilated, and sympathy with the work of god generated, until we feel that that work has gained a firm and enduring ground in humanity from which it can act. god is able to consummate his purpose, and men begin to understand in some measure the nature of the future deliverance and to look forward to the coming of one who should be the embodiment of the divine action and the representative of god himself with a completeness which no previous messenger of god had ever attained. it we would understand the old testament we must find that its intimate note is preparation, just as the intimate note of the new testament is accomplishment. god is working to a foreseen end, and is working as fast as men will consent to co-operate and become the instruments of his purpose. the purpose is not one that can be achieved by the exercise of power; it is a purpose of love and can be effected only through co-operating love. and as we watch the final unfolding of that purpose in the incarnation of god, we more and more become conscious of the preparation of all the instruments of the purpose which are working in harmony for the revelation of the meaning of god. of all the instruments of this divine purpose, one figure has preeminently fascinated the devout imagination because of her unique beauty, and has been the object of profound speculation because of the intimacy of her relation to god,--mary of nazareth. the vocabulary of love and reverence has exhausted itself in the attempt to express our estimate of her. the literature of mariology is immense. and no one who has at all entered into the meaning of the incarnation, of what is involved in eternal god taking human flesh, can wonder at this. here at the crisis of the divine redeeming action, when the crowning mystery which angels desire to look into is being accomplished, we find the figure of a village maiden of israel as the surprising instrument of the advent of god. we wonder: and we instinctively feel, that as all the other steps and instruments in god's redemption of man had from the beginning been carefully prepared, so shall we find preparation here. we understand that as god could not come in the flesh at any time, but only when the "fulness of time" had come; so he could not come of any woman, but only of such an one as he had prepared to be the instrument of his incarnation. it is involved in the very intimacy of the relation which exists between our lord and his blessed mother that she should be unique in the human race. we feel that we are right in saying that the incarnation which waited for the preparation of the world socially and spiritually, must also be thought of as waiting for the coming of the woman who would so completely surrender herself to the divine will that in her obedience could be founded the antidote to the disobedience which was founded in eve. the race waited for the coming of the new mother who should be the instrument in the abolishing of the evil of which the first mother was the instrument. and from the very beginning of the thought of the church about blessed mary there was no doubt that it was implied in her office in bearing the god-man that she should be without sin--sinless in the sense of never having in any least degree consented to evil the thought of the church has ever held her to be. it was held incredible that she who by god's election bore in the sanctuary of her womb during the months of her child-bearing him who was lord and creator and was come to save the world from all the stain and penalty of sin should herself be a sinner. without actual sin, therefore, was mary held to be from the time that the thought of the church was turned upon her relation to our blessed lord[ ]. [footnote : it is true that a few writers among the fathers see in blessed mary traces of venial sin; who think of her intervention at cana as presumptuous &c. but such notices are not of sufficient frequency or importance to break the general tradition.] for some time this seemed enough. it was not felt that any further thought about her sinlessness was needed. but as the uniqueness of mary forced itself more and more upon the brooding thought of theologians and saints they were compelled to face the fact that her freedom from actual sin was not a full appreciation of her purity, was not an exhaustive treatment of her relation to our lord. the doctrine of the nature of sin itself had been becoming clearer to the minds of christian thinkers. all men are conceived and born in sin, it was seen. after s. paul's teaching, the problem of _sin_ was not the problem of sins but the problem of sinfulness. the matter could not be left with the statement that all men do sin; the reason of their sinning must be traced out. and it was traced out, under s. paul's guidance, to a ground of sin in nature itself, to a defect in man as he is born into the world. he does not become a sinner when he commits his first sin: he is born a sinner. in other words, the problem of man's sinfulness is the problem of original sin. what then do we mean by original sin? briefly, we mean this. at his creation man was not only created innocent, but he was created in union with god, a union which conferred on him many supernatural gifts, gifts, that is, which were not a part of his nature, but were in the way of an addition to his nature. "by created nature man is endowed with moral sense, and is thus made responsible for righteousness; but he is unequal to its fulfilment. the all-righteous creator could be trusted to complete his work. he endowed primitive man with superadded gifts of grace, especially the supernatural gift, _donum supernaturale_, of the holy spirit[ ]." [footnote : hall, dogmatic theology, v, .] our purpose does not require us further to particularize these gifts and our time does not permit it. we are concerned with this: the effect of man's sin was, what the effect of sin always is, to separate man from god. to sin, man has to put his will in opposition to the will of god. this our first parents did; and the result of their act was the destruction of their union with god and the loss of their supernatural endowments. they lapsed into a state of nature, only it was a state in which they had forfeited what had been conferred upon them at their creation. this state of man, with only his natural endowments, is the state into which all men, the descendants of adam, have been born. this is the state of original sin. "original sin means in catholic theology a state inherited from our first human parents in which we are deprived of the supernatural grace and original righteousness with which they were endowed before they sinned, and are naturally prone to sin." (hall, dogmatic theology, vol. v, p. .) we can state the same fact otherwise, and more simply for our present purposes, by saying that by sin was forfeited the grace of union or sanctifying grace; and when we say that a child is born in sin we mean that it is born out of union with god, or without the supernatural gift of sanctifying grace. you will note here no implication of original sin as an active poison handed on from generation to generation. it will be important to remember this presently. when, therefore, the thought of the church began to follow out what was involved in its belief in the actual sinlessness of blessed mary, in its holding to the fact that her relation to god was of such a close and indeed unique character that her actual sinfulness would be incomprehensible; it was at length compelled to ask, what, in that case are we to think of original sin? if the first eve was created in innocence and endowed with supernatural gifts, are we to think that she whom the fathers of the church from the earliest times have constantly called the second eve, she whom god chose to be the mother of his son, should be less endowed? is it a fact any more conceivable that the virgin mother of god should be born in original sin than that she should be the victim of actual sin? if by the special grace of god she was kept from sin from the time that she was able to know good and evil, is it not probable that the freedom from sin goes further back than that, and is a freedom from original as well as from actual sin? what is the meaning of the angelic salutation, "hail, thou that art _full of grace_," unless it refer to a superadded grace, to such _donum supernaturale_ as the first eve received? there is indeed no precedent to guide in the case: the prophet jeremiah and s. john baptist had been preserved from sin from the womb, but this did not involve freedom from original sin. still the fact that there was no precedent was not in anywise fatal; the point of the situation was just that there was no precedent for the relation to god into which blessed mary had been called. it was precisely this uniqueness of vocation which was leading theological thought to the conclusion of the uniqueness of her privilege: and this uniqueness of privilege seemed to call for nothing less than an exemption from sin in any and all forms. so a belief in the immaculate conception grew up despite a good deal of opposition while its implications were being thought out, but was found more and more congenial to the mind of the church. she whose wonderful title for centuries had been mother of god could never at any moment of her existence have been separate from god. she must, so it was felt, have been united to god from the very first moment of her existence. but what does this exemption from the common lot of men actually mean? i think that the simplest way of getting at it is to ask ourselves what it is that happens to a child at baptism. every human child that is born into the world is born in original sin, that is, is born out of union with god, without sanctifying grace. it is then brought to the font and by baptism regenerated, born again, put in a relation to god that we describe as union, made a partaker of the divine nature. this varying description of the effect of baptism means that the soul of the child has become a partaker of sanctifying grace, the grace of union with god. original sin, we say, is forgiven: that is, the soul is placed in the relation to god that it would have had had sin not come into existence, save that there remains a certain weakness of nature due to its sinful heredity. this that happens to children when they are baptised is what is held to have happened to blessed mary at her creation. her soul instead of being restored to god by grace after her birth, was by god's special grace or favour created in union with him, and in that union always continued. the uniqueness of s. mary's privilege was that she never had to be restored to union with god because from the moment of her existence she had been one with him. this would have been the common lot of all men if sin had not come into the world. in view of much criticism of this belief it is perhaps necessary to emphasize the fact that a belief in mary's exemption from original sin does not imply a belief that she was exempt from the need of redemption. she is a creature of god, only the highest of his creatures: and like all human beings she needed to be redeemed by the blood of christ. the privileges which are our lord's mother's, are her's through the foreseen merits of her son--she, as all others, is redeemed by the sacrifice and death of christ. there is in the doctrine of the immaculate conception no shadow of encroachment on the doctrine of universal redemption in christ; there is simply the belief that for the merits of the son the mother was spared any moment of separation from the father. it will, of course, be said that this doctrine is but the relatively late and newly formulated doctrine of the latin church and is of no obligation elsewhere; that we are in no wise bound to receive it. in regard to which there are one or two things to be said. that we are not formally bound to believe a doctrine is not at all the same thing as to say that we are formally bound not to believe it. i am afraid that the latter is a not uncommon attitude. there is no obligation upon us to disbelieve the immaculate conception of blessed mary; there is an obligation upon us to understand it and to appreciate its meaning and value. we must remember that a doctrine that is not embodied in our creed may nevertheless have the authority of the church back of it. the doctrine of the real presence is not stated in the creed; yet it is and always has been the teaching of the church everywhere in all its liturgies. though any particular statement of the real presence is not binding, the fact itself is binding on all christians, and may not be doubted. in much the same way it will be found that theological doctrines of relatively late creedal formulation yet have behind the formulation a long history of actual acceptance in the teaching of the church. they are theologically certain long before they are embodied in authoritative formulae. what the individual christian has to do is to try to assimilate the meaning of theological teaching and to find a place for it in his devotional practice and experience. his best attitude is not one of doubt and scepticism, but of meditation and experiment. it is through this latter attitude that each one is helping to form the mind of the church, and aiding its progressive appreciation of revealed truth. i do not see how any one who has entered into the meaning of the incarnation can feel otherwise than that the uniqueness of the event carries with it the uniqueness of the instrument. it can of course be said that truth is not a matter of feeling but of revelation. but is it not true that god reveals himself in many ways, and that our feelings as well as our intellects are involved in our perception of the truth revealed? do we not often feel that something must be true far in advance of our ability to prove it so? and in truths of a certain order is there not an intuitive perception, a perception growing out of a sense of fitness, of congruity, which outruns the slow advance of the intellect? love and sympathy often far outrun intellectual process. this is not to say that feeling is all; that a sense of fitness and conformity is a sufficient basis of doctrine. there is always need of the verification of the conclusions of the affections by the intellect; and the intellect in the last resort will have to be the determining factor. and i think it can be said without hesitation that the intellectual work of theological students has quite justified the course that the affections of christendom have taken in their spontaneous appreciation of mary, the ever-virgin mother of our lord. what the heart of christendom has discovered, the mind of christendom has justified. but here more than in any other doctrinal development it is love that has led the way, often with an eagerness, an _élan_, with which theology has found it difficult to keep up. and as we to-day try to appreciate the place of blessed mary in the life of the church of god must we not feel it to be our misfortune that our past has been so wrapped in clouds of controversy that we have been unable to see her meaning at all clearly? must we not feel deep sadness at the thought that the very mention of mary's name, so often stirs, not love and gratitude, but the spirit of suspicion and dislike? we no doubt have passed beyond such feelings, but the traces of their evil work through the centuries still persist. they persist in certain feelings of reserve and hesitation when we find that our convictions are leading us to the adoption of the attitude toward her which is the common attitude of all catholicity, both east and west. when we feel that the time has actually come to abandon the narrowness and barrenness of devotional practice which is a part of our tradition, we nevertheless feel as though we were launching out on strange seas and that our next sight of land might be of strange regions where we should not feel at home. if such be our instinctive attitude, it is well to remember that progress, spiritual as well as other, is conquest of the (to us) new; but that the acquisition of the new does not necessarily mean the abandonment of the old. we shall in fact lose nothing of our hold on the unique work of our lord because we recognise that his blessed mother's association with it implies a certain preparation on her part, a certain uniqueness of privilege. there is one god, and one mediator between god and man, the man christ jesus; and all who come to god, come through him. but they come also in the unity of the body of many members and of many offices. and the office of her who in god's providence was called to be the mother of the incarnate is surely as unique as is her vocation. she surely is entitled to receive from us the deep affection of our hearts and the highest honour that may be given to any creature. the garland of the blessed virgin marie. here are five letters in this blessed name, which, changed, a five-fold mystery design, the m the myrtle, a the almonds claim, r rose, i ivy, e sweet eglantine. these form thy garland, when of myrtle green the gladdest ground to all the numbered five, is so implexéd fine and laid in, between, as love here studied to keep grace alive. thy second string is the sweet almond bloom mounted high upon selines' crest: as it alone (and only it) had room, to knit thy crown, and glorify the rest. the third is from the garden culled, the rose, the eye of flowers, worthy for her scent, to top the fairest lily now, that grows with wonder on the thorny regiment. the fourth is the humble ivy intersert but lowly laid, as on the earth asleep, preserved in her antique bed of vert, no faiths more firm or flat, then, where't doth creep. but that, which sums all, is the eglantine, which of the field is cleped the sweetest briar, inflamed with ardour to that mystic shine, in moses' bush unwasted in the fire. thus love, and hope, and burning charity, (divinest graces) are so intermixt with odorous sweets and soft humility, as if they adored the head, whereon they are fixed. part two chapter ii the annunciation i and the angel came in unto her, and said, hail, thou that art highly favoured, the lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women. s. luke, i. oh god, whose will it was that thy word should take flesh, at the message of the angel, in the womb of the blessed virgin mary, grant to us thy suppliants that, we who believe her to be truly the mother of god, may be assisted by her intercession with thee. through &c. roman. when we attempt to reconstruct imaginatively any scene of holy scripture it is almost inevitable that we see it through the eyes of some great artist of the past. the crucifixion comes to us as dürer or guido reni saw it; the presentation or the visitation presents itself to us in terms of the imagination of raphael; we see the nativity as a composition of corregio. so the annunciation rises before us when we close our eyes and attempt to make "the composition of place" in a familiar grouping of the actors: a startled maiden who has arisen hurriedly from work or prayer, looking with wonder at the apparition of an angel who has all the eagerness of one who has come hastily upon an urgent mission. the surroundings differ, but artists of the renaissance like to think of a sumptuous background as a worthy setting for so great an event. we keep close to the meaning of scripture if we set the annunciation in a room in a cottage of a palestinian working man. and i like to think of s. mary at her accustomed work when gabriel appeared, not with a rush of wings, but as a silent and hardly felt presence standing before her whom the lord has chosen to be the instrument of his coming. wonder there would have been, the kind of awe-struck wonder with which the supernatural always fills men; and yet only for a moment, for how could she who was daily living so close to god fear the messenger of god? the thought of angels and divine messengers would be wholly familiar to her. they had been the frequent agents of god in many a crisis of her people's history, and appeared again and again in the story of her ancestors on whose details she had often meditated. yet in her humility she could but think it strange that an angel should have any message to bear to her. it is a striking enough scene, as the artists have felt when they tried to put it before us. but no artist has ever been able to go below the surface and by any hint lead us to an appreciation of the vast implications of the moment. this moment of the annunciation is in fact the central moment of the world's history. no moment before or since has equalled it in its unspeakable wonder, in its revelation of the meaning of god. not the moment of the creation when all the sons of god sang together at the vision of the unfolding purpose of god; not the morning of the resurrection when the empty tomb told of the accomplished overthrow of death and hell. this is the moment toward which all preceding time had moved, and to which all succeeding ages will look back--the moment of the incarnation of god. it is well to ask ourselves at this point what the incarnation means, because our estimate of blessed mary as the chosen instrument of god's grace will be influenced by our estimate of that which she was chosen to do. one feels the failure to grasp her position in the work of our redemption often displays a weak hold upon that which is the very heart of god's work--the fact of god made man. the moment of the annunciation is the moment of the incarnation: god in his infinite love for mankind is sending forth his son to be born of a woman in the likeness of our flesh. god the son, the second person of the ever adorable trinity, is entering the womb of this maiden, there to wrap himself in her flesh and to pass through the common course of a human child's development till he shall reach the hour of the nativity. when we try to grasp the reach of the divine love, its depth, its self-forgetfulness, we must stand in the cottage in nazareth and hear the angelic salutation. and then surely our own hearts cannot fail to respond to the revelation of the divine love; and something of our love that goes out to our hidden lord, goes out too to the maiden-mother who so willingly became god's instrument in his work for our redemption. in imagination i see s. gabriel kneeling before her who has become a living tabernacle of god most high, and repeating his "hail, thou that art highly favoured," with the deepest reverence. "hail, thou that art full of grace." we linger over this ave of s. gabriel, and often it rises to our lips. perhaps it is with s. luke's narrative, almost naked in its simplicity, in our hands as we try once more to push our thought deep into the meaning of the scene, that we may understand a little better what has resulted in our experience from the incarnation of god, and our thought turns to s. mary whom god chose and brought so near to himself. perhaps it is when, with chaplet in hand, we try to imagine s. mary's feelings at this first of the joyful mysteries when the meaning of her vocation comes clearly before her. hail! thou that art full of grace, of the living grace, the very presence of the divinity itself. the plummet of our thought fails always to reach the depth of that mystery of mary's child. it was indeed centuries before the church under the guidance of the holy spirit thought out and fully stated the meaning of this child; it was centuries before it fully grasped the meaning of mary herself in her relation to her divine son: and after all the centuries of spirit-guided statement and saintly meditation it still remains that many fail to understand and to make energetic in life the fact of the incarnation of god in the womb of the virgin mary. and what was s. mary's own attitude toward the announcement of the angel? her first instinctive word--the word called out by her imperfect grasp of the meaning of the message of s. gabriel, is: how can this be seeing i know not a man? are we to infer from these words, as many have inferred, that in her secret thoughts s. mary had resolved always to remain a virgin, that she had so offered herself to god in the virgin state? possibly when we remember that such was god's will for her it is not going too far to assume that she had been prompted thus to meet and offer herself to the divine will. be that as it may there is an obvious and instantaneous assumption that the child-bearing which is predicted to her lies outside the normal and accustomed way of marriage. she clearly does not think that the archangel's words look to her approaching union with s. joseph, even if the nominal nature of that marriage were not agreed upon. it is clear that her instantaneous feeling is that as the message is supernatural in character, so will its fulfilment be, and the wondering _how_ arises to her lips. the answer to the how is that what is worked in her is by the power of the holy spirit: "the holy ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the son of god." as so often in the dealing of god with us, that which is put forward as an explanation actually deepens the mystery. it was no abatement of mary's wonder, nor did it really put away her _how_ when she was told that the holy ghost should come upon her and that the child should be the son of the highest. and yet this was the only answer to such a question that was possible. our questions may be met in two ways: either by a detailed explanation, or by the answer that the only explanation is god--that what we are concerned with is a direct working of god outside the accustomed order of nature and therefore outside the reach of our understanding. such acts have no doubt their laws, but they are not the laws in terms of which we are wont to think. the question of s. mary was not a question which implied doubt. it is therefore the proper question with which to approach all god's works. there is a stress with which such questions may be asked which implies on our part unbelief or at least hesitation in belief. it is a not uncommon accent to hear to-day in questions as to divine mysteries. our recitation of the creed is not rarely invaded by restlessness, shadows of doubt, which perhaps we brush aside, or perhaps let linger in our minds with the feeling that it is safer for our religion not to follow these out. i am afraid that there are not a few who still adhere to the church who do so with the feeling that it is better for them to go on repeating words that they have become used to rather than to raise questions as to their actual truth; who feel that the faith of the church rests on foundations which in the course of the centuries have been badly shaken, but that it is safer not to disturb them lest they incontinently fall to pieces. in other words there is a wide-spread feeling that such stories as this of the annunciation and of the virgin birth of our lord are fables. when we ask, why is there such a feeling? the only answer is that the modern man has become suspicious of the supernatural. has there anything been found in the way of evidence, we ask, which reflects upon the truth of the story in s. luke? no, we are told; the story stands where it always did, its evidence is what it always was. what has changed is not the story or the evidence for it but the human attitude toward that and all such stories. the modern mind does not attempt to disprove them, it just disapproves of them, and therefore declines to believe them. it sets them aside as belonging to an order of ideas with which it no longer has any sympathy. it is no doubt true that we reach many of our conclusions, especially those which govern our practical attitude towards life, from the ground of certain hardly recognised presuppositions, rather than from the basis of thought out principles. the thought of to-day is pervaded by the denial of the supernatural. it insists that all that we know or can know is the natural world about us. it rules out the possibility of any invasions of the natural order and declines to accept such on any evidence whatsoever. all that one has time to say now of such an attitude is that it makes all religion impossible, and sets aside as untrustworthy all the deepest experiences of the human soul. if i were going to argue against this attitude (as i am not able to now) i should simply oppose to it the past experience of the race as embodied in its best religious thought. i should stress the fact that what is noblest and best in the past of humanity is wholly meaningless unless humanity's supposition of a life beyond this life, and of the existence of spiritual powers and beings to whom we are related, holds good. no nation has ever conducted its life on the basis of pure materialism, save in those last stages of its decadence which preluded its downfall. but without going so far as to reject the supernatural and reject the truth of the immediate intervention of god in life, there are multitudes of men and women whose whole life never moves beyond the natural order. they have no materialistic theory; if you ask them, they think that they are, in some sense not very well defined, christians. but they have no christian interests, no spiritual activities of any sort. for all practical purposes god and the spiritual order do not exist for them. they are not for the most part what any one would call bad people; though there seems no intelligible meaning of the word in which they can be called _good_. the best that one can say of them is that they have a certain usefulness in the present social order though they are not missed when they fall out of it. they can be replaced in the social machine much as a lost or broken part can in an engine. and just as the part of an engine which has become useless where it is, can have no possible usefulness elsewhere, so we are unable to imagine them as capable of adaptation to any other place than that which they have filled here. perhaps that is what we mean by hell--incapacity to adapt oneself to the life of the future. all this implies a temper of mind and soul that has rendered itself incapable of vision. for just as our ordinary vision of the beauty of this world depends not only on the existence of the world but on a certain capacity in us to see it, so that the beauty of the world does not at all exist for the man whose optic nerve is paralysed; so the meaning and beauty, nay, the very existence of the supernatural order depends for us upon a capacity in us which we may call the capacity of vision. the sceptic waves aside our stories of supernatural happenings with the brusque statement, "nobody to-day sees angels. they only appear in an atmosphere of primitive or mediæval superstition, not in the broad intellectual light of the twentieth century." but it may be that the fact (if it be a fact) that nobody sees angels in the twentieth century is due to some other cause than the non-existence of the angels. after all, in any century you see what you are prepared to see, what in other words, you are looking for. it is a common enough phenomenon that the man who lives in the country misses most of the beauty of it. in his search for the potato bug he misses the sunset, and disposes of the primrose on the river's brim as a common weed. it is true that in order to see we need something beside eyes, and to hear we need something beside ears. when on an occasion the father spoke from heaven to the son many heard the sound, and some said, "it thundered"; others got so far as to say, "an angel spake to him." let us then in the presence of narratives of supernatural happenings ask our _how_ with a good deal of reverence and a good deal of modesty, not as implying a sceptical doubt on our part, but as a wish that we may be admitted deeper into the meaning of the event. scepticism simply closes the door through which we might pass to fuller knowledge. the questioning of faith holds the door open. to those who have not closed the door upon the supernatural it is evident that it is permeated with forces and influences which are not material in their origin or their effects; that god acts upon the world now as he has ever acted upon it. if we cannot believe this i do not see that we can believe in god at all in any intelligible sense. there is to me one attitude toward the supernatural that is even more hopeless than the attitude of materialistic scepticism which says, "miracles do not happen"; and that is the attitude which says, "miracles happened in bible times, but have never happened since." as the one attitude seems to imply that god made the world, but after he had made it left it to go on by itself and no more expresses any interest in it; so the other implies that after god put the christian religion in the world he left that to go on by itself and no longer pays any attention to it. either to me is wholly unintelligible and inconceivable. and what is worse, is wholly out of touch with the revelation of god made in holy scripture. that displays god working in and through the material universe, and it displays god working in and through the spirit of man; and it in no place implies that either the material world or the human order is so perfect as to need no further divine action. revelation implies the constant presence and action of god in nature and in the church; it implies that both have a forward look and are not ends in themselves but are moving on toward some ultimate perfection. "the whole creation groaneth and travaileth ... waiting for the adoption, that is, the redemption of our body." we look for a new heaven and a new earth; and human society looks to a perfect consummation in the fellowship of the saints in light. looking out on life from the spiritual point of vantage, we may hopefully ask our _how_, and there will be an answer. to blessed mary s. gabriel replied: "the holy ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the son of god."--an answer that was full of light and of deepest mystery. the immediate question--the mode of her conception--was cleared up; it would be through the direct action of god the holy spirit: but the nature of the child to be born is filled with mystery. we can imagine s. mary in the days to come finding her child-bearing quite intelligible in comparison with the mystery that brooded over his nature. this is the common fact in our dealing with god. we express it when we say that we never get beyond the need of faith. we pray that one thing may be made clear, and the result of the clearing is the deepened sense of the mystery of the things beyond, just as any increase in the power of the telescope clears up certain questions which had been puzzling the astronomers only to carry their vision into vaster depths of space, opening new questions to tantalize the imagination. we find it so always. the solution of any question of our spiritual lives does not lead as perhaps we thought it would lead to there being no longer any questions to perplex us and to draw on our time and our energy; rather such solution puts us in the presence of new and, it may well be, deeper and more perplexing questions. "are there no limits to the demands of god upon us," we sometimes despairingly ask? and the answer is, "no: there are no limits because the end of the road that we are travelling is in infinity." the limit that is set to our perfecting is the perfection of god, and if we grow through all the years of eternity we shall still have attained only a relative perfection. so the successful passing of one test cannot be expected to relieve us from all tests in the future. it is the dream of the child that manhood will set it free; and he reaches manhood only to find that it imposes obligations which are so pressing that he reverses his dream and speaks of his childhood as the time of his true freedom. the meeting of spiritual tests is but the proving of spiritual capacity to meet other tests. to our lady it might well seem that the acceptance of the conditions of the incarnation was the severest test that god could assign her; that in the light of the promise she could look on to joy. but the future concealed a sword which should pierce her very heart. the promise contained no doubt wonderful things--this wonder of god's blessing that she was now experiencing in the coming of the holy ghost, in the very embrace of god himself: this is but the first of the joyful mysteries which were god's great gifts to her. but her life was not to be a succession of joyful mysteries, ultimately crowned with the mysteries of glory. there were the sorrowful mysteries as well. they were as true, and shall we not say, as necessary, as valuable, a part of her spiritual training as the others. she, our mother, was now near god, with a nearness that was possible for no other human being, and it is one of the traditional sayings of our lord: "he that is near me is near fire." and fire burns as well as warms and lights. she is wonderful, the virgin of nazareth, in this moment when she becomes mother of god: and we share in the rapture of the moment when in the fulness of her joy she hardly notices s. gabriel's departure: but we feel, too, a great pity for her as we think of the coming days. so we kneel to her who is our mother, as well as mother of god, and say our _ave_, and ask her priceless intercession. gabriel, that angel bright, brighter than the sun is light, from heaven to earth he took his flight, letare. in nazareth, that great city, before a maiden he kneeled on knee, and said, "mary, god is with thee, letare." "hail mary, full of grace, god is with thee, and ever was; he hath in thee chosen a place. letare." mary was afraid of that sight, that came to her with so great light, then said the angel that was so bright, "letare." "be not aghast of least nor most, in thee is conceived of the holy ghost, to save the souls that were for-lost. letare." fifteenth century. part two chapter iii the annunciation ii and mary said, behold the handmaid of the lord; be it unto me according to thy word. s. luke i. o god, who through the fruitful virginity of blessed mary didst bestow on mankind the rewards of eternal salvation: grant, we beseech thee, that we may experience her intercession for us through whom we were made worthy to receive the author of life, even jesus christ thy son our lord. roman. s. mary's momentary hesitation had been due to the surprise that she felt at the nature of the angelic message and the difficulty that there was in relating it to her state of life. that she, a virgin, should bear a son was vastly perplexing; but the answer of s. gabriel speedily cleared away the difficulty: "the holy ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee." blessed mary had no difficulty about the supernatural; she was not afflicted with the modern disease that there are no things in heaven and earth save such as are contained in our philosophy. she was not of those who "cannot believe what they do not understand," it was enough for her that a message had come from god: and no matter how little she was able to understand the mode of god's proposed action within her, she was willing to offer herself to be the instrument of the will of god. no doubt that was an habitual attitude and not one taken up on the spur of the moment. it is indeed very rarely that what seem spontaneous actions are really such; and s. mary's first word was nearer spontaneity than the second. her exclamation in answer to the angelic _ave_ was the natural expression of her surprise at so unexpected a message: its variance from all her thought about her life was the thing that struck her; and therefore her instinctive, "how can this be?" in this second word we have a quite different attitude. here is revealed to us the profound and perfect humility of the blessed virgin. this answer comes from the experience of her whole life. it is of such utterances that we say that they are revealing. what we at any time say, does in fact reveal what we are--what we have come to be through the experience of our past life. and no doubt it is these instinctive utterances which are called out by some unexpected occurrence that reveal more of us than our weighed and guarded words. back of every word we utter is a life we have lived. we have been spending years in preparing for that word. perhaps when the time comes to speak it, it is not the word we thought we were going to speak, it was not the prelude to the action we thought that we were going to perform; it reveals a character other than the character that we thought we had. how often the gospel brings that before us! we see the young ruler come running with his brave and perfectly sincere words about inheriting eternal life; and then we see him going away when the testing of our lord demonstrated that he only partly meant what he said. it was not s. peter's brave words, "though i should die with thee, yet will i not deny thee," that revealed the truth about the apostle; but the words that were called out by the accusation that he was of the company of jesus: "then began he to curse and swear, saying, i know not the man." we have no doubt that he knows himself better when he catches the eye of the master turned upon him and goes and weeps bitterly. and it is true, is it not, that it is through words called out and thoughts stirred by the unexpected that we often get new insight into our real state. a sudden temptation reveals a hidden weakness, and we go away shamed and crushed, saying, "i did not suppose that i was capable of that." but, thank god, the revelation is sometimes the other way; the testing uncovers unexpected strength. of many a man, after some strong trial, we say, "i did not know that he had so much courage, or so much patience." the quiet unassuming exterior was the mask of an heroic will of which very likely not even the possessor suspected the true quality. the annals of martyrdom are full of these revelations of unsuspected strength. here in the case of blessed mary the quality revealed is that of humility so perfect that it dreams not of revolt from the most searching trial. it reveals the character of our mother better than pages of description can do. what we see in response to the bewildering messages brought by s. gabriel is the instinctive movement of the soul toward god. there is utter absence of any thought of self or of how she may be affected by the purpose of god; it is enough that that purpose is made plain. it seems well to insist on this instinctive movement of the soul in blessed mary because it is one item of the evidence that the catholic church has to offer for its belief in her sinlesssness. any momentary rebellion, no matter how soon recovered from, or how sincerely regretted, against the will of god, would be evidence of the existence of sin. but where sin is not, where there is an unstained soul, there the knowledge of the will of god will send one running to its acceptance; there will be active acceptance and not just submission to god's will. submission implies a certain effort to place ourselves in line with the will of god; it often seems to imply that we are accepting it because we cannot do anything else. but with blessed mary there is a glad going forth to meet god; the word "behold" springs out to meet the will of god half-way. it is as though she had been holding herself ready, expectant, in the certainty of the coming of some message, and now she offers herself without the shadow of hesitation, as to a purpose which was a welcome vocation: "behold the handmaid of the lord; be it unto me according to thy word." how wonderful is the humility of obedience! and humility--we must stress this--is not a virtue of youth; it is not one of the virtues which ripen quickly, but is of slow development and delayed maturity. modesty we should expect in a maiden, and lack of self-assertion; and perhaps obedience of a sort. but those do not constitute the virtue of humility. we are humble when we have lost self; and mary's wondering answer reveals the fact that she is not thinking of herself at all, but only of the nature of the divine purpose. that that purpose being known she should at all resist it would seem to her a thing incredible, for all her life she had had no other motive of action. her will had never been separated from the will of god. this state of union which was hers by divine election and privilege, we achieve, if we achieve it at all, by virtue of great spiritual discipline. we are, to be sure, brought into union with god through the sacraments, but the union so achieved is, if one may so express it, an unstable union; it is union that we have to maintain by daily spiritual action and which suffers many a weakening through our infidelity, even if it escape the disaster of mortal sin. we sway to and fro in our struggle to attain the equilibrium of perfection which belonged to blessed mary by virtue of the first embrace of god which had freed her from sin. our tragedy is that we have almost universally lost the first engagements of the spiritual combat before we have at all understood that there is any combat. the circumstances of life of child and youth are such that we become familiar with sin before we have the intelligence to understand the need of resisting, even if we are fortunate enough to have such an education as to awaken a sense of sin as opposition to god. there is nothing more appalling than the tragedy of life thus defiled and broken and put at a disadvantage before it even understands the ideals that should govern its course. when the vision of perfection comes and we face life as the field where we are to acquire eternal values, we face it with a poisoned imagination and a depleted strength. our battle is not only to maintain what we have, but to win back what we have lost. under such conditions there is much consolation in learning that we do not fight alone but have the constant help and sympathy of those who are endued with the strength of perfect purity. their likeness to us in that they have lived the life of the flesh assures us of their understanding, and it assures us too of their active co-operation. we cannot understand the saints standing outside human life and from the vantage point of their achievement looking on as indolent spectators. the spectacle offorded by the church militant must call out the active intercession of all the saints; but especially do we look for helpful sympathy from her who is our all-pure mother, whose very purity gives her intercession unmeasured power. she is not removed from us through her spotlessness, but by virtue of her clearer understanding of the meaning of sin and of separation from god that it brings her, she is ready to fly to the help of all sinners by her ceaseless intercession. the difficulty of our spiritual lives rises chiefly out of the clash of wills. a disordered nature, a tainted inheritance, a corrupt environment conspire to make the life of grace tremendously difficult. it is only in a very limited sense that we can be said to be free, and there is no possibility at all of overcoming the handicap of sin, except firm and careful reliance on the grace of god. that grace, no doubt, is always at our disposal as far as we will use it. grace moves us, but it does not compel us; and we are free always to reject the offer of god. we have only to open our eyes upon the world about us to see how rarely is the grace of god accepted in any effective way. even in convinced christians the attempt to live the divided life is the commonest thing possible. it sometimes seems as though the prevalent conception of the christian life were that it is sufficient to offer god a certain limited allegiance and that the remainder of the life will be thereby ransomed and placed at our disposal to use as we will. we find the theory well worked out in the current attitude of christians toward the observance of the lord's day. it appears to be held that an attendance at mass or matins is a sufficient recognition of the interests of religion and that the rest of the day may be regarded, not as the lord's day, but as man's--as a day of unlimited amusement and self-indulgence. the notion of consecration is abandoned. the only possible outcome of such theories of life is what we already experience, spiritual lawlessness and moral degradation. i suppose that it will only be through social disaster that society will come (as usual, too late) to any comprehension that the will of god is what it is because it is only by following the road that it indicates that human life can reach a successful development. god's laws are not arbitrary inflictions; they are the expression of the highest wisdom in the guidance of human life. our elementary duty therefore as sane persons is to find what is the will of god in any given circumstances; there should be no action until there has been an effort to ascertain that will. it were as sensible to set about building a house without ascertaining what strength of foundation would be needful, or without knowing the sort of material we were going to use. one has heard of a house being built in which it turned out that there was a room with no doorway, or floor to which no stair led up; but we do not commend such exploits as the last word in architecture, nor would we commend a farmer who planted his crops without attention to the nature of the soil. there are certain elementary principles of common sense which we pretty uniformly hold to in every matter with the exception of religion; that seems to be held to be a separate department of human activity with laws of its own, and in which the principles which govern life elsewhere do not hold. we do not profess this theory, of course, but we commonly act upon it, while we still profess to respect the will of god. it is strange too that after having habitually neglected that will, we are greatly disappointed, not to say indignant, when after a life of disobedience and scorn of god's thought for us we do not find ourselves in possession of the fruits of righteousness. if it were not so tragic it would be amusing to hear men declaim against the justice of a god whose existence they have habitually disregarded. but, it is often said, it is not by any means easy to find out god's will. you talk about it as though it were as easy to know god's will as it is to know the multiplication table. well, at least it can be said that one does not get to know the multiplication table without effort! what objections as to the obscurity of the will of god will seem to mean is that it does take effort to ascertain it. i do not know of any reason for regarding that as unjust. if the will of god is what religion maintains that it is, of primary importance to our lives, we might well be glad that it is ascertainable at all, at the expense of whatever effort. an almighty god has implanted within every human heart the knowledge that his will exists and is important; that is, he has endowed every man with a conscience which is the certainty of the difference between right and wrong, and the conviction that we are responsible for our conduct to some power outside ourselves; that we are not at liberty to conduct life on any lines we will. having so much certainty, it surely becomes us to set about ascertaining the nature of the power and the details of the will. the very nature of conscience, as a sense of obligation, rather than a source of information, should create a desire for a knowledge of what god's will is in detail, that is, what is the content of the notion of right and wrong. and while it is true that such content can only be ascertained by work, it is not true that the work is a specially difficult one. the revelation of god's mind made through holy scripture and through the life of his incarnate son is an open book that any one can study; and to any objection that such study has led chiefly to difference of opinion and darkness rather than light, the answer is that such disaster follows for the most part only when the guidance of the catholic church is repudiated; when, that is, we pursue a course in this study which we should not pursue in relation to any other. if we were studying geology we should not regard it as the best course to scorn all that preceding students have done, and betake our unprepared selves to field work! but that is the "bible and the bible only" theory of spiritual knowledge. if we want to know the meaning of the biblical teaching, we must make use of the helps which the experience of the church has richly provided. but the nature of the divine will and the particulars of our obligation are not merely, perhaps one ought to say, not chiefly, to be assimilated through our brains. the best preparation for the doing of the will of god and the progressive entering into his mind, is an obedient life. purity of character will carry us farther on this path than cleverness of brains. our lord's own rule is: _he that doeth the will shall know of the doctrine._ in other words, we understand the mind of god and attain to the illumination of the conscience, through sympathetic response to the will so far as we have seen it. and each new response, in its turn, carries us to a deeper and clearer understanding of the will. that is to say, our conscience, by habitual response to god's will, so far as it knows it, is so illumined as to be able to make trustworthy judgments on new material submitted to it. this is, of course, to be otherwise described as the working of god the holy spirit. he is the spirit that dwelleth in us and directs us to right judgments if we will listen. our danger is that self-will constantly crops up and complicates the case by representing that the line suggested by the holy spirit is not in reality in accord with our interests. this opposition between the seeming interests suggested by self-will, which indeed often contribute to our immediate gratification, and our true interests as indicated by the monitions of the holy spirit, constitutes the real struggle of the life during the period of probation. the will of god in every circumstance is usually plain enough; but it is silenced by the clamour of the passions and desires demanding immediate gratification: and we are all more or less children in our insistence on the immediate and our incapacity to wait. but i must insist again that it is not knowledge that is wanting but sympathy with the course that knowledge directs. we pursuade ourselves that we do not know, when the real trouble is that we know only too well. one feels that much that is put forward as inability to understand religion is at bottom merely disinclination to obey it. not that there is not room for genuine perplexity. often it happens that we are not at all certain in this or that detail of conduct. in that case it is well to consider whether it is necessary to act before we can attain certainty through study or advice. but if act we must, we can at least act with honesty, not making our will the accomplice of our passions or interests. i do not believe that there are many cases in which we shall go wrong if we make use of all the means at our disposal. a diligent doing of the will of god does undoubtedly bring light on unknown problems and unexpected situations in which we from time to time find ourselves. if our constant attitude has been one of free and glad obedience we need not fear to go astray. "behold the handmaid of the lord," blessed mary said; and such an attitude has never failed to meet the divine approval and call out the help of god. just to put ourselves utterly at god's disposal is the clearing of all life. "into thy hands," is the solution of all difficulties. i sing a maiden that is matchless; king of all kings to her son she ches. he came all so still to his mother's bower, as dew in april that falleth on the flower. mother and maiden was never none but she; well might such a lady god's mother be. english, fifteenth century. part two chapter iv the visitation i and mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of judah; and entered into the house of zacharias, and saluted elizabeth. s. luke i. , . grant, we beseech thee, o lord god, to us thy servants, that we may evermore enjoy health of mind and body, and by the glorious intercession of blessed mary, ever a virgin, be delivered from present sorrows and enjoy everlasting gladness. through. roman. those who were faithful in israel and were looking forward to the fulfilment of god's promises would be drawn together by close bonds of sympathy. it oftentimes proves that the bonds of a common ideal are stronger than the bonds of blood. it was to prove so many times in the history of christianity when in accordance with our lord's words the closest blood relation would be broken through fidelity to him, and a man's foes be found to be those of his own household. but also it is true that the possession of common ideals becomes the basis of relations which are stronger than race or family. we may be sure that the members of that little group of which we catch glimpses now and then in the progress of the gospel story found in their expectation of the lord's deliverance of israel such a bond. we feel that s. mary and s. joseph must have been members of this group and that they were filled with the hope of god's manifestation. another family which shared the same hope was that of the priest zacharias whose wife elizabeth was the cousin of mary of nazareth. it is to their house in the hill country of judah we now turn our thoughts. it was a part of the angelic message to s. mary that her cousin elizabeth had "conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren." overwhelmed as s. mary was by the vocation which had come to her, perplexed as to what should be her next step, she may well have seized upon the words of the angel as a hint as to her present course. she must confide in some one, and that some one, we instantly feel, must be a woman. in her own great joy she would need some one with whom to share it. in her unprecedented case she would need a counselor, and who better could afford aid than her cousin whose case was in so many respects like her own, who was already cherishing a child whose conception was due to the intervention of god? we understand therefore, why it is that without waiting for the further development of events, mary arises, and goes "with haste" to the home of her cousin. it is just now a house full of joy. for many years there had been happiness there, but a happiness over which a cloud rested. the affliction of barrenness was their sorrow. to the hebrew there was no true family until the love of the father and the mother was incarnated in the child; and through many weary days zacharias and elizabeth had waited until hope quite failed as they found themselves beyond the possibility of bearing a child to cheer them and to hand on their name. we may be sure that they were reconciled to the will of god, for it is written of them that they were righteous, and the central feature of righteousness is the acceptance of the divine will. but though one cheerfully accepts the divine will there may still remain a consciousness of a vacancy in life; and therefore we can understand the joy that came to zacharias when the angel appeared to him in the temple when he was exercising the priest's office and offering the incense of the daily sacrifice with the message that he should have a son. it was a joy that would be unclouded by the god-sent dumbness which was at once a punishment for his lack of immediate faith and a sign of the faithfulness of god. it was a joy that would hasten his steps homeward with the glad tidings, a joy that would fill the heart of elizabeth when she heard the message of god. soon the consciousness of the babe in her womb would be a growing wonder and a growing happiness. there would be a new brightness in the house where the aged mother waits through the months and the dumb father with his writing tablet at his side meditates upon the meaning of the providence of god and upon the prophecies of the angel as to his child's future. but what that future would be he could hardly expect to witness; he was too old to live to the day of his child's showing unto israel. it is to this house that we see s. mary hastening, sure of finding there a heart in which she can confide. she "entered into the house of zacharias and saluted elizabeth." we are not told what the words of her salutation were, but no doubt it was the customary jewish salutation of peace. there could have been no more appropriate salutation exchanged between these two in whose souls was abiding the peace of a perfect possession of god. the will of god to which they had been accustomed to offer themselves all their lives was being accomplished through them in unexpected ways; but it found them as ready of acceptance as they had been in any of the ordinary duties of life wherein they had been accustomed to wait upon god. we may seem sometimes to go beyond holy scripture in our interpretations of feelings and thoughts which we are sure must have been those of the actors in the drama of salvation unfolded to us in the scriptures; but are we not entitled to infer from god's actions a good deal of the nature of the instruments he uses? are we not quite safe in the case of s. mary in the deduction from the nature of her vocation of the spiritual perfection to attribute to her? does not god's use of a person imply qualities in the person used? it is on this ground that i feel that we are quite safe in inferring the spiritual attitude of s. mary and of s. elizabeth from the choice god made of them to be the instruments of his purpose of redemption. but we are not inferring, we have the record with us, when we think of the joy of the mothers transcended in the joy of the children. the unborn forerunner becomes conscious of the approach of him of whom he is to say later: "behold the lamb of god that taketh away the sin of the world"; and there is an instantaneous movement that can only be that of recognition and worship. the movement of the child is at once understood and translated by s. elizabeth: "and she spake out with a loud voice, and said, blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. and whence is this to me, that the mother of my lord should come to me? for, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy." in the presence of such joy and such sanctity we feel that our proper attitude is the attitude of adoring wonder that s. elizabeth expresses. we worship our hidden lord as the unborn prophet worships him. we have no question to ask, nor curiosity at the mode of god's action. we are quite content to accept his action as it is revealed to us in scripture; a revelation of the divine presense in humanity which has been abundantly verified in all the history of the church. that verification in experience--a verification that we ourselves can repeat--is worth infinitely more than all the argument that the centuries have seen. "blessed art thou among women," s. elizabeth cries; and in doing so she is but repeating the words of the angel of the annunciation. this word, too, we presently hear s. mary taking up, and under the inspiration of the holy ghost saying: "from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed." and so they have. all generations, that is, that have been faithful to the gospel teaching and have assimilated in any degree the consequences of s. mary's nearness to god. when we speak of "blessed" mary we are but doing what angels and holy women have done, and it is great pity if in doing so we have to make a conscious effort, if the words do not spring spontaneously from our lips. surely, we have not gone far toward the mastery of god's coming in the incarnation if we have not felt the purity of the instrument through whom god enters our nature. the outward and visible sign of our understanding is found in our ability to complete the _ave_ as the holy spirit has taught the church to complete it: "holy mary, mother of god, pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death." this reiterated attribution of blessedness to mary our mother calls us to pause and ask just what blessedness means. it is of course the characteristic scripture locution for those who in some way enjoy the special favour of god. blessedness is the state of those who have received special divine gifts of favour. a characteristic scriptural description of the blessedness of the righteous in contrast with the disaster of the unrighteous may be studied in the first psalm. in the new testament we naturally turn to the sermon on the mount where the beatitudes give us our lord's thought about blessedness. i think that we can describe the notion of blessedness there presented as being the state of those who have taken god at his word and chosen him, and by that act of choice, while they have forfeited the world and the world's favour, have attained to the spiritual riches of the kingdom of god. they are those to whom god is the supreme good, in whose possession they gladly count all things but loss. these are they who here in the pilgrim state have already attained to the enjoyment of god because they want nothing other or beside him. supremely blessed, therefore, is mary our mother, who never for a moment even in thought was separate from god. from the earliest moment of her existence she could say, "my beloved is mine and i am his." we try to think out what such a fact may mean when translated into terms of spiritual energy, and it seems to mean more than anything else boundless power of intercession such as the church has attributed to s. mary from the earliest times. we see no other way of estimating spiritual power save as the power of prayer. it is through prayer that we approach god--for we remember that sacrifice is but the highest form of prayer. the blessedness of s. mary, that peculiar degree of blessedness which seems signalized by the reiterated attribution of the quality to her, must for our purposes to be understood as "power with god," power of intercession. it means that our lord has chosen her to be a special medium of approval to him, and that through her prayers he wills to bestow upon men many of his choicest gifts. naturally, her prayers, like our prayers, are mediated by the merits of her divine son; nevertheless they have a peculiar power which is related to her peculiar blessedness in that she is the mother of incarnate god, and by special privilege is herself without sin. of all those to whom we are privileged to turn in the joys and tragedies of our lives for the sympathy which helps through enlightened, loving prayer, we most naturally resort to her who is all love and all sympathy, mary, the mother of jesus, blessed among women forever. although we are told nothing of these days that s. mary spent with her cousin elizabeth, we do gather that she remained with her until her child was born and that she saw s. john in his mother's arms, and was a partaker in the joy of the aged parents. she was present when zacharias, his speech restored, uttered the _benedictus_ in thanksgiving for the birth of his son. it was then, having seen her own son's forerunner that s. mary went back to nazareth filled more than ever with the sense that god's hand was in the events that were taking place, and of the approach of some crisis in her nation's history. it must have been that she talked intimately with zacharias and elizabeth and with them tried to imagine what was the future in which these two children were so closely concerned. when we consider the _magnificat_ and the _benedictus_ not as the "gospel canticles" to be sung in church but as the utterances of pious israelites under the inspiration of the holy ghost, we feel how very vivid must have been their expectation of god's action in the immediate future, and with what intense love and interest they thought of the parts to be taken by their children in the deliverance god was preparing. how often they must have pondered the god-inspired saying: "he shall be great, and shall be called the son of the highest; and the lord god shall give unto him the throne of his father david; and he shall reign over the house of jacob forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end." "and thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the lord to prepare his ways; to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, through the tender mercy of our god; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace." we think too of a more intimate sympathy that there would have been between these two women, drawn now so close together, not only by the blood bond, but by the bond of a common experience. what wonderful hours of communing during these three months! the peace of the hills of judah is all about them and the peace of god is in their souls. what ecstatic joy, what ineffable love was theirs in these moments as they thought of the children who were god's precious gift to them. i fancy that there were many hours when they ceased to think of the mystery that hung over these children's destiny, and became just mothers lost in love of the coming sons. as we try to think out their relation to each other it presents itself to us as a relation of sympathy. sympathy is community of feeling; it is maimed and thwarted when there is feeling only on one side. we speak of our sympathy in their affliction for others whom we do not know and who do not know us, but that is a very imperfect rendering of the perfect thing. no more than love does sympathy reach its perfection in solitude. but here in this village of judah we know that we have the perfect thing--sympathy in its most exquisite form. this capacity for sympathy is one of the greatest of human endowments, and, one is glad to think, not like many human endowments, rare in its manifestation. in its ordinary manifestation it is instinctive, is roused by the spectacle of need calling us to its aid. there come to our knowledge from time to time instances of what seem to us very grievous failures in sympathy, but investigation shows that ignorance is very commonly at the bottom of them. when human beings are convinced of a need they are quite ready to respond. indeed this readiness to respond makes them the easy victims of all sorts of impostures, of baseless appeals which play upon sentiment rather than convince the understanding. and just there lies the weakness of sympathy in that it is so easily turned to sentimentality. but the sentimentalist who gushes over ills, real or imaginary, can commonly be brought to book easily enough. for one thing the sentimentalist is devoted to publicity. he loves to conduct campaigns and drives, to "get up" a demonstration or an entertainment. i do not mean that he is a hypocrite but only that he loves the lime-light. when any tragedy befalls man his impulse is to organise a dance in aid of it. it is extraordinary how many people there are who will aid a charity by dancing to whom one would feel it quite hopeless to appeal for the amount of the dance tickets. and yet they are not wholly selfish people; there does lie back of the dance a certain sympathetic impulse. we easily deceive ourselves about ourselves, and it is well to be sure that we have true sympathy and not just sentiment. it is not so difficult to find out. we can test ourselves quickly enough by examining our giving. do we give only when we are asked? do we yield to spectacular appeals or only to those that we have examined and found good? do we put the spiritual interests of humanity first? is there any appreciable amount of quiet spontaneous giving which is known to no one? do we prefer to be anonymous? such tests soon reveal what we are like. one who never gives spontaneously, without being asked, we may be sure is lacking in sympathy. but of course one does not mean that sympathy is so closely related to what we call charity as what i have just said, if left by itself, would seem to imply. that is indeed the common form assumed by sympathy which has to be called out. but the best type of sympathy is the expression of our knowledge of one another; it is based on our knowledge of human nature and our interest in human beings. because it is based on knowledge it is not subject to be swept away by the sweet breezes of sentimentalism. to its perfect exercise it is needful to know individuals not merely to know about them. the ordinary limitations of sympathy come from this, that we do not want to take time and pains to know one another. that, for example, is where the church falls short in its mission to constitute a real brotherhood among its members--they have no time nor inclination really to know one another, or they find the artificial walls that society has erected impassable. it is, in fact, not very easy to know one another, and it is impossible to develop the complete type of sympathy with a crowd. for one must insist that this highest type of sympathy requires, what the word actually does mean, mutual sharing in life, the participation in the lives of our fellows and their partaking in our lives. so we understand why perfect sympathy is conditioned on spirituality. unless we are spiritually developed and spiritually at one we cannot share in one another's lives fully. where there are lives separated by a gulf of spiritual differences the completest sympathy is impossible. and we understand why incarnate seems so much nearer to us than god unincarnate. it is true that "the father himself loveth you"; it is true that it is the love of the blessed trinity that is expressed in the incarnation. the incarnation did not create god's love and sympathy, it only reveals it. yet it is precisely the incarnation that enables us to lay hold on god's sympathy with a certainty and sureness of grasp that we would not otherwise have. the sight of "god in christ reconciling the world unto himself" is more to us in the way of proof than any amount of declaration can be. to be told of the sympathy of god is one thing, to see how it works is another. our personal need in this matter is to find the sympathy that will help us in something outside ourselves, outside the limitations of human nature. much as we value human sympathy, precious as we find its expression, yet we do find that it has for the higher purposes of life serious limitations. it has very little power to execute what it finds needs to be done. a man may understand another's weakness and may utterly sympathise with it; he may advise and console, but in the end he finds that he cannot adequately help. the case is hopeless unless he can point the sufferer to some source outside himself on which he can draw, unless he can lead him to the sympathy of god. god can offer not only consolation, not only the spectacle of another life which has triumphed under analogous circumstances, but he can give the power to this present weak and discouraged life to triumph in the place where it is. he can "make a way of escape." but there is another form of sympathy which we crave and need which is just the communion of soul with soul. we are not asking anything more or other than to show ourselves. we are overwhelmed with the loneliness of life. it comes upon us in the most crowded places, this sense of separation from all about us. oh, that i might flee away and be at rest, is our feeling. it is here that we specially need our lord. blessed are we if we have learned to find in him the rest we need for our souls, if we have learned to open the door that leads always to him; or, perhaps to knock appealingly at that door which he will never fail to open. it is then that we find the joy of the invitation "come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden and i will give you rest." but christ, the perfect sympathiser, has associated others with himself. if we can go to him, so can others; the way is open to all. and those who go and are associated with him are gathered into a family. here among those who have followed the interests which are ours, and have pursued the ends that we are pursuing, and cultivated the qualities which we value, we feel sure of that sympathetic understanding of life which we seek. and especially among those members of the body who have gone on to the end in fidelity to the ideals of the life which is hid with christ in god shall we look for understanding and help. it is from this point of view that the communion of saints will mean so much to us. we value the strength of mutual support which inevitably grows out of associated life. we cannot think of the saints of god as having passed beyond us into some place of rest where they are content to forget the problems of earth: rather we are compelled to think of them as still actively sharing in those interests which are still the interests of their divine head. until, jesus himself cease to think of us who are still in the pilgrim way, and cease to offer himself on our behalf, we cannot think of any who are in him as other than intensely interested in us of the earthly church, or as doing other than helping by prayer for us that we with them may attain our end. and especially shall we feel sure that at any moment of our lives we may turn to the mother in confident expectancy of finding most helpful sympathy and most ready aid. her life to-day is a life of intercession, of intercession which has all the power of perfect understanding and perfect sympathy. let us learn to go to her; let us learn that as god is praised and honoured in his saints, as our lord choses to work through those who are united to him, so it is his will that great power of prayer shall be hers of whom he assumed our nature, that nature through which he still distributes the riches of his grace. as i lay upon a night, my thought was on a lady bright that men callen mary of might, redemptoris mater. to her came gabriel so bright and said, "hail, mary, full of might, to be called thou art adight;" redemptoris mater. right as the sun shineth in glass, so jesus in his mother was, and thereby wit men that she was redemptoris mater. now is born that babe of bliss, and queen of heaven his mother is, and therefore think me that she is redemptoris mater. after to heaven he took his flight, and there he sits with his father of might, with him is crowned that lady bright, redemptoris mater. english, fifteenth century. part two chapter v the visitation ii and mary said, my soul doth magnify the lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in god my saviour. s. luke i. , . forasmuch as we have no excuse, because of the multitude of our sins, we plead through thee, o virgin mother of god, with him whom thou didst bear. lo, great is thine intercession, strong and acceptable with our saviour. o stainless mother, reject not us sinners in thine intercession with him whom thou didst bear. coptic. wonderful was this day in the little town of judah where these two women, each in her way an instrument of god in the upbuilding of his kingdom, met and rejoiced together. there is revealed to us something of the possibilities of our religion when we try to follow the thought of these two women. they are so utterly devoted to god that god can speak to them. i think that it is well for us to dwell on this fact for a moment. we are apt to look upon inspiration, what is described as being filled with the holy ghost, as somewhat of a mechanical mode of god's operation. our mistaken view is that god takes control of the faculties of a human being and uses them for his own purposes. but that is quite to misunderstand god's method. god uses the faculties of a man in proportion as the man yields himself to him; and one who is living a sincere religion becomes in a degree the medium of god's self-expression. this possibility of expressing god increases as we increase in sanctity. those who have completely yielded themselves to god in a life of sanctity become in a deep sense the representatives of god: they have, in s. paul's phraseology, his mind. to be capable of so becoming the divine instrument it is necessary, not only to offer no opposition to god's purposes, but to make ourselves the active executants of them. our christian vocation is thus to be the instrument of god, to be the visible demonstrations of his power and presence. there is a true inspiration, a true speaking for god to-day, no doubt, as true as at any time in the church's history, wherever there is sanctity. what is lacking to present day utterances of sanctity is not the action of the holy spirit, but authentication by the church: that is given only under certain special circumstances and for special purposes. but there is no need to limit the inspiring action of the holy spirit to such utterances as for special reasons have received official recognition. what we need to feel is the constant action of the holy spirit--that he wants to speak through every man. and it helps to clear our minds if we go to our bibles with the expectation of finding here, not exceptions to all rules which obtain in common life, but types of the divine action. the isolation of bible history has done much to create a feeling of its unreality. what has happened only in the bible can, we are apt to feel, safely be disregarded in daily life in the twentieth century. but if what we find there is customary modes of divine action in life, exceptional in detail rather than in principle, the attitude we shall take will be wholly different. we shall then study them with the feeling expressed in s. paul's saying, "these things are written for our learning," and we shall expect to find in us and about us the same order of divine action, we shall learn to look on our lives as having their chief meaning in the fact that they are possible instruments of god; we shall learn to regard failure as failure to show forth god to the world. in a way we can read our facts backward: the fact that "elizabeth was filled with the holy ghost," and the fact that mary under the same divine impulse gave utterance to the words of the magnificat, is a revelation of the character of these two women which would satisfy us of their sanctity had we no other evidence of it. the choice of them by god to be his instruments is evidence of the divine approval; and that approval can never be false to the facts; what god treats as holy must be holy. so we come to holy mary's song with the feeling that in studying it we shall find in it a revelation of s. mary herself. she is not an instrument on which the holy spirit plays, but an intelligent being through whom he acts. she, like s. elizabeth, is filled with the holy spirit--she had never been in the slightest degree out of union with god--but still the magnificat is her utterance; it represents her thought; it is the measure, if one may so put it, in modern terminology, of her degree of spiritual culture. much that we say about s. mary, her simplicity, her social place, and so on, seems to carry with it the implication of the ignorance and spiritual dullness that we associate with the type of poverty we are accustomed to to-day. but the poor folk whom we meet in association with our lord are neither ignorant nor spiritually dull; and it would be a vast mistake to think of blessed mary as other than of great intelligence and spiritual receptivity, or as deficient in understanding of the details of her ancestral religion. we have no reason to be surprised that she should sing magnificat, or to think that the holy spirit was speaking through her thoughts which were quite beyond her comprehension. inspired she was, but inspired, no doubt, to utter thoughts that had many times filled her mind. her spiritual attitude as revealed in the magnificat is but the attitude which must have been hers habitually--the attitude that exalts god and not self. "my soul doth magnify the lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in god my saviour." that is the starting-place of all holy souls--the adoration of god. true humility is never self-conscious because self is lost in the vision of god. s. mary was bearing in her pure body the very son of god. admit, if you will, that as yet she did not understand the full reach of her vocation; but she did know that she had been chosen by god in a most signal manner to be the instrument of his purpose. that which s. elizabeth spoke under divine impulse,--"whence is this that the mother of my lord should come to me?"--must have had clear meaning for her. but the wonder of all that god is accomplishing through her only brings her to god's feet. that "he that is mighty hath done me great things," is but the evidence of his sanctity, not of her greatness. one never gets through wondering at the beauty of humility; and it is one of the marks of how far we are from spiritual apprehension when we find this splendid virtue unattractive. it does indeed cut across many of the instinctive impulses of our nature; it can hardly be said to have dawned on humanity as a virtue until the incarnation of god. therein it has revealed to us god's attitude in his work and, by consequence, the natural attitude of all such as would associate themselves with god. it is not so much a self-denying as a self-forgetting virtue. it is ruined by the very consciousness of it. such phrases as "practicing humility" seem self-contradictory--when one begins to practice humility it becomes something else. we do not conceive of our lady as setting out to be humble, of thinking of what a humble person would do under such and such circumstances. she does not, as i was saying, think of herself at all, but thinks of god. the "great things" she has are his gift. that he has looked upon her low estate, and that in consequence of his visitation "all generations shall call her blessed," is a manifestation of the divine glory and goodness, not an occasion of pride to the recipient of god's gifts. we who are so self-seeking, who are so greedy of praise, who are constantly wanting what we feel is our due, who hunger to be "appreciated," who are full of proud boasting about our accomplishment, will do well to meditate upon this point of view. we acknowledge the supremacy of god with our lips, but in our acts we are quite prone to assume that we are independent actors in the universe where whatever we have is due to our own creative powers. we claim a certain lordship over life, a certain independent use of it. we resent the pressure of religious principle as setting up a sort of counter-claim to control that which it is ours to dispose of as we will. most of our difficulties come from this godless attitude which claims independence of life. it results in a religion which is willing to pay god tribute, but is not willing to belong to god. but the humble person has nothing of his own and moreover wants nothing; he wants simply that god shall use him, that he shall be found a ready instrument in god's hands. it is this readiness that we find in blessed mary when she answered the astonishing announcement of the angel with her, "behold the handmaid of the lord." it is that quality which we find in her here when she construes god's purpose in terms which go out far beyond her individual life and sees in her experience but one item in god's dealing with humanity in his age-long work of "bringing his wanderers home." we should have far less difficulty and find our lives far more significant if we could get rid of our wretched egotism and find it possible to lose ourselves in the work of god. we should then find the work important because it is god's work and not because we are associated with it. we should also find it less easy to be discouraged because we should not understand our failure to be the failure of god. discouragement is but one of the aspects of egotism, and not the most attractive. we cannot rise to anything like a passion of holiness unless we have found god to be all in all. only so can we lose ourselves in god. and i must, at whatever risk of over-dwelling, stress the fact that we can only attain this point of view by dwelling on god and not on self. let god be the foreground of our thought. let our souls magnify the lord. let us dwell upon the "great things" god has done for us. in every life there is such a wonderful manifestation of the divine goodness--only we do not take time to look for it. it is well to take the time: to write out, if need be, our spiritual history. we shall then find abundant evidence of the goodness of god. it may be that it is a goodness that is seen chiefly in offers, in opportunities to be something which we have declined or have only imperfectly realized. be that as it may, there is no life, i am quite convinced, that has not a spiritual history which is a marvellous history of what god at least wanted to do for it. it is also a history of what he actually has done: a history of graces, of rich gifts, of deliverances. it matters not that we have been so heedless as to miss most of what god has done. the facts stand and are discoverable whenever we care to pay enough attention to them to ascertain their true meaning. when we do that, then surely we shall be compelled to do, what blessed mary never needed to do, fall at god's feet in an act of penitence, seeing ourselves, perhaps for the first time, in the light of god's mind. the magnificat, if we consider it as a personal expression, is a wonderful expression of selfless devotion, where the perception of the glory and majesty of god excludes all other thoughts. it is, too, a thanksgiving for the personal gift which is her vocation to be the mother of the saviour. out of her lowliness she has been exalted--how highly she herself cannot at the time have dreamed. we can see what was necessarily involved in god's choice of her, and to-day we think of her as in her perfect purity exalted in heaven far above all other creatures. mother of god most holy we call her, and in the words of her canticle ever repeat her thanksgiving as our thanksgiving, too, for the vocation that god sent her and for the gift which through her has come to us. but there is a more universal aspect of the magnificat. essentially it is the presentation of the constant antithesis which runs through all revelation between the flesh and the spirit, between the kingdom of god and the kingdom of this world. it embodies the conception of god striving to save a world which has revolted from him, and now at last entering upon that stage of his work which is the beginning of a triumph over all the powers of the adversary. in mary's song the contrasted powers are still presented under the old testament terminology which was the natural form of her thought. the adversaries of god are the proud, the mighty, the rich; while those who are on god's side are the humble, the god-fearers, the hungry. the form of the thought and its essential meaning remain the same through the centuries, though our terminology changes somewhat. presently in the pages of the new testament we shall get the presentation as the contrast between the children of this world and the sons of god. we shall find the briefest expression of the latter to be the saints. we no longer feel that rich and poor express a spiritual contrast. nor do we, who are quite accustomed to the action of labour leaders, regard social position as being the exclusive seat of arrogancy. but we know that the spiritual values which are expressed in the varying terminology are constant; we know that the warfare between god and not-god is still the most important phenomenon in the universe. and it happens as we look out on the battlefield where the forces of good and evil contend, where before our eyes they seem to sway back and forth on the field of human life with every varying fortunes, that we not seldom feel that the battle is not obviously falling to the side of righteousness. there come moments when we are oppressed by what seems to us the lack of power in the ideals of righteousness. the appeal of the proud and of the rich is so dazzling; the splendour of the visible kingdom of the world is so intoxicating, the contagion of the crowd which follows the uplifted banner of satan is so penetrating, that we hardly wonder to see the new generations carried away in the sweep of popular enthusiasm. here is excitement, exhilarating enjoyment, the throb and sting of the flesh, the breathless whirl of gaiety, the physical quiet of satisfied desires. what is there to appeal on the other side? as the crowds troop past to the sound of music and dancing they for a moment raise their eyes, and above them rises a hill whereon is a cross and on the cross an emaciated victim is nailed, and at the foot of the cross a small group of discouraged folk--s. john, the blessed mother, the other mary--stunned by the grief born of the death of son and friend. these two utterances stand in eternal contrast: "all these things will i give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me": and, "i, if i be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." as yet the appeal made from an "exceeding high mountain" visibly seems to prevail against that made from "the place which is called calvary." and what have we to counteract the depression which is the natural reaction from the spectacle of the world-rejection of christ? we have the truth which is embodied in mary's magnificat, we have the fact of mary's vocation to be the mother of god. the revelation of god's meaning and purpose is a basis of optimism which no promise of satan can overthrow. when all is said, the view from the exceeding high mountain is a view of the kingdom of this world only; from the place called calvary you can see the kingdom of god as well. from this point of vantage alone the permanent values of life are visible; and to the taunt flung at us, the taunt so terrifying to the young, "you are losing life," the enigmatic reply from the cross is that you have to lose life to gain it; that permanent and eternal values are acquired by those who have the self-restraint and the foresight not to sacrifice the substance to the shadow, nor to mistake the toys of childhood for the riches of manhood. "in the meantime life is passing and the shadows draw in and you have not attained" so they say. true: we count not ourselves to have yet attained; but we press on toward the mark of our high calling in christ jesus our lord. we are not in a hurry, because the crown we are seeking is amaranthine, unfading. we are not compelled to compress our enjoyment within a given time; we do not awake each morning with the thought that we may not outlast the daylight; we are not hurried and fevered with the sense of our fragility. the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them must be seized now: satan cannot afford to wait because his kingdom has an end. but god can afford to wait because of his kingdom there is no end. we are content then with _promises_ and with such partial fulfilment as we find on our pilgrim-way. we are content because we see the end in the beginning. to those who in the first days of the church objected that though the promises were wonderful and abundant the fulfilment was small; to those who said we do not yet see the perfection of the kingdom; the answer of inspiration was: true, we do not yet see the accomplishment of all of god's promises, but we do see jesus. and there is where we stand to-day. the work that god has to do in the spiritualising of the human race is tremendous; but we actually see its beginning in jesus, and we are content to wait with god for the perfect accomplishment. and we must remember when we think of the work of god in terms of time, that the length of time that is required to accomplish the spiritualisation of the human race is not to be estimated in terms of the divine will but in terms of the human will. it is not divine power but human resistance which is the determining factor, for god will not compel us to obey him, nor would compelled obedience have any spiritual value. and we can estimate something of the human resistance that has to be overcome by concentrating attention upon one unit of that resistance. that is, we can learn from the study of our own life what is the resistance of one human being to the triumph of the will of god; and, taking oneself as a fair sample of the race can multiply our resistance to god's will by the numbers of the race. we are perfectly certain of the will of god: god wills that all men shall come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved. "this is the will of god, even your sanctification." so far as we are thwarting that will we are playing into the hands of the power of evil. but that power is of limited existence; it draws to its end. its death knell was struck when the noon-day darkness lifted from calvary. therefore the rejoicing of blessed mary, whose song reads the necessary end in the beginning, is well considered; and we rejoice with her and in her. it is our privilege--and it is a vast privilege--to rejoice in blessed mary as the instrument of god in bringing the triumph of his kingdom one stage nearer its accomplishment. and in especial we rejoice because we see in her one more, and the most marked, illustration of the divine method. "he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden." "he hath exalted them of low degree." "he hath filled the hungry." the method of god is to work to his results through those who are spiritually receptive. the less of self there is in us the more room there is for god. "the kingdom of god is within you," that is, the starting-point of god's work in the building of the kingdom is within the soul of man. he must master the inner man, must win the allegiance of our souls, before his work can make any progress at all. the kingdom of god cometh not "with observation," that is, from the outside in an exhibition of power; it must of necessity come from the inside in demonstration of the spirit. "as many as are led by the spirit of god, they are the sons of god." in blessed mary we see the new starting-point in this last stage of the work of god. for the foreseen merits of her son she is brought into union with god and spared the taint of sin, and becomes the second eve, the mother of the new race. acting upon her pure humanity, the holy spirit produces that humanity which joined to the divinity in the second person of the blessed trinity becomes the christ, the son of the living god. in mary's rejoicing in this so great fact, the bringing of human redemption, we rightly share. it is with a right understanding of her song that the church throughout the ages has embodied it in its worship and through it constantly rejoices in god its saviour. the actual detailed accomplishment of god's work in man's redemption is going on under our eyes. it is regrettable that human stupidity seems to prefer dwelling upon what seem god's failures, and are actually our own, rather than upon the constant triumphs of grace. but god reigns; and we can always find grounds of optimism if we can find that he is day by day reigning more perfectly in us. when we pray "thy kingdom come," the field to examine for the fulfilment of our prayers is the field of our own souls. our lady took the road to zachary's abode; o'er mountain, vale and lea, full many a league sped she toward hebron's holy hill, by god's command and will. full light did mary, make of trouble for his sake. god's very son of yore within her breast she bore; and angels bright and fair, unseen, her fellows were. she, ere she took her way, an orison would say, that god her steps might tend safe to their journey's end; and there, in manner meet, her cousin she 'gan greet. elizabeth full fain eft bowed her head again; she wist 'twas god's own bride, as, worshipful she cried: 'o lady, full of grace, whence do i see thy face?' o house and home of bliss, o earthly paradis-- nay, heaven itself on ground wherein the lord is found, the lord of glory bright, in goodness great and might-- clean maiden thou that art, come, visit this my heart; and bring me chief my good, god's son in flesh and blood; bless body, soul; and bide for ever by my side. from the köln gesang-buch. xvi cent. part two chapter vi s. joseph joseph, her husband, being a just man-- s. matt. i. . o god, our refuge and our strength, look down in mercy upon thy people who cry to thee; and by the intercession of the glorious and immaculate virgin mary, mother of god, of st. joseph her spouse, and of thy blessed apostles peter and paul, and of all saints, in mercy and goodness hear our prayers for the conversion of sinners, and for the liberty and exaltation of our holy mother the church. through. roman. when we read the gospels, not simply as a record of events but as revelation of the method of god, we are constantly impressed with what we cannot otherwise describe than as the care of god for detail. there is a curious type of mind which finds it possible to think of god as creator and ruler of the universe, but impossible to conceive him as interested in or concerning himself with the minutiae of human life; who can conceive god as caring for a solar system or a planet, but not as caring for a baby. surely it is a strange notion of god that thinks of him as estimating values in terms of weight and measure: surely much more intelligible is the gospel presentation of him as concerned with spritual values and exercising that minute care over human life which is best expressed by the word _father_. it is very significant that as the volume of revelation unrolls, the earlier notions of god as ruler, governor, king, give way to the notion of father, until in our lord's presentation of the character of god it is his fatherhood which stands in the forefront. what our lord emphasises in the character of god are precisely the qualities of love and care and sympathy which the word father connotes. and nowhere do we see this loving care of god which we call his providence better set out for our study than in the detailed preparation which preceded and attended the birth of his son into this world. there was that preparation of the mother who was to be the source of the humanity of the child jesus which we have been dwelling upon; there was also the preparation for the proper guardianship of both mother and child during the years of jesus' immaturity. there are certain things which are self-evident when once we turn our minds to them; and it is thus self-evident that the care of our lord and of his blessed mother would require the preparation of the man to whom they should be committed. in the state of society into which our lord was born, he and his mother would need active guardianship of a peculiar nature. the man who should provide for our lord's infancy must be a man, in the nature of the case, who was receptive of spiritual monitions and devoted to the will of god. it was a delicate matter to live before the world as the husband of mary of nazareth, and to live before god as the guardian of her virginity and as the foster-father of her divine son. only a very choice nature could respond to the demands thus made upon it, a nature which had been habitually responsive to the will of god and long nurtured by the richness of his grace. we know very little of st. joseph; but god's choice of him for the office he was to fulfil near the blessed virgin mary and her son reveals the nature of the man. he is described to us as "a just man," one whose judgment would not be swayed by prejudices, but who would be open to the consideration of any case upon its merits: a man who would not view events in the light of their effect upon himself and his plans, but who can calmly consider what in given circumstances is due to others. such men are rare at any time for their production is a matter of slow discipline. we gather that both s. joseph and s. mary were of the same lineage, were descended from the same ancestor, david. we gather also that s. joseph was much older than his bethrothed wife, for he had been already married and had a family. all the notices of these brothers and sisters of the lord imply that they were considerably older than the child of mary, and that they felt that they had the sort of authority over him which commonly belongs to the elder children of a family; the sort of doubt and criticism of his course which would be the instinctive attitudes of elders toward the unprecedented course of a younger. we have, i think, a right to infer from the terms of the narrative, that s. joseph would have been well acquainted with s. mary and was not taking a wife who was a stranger to him. indeed, considering the actual development of the situation, i myself feel quite certain that those are right who maintain that the proposed marriage was intended to be merely a nominal union, the ultimate design of which was the protection of the virginity of mary. i find it impossible to think of that virginity as other than of deliberate purpose from the beginning, and prompted by the spirit of god for the purposes of god for which it served. there is, to be sure, no revelation of this in holy scripture, but there are facts which suggest themselves to the devout meditations of saints which we feel that we may safely take on the authority of their spiritual intuitions. such a fact is this of mary's purposed virginity which i am content to accept on the basis of its congruity with s. mary's life and vocation. of the fact of her perpetual virginity there can be no dispute among catholic christians. to s. joseph thus preparing himself to be the guardian of the blessed virgin it could only come as a tremendous shock that she should be found with a child. our character comes out at such times of trial as when something that we had taken quite for granted fails us, and we are left breathless and bewildered in in the face of what would have seemed impossible even had we thought of it. what was s. joseph's attitude? the beauty and sanity of his character at once shows itself. grieved and disheartened as he must have been, disappointed as he could not but be, he yet thinks at once of his bethrothed, not of himself. how far could he save her?--that was his first thought. he would at least avoid publicity. "being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, he was minded to put her away privily." it is the quality that we express by the word benevolence--the quality of mature and deliberate wisdom. we feel that such a man could be trusted under any circumstances of life. we feel, too, that god would not leave s. joseph in doubt as to the course he was to pursue, or as to the character of mary herself. there could no shade of suspicion be permitted to rest upon her. hence "while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, joseph, thou son of david, fear not to take unto thee mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the holy ghost. and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins." it is not difficult to imagine the joy of s. joseph at this angelic message. we all know the sense of relief which comes when, after facing a most trying situation, and being forced to make up our minds to act when action either way is almost equally painful, we find that we are delivered from the necessity of acting at all, that the whole state of things has been utterly misunderstood. it was so with s. joseph; and in his case there was the added joy which springs from the nature of the coming child as the angel explains it to him. he who had accepted the charge of mary was now to add to that charge the charge of her child: and the child is the very saviour whom his soul and the souls of all pious israelites had longed for. "thou shalt call his name jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins." we cannot expect that s. joseph would have taken in the full meaning of this message, but he would have understood that he was called to a wondrous co-operation with god in the work of the redemption of israel. as we think of s. joseph it is this co-operation which is the significant thing in his life. as we study human life in the only way in which it is much worth while to study it, in the light of revelation, it becomes clear to us that there is purpose in all human life. often we observe a purpose that we are not able to grasp, but in the light of what we know from revelation we do not doubt of its presence. even lives that seem obscure and insignificant we feel sure must have a divine meaning; and the pathetic thing about most human life is that it never dreams of its own significance. we are consumed with the notion that god's instruments must be great, while it is on the face of revelation that they are commonly humble and of seeming insignificance. it is the work that is important, and the instrument becomes important through its relation to the work. we all at least have the common vocation of the christian, and it would be difficult to exaggerate the spiritual significance of that. s. joseph seems to us at once set apart by his vocation to be the guardian of the divine child, to protect and to nurture the years of his human immaturity. this is no doubt a unique vocation, but is it quite so far separated from ordinary christian experience as we assume? you and i are also constituted guardians of the divine presence. this very morning, it may be, we have received within the tabernacle of our breast the same presence that s. joseph guarded--the presence of incarnate god. in that presence of his humanity our lord abode with us but a few minutes and then the presence withdrew: but he left behind him a real gift, the gift of an increase in sacramental grace. was that a light thing: was it indeed so much less than the vocation of s. joseph? and how have we guarded this presence? those few moments after the reception of our incarnate lord at the altar--how do we habitually spend them? do we spend them in guarding the presence? there is much to be learned about the meaning and the value of guarding the eucharistic gift. our thanksgiving after communion is fully as important as our preparation for receiving it. i am more and more inclined to think that much of the fruitlessness of communions which is so sad a side of the life of the church is due to careless reception and inadequate thanksgiving. it is the adoration of our lord within the tabernacle of our body and thanksgiving to him for having come to us that is the _appropriation_ of the gift of the sacrament. he comes to us and offers himself to us with all the benefits of his life and death; and then having offered himself "he makes as though he would go farther," and he does actually go, unless we are awake to our spiritual opportunity, and constrain him, saying, "abide with us, for it is toward evening and the day is far spent." we think of s. joseph then, as with a relieved and rejoicing heart he enters upon his new realised vocation as the head of the holy family. the marriage which he had been upon the point of abandoning he now enters that he may give s. mary and her coming child his full protection. so s. joseph "took unto him his wife; and knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born son." these words have been so misunderstood as to imply that the marriage of s. joseph and s. mary was consummated after the birth of our lord. grammatically they convey no such implication; the mode of expression is perfectly simple and well known by which a fact is affirmed to exist up to a certain time without any implication as to what happens after. and the meaning of the passage which is not at all necessitated by its grammatical construction is utterly intolerable in catholic teaching. the constant teaching of the church is the perpetual virginity of mary--that she was a virgin "before and in and after her child-bearing." there was to be sure an heretic named helvidius who taught otherwise, but he was promptly repudiated by all catholic teachers and but served to emphasize the depth and clearness of the catholic tradition. upon this point there has never been any wavering in the mind of the church, and to hold otherwise shows a lamentable lack of a catholic perception of values and but a superficial grasp upon what is involved in the incarnation. the impression we get of s. joseph is that of a man of great simplicity and gentleness of character--that childlikeness which was later praised by his foster son. such qualities do not produce much impression on the superficial observer, but they are of great spiritual value. they are the concomitants of a special type of open-mindedness. open-mindedness is a quality much praised and little practiced. but the open-mindedness which is commonly praised is not the open-mindedness which is praiseworthy. what is at present meant by open-mindedness is in reality failure to have any mind at all upon a given subject. it is the attitude of doubt which never proceeds so far as to arrive at a solution. to have an open mind means to the contemporary man to hold all conclusions loosely, to consider all things open to question, to be ready to abandon what now appears to be true in favour of something which to-morrow may appear to be more true. in other words, we are invited to base life on pure scepticism. now no life can be so conducted. we live by a faith of some sort, whether it be a faith in god or no. the most sceptical mind has to believe something to act at all. it cannot even doubt without affirming a belief in its own intellectual processes. the open mind that never reaches any certainty to fill it is a very poor possession indeed. and it is not at all what we mean when we say of s. joseph that he was open-minded. we mean that he was receptive of new spiritual impressions and capable of further spiritual development. there are minds, and they are not unusual among people of a certain degree of spiritual development, which we can best describe as having reached a given stage of growth and then shut up. or, to vary the figure, they impress one as having a certain capacity, and when that has been reached, being able to contain nothing further. they come to a stop. from that point they try to maintain the position they have acquired. but that is impossible: they inevitably fall away unless they are going forward. when the power of spiritual assimilation is dead, we are spiritually in a dying condition. what we mean by having an open and childlike mind, then, is that one has this power of spiritual assimilation and, consequently, a power of growth. the sceptic is afflicted with spiritual indigestion; he is an invalid who is quite certain that any food that is offered him is indigestible. his soul withers away through its incapacity to believe. the open-minded saint has a healthy spiritual digestion. this does not mean that, in vulgar parlance, he can, "swallow anything"; it does mean a power of discrimination between food offered him,--that he assimilates what is wholesome and rejects the rest. the sceptic is pessimistic as to the existence of any wholesome food at all; he starves his soul for fear that he should believe something that is not true. the saint, with the test of faith, sorts the food proposed to him, and grows in grace, and consequently in the knowledge and the love of god. open-mindedness is sensitiveness to spiritual impressions, readiness for spiritual advance, even when such impressions cut across much that has seemed to us well settled, and such advance involves the upset of his established ways of thought. what distinguishes the evolution in the thought of the sceptic from that in the thought of the saint is that in the one case the result is destructive and in the other constructive. the sceptic is like a man who starts to build a house, and then periodically tears down what he has so far built and begins again on a new plan; the saint is like the house builder who broadens his plan in the course of construction, and who finds that within the limits of his general scheme there is room for indefinite improvement. the one never gets any building at all; the other gets a palace of which the last stages are of a more highly decorated school of architecture than he had conceived, or indeed, could conceive, when he began his work. in s. joseph's case nothing could be more revolutionary in appearance than the truth he was asked to accept. he was asked to believe in the virgin-motherhood of his bethrothed, and in the fact that the child soon to be born was he who was to save israel from his sins. he was asked to accept these incredible statements and to act upon them by taking mary to wife as he had proposed. and he did not hesitate to accept the evidence of a dream and act in accordance with it. how could he do this? because the required action which seemed so revolutionary of all his previous notions was, in fact, quite in accordance with his knowledge of god and of the promises of god. though a simple man, perhaps because he was a simple man, he would know something of the teaching of the prophets. that teaching would have given him thoughts about god which would have, unconsciously, prepared him for these new acts of god. though we cannot see before how a prophecy is to be fulfiled, after the event we can see that this is what is intended by it. we were actually being prepared by the prophecy for what was to take place. and thus, no doubt, s. joseph's mind, being filled with the teaching of the scriptures which he had heard read in the synagogue every sabbath day, would find that this new act of god on which he was asked to rely was, in fact, but a new step in the unfolding of that providence which had for centuries been shaping the history of his nation. it is a quality to cultivate, this simple open-mindedness which is ready to respond to new spiritual impulses. it is precisely what prevents that deadly attitude of soul which proceeds as though religion were for us exhausted: as though we had reached the limit of expectancy. but to expect nothing is to receive nothing, because it is only expectancy that perceives what is offered. we move in a world which is thronged with spirtual impulses and energetic with spiritual powers. god is trying to lead us on to new spiritual experiences by which we may attain to a better understanding of him. there is no assignable limit to our possible growth. but we fix a limit when we close our souls to further experiences by the practical denial that they exist. if we are childlike, we are always expecting new things of our father; if we are open-minded we are alive to the activities of the spiritual world. we are conscious of possessing a growing religion, a religion truly evolutionary, constantly bringing to our knowledge unsuspected riches stored in the very principles whose meaning we had assumed that we had exhausted. perhaps one of the treasures of our religion of which we have not achieved full consciousness is god's choice of us to be the guardians of his revelation. it is our charge "to keep the faith." i suppose that this responsibility is commonly regarded as belonging to some vaguely imagined church which hands it on from generation to generation, to us among others, but without imposing on us an obligation of any active sort. but we are the church--members in particular of the body of christ. and in the dissemination of the faith the last appeal is to us, not to some outside tribunal. when the church wishes to discover its faith and make it articulate, its place of search is in the minds and hearts of the faithful. our responsibility is to testify to the catholic faith, not so much by positively asserting it as by making it active and vivid in our lives so that its presence and power can by no means be mistaken. you, for instance, in common with the rest of the faithful, are the custodians of this truth of the perpetual virginity of the blessed virgin mary. it may seem a small matter, but it is not. that it is not is readily seen from this fact, that when the perpetual virginity of our blessed mother is denied then also the incarnation of her son is denied or is held only in a half-hearted way. the church stresses such facts, not only because they are facts, but because by their character they form a hedge about the truth of the incarnation of our lord. and we who are catholic christians must feel an obligation to hold fast this fact. we ought actively to show our firm adherence to it. how? chiefly by our attitude towards blessed mary herself, by the devotion that we show her. if we are quite indifferent to devotion to blessed mary, if we show her no honour, if we likewise fail in honour to her guardian, s. joseph, is it not to be expected that our grasp upon the truths which are enshrined in such devotion will be feeble, and that we shall hold them as of small moment? the whole system of catholic thought is so nicely articulated, so consistently held together, that failure to hold even the smallest constituent indicates a faulty conception of the whole. catholics are constantly accused of over-stressing devotion to blessed mary and the saints and thereby encroaching upon the honour due to our lord. the answer to the reproach is to be found in the question: who to-day are defending to the very death the truth of our lord's incarnation and the truths that hang upon it? are they those who deny the legitimacy of invocation, or those in whose religious practise it holds an important and vital place? a panegyrick on the blessed virgin mary. i do not tremble, when i write a mistress' praise, but with delight can dive for pearls into the flood, fly through every garden, wood, stealing the choice of flow'rs and wind, to dress her body or her mind; nay the saints and angels are nor safe in heaven, till she be fair, and rich as they; nor will this do, until she be my idol too. with this sacrilege i dispense, no fright is in my conscience, my hand starts not, nor do i then find any quakings in my pen; whose every drop of ink within dwells, as in me my parent's sin, and praises on the paper wrot have but conspired to make a blot: why should such fears invade me now that writes on her? to whom do bow the souls of all the just, whose place is next to god's, and in his face all creatures and delights doth see as darling of the trinity; to whom the hierarchy doth throng, and for whom heaven is all one song. joys should possess my spirit here, but pious joys are mixed with fear: put off thy shoe, 'tis holy ground, for here the flaming bush is found, the mystic rose, the ivory tower, the morning star and david's bower, the rod of moses and of jesse, the fountain sealèd, gideon's fleece, a woman clothèd with the sun, the beauteous throne of salomon, the garden shut, the living spring, the tabernacle of the king, the altar breathing sacred fume, the heaven distilling honeycomb, the untouched lily, full of dew, a mother, yet a virgin too, before and after she brought forth (our ransom of eternal worth) both god and man. what voice can sing this mystery, or cherub's wing lend from his golden stock a pen to write, how heaven came down to men? here fear and wonder so advance my soul, it must obey a trance. part two chapter vii the nativity she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. s. luke ii. . it is very meet to bless thee who bore the christ, o ever blessed and immaculate mother of god. more wondrous than the cherubim and of greater glory than the seraphim art thou who remaining virgin didst give birth to god the word. verily, do we magnify thee, o mother of god. in thee, o full of grace, all creation exults, the hierarchy of angels and the race of men. in thee sanctified temple, spiritual paradise, glory of virgins, of whom god took flesh, through whom our god who was before the world became a child. of thy womb he made a throne, and its dominion is more extensive than the heavens. in thee, o full of grace, all creation exults: glory to thee. russian. we see a man and a woman on the road to bethlehem where they are going to be taxed according to the decree of augustus. bethlehem would be known to them as the home of their ancestors, for they were both of the lineage of david. it was a painful journey for them for mary was near the time of her delivery. we follow them along the road and into the village, as the twilight fades, and see them seeking shelter for the night. bethlehem is a small place and the inn is crowded with those who have come on the errand with them, and the only place where they can find refuge for the night is a stable. but they are not used to luxury, and the stable serves their purpose. it also serves god's purpose. one understands as one reads this narrative of the nativity what is meant by the providential government of the world. we see how various lines of action, each free and independent, yet converge to the production of a given event. the different characters in the drama are all pursuing their own courses and yet the result is a true drama, not an unrelated series of events. caesar's action, joseph's lineage, our lord's conception, all working together, bring about the fulfilment of prophecy by the birth of the messiah in bethlehem. there is in the universe an over-ruling will which works to its ends by co-operating with human freedom, and not destroying it. we are not the sport of chance, not the slaves of fate, but free men; and yet through our freedom, through our blunders and rebellions and sins as well as through our obedience, the work of god is moving to its conclusion. man did all that he could to defeat the ends of god and to thwart god's purpose of redemption. yet on a certain night in bethlehem of judea the light of god overcame the human darkness, and the voices of god's angels pierced the human tumult, and jesus christ was born. "god of the substance of his father begotten before all worlds, man of the substance of his mother, born in the world; perfect god and perfect man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting." the manifestation came to certain shepherds watching their flocks in the fields about bethlehem; simple men, quite unable to take in the meaning of what they see and hear. one cannot help thinking of what it would have meant in the way of an intellectual revolution if to some greek or roman philosopher, speculating on the destiny of humanity, the truth could have come that the future of the world was not in the court of augustus, that it was not dependent on the roman armies or greek learning, but that it was bound up in the career and teaching of a baby that night born in a stable in an obscure village in judea. as we imagine such a case we see in the concrete the meaning of the revolution set in motion by this single event; and we are led to adore the ways of god in that he has chosen for the final approach to man for the purpose of redemption, this way of simplicity and humbleness. man would not have thought of this as the best path for god to follow in this purpose of rescue, but we can be wise after the event and see that this child born in poverty and obscurity would have fewer entanglements to break through, fewer obstacles to overcome. but these thoughts are far away from the night in bethlehem. in the stable there where a baby is lying in mary's arms and joseph stands looking on, there is no speculation about the world-consequences of the event. there is rather the splendour of love: the love of the mother in the new found mystery of this her child; the love of god who has given her the child. and all is a part of the great mystery of love, of the love wherewith god loves the world. "god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son." here is the son, lying in mary's arms, wrapped in swaddling clothes, and mary looks into his face as any human mother looks into the face of her child. but through the eyes that smile up into mary's face, god is looking out on a world of sorrow and pain and sin that he has come to redeem, and for which, in redeeming it, to die. presently, the shepherds come in and complete the group, the representatives of universal humanity at the birth of their king, we have the whole world-problem in small, but here there is no consciousness of it. no echo of world-politics or of movements of thought break in here. but we know that here is the beginning of that which will set at naught world-politics and revolutionise movements of thought, that here is the centre about which humanity will move in the coming time. here is that which is fundamental and abiding because here is the one invincible power of the universe--love. all else will fail: prophecies, systems of philosophy, religions, political and social structures; each in the time of its flourishing, proclaiming itself the last word of human wisdom,--these in bewildering succession have arisen and passed away. but love has survived them all. love never faileth; through the slow succession of the centuries it is winning the world to god. it were well if we could learn to look on the happenings of this world as the miracles of divine love. we think of the power, the justice, the judgment of god as visible in this world's history; but these are but the instruments of love, and all that he does has its foundation in love and receives its impulse from love. this nativity is the divine love coming into the world on its last adventure, determined to win man, all other means failing, by the extremity of sacrifice. the final word about this child will be that having loved his own he loved them unto the uttermost, he loved them without stinting, with the uttermost capacity of love. understanding this meaning of the love of god, we are prepared for the further fact that god uses all sorts of instruments as the instruments of his love. he shares himself. he pours himself into human life. he takes men into partnership in the work of redemption. whenever a soul is mastered by love, it becomes a tool in god's hands. the progress of the church--of god's kingdom--might be described as the accumulation of these tools wherewith god works--souls who are so devoted to him as to be the medium of bringing his power, the power of love, to bear on the souls of their brethren. to be the highest, the most perfect, of all the instruments of redemption god chose mary of nazareth to be the mother of his son. she is the most complete human embodiment of god's love. she, in her perfect purity, can transmit that love as power with the least loss of energy in the process of transmission. when we think of the saints as the means of god's action, we think of blessed mary as the highest of the saints and the means most perfectly adapted to god's ends. here at bethlehem she holds god in her arms and looks into the human face that he has taken for this present work and all her being is absorbed in love. oblivious, we think her, of her mean surroundings, of the animals that share with her their stable, of the shepherds who come in and look on in wonder, of s. joseph standing by in sympathy. love is all. love is a passion consuming her being--what can the attendant circumstances matter? and to-day, after all these centuries: to-day the child is the ascended and enthroned redeemer, his risen and glorified humanity, transmitting something of the divine glory, seated at the right hand of the majesty of god. and mary, the mother? can we have any other thought than that she who on the first christmas morning looks into the face of her baby, still, to-day, looks up into the face of her divine son, and the look is the same look of love? and can we think of the look that comes back to her from eyes that are human, taken from her body, though they be in very truth the eyes of god--can we think, i say, of the eyes of her child and her god bringing anything else than the message of love? can we think that when in answer to our invocation she presents our prayers in union with her own, that love will fail? but let us come back to earth--to bethlehem--on that first christmas eve and listen to the songs of the angels as they sing over the star-lit fields. how near heaven seems! how real is god! how joyful is this season of peace to men of good will! the message is of peace, but that peace will need to have its nature explained in the coming years if men's hearts are not to fail them and their faith wither away. it is not a general peace to the world that is being proclaimed. later on our lord will say: "my peace i give unto you; not as the world giveth, give i unto you." it is such a gift as can be enjoyed only by men of good will; converted men, that is to say, men whose will is close set with the will of god. for how should there be peace in any world on any other terms? how can there be peace for those who are in rebellion against god? our lord can promise peace, and can fulfil his promise because he is bringing a new potency into human life. he is a new way of approach to god, a new way into the holiest of all. through his humanity god is united to man, and through it man, any man, can be united to god. and one of the results of that union is this gift of peace, and the fact that it arises from the union explains its new character, why our lord calls it his peace. this peace is the christmas gift of the divine child to us. this is the method of god's work, from the inside out; from the spiritual fact to its external result. we do not begin by finding peace with this world: "in the world ye shall have tribulation." and most of the failure to attain peace, and much of men's loss of faith is due to repudiation of the divine method. we live in a disordered and pain-stricken world where human life is uniformly a life of trial and struggle, and our easy yielding to temptation is an attempt at some sort of an adjustment with the world such as we think will produce peace and quiet. we constantly demand of religion that it should effect this for us. so far as one can see much of the revolt against religion to-day has its ground in the failure of religion to meet the demands made upon it for a better world. men look out on a world seething with unrest and filled with injustice, and they turn upon the church and ask, "why have you not changed all this? are you not, in fact, neglecting your duty in not changing it? or if you are not neglecting your duty, you must at least confess to your impotence. your self-confessed business is to make a better world." true; but only on the conditions which love imposes. religion does not propose to improve the world by a more skilful application of the principles of worldliness. it does not propose to turn stones into bread at the demand of any devils whatsoever. it does not say, "if you will support me and give me a certain superficial honour, i will bless your efforts and increase the success of your undertakings." religion proposes to improve the world on the condition that the principles of religion shall be accepted as the working principles of life; on condition, that is, that love shall be made the ground of human association. religion can make a better world, it can make the kingdoms of god and of his christ; but it can only do so on the condition that it is whole-heartedly accepted and thoroughly applied. the proof that it can do this is in the fact that it can and does make better individuals. wherever men and women have lived by the principles of the gospel they have brought forth the fruits of the gospel. it has done this, not under some specially favourable circumstances, but it has done it under all circumstances of life and in all nations of men. what has been done in unnumbered individual cases, can be done in whole communities when the communities want it done. it is quite pointless in times of great social distress to ask passionately, "why does not god make a better world?" the only question which is at all to the point is, "why has god not made _me_ better?" the problem of god's dealing with the world is, in essence, the problem of god's dealing with me. if he has not reformed me, if i do not, in my self-examination, find that i am responding to the ideals of god, as far as i know them, there is small point in declamations about the state of society. society that is godless, is just a mass of godless individuals; and i can understand why god does not reform the world perfectly well from the study of my own case. what in me prevents the full control of god is the same that prevents that control over the whole of society: and i know that that is not lack of knowledge, but lack of love. men ignore the primary obligation of life: "thou shalt love the lord thy god ... and thy neighbour as thyself." as long as they ignore that, there can be no reformed world, no world reflecting the divine purpose, no society,--whatever may be its widely multiplied legislation,--securing to men conditions of life which are sane and satisfactory. therefore the child who is born of mary in bethlehem while the angels are singing their carols over the fields where the shepherds watch, the child who brings peace to men of good will, still, after nearly two thousand years, finds his gift ignored and his longing to lift men to god unsatisfied. "he came unto his own and his own received him not"--and the conditions are not vitally changed to-day. when we think of a world of fifteen hundred million human beings, the number of those who profess and call themselves christians is comparatively small; the number of actually practicing christians, of men and women who do live by the gospel, without reserve and without compromise, is vastly smaller. the resistance of the principles of the gospel is to-day intense; the demand for compromise is insistent. we are asked to throw over a system which has obviously failed, and to accept as the equivalent and to permit to pass under the same name a system which is fundamentally different; a system whose end is man and not god, whose means are natural and not supernatural, which seek to produce an adjustment with this world that means comfort, rather than an adjustment with the spiritual world which means sanctity. the ideal achievement of peace is here in bethlehem where the mother holds the holy child to her breast, while her spirit is utterly in union with him who is both man and god. there is never any break in the pure peace of s. mary because there is never any moment when her will is separated from the will of god, when her union with him fails. this peace of perfect union has, through the merits of her son, been hers always; she has never known the wrench of the will that separates itself from god. she has always been poor; she has been perplexed with life; she has suffered and will suffer intensely, suffer most where she loves most; but peace she has never lost, because her will has never wavered in its allegiance. what visibly she is doing in these moments of her great joy, holding god to her breast in a passion of love, she in fact is doing always--always is she one with god. that undisturbed peace of a never broken union is never possible for us. we have known what it is to reject the will of god and go our own way and indulge the appetites of our nature in violation of our recognised standards of life. if we are to come to peace it must be along the rough road of repentance. and it is wholly just that it should be so; that we should win back to god at the expense of shame and suffering; that we should retrace the road that we have travelled, with weary feet and bleeding heart. this after all does not much matter: what does matter immensely is that there is a road back to god and that we find it. what matters is that we discover that repentance and reformation are the only road to peace. we are offered many other roads alleged to lead to the same place; but not even a child should be deceived by the modern substitutes for repentance, by the shallow teaching whereby it is attempted to persuade men of the innocence of sin. they are never worth discussing, these modern substitutes for repentance. men accept them, not because they are rational or convincing, but because they offer a justification for going the way that they have already made up their minds to go. but it is plain that whatever else they do they do not afford a basis for peace. they are no rock foundation for eternity. other foundation for peace can no man lay or has laid than the acceptance of the salvation offered in jesus christ. he is our peace; and when we discover that, he makes peace in us by the application to our souls of the blood of his cross. this is the peace he came to bring. this the peace that the angels announced as they sang over bethlehem. this is the peace which is ceaselessly proclaimed from the altars of the christian church, the peace of god which passeth understanding, the peace which is offered to all men of good will. how shall we attain it? by being men of good will, plainly. but what constitutes good will in a man? that which i have already discussed, perhaps abundantly, simplicity and childlike obedience of character. s. joseph, the guardian of mary and her child here in bethlehem, is the best example we can have of a man of good will, a man who under the most difficult circumstances responded with perfect readiness and complete obedience to the heavenly message that came to him. this is to be his course through the few years that he will live, to give himself to the will of god in the care of jesus. we are men of good will if we do whatsoever our lord says to us, if we are seeking first of all the kingdom of god and its righteousness, if our estimate of values corresponds to our lord's. there is our trouble--that old trouble of feebly trying to live the life of the kingdom when what we actually want is the offer of this world. there is, there can be, no peace in a divided life. there is a certain spiritual sloth which has the exterior look of peace, as a corpse looks peaceful, but it has no relation to the peace which god gives. it is in fact the wages of sin, wages easily earned and long enjoyed. but so long as we are spiritually alive, so long we cannot enjoy whole-heartedly even the most fascinating of sins because there is lurking in the background the sense of the transitoriness of our sin and of the imminence of death and judgment. there is the skeleton in every man's closet until he finally makes choice on one side or the other. for we are not ignorant of the spiritual obligations of life. we always know more than we have achieved. when we talk about our ignorance and perplexity, we are not meaning ignorance and perplexity about the obligation to live in a certain way, and to perform certain duties, on this particular day: rather we are making this alleged ignorance of the future an excuse for not taking action in the present, action which we know to be obligatory. and peace is so wonderful a gift! to feel oneself in harmony with god, to know that one is carefully seeking his will and making it one's first and highest duty to perform it. to have found the peace of the forgiven soul as the result of absolution, at the expense of much shame and repugnance, it may be, but with what marvellous compensations when we go away with a sense of restored purity and the friendship of god--life looks so different when we look at it through purified eyes! the old life has held us so tightly, the old sins have clung so close; and then there was a day when we gave up self and turned to god and the gift of god in jesus christ; and then we saw how miserable and vile and naked we had been all through the time of our boasted freedom; and we came as children to mary's child and offered ourselves to him for cleansing. we kneel and offer to him our wills and ask that they may be made good, and kept good in union with his most holy will. then we find how true this word is: "in me ye shall have peace: in the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, i have overcome the world." it is true, is it not? not only as we commonly interpret, that the disciples of christ shall have tribulation in this world; but that much that we, giving ourselves to the world, counted joy, was in reality tribulation, and we are glad to be rid of it. a babe is born to bliss us bring. i heard a maid lulley and sing. she said: "dear son, leave thy weeping: thy, father is the king of bliss." now sing we with angelis: gloria in excelsis. "lulley," she said and sung also, "my own dear son, why are thou wo? have i not done as i should do? now sing we with angelis: gloria in excelsis. "nay, dear mother, for thee weep i nought, but for the woe that shall be wrought to me ere i mankind have bought. was never sorrow like it i-wis." now sing we with angelis: gloria in excelsis. "peace, dear son! thou grievest me sore: thou art my child, i have no more. should i see men mine own son slay? alas, my dear son, what means all this?" now sing we with angelis: gloria in excelsis. "my hands, mother, that ye now see, shall be nailed to a tree; my feet also fast shall be, men shall weep that shall see this." now sing we with angelis: gloria in excelsis. "ah, dear son, hard is my happe to see my child that lay in my lap,-- his hands, his feet that i did wrappe,-- be so nailed; they never did amisse." now sing we with angelis: gloria in excelsis. "ah, dear mother, yet shall a spear my heart asunder all but tear: no wonder if i care-ful were and wept full sore to think on this." now sing we with angelis: gloria in excelsis. part two chapter viii the magi now when jesus was born in bethlehem of judea in the days of herod the king, behold, there came magi from the east to jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born king of the jews? s. matt. ii, i. hail to thee, mary, the fair dove, which hath borne for us god the word. we give thee salutation with the angel gabriel, saying, hail, thou that art full of grace; the lord is with thee. hail to thee, o virgin, the very and true queen; hail, glory of our race. thou hast borne for us emmanuel. we pray thee, remember us, o thou our faithful advocate with our lord jesus christ, that he may forgive us our sins. coptic. out of the east, over the desert, we see coming to bethlehem the train of the star-led magi. the devout imagination of the church, dwelling upon the _significance_ rather than the bare historical statements of the gospel, have seen them as the representatives of the whole gentile world. we often think of the treatment of the sacred story by the teachers and preachers of the church as embroidering the original narratives with legendary material. we can look at it in that way; and by so doing, i think, miss the meaning of the facts. what we call ecclesiastical legend will often turn out on examination to be but the unfolding of the meaning of an event in terms of the creative imagination. the object is to present vividly what the event actually means when the meaning is of such widely reaching significance as far to overpass the simple facts. it is thus, i take it, that we must understand the story of the magi as it takes shape in pious story. that the magi were kings, and that they were three in number, emphasises the felt importance of their coming to the cradle of our lord. actually, they were understood to represent the gentile world offering its allegiance to our blessed lord, and therefore they would naturally represent the three branches of the gentile world as it was understood at the time. the importance of their mission was reflected in the presentation of them as kings--no less persons were required to fill the dignity of the part. there was, too, a whole mass of prophecy to be reckoned with and interpreted in its relation to the event, the most obvious of which was that of isaiah: "and the gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." the church story is essentially true, is but a dramatic rendering of the gospel story. we may however content ourselves with the more simple rendering. we can hardly think of the stable as the setting of the reception of the eastern sages. just when they came we cannot tell; but we seem compelled to put the epiphany where the church puts it in her year, somewhere between the nativity and the presentation, and the scene of it will still be, the gospel implies, bethlehem. "now when jesus was born in bethlehem of judea in the days of herod the king, behold, there came magi from the east to jerusalem." and at the direction of herod, and guided by the star they came to bethlehem and offered their gifts and their worship. "they saw the young child with mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." we try to get before us what would have been the mind of s. mary through all these happenings which attended the birth of her child. what is written of her here is no doubt characteristic: "mary kept all these and pondered them in her heart." wonder at the ways of god had been hers for so many months now--wonder, with devout meditation upon their meaning. where there is no resistance to god's will but only the desire to know it more fully there is always the gradual assimilation of the truth. s. mary moves in a realm of mystery from the moment of the annunciation to the very end of her life. it is so difficult to understand what is the meaning of god in this unspeakable gift of a son conceived by the power of the holy spirit, and in the constant accompaniment of pain and disaster and disappointment which is the unfolding experience of her life in relation to him. but we feel in her no speculation, no rebellion, no insistence on knowing more; but we feel that there must have been a growing appreciation of the work of god, unhesitating acceptance of his will. just to keep things in one's heart is so often the best way of arriving at an understanding of them; is the best way, at least, of arriving at the conviction that what we in fact need to understand is not so much what god does as that it is god who does it. our true aim in life is to understand god, and through that understanding we shall sufficiently understand life. failure in human life is commonly due to an attempt to understand life without any attempt to understand it in relation to god. it is like an attempt to understand a work of art without an attempt to understand the artist, to estimate in terms of mechanical effort, rather than in terms of mind. a work of art means what the artist means when he creates it: life means what god means in his creation and government of it, and it is hopeless to expect to understand it without reference to the mind of god. therefore mary's way is the right way--the way of acceptance and meditation. so she sought to follow the mind of god. we are told little of her, but we are told quite enough to understand this. we know well her method, that she kept things in her heart. and we have one splendid example of the result of the method in the magnificat. there the results of her communion with god break forth in that canticle which ever since has been one of the priceless treasures of the church. the gospels never tell us very much; but if we will follow mary's method they tell us enough to let us see the very hand of god in the working out of our salvation; they give us sample events from which we easily infer god's meaning otherwhere. and we may be sure that the months that followed the annunciation would have been months of ever-deepening spiritual communion, resulting in a rapidly advancing spiritual maturity. one necessary result would have been to prepare the blessed mother to receive new manifestations of god's providence, and to fit them into the whole body of her experience. she would not at any time be lost in helpless surprise before a new development of the purpose of god. surprised as she must have been when the eastern sages came to kneel before the child she carried at her breast, and hail him as born king of the jews, she would have set to work to fit this new experience into what her acquired knowledge of the divine meaning had become. and one can have no doubt that these visitors from afar would have told her enough of the grounds of their action to illumine for her the prophecies concerning her son. the special incidents that the gospel select for record leave us always conscious that they _are_ a selection and therefore must have special significance. that we are told that the magi offered certain gifts, rather than told the words of homage wherewith they presented them turns our attention to the nature of the gifts as presumably having a significance in themselves rather than because of any actual value. in the gifts of these gentiles come from afar to kneel before him whom they recognise as king of the jews, we are compelled to see a certain attitude of humanity toward him who is revealed to be not only the king of the jews, but lord of heaven and earth; they give what humanity needs must always give--the gold of a perfect oblation, the incense of perpetual intercession, the myrrh of a humble self-abandonment. these which are offered as the ideal tribute of humanity by the star-led magi are found in their highest human perfection exemplified in the mother of the child to whom the tribute is made. perfect are they in our lord; and she who is nearest him in nature is nearest him in the perfection of nature. we turn from god's ideal as set out in our blessed lord to see it reflected as in a glass in the life of her whose perfection is the perfect rendering of his grace. mary is so perfect because, by god's election, she is "full of grace." we, alas! limp after the ideal at a long distance. one pictures the life of sanctity under the familiar symbol of the race course, where many start in the race, and many, one by one, fall out by the wayside. those who go on the race's end, go on because of certain qualities of endurance that we discover in them. in those who run the spiritual race for the amaranthine crown these qualities of endurance are not natural, but supernatural: they come not of birth but of rebirth. they are qualities which we draw from god. "it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of god that showeth mercy." the hand that sets the race confers the gifts that enable one to win it. "so run that ye may obtain." and perhaps the chiefest of all those gifts is that which makes us, the children of god, capable of the adoration of our father. worship is no other than the utter giving of ourselves, giving as christ gave, "who being originally in the form of god, thought it not a thing to be grasped at to be equal with god, but emptied himself, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men"; giving as the blessed virgin gave when she gave, as she must have thought and have been willing to give, her whole reputation among men in response to the call of god; giving complete, in which there is no withholding. that is worship, sacrifice, the pure gold of self-oblation. but it is possible to think of the power of worship from another point of view. god never takes but he gives. what he appears to take he gives back with his blessing, and we find the restored gift multiplied manifold. so in the very act of our worship god confers on us power. for it is true, is it not, that in the very act of worship we experience, not exhaustion but exhilaration. in the very act of giving ourselves to god, god gives himself to us, and in overflowing abundance. that is what we find to be true in our highest act of worship, the blessed eucharist. here god and man meet in a perfect communion. here we offer ourselves in sacrifice--ourselves, our souls and bodies--in union with the sacrifice of our lord; and here our lord, who is the sacrifice itself, not only offers himself, but also he imparts himself to those who are united with him. and out of this sacrifice, thus issuing in an act of union, there flows the perpetual renewing of the vitality of the spiritual life. we are sustained from day to day by this sacrificial feeding; our strength which is continually being drawn upon by the demands of life, by the temptations we have to resist, by the exertion that is called for in all spiritual exercise, is renewed by our participation in the body and blood of our lord. i am sure that all those who are accustomed to frequent communion feel the drain upon their strength when at any time they are deprived of their great privilege. i am also sure that many who feel that their spiritual life is but languid, or those other many who seem only dimly to feel that there are spiritual problems to be met, and spiritual strength needed for the meeting of them, would find themselves immensely helped, would find their minds illumined and their strength sustained in more frequent participation in the sacrificial worship and feasting of the church. the attitude of vast numbers of those who are regarded as quite sincere christians is wholly incomprehensible. the life of god is day by day poured out at the altars of the church, and they go their way in seeming unconsciousness of its presence, of its appeal, of its virtue, or of their own sore need of it. the magi come from a far distance on a hazardous journey into an unknown country that they may offer the gold of their adoration to an infant king; and the christian feebly considers whether he is not too tired to get up of a morning and go a short distance to receive the body and blood of the redeemer of his soul! the magi came also bringing the incense of their intercession. their privilege was that they were admitted to the very presence chamber of the great king. that the infant in mary's arms did not show any sign of kingship, the humble room where they were received bore no resemblance to the presence chamber of such kings as they were accustomed to wait upon, was to them of no consequence. they were endowed with the gift of faith, and believed the supernatural guiding rather than the outward seeming. the faith that had followed the star from so great a distance was not likely to be quenched by the antithesis of what must have been their imagination of the reality, of all the pictures that had been filling their minds as they pushed on across the desert. it was no more incredible that the king whom they were seeking should be found in humble guise in a peasant's cottage than that they should have been guided to him by a heavenly star. the gift of god to them was that they should be permitted to enter the presence of the king. this right of admission to the divine presence is the precious gift of god to us. since the heavens received the ascending lord the kingdom of heaven has been open to all believers. prayer is a very simple and common thing in our experience; and yet when we try to think out its implications we are overwhelmed with the wonder of it. it implies a god who waits upon our pleasure: it reveals to us a father who is ever ready to listen to the voice of his children. no broken hearted sinner, overwhelmed with the conviction of his vileness, cries out in the agony of his repentance but god is ready to hear. "he is more ready to hear than we to pray." no man pours out his thanksgivings for the abundant blessings he discovers in his life but the heart of god is glad in his gladness. no child kneels at night to repeat his simple prayer but god bends over him and blesses him. the wonder of it is summed up in our lord's words: "the father himself loveth you," which are as an open door into the inner sanctuary, an invitation to enter to those who are hesitating on the threshold of the holy of holies. and there is no danger of tiring god: we come ceaselessly, endlessly. the cries of earth go up to him, pitiful, ignorant, foolish cries; but they find god ready to hear and answer, fortunately not according to our ignorance but according to his great mercy. we think of the clouds of prayer in all ages, from all nations, in all tongues, and the very vastness of them gives us an index of the divine love. and it is not simply for ourselves that we pray, nor do we pray by ourselves; it is of god's love that in the work of prayer we are associated with one another. there is nothing further from the divine plan of life than our present individualism. our temptation is to be egotistic and self-centred; to want to approach god alone with our private needs and wishes. we incline to travel the spiritual way by ourselves; we want no company; we want no one between our souls and god. but that precisely is not the divine method. we come to god through christ; we come in association with the members of the body. our standing as christians before him is dependent upon our corporate relation to one another in his son. important issues are involved. we attain through this associated life of the christian the power of mutual intercession. we find that it is our privilege to share our prayers with others, and to be interested in one another's lives. we have common interests and we work them out in common. therefore when we try to put before us an ideal picture of the power of prayer, it will not be the solitary individual offering his personal supplications to the father, but it will be the community of the faithful assembled for the offering of the divine sacrifice. it is the praying body that best satisfies our ideal of prayer, where we are conscious of helping one another in the work of intercession. we remember, too, when we think of prayer as prayer of the body of christ, that it is not just the visible congregation that is participating in it, but that all the body share in the intercessions, wherever they may individually be. our thoughts go up from the little assembly in the humble church and lose themselves in the splendour of the heavenly intercession where we are associated with prophets and apostles and martyrs, and with mary the mother of god. there was a third gift that the magi brought to him whom they hailed king, a gift that is more perplexing as a gift to royalty than the other two. that gold and incense should be offered a king is clearly his royal right; but what has he to do with the bitterness of myrrh? but to this king myrrh is a peculiarly appropriate gift, for it is the symbol of complete self-abandonment. he who came to do not his own will but the will of him that sent him; who laid aside the robes of his glory, issuing from the uncreated light that he might clothe himself with the humility of the flesh, is properly honoured with the gift of myrrh. and as it was the symbol of his humility, so is it the symbol of our humanity in relation to him. it suggests to us that uttermost of christian virtues, the virtue of entire abandonment to the will of god. this is a most difficult virtue to acquire. we cling to self. we are devoted to our own wills. we rely on our own judgment and wisdom. we are impatient of all that gets in the way of our self-determination. we have in these last days made a veritable religion out of devotion to self, a cult of the ego. but he who will enter into the sanctuary of the divine life, he who will seek union with god, he who will be one with the father in the son, must abandon self. he must lose his life in order to save it. he must let go the world to cling to the lord of life. this will of the man which is so insistent, so persistent, so assertive, so tenacious, must be laid aside and the will of another adopted in its place. often this is bitter. very true of us it is that when we were young we girded ourselves and walked whither we would; but it must be in the end, if we make life a spiritual success, that when we are old another shall gird us and carry us whither we would not. the secret of life is found when the bitterness of myrrh is turned to sweetness in the discovery that the outcome of the sacrificial life is not that it be narrowed but enlarged; and that for the life which we have entrusted to him god will do more than we ask or think. when our will becomes one with the will of god we are surprised to find that we have ceased to think of what we once called our sacrifices, because life in christ reveals itself to us as of infinite joy and richness, so that we forget the things that are behind and gladly press on. queen of heaven, blessed may thou be for godes son born he was of thee, for to make us free. gloria tibi, domine. jesu, godes son, born he was in a crib with hay and grass, and died for us upon the cross. gloria tibi, dominie. to our lady make we our moan, that she may pray to her dear son, that we may to his bliss come. gloria tibi, dominie. sixteenth century. part two chapter ix the presentation and when the days of her purification according to the law of moses were accomplished, they brought him to jerusalem, to present him to the lord. s. luke ii. . o come let us worship the holy trinity, the father, the son, and the holy ghost,--we the christian nations, for he is our true god. and we hope in holy mary, that god will have mercy upon us through her prayers. hail to thee, mary, the fair dove, who hath borne for us god the word. coptic the reading of a story in the gospels is often like looking through a window down some long arcade; there is in the foreground the group of actors in whom we are presently interested, and beyond them is the whole background of contemporary life to which they belong, of which they are a part. if we have time to think out the meaning of this surrounding life we gain added insight into the meaning of our principal characters. it is so now as we watch this group of humble peasant folk coming up to the temple to fulfil the demands of the law of moses. in the precincts of the temple they are merged in a larger group whose interests are clearly identical with their own, and whom we easily see to be the local representatives of a party--the name, no doubt, suggests an organisation which they had not--scattered throughout judea. their interest was the redemption of israel. they were the true heirs of the prophets, and among them the prophecies which concerned the lord's christ were the subject of constant study and meditation. amid the movements and intrigues of political and religious parties, they abode quietly in the temple, as simeon and anna, or in their homes, as zacharias and elizabeth, _waiting_. their power was the silent power of sanctity, the power that flows from lives steeped in meditation and prayer. they constitute that remnant which is the depository of the hopes of israel and the saving salt which prevents the utter putrefaction of the body of the nation. we cannot for a moment doubt that mary and joseph were of this remnant, and that they were in complete sympathy with those whom they found here in the temple when the child jesus was brought in "to do for him after the custom of the law." the actual ceremony of the purification was soon over, the demands of the law satisfied. neither jesus nor mary had any inner need of these observances; their value in their case was that by submission to them they associated themselves closely with their brethren, our lord thus continuing that divine self-emptying which he had begun at the incarnation. we are impressed with the completeness of this stooping of god when we see the offering that mary brings, "a pair of turtle doves," the offering of the very poor. our lord has accepted life on its lowest economic terms in order that nothing in his mission shall flow from adventitious aids. he must owe all in the accomplishment of his work to the father who gave it him to do. it will be the essence of the temptation that he must soon undergo that he shall consent to call to his aid earthly and material supports and base his hopes of success on something other than god. accidentally, there is this further demonstration contained in the poverty of the holy family, that, namely, the completest spiritual privilege, the fullest spiritual development, is independent of "possessions." it is no doubt true that "great possessions" do not of necessity create a bar in all cases to spiritual accomplishment; but to many of us it is a consolation to know that the completest sanctity humanity has known has been wrought out in utter poverty of life. we shall have occasion to speak more of this later; we now only note the fact that those whom we meet in the pages of the new testament as waiting hopefully for the redemption of israel are waiting in poverty and hard work. what we find in s. mary as she passes through the ceremony of her purification from a child-bearing which had in no circumstance of it anything impure, is the spirit of sacrifice which submission to the law implies. she has caught the spirit of her son, the spirit of selfless offering to the will of god. it is the central accomplishment of the life of sanctity. the life of sanctity must be wrought out from the centre, from our contact with god. no one becomes holy by works, whatever may be the nature of the works. works, the external life, are the expression of what we are, they are the externalization of our character. if they be not the expression of a life hid with christ in god they can have no spiritual value, whatever may be their social value. the kind of works which "are done to be seen of men" "have their reward," that is, the sort of reward they seek, human approval; they have no value in the realm of the spirit. but the life that is lived as sacrifice, as a thing perfectly offered to god, is a life growing up in god day by day. it is our lord's life, summed up from this point of view in the "i come to do thy will, o god." its most perfect reflection is caught by blessed mary with her acceptance of god's will: "behold, the handmaid of the lord." but it is the life expression of all sanctity; for the saint is such chiefly by virtue of his sacrificial attitude. it is the completest account of the life of sanctity that it "leaves all" to follow a divine call. it is the response of the apostles who, as james and john, leave their father zebedee and the boats and the nets and the hired servants, to follow jesus. it is the answer of matthew who rises from the receipt of custom at the master's word. it is the answer of all saints in all times. sanctity means the abandonment of all for christ: it means the embracing of the poverty of jesus and mary. is sanctity then, or the possibility of it, shut within the narrow limits of a poor life? well, even if it were, the limits would not be so very narrow. by far the greater part of the human race at any time has been poor, as poor as the holy family. unfortunately, christianity is forgetting its vocation of poverty and becoming a matter of well-to-do-ness. but we need not forget that the poor are the majority. however, the fact is not that economical poverty is automatically productive of spirituality, but that accepted and offered poverty is the road to the heart of god. it is not denied that the rich man may consecrate and offer his goods to god and make them instruments of god's service; but in the process he runs great risk of deceiving himself and of attempting to deceive god--the risk of quietly substituting for the spirit of sacrifice the spirit of commercial bargaining, and attempting to buy the favour of god, and of ransoming his great possessions by a well-calculated tribute. it is not so much our possessions as the way we hold them that is in question; it is a question whether the inner motive of our life is the will to sacrifice or the will to be rich. "they that desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition," these dangers s. paul noted as the besetting dangers of riches are counteracted by the possession of the spirit of sacrifice which holds all things at the disposal of god, and views life as opportunity for the service of god. and in so estimating life, we must remember that money is not the only thing that human beings possess. as i pointed out the vast majority of the human race have no money: it by no means follows that they have no capacity or field for the exercise of the spirit of sacrifice. there is, for instance, an abundant opportunity for the exercise of that spirit in the glad acceptance of the narrow lot that may be ours. probably many, indeed most, poor are only economically poor; they fall under s. paul's criticism in that "they desire to be rich," and are therefore devoid of the spirit of sacrifice that would transform their actual poverty into a spiritual value. but all the powers and energies of life do in fact constitute life's capital. a poor boy has great possessions in the gifts of nature that god has granted him. he may use this capital as he will. he may be governed by "the desire to be rich," or by the desire to consecrate himself to the will and service of god--and the working out of life will be accordingly. he may become very rich economically, or he may devote his life to the service of his fellows as physician, teacher, missionary, or in numberless other paths. once more, the meaning of life is in its voluntary direction, and whatever may be his economic state, he may, if he will, be "rich toward god." if what we are seeking is to follow the gospel-life, if we are seeking to express toward man the spirit of the master, we find abundant field for the exercise of this spirit of sacrifice in our daily relations with others. s. paul's rule of life: "look not every man to his own things, but every man also to the things of others," is the practical rule of the sacrificed will. it seeks to fulfil the service of the master by taking the spirit of the master--his helpfulness, his consideration, his sympathy--with one into the detail of the day's work. it is one of the peculiarities of human nature that it finds it quite possible to work itself up to an occasional accomplishment, especially in a spectacular setting, of spiritual works, which it finds itself quite impotent to do under the commonplace routine of life. the race experience is accurately enough summed up in the cynical proverb: "no man is a hero to his valet." it expresses the fact that in ordinary circumstances, and under commonplace temptations, we do not succeed in holding life to the accomplishment which is ours when we are, as it were, on dress parade. in other words, we respond to the opinions we desire to create in others; and the spirit of sanctity is a response not to public opinion, but to the mind and thought of god. when we seek the mind of christ, and seek to reproduce that mind in our own lives, seek to be possessed by it, then we shall gladly render back to god all life's riches which we have received from him, and acknowledge in the true spirit of poverty that "all things come of thee, o lord, and of thine own have we given thee." the world has got into a very ill way of thinking of god as _force_. force seems in the popular mind to be the synonym of _power_. the only power that we understand is the power that _compels_, that secures the execution of its will by physical or moral constraint. with this conception of power in mind men are continually asking: "why does not god do this or that? if he be god and wills goodness, why does he not execute goodness, use power to accomplish it?" it ought to be unnecessary to point out that such a conception of power is quite foreign to the christian conception of god. goodness that is compulsory is not goodness. human legislation, in its enforcement of law, looks not to the production of goodness but to the production of order, a quite different thing. but god's heart is set upon the sanctification of his children and is satisfied with nothing less than that. "this is the will of god, even your sanctification." but sanctification cannot be compelled. the divine method is, that "when the fulness of time was come, god sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. and because ye are sons, god sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts, crying, abba, father." through this method we "were reconciled to god by the death of his son." the result is not that we are compelled to obey, but that "the love of christ constraineth us." the account of the apostolic authority is not that it is a commission to rule the universal church, but "now then we are ambassadors for christ, as though god did beseech you by us; we pray you in christ's stead, be ye reconciled to god." the study of this divine method should put us on the right track in the attempt to estimate the nature of sanctity and the results we may expect from it. we shall expect nothing of spiritual value from force. we shall be quite prepared to turn away from the governing parties in jerusalem as from those who have repudiated the divine method and are therefore useless for the divine ends. we shall turn rather to those who gather about the temple and there, in a life of prayer and meditation, wait for the redemption. it is to these, who are the real temple of the lord, that the lord "shall come suddenly," that the manifestation of god will be made. and their hearts will overflow with joy as they behold the fulfilment of the promises of god. the power of god is the power of love; and it is that love, and that love alone, that has won the victories of god. it is a very slow method, men say. no doubt. but it is the only method that has any success. the method of force seems effective; but its triumphs are illusory. force cannot make men love, it can only make them hate. the world is being won to god by the love of god manifested in christ jesus our lord. and it is as well to remember, when we are tempted to complain of the slowness of the process, that the slowness is ours, not god's. the process is slow because men will not consent to become the instruments of god's love for the world, will not transmit the crucified love of god's son to their fellows. they continually, in their impatience, revert to force of some sort, for the attainment of spiritual ends. they become the tools of all sorts of secular ambitions which promise support in return for their co-operation. and the result may be read by any one not blinded by prejudice in the futility and incompetence of modern religions of all sorts. it is seen perhaps most of all in the pride of opinion which keeps the christian world in a fragmentary condition, and which approaches the undoing of the sin of a divided christendom with the preliminary announcement that no separated body must be required to admit that it has been in the wrong. human disregard of the divine method of love and humility can hardly go farther; and the only practical result that can be expected to follow is such as followed from the negotiations of herod and pontius pilate--a new crucifixion of the ever-sacrificed christ. we have risen to the divine method when we have learned to rely for spiritual results upon god alone. then is revealed to us the power of sanctity. we turn over the pages of the lives of the saints, of those who have been great in the kingdom of god, and we are struck by the growing influence of these men and women. they are simple men and women whose life's energy is concentrated on some special work; they are confessors or directors; they work among the very poor; they lead lives of retirement in religious houses; they are preachers of the gospel; they are missionaries. the one thing that they appear to have in common is utter consecration to the work in hand. and we see, it may be with some wonder, that as they become more and more absorbed in their special work, they become more and more centres of influence. without at all willing it they draw people about them, become centres of influences, arouse interest, become widely known. in short, they are, without willing it, centres of energy. of what energy? obviously, of the energy of love: the love of god manifested in them draws men to god. the man at whose disposal is unlimited force compels men to do his will; but he draws no one to him except the hypocrite and the sycophant who expect to gain something by their servility. the saint draws men, not to himself, but to god; for obviously it is not his power but god's power that is being manifested through him. unless we are very unfortunate we all know people whose attractiveness is the attractiveness of simple goodness. they are not learned nor influential nor witty nor clever, but we like to be with them. when we are asked why, we can only explain it by the attractiveness of their christlikeness. what we gain from intercourse with them is spiritual insight and power. their influence might be described as sacramental: they are means our blessed lord uses to impart himself. they are so filled with the mind of christ that they easily show him to the world; and withal, quite unconsciously. for great love is possible only where there is great humility. and this power of sanctity which is the outcome of union with god is a permanent acquisition to the kingdom of god. god's kingdom is ultimately a kingdom of saints. the sphere of god's self-manifestation in human life increases ever as the saints increase; and the power of sanctity necessarily remains while the saint remains, that is, forever. the saint remains a permanent organ of the body of christ, a perdurable instrument of the divine love. to speak humanly, the more saints there are, the more the love of god can manifest itself; the wider its influence on humanity. and the greater the saint, that is, the nearer the saint approaches the perfection of god, to which he is called--be ye therefore perfect, as your father in heaven is perfect--the more influential he must be; that is the more perfectly he will show the divine likeness and transmit the divine influence. when we think of the power of the saints as intercessors that is what actually we are thinking of,--the perfection of their understanding of the mind of christ. but to return to this world and to the gathering in the temple on the day of the purification. these are they in whom the hope of israel rests. israel is not a failure because it has brought forth these. god's work through the centuries has not come to naught because in these there is the possibility of a new beginning. the consummate flower of israel's life is the blessed mother through whom god becomes man; and these who meet her in the temple are the representatives of those hidden ones in israel who will be the field wherein the seed of the word can be sown and where it will bring forth fruit an hundredfold. jesus, this child, is god made man; and these around him to-day, mary and joseph, simeon and anna, are those who will receive his love and will show its power in the universe forever. and so it will remain always; the good ground wherein the seed may be sown and bring forth unto eternal life is the spiritual nature of man, made ready by humility and love,--"in quietness and confidence shall be your strength." in the quietness that waits for god to act, the confidence that knows that he will act when the time comes. it is well if our aspiration is to be of the number of those who live lives hid with christ in god; who are seeking nothing but that the love of god may be shed abroad in their hearts; who are "constrained" by nothing but the love of jesus. it is true that this simplicity of motive and aim will bring it about that our lives will be hidden lives, lives of which the world will take no note. we may be quite sure that none of the rulers of israel thought much about old simeon who passed his time praying in the temple. and if we want to be known of rulers it is doubtless a mistake to take the road that simeon followed. but the reward of that way was that he saw "the lord's christ," that it was permitted him to take in his arms incarnate god, and then, in his rapture, to sing _nunc dimittis_. we cannot travel two roads at once. when the holy family goes out from the temple it can go, if it will, to the palace of herod, or it can go back to bethlehem. it cannot go both ways and we know the way that it took. and we in our self-examination to-night can see two roads stretching out before us. we can go the way of the world, the way that seeks (whether it finds or no) popularity and prominence, or we can join the holy family and in company with jesus and mary and joseph go back to the quietness and hiddenness of the house of bread where the saints dwell. with them, sheltered by the sacrifice of jesus and the prayers of mary and joseph we can wait for the redemption in the full manifestation of the life of god in us, and for the time when the love of god shall be fully "shed abroad in our hearts by the holy ghost which is given us." o sion, ope thy temple-gates; see, christ, the priest and victim, waits-- let lifeless shadows flee: no more to heaven shall vainly rise the ancient rites--a sacrifice all pure and perfect, see. behold, the maiden knowing well the hidden godhead that doth dwell in him her infant son: and with her infant, see her bring the doves, the humble offering for christ, the holy one. here, all who for his coming sighed behold him, and are satisfied-- their faith the prize hath won: while mary, in her breast conceals the holy joys her lord reveals, and ponders them alone. come, let us tune our hearts to sing the glory of our god and king, the blessed one and three: be everlasting praise and love to him who reigns in heaven above, through all eternity. part two chapter x egypt the angel of the lord appeareth to joseph in a dream, saying, arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into egypt. s. matt. ii, . deliver us, we beseech thee, o lord, from all evils past, present, and to come: and at the intercession for us of blessed mary who brought forth god and our lord, jesus christ; and of the holy apostles peter, and paul, and andrew; and of blessed ambrose thy confessor, and bishop, together with all thy saints, favorably give peace in our days, that, assisted by the help of thy mercy, we may ever be both delivered from sin, and safe from all turmoil. fulfil this, by him, with whom thou livest blessed, and reignest god, in the unity of the holy spirit, for ever and ever. ambrosian. those who live in intimate union with god, the peace of whose lives is untroubled by the constant irruption of sin, are peculiarly sensitive to that mode of the divine action that we call supernatural. i suppose that it is not that god wishes to reveal himself to souls only at crises of their experience or under exceptional conditions, but that only souls of an exceptional spiritual sensitivity are capable of this sort of approach. communications of the divine will through dream or vision of inner voice are the accompaniment of sanctity; one may almost say that they are the normal means in the case of advanced sanctity. most of us are too much immersed in the world, are too much the slaves of material things, to be open to this still, small voice of revelation. our eyes are dimned by the garish light of the world, and our ears dulled by its clamour, so that our powers of spiritual perception are of the slightest. this is quite intelligible; and we ought not to fall into the mistake of assuming that our undeveloped spirituality is normal, and that what does not happen to us is inconceivable as having happened at all. if we want to know the truth about spiritual phenomena we shall put ourselves to school to those whose spiritual natures have attained the highest development and in whose experience spiritual phenomena are of almost daily happening. to the man "whose talk is of oxen," whose whole life is absorbed in the study of material things, a purely spiritual manifestation comes as a surprise. his instinctive impulse is to deny its reality as a thing obviously impertinent to his understanding of life. but one whose life is based on spiritual postulates, who is, however feebly, attempting to shape life in accordance with spiritual principles, though he may never have attained anything that can be interpreted as a distinct revelation from god by vision or voice or otherwise, yet must he by the very basic assumptions of his life be ready to regard such manifestations of god as intelligible, and indeed to be expected. so far from regarding divine interventions in life as impossible, we shall regard the christian life which has no experience of them as abnormal, as not having realised its inheritance. the degree and kind of such intervention in life will vary; but it is the fact of the intervention that is important: the mode in a special case will be determined by the needs of that case. as we think along these lines we reach the conclusion that what we call the supernatural is not the unnatural or the abnormal, but is a higher mode of the natural. we are not surprised therefore to find that those whose spiritual development was such as to make it possible for god to choose them to fulfil special offices in relation to the incarnation; who could be chosen to be, in the one case, the mother of god-incarnate, and in the other, to be the guardian of the divine child and his blessed mother, have the divine will in regard to the details of the trust committed to them, imparted to them in vision and in dream. so far from such vision and dream suggesting to us "a mythical element" in the gospel narratives, they rather confirm our faith in that they harmonize with our instinctive conclusions as to what would be natural under the circumstances. we are prepared to be told that at this crisis in the holy child's life "the angel of the lord appeareth to joseph in a dream, saying, arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into egypt, and be thou there until i bring thee word; for herod will seek the young child to destroy him. when he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into egypt." thus early in our lord's life is the element of tragedy introduced. the incarnation of god stirs the diabolic powers, the rulers of "this darkness" to excited activity. the companion picture of the nativity, of the holy child lying in mary's arms, of the wondering shepherds, of the magi from a far country,--the shadow of all this idyllic beauty is the massacre of the innocents, the wailing of rachel for her children. it is, as it were, the opening of a new stage in the world-old conflict where the powers of evil appear to have the advantage and can show the bodies of murdered infants as the trophies of their victory. but are we to think of the death of a child as a disaster? has any actual victory redounded to the prince of power of the air? one understands of course the grief and sense of loss that attends the death of any child, the breaking of the dreams which had gathered about its future. what the father and the mother dreamed over the cradle and planned for the future does not come to pass--all that is true. but in a consideration of the broader interests involved, does not the death of a baby have a meaning far deeper than a disappointment of hopes and dreams? it is true, is it not? that the coming of the child brought enrichment into the life of its parents? there was a new love born for this one child which is not the common property of all the children of the family, but is the peculiar possession of this child and its parents. life--the life of the parents--is better and nobler by virtue of this love. they understand this, because when they stand by the side of the child's coffin they never feel that it had been better that this child had not come into existence. and more than that: as they commit this fragile body to the grave they know that there is no real sense in which they can say that they have lost this child. rather, the child is a perpetual treasure, for the moment contemplated through tears, but presently to be thought of with unclouded joy. it is so wonderful a thing to think of this pure soul caught back to god; to think of it growing to spiritual maturity in god's very presence; to think of it following the lamb withersoever he goeth. yes: to think of it also as our child still, with our love in its heart, knowing that it has a father and a mother on earth, and, that, just because of its early death, it can be to them, what otherwise they would have been to it--the guard and helper of their jives. in god's presence are the souls of children as perpetual intercessors for those whom they have left on earth; and they may well rejoice before god in that what appeared the tragedy of their death was in fact a recall from the field of battle before the testing of their life was made. we wept as over an irreparable loss, while into nothingness crept back a host of shadows unexplored, of sins unsinned. the artists have imagined the souls of those who first died for jesus attending him on the way to egypt as a celestial guard. in any case we are certain that the angels who watched about him so closely all his life were with the holy family as they set out upon the way of exile. it would have been a wearisome march but that jesus was there. his presence lightened all the toils of the desert way. egypt, their place of refuge, would not have seemed to them what it seems to us, a land of wonder, of marvellous creations of human skill and intelligence, but a place of banishment from all that was dear, from the ties of home and religion. the religion which lay wrapped in the holy child was to break down barriers and hindrances to the worship of god; but the time was not yet. for them still the holy land, jerusalem, the temple, were the place of god's manifestation, and all else the dwelling place of idols. they must have shuddered in abhorrence at those strange forms of gods which rose about them on every hand. we cannot ourselves fail to draw the contrast between the statues which filled the egyptian sanctuaries and before which all egypt, rich and poor, mighty and humble, prostrated themselves, and this child sleeping on mary's breast. the imagination of the christian community later caught this contrast and embodied it in the legend that when jesus crossed the border of egypt, all the idols of the land of egypt fell down. we cannot follow the thought of the blessed mother through these strange scenes and the experiences of these days. no doubt in the jewish communities already flourishing in egypt there would be welcome and the means of livelihood. but there would be perplexing questions to one whose habit it was to keep all things which concerned her strange child hidden in her heart, the subject of constant meditation. why, after the divine action which had been so constant from his conception to his birth, and in the circumstances which attended his birth, this reversal, this defeat and flight? why after bethlehem, egypt? why after gabriel, herod? it brings us back again to the primary fact that the incarnation is essentially a stage in a battle, and that the nature of god's battles is such that he constantly appears to lose them. he "goes forth as a giant to run his course"; but the eyes of man cannot see the giant--they see only a babe laid in a manger. we are tricked by our notion of what is powerful. "they all were looking for a king to slay their foes and lift them high; thou cam'st, a little baby thing that made a woman cry." the battle presents itself to us as a demand that we choose, that we take sides. the demand of christ is that we associate ourselves with him, or that we define our position as on the other side. "the friendship of the world is enmity with god" is a saying that is true when reversed: the friendship of god is enmity with the world. an open disclosure of the friendship of god sets all the powers of the world against us. this may be uncomfortable; but there does not appear to be any way of avoiding the opposition. our lord, in his incarnation, not only stripped himself of his glory, took the servant form, and in doing so deliberately deprived himself of certain means which would have been vastly influential in dealing with men, but he also declined, in assuming human nature, to assume it under conditions which would have conferred upon him any adventitious advantage in the prosecution of his work. he would display to men neither divine nor human glory: he would have no aid from power or position, from wealth or learning. he undertook his work in the strength of a pure humanity united with god. he declined all else. and he found that almost the first event of his life was to be driven into exile. and they who are associated with him necessarily share his fortunes. unless they will abandon the child, mary and joseph must set out on the desert way. they had no doubt much to learn; but what is important is not the size or amount of what we learn, but the learning of it. when we are called, as they were, to leave all for christ, it often turns out as hard, oftentimes harder, to leave property as riches; and the reason is that what we ultimately are leaving is neither poverty nor riches, but self: and self to us is always a "great possession." therein, i suppose, lies the solution of the problem of the relation of property and christianity in the common life. idleness is sin; every one is bound to some useful labour, no matter what his material resources may be. and if we work for our living, if our labour is to be such as will support us, then there at once arises the problem of possessions. useful, steady labour will ordinarily produce more than "food and raiment." under present social arrangments accumulated property is handed on to heirs. a man naturally wants to make some provision for his family. or he finds himself in possession of considerable wealth and the impulse is to spend in luxuries of one sort or another,--modern invention has put endless means of ministering to physical or aesthetic comfort within his reach. he can have a motor car, a country house, an expensive library; he can have beautiful works of art. and then he is confronted with the picture of the holy family which can never have lived much beyond the poverty line. he realises the nature of our lord's life of poverty and ministry. and though the plain man may not feel that he can go very far in imitating this life, he does feel that there is a splendour of achievement in those who take our lord at his word and sell all to follow him. but the literal abandonment of life to the ideal of poverty is clearly not what our lord contemplated for the universal practice of his followers. he nowhere indicates that all gainful labour is to be abandoned, or that having gained enough for food and raiment we are to idle thereafter, or even give ourselves to some ungainful work. the kingdom of heaven does not appear to be society organised on the lines of socialism or otherwise. our lord contemplated life going on as it is, only governed by a new set of motives. it has as the result of the acceptance of the gospel a new orientation; and as a result of that it will view "possessions" in a new way. the acceptance of the gospel means the self surrendered utterly to the will of god, and all that self possesses held at the disposal of that will. we may expect that god's will for us will be manifested in the events of life and its opportunities, and we shall hold ourselves alert and ready to embrace that will. it may be that the call will come to sell all, and we need to beware lest the thoroughness of the demand terrify us into the repudiation of our lord's service; lest the thought of the sacrificed possessions send us away sorrowing. ordinarily the call is less searching than that; or perhaps the mercy of god spares us from demands that would be beyond our strength. in any case, the truly consecrated self will regard luxury as a dangerous thing, replete with entanglements of all kinds, that it were well to avoid at the expense of any sacrifice. one does well to hold "possessions" in a very loose grip, lest the hold be reversed, and we become their servants rather than they ours. and it is well to emphasise again that the mere size of possessions is of small importance. there is a not very rational tendency to think of this as being a matter of millions, for the man of moderate income to think that there is no problem for him. the problem is as pressing for him as for any man. his minimum of comfort may be as tightly grasped as the other man's maximum. the only solution of the problem will be found in the converted self. those who have really given themselves to god hold all things at his disposal. they are not thinking how they can indulge self but how they can glorify god. egypt to many will stand for another sort of abandonment which much perplexes the immature christian: that is, the sort of isolation in which the new christian is quite likely to find himself when first he attempts to put christian principles into practice. we imagine one brought up in the ordinary mixed circles of society, where there are unbelievers and lax christians mingled together, and where there are no principles firmly enough held to interfere with any sort of enjoyment of life which offers. such an one--a young woman, let us suppose--in the providence of god becomes converted to our lord, and comes to see that the lax and indifferent christian life she had been leading was a mere mockery of christian living. speedily does she find when she attempts to put into action the principles of living which she now understands to be the meaning of the gospel that a breach of sympathy has been opened between her and her accustomed companions; that many things which she was accustomed to do in their society and which made for their common fund of amusement are no longer possible to her. the careless talk, the shameless dress, the gambling, the drinking, the sunday amusements--such things as these she has thrown over; and she finds that with them she has thrown over the basis of intimacy with her usual companions. it is not that they are antagonistic but simply that their points of contact have ceased to exist. her own inhibitions exclude her automatically from most of the activities of her social circle. she finds herself much alone. her friends are sorry for her and think her foolish and try to win her back, but it is clear to her that she can only go back by going back from christ. this is the common case of the young whether boy or girl to-day, and the practical question is, can they endure the isolation? it is easy to say: let them make christian friends; but that is not always practical, especially in the present state of the church when there is no cohesion among its members, no true sense of constituting a brotherhood, of being members of the same body. we have to admit that the attempt to hold a high standard usually ends in failure, at least the practical failure of a weak compromise. but there are characters that are strong enough to face the isolation and to readjust life on the basis of the new principles and to mould it in accord with the new ideals. the period of this readjustment is one of severe testing of one's grasp on principles and one's strength of purpose. but the battle once fought out we attain a new kind of freedom and expansion of life. we look back with some amusement at the old life and the things that fascinated us in the days of our spiritual unconsciousness much as we look back at the games that amused us in our childish hours. the desert of egypt that we entered with trepidation and fearful hearts turns out not to be so dreadful as we imagined, and indeed the flowers spring up under our feet as we resolutely tread the desert way. these trials must be the daily experience of those who attempt to put their religion into practice, and these perplexities must assail them so long as the christian community continues to show its present social incompetence; so long, that is, as we attempt to make the basis of our social action something other than the principles of the spiritual life. a christian society, one would naturally think, would spring out of the possession of christian ideals; and doubtless it would if these ideals were really dominant in life, and not a sort of ornament applied to it. any social circle contains men and women of various degrees of intellectual development and of varying degrees of experience of life; what holds them together is the pursuit of common objects, the objects that we sum up as amusement. now the christians in a community certainly have a common object, the cultivation of the spiritual life through the supernatural means offered by the church of god. one would think that this object would have a more constraining power than the attractions of motoring or golf; but in fact we know that this is not so save in individual cases. there is not, that is to say, anywhere visible a christian community which is wrought into a unity by the solidifying forces of its professed ideals. those very people whose paths converge week by week until they meet at this altar, as they leave the altar, follow diverging paths and live in isolation for the rest of their time. one of the constant problems of the church is that of the loss of those who have for a time been associated with it--of those who have for a time seemed to recognise their duty to god, and their privileges as members of his son. they drift away into the world. we pray and meditate and worry over this and try to invent some machinery which will overcome it. but it cannot be overcome by machinery, especially by the sort of machinery which consists in transferring the amusements that people find in the world bodily into the church itself. it cannot and will not be overcome until a christian society has been created which is bound together by the interests of the kingdom of god, and in which those interests are so predominant as to throw into the shade and practically annihilate other interests. and especially must such spiritual interests be strong enough to break down all social barriers so that the cultured and refined can find a common ground with the uneducated and socially untrained in the spiritual privileges that they share in common. when the banker can talk with his chauffeur of their common experience in prayer, and the banker's wife and her cook can confer on their mutual difficulties in making a meditation, then we shall have got within sight of a christian society; but at present, while these have no spiritual contact, it is not within sight. the primitive christian community in jerusalem made the attempt at having all things in common. their mistake seems to have been that they, like other and more modern people, by "all things" understood money. you cannot build any society which is worth the name on money, a church least of all. it is unimportant whether a man is rich or poor; what is important is his spiritual accomplishment: and it is common spiritual aims and accomplishments which should make up the "all things" which possessed in common will form the basis of an enduring unity. but not until accomplishment becomes the supreme interest of life can we expect to get out of the impasse in which we at present find ourselves; in which, that is, the person can be converted to christianity and enter into union with god in christ and become a citizen of the kingdom of heaven, and wake to find himself isolated from his old circle by his profession of new principles; but not, by his new principles, truly united to his fellow citizens in the kingdom of god! one is tempted to write, what a comedy; but before one can do so, realises that it is in fact a tragedy! mother of god--oh, rare prerogative; oh, glorious title--what more special grace could unto thee thy dear son, dread god, give to show how far thou dost all creatures pass? that mighty power within the narrow fold did of thy ne'er polluted womb remain, whom, whiles he doth th' all-ruling sceptre hold, not earth, nor yet the heavens can contain; thou in the springtide of thy age brought'st forth him who before all matter, time and place, begotten of th' eternal father was. oh, be thou then, while we admire thy worth a means unto that son not to proceed in rigour with us for each sinful deed. john brereley, priest (vere lawrence anderton, s.j.) - part two chapter xi nazareth and he went down with them, and came to nazareth, and was subject unto them. s. luke ii, . the holy church acknowledges and confesses the pure virgin mary as mother of god through whom has been given unto us the bread of immortality and the wine of consolation. give blessings then in spiritual song. armenian. after the rapid succession of fascinating pictures which are etched for us in the opening chapters of the gospel there follows a space of about twelve years of which we are told nothing. the fables which fill the pages of the apocryphal gospels serve chiefly to emphasise the difference between an inspired and an uninspired narrative. the human imagination trying to develop the situation suggested by the gospel and to fill in the unwritten chapters of our lord's life betrays its incompetence to create a story of god incarnate which shall have the slightest convincing power. these apocryphal stories are immensely valuable to us as, by contrast, creating confidence in the story of jesus as told by the evangelists, but for nothing more. we are left to use our own imagination in filling in these years of silence in our lord's training; and we shall best use it, not by trying to imagine what may have occurred, but by trying to understand what is necessarily involved in the facts as we know them. we know that the home in nazareth whither mary and joseph brought jesus after the death of herod permitted them to return from egypt was the simple home of a carpenter. it would appear to have been shared by the children of joseph, and our lady would have been the house-mother, busy with many cares. we know, too, that under this commonplace exterior of a poor household there was a life of the spirit of far reaching significance. mary was ceaselessly pondering many things--the significance of all those happenings which, as the years flowed on without any further supernatural intervention, must at times have seemed as though they were quite purposeless. of course this could not have been a settled feeling, for the insight of her pure soul would have held her to the certainty that such actions of god as she had experienced would some day reveal the meaning which as yet lay hidden. in the meantime other things did not matter much, seeing she had jesus, the object of endless love. every mother dreams over the baby she cares for and looks out into the future with trembling hope; so s. mary's thoughts would go out following the hints of prophecy and angelic utterances, unable to understand how the light and shadow which were mingled there could find fulfilment in her child. but like any other mother the thought would come back to her present possession, the satisfaction of her heart that she had in jesus. with the growth of jesus there would come the unfolding of the answering love, which was but another mode in which the love of god she had experienced all her life was manifesting itself. jesus grew in wisdom and stature and we are able to enter a little into the over-flowing love of mary as she watched the advance, this unfolding from day to day. the wonder that was hers in guiding this mind and will, in teaching our lord his first prayers, in telling him the story of the people of whom he had assumed our nature! there was here no self-will, no resistance to guidance, no perversity to wound a mother's heart. in the training of an ordinary child there are from time to time hints of characteristics or tendencies which may develop later into spiritual or moral disaster. there are growls of the sleeping beast which make us tremble for the future: there are hours of agony when we think of the inevitable temptations which must be met, and suggestions of weakness which colour our imagination of the meeting of them with the lurid light of defeat. but as mary watched the unfolding character of jesus she saw nothing there that carried with it the least suggestion of evil growth in the future, no outcropping of hereditary sin or disordered appetite. a constantly unfolding intelligence, and growing interest in the things that most interested her, an eagerness to hear and to know of the will and love of the eternal father, these are her joy. that would have been the centre--would it not?--of the unfolding consciousness of jesus: the knowledge of the father. training by love, so we might describe the life in the home at nazareth. and we must not forget the grave ageing figure who is the head of the household. _the holy family_--that was the perfect unity that their love created. there is a wonderful picture of these three by sassaferato which catches, as no other holy family that i know of does, the meaning of their association. s. mary whom the artistic imagination is so apt, after the nativity, to transform into a stately matron, here still retains the note of virginity which in fact she never lost. it is the maiden-mother who stands by the side of the grave, elderly s. joseph, the ideal workman, who is also the ideal guardian of his maiden-wife. and jesus binds these two together and with them makes a unity, interpreting to us the perfection of family life. family life is a tremendous test, it brings out the best and the worst of those who are associated in it. the ordinary restraints of social intercourse are of less force in the intimacy of family life: there is less need felt to watch conduct, or to mask what we know are our disagreeable traits. it is quite easy for character to deteriorate in the freedom of such intercourse. it is pretty sure to do so unless there is the constant pressure of principle in the other direction. the great safeguard is the sort of love that is based on mutual respect,--respect both for ourselves and for others. we talk a good deal as though love were always alike; as though the fact that a man and a woman love each other were always the same sort of fact. it does not require much knowledge of human nature or much reflection to convince us that that is not the case. love is not a purely physical fact; and outside its physical implications there are many factors which may enter, whose existence constitute the _differentia_ from case to case. it is upon these varying elements that the happiness of the family life depends. one of the most important is that character on either side shall be such as to inspire respect. many a marriage goes to pieces on this rock; it is found that the person who exercised a certain kind of fascination shows in the intimacy of married life a character and qualities which are repulsive; a shallowness which inspires contempt, an egotism which is intolerable, a laxity in the treatment of obligations which destroys any sense of the stability of life. a marriage which does not grow into a relation of mutual honour and respect must always be in a state of unstable equilibrium, constantly subject to storms of passion, to suspicion and distrust. and therefore such a marriage will afford no safe basis on which to build a family life. but without a stable family life a stable social and religious life is impossible. it is therefore no surprise to those who believe that the powers of evil are active in the world to find that the family is the very centre of their attack at the present time. the crass egotism lying back of so much modern teaching is nowhere more clearly visible than in the assertion of the right of self-determination so blatantly made in popular writings. by self-determination is ultimately meant the right of the individual to seek his own happiness in his own way, and to make pleasure the rule of his life. "the right to happiness" is claimed in utter disregard of the fact that the claim often involves the unhappiness of others. "the supremacy of love," meaning the supremacy of animalism, is the excuse for undermining the very foundations of family life. no obligation, it appears, can have a binding force longer than the parties to it find gratification in it. personal inclination and gratification is held sufficient ground for action whose consequences are far from being personal, which, in fact, affect the sane and healthy state of society as a whole. the decline of a civilisation has always shown itself more markedly in the decline of the family life than elsewhere. the family, not the individual, is the basis of the social state, and no amount of theorising can make the fact different. whatever assails the integrity of the family assails the life of the state, and no single family can be destroyed without society as a whole feeling the effect. "what," it is asked, "is to be done? if two people find that they have blundered, are they to go on indefinitely suffering from the result of their blunder? if an immature boy or girl in a moment of passion make a mistake as to their suitability to live together, are they to be compelled to do so at the expense of constant unhappiness?" it would seem obvious to say that justice requires that those who make blunders should take the consequences of them; that those who create a situation involving suffering should do the suffering themselves and not attempt to pass it on to others. it is not as though the consequences of the act can be avoided; they cannot. what happens is that the incidence of them is shifted. it is a part of the brutal egotism of divorce that it is quite willing to shift the incidence of the suffering that it has created on to the lives of wholly innocent people; in many cases upon children, in all cases upon society at large. for it is necessary to emphasize the fact that society is a closely compact body: so interwoven is life with life that if one member suffer the other members suffer with it. breaches of moral order are not individual matters but social. this truth is implied in society's constantly asserted right to regulate family relations in the general interest even after it has ceased to think of such relations as having any spiritual significance. we need to-day a more vivid sense of the _community_ lest we shall see all sense of a common life engulfed in the rising tide of individual anarchism. we need the assertion in energetic form of the right of the community as supreme over the right of the individual. we must deny the right of the individual to pursue his own way and his own pleasure at the expense of the rights of others. and to his insolent question, "why should i suffer in an intolerable situation?" we must plainly answer: "because you are responsible for the situation, and it is intolerable that you should be permitted to throw off the results of your wickedness or your stupidity upon other and innocent people." and it is quite clear that should society assert its pre-eminent right in unmistakable form and make it evident that it does not propose to tolerate the results of the egotistic nonsense of self-determination and the right of every one to live his own life, the evils of divorce and of shattered families would presently shrink to relatively small proportions. the present facility of divorce encourages thoughtless and unsuitable marriages in the first place; and in the second place, encourages the resort to divorce in circumstances of family disturbance which would speedily right themselves in the present as they have done in the past if those concerned knew that their happiness and comfort for years compelled an adjustment of life. when as at present any one who loses his temper can rush off to a court and get a marriage dissolved for some quite trivial reason, there is small encouragement to practice self-control. if a man and woman know that the consequences of conduct must be faced by them, and cannot be avoided by thrusting them upon others, they will no doubt in the course of time learn to exercise a little self-control. the family is the foundation of the state because, among other things, it is the natural training place of citizens: no public training in schools and camps can for a moment safely be looked to as a substitute or an equivalent of wholesome family influence. if the family does not make good citizens we cannot have good citizens. the family too is at the basis of organised religious life; if the family does not make good christians we shall not have good christians. the sunday school and the church societies are poor substitutes for the religious influence of the family, as the school and the camp are for its social interests. one is inclined to stress the obvious failure of the family to fulfil its alloted functions in the teaching of religion as the root difficulty that the christian religion has to encounter and the most comprehensive cause of its relative failure in modern life. the responsibility for the religious and moral training of children rests squarely upon those who have assumed the responsibility of bringing them into the world, and it cannot be rightly pushed off on to some one else. to the protest of parents that they are incompetent to conduct such training, the only possible reply is a blunt, "whose fault is that?" if you have been so careless of the fundamental responsibilities of life, you are incompetent to assume a relation which of necessity carries such responsibility with it. it is no light matter to have committed to you the care of an immortal soul whose eternal future may quite well be conditioned on the way in which you fulfil your trust. it would be well as a preliminary to marriage to take a little of the time ordinarily given to its frivolous accompaniments and seriously meditate upon the words of our lord which seem wholly appropriate to the circumstance: "whoso shall cause to stumble one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depths of the sea." it is the careless and incompetent training of children which in fact "causes them to stumble" when the presence of word and example would have held them straight. it has been (to speak personally) the greatest trial of my priesthood that out of the thousands of children i have dealt with, in only rare cases have i had the entire support of the family; and i have always considered that i was fortunate when i met with no interference and was given an indifferent tolerance. it is heart-breaking to see years of careful work brought to naught (so far as the human eye can see: the divine eye can see deeper) by the brutal materialism of a father and the silly worldliness of a mother. the interplay of lives in a family should be consciously directed by those who control them to the cultivation, to the bringing out of the best that is in them. education means the drawing out of the innate powers of the personality and the training of them for the highest purposes. it is the deliberate direction of personal powers to the highest ends, the discipline of them for the performance of those ends. the life of a child should be shaped with reference to its final destiny from the moment of its birth. it should be surrounded with an atmosphere of prayer and charity which would be the natural atmosphere in which it would expand as it grows, and in terms of which it would learn to express itself as soon as it reaches sufficient maturity to express itself at all. it should become familiar with spiritual language and modes of action, and meet nothing that is inharmonious with these. but we know that the education of the christian child is commonly the opposite of all this. it learns little that is spiritual. when it comes to learn religion it is obviously a matter of small importance in the family life; if there is any expression of it at all, it is one that is crowded into corners and constantly swamped by other interests which are obviously felt to be of more importance. too often the spiritual state of the family may be summed up in the words of the small boy who condensed his observation of life into the axiom: "men and dogs do not go to church." in such an atmosphere the child finds religion and morals reduced to a system of repression. god becomes a man with a club constantly saying, don't! he grows to think that he is a fairly virtuous person so long as he skilfully avoids the system of taboos wherewith he feels that life is surrounded, and fulfils the one positive family law of a religious nature, that he shall go to sunday school until he is judged sufficiently mature to join the vast company of men and dogs. nothing very much can come of negatives. religion calls for positive expression; and it is not enough that the child shall find positive expression once a week in the church; he must find it every day in the week in the intimacy of the family. he must find that the principles of life which are inculcated in the church are practiced by his father and his mother, his brother and his sister, or he will not take them seriously. if he is conscious of virtue and religious practice as repression, a sort of tyranny practiced on a child by his elders, his notion of the liberty of adult life will quite naturally be freedom to break away from what is now forced upon him into the life of self-determination and indifference to things spiritual that characterises the adult circle with which he is familiar. but consider, by contrast, those rare families where the opposite of all this is true; where there is the peace of a recollected life of which the foundations are laid in constant devotion to our lord. there you will find the nearest possible reproduction of the life of the holy family in nazareth. because the life of the family is a life of prayer, there will you find jesus in the midst of it. there you will find mary and joseph associated with its life of intercession. in such a family the expression of a religious thought will never be felt as a discord. the talk may quite naturally at any moment turn on spiritual things. there are families in which one feels that one must make a careful preparation for the introduction of a spiritual allusion: one does it with a sense of danger, much as one might sail through a channel strewn with mines. there are other families in which one has no hesitation in speaking of prayer, of sacraments, of spiritual actions, as things with which all are familiar in practice, and are as natural as food and drink. in this atmosphere it produces no smile to say, "i am going to slip into the church and make my meditation"; or, "i shall be a little late to-night as i am making my confession on my way home." religion in such a circle has not incurred contempt through familiarity: it still remains a great adventure, the very greatest of all indeed; but it is an adventure in the open, full of joy and gladness. the holy family was a family that worked hard. it is no doubt true that our lord learned his foster-father's trade, so that those who knew him later on, or heard his preaching, asked, "is not this the carpenter?" but the holy family was a radiant centre of joy and peace because jesus was in the midst of it. where jesus dwells there is the effect of his indwelling in the spiritual gladness that results. mary was never too busy for her religious duties nor joseph too tired with his week's work to get up on the sabbath for whatever services in honour of god the synagogue offered. they were perhaps conscious as the child "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with god and man" of a spiritual influence that flowed from him, and sweetened and lightened the life of the home. they were not conscious that in his person god was in the midst of them; but that is what we can (if we will) be conscious of. we are heirs of the incarnation, and god is in the midst of us; and especially does jesus wish to dwell, as he dwelt in nazareth, in the midst of the family. he wishes to make every household a holy family. he is in the midst of it in uninterrupted communion with the soul of the baptised child; and the father and mother, understanding that their highest duty and greatest privilege is to watch and foster the spiritual unfolding of the child's life in such wise that jesus may never depart from union with it, become as joseph and mary in their ministry to it. there is nothing more heavenly than such a charge; there is nothing more beautiful than such a family life. there is often a pause in god's work between times of great activity--a time of retreat, as it seems, which is a rest from what has preceded and a preparation for what is to come. such a pause were these years at nazareth in the life of blessed mary. the time from the annunciation to the return from egypt was a time of deep emotion, of spirit-shaking events. later on there were the trials of the years of the ministry, culminating in calvary. but these years while jesus was growing to manhood in the quietness of the home were years of unspeakable privilege and peace. the daily association with the perfect child, the privilege of watching and guarding and ministering to him, these days of deepening spiritual union with him, although much that was happening to the mother was happening unconsciously,--were strengthening her grasp on ultimate reality, so that she issued with perfect strength to meet the supreme tragedy of her life. how wonderful god must have seemed to her in those thirty years of peace! to all of us god is thus wonderful in quiet hours; and the quiet hours are much the more numerous in most of our lives. but have we all learned to use these hours so that we may be ready to meet the hours of testing which shall surely come? no matter how quiet the valley of our life, some day the pleasant path will lift, and we must climb the hilltop where rises the cross. it will not be intolerable, if the quiet years have been spent in nazareth with jesus and mary and joseph. most holy, and pure virgin, blessed mayd, sweet tree of life, king david's strength and tower, the house of gold, the gate of heaven's power, the morning-star whose light our fall hath stay'd. great queen of queens, most mild, most meek, most wise, most venerable, cause of all our joy, whose cheerful look our sadnesse doth destroy, and art the spotlesse mirror to man's eyes. the seat of sapience, the most lovely mother, and most to be admired of thy sexe, who mad'st us happy all, in thy reflexe, by bringing forth god's onely son, no other. thou throne of glory, beauteous as the moone, the rosie morning, or the rising sun, who like a giant hastes his course to run, till he hath reached his two-fold point of noone. how are thy gifts and graces blazed abro'd, through all the lines of this circumference, t'imprint in all purged hearts this virgin sence of being daughter, mother, spouse of god? ben jonson, - . part two chapter xii the temple and he said unto them, how is it that ye sought me? know ye not that i must be in my father's house? s. luke ii, . we give thanks unto thee, o lord, who lovest mankind, thou benefactor of our souls and bodies, for that thou hast this day vouchsafed to feed us with thy heavenly mysteries; guide our path aright, establish us all in thy fear, guard our lives, make sure our steps through the prayers and supplications of the glorious mother of god and ever virgin mary and of all thy saints. russian. the time was come when by the law of his people the boy jesus must assume the duties of an adult in the exercise of his religion. therefore his parents took him with them to jerusalem that he might participate in the celebration of the passover. it would be a wonderful moment in the life of any intelligent hebrew boy when for the first time he came in contact with the places and scenes which were so familiar to him in the story of his nation's past; and we can imagine what would have been the special interest of the child jesus who would have been so thoroughly taught in the old testament scriptures, and who would have felt an added interest in the places he was now seeing because of their association with his great ancestor, david. still his chief interest was in the religion of his people, and it was the temple where the sacrificial worship of god was centred that would have for him the greatest attraction. this was his "father's house," and here he himself felt utterly at home. we are not surprised to be told that he lingered in these courts. "and when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child jesus tarried behind in jerusalem; and joseph and his mother knew it not." they had perfect confidence in jesus; and yet it seems strange that they should have assumed that he was somewhere about and would appear at the proper time. when the night drew on and the camp was set up there was no child to be found. then we imagine the distress, the trouble of heart, with which mary and joseph hurry back to jerusalem and spend the ensuing days in seeking through its streets. we share something of our lord's surprise when we learn that the temple was the last place that they thought of in their search. did they think that jesus would be caught by the life of the passover crowds that filled the streets of jerusalem? did they think that it would be a child's curiosity which would hold him fascinated with the glittering toys of the bazaars? did they think that he had mistaken the caravan and been carried off in some other direction and was lost to them forever? we only know that it was not till three days had passed that they thought of the temple and there found him. "and when they saw him, they were amazed: and his mother said unto him, son, why has thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and i have sought thee sorrowing. and he said unto them, how is it that ye sought me? know ye not that i must be in my father's house?" s. mary and s. joseph were proceeding on certain assumptions as to what jesus would do which turned out to be untenable. it is one of the dangers of our religion--our personal religion--that we are apt to assume too much which in the testing turns out to be unfounded. we reach a certain stage of religious attainment, and then we assume that all is going well with us. when one asks a child how he is getting on he invariably answers: "i am all right." and the adult often has the same childish confidence in an untested and unverified state of soul. we are "all right"; which practically means that we do not care to be bothered with looking into our spiritual state at all. we have been going on for years now following the rules that we laid down when we first realised that the being a christian was a more or less serious matter. nothing has happened in these years to break the placidity of our routine. there has never been any relapse into grievous sin; we have never felt any real temptation to abandon the practice o£ our religion. we run along as easily and smoothly as a car on well-laid rails. we are "all right." but in fact we are all wrong. we have lapsed into a state of which the ideal is purely static: an ideal of spiritual comfort as the goal of our spiritual experience here on earth. we have acquired what appears to be a state of equilibrium into which we wish nothing to intrude that would endanger the balance. we are, no doubt, quite unconsciously, excluding from life every emotion, every ambition, as well as every temptation, which appears to involve spiritual disturbance. but we need to be disturbed. for the spiritual life is dynamic and not static; its ideal is motion and not rest. rest is the quality of dead things, and particularly of dead souls. the weariness of the way, which is so obvious a phenomenon in the christian life, is the infallible sign of lukewarmness. what we need therefore is to break with the assumption that we know all that it is necessary to know, and that we have done or are doing all that it is necessary to do. it is indeed the mark of an ineffective religion that the notion of necessity is adopted as its stimulus, rather than the notion of aspiration. the question, "must i do this?" is a revelation of spiritual poverty and ineptitude. "i press on," is the motto of a living religion. personal religion, therefore, needs constantly to be submitted to new tests, lest it lapse into an attitude of finality. fortunately for us, god does not leave the matter wholly in our hands, but himself, through his providence, applies a wide variety of tests to us. it is often a bitter and disturbing experience to have our comfortable routine broken up and to find that we have quite miserably failed under very simple temptations. and the sort of failure i am thinking of is not so much the failure of sin as the failure of ideal. it is the case of those who think that they have satisfactorily worked out the problems of the spiritual life, and have reached a satisfactory adjustment of duty and practice, and then find that if the adjustment changes their practice falls off. the outer circumstances of life change and the change is followed by a readjustment of the inner life on a distinctly lower plane. it is revealed to us that the outer circumstances were controlling the spiritual practice, and not the practice dominating the circumstances. the ruling ideal was that of comfort, and under the new circumstances the spiritual ideal is lowered until it fits in with a new possibility of comfort in the altered circumstances. it is well to examine ourselves on these matters and to find what is the actual ruling motive in our religious practice. we may have assumed that we have jesus, when all the assumption meant was that we thought that he was somewhere about. after all, it will not aid us very much if he is "in the company," if we go on our day's journey without him. it is a poor assumption to build life upon, that jesus exists, or that he is in the church, or that he is the saviour. it is nothing to us unless he is _our_ saviour, unless he is personally present in us and with us. and it is not wise or safe to let this be a matter of assumption, even though the assumption rest on a perfectly valid experience in the past; we cannot live on history, not even on our own history. that jesus is with us must be verified day by day, and we ought to go no day's journey without the certainty of his presence. we can best do that, when the circumstances of life permit, by a daily communion. there at the altar we meet jesus and know that he is with us. when the circumstances of life do not permit, (and often they do, when we lazily think they do not) there are other modes of arriving at spiritual certainty. it is quite easy to lose jesus. he does not force his companionship upon us, but rather when we meet him. "he makes as though he would go farther." he offers himself to us; he never compels us to receive him as a guest. and when we have in fact received him, and asked him to abide with us, he does not stay any longer than we want him. we have to constrain him. in other words, we lose jesus, we lose the vitality of our spiritual life (though we may retain the routine practice of our religion), if we are not from day to day making it the most vital issue of our lives. that does not necessarily mean that we are spending more time on it than on anything else, but that we are putting it first in the order of importance in our lives and are sacrificing, if occasion arise, other things to it, rather than it to them. that a man loves his wife and child does not necessarily mean that he actually spends more time on them than he does on his business, but it does mean that they are more important in his life than his business, and if need arise it will be the business that is sacrificed to them and not they to the business. spirituality is much less a matter of time than of energy. a wise director can guide a man to sanctity who will probably consecrate his sunday, and give the director one half hour on week days to dispose of. to lose jesus does not require the commission of great sin, as we count sin. the quite easiest way to lose him is to forget him and go about our business as though he did not exist. that is a frequent happening. for vast numbers jesus does not exist except for an hour or so on sunday. they give him the formal homage of attendance at church on sunday morning and then they go out and forget him, not only for the rest of the week but for the rest of the day. the religion which thus reduces itself to a minimum of attendance at mass on sunday morning is surely not a religion from which much can be expected in the way of spiritual accomplishment. if it be true that there is a minimum of religious requirement which will ensure that we "go to heaven," then that sort of religion may be useful; but i do not know that anywhere such a minimum _is_ required. the statement that i find is "thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." the outstanding characteristic of love is surely not niggardliness, but passionate self-giving. all things are forgiven, not to those who are careful to keep within the limits required, but to those who "love much." the study of many cases, the experience of over thirty years in the confessional, convinces me that the chief cause of spiritual failure among christians is not the irresistible impact of temptation but the lack of spiritual vision. the average man or woman is not consciously going anywhere; but they are just keeping a rule which is the arbitrary exactment of god. it might just as well be some other rule. that is, in their minds, the practice of the spiritual life has no immediate ends; it is not productive of spiritual expansion; it is not a ladder set up on earth to reach heaven on which they are climbing ever nearer god, and on the way are catching ever broader visions of spiritual reality as they ascend. the knowledge and the love of god are to them phrases, not practical goals, invitations to paths of spiritual adventure. hence, having no immediate ends to accomplish, they find the whole spiritual routine dull and unattractive and naturally tend to reduce it to a minimum. it is not at all surprising that in the end they drop religion altogether, as why should one keep on travelling a road that leads nowhere? how can one love and serve a jesus whom one has lost? the problem of personal religion is the problem of finding jesus, of bringing life into a right relation to him. the plain path is to follow the example of his parents who sought him "sorrowing." sorrow for having lost jesus is the true repentance. repentance which springs from fear of consequences, or from disgust with our own incompetence and stupidity when we realise that we have made a spiritual failure of life, is an imperfect thing. true repentance has its origin in love and is therefore directed toward a person. it is the conviction that we have violated the love of our father, our saviour, our sanctifier. sorrow springing from love is sorrow "after a godly sort." it is easy for us to drift into ways of carelessness and indifference which seem not to involve sin, to be no more than a decline from some preceding standard of practice which we conclude to have been unnecessarily strict; but the result is an increasing disregard of spiritual values, a growing obscuration of the divine presence in life. then the day comes when some quite marked and positive spiritual failure, a failure of which we cannot imagine ourselves to have been guilty, when we were living in constant communion with our lord, arouses us to the fact that for months our spiritual vitality has been declining and that we have ended in losing jesus. it is a tremendous shock to find how fast and how far we have been travelling when we thought that we were only slightly relaxing an unnecessarily strict routine: that when we thought that we were but acting "in a common sense way," we were in reality effecting a compromise with the world. well is it then if the surprise of our disaster shocks us back to the recovery of what we have lost, if it send us into the streets of the city, sorrowing and seeking for jesus. mere spiritual laziness is at the bottom of much failure in religion. there is no success anywhere in life save through the constant pressure of the will driving a reluctant and protesting set of nerves and muscles to their daily tasks. the day labourer comes home from his work with his muscular strength exhausted, but he has to go back to the same monotonous task on the morrow: his family has to be fed and clothed and he cannot permit himself to say, "i am tired and will stay away from work to-day." the business or professional man comes back from his office with a wearied brain that makes any thought an effort, but he must take up the routine to-morrow; the pressure of competitive business does not permit him to work when and as much as he chooses. but the christian who is engaged in the most important work that is carried on in this world, the work of preparing an immortal soul for an unending future, is constantly under the temptation "to take a day off"--to let down the standard of accomplishment till it ceases to interfere with the business or the pleasure of life; is constantly too tired or too busy to do this or that. in short, religion is apt to be treated in a manner that would ensure the bankruptcy of any material occupation in life. why then should it not ensure spiritual bankruptcy? surely, to retain jesus with us, to live in the intimacy of god, is the most pressingly important of our duties; it is worth any sort of expenditure of energy to accomplish it. and it cannot be accomplished without expenditure of energy. the view of religion which conceives it as a facile assent to certain propositions, the occasional and formal participation in certain actions, the more or less strict observance of certain rules of conduct, is so far from the fact that it is not worth discussing. religion is the realised friendship of god; it is a personal relation of the deepest and purest sort; and, like all personal relations, is kept alive by the mutual activities of those concerned. the action of one party will not suffice to keep the relation in healthy state. the love of god itself will not suffice to maintain a being in holiness and carry him on to happiness who is himself quite indifferent to the entire spiritual transaction--whose attitude is that of one willing to be saved if he be not asked to take much trouble about it. that lackadaisical attitude can never produce any result in the spiritual order; it can only ensure the spiritual decline and death of one who has not thought it worth while to make an effort to live. jesus can be found; but the finding depends upon the method of the seeking. there are many men who claim, and quite honestly, to be in pursuit of truth: to find the truth is the end of all their efforts. yet they do not succeed in finding it. why is this? i think that the principal reason is that they are constituting themselves the judges of the truth; they first of all lay down certain rules which god must obey if he wishes them to believe in him! they insist on having, before they will believe, a kind of evidence that is impossible of attainment. they assert that this or that is impossible, and the other thing incredible. they partially ascertain the laws that govern the material universe, and they deny to the maker of the universe the power to act otherwise than in accord with so much of the order of nature as they have discovered! they deny to god the sort of personal action in this world that they themselves constantly exercise. the method is not a method that can be hopeful of success. and it is worth noting that it is not a method that these same men followed in their investigations of the natural world. they have not accumulated information about natural law by first laying down rules as to how natural law must act, and refusing to listen to any evidence which does not fall in with these rules: rather, they have set themselves to observe how nature does act, and then deduced rules from their observation. why not pursue the same method in religion? why not in an humble spirit observe how god does act? why start by saying, "miracles do not happen?" why reject as incredible the virgin birth and the resurrection? why not get a bigger notion of god than that of a mechanician running a machine, and think of him as a person dealing with persons? the relation of persons cannot be mechanical or predetermined; they are and must be free and spontaneous: they have their origin, not in the pressure of invariable law but in the impulse of love. nor is the search for jesus that is inspired by mere curiosity likely to be a success. there are many people who are curious about religion, and they want to know why we believe thus and so; and particularly why we act as we do. why do you keep this day? what do you mean by this ceremony? do you think that it is wrong to do this or that? such people wander about observing; but their observation we understand is the observation of an idler who does not expect to be influenced by what he observes, but only to be amused. these are they who run after the latest thing in heresy, the newest thing in thought. what is observable about them is that they never seriously contemplate doing anything themselves. they are like those multitudes who followed our lord about for awhile but were dispersed by the test of hard sayings. but jesus can be found. he is found of all those who seek him humbly and sincerely, putting away self and desiring simply to be led: who do not challenge him with pilate's scornful, "what is truth?" but rather say, "lord, i believe; help thou my unbelief." he is easily found of those who know where to look for him. there is no mystery about that,--he will certainly be in his father's house. the surprise of joseph and mary that he had thus dealt with them is answered by jesus' surprise that they did not certainly know where he would be: "wist ye not that i must be in my father's house?" in the house of god, the church of god, is the ready approach to jesus. it is in the last degree foolish to waive aside the church in which are stored the treasures of more than nineteen centuries of christian experience as though it did and could have nothing to say in the matter. a seeker after information as to the meaning of the constitution of the united states would be considered a madman if he impatiently turned from those of whom he made enquiry when they suggested the decrees of the supreme court as the proper place to seek information. surely, from any point of view, the church will know more about jesus than any one else: if in all the centuries it has not discovered the meaning of him whom it ceaselessly worships there is small likelihood that that meaning will be discovered by an unbeliever studying an ancient book! if the church cannot lead us to jesus, and if it cannot interpret to us his will, there is small likelihood that any one else will be able to do so. and if during all these centuries his will has been unknown it can hardly be of much importance to discover it now. if his church has failed, then his mission is discredited. for us who have accepted his revelation as made to the church and by it unfailingly preserved, who have learned to find him there where he has promised to be until the end of time, there is another sense in which we think of his words as words of encouragement and consolation. there are hours in life which press hard upon us; there are other hours when the sense of god's love and goodness fills us with thankfulness and joy. in such hours we crave the intimacy of personal communion: we want to tell our grief or our joy. and then we take our way to the temple, and know that we shall find him there in his incarnate presence in his father's house. we go in and kneel before the tabernacle and know that jesus is here. here in the silence he waits for us. here in the long hours he watches; here is the ever-open door leading to the father where any man at any time may enter. he who humbled himself to the hidden life of nazareth now humbles himself to the hidden life of the tabernacle: and we who believe his word, have no need to envy joseph and mary the intimacy of their life with jesus, because here for us, if we will, is a greater intimacy--the intimacy of those of whom it can be said: they evermore dwell in him and he in them. lady of heaven, regent of the earth, empress of all the infernal marshes fell, receive me, thy poor christian, 'spite my, dearth, in the fair midst of thine elect to dwell: albeit my lack of grace i know full well; for that thy grace, my lady and my queen, aboundeth more than all my misdemean, withouten which no soul of all that sigh may merit heaven. 'tis sooth i say, for e'en in this belief i will to live and die. say to thy son, i am his--that by his birth and death my sins be all redeemable-- as mary of egypt's dole he changed to mirth, and eke theophilus', to whom befell quittance of thee, albeit (so men tell) to the foul fiend he had contracted been. assoilzie me, that i may have no teen, maid, that without breach of virginity didst bear our lord that in the host is seen: in this belief i will to live and die. a poor old wife i am, and little worth: nothing i know, nor letter aye could spell: where in the church to worship i fare forth, i see heaven limned with harps and lutes, and hell where damned folk seethe in fire unquenchable: one doth me fear, the other joy serene; grant i may have the joy, o virgin clean, to whom all sinners lift their hands on high, made whole in faith through thee, their go-between: in this belief i will to live and die. envoy thou didst conceive, princess most bright of sheen, jesus the lord, that hath no end nor mean, almighty that, departing heaven's demesne to succour us, put on our frailty, offering to death his sweet of youth and green: such as he is, our lord he is, i ween: in this belief i will to live and die. part two chapter xiii cana i and the third day there was a marriage in cana of galilee; and the mother of jesus was there; and both jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage. s. john ii, . grant, o lord, we beseech thee, that we thy servants may enjoy constant health of body and mind, and by the glorious intercession of blessed mary, ever a virgin, be delivered from all temporal afflictions, and come to those joys that are eternal. through. having received, o lord, what is to advance our salvation; grant we may always be protected by the patronage of blessed mary, ever a virgin, in whose honor we have offered this sacrifice to thy majesty. through. old catholic. "there was a marriage in cana of galilee, and the mother of jesus was there." to s. john blessed mary is ever the "mother of jesus." he never calls her by her name in any mention of her. jesus who loved him and whom he loved and loves always with consuming passion, held the foreground of his consciousness; all other persons are known through their relation to him. as he is writing his gospel-story toward the end of his life, the blessed virgin has long been gone to join her son in the place of perfect love. we cannot conceive of her living long on earth after his ascension. her "conversation" would in a special way be "in heaven." whatever the time she remained here awaiting the will of god for her, we may be sure that the days she spent under the protection of s. john were wonderful days for him, wherein their communing would have been the continual lifting of their hearts and souls to him, child and friend, who is also god enthroned at the right hand of the father. it is not unlikely that the marvellous spiritual maturity of which we are conscious in the writings of s. john was aided in its unfolding by the intimacy of his relations with s. mary. but always she remained to him what she was because of what jesus was; she remained to the end "the mother of jesus." here at the marriage of cana the way in which she is mentioned suggests that she was staying in the house where the marriage was celebrated: she was simply there; jesus and the disciples were called, invited, to the wedding. some relationship, it has been suggested, between s. mary and the bride or groom led to her presence in the house. that however is mere conjecture. the marriage in any case was a wonderful one, for both jesus and mary were there. it was therefore the ideal of all weddings which seem to lack the true note of the new matrimony which springs from the incarnation if they take place without such guests. as in imagination we follow mary as she goes quietly about the house, which like her own was a home of the poor, helping in the arrangements of the wedding, one cannot help recalling many weddings with which one has had something to do, and in the arrangements of which we cannot think of mary as having any part. they were the arrangements of the weddings of christians, and the weddings took place in a christian church; but neither is mary there nor jesus called. we are unable to think of mary as present amid the tumult of worldiness and frivolity, the endless chatter over dress and decoration, which so commonly precedes the celebration of a sacrament which is the symbol of "the mystical union that there is betwixt christ and his church." that deep piety which puts god and god's will before all else would strike a jarring note here, where the dominant note is still the pagan note of the decking of the slave for her new master. it is perhaps not without significance of the direction of the movement of the modern mind that the protests of the emancipated woman are against the christian, not the pagan elements in matrimony: she tends to regard marriage as a state of temporary luxury rather than the perfect union of two souls in christ. clearly in marriages which are regarded as purely temporary engagements, dependent on the will of the parties for their continuance, there is no place for the mother of jesus. the purity that emanates from her will be a silent but keenly felt criticism on the whole conception underlying a vast number of modern marriages. even as i write i read that in a certain great city in the united states the number of divorces granted was one fourth of the number of the marriages celebrated. clearly at marriages which are surrounded with this atmosphere of paganism, be they celebrated where they may, there is no place for the blessed mother; and neither is jesus called. his priest, unfortunately, is often called, and dares celebrate a sacrament which in the circumstances he can hardly help feeling is a sacrilege. there are many cases in which what purports to be christian marriage is between those who are not christians, or of whom only one is a christian in any complete sense. one hears frequently of the sacrament of matrimony being celebrated when only one of the parties is baptised. it is of course possible for any priest to act on the authority conferred upon him by the state and in his capacity as a state official perform marriages between those whom the state authorises to be married: but why do it under the character of a priest? or why throw about the ceremony the suggestions of a sacrament? if jesus is really to be called to a marriage, it means that the preparations for the marriage will be largely spiritual. the parties to the marriage will approach the marriage through other sacraments. they will both be members of the church of god by baptism; and they will be, or look forward to becoming, communicants. they will prepare for the sacrament of matrimony by receiving the sacrament of penance, and receiving the communion. what better preparation for starting a new life, for setting out to create a new family in the kingdom of god, a family in which the ideals of the life at nazareth are to be the ruling ideals, than that cleansing of soul that fits them for the beginning of a new life? a priest has great joy when he knows that those who are kneeling before him to receive the nuptial blessing are souls pure in god's sight, dwellings ready and adorned for the coming of christ. for it is the normal and fitting crown of the ceremonies of marriage that jesus be there, that the holy mass be celebrated and that those who have just been indissolubly united may as their first act partake of the bread of heaven which giveth life to the world. i myself would rather not be asked to celebrate a wedding unless it is to be approached with the purity of mary, and sealed by the partaking of jesus. it is so great and wonderful a thing, this sacrament of matrimony. here are two human beings setting out to fulfil the vocation of man to build up the kingdom of god, to set up a new hearth where the love of god may be manifest and where children may be trained in the knowledge and love of god; where the life of christ may find contact with human life and through it manifest god to the world--how wonderful and beautiful and holy all that is! and then to remember what commonly takes place is to be overcome with a sense of what must be the pain of god's heart. we go back to look into the home where mary seems to be directing the arrangements of the wedding feast. it was a poor home and not much could be provided; the wine, so essential to the feast, failed. what was to be done? to whom would mary look? she could have no money to buy wine. one feels that after joseph's death she had come more and more to look to jesus for help of all sorts. the deepening of their mutual love, the completeness of their understanding, would make this the natural thing. s. mary feels that if there is any help in these embarrassing circumstances, any way of sparing the feelings of the bridegroom, jesus will know it and help. there is no doubt in her mind; but the certainty that he can help. so she turns to him with her "they have no wine." the words as we read them contain at once an appeal and a suggestion: an appeal for help, advice, guidance, with the hint that jesus can effectually help if he will. it is not as some have rather crudely thought a suggestion that he perform a miracle, but the appeal of one who has learned to have unlimited trust in him. the reply of our lord cannot fail to shock the english reader; and the very nature of the shock ought to indicate that there is something wrong with the translation. the words sound brusque and ill-mannered; and our lord was never that nor could be, least of all to his blessed mother. the dictionaries all tell us that the word translated woman is quite as well translated lady, in the sense of mistress or house mother. there is really a shade of meaning that we have no word for. perhaps we best understand what it is that is missed if we recall the fact that when our lord addressed s. mary from the cross he used the same word: "woman, behold thy son." in such circumstances we understand that the word on our lord's lips is a word of infinite tenderness. i do not believe that we could do better than to translate it mother. we might paraphrase our lord's saying thus: "mother, we are both concerned with the trouble of these friends; but do not be anxious; i will act when the time comes." his words are perfectly simple and courteous, though they do, no doubt, suggest that her anxiety is unnecessary and that he will act in due time. if we are to understand that our lady was suggesting that he perform a miracle, then he certainly yielded to her intercession. indeed, this short aside in the rejoicing of the marriage celebration is suggestive of wide reaches of thought. it suggests, which concerns us most here, something of the mode of prayer. prayer is not a force exercised upon god, it is an aspiration that he answers or not as he sees fit, according as he sees our needs to be: and if he answers, he answers in his own way and at his own time--when his hour is come. the intercession of the saints, and of the highest saint of all, the holy mother, must thus be conceived as aspiration not as force. we hardly need to remind ourselves that blessed mary though the highest of creatures is still a creature and infinitely removed from the uncreated god. when we think of her prayers or the prayers of the saints as having "influence" or "power" with god, we must remember the limitations of human language. it is quite possible through inaccurate use of language to create the impression that we believe the prayers of the saints to be prevailing with god because of some peculiar spiritual energy that belongs to them, or, still worse, because we regard them as a sort of court favourites who have special influence and can get things done that ordinary people cannot. we need only to state the supposition to see that we do not mean it. when we think what we mean by the influence of the prayers of the saints, of their prevailingness with god, we know that we mean that the superior value of the prayers of the saints is due to the superior nature of their spiritual insight, to their better understanding of the mind and purpose of god. blessed mary is our most powerful intercessor because by her perfect sanctity she understands god better than any one else. no educated christian believes that she can persuade god to change his mind or alter his judgment, or that she or any saint would for a moment want to do so. nor do we who cry for aid in the end want any other aid than aid to see god's will and power to do it: we have no wish or hope to impose our will on god. prayer is aspiration, the seeking for understanding, the submitting our desires to the love of god; and the prayer of the saints helps us because they are our brothers and sisters, of the same household, and join with us in the offering of ourselves to god that we may know and do his holy will. and we can see here in this incident at cana the whole mode of prayer. there is the just implied suggestion of the need, the hint of her own thought about the matter, in the way in which s. mary presents the case to jesus. there is the divine method which approves the end sought but reserves the time and method of fulfilling it to the "hour" which the divine wisdom approves. there is the ideal christian attitude which accepts the divine will perfectly, and says to the servants: "whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." "they have no wine": s. mary's word expresses the present weakness of humanity, man is born in sin, that is, out of union with god. that hoary statement of dogmatic theology seems to stir the wrath of the modern mind more than any other dogma of the christian faith, except it be the dogma of eternal punishment. it is rather an amusing phenomenon that those who have no visible basis for pride are likely to be the most consumed with it. the pride of diogenes was visible through the holes in his carpet; the pride of liberalism is visible in its irritability whenever the subject of sin, especially original sin, is mentioned. yet the very complacency of liberalism about the perfection of man, is but another evidence (if we needed another) of his inherent sinfulness, his weakness in the face of moral ideals. if we confess our sins we are on the way to forgiveness; but if we say that we have no sin the truth is not in us. this boasting of capacity to be pure and strong without god, theologically the pelagian heresy, is sufficiently answered by a cursory view of what humanity has done and does do. even where the christian religion has been accepted the accomplishment is hardly ground for boasting. the plain fact is (and you may account for it how you like, it remains in any case a fact) that human beings are terribly weak in the face of moral and spiritual ideals. they are not sufficiently drawn by them to overcome the tendency of their nature toward a quite opposite set of ideals. we do run easily and spontaneously after ideals which the calm and enlightened judgment of the race, whether christian or non-christian, has continuously disapproved. we know that buddha and mahomet and confucius would repudiate paris and berlin and new york and london with the same certainty if not with the same energy as christ. we live in a time when a decisive public opinion gets its way; and therefore we are quite safe in saying that the misery and sin which go unchecked in the very centres of modern civilisation exist and continue because there is no decided public opinion against them. all attempts at reform which are merely attempts to reform machinery are futile, they can produce only passing and superficial results. there is only one medicine for the disease of the world, and that medicine is the blood of christ. ultimately, one believes, that will be applied; but evidently it will not be applied in any broad way as a social treatment till all the quack remedies have demonstrated their uselessness. the last two centuries have been the flowering time of quacks. the mere history of their theories fills volumes. our own time shows no decline in productiveness, nor decline in hopefulness in the efficacy of the last remedy to bid for support. but the time of disillusionment must some time come. when that time comes all men will lift their eyes, as individual men have always lifted them, up to the hills whence cometh their help. except they had kept their eyes so resolutely fastened on the earth at their feet they would have seen, what has always been visible to those who lift up their eyes, a crucified figure on the one supreme hill of earth,--the hill called calvary. there "one figure stands, with outstretched hands" saying, with inextinguishable optimism, the indestructible optimism of god, "and i, if i be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." what in the end will prevail with them, what will make them turn to the tree which is for the healing of the nations, is the perception that in it is the remedy for the weakness that they have either sought to heal by other means, or have resolutely denied to exist at all. there are men whose wills are so strong that even in the grip of some serious disease they will long go on about their business asserting that there is nothing the matter with them and overcoming bodily pain and weakness by sheer will power; but the end comes finally with a collapse that is perhaps beyond remedy. we live in a society which has the same characteristics, but it may be that it will see its state and turn to healing. for god cannot heal except with our co-operation. christ pleads from the cross, but he can do no more. he will not submit to our tests; he will not come down that we may believe in him. we must come to him, laying aside all our pride and self-will, and kneel by the cross to ask his help. we know, do we not? that that is the law for the individual; that we found the meaning of christ, and what he can do in life, when we laid aside pride and self-will and humbly asked help and pardon. it may be that we resisted a long while, struggling against the pull of the divine magnet; but if we have attained to spiritual peace it is because the cross won, because we found ourselves kneeling at the feet of jesus. perhaps we have not got there yet, but are only on the way. perhaps our religion as yet is a formality and not a devotion. perhaps our pride still struggles against the catholic practice of religion. then why not give way now, to-night? let mary take you and lead you to jesus. she will bring you to him with her half-suggestion, half-prayer: "he has no wine." he has got to the end of his strength, and he has found the weariness of self, he is ready for healing. o my divine son, is not this your opportunity, your "hour"? jesus loves to have us bring one another to him. it is so obviously the response to his spirit, that carrying out of his teaching, so to love the brother that we may bring him to the healing of the cross. to care for the spiritual needs of the brother is a real ministry: it is an extension of christ in us that clothes us with the power to aid other souls in work or prayer. what a beautiful picture of this work there is in the gospel of st. john. "and there were certain greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: the same came therefore to philip, which was of bethsaida of galilee, and desired him, saying, sir, we would see jesus. philip cometh and telleth andrew: and again andrew and philip tell jesus." and this work of presenting souls to jesus which is so clearly one of our chief privileges, how should not that be also the privilege of all the saints, and especially of the holy mother? blessed mary, we may be sure, delights in leading souls who so hesitatingly come to her, to the presence of her son,--just presenting them in their need and with her prayer, which is all the plea that is needed to attract the love and mercy of jesus. "why not," ask certain people who have not thought out the meaning of catholic dogma, "why not go at once to our lord; why go in this roundabout way?" why not? because of our human qualities. because we need company and sympathy. for the same reason precisely that makes us ask one another's prayers here. "the father himself loveth you." why in this roundabout way ask me to pray? you do not come to me because you lack faith in god or in god's love; you come to me because you feel, if only implicitly, that in the body of christ association in love and sympathy and work is a high privilege, and that it is god's will that we should work together and "bear one another's burdens." and the frontiers of the kingdom of god are not the frontiers of the church militant, and its citizens are not only the citizens of the church here below, but--we believe in the communion of saints. the hour of god strikes for any soul when that soul yields to prevenient grace and places itself utterly at the disposal of god, confiding wholly in his divine wisdom. when our lord had answered his blessed mother she turned away satisfied. she did not have to concern herself any further; it was now in jesus' hands to provide as he would. it remained but to see that his will should be carried out when he made it known. submission is a difficult attitude to acquire; but it is such a happy attitude when once one has acquired it. the critics of it wholly mistake it and confound it with fatalism. it is not fatalism, or passive acquiescence in another's will--a will that we have no part in forming and cannot reject. submission is the acceptance of god's will as the expression of the highest wisdom for us. it is not true that we have no part in forming it; it is at any time an expression of god's will for us which is determined by the way in which we hitherto have corresponded to that will. submission means that we have put ourselves in a position of active co-operation with that will, that we have made it ours: because it is the expression of a divine wisdom and love we make it wholly ours. and we have found in the acceptance of it not bondage but liberty. it is wonderful how our preconceived notion of god and religion vanishes before the first gleams of experience. to the unregenerate the service of god is utter bondage; to the regenerate it is perfect freedom. and the difference seems to be accounted for by the reversal of ideals, by a new direction of affections. "i will run the way of thy commandments, when thou hast set my heart at liberty," a true conversion is, perhaps, signified, more than in any other way, by the liberty of the heart,--by this change in the object of our love. that has been the constant exhortation to us, to love that which is worthy of love. "set your affection on things above." "love not the world, neither the things that are in the world." and we, loving the world and the things that are in the world, listen impatiently. but there is no possibility of a sincere conversion without a change of love. "a change of heart" conversion is often called, and so inevitably it is. and as we go through our self-examination one of the most profitable questions we can ask is, "what do i love?" that will commonly tell the whole story of the life, for "where a man's treasure is, there will his heart be also." richard rolle said: "truly he who is stirred with busy love, and is continually with jesu in thought, full soon perceives his own faults, the which correcting, henceforward he is ware of them; and so he brings righteousness busily to birth, until he is led to god and may sit with heavenly citizens in everlasting seats. therefore he stands clear in conscience and is steadfast in all good ways the which is never noyed with worldly heaviness nor gladdened with vainglory." cana i o glorious lady, throned in light, sublime above the starry height, whose arms thine own creator pressed, a suckling at thy sacred breast. through the dear blossom of thy womb, thou changest hapless eva's doom; through thee to contrite souls is given an opening to their home in heaven. thou art the great king's portal bright, the shining gate of living light; come then, ye ransomed nations, sing the life divine 'twas hers to bring. mother of love and mercy mild, mother of graces undefiled. drive back the foe, and to thy son lead thou our souls when life is done. all glory be to thee, o lord, a virgin's son, by all adored, with sire and spirit, three in one, while everlasting ages run. part two chapter xiv cana ii and when the wine failed, the mother of jesus saith unto him, they have no wine. jesus saith unto her, woman, what have i to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come. s. john ii, , . we, the faithful, bless thee, o virgin mother of god, and glorify thee as is thy due, the city unshaken, the wall unbroken, the unbreakable defence and refuge of our souls. byzantine. "whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." these words have often been called the gospel according to s. mary. they certainly sum up her whole attitude in life. "behold the handmaid of the lord; be it unto me according to thy word," she had said in reply to the message s. gabriel brought her: and that is the meaning of her whole life-story, that she is at all times ready to accept the will of god, to give herself to the fulfilment of the divine purpose. there is no more perfect attitude, for it is the attitude of her divine son whose meat it was to do the will of the father and to finish his work, whose whole life's attitude was compressed into the words of his self-oblation in gethsemane, "not my will, but thine be done." and this is the virtue that jesus christ inculcates upon us. "when ye pray, say, our father which art in heaven ... thy will be done." there is no true religion possible without that attitude. and therefore one is deeply concerned about the immediate future inasmuch as the spirit of obedience, the spirit of jesus, the spirit of mary, is so rare. as one looks into the social development of the christian era, one feels that the life and example of s. mary has been of immense influence in the development of the ideal of womanhood. the rise of woman from a wholly subordinate and inferior condition to a condition of complete equality with man has owed more to s. mary than to any other factor. i am not concerned with political equality; that under our present conditions of social development women should have that equality if they want it seems to me just, but i am by no means satisfied that in the long run it will prove a boon either to them or to society at large. but i am at present thinking of their spiritual equality, which after all is the basis of their other claims; and this comes to them through the gospel, and was shown to the mind of the church largely through s. mary. in the earliest records of the church woman stands on the same level of privilege as man, and the same sort of spiritual accomplishment is expected of her. there are many members of the body of christ and there is a certain spiritual equality among them; but "all members have not the same office." in the holy spirit's distribution of functions within the body there is a difference. some functions, by the allotment of god, women are not called to exercise: these are sacramental and ruling functions. others, as prophecy (the daughters of s. philip), and ministry (the deaconess), are given them. for centuries she recognised this allotment and gave her best energies to her appointed works. she showed herself a true daughter of mary in her loyal acceptance of the divine will and her zeal in its accomplishment. and what was the result? the calendar of saints, filled with the names of women, is the answer. there are no more wonderful works of god than the women whose names are commemorated at the altars of the church and whose intercession is constantly asked throughout catholic christendom. there can be no thought of narrowness of opportunity or limitations in life as we study that wonderful series of women who have illumined the history of the church from the day of s. gabriel's message to this very moment when there are many many women who are faithfully following their vocation and doing god's will, and who will one day be our intercessors about the throne of god and of the lamb, as they are our intercessors in the church on earth to-day. why any woman should complain of lack of opportunity and of the narrowness of the church--the church that has nourished s. mary and s. monica, s. catherine of genoa and s. theresa; the foundresses of so many and so varied religious orders, so many who have devoted their lives to teaching, nursing, conducting works of charity, i am at a loss to understand. to-day we are witnessing all over the world a revolt of women against the church; we hear not infrequent threats of what is to be done to the church by those revolted members. i am afraid that woman is on the edge of another tragedy. she is once more looking fascinated at the fruit which "is good for food, and pleasant to the eyes and to be desired to make one wise," and listening to a voice that whispers: "thou shalt be as god." the question which is becoming more urgent everywhere is, what are the women of the future to be,--the daughters of eve, or the daughters of mary? it is not a question for declamation, but a question that calls for immediate action: and the action must be the action of women. if women clamour for work in the church of god, here it is, and here it is abundantly; and to accomplish it there is no need that they "seek the priesthood also." the work in the church of god is in the first place a work that god has given mothers to do; it is the primary duty of a mother to bring up her children, and especially her daughters, in fear of the lord. that she can always succeed i do not for a moment claim; there are many adverse factors in the situation that she has to deal with. but she is inexcusable if she does not give her effort to the work as the most important work of her life. she is utterly inexcusable and must answer to god for the result if she turn her children over to the care of maids and teachers while she occupies herself with society or any exterior work. in the second place the work of the church of god is a work that ought to appeal to all women and a work that any woman can help in. all women can help the spiritual progress of the church by meditating upon the life of blessed mary and fashioning their lives upon her example. we are all tremendously affected by example, and that is especially true of young girls. their supreme terror seems to be that they should be caught doing or saying something different from what all other girls say or do or wear. their opinions are as imitative as their clothes. hence the need of the pressure of a strong christian example, which would result most readily in the union of christian women in a single ideal. our present difficulty is that so many of our women who are devout members of the church in their private capacity, so far succumb to the group-mind in their social relations that they are possessed by the same terror as the young girl in the face of the possibility of being different. therefore are they careful to hide their real feeling for religion and their devotion to spiritual things under the mask of worldly conformity which evacuates their example of much of the power that it might have. i am quite convinced that fear of the world is about as strong an impulse toward evil as love of the world. we need that women should clear their ideals and realise their public responsibility for the presentation of them. we need terribly at this moment insistence on the purity and simplicity of the holy mother of god. one is stunned at the abandonment of the ideal of reserve and modesty that the last few years have seen. women seem to take it quite gaily: men, one notes, take it much more seriously. i have been consulted by more than one father during the past year as to the possibility of sending a boy to a school where he would be kept out of the society of half-naked girls. have mothers no longer any sense of the value of purity? or have they simply abandoned all responsibility that normally goes with being a mother? one recognises how helpless a man is under the circumstances, that his intervention in such matters simply casts him for the part of family tyrant; but why should a mother abandon her duty simply because her daughter says: "you don't understand. girls are not as they were when you were young. all the girls do this. no other mother takes the line that you do. you are not modern." one knows, of course, that the whole matter of decline in manners and morals is but a part of the world-wide revolt against the morality of jesus christ that we are witnessing everywhere. social and religious teachers, students of history and social movements have seen the approach of this revolt for a long time, have been watching its rise and growth. when they have pointed out the end of the path that we have been travelling, they have been disposed of by calling them pessimists. these "pessimists" pointed out long ago that the denial of the obligation to believe would be followed by an abandonment of all moral standards. they pointed out to the devotees of "liberal religion" that they are in reality the leaders of a moral revolt, that if it does not make any difference what you believe it will soon come to make no difference what you do. it is a rather silly performance to blow up the dam which holds back the mass of water of an irrigation system and imagine that no more water will flow out than you want to flow out. when the protestant revolt blew up the restraining dams of the catholic religion they had no right to expect that only so much denial of catholic truth as it suited them to dispense with would be the result. through the broken dams the whole religion of christ has been flowing out and it is mere empty pretence to claim that all that is of any value is left. it is impossible to maintain anything of the sort now that all the moral content of the christian system is openly thrown overboard by vast numbers of the population of the world, in every country that claims to be civilised. it is useless to say that there has always been evil in the world and that the maintenance of the catholic religion has never anywhere abolished sin. that is true, but it is not to the present point. the social situation is one where there are definite religious and moral ideals strongly maintained and universally recognised, though there are many men and women who violate them; it is quite another situation when the ideals themselves are repudiated and set aside as superstitions. that is our case to-day. the christian theory is confronted with a theory of naturalism in morals, and those who follow that theory do not do so with a feeling that they are violating accepted ideals, but with the assumption that they are missionaries setting forth a new faith. those who have revolted from the kingdom of god have now set up another kingdom and proclaimed openly, "we will not have this man to reign over us." the revolt which began with a breach in the dogmatic system of the church and denial of the authority of the catholic church in favour of the right of private judgment, has ended, as it could not help but end, in open abandonment of the life-ideal of the gospels. we now have the application of the right of private judgment in the theory that one's morals are one's own concern. such things have happened before. "in those days there was no king in israel, but every one did what was right in his own eyes." the social state depicted in the book of judges reflects this revolt. the result of the same repudiation of authority is seen in modern society where what is right in one's own eyes is the whole law and gospel. are we to remain quiescent, or are we to make the attempt to generate moral force? but how can christendom generate any more moral force? the teaching of the gospel which it proclaims is perfectly plain. true, but is the adherence of the church to its statements perfectly plain? is there no falling away, no compromise, there? when one speaks thus of the church one is conscious of a confusion of thought in the use of the word. the teaching of the formal documents of the church is not here in question; what we necessarily mean is the effect that the existing membership of the church is having upon contemporary life. what we have especially in mind is the attitude of the clergy and the action of the congregation in the way of moral force. what sort of a front is the church presenting to the world, what sort of moral influence is it exercising? it seems to me perfectly evident that all along the line the conventions of contemporary society have been accepted in the place of the life-ideals of the gospel of jesus. we have accepted plain departures from or compromises with christian teaching as the recognised law of action. this is due largely to the natural sloth of the human being and his disinclination to struggle for superior standards. he feels safe and comfortable if he can succeed in losing himself in a crowd: thus he escapes both trouble and criticism. a violation of law may become so common that there is no public spirit to oppose it. the same thing may happen in morals,--violations of the christian standard, if sufficiently widespread, command almost universal acquiesence. what is actually uncovered in the process is the fact that the plain man has no morals of his own, but imitates the prevailing morality; and if fashion sets against some particular ruling of the christian religion he feels quite secure in following the fashion. the _vox dei_ in holy scripture and in holy church affect him not at all if he be conscious that he is on the side of the _vox populi_. it is easy to illustrate this. the non-catholic christian world has the bible, and boasts of its adherence to it as the sole guide of life; but in the matter of divorced persons it utterly disregards its teachings. by this acceptance of an unchristian attitude it has vastly weakened the fight for purity in the family relation which the catholic church, at least in the west, has always waged. it deliberately divides the christian forces of the community and to a large extent thereby nullifies their action. the divisions of christendom are terrible from every point of view; but there are certain questions on which a united mind might well be presented, and in relation to which an united mind would go far to control the attitude of society. an united christian sentiment against divorce would go far to reduce the evil. on the other hand the progress of the movement to abolish the evils growing out of the use of alcohol has had its strength in the protestant bodies. on the whole (there were no doubt individual exceptions) the churches of the catholic tradition have been lukewarm in the matter. it is quite evident that the reform could never have been carried through if left to them, and especially if left to the bishops and clergy of the roman and anglican communions. it is a plain case of failure to support a vast moral reform because of the pressure of opinion in the social circles in which they move, combined with a purely individualistic attitude toward a grave social question. another instance is ready at hand in the practical abandonment of the religious observance of sunday. to christians sunday is the lord's day, and is to be observed as such. it is not true that an hour in the morning is the lord's day, and is to be given to worship, and that the rest of the day is given to us to do what we will with. but in our own communion do we get any strong protest in favour of the sanctity of the day? or are not the clergy compromising in the hope that if they surrender the greater part of the day to the world they will be able to save an hour or two for god? but is anything actually saved by this sort of compromise? do we not know that the encroachments of worldliness that have narrowed down sunday observance to an hour a day will ultimately demand that hour, that is, will deny any obligation other than the obligation of inclination? are we not bound to stand by the lord's day? are we to be made lax by silly talk about puritanism? those who talk about the "puritan sunday" would do well to read a little of the medieval legislation of the church. are we to keep silent in the pulpit because wealthy and influential members of the congregation want to play golf and tennis on sunday afternoons, or children want to play ball or go to the movies? are we to be taken in by talk of hard work during the week and consequent need of rest? it is no doubt well that a man should arrange his work with a view to an adequate amount of rest; but it is also well that he should rest in his own time and not in god's. the lord's day is not a day of rest. it ought to be, and is intended to be, a very strenuous day indeed. one could easily spend hours in pointing out where and how the gospel standard of life has been abandoned or compromised, and the life of the christian in consequence conformed to the world. the result would only strengthen the position that has been already sufficiently indicated that a wholly different standard of living has been quietly substituted throughout the western world for the standard that is contained in holy scripture. now we are either bound to be christians or we are not; and we are not christians solely by virtue of certain beliefs more or less loosely held. our lord's word is: "ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever i command you." and the gospel view of life is a perfectly plain one, and is as far removed from the common life of christians to-day as it possibly can be. the gospel conception of the christian life is contained first of all in our lord's life. that is the perfect human life; and the new testament optimism is well illustrated by its conviction that that life in its essential features can, with the grace of god, be imitated by man. and by those who have approached it in this spirit of optimism it has been found imitable. innumerable men and women have lived the christian life in the past and are living it in the present. to-day the possibility of living the christian life, of bringing life approximately to the standard of the gospel, is declared to be an impracticable piece of optimism, and our lord's teaching hopelessly out of touch with reality. when people talk of the difficulty of living the christ-life under modern conditions, the plain answer is that there is in fact only one difficulty in the matter, and that is the difficulty of wanting to do it. it is a confession of utter spiritual incompetence to say that we cannot follow the gospel standards under modern conditions because of the isolation in which we at once find ourselves if we attempt it. if the attempt to be a christian isolates us, it tells a pretty plain tale about our chosen companionship. it is asserting that it is hard for us to be christians because we are devoted to the society of those who are not christians, of those who ignore it and habitually insult the teachings of our saviour. that is surely an extraordinary confession for a christian to make! can we imagine a christian of the first period of the church excusing himself for offering incense to the divinity of augustus on the ground that if he did not do so certain court festivities would be closed to him, and that his friends would think him odd! "ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever i command you," "the friendship of this world is enmity with god." we have to choose. it is not that we may choose. it is not that it is possible to have a little of both. as christians it is quite impossible in any real sense to have the friendship of the world, though many christians think that they can. what really is open to us is the enmity of the world if we are sincere and strict in our profession, and the contempt of the world if we are not. you have not to read very deep in contemporary literature to learn what the world thinks about the christian who ignores or compromises his standards. the world knows perfectly well what constitutes a christian life, and it shows a well merited scorn of those who, not having the courage openly to abandon it, yet show by their lives that they do not value it. we may not show the same sort of contempt for the "weak brother" as s. paul calls him, but we ought to make it plain that we have no sort of approval of the brother who pleads weakness as an excuse for laxity. there is one law of life and only one; and that is summed up in our lady's direction to the servants at cana in galilee: "whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." there is no ground for pleading that our lord's will is an obscure will, or that circumstances have so changed that much that he set forth in word and example has no application to-day in the america of the twentieth century. perhaps if any one feels that there is some truth in the last statement, he would do well to examine the case and to find out just what and how much of the gospel teaching is obsolete, and how much has contemporary application, and to ask himself whether he is constantly putting in action that part which he thinks still holds good. it will, i think, on examination be found that none of our lord's teaching is obsolete, though in some cases changed circumstances may have changed its mode of application. certainly there is nothing obsolete in his teaching in the matter of purity. the virtues that he dwells upon--humility, meekness and the rest--are universal qualities on which time and social change have no effect. what christian conduct needs on our part is interest. we have to make clear to ourselves that a certain kind of life is like the life of god, and therefore is the medium for understanding god, and ultimately for enjoying god. the christian life is not an arbitrary thing; it is the highest expression of humanity. any other life is a distortion of the human ideal. people talk as though they thought that by the arbitrary will of god they were obliged to be good--a thing wholly contrary to our nature and to our present interests. but goodness is the natural unfolding of our nature as god made it: we find our true expression in the likeness of god. perfection is what nature aspires to. religion is not a curb on nature; religion is a help to enable nature to express itself. nature reaches its perfect expression when by the grace of god it becomes godlike. and the words of christ are our guide to the perfect expression of our best. therefore the earnest christian is willing to give time to the careful study of them, and of the whole ideal of life that is contained in them. he is not concerned with what they will cut him off from; he is concerned with that to which they will admit him. he is concerned to find the meaning of christ's teaching. this that s. paul says is fundamental is his rule of life: "be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of god." of one that is so fayr and bright _velut maris stella_, brighter than the day is light, _parens et puella_; i crie to thee, thou see to me, levedy, preye thi sone for me, _tam pia_, that i mote come to thee _maria_. al this world was for-lore _eva peccatrice_, tyl our lord was y-bore _de te genetrice_. with _ave_ it went away thuster nyth and comz the day _salutis_; the welle springeth ut of the, _virtutis_. levedy, flour of alle thing, _rosa sine spina_, thu here jhesu, hevene king, _gratia divina_; of alle thu ber'st the pris, levedy, quene of paradys _electa_: mayde milde, moder _es effecta_. part two chapter xv who is my mother? whosoever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother, s. matt. xii, . grant, we beseech thee, almighty god, that we may keep with an immaculate heart the sacrament which we have received in honour of the blessed virgin mother mary; so that we who celebrate her feast now, may be found worthy when we have left this life to pass into her company. through &c. sarum missal. our blessed lord had begun his ministry of preaching. the mark of the early days of that preaching was success. crowds came about him wherever he taught. the fact that there were frequent miracles of healing no doubt added to the popularity that he achieved. it was largely the popularity of a new and strange movement, of a preaching cutting across the normal roads of instruction to which the jewish people were accustomed. there was a fascination about its form, its picturesque way of conveying its meaning, its use of the parable drawn from the everyday circumstances of life. there was nothing of hesitation in the words of the new preacher, but the ring of a dogmatic certainty. "he taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes." he pushed aside the rulings of the traditional teaching with his, "ye have heard it said ... but i say." "verily, verily, i say unto you." and yet there are people who tell us that there was nothing dogmatic about our lord and his teaching! one would infer from much that is written upon the subject of our lord's teaching that he was a very mild giver of good advice but evidently the scribes and pharisees did not think so. they saw in him a man who was setting himself to undermine their whole authority. this popularity was at a high point when an interesting event happened of which we have an account in the first of the gospels. "his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him." one gathers from the whole tone of the narrative that they were anxious about him, that they looked with doubt upon this career of popular teacher that he was launched upon and felt that he was going too far. he needed advice and restraint, perhaps; it may be that there were already reports of possible interference by the national authorities. the fact that his "brethren" were present suggests the well meant interference of the older members of the family, who must always have thought jesus rather strange. that they had induced his mother to come with them makes us think that they were counting on the influence naturally hers, an influence which must always have been apparent in their family relations. so we reconstruct the incident. no doubt s. mary herself was anxious. she must always have been anxious as to what would be the next step in the development of her mysterious child. and while there was one side of her relation to jesus which would always have run out into mystery, the mystery of the as yet unrevealed will of god; on the other side she was no doubt a very real normal human mother, with all a mother's anxiety and need of constant intervention in the life of her child. i do not suppose that s. mary, any more than any other mother, ever understood that her son had grown up and could be trusted to conduct the ordinary affairs of the day without her help. she was no doubt as much concerned as any mother with the fact that his feet might be wet, or that he might not have had any lunch, or that he might have got run over by a passing chariot, or have been taken mysteriously ill. it was, we may think, this mother-attitude which brought her along with the brethren to give some advice as to how to carry on the preaching mission and avoid getting into trouble with the religious authorities. "one said unto him, behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. but he answered and said unto him that told him, who is my mother? and who are my brethren? and he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, behold my mother and my brethren! for whosoever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven, the same is my mother, and my sister, and my brother." our lord had a way of turning the passing incidents of the moment to account in his preaching, making them the texts of moral and spiritual teaching. one gathers that more than one of the parables and parabolic sayings was suggested by something that was before the eyes of his hearers. he was quick to seize any spoken word, any question, any exclamation, and to turn it to immediate account. it was so now. the report that his mother and his brethren were seeking him, he made the occasion of a statement of vast import. when we try to think it out, it was not in the least, as it has been perversely understood, an impatient rebuff of an untimely interference, an indication that he did not care for their intervention in a work that they did not understand. there is really nothing of all that, but a seizing of a passing incident as the medium of an universal truth. it is the skill of one who knows that the human attention is caught by a matter, however trifling, which is vividly present. the scene is sharply defined for us: our lord interrupted in his talk; the report of the mother and the brethren seeking him; the obvious interest of the people as to how he will take their intervention; and then the rapid seizing of this interest to make his declaration: "whosoever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven, the same is my mother, and my sister, and my brother." and what are we to understand him to mean? surely he is declaring that through the revelation of god that he is, there is a new stage in god's work for man being entered upon, and that this new stage will be characterised by the emergence of a new set of relations, relations so important that they throw into the background the ordinary relations of life. he is proclaiming to them the advent of the kingdom of god; and in that kingdom, the service of god will be put first, before all human relations. it will not be antagonistic to human relations; indeed, it will hallow them and raise them to a higher level; but in case they, as not infrequently they will, decline to adjust themselves to the work of the kingdom, or set themselves in opposition to it, then will they be brushed aside, no matter what they be. if we can consecrate our human relations and bring them into god, then will they be ours still with a vast enrichment and a rare spiritual beauty; but if they remain selfish, insist on absorbing all attention and energy, then they must be broken. the love of father and mother and children is an holy thing wherever we find it, but it is capable of becoming a selfish and perverse thing, insistent upon its own ends and declining wider responsibilities. in that case it must be regarded from the standpoint of a higher good: if it stand in the path of the kingdom it must be swept aside. so our lord declared in one of the most searching of his utterances; one of the utterances which we feel could come only from the lips of god: "think not that i am come to send peace on earth: i came not to send peace, but a sword. for i am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. and a man's foes shall be those of his own household. he that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me." that is the teaching of the incident before us. our lord's primary mission is to declare the will of god, and to make known the mind of the father to all who will heed. their acceptance of this will of the father will bring them into a new relation to him more important than, and transcending, all relations of flesh and blood. but--and this is important to mark--it does not exclude relations of flesh and blood; but it demands that they shall be put on a new basis and be assimilated to the higher relation. in our lord's case they were in fact so assimilated. the blessed mother and the brethren did not resist god's will when they came to understand it. they were, we know, glad of the higher relation, the new privilege. there is no ground at all for the suggestion of any breach between them. they are of the inner circle always in the kingdom of the regenerate. this fundamental truth of christ's teaching, that through him a new and closer relation to the father becomes possible, and that the kingdom is its embodiment, is one of the truths which have received constant lip-service, but have never been really assimilated in the working life of the church. that the church is the body of christ and we his members, and that by virtue of this membership in him we are also members one of another; that we are, at our entrance into the kingdom, made, as the catechism puts it, members of christ, children of god, and heirs of the kingdom of heaven are truths of most marvellous reach and of splendid social implications. but can we say that they have very wide or real acknowledgment? in face of a divided christendom it seems almost farcical to talk of a christian brotherhood. the baptismal membership of the church of god has fallen into group organisations whose mutual antagonism is of the bitterest kind. the so-called "religious press" is perhaps the saddest picture of modern christian life. one could name a half dozen journals off hand, organs of this or that group, every one a sufficient refutation of the claim of the christian religion to be a brotherhood of the redeemed. there is no possible excuse for the tone of such publications. no doubt it is an inevitable result of the state of a divided christendom that there should be disputes and controversies. we shall never reach any expression of the brotherhood that is the church by saying, peace, peace, where there is no peace. the unity we look to must be reached through painful sacrifice and through conflict; and we know that the wisdom that is from above is "first pure, and then peaceable," but it is quite possible while holding with all firmness to the truth, to hold it in the fear and love of god. so long as christendom is thus divided into hostile camps the ideal of brotherhood is impossible of realisation. i do not want however to discuss this matter from the point of view of church unity. i want to point out that within the groups themselves there is small vision of the meaning of the oneness of christ. for brotherhood is the expression of a spiritual reality. it looked for a moment in the early days of the church as though the ideal would be realised. the description of the church was that "all that believed were together, and had all things in common: and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need." that was, no doubt, a passing phase of the life of the church in jerusalem, but we have evidence that elsewhere all distinctions based upon social considerations were for the moment swept away. there is "neither jew nor greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in christ jesus." our glimpses of the congregations of the early church are of men and women of all classes held together by the bond of a common membership in christ, so strongly felt as to enable them to forget all worldly distinctions. their sense of redemption was strong. they thrilled with the joy of deliverance from the old life "after the flesh." they knew that they were regenerate, new creations, and that this was the distinction of the brother who knelt beside them at their communions. it mattered not at all what he was in the world, whether he were greek or barbarian, whether he were patrician or freedman, whether he were of the slaves of rome or of caesar's household. the man who knelt to receive his communion might be a great nobleman, the priest who communicated him might be a slave: that did not matter; the significant thing was that they were both one in jesus christ. that did not last. i suppose that it could not be expected to last in an unconverted or half converted world. it could only last on condition of the fairly complete isolation of the christian group from the rest of society, pending the conversion of society as a whole. but it proved impossible to secure the isolation. the only real isolation was in monastic groups which naturally could contain only such men and women as god called to a special sort of life: the whole of society could not be so organised. as the church grew and took in the various social constituents included in the empire, it took them in differentiated as they were. there seems to have been no real effort to break down race distinctions or class distinctions. there were no doubt protests, but the protests were as ineffective then as now. "you cannot change human nature," men say; but that in fact is precisely what christianity claims to do. unless it can change human nature it is a failure. the ideal of christianity is not the abolition of inequality (only a certain sort of social theorists are insane enough to expect that). all men are born unequal in a variety of ways, physical, intellectual, moral; and under any form of society that so far has been invented they are born in social classes which remain very hard realities in spite of our theories. what christianity aims at accomplishing is to transcend these inequalities, natural and artificial, by raising men to a state of spiritual equality, a state which ensures true and full enjoyment of all the privileges of the child of god. in this state there is open to all the gift of sanctifying grace which is the possession of god now, and in the future will unfold into the capacity of the complete participation of the life of heaven. this belongs to, is within the grasp of, any child, any ignorant peasant, any toiler, as much as it is within the grasp of bishop or priest or religious. and this much--and how much it is!--the church has succeeded in accomplishing. it may be slow in offering the riches of the gospel to the unconverted world, but where it has presented the gospel, it presents it to all men as a gospel of salvation and sanctification. when tempted to discouragement let us remember that whatever the shortcoming of the church, it is yet true that every man, woman and child in these united states of america can through its instrumentality, become a saint whenever he desires. but, naturally, to become a saint, effort is necessary. where the church has failed is not in the offer of salvation and sanctity, but in removing some of of the obvious obstacles to its attainment by many to whom it appeals, to whom its divine mission is. it has not succeeded in convincing us that we are members one of another, that is, it has not succeeded in persuading us to act upon what we profess in any broad way. the church is not a fellowship in any comprehensive sense. the divisions which run through secular society and divide group from group run through it also. the parish which should be the exemplification of the christian brotherhood in action is not so. too often a parish is known as the parish of a certain social group. there are parishes to which people go to get "into society." very likely they do not succeed, but that is the sort of impression that the parish membership has made upon them. then there are parishes to which people "in society" would not be transferred. there are churches in which no poor person would set foot, not that they would be unwelcome, but that they would feel out of place. so long as such things are true, our practice of brotherhood has not much to commend of it. and when we go about setting things right i am not sure that we do not mostly make them worse. i do not believe that it is the business of the church to set about the abolition of inequalities and the getting rid of the distinctions between man and man. apart from the waste of time due to attempting the impossible, what would be gained? pending the arrival of the social millenium we need to do something; and that something, it seems to me a mistake to assume must be social. "we must bring people together": but what is gained by bringing people together when they do not want to be together, and will not actually get together when you force them into proximity. there is nothing more expressive of the failure of well-meant activity than a church gathering where people at once group themselves along the familiar lines and decline to mix, notwithstanding the utmost endeavours of clergy and zealous ladies to bring them together. the thing is an object lesson of wrong method. is there a right method? there must be, though no one seems to have found it yet. there is in any case a right point of departure in our common membership in jesus christ. suppose we drop the supposition that we make, i presume because we think it pious, that if they are both christians a dock labourer ought to be quite at home at a millionaire's dinner party, or a scrub-woman in a box at the metropolitan opera house. suppose we drop the attempt to force people together on lines which will be impossible till after the social revolution has buried us all in a common grave, and fasten attention on the one fact that, from our present point of view, counts, the fact that we are christians. suppose one learns to meet all men and all women simply on the basis of their religion; when that forms the bond that unites us when we come together, we have at once common grounds of interest in the life and activities of the body of christ. suppose the millionaire going down town in his motor sees his clerk walking and stops and picks him up, and instead of talking constrainedly about the weather or about business, he begins naturally to talk to him about spiritual matters. why could they not talk about the mission that has just been held, or the quiet day that is in prospect? one great trouble, is it not? is that we fight shy of talking to our fellow-christians of the interests that we really have in common and try to put intercourse on some other ground where we have little or nothing in common. the things that should, and probably do, vitally interest us, we decline to talk about at all. we are so stiff and formal and restrained in all matter of personal religious experience that we are unable to express the fact of christian brotherhood. the fact that you smile at the presentment of the case, that you cannot even imagine yourself talking about your spiritual experience with your clerk or your employer, shows how far you are from a truly christian conception of brotherhood. our lord's words that we are making our subject indicate the paramount importance that he laid upon the acceptance of god's will as the ultimate rule of life. "whosoever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven, the same is my mother, and my sister, and my brother." "ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever i command you." that is the common ground on which we are all invited to stand, the ground of a common loyalty to god, of intense zeal for the cause of god. our lord gave his whole life to that cause. as his disciples watched him on an occasion, they remembered that it was written: "the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." zeal is not a very popular quality because it is always disturbing the equanimity and self-complacency of lukewarm people. and then, we dislike to be thought fanatics. but i fancy that there will always be a touch of the fanatic about any very zealous christian, and it is not worth while to suppress our zeal for fear of the world's judgment upon it. what we have to avoid is the misdirection of zeal. there is, no doubt, a zeal which is "not according to knowledge." we need to be sure, in other words, that our zeal is a zeal for god, and not a zeal for party or person or cause. it is no doubt quite easy to imagine that we are seeking to do god's will when we are merely seeking to impose on our own will. self-seeking is quite destructive of the friendship and service of god. the kingdom whose interests we are attempting to forward may turn out to be a kingdom in which we expect to sit on the right hand or the left of the throne because of the brilliance of the service rendered. life is simplified very much when the will of god thus becomes its guiding principle, and all other relations of life are subordinated to our relation to our heavenly father. then have we brought life to that complete simplicity which is near akin to peace. when we have learned in deciding any line of action not to think what our neighbours and friends will feel, or what the world will think, but only what god will think, we have little difficulty in making up our minds. suppose that a boy has to make up his mind whether he will study for the priesthood, the vital thing on which to concentrate his thought and prayer is whether god is calling him to that life, and if he is convinced that he is being called the whole question should be settled. in fact in most cases it is far from being settled because this simplicity has not been attained. there is a whole social circle to be dealt with, who urge the hardness of the life, the scant reward, the greater advantages of a business career, and so on; all of which have absolutely nothing to do with the question to be decided. it is so all through life. in most questions of life's decisions, no doubt, there is no sense of any vocation at all, of a determining will of god; but is not that because we assume that god has no will in such matters, and leaves us free to follow our own devices? such an assumption is hardly justified in the case of one to whom the fall of a sparrow is a matter of interest. it is our weakness, or the sign of our spiritual incompetence, that we have unconsciously removed the greater part of life from the jurisdiction of the divine will. we do not habitually think of god as interested in the facts of daily experience; we do not take him with us into offices and factories. perhaps we think that they are hardly fit places for god, and i have no doubt that he has many things to suffer there. but he is there, and will suffer, until we recognise his right there, and insist upon his there being supreme. let us go back for a moment to our lady standing outside the place where jesus was preaching, perplexed and worried at the course he was taking. i suppose that it is always easier to surrender ourselves unreservedly into god's hands than it is to so surrender some one we love. i suppose that s. mary so trusted in god that she never thought with anxiety of what his providence was preparing for her; but she would not quite take that attitude about her son; or rather, while she did intellectually, no doubt, take that attitude, her feelings never went the whole distance that her mind went. but surrender to the will of god means complete surrender of ourself and ours. it means absolute confidence in god, it means lying quiet in his arms, as the child lies still in the arms of his mother. it means that we trust god. rose-mary, sum of virtue virginal, fresh flower on whom the dew of heaven downfell; o gem, conjoined in joy angelical, in whom rejoiced the saviour was to dwell: of refuge ark, of mercy spring and well, of ladies first, as is of letters a, empress of heaven, of paradise and hell-- mother of christ, o mary, hail, alway. o star, that blindest phoebus' beams so bright, with course above the empyrean crystalline; above the sphere of saturn's highest height, surmounting all the angelic orders nine; o lamp, that shin'st before the throne divine, where sounds hosanna in cherubic lay, with drum and organ, harp and cymbeline-- mother, of christ, o mary, hail, alway, o cloister chaste of pure virginity, that christ hath closed 'gainst crime for evermo'; triumphant temple of the trinity, that didst the eternal tartarus o'erthrow; princess of peace, imperial palm, i trow, from thee our samson sprang invict in fray; who, with one buffet, belial hath laid low-- mother of christ, o mary, hail, alway, thy blessed sides the mighty champion bore, who hath, with many a bleeding wound in fight, victoriously o'erthrown the dragon hoar that ready was his flock to slay and smite; nor all the gates of hell him succour might, since he that robber's rampart brake away, while all the demons trembled at the sight-- mother of christ, o mary, hail, alway, o maiden meek, chief mediatrix for man, and mother mild, full of humility, pray to thy son, with wounds that sanguine ran, whereby for all our trespass slain was he. and since he bled his blood upon a tree, 'gainst lucifer, our foe, to be our stay, that we in heaven may sing upon our knee-- mother of christ, o mary, hail, alway, hail, pearl made pure; hail, port of paradise; hail, ruby, redolent of rays to us; hail, crystal clear, empress and queen, hail thrice; mother of god, hail, maid exalted thus; o gratia plena, tecum dominus; with gabriel that we may sing and say, benedicta tu in mulieribus-- mother of christ, o mary, hail, alway. william dunbar, xv-xvi. cents. part two chapter xvi holy week i then all the disciples forsook him and fled. s. matt. xxvi, . through the intercession of the holy mother of god, accept, o lord, our prayers and save us. may the holy mother of god and all the saints be our intercessors with the heavenly father, that he may deign to be merciful to us, and in pity save his creatures. lord god all-powerful! save us and have mercy upon us. through the intercession of the holy mother of god, the immaculate mother of thine only son, and through the prayers of all the saints, receive, o lord, our supplications; hear us, o lord, and have mercy upon us; pardon us, bear with us, and blot out our sins, and make us worthy to glorify thee, together with thy son and the holy ghost, now and ever, world without end. amen. armenian. we try to see our lord's passion through the eyes of his blessed mother. we feel that all through holy week she must have been in direct touch with the experiences of our lord. her outlook would have been that of the apostolic circle the record of which we get in the gospels. our lord's ministry had showed a period of popularity during which it must have seemed to those closest to him that they were moving rapidly to success; and then, after the day at caeserea phillipi, when his messianic claims had been acknowledged, they would have been filled with enthusiasm for the mission the meaning of which was now defined. then came a period of disappointment. our lord declined to become a popular leader, and by the nature of his preaching, the demands that he made upon those who were inclined to support him lost popularity till it was a question to be considered whether the very apostles would not desert him. then came the flash of renewed enthusiasm which is evidenced by the palm sunday entry, bringing, no doubt, renewed hopes to those nearest our lord who seem to have been utterly unable to accept the view of his failure and death that he kept before them. but the hope vanished as quickly as it was roused. in less than a week the rejoicing group of sunday followed him from the upper chamber to the shades of gethsemane. the betrayal, the trial, the end, come quickly on. this to s. mary was the piercing of the sword through the very heart. these were the days when the meaning of close association with incarnate god, with god who was pursuing a mission of rescue, came out. the mission of the son for the redemption of man meant submitting to the extremity of insult and torture, and it meant that those who were closest associated with him should be caught into the circle of his pain. as our lord was displaying the best of which humanity is capable, so was he calling out the worst of which it is capable. these last days of the life of jesus show where man can be led when he surrenders himself to the dominion of the power of evil and becomes the servant of sin. the triumph of demoniac malice through its instruments, the roman governor, the jewish authorities, of necessity swept over all who were related to our lord. the storm scattered the apostolic group and left the christ to face his trial alone. yet not alone: he himself tells us the truth. "behold the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet i am not alone, because the father is with me." it was what the prophet had foreseen: "all ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, i will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." we do not know where s. mary was during these days, but we are sure that she was as near our lord as it was possible for her to be. we know that her own thought would be of the possibility of ministering to him. we know that she would not have fled with the apostles in their momentary panic. she was at the cross, and she was at the grave, and she would have been as near him in the agony and the trial as it was possible for her to be. and she too was in agony. every pang of our lord found echo in her. every blow that fell upon his bleeding back, she too felt. every insult that the soldiers inflicted, hurt her. our lord in the consciousness of his mission is constantly sustained by the thought that his passion and death is an offering to the will of the father,--an offering even for these miserable men who are brutally treating a man whom they know to be innocent. her sorrow is the utter desolation of seeing the one whom she loves above all else suffer, while she can bear him no alleviation in his suffering, cannot so much as wipe the blood from off his wounded brow, cannot even touch his hand, and look her love into his eyes. she follows from place to place while our lord is being hustled from caiaphas to pilate and from pilate to herod and back again; from time to time hearing from some one who has succeeded in getting nearer, how the trial is going on, what the accusation is, how jesus is bearing himself, what answers he has made, what the authorities have said. once and again, it may be, catching a distant glimpse of him as he is led about by the guards, seeing him always more worn and weary, always nearer the point of collapse. herself, too, nearer collapse; yet going on still with that strength that love gives to mothers, determined at the cost of any suffering to be near him, as near as she can be, till the very end. so we see her on that day in the streets of jerusalem, and think of the distance travelled since the morning when gabriel said to her, wondering: "hail thou that art highly favoured.... blessed art thou among women." we, too, follow. we have so often followed, with the gospel in our hands, and wondered at the method of god. we have tried hour after hour to penetrate the meaning of the passion, to find what personal message it brings, to discover what light it throws on our own lives. we have gone out into gethsemane and placed ourselves with the three chosen apostles while our lord went on to pray by himself; and we have discovered in ourselves the same weariness, the same tendency to sleep, in the presence of what we tell ourselves is the most important of all interests. we call up the scene under the olives, and find that we wander and are inattentive and idle when we most want to be attentive and alert. we place ourselves in the group that surrounds our lord when the soldiers, led by judas, come, and ask ourselves shall i too run away? and our memory flashes the answer: you have run away again and again: you have in the face, not of grave dangers, but of insignificant trifles--how insignificant they look now--for fear of criticism, for fear of being thought odd, for fear of the opinion of worldly companions, for fear of being pitied or laughed at, over and over again you have run away. the things that seemed important when they were present seem pitifully insignificant in the retrospect. we follow out of the garden to the meeting-place of the sanhedrin, to the judgment seat of pilate, to the palace of herod. any impulse to criticise s. peter is speedily suppressed: we have denied so often under such trifling provocation. s. peter was frightened from participation in the act of our lord's sacrifice through mortal fear of his life. we have stayed away from the offering of the holy sacrifice, how often! from mere sloth, from disinclination to effort, from the fact that our participation would prevent us from joining in some act of worldly amusement. s. peter, following to the high priest's palace to see the end, looks heroic beside our frivolity. we follow through the details of the trial, we go to herod's palace and see the brutal treatment of our lord, and we remember of these men that their conduct was founded in ignorance. we do not for a moment believe that they would have spit upon our lord and buffeted him, and crowned him with a crown of thorns, if they had believed that he was god. but we believe that he is god. our desertion of him when we sin, our contempt of his expressed ideals when we compromise with the world, our departure from his example when we excuse ourselves on the ground of very minor inconveniences from keeping some holy day or fasting day, are not founded in ignorance at all. they can hardly be said to be founded in weakness, so slight is the temptation that we do not resist. as we meditate on the passion, as we keep good friday, very pitiful all our idleness and subterfuges appear to us. but we so easily shake off the effect! we emerge from our meditation almost convinced that the stinging sense of the truth of our conduct which we are experiencing is the equivalent of having reformed it. we go out with a glow of virtue and by night realise that we have sinned again! it is no doubt well that we should not be permanently depressed about our spiritual state, but only because we have taken all the pains we can to heal the wounds of sin. there is no need that any one should abide in a state of sin because there has been in the precious blood a fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness, and by washing therein, though our souls were as scarlet, they shall become white as snow. we have the right to a certain optimism about ourselves if it be founded on actual spiritual activity which ceaselessly tries to reproduce the christ-experience in us, even the experience of the passion by the voluntary self-discipline to which we subject ourselves. a brilliant writer has spoken of those whose view of their lives is drawn from "that fountain of all optimism--sloth." that is a true saying: our optimism is often no more than an idle refusal to face facts; a quaint and good-natured assumption that nothing very much matters and that everything will be all right in the end! this easy going optimism is commonly as far as possible from representing any spiritual fact. if we are seeking any serious and fruitful relation to the passion of our lord, we must seek it along the way of the cross. to follow his example means to follow his experience, to treat life as he treated it. the content of our lives is quite different, but the treatment of the given fact must be essentially the same. we need the same repulse of temptation, the same quiet disregard of the appeals of the world, whether it offer the alleviation of difficulty or the bestowal of pleasure as the reward of our allegiance. and we, sinners in so manifold ways, need what our lord did not need, repulsion from our sins as the necessary preliminary to forgiveness. my experience makes me feel very strongly that we are apt to be deficient in the first step in repentance--contrition. as we follow the way of sorrows we know that our lord is suffering _for us_; and we feel that the starting point of our repentance must lie in our success in making that a personal matter. in our self examination, in our approach to the sacrament of penance, we are compelled to ask ourselves, am i in fact sorry for my sins? it surely is not enough that we fear the results of sin, or that we are ashamed at our failure. this really is not repentance but a sort of pride. there must, i feel, be sorrow after a godly sort. that is, true contrition, true sorrow for sin, is the sort of sorrow which is born of the vision of god; it has its origin in love. i have found in our lord love giving itself to me, and i must find in myself love giving itself to him. to my forgiveness it is not enough that god loves me. i know that he loves me and will love me to the end, whether i repent or not; but the possibility of forgiveness lies in my love of him, whether it takes such hold on me as actually to stimulate me to forsake sin. i shall never really forsake sin through shame or fear; one gets used to those emotions after a little and disregards them. but one does not get used to love; it grows to be an increasing force in life, and so masters us as to draw us away from sin. contrition then will be the offspring of love. it will be born when we follow christ jesus out on the sorrowful way and understand that he is going out for us. then we want to get as near him as possible: we want to take his hand and go by his side. we want to stand by him in his trial and share his condemnation. we want constantly to tell him how sorry we are that we have brought him here. we shall not be content that he feel all the pain. we are convinced that we ought to share in the pain as we share in the results of the passion. when we have achieved this point of view we shall feel that our approach to him to ask his forgiveness needs, it may be, much more care than we have hitherto bestowed upon it. we have thought of penance as forgiveness; now we begin to see how much the attitude which precedes our entrance to the confessional counts, and that we must value the gift of god enough to have made sure that we are ready to receive it. we kneel down, therefore, and look at our crucifix, and say: "this hast thou done for me," and make our act of love in which we join ourselves to the cross of jesus. we tell ourselves that love is the beginning and end of our relation to him. it is to be urged that every christian should be utterly familiar with the life of our lord, and should spend time regularly in meditation upon his life, and especially upon his passion. love is the constant counteractive of familiarity; and it is kept fresh in our souls by the contemplation of what our lord has actually done for us. a general recalling of what he has done has not the same stimulating force as the vivid placing before us of the actual details of his work. to most of us visible aids to the realisation of our lord's action for us are most helpful. a crucifix on the wall of one's room before which one can say one's prayers, and before which also we stop for a moment time and again in the course of the day, just to say a few words, to make an act of love, of contrition, or of union, keeps the thought of the passion fresh. we gain in freshness and variety of prayer by the use of such devotions as the litany of the passion or the way of the cross. a set of cards of the stations help us to say them in our homes. it is much to be desired that we accustom ourselves to devotional helps of all sorts. we are quite too much inclined to think that there is something of spiritual superiority in the attempt to conduct our devotional life without any of the helps which centuries of christian experience have provided. it is the same sort of feeling that makes other christians assume that there is a superiority in spiritual attainment evidenced by their dispensing with "forms," especially with printed prayers. it is just as well to remember that we did not originate the christian religion, but inherited it; and that the practices of devotion that have been found helpful by generations of saints, and after full trial have retained the approval of the greater part of christendom, can hardly be treated as valueless, much less as superstitious. the fact that saints have found them valuable and one has not, may possibly not be a criticism of the saints. the meditation upon the way of the cross, the vision of jesus scourged, spitted upon, crowned with thorns, may well give us some searchings of heart in regard to our own easy-going, luxurious life. nothing seems to disturb the modern person so much as the suggestion that the chief business of the christian religion is not to look after their comfort. they hold, it would appear, to the pre-christian notion that prosperity is an obvious mark of god's favour, and that by the accumulation of wealth they are giving indisputable evidence of piety. it is well to recall that there is no such dangerous path as that of continual success. i do not in the least mean to imply that success is sinful or indicates the existence of sin, but i do mean to insist very strongly that the successful man needs to be a very spiritually watchful man. he is quite apt to think that he may take all sorts of liberties with the laws of god. there are, no doubt, evident dangers to the unsuccessful man, but the holy scriptures have not thought it worth while to spend much time in denouncing him. it has a good deal to say of the danger, not so much of wealth, as of prosperity in general: "behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease were in her." when we find ourselves in a satisfied and comfortable home life, so comfortable that we find it difficult to get up to a week-day mass, and disinclined to go out to a service after dinner, we need watching. and the best watchman is oneself; and the best method of self-examination is by the cross. is there any sense in which we can be said to be following our lord on the sorrowful way? have we taken up the cross to go after him, or are we assuming that we can just as well drift along with the crowd of those who only look on? we all need from time to time to consider the catholic teaching as to mortification and self-discipline. i am quite aware that to insist on this is not the way of popularity, but nevertheless i learned a long time ago that about the only way that a priest can take if he wishes to be saved is the way of unpopularity. and therefore i am going to insist that the practice of rigorous self-discipline is essential to any healthy christian life. we cannot dispense ourselves from this, for the mere fact that we are dispensing ourselves is the proof that we need that upon which we are turning our back. briefly, what i mean is that the assumption of the cross by a christian means that he is taking into his life, voluntarily, personal acts of self-sacrifice which he offers to our lord as the evidence and the means of his own cross-bearing. the unruliness of our nature can only be kept in order by continual acts of self-discipline. we, no doubt, recognise the need of the discipline of the passions, but our theory, so far as we can be said to have one, would seem to be that the discipline of the passions means resistence to special temptations as they arise. we may no doubt sin through the passions, and therefore we need a minimum of watchfulness to meet temptations which come our way. i submit that such a way of conducting life is quite sufficient to account for the vast amount of failure we witness or, perhaps, experience. when from time to time the country gets alarmed about its health, when it is threatened with some epidemic such as influenza, the papers are full of medical advice the sum of which is you cannot dodge all the disease germs that are in the air, but you can by a vigorous course of exercise and by careful diet, keep yourself in a state of such physical soundness that the chances are altogether favourable for your withstanding the assaults of disease. no doubt the vast majority of people prefer not to follow this advice. a considerable number of them resort to various magic cults, such as letting sudden drafts of cold air in upon the inoffensive bystander with a view to exorcising the germs. but it remains that the medical advice is sound: it amounts to saying, "keep yourself in the best physical condition possible and you will run the minimum chance of being ill." the catholic treatment of life and its recommendation of discipline and mortification has precisely the same basis as the physical advice--an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure. we are exposed to temptation constantly, and we need to recognise the fact and prepare ourselves to meet it; and the best preparation is the preparation of self-discipline for the purpose of keeping rebellious nature under control. good farming does not consist in pulling up weeds; it consists in the choice and preparation of the ground in which the seed is to be sown; it looks primarily to the growth of the seed and not to the elimination of the weeds. our nature is a field in which the word of god is sown; its preparation and care is what we need to focus attention on, not the weeds. self-discipline is the preparation of nature, the discipline of the powers of the spiritual life with a view to what they have to do. and one of the important phases of our preparation is to teach our passions obedience, to subject them to the control of the enlightened will. if they are accustomed to obey they are not very likely to get out of hand in some time of crisis. if they are broken in to the dominion of spiritual motive, they will instinctively seek that motive whenever they are incited to act. hence the immense spiritual value of the habitual denial to ourselves of indulgence in various innocent kinds of activity. i do not at all mean that we are never to have innocent indulgences: i do mean that the declining of them occasionally for the purpose of self-discipline is a most wholesome practice. how frequently it is desirable must be determined by the individual circumstances. it is utterly disastrous to permit a child to have everything it wants because there is sufficient money to spend, to permit it to run to soda fountains or go to the picture houses as it desires. any sane person recognises that; but does the same person recognise the sane principle as applying in his own life? does he feel the value of going without something for a day or two, or staying from places of amusement for a time, or of abandoning for a while this or that luxury? the principle is of course the ascetic principle of self-mastery. it is best brought before us by the familiar practice of fasting, which is very mildly recommended to us in its lowest terms in the table in the book of common prayer. naturally, its value is not the value of going without this or that, but the value of self-mastery. the very fact that our appetites rebel at the notion shows their undisciplined character. the child at the table begins to ask, not for a sensible meal founded on sound reasons of hygiene, but for various things that are an immediate temptation to the appetite. the adult is not markedly different save that he preserves a certain order in indulgence. the principle of fasting is that he should from time to cut across the inclination of appetite, and either go without a meal altogether, or select such food as will maintain health without delighting appetite. so man gains the mastery over the animal side of his nature and shows himself the child of god. the actual practice of the ascetic life really carries us much farther than these surface matters of a physical nature that have been cited. it applies in particular to the disposition of time and the ruling of daily actions. the introduction of a definite order into the day actually seems to increase the time at one's disposal. i know, i can hear you saying: "if you were the head of a family, and had children to look after, you would not talk that way. you would know something of the practical difficulties of life." but indeed i am quite familiar with the situation. and if i were so situated i am certain that i should feel all the more need of order. families are disorderly because we let them be; because we do not face the initial trouble of making them orderly. a school or a factory would be still more disorderly than a family if it were permitted to be. any piece of human mechanism will get out of order if you will let it. that is precisely the reason for the insistence on the ascetic principle--this tendency of life to get out of order; that is the meaning of all that i have been saying, of the whole catholic insistence on discipline. time can be controlled; and, notwithstanding american experience, children can be controlled; and control means the rescuing of the life from disorder and sin, and the lifting it to a level of order and sanity and possible sanctity. we cannot hope to meet successfully the common temptations of life except we be prepared to meet them, except there be in our life an element of foresight. an undisciplined and untried strength is an unknown quantity. the man who expects to meet temptation when it occurs without any preparation is in fact preparing for failure. i do not believe that there is any other so great a source of spiritual weakness and disaster as the going out to meet life without preceding discipline, thus subjecting the powers of our nature to trials for which we have not fitted them. self-control, self-discipline, ascetic practice, are indispensible to a successful christian life. o star of starrès, with thy streamès clear, star of the sea, to shipman light or guide, o lusty living, most pleasant t'appear, whose brightè beames the cloudès may not hide: o way of life to them that go or ride, haven from tempest, surest up t'arrive, o me have mercy for thy joyès five. * * * * * o goodly gladded, when that gabriel with joy thee gret that may not be numb'rèd, or half the bliss who couldè write or tell, when th' holy ghost to thee was obumbrèd, wherethrough the fiendès were utterly encombrèd? o wemless maid, embellished in his birth, that man and angel thereof hadden mirth. john lydgate of bury, xv cent. from chaucerian and other poems, edited by w. w. skeat, . part two chapter xvii holy week ii and after they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. s. matt. xxvii, . forgive, o lord, we beseech thee, the sins of thy people: that we, who are not able to do anything of ourselves, that can be pleasing to thee, may be assisted in the way of salvation by the prayers of the mother of thy son. who. having partaken of thy heavenly table, we humbly beseech thy clemency, o lord, our god, that we who honour the assumption of the mother of god, may, by her intercession, be delivered from all evils. through. old catholic. the way of the cross is indeed a sorrowful way. we have meditated upon it so often that we are familiar with all the details of our lord's action as he follows it from the judgment seat of pilate to the place of a skull. i wonder if we enough pause to look with our lord at the crowds that line the way, or at those who follow him out of the city. it is not a mere matter of curiosity that we should do so, or an exercise of the devout imagination; the reason why we should examine carefully the faces of those men who attend our lord on the way to his death is that somewhere in that crowd we shall see our own faces: it is a mirror of sinful humanity that we look into there. all the seven deadly sins are there incarnate. it is extremely important that we should get this sort of personal reaction from the passion because we are so prone to be satisfied with generalities, to confess that we are miserable sinners, and let it go at that! but to stop there is to stop short of any possibility of improvement, because we can only hope to improve when we understand our lives in detail, when we face them as concrete examples of certain sins. there was pride there. it was expressed by both roman and jewish officialism which looked with scorn on this obscure fanatic who claimed to be a king! pilate had satisfied himself of his harmlessness by a very cursory examination. this galilean prophet with his handful of followers, peasants and women, who had deserted him at the first sign of danger, was hardly worth troubling about. the only ground for any action at all was the fear that the jewish leaders might be disagreeable. those jewish leaders took a rather more serious view of the situation because they knew that through the purity of his teaching and his obvious power to perform miracles, a power but just now once more strikingly demonstrated in the raising of lazarus, he had a powerful hold on the people. they, these jewish leaders, declined a serious examination of the claims of such a man in their pride of place and knowledge of the scriptures. they were concerned to sweep him aside as a possible leader in a popular outbreak, not as one whose claim to the messiahship needed a moment's examination. this intellectual pride is one of the very greatest sins to which humanity is tempted. it goes very deep in its destructive force because it is a sin, preeminently, of the spiritual nature, of that in us which is akin to god, his very image. it is, you will remember, the sin on which our lord centres his chief denunciation. and common as it has always been, it has never been so common as it is to-day. pilate and the chief priests are duplicated in every community in the thousands who reject christianity without any adequate examination as incredible in view of what they actually hold, or as inconvenient in view of what they desire to practice. we have only to read very superficially in the current literature of the day, we have only to examine the teaching in colleges, to be completely convinced of the vast extent of the revolt against the christian religion. this revolt is for the most part a revolt without adequate examination. it assumes that the christian religion is contrary to science, or to something else that is established as true. it looks at christianity superficially through the eyes of those who reject it and are ignorant of it. the fact is that christianity cannot be understood in any complete sense of the word by those who do not practice it. its "evidence" is no doubt of great force; of sufficient force to lead men to experiment; but the actual comprehension of christ as the saviour of man is an experience. the operation of the holy spirit in life is necessarily proved, and only completely proved, by the action of the spirit himself. another demonstration of the same pride is seen in the refusal, without adequate examination, to accept the catholic religion, and the picking and choosing among articles of belief and sacraments and practices as to what we will use or observe. men do not like this or that, and they therefore decline it. the whole attitude is one of self-will and pride. whatsoever comes to us with a great weight of christian experience back of it certainly deserves careful consideration; it demands of us that we treat it as other than a matter of taste. pride is the commonest of sins and the most dangerous for it attacks the very heart of the spiritual life. it runs, to be sure, through a broad range of experience and not all manifestations of pride are mortal sin; but all manifestations of it are subtle and insidious and capable of expansion to an indefinite degree. for there is no difference in nature between the spiritual attitude of the person who says, "i do not see any sense in that and will not do it," when the matter in question may be the church's rule of fasting, and that of the man who before pilate's judgment seat cried out, "we have no king but caesar." it was in fact because they found their own power and place threatened that the jewish authorities were so determined on our lord's death. their sin from this point of view was the sin of covetousness. this sin reaches its highest point when it is greed for power over other men's lives and destinies, when it is ready to sacrifice the lives of others in order to gain or maintain its ends. in this broad sense it is the most socially destructive of sins. the wars of the world for these many years have been wars for commercial supremacy. the world is being continually exploited by commercial enterprises which will stop at nothing to gain their ends. some day a history of the last two hundred years will be written which will tell the story of the commercial expansion of the world we call civilised, and it will be the most horrible book that has ever been written. it will contain the story of the spanish colonisation of america. it will contain the history of the slave trade. it will contain the history of the belgian congo, and of the rubber industry in south america. it will contain the history of the american indian and of the opium trade of india--and of many like things. but while we shudder at the world-torturing ways of the pursuit of wealth, of the world-wide seeking of money and power, we need not forget that the sin of covetousness is as common as any sin can be. it is so common and so subtle that it is almost impossible to know how far one is a victim of it. it is deliberately taught to us as children under the guise of thrift, which if it be a virtue is certainly one that the saints have overlooked. we are constantly called on to strike a balance between what are the proper needs of life and what is an improper concentration of attention upon ourselves. waste of money, like waste of any other energy, is a sin; but it is a very nice question as to what is waste. i think it a pretty safe rule to give expenditure the benefit of the doubt when it is for others, and to deny it when it is for self. however, i imagine that those who are conscientiously trying to conduct their lives as the children of god will have little difficulty in this matter. the real trouble is not in the matter of expenditure but in the matter of gain. the ethics of business are very far from being the ethics of the gospel, and we are often frankly told by those engaged in business that it cannot be successfully conducted on the basis of the ethics of the gospel, that it is not so conducted is sufficiently obvious from a cursory scanning of the advertising columns of any newspaper or magazine. the ideal of the business world is success. naturally, one cannot carry on an unsuccessful business, but need it be success by all means and to all extents? are there no limits to the methods by which business is to be pushed, except legal limits? if there is no room for christian ethics in the business world there can be but one end; competitive business will lead the civilisation that it controls to inevitable disaster. our lord said: "take heed and beware of covetousness; for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth." and he went on to speak a parable which has come to be known as the parable of the rich fool. the "practical man" may be as angered as he likes by this teaching, but in his soul he knows that our lord was right. when such things are pointed out from the pulpit the "practical man" says: "what would become of the church were it not for the rich and the successful?" i think that the answer is that in that case the church would no more represent the rich and would have a fair chance of once more representing jesus christ. it may seem at the first sight that of the mortal sins lust was not represented here upon the sorrowful way; but that, i think is but a superficial analysis of the nature of lust, thinking only of some manifestations of it. there is however one sin that has its roots deep in lust which psychologists tell us is one of its commonest manifestations, and that is cruelty. lust is not always, but commonly, cruel; and the desire to inflict pain on others is a very common form of its expression. there are sights we have seen or incidents we have read of, it may be a boy torturing an animal or another child, it may be a shouting mass of men about a prize-ring, it may be soldiers sacking a town,--when the action seems so senseless that we are at a loss to account for it; but the account of it lies in the mystery of our sensual nature, in the ultimate animal that we are. the savage joy that is being expressed by the participants in such scenes is ultimately a sensual joy. these men who delighted in the torture of our lord were sensualists; and there are few of us who if we will watch our selves closely will not find traces of the animal showing itself from time to time. of this crowd about the cross relatively few could have known anything about the case of our lord; but they were fascinated by the spectacle of a man's torture. if the executions of criminals were public to-day there would undoubtedly be huge crowds to gaze upon them. it is one of the lessons we learn from the study of sin that what we had thought was the essence of the sin was in fact but one of the manifestations of it, and that we have to carry our study far before we arrive at the ideal, know thyself. it is always dangerous to assume that we know when we have not been at the pains to look at a subject on all sides. our sensual nature needs a very careful discipline, and the mere freedom from certain forms of the sin of lust is not the equivalent of that purity which is the medium of the vision of god. it is the sin of gluttony which is the least obvious in the way of the cross. there are no doubt plenty of gluttons there, but that is not what we are trying to find; we are trying to see how each sin contributed to this final act in the drama of our lord's life, how each sin contributed to put men in opposition to our lord. it is not the actual sin of gluttony that we shall find in operation here but certain inevitable effects of it, what is the effect of gluttony on the soul of man? absorption in the pursuit of the pleasures that spring from material things; the indulgence of the appetite, and the natural result of such indulgence which is to render the soul insensitive to the spiritual. the man whose motto is, "let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die," puts himself out of touch with the spiritual realities of life. he is materialistic, whatever may be his philosophy. he wants immediate results from life. when he is confronted with our lord, when he is told that our lord makes demands upon life for self-restraint and self-discipline, that he demands that the appetites be curbed rather than indulged, he declines allegiance. one can have no doubt that in our lord's time as to-day indifference to his teaching and failure even to take in what the gospel means or how it can be a possible rule of life is largely due to the dull spiritual state, outcome of the indulgence of the appetite for meat and drink. men whose brains are clogged by over eating, and whose faculties are in a deadened state through the use of alcohol, cannot well understand the gospel of god. there is abundant evidence of anger all along the way of the cross. the constant thwarting of the purpose of the jewish authorities by our lord, his unsparing criticism of them before the people, had stirred them to fury. if our lord had seemed to them to threaten their "place and nation" we can understand that they would show toward him intense hostility. their attitude toward the people whose religious interests they were supposed to have in charge was one of utter contempt: "this people which knoweth not the law is cursed." our lord's attitude was the opposite of all this. it was not, to be sure, as to-day it is represented to be an appeal to the people. he was not bidding for popular support, but he showed unbounded sympathy with the people; he cast his teaching in a form that would appeal to them and draw them to him. he made a popular appeal in that he showed himself understanding of the popular mind and without social prejudice of any sort. this setting aside of the arrogant authorities of israel roused them to implacable wrath. they felt that our lord was setting himself to undermine their authority, and as they felt that their authority was "of god" their indignation translated itself into terms of zeal for god. this anger that manages to wear a cloak of virtue is peculiarly dangerous to the soul. when we are just ordinarily mad over some offence committed against us it is no doubt a sin; but it is not a sin of the same malignity as when we feel that we can go any lengths because we are not angry on our own behalf, then our anger almost becomes an act of religion in our eyes. we have become the defenders of a cause. no doubt there is such a thing as "righteous indignation," but it is not a virtue that we are compelled to practice, and we would do well to leave it alone as much as possible lest our indignation exceed our righteousness, and we indentify our personal interests with the cause of god. the worst feature of tempermental flare-ups is the testimony they bear to our lack of discipline. when we excuse ourselves or others on the ground that action is "temperamental" we are in fact no more than restating the fact that there is sore need of discipline; and there is no more ground for excusing one variety of temperament for its lack of discipline than an other. in fact, the more inclined a temperament is to certain sins, the more necessity there is for the appropriate sort of training. people without self-control, who are constantly losing their temper, are public nuisances and ought to be suppressed. there is the worst kind of arrogance in the assumption that i do not have to control myself and can speak and act as i like. no one, whatever his position, has the right to ignore the feelings of others; and the more the position is one of authority, exempting him from a certain kind of criticism, the more is he bound to criticise himself and examine himself as to this particular sin. there are sins under this caption which do not contain much malice but are disturbing to life, and they are especially disturbing to one's spiritual life. there are peevish, complaining people, who do not seem to mean much harm, but keep themselves in a state of dissatisfaction which renders their spiritual growth impossible. they grow old without any of the grace and beauty of character which should mark a christian old age. one knows old people who have been in intimate contact with the church and the sacraments for many years but do not show any signs of having reached our lord through them. they are dissatisfied and complaining and critical and generally disagreeable so that the task of those who take care of them is rendered very disheartening. what is the trouble? has there never been any true spiritual discipline, but only a certain superficial conformity to a spiritual rule? when old age comes the will is weakened and the sense of self-respect undermined, with the result that what the person has all along been in reality, now comes to the surface and is, perhaps for the first time, visible to every one. envy is closely related to pride on the one hand and to covetousness on the other. it begins in the perception of another's superiority, and carries its victim through the feeling of hurt pride at the contrast with himself to desire for that which is not his own. the envious person covets the qualities of possessions of another, while vividly denying that they are in fact superior to his own, except, it may be, in certain apparent and not very valuable aspects. the contrast between the superior and the inferior has one of two results: either the inferior is stirred to admiration, or he is stirred to a greater or less degree of envy. it was thus that contact with our lord _revealed_ the reality of men. it was a very true judgment to associate with him. his apostles were simple men who never thought of putting themselves in comparison with him: the more they knew him the more wonderful he seemed to them. we feel all through the gospel story what an overwhelming impression his personality made upon men. there is no criticism raised on his character from any point of view. his enemies fell back on the accusation of blasphemy growing out of his claims, an accusation that would be true, if the claims were not true. what we really discover in those who oppose him is envy, envy of the influence he exercises over others, envy stirred by his obvious superiority to themselves. envy is one of the sins of which we are least conscious. when people affirm that they envy others this or that: their leisure, their beauty, or what not, they clearly do not envy them at all, but are mildly covetous of the things that they see others possess. where envy does show its presence and where we do not recognise its nature, is in that horrible inclination to depreciate others which is visible in certain characters. they seem never to hear another mentioned but they try to think of something which limits the praise bestowed upon him, or altogether counteracts it. it seems to be an instinctive hostility to superiority as involving an implied criticism of one's own inferiority. it is that curious love of the worst that lies at the root of gossip. and what about the last of the deadly sins, the sin of sloth? one is almost tempted to say that it is at once the least obvious and the most destructive of all the deadly sins. that would no doubt be somewhat of an exaggeration, but it would not be very far off the truth. it is spiritual sloth that prevents us from considering as we should the spiritual problems that are presented to us, and therefore prevents us from gaining their promise. it is the quality in humanity that blocks the consideration of the new on the ground that we already know and can gain nothing by further exertion. the jewish religious leaders declined the intellectual and spiritual effort of considering our lord's claims; they just set them aside unconsidered. and is not that just what we are constantly doing, and what constitutes the most pressing danger of the spiritual life? we will not consider the future as the field of constantly new opportunity and therefore new stages of growth. we do not want to make the effort that is implied in that attitude. our sloth binds us hand and foot and delivers us to the enemy. there are no doubt some who cry out: "but i am not at all slothful; i am busy from morning to night; of whatever else i may be guilty, it is not of sloth!" my friend, busy people are quite often the most slothful people that there are. they are busy dodging their rightful duties and the opportunities that god offers them, all day long. have you never discovered that when you had something that you ought to do and do not want to do, that the easiest method by which you can still your conscience is to make yourself terribly busy about something else, and then to tell yourself that the reason why you have not done what you know that you ought to have done is that really you have not had time? do you not know that being busy is one of the most effective screens that you can put between your conscience and your obligation? do you not know that tens of thousands of men and women to-day are putting the screens of good works, of social service of some sort, between their souls and the worship of god and the practice of the sacraments? beware lest while you wear yourself out with activity your besetting sin be found to be sloth! and shall we find there on the way of sorrow the virtues that are the opposite of the seven sins? perhaps, if we had time to look, or had sufficient knowledge of the crowd that lines the way. there are certain women over there wailing and lamenting; perhaps they could help us. in any case we know that there is one woman who has succeeded in keeping near whose love of jesus is so intense that it will enable her to overcome all obstacles and be near him to the very last. jesus as he staggers along the way and falls at length under the intolerable weight of the cross is the embodiment of all virtues and of all spiritual accomplishment, and his blessed mother through his grace has been kept pure from all sin. she will show the perfection of purely human accomplishment. she is the best that humanity in union with the incarnate son has brought forth. we have seen--we have caught glimpses of her life through what the scriptures tell us of her--how completely she has responded to grace in all the actions of her life. not much do the scriptures say, but what they do say is like the opening of windows through which we catch passing aspects of her life which we feel are perfectly characteristic and revealing. and we have seen there, or we may see, may we not? the virtues which are the work of the holy spirit enabling us to overcome the deadly sins. we have seen the humility with which, without thought of self, she answered god's call to be the mother of his son. we have seen the liberality with which she places her whole life at god's disposal, withholding nothing from the divine service. purity undefiled had been god's gift to her from the first moment of her existence. hers too was that meekness which willingly accepted all that the appointment of god brought her, showing in her acceptance no withholding of the will, no trace of self-assertion. hers was the great virtue of temperance, the power of self-restraint and self-discipline, which suppressed all movements of nature that would be contrary to god's will. there too was the love of the brother and of the neighbour which is the contrary of envy; and there was the eagerness in fulfilling the will of god which is the opposite of sloth. we have then two spotless examples,--how shall we not be stirred to follow them! there is jesus manifesting the qualities of his sinless life, of the life of god's election, of humanity as god wills it to be, and as it ultimately will be when it gives itself to his will; and mary in whom we see the work of god's grace perfectly accomplished by virtue of her perfect response to the love of her sen. we look at these two lives and we see what is possible for us. we do not say, we cannot say, these things are too wonderful and great for me. we can only say, through the grace of god which is given me, "i can do all things." it is not my inevitable destiny that i should abide a sinner. i have the choice of being a sinner or a saint. mary: ever i cried full piteously: "lordings, what have ye i-brought? it is my son i love so much: for god's sake bury him nought." they would not stop though that i swooned, till that he in the grave were brought. rich clothes they around him wound: and ever mercy i them besought. * * * * * they said there was no better way but take and bury him full snel. they looked on my cousin john for sorrow both a-down we fell-- * * * * * by him we fell that was my child. his sweet mouth well full oft i kissed. john saw i was in point to spill, that nigh mine heart did come to break. he held his sorrow in his heart still and mildly then to me did speak: "mary, if it be thy will go we hence; the maudeleyn eke." he led me to a chamber then where my son was used to be,-- john and the maudeleyn also; for nothing would they from me flee. i looked about me everywhere: i could nowhere my sonè see. we sat us down in sorrow and woe and 'gan to weep all three. from st. bernard's lamentation on christ's passion. engl. version, probably th cent, by richard maydestone. part two chapter xviii the crucifixion and they crucified him. s. matt. xxvii, . in as much as we have no confidence because of our many sins, do thou, o virgin mother of god, beseech him who was born of thee; for a mother's supplication availeth much to gain the benignity of the master. despise not the prayers of sinners, o all-august, for merciful and mighty to save is he, who vouchsafed to suffer for us. byzantine. we have followed the way of sorrows to the very end and now stand on calvary watching by the cross, waiting for the death of the son of god. the mystery of iniquity is consummated here where man in open rebellion against his god crucifies the incarnate son. here is fulfilled the saying: "he came unto his own and his own received him not." all that man can do to prove his own degredation he has done. in the person of pilate he has condemned to death a man whom he knows to be innocent. the representative of human justice has denied justice for the sake of his own personal ends. in the person of herod he has permitted the insult and abuse of one of whom he knows no ill, and has displayed toward him wanton and brutal cruelty. in the person of the jewish authorities he has rejected the messenger of the god whom he recognises as his god, and will not listen to the voice of prophecy because he finds his personal ends countered by the fulfilment of the promises of the religion whose subject he professes to be. in the person of the disciples he shows himself too cowardly and self-regarding to stand by his innocent master and to throw in his lot with him. in the person of the people he shows himself cruel, hardened, indifferent to suffering and to justice, ready to be made the tool of unscrupulous politicians, unstable and ignorant. as we look on, we succeed in retaining any shred of respect for humanity only through the contemplation of the exceptions--of s. john and the little group of women who are faithful to the end: above all in the sight of blessed mary standing by the cross of her son. it is the will of god that our lord should follow the human lot to the very depth of its possible sufferings. there are no doubt many sufferings of humanity that our lord does not share, they are those which spring out of personal sin. he in whom was no sin could not suffer those things which spring from one's own wrong doing. that is one broad distinction between the burdens of the crosses on calvary, a distinction which the penitent thief caught easily when he said to his reviling fellow-criminal, "dost thou not fear god, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? and we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss." and in as much as a great part of what we suffer is plainly just, the pain we bear is intensified by the knowledge that what we are is the outcome of what we have been. but our lord, while he does not suffer as the result of his own sin, does suffer as the result of sin in that he wills to bear the result of men's sin by putting himself at their mercy. he bears the burden of sin to the uttermost, looking down from the cross at the faces of these men whose salvation he is making possible if in the days to come they will associate themselves with him. one wonders how many of those who saw him crucified came, before they died, to accept him as the saviour and their god. there must have been many wonderful first communions in the early church when those who had rejected jesus in his humility came to receive him glorified. but as we look at this scene of the dying we feel that the powers of evil are working their uttermost, they are driving their slaves to incredible sins. one feels the tremendous power that evil is as one looks at these human beings who are body and soul wholly under its dominion. the power of darkness appears utterly in control of the world of humanity; but we know that this moment in which its triumph seems most complete is in fact the moment in which its defeat is at hand. the victory that is being won is the victory of the vanquished: and the moment when the victory of evil seems assured by the dying of jesus, is in fact the moment when the chains of the slaves of sin are broken, and men who will to be free are henceforth free indeed. from that moment a new freedom is within the reach of men, the freedom which comes to them through their participation in the redemption wrought for them by god. presently s. john will announce the great message of freedom to the church, a message that he will tell in his own wonderful simplicity, a simplicity which almost deceives us as to its unfathomable depth of love and mystery: "for whatsoever is born of god overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.... we know that whosoever is born of god sinneth not: but he that was begotten of god keepeth him, and the evil one toucheth him not. and we know that we are of god, and the whole world lieth in the evil one. and we know that the son of god is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his son jesus christ. this is the true god, and eternal life." this is what the dying of jesus achieved for us, that we should be free as men had never been free, and that we should be strong as men had never been strong. on their crosses the thieves agonise in the realisation of the sin that has brought them there; but our lord, who is free from sin, looks out on the scene before him in a wonderful detachment from his personal suffering. being without sin our lord is without egotism, and never treats life from that purely personal standpoint that we are constantly tempted to adopt. our own needs, our own interests, occupy the foreground and determine the judgment; and we are rarely able to see in dealing with the concrete case that our own interests are ultimately indentical with the interests of the whole body. the lesson that if one member suffer, all the members suffer with it, that we are partners in joy and sorrow alike, is almost impossible of assimilation by the radical individualists that we are. our theories break down before the test of actuality. but our lord was not an individualist. he, in his relations with men, is the head of the body; and he admits no division of interests between his members. he therefore can think of the needs of others while he himself is undergoing the last torture of death. he can impartially judge the separate cases of his members; he can attend to the spiritual welfare of a needy soul; he can think of his own death as an act of sacrifice willed by god, and not as a matter concerning himself alone; and in doing these things he teaches us a much-needed lesson of the handling of life. no lesson is to-day more needed because we are more and more being influenced to treat life as a private matter. i have spoken of this before and need not elaborate it now; but i do want to insist, at whatever risk of repetition, that a christian must, if his religion mean anything at all, look on the interests of the body, not as a separate group of interests to which he is privileged or obligated to contribute such help as seems to him from time to time appropriate, but as in fact his own primary interests because his true significance in the world is gained through his membership in the body. his life is hid with christ in god and his conversation is in heaven. the life that he now lives in the flesh he lives by the faith of the son of god, who loved him and gave himself for him. to assert separate interests is to break the essential relation of his life. he is nothing apart from the body but a dry and withered branch fit for the burning. no doubt our egotism rebels against this view of life, but it is certain that it is the view of the christian religion. if we would realise the ideals of the religion we must act as those who are in constant relations with the other members of the body and whose life gets its significance through those relations. there is no more outstanding lesson of our lord's life than this. it is true from whichever angle you look at it. if you think of our lord as a divine person it is at once evident how much of his meaning is included in his relations to the other persons of the blessed trinity. he claims no independent will; it is the will of the father that he has come to do. he claims no original work: it is the work that the father has given him to do that he is straightened until he accomplish. he has no individual possession, but all things that the father has are his. considered as god, our lord is one person in the one divine nature, no unitarian interpretation of him is possible. on the other hand, if you look at him as incarnate, as having identified himself with humanity, he is in that respect made one with his brethren. he has made their interests his, and as their new head is opening for them the gate of the future. he is inviting them into union with himself, that in the status of his "brethren" and "friends" they may be also the true children of the heavenly father. there is no hint anywhere that these things may be accomplished apart from him, in individual isolation: indeed, if they could be so accomplished the incarnation would be meaningless. he is the way and no one cometh to the father but by him. he is the truth, and no one knows the father but he to whom the son reveals him. he is the life, and no one spiritually lives except through his self-impartation. "he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood hath eternal life. he that eateth me, even he shall live by me." in this outlook from the cross which we recognise in our blessed lord when, forgetting his own sufferings in his appreciation of the needs of others, we see him still fulfilling his ministry of mercy and of sympathy, we are certain that his eyes would rest upon one group which could not fail to pierce his heart with its pathos and tragedy. our lord's love is not a general, impersonal love of humanity; it is always love of a person. he no doubt felt a special love for this thief who appealed to him from the cross by his side. in the whole course of his life our lord had shown his oneness with us in that he loved special people in a special way. he loved lazarus and his sisters, he loved s. john. above all others he loved his blessed mother. and now looking down from the cross he sees that the disciple whom he loved was succeeded in leading his mother into the very shadow of the cross. how s. mary had made her way there we do not know: only love knows how it triumphs over its obstacles and comes forth victorious. there is blessed mary, looking up into the face so scarred and bleeding, and there is the son, looking down through the blinding blood into the face of the mother. this is the supreme human tragedy of calvary. we can only stand and watch the exchange of love. and then comes the word--the word, by the way, which when it was spoken years ago in cana of galilee, men have interpreted as a harsh and rebuking word, with how much truth this scene tells--then comes the word: "woman, behold thy son." in his love he gives her that which he had so much loved, the friendship of s. john. he brings together those who had so supremely loved him in an association which would support them both in the trial of their loss. "woman, behold thy son; behold thy mother." bitter as was their sorrow in this hour, we know that they were marvellously comforted by this power of love which is able to transcend suffering and death. we know, because we know how utterly our lord is one with us, that it was much to him to look on the face that bent over him in the manger in bethlehem. we know, because we know the perfect woman that was mary, that there was deep joy as well as deep agony in being able to stand there at the last beneath the cross. do you think that we are going too far when we see in s. mary not simply the mother of our lord, but when we also see in her a certain representative character? does she not represent us in one way and s. john represent us in another, in this supreme exchange of love? do we not feel that in s. john we have been recommended to the love and care of mary who is our mother? do we not feel that in s. john the mother has been committed to our love and care? surely, because we are members of her son we have a special relation to s. mary, and a special claim upon her, if it be permitted to express it in that way. it is no empty form of words when we call her mother, no exaltation of sentimentalism. the title represents a very real relation of love. it brings home to us that the love of mary is as near infinite as the love of a creature can be, and that like the love of her son it is an unselfish love. she is necessarily interested in all the members of the body, and their cares and joys and sorrows she is glad to make her own. she is very close to us in her love and sympathy; she is very ready to help us with her prayers. we never go to her for succour but she hears us. "behold thy son," her divine son said to her on the cross in his agony, and all who are members of that son are her sons too. her place in heaven above all creatures, most highly favoured as she is, is a place to which our prayers penetrate, and never penetrate unheard. for that other son, through whose merits she is what she is, whose face she ever beholds as the face alike of her redeemer and her child, is ever ready to hear her intercessions for us because they come to him with the power and the insight that perfect purity and perfect sympathy alone can give. so for us there is intense personal consolation in this word: "behold thy mother." but there is another side to this committal. it is mutual: "behold thy son." if we can see ourselves in s. john, committed to the blessed mother, we can also see ourselves in s. john to whom the blessed mother is committed. "behold thy mother." there is a sense in which the blessed mother is committed to us; to-day she is our care. we see the fulfillment of this trust in the love and reverence wherewith christendom from the beginning has surrounded s. mary. it has accepted the charge with a passionate devotion. the growth of devotion to her is recorded in the vast literature of mariology which comes to us from all parts and all eras of the catholic church. the details of the expression of this devotion have been wrought out through the centuries with loving care, and the result is that wherever there is a catholic conception of religion, either in east or west, there is a grateful response to our lord's trust of his blessed mother to his church in the person of s. john. we feel, do we not? that it is one of the great privileges of our spiritual life that we have found a personal part in this trust, that it is permitted us to preserve and hand on this reverence for blessed mary, and in so doing to gain personal contact with her as a spiritual power in the kingdom of god. it means much to us that we can have the love and sympathy which are blended with her intercession, that we can associate our prayers with hers in the time of our need. much as we value the sympathy and prayers of our friends here, we cannot but feel that in mary we have a friend whose helpfulness is stimulated by a great love and directed by deep spiritual insight into the reality of our needs. we turn therefore to her with the certainty of her co-operation. our lord on the cross had now fulfilled his mission in the care of individual persons, had prayed for his tormentors, had forgiven the penitent thief, and had commended those who were the special objects of his love to one another, and could now turn his thoughts away from earth to the love of the father. his last words are intimate words to him. they express the agony that tears his soul as the face of the father is for a moment hidden, and the peace of an accomplished work as he surrenders himself into the hands of the father that sent him. he who had been our example all his life, showing us how to meet life, is our example in death, showing us how to meet death. but just wherein does the dying of christ become an example for us? this final surrender to the father of a will that had never been separate from the father,--what can we derive from all that? there are many lines of approach and application. i can only touch on one or two:-- "i have glorified thee on the earth," our lord said in the last wonderful prayer, "i have finished the work that thou gavest me to do." and here on the cross he repeats, "it is finished." when we think of this we are impressed with the steadiness with which our lord pursued his purpose, with the way he concentrated his whole life upon his work. he declined to be drawn aside by anything irrelevant to it. people came to him with all sorts of requests, from the request that he will settle a disputed inheritance to the request that he will become their king; and he puts them all aside as having no pertinence to his mission. it is interesting to go through the gospel and note just what are the details of this winnowing process; mark what our lord accepts as relevant to his mission and what not. he is never too occupied or tired to attend to what belongs to his work. an ill old woman or idiot child is important to him and he attends to them; but he declines the sort of work that will involve him and his mission in controversy and politics. he is not a reformer of society but a reformer of men. he knows that only by the reformation of men can society be reformed. there is no doubt much to be learned from the study of our lord's method of the limits of the social and political activity of his church. it has constantly fallen a victim to the temptation to undertake the reform of the world by some other means than the conversion of it. it has shown itself quite willing to be made "a judge and divider." it has not always declined the invitation it has received to assume the purple. "your business is to reform this miserable world which so sadly and so obviously needs you," men say to it; "you are not living up to your principles and you are neglecting your duty by not supporting this great movement for the betterment of the race," others say. still others urge, "you are losing great masses of men through your inexplicable failure to adopt their cause." and the church in the whole course of its history has constantly yielded to this temptation, and has not seen until too late that in so doing it was making itself the tool or the cat's-paw of one interest or another whose sole interest in religion was the possibility of exploiting the influence of the church. in the stupid hope of forwarding its spiritual interests the church has entangled itself with the responsibilities of temporal power; it has made itself the backer of "the divine right of kings"; and it has found itself bound hand and foot in the character of a national or state church; and with a curious incapacity to learn anything from experience is now enthusiastically cheering for democracy! poor church, whose leaders are so constantly misleaders. it is all due to the hoary temptation to try to get to one's end by some sort of a short cut: "all these things will i give you if you will fall down and worship me." our lord knew that satan could not really give him the ends he was seeking; but his followers are constantly confident that he can, and are therefore his constant and ready tools for this or that party or interest. they sell themselves to monarchy or democracy, to capital or labour, with the same guileless innocence of what is happening to them, with the same simple-minded incapacity to learn anything from the lessons of the past. there are no short cuts to spiritual ends, and those ends can never be accomplished by secular means. the interests of the kingdom of god can never be forwarded by alliance with the powers of this world; the interests of particular persons or parties in the church may be--but that is quite another thing. the lesson is one that is not without application to the individual life. there again the tendency to mind something other than one's own business is almost ineradicable. we have before us the work of building our spiritual house, of finishing the work that the father has given us to do, of carrying to a successful conclusion the work of our sanctification. in view of the experience of nearly two thousand years of christianity and of our own personal experience, that would seem a sufficiently difficult and obligatory work to occupy the undivided energies of a life-time. but we are accustomed to treat this primary business of life quite as though it were a parergon, a thing to play with in our unoccupied hours, the fad of a collector rather than the supreme interest of an immortal being. that spiritual results are no oftener achieved than they are can occasion no surprise when one understands the sort of spirit wherewith they are approached. if the average man adopted toward his business the attitude he adopts toward his religion he would be bankrupt within a week,--and he knows it. you know that the attention you are paying to religion and the sort of energy and sacrifice you are putting into it are insufficient to secure any sort of a result worth having. spiritually speaking, your life is an example of misdirected and dissipated energy. there is no spiritual result because there is no continuous and energetic effort in a spiritual direction. you are not like a master-builder planning and erecting a house. you are like a child playing with a box of blocks who begins to build a house with them and, when it is half built, is attracted by something else and runs after that--not even waiting to put the blocks back into the box! life, no doubt, this modern city life into which we are plunged, is terribly distracting. concentration upon a single aim is hard to attain. so we plead in our excuse, but the excuse is a false one and we know it. we know it because we know many people who have achieved the sort of concentration and simplicity of aim that we complain of as so difficult. they to be sure have other ends than those we claim to be ours, but that would not seem to be important. by far the greater part of the male population of this city is intensely concentrated in money making. i do not believe that i have overheard during the last year two men talking in a car or on the street who were not talking about money. there is a good enough example of the possibility of concentrating on a single end under the conditions of our life. there are other people, you know some of them, whose lives are devoted in the most thorough manner to the pursuit of pleasure. they find no difficulty in such concentration, and they afford an even better example of what we are discussing than the money-makers. the money-maker says, "i have to live and my family has to live, and we cannot live unless i devote myself to business. it is all very well to talk about spiritual interests, but those are the plain common sense facts. a man who spends all his time on religion will find it pretty difficult to live in new york." very well, that seems unanswerable. but go back to the men and women whose sole interest is amusement--how do they live? in some way they seem to have so succeeded in subordinating business to pleasure that they get what they want, and they somehow escape starvation! there, i fancy, is the explanation--they get what they want. in a broad way we all get what we want. we accomplish in some degree at least the ends which we make the supreme ends of life. we are back therefore where we started: what are our supreme ends? are they in fact spiritual? have we mastered the technique of the christian life sufficiently to be single-eyed and pure-hearted in our pursuit of life's ends? are we devoted to the aim of manifesting the glory of god and finishing the work that he has given us to do? this, once more, was the secret of our lord's life, and it is the secret of all those who have at all succeeded in imitating him. they have followed him with singleness of purpose. they have felt life to be before all else a vocation to manifest the will of god and to finish a given work. that was the attitude of our blessed mother; she began on that note: "behold the hand-maid of the lord; be it unto me according to thy word." it was the gospel that she preached: "whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." her whole life was a response--the response of love to love. that no doubt, goes to the heart of the spiritual problem. if we are to accomplish anything at all in the way of spiritual development, if we are to conduct life in simplicity toward spiritual ends, it will only be when the source of life's energy is found in love. he who does not love has no compelling motive toward god and no abiding principle to control life. if we conceive the christian life as a task that is forced upon us, and which in some way we are bound to fulfil, we may be sure that the way in which we shall fulfil it will be weak and halting. we may be as conscientious as you please, but we shall not be able to concentrate on a work which is merely a work of duty and not the embodiment of a great love. our primary activity should be devout meditation and study of our lord's life, with prayer for guidance and help, till something of the love of god is shed abroad in our hearts, till we feel our hearts burn within us and our spirits glow and we become able to offer ourselves, soul and body, a living sacrifice unto him. mary: i cried: "maudeleyn, help now! my son hath loved full well thee; pray him that i may die, that i not forgotten be! seest thou, maudeleyn, now my son is hanged on a tree, yet alive am i and thou,-- and thou, thou prayest not for me!" maudeleyn said: "i know no red, care hath smitten my heart sore. i stand, i see my lord nigh dead; and thy weeping grieveth me more. come with me; i will thee lead into the temple here before for thou hast now i-wept full yore." mary: "i ask thee, maudeleyn, where is that place,-- in plain or valley or in hill? where i may hide in any case that no sorrow come me till. for he that all my joy was, now death with him will do its will; for me no better solace is than just to weep, to weep my fill." the maudeleyn comforted me tho. to lead me hence, she said, was best: but care had smitten my heart so that i might never have no rest. "sister, wherever that i go the woe of him is in my breast, while my sone hangeth so his pains are in mine own heart fast. should i let him hangen there let my son alone then be? maudeleyn, think, unkind i were if he should hang and i should flee." * * * * * i bade them go where was their will, this maudeleyn and everyone, and by myself remain i will for i will flee for no man. from st. bernard's "lamentation on christ's passion." engl. version, th cent., by richard maydestone. part two chapter xix the descent and burial and when joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock. s. matt. xxvii, , . it is meet in very truth to bless thee the theotokos, the ever-blessed and all-immaculate and mother of our god. honoured above the cherubim, incomparably more glorious than the seraphim, thou who without stain gavest birth to god the word, and art truly mother of god, we magnify thee. byzantine. the end had come--so it must have seemed to those who had loved and followed our lord. as they came back from the burial, those of them who had remained true to the end, as they came out of their hiding places, those others who forsook him and fled, they met in that "upper room" which was already consecrated by so many experiences. they came back from joseph's garden, s. john leading the blessed mother, the magdalen and the other mary following, s. peter came from whatever obscure corner he had found safety in. the other apostles came one by one, a frightened, disheartened group, shame-faced and doubtful as to what might next befall them. the thing that to us seems strangest of all is that no one seems to have taken in the meaning of our lord's words about his resurrection. not even s. mary herself appears to have seen any light through the surrounding darkness. i suppose that so much of what our lord taught them was unintelligible until after the coming of the holy spirit that they rarely felt sure that they understood his meaning; and when the meaning was so unprecedented as that involved in his sayings about the resurrection we can understand that they should have been so little influenced by them. s. mary's grief would have been so deep, so overwhelming, that she would have been unable to think of the future at all save as a dreary waste of pain. she could only think that her son who was all to her, was dead. she had stood by the cross through all the agony of his dying: she had heard his last words. that final word to her had sunk very deep into her heart. she had once more felt his body in her arms as it was taken down from the cross; and she had followed to the place where was a garden and a new tomb wherein man had never yet lain, there she had seen the body placed and hastily cared for, as much as the shortness of the time on the passover eve would permit. and then she had gone away, not caring at all where she was taken, with but one thought monotonously beating in her brain,--he is dead, he is dead. it would not be possible in such moments calmly to recall what he himself had taught about death. death for the moment would mean what it had always meant to religious people of her time and circle. what that was we have very clearly presented to us in the talk with martha that our lord had near the place where lazarus lay dead. there is a fuller knowledge than we find explicit in the old testament, showing a growth in the understanding of the revelation in the years that fall between the close of the old testament canon and the coming of our lord. there is a belief in survival to be followed by resurrection at the last day. that would no doubt be st. mary's belief about death. that is still the belief of many christians to-day. "i know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day." there are still many who think that they have accepted the full revelation of god in christ who have not appreciated the vast difference that the triumph of christ over death has made for us here and now. so we have no difficulty in understanding the gloom that fell on the apostolic circle, accentuated as it was by the very vivid fear that at any moment they might hear the approaching feet of the jewish and roman officials and the knock of armed hands upon the door. what to do? how escape? had they so utterly misunderstood and misinterpreted christ that this is the natural outcome of his movement? had they been the victims of foolish hopes and of a baseless ambition when they saw in him the christ, the one who should at this time restore again the kingdom to israel? they had persistently clung to this nationalistic interpretation of his work although he had never encouraged it; but it was the only meaning that they were able to see in it. and now all their expectations had collapsed, and they were left hopeless and leaderless to face the consequences of a series of acts that had ended in the death of their master and would end, they knew not how, for them. was it at all likely that the jewish authorities having disposed of the leader in a dangerous movement would be content to let the followers go free? would they not rather seek to wipe out the last traces of the movement in blood? so they would have thought, gathered in that upper room, while outside the jewish authorities were keeping the passover. what a passover it was to them with this nightmare of a rebellion which threatened their whole place and power passed away. what mutual congratulations were theirs on the clever way in which the whole matter had been handled. there had been a moment when they were on the very point of failure, when pilate was ready to let jesus go free. that was their moment of greatest danger; and they took their courage in both hands and threw the challenge squarely in the face of the cowardly governor: "if thou let this man go, thou art not caesar's friend!" the chief priests knew their man, and they carried their plan against him with a determined hand, declining to accept any compromise, anything less than the death of jesus. great was the rejoicing; hearty were the mutual congratulations in the official circles of jerusalem. it had been long since they had celebrated so wonderful a passover as that! so limited, so mistaken, is the human outlook on life. they had but to await another night's passing and all would be changed. but in the meantime the position of the disciples was pitiful. they were in that state of dull, hopeless discouragement that is one of the most painful of human states. it is a state to which we who are christians do from time to time fall victims with much less excuse. we are hopeless, we say and feel. we look at the future, at the problems with which we are fronted, and we see no ray of light, no suggestion of a solution. we have been robbed of what we most valued and life looks wholly blank to us. for those others there was this of excuse,--they did not know jesus risen, they did not know the power of the resurrection life. for us there is no such excuse because we have a sure basis of hope in our knowledge of the meaning of the lord. hope is one of the great trilogy of christian virtues, the gift to christians of god the holy ghost. as christians we have the virtue of hope, the question is whether we will excercise it or no. it is one of the many fruits of our being in a state of grace. many blunder when they think of hope in that they confound it with an optimistic feeling about the future. we hear of hopeful persons and we know that by the description is meant persons who are confident "that everything will be all right," when there seems no ground at all for thinking so. they have a "buoyant temperament," by which i suppose is meant a temperament which soars above facts. that not very intelligent attitude has nothing to do with the christian virtue of hope. hope is born of our relation to god. it is the conviction: "god is on my side; i will not fear what man can do unto me." it is the serene and untroubled trust of one who knows that he is safe in the hands of god, and that his life is really ordered by the will and providence of god. this virtue, had they possessed it, would have carried the disciples through the crisis of our lord's death. they had had sufficient experience of him to know that they might utterly rely on him in all the circumstances of their lives. he had always sustained them and carried them through all crises. they had often been puzzled by him, no doubt; they had felt helpless to fathom much of his teaching, but they had slowly arrived at certain conclusions about him which he himself had confirmed. on that day at caesarea phillipi they had reached the conclusion of his messiahship, a slumbering conviction had broken into flame and light in the great confession of s. peter. the meaning of messiahship was a part of their national religious tradition; and although in some important respects mistaken, they yet, one would think, have been led to perfect trust in our lord when they acknowledged his messianic claims. but death? they could not get over the apparent finality of death. but, again, perhaps we are not very far beyond this in our understanding of it. to us still death seems very final. but it was just that sense of its finality--of its constituting a hopeless break in the continuity of existence--that our lord was engaged in removing during these days which to them were days of hopelessness and despair. when they came to know what in these days was taking place; and when the church guided by the holy spirit came to meditate upon the meaning of our lord's action it would see death in a changed light. the sense of a cataclysmic disaster in death would pass and be replaced by a sense of the continuity of life. hitherto attention had been concentrated on this world, and death had been a disappearence from this world, the stopping of worldly loves and interests. presently death would be seen to be the translation of the human being to a new sphere of activities, but involving no cessation of consciousness or failure of personal activities. men had thought, naturally enough in their lack of knowledge, of the effect of death on the survivors, of the break in their relations with the dead. now death would be viewed from the point of view of the interests of the person who is dead; and it would emerge that he continued under different conditions, and in the end it would come to be seen that even in the relations of the survivors with the dead there was no necessary and absolute break, but that the new conditions of life made possible renewed intercourse under altered circumstances. our lord, the disciples learned not long after, during these days went to preach to the spirits in prison, which the thought of the church has interpreted to mean that he carried the news of the redemption he had wrought through his dying, to the place of the dead, to the region where the souls of the faithful were patiently waiting the time of their perfecting. the doors of the heavenly world could not be opened till the time when he by his cross and passion, by his death and resurrection, opened them. the heads of the gates could not be lifted till they were lifted for the entrance of the king of glory. but once lifted they were lifted forever; and when he ascended up on high he led his troop of captives redeemed from the bondage of death and hell. it is through these lifted gates that the companies of the sanctified have been streaming ever since; and the difference that has been made in our view of death has been immense. if we have the faith of a christian death has been transformed. there remains, of course, the natural grief which is ours when we part from those whom we love. this grief is natural and holy as it is in fact an expression of our love. it is not rebellion against the will of god, but is the expression of a feeling wherewith god has endowed us. but there is no longer in it the sting of hopelessness that we find, for instance, in the inscriptions on pagan tombs, nay, on tombs still, though created by christians and found in christian cemeteries. rather it is the expression of a love which is learning to exercise itself under new conditions. we do not find it possible to reverse all our habits in a moment; and the new relation with the dead is one to which we have to learn to accustom ourselves. i remember a case where a mother and a son had never been separated for more than a day at a time, though he was far on in manhood. there came a time of indeterminate separation and the mother's grief was intense notwithstanding that there was no thought of a permanent separation. it took some time for her to accustom herself to the new mode of communication by letter. it is not far otherwise in death; it takes some time for us to accustom ourselves to the new mode of intercourse through prayer, but we succeed, and the new intercourse is very real and very precious. in a sense, too, it is a nearer, more intimate intercourse. it lacks the homely, daily touches, no doubt; but in compensation it reveals to us the spiritual values in life. we speedily learn, we learn almost by a spiritual instinct, what are the common grounds on which we can now meet. by our intercourse with our dead we get a new grasp on the truth of our common life in christ: it is in and through him that all our converse is now mediated. we have little difficulty in knowing what are the thoughts and interests which may be shared under the new conditions in which we find ourselves. our perception of spiritual interests and spiritual values grows and deepens, and our communion with our dead becomes an indication of the extent of our own spiritual growth. there come times in the spiritual experience of most of us when we seem to have got to the end. there is a deepening sense of failure which is not, when we analyse it, so much a failure in this or that detail, as a general sense of the futility of the life of the church as expressed in our individual lives. it came to those primitive congregations, you remember, to which s. peter was writing; "where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation." it is the weariness of continuous effort from which we conclude that we are getting quite insufficient results. no doubt that is true. the results are never what we expect, possibly because the effort is never what we imagine it to be. we continually underestimate the opposing force of evil, the difficulty of dealing with a humanity which falls so easily under the slightest temptation. it is not that sinners decline to hear the word of god, but that those who profess themselves to be the servants of god, and who in fact intend to be such, are so lamentably weak and ineffective. we think of the effort of god in the incarnation; we have been following that effort in some detail through the passion. we are surprised, shocked, disheartened by the spectacle of the hatred that innocence stirs up, at the lengths men will go when they see their personal ends threatened. we are horrified by caiphas, pilate, herod. but is that the really horrifying thing about the passion of our lord? to me the supreme example of human incomprehension is that all the disciples forsook him and fled, that he was left to die almost alone. there we get the most disheartening failure in the tragedy. for we expect the antagonism of the world, especially that part of the world that has seen and rejected christ. there we find satanic activities. one of the outstanding features of the literature of to-day in the western world, the world that had known from childhood the story of jesus, is its utter hatred of christianity; its revolt from all that christianity stands for. this is markedly true in regard to the christian teaching in the matter of purity. the contemporary english novel is perhaps the vilest thing that has yet appeared on this earth. there have been plenty of unclean books written in the course of the world's history--we have only to recall the literature of the renaissance--but for the most part they have been written in careless or boastful disregard of moral sanctions which they still regarded as existing; but the novel of the present is an immoral propaganda--it is deliberately and of malice immoral, not out of careless levity, but out of deliberate intention. you do not feel that the modern author is just describing immoral actions which grow out of his story, but that he is constructing his story for the purpose of propagating immoral theory. he hates the whole teaching of the christian religion in the matter of purity. he has thrown it overboard on the ground that it is an "unnatural" restraint. to those who have studied the development of thought since the renaissance there is nothing surprising in this. but what does still surprise those who are as yet capable of being surprised is the light way in which the mass of christians take their religion. occasionally, in moments of frankness, they admit that they are not getting anything out of it; but it is harder to get them to admit that the reason is that they are not putting anything into it. you do not expect to get returns from a business into which you are putting no capital, and you have no right to expect returns from a religion into which you are putting no energy. what is meant by that is that those christians who are keeping the minimum routine of christianity, who are going to high mass on sunday (or perhaps only to low mass) and then making the rest of the day a time of self-indulgence and pleasure; who make their communions but rarely; who do not go to confession, or go only at easter; who are giving no active support to the work of the gospel as represented in parish and diocese have no right to be surprised if they find that they do not seem to get any results from their religion; that it is often rather a bore to do even so much as they do, and that they see no point in permitting it further to interfere with their customary amusements and avocations. i do not know what such persons expect from their religion, but i am sure that they will be disappointed if they are expecting any spiritual result. naturally, they will be disappointed if they look in themselves for any evidence of the virtue of hope. the most that can be looked for under the circumstances is that mockery of hope, presumption. we are not to be discouraged in our estimate of the christian religion by this which seems to be the failure of god. we are not to echo the cry: "since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation." s. peter pointed out to those pessimists that all things do not continue the same, that there are times of crisis which are the judgments of god. such a judgment was that of old which swept the wickedness of the world away, "whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished." he goes on to state that the present order likewise will issue in judgment: "the heavens and the earth which are now ... are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." what renders men hopeless is the feeling of god's inactivity; but this declaration of impending judgment certifies the active interest of god. god's dealing with the world is a perpetual judgment of which we are apt to decline the evidence until the cataclysm reveals the final scene. but every society, every individual life, is being judged through the whole course of its existence, and there is no need that either society or individual should be blind to the fact that such a judgment is taking place. there is no failure of god. there is a failure on our part to understand the works of god. we may very well consider the problem an individual one and ask ourselves what ground of hope we have. on the basis of our present effort can we, ought we, to have more than we have? the spiritual life is not an accident that befalls certain people; it is an art that is acquired by such persons as are interested in it. it is attained through the careful training and exercise of the faculties wherewith we have been endowed. the answer to our question is itself a perfectly simple one, as simple as would be the answer to the question: "do you speak french?" we speak french if we have taken the trouble to learn french; and we have gained results in the way of spiritual development and culture if we have taken the trouble to do so. i do not know why we should expect results on any other ground than that. but certain persons say: "i have tried, and have not attained any results." well, i should want to know what the trying means in that case. it is well for a person who aspires to spiritual culture to think of his past history. what sort of character-development has so far been going on? commonly it happens that there has been no spiritual effort that is worth thinking about; but that does not mean that nothing spiritual has been happening. it means on the contrary that there has been going on a spiritual atrophy, the spiritual powers have been without exercise and will be difficult to arouse to activity. in such a case as that spiritual awakening will be followed by a long period of spiritual struggle against habits of thought and action which we have already formed, a period in which unused and immature spiritual powers must be roused to action and disciplined to use. the simplest illustration of this is the difficulty experienced by the enthusiastic beginner in holding the attention fixed on spiritual acts such as the various forms of prayer. in all such attempts at spiritual activity there will be the constant drag of old habits, the recurrence of states of mind and imagination that had become habitual. these hindrances can be overcome, but only by steady and rather tedious labour. they call for the display of the virtue of patience which is not one of the virtues characteristic of spiritual immaturity. hence reaction and the feeling that one is not getting on, the feeling that we have quite possibly made a mistake about the whole matter. this is the place for the exercise of hope; and hope will come if we look away from our not very encouraging acquirement to the ground that we have for expecting any acquirement at all. if we ask: "why hope?" we shall see that our basis of hope is not in ourselves at all but in god. we hope because of the promises of god, because of his will for us as revealed in his son. "he loved us and gave himself for us"; and that giving will not be in vain. "he gave himself for me," i tell myself, "and therefore i am justified in my expectation of spiritual success." so one tries to learn from the present failure as it seems; so one repents and pushes on; so one learns that it is through tenacity of purpose that one attains results. and again: i am sustained by hope because i see that the results that i covet are not imaginary. they exist. i see them in operation all about me. i learn of them as i study the lives of other christians past and present. they are reality not theory, fact not dream. and what has been so richly and abundantly the outcome of spiritual living in others must be within my own reach. the results they attained were not miraculous gifts, but they were the working of god the holy spirit in lives yielded to him and co-operating with him. once more: is it not true that after a period of honest labour i do find results? perhaps not all that i would like but all that i am justified in expecting from the energy i have spent? i do not believe that any one can look back over a year's honest labour and not see that the labour has born fruit. in any case the fact that we do not see just what we are looking for does not mean that no spiritual work is going on. it may seem that our lord is silent and that to our cries there is no voice nor any that answers; but that may mean that we are looking in the wrong place or listening for the wrong word. the disciples looked that the outcome of our lord's life should be that the kingdom should be restored to israel; and when they turned away from the tomb in joseph's garden they felt that what they had looked for and prayed for was hopeless of accomplishment. but the important point was not their vision of the kingdom at all, but that they had yielded themselves to our lord and become his disciples and lovers. this is not what they intended to do, but it is what actually had happened: and when the grave yielded up the dead whom they thought that they had lost forever, jesus came back with a mission for them that was infinitely wider than their dream: the mission of founding not the old kingdom of david, but the kingdom of david's son. all their aspirations and prayers were fulfilled by being transcended, and they found themselves in a position vastly more important than had been reached even in their dreams. something like that not infrequently happens in our experience. we conceive a spiritual ambition and work for a spiritual end, and seem always to miss it; and then the day comes when god reveals to us what he has been doing, and we find that through the very discipline of our failure we have been being prepared for a success of which we had not thought: and when we raise our eyes from the path we thought so toilsome and uninteresting, it is to find ourselves at the very gate of the city of god. it will be with us as with the apostles who in the darkest hour of their imagined failure, when they were gathered together in hiding from the jews were startled by the appearence among them of the risen jesus, and were filled with the unutterable joy of his message of peace. "his body is wrappèd all in woe, hand and foot he may not go. thy son, lady, that thou lovest so naked is nailed upon a tree. "the blessèd body that thou hast born, to save mankind that was forlorn, his body, lady, the jews have torn, and hurt his head, as ye may see." when john his tale began to tell mary would not longer dwell but hied her fast unto that hill where she might her own son see. "my sweete son, thou art me dear, oh why have men hanged thee here? thy head is closed with a brier, o why have men so done to thee?" "john, this woman i thee betake; keep my mother for my sake. on rood i hang for mannes sake for sinful men as thou may see. "this game alone i have to play, for sinful souls that are to die. not one man goeth by the way that on my pains will look and see. "father, my soul i thee betake, my body dieth for mannes sake; to hell i go withouten wake, mannes soul to maken free." pray we all that blessed son that he help us when may no man and bring to bliss each everyone amen, amen, amen for charity. early english lyrics, p. . from an ms. in the sloane collection. part two chapter xx the resurrection and he saith unto them, be not affrighted; ye seek jesus of nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here. s. mark xvi, . o god, who wast pleased that thy word, when the angel delivered his message, should take flesh in the womb of the blessed virgin mary, give ear to our humble petitions, and grant that we who believe her truly to be the mother of god, may be helped by her prayers. through. o almighty and merciful god, who hast wonderfully provided perpetual succour for the defence of christian people in the most blessed virgin mary; mercifully grant that, contending during life under the protection of such patronage, we may be enabled to gain the victory, over the malignant enemy in death. through. old catholic. whatever may be our grief, however life may seem to have been emptied of all interest for us, nevertheless the routine of life reasserts itself and forces us back to the daily tasks no matter how savourless they may now seem. we speedily find that we are not isolated but units in a social order which claims us and calls on us to fulfil the duties of our place. blessed mary was led away from the tomb of her son in the prostration of grief; but her very duty to him would have forced her thought away from herself and led her to join in the preparations which were being made for the proper care of the sacred body. and in that sad duty she would find solace of a kind; there is an expression of love in the care we give our dead. this body now so helpless and unresponsive, has been the medium through which the soul expressed itself to us; it has been the instrument of love and the sacrament of our union. how well we know it! how well the mother knows every feature of her child, how she now lingers over the preparations for the burial feeling that the separation is not quite accomplished so long as her hands can touch and her eyes see the familiar features. in the pause that the sabbath forced on the friends of jesus we may be sure that they were making what preparations might be made under the restrictions of their religion, and that they looked eagerly for the passing of the sabbath as giving them one more opportunity of service to the master. there was the group of women who had followed him and "ministered of their substance" who were faithful still. the mother had no "substance"; she shared the poverty of her son. her support during the sabbath would be the expectancy of looking once more upon his face. but when the first day of the week dawned it proved to be a day of stupendous wonder. they, the disciples and these faithful women, seemed to themselves, no doubt, to have passed into a new world where the presuppositions of the old world were upset and reversed. there were visions of angels, reported appearances of jesus, an empty tomb. through the incredible reports that came to them from various sources the light gradually broke for them. it was true then, that saying of jesus, that he would rise again from the dead! it was not some mysterious bit of teaching, the exact bearing of which they did not catch, but a literal fact! and then while they still hesitated and doubted, while they still hid behind the closed doors, jesus himself came and stood in the midst with his message of peace. it is often so, is it not? while we are in perplexity and fear, while we think the next sound will be the knock of armed hands on the door, it is not the jews that come, but jesus with a message of peace. our fears are so pathetic, so pitiful; we meet life and death with so little of the understanding and the courage that our lord's promises ought to inspire in us! we stand so shudderingly before the vision of death, are so much appalled by the thought of the grave! we shudder and tremble as the hand of death is stretched out toward us and ours. one is often tempted to ask as one hears people talking of death: "are these christians? do they believe in immortality? have they heard the message of the first easter morning, the angelic announcement of the resurrection of christ? have they never found the peace of believing, the utter quiet of the spirit in the confidence of a certain hope which belongs to those who have grasped the meaning of the resurrection of the dead?" here in jerusalem in a few days the whole point of view is changed. the frightened group of disciples is transformed by the resurrection experience into the group of glad and triumphant missionaries who will be ready when they are endowed with power from on high to go out and preach jesus and the resurrection to the ends of the earth. what in these first days the resurrection meant to them was no doubt just the return of jesus. he was with them once more, and they were going to take hope again in the old life, to resume the old mission which had been interrupted by the disaster of calvary. all other feeling would have been swallowed up in the mere joy of the recovery. but it could not be many hours before it would be plain that if jesus was restored to them he was restored with a difference. a new element had entered their intercourse which was due to some subtle change that had passed upon him. we get the first note of it in that wonderful scene in joseph's garden when the lord appears to the magdalen. there is all the love and sympathy there had ever been; but when in response to her name uttered in the familiar voice the magdalen throws herself at his feet, there is a new word that marks a new phase in their relation: "touch me not, for i am not yet ascended." this new thing in our lord which held them back with a new word that they had never experienced before must have become plainer each day. s. mary feels no less love in her son restored to her from; the grave, but she does not find just the same freedom of approach. s. john could no longer think of leaning on his heart at supper as before. jesus was the same as before. there was the same thoughtful sympathy; the same tender love; but it is now mediated through a nature that has undergone some profound change in the days between death and resurrection. the humanity has acquired new powers, the spirit is obviously more in control of the body. our lord appeared and disappeared abruptly. his control over matter was absolute. and in his intercourse with the disciples there was a difference. he did not linger with them but appeared briefly from time to time as though he were but a passing visitor to the world. there were no longer the confidential talks in the fading light after the day's work and teaching was over. there was no longer the common meal with its intimacy and friendliness. there was, and this was a striking change, no longer any attempt to approach those outside the apostolic circle, no demonstration of his resurrection to the world that had, as it thought, safely disposed of him. he came for brief times and with brief messages, short, pregnant instructions, filled with meaning for the future into which they are soon to enter. what did it mean, this resurrection of jesus? it meant the demonstration of the continuity of our nature in our lord. the son of god took upon him our nature and lived and died in that nature. our pressing question is, what difference has that made to us? how are _we_ affected? has humanity been permanently affected by the resumption of it by god in the resurrection? if the assumption of humanity by our lord was but a passing assumption; if he took flesh for a certain purpose, and that purpose fulfilled, laid it aside, and once more assumed his pre-incarnate state, we should have difficulty in seeing that our humanity was deeply affected by the incarnation. there would have been exhibited a perfect human life, but what would have been left at the end of that life would have been just the story of it, a thing wholly of the past. it is not much better if it is assumed that the meaning of the resurrection is the revelation of the immortality of the human spirit, that in fact the resurrection means that the soul of jesus is now in the world of the spirit, but that his body returned to the dust. we are not very much interested in the bare fact of survival. what interests us is the mode of survival, the conditions under which we survive. we are interested, that is to say, in our survival as human beings and not in our survival as something else--souls. a soul is not a human being; a human being is a composite of soul and body. it is interesting to note that people who do not believe in the resurrection of our lord, do not believe in our survival as human beings, consequently do not believe in a heaven that is of any human interest. but we feel, do we not? a certain lack of interest in a future in which we shall be something quite different in constitution from what we are now. we can think of a time between death and the resurrection in which we shall be incomplete, but that is tolerable because it is disciplinary and temporary and looks on to our restitution to full humanity in the resurrection at the last day. and we feel that the promise, the certainty of this is sealed by our lord's resurrection from the dead. we are certain that that took place because it is needful to the completion of his work. the creed is one: and if one denies one article one speedily finds that there is an effect on others. the denial of the resurrection is part and parcel of the attempt to reduce christianity to a history of something that once took place which is important to us to-day because it affords us a standard of life, a pattern after which we are to shape ourselves. else should we be very much in the dark. we gain from the christian revelation a conception of god as a kindly father who desires his children to follow the example of his son. that example, no doubt, must not be pressed too literally, must be adapted to modern conditions; but we can get some light and guidance from the study of it. still, if you do not care to follow it nothing will happen to you. it is merely a pleasing occupation for those who are interested in such things. the affirmation of the resurrection, on the other hand, is the affirmation of the continuity of the work of god incarnate; it is an assertion that christianity is a supernatural action of god going on all the time, the essence of which is, not that it invites the believer to imitation of the life of christ, so far as seems practical under modern conditions, but that it calls him to union with christ; it makes it his life's meaning to recreate the christ-experience, to be born and live and die through the experience of incarnate god. it fixes his attention not on what jesus did but on what jesus is. it insists on a present vital organic relation to god, mediated by the humanity of jesus; and if there be no humanity of jesus, if at his death he ceased to be completely human, then there is no possibility of such a relation to god in christ as the catholic religion has from the beginning postulated; and unless we are to continue human there seems no continuing basis for such a relation to one another in the future as would make the future of any interest to us. for us, as for s. paul, all our hope hangs on the resurrection of christ from the dead; and if christ be not risen from the dead then is our faith vain. for us then, as for the men who wrote the gospel, and for the men who planted the church and watered it with their blood, the resurrection of jesus means the return of his spirit from the place whither it had gone to preach to the spirits in prison and its reunion with the body which had been laid in the tomb in joseph's garden, and the issuing of perfect god and perfect man from that tomb on the first easter morning. that humanity had, no doubt, undergone profound changes to fit it to be the perfect instrument of the spirit of christ jesus henceforward. it is now the resurrection body, the spiritual body of the new man. we understand that it is now a body fitted for the new conditions of the resurrection life, and we also understand that it is the exemplar of what our risen bodies will be. they will be endowed with new powers and capacities, but they will be human bodies, the medium of the spirit's expression and a recognisable means of intercourse with our friends. we lie down in the grave with a certainty of preserving our identity and of maintaining the capacity of intercourse with those we know and love. that is what really interests us in the future which would be uninteresting on other terms; and that is what our lord's appearances after the resurrection seem to guarantee. he resumed a human intercourse with those whom he had gathered about him. he continued his work of instruction and preparation for the future. and when at length he left them they were prepared to understand that his departure was but the beginning of a new relation. but also they would feel much less that there was an absolute break with the past than if he had not appeared to them after the crucifixion, and they had been left with but a belief in his immortality. they would, too, now be able to look on to the future as containing a renewal of the relations now changed, to read a definite meaning into his promises that where he is there shall his servants be. it is much to know that we are immortal: it is much more to know that this immortality is a human immortality. one feels in studying the pre-christian beliefs in immortality that they had very little effectiveness, and that the reason was that there was no real link connecting life in this world with life in the next. death was a fearful catastrophe that man in some sense survived, but in a sense that separated his two modes of existence by a great gulf. man survived, but his interests did not survive, and therefore he looked to the future with indifference or fear. this life seemed to him much preferable to the life which was on the other side of the grave. so far as the old testament writings touch on the future world, they touch upon it without enthusiasm. there is an immense difference between the attitude of the old testament saint toward death and that, for instance, of the early christian martyr. and the difference is that the martyr does not feel that death will put an end to all he knows and loves and set him, alive it may be, but alive in a strange country. he feels that he is about to pass into a state of being in which he will find his finer interests not lost but intensified. at the center of his religious expression is a personal love of jesus and a martyr's death would mean immediate admission to the presence and love of his master. he would--of this he had no shadow of doubt--he would see jesus, not the spirit of jesus, but the jesus who is god incarnate, whose earthly life he had gone over so many times, whom he felt that he should recognise at once. death was not the breaking off of all in which he was interested but was rather the fulfilment of all that he had dreamed. and this must be true always where our interests are truly christian interests. it is no doubt true that we find in christian congregations a large number of individuals whose attitude toward death and the future is purely heathen. they believe in survival, but they have no vital interest in it. i fancy that there are a good many people who would experience relief to be persuaded that death is the end of conscious existence, that they do not have to look forward to a continuous life under other conditions. and this not at all, as no doubt it would in some cases be, because it was the lifting of the weighty burden of responsibility for the sort of life one leads, because it was relief from the thought of a judgment to be one day faced, but because the world to come, as they have grasped its meaning, is a world in which they have no sort of interest. our lord in his presentation of the future does actually point us to the natural human interest by which our affection will follow that which we do in fact value. "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." but the class of whom i am thinking have no treasures. notwithstanding some sort of conformity to the christian religion, conceived most likely under the aspect of a compulsory moral code, there is nothing in their experience that one can call a love of our lord, no actually felt personal affection for him that makes them long to see him. there were those with whom they had intimately lived and whom they had loved and who have passed through the experience of death, but in the years that have passed they have become used to living without them and there is no passionate longing to be with them again. there are no interests in their lives which when they think of them they feel that they can carry with them to the world beyond. whatever they have succeeded in accumulating in life is hardly to be regarded as heavenly treasure! there then is the vital centre of the christian doctrine of the world to come,--that it is a life continuous with this life, not in bare existence, but in the persistence of relations and interests upon which we have entered here. at the center of that world as it is revealed to us, is jesus christ, god in our nature, and about him ever the saints of his kingdom, who are still human with human interests, and who look on to the time when the fulness of humanity will be restored to them by the resurrection of the body. the interests that are vital here are also the interests that are vital there, the interests of the kingdom of god. as the christian thinks of the life of the world to come he thinks of it as the sphere in which his ambitions can be and will be realised, where the ends of which he has so long and so earnestly striven will be attained. his life has been a life given to the service of our lord and to his kingdom, and it had, no doubt, often seemed to small purpose; it has often seemed that the kingdom was not prospering and the work of god coming to naught. and then he looks on to the future and sees that the work that he knows is an insignificant fragment of the whole work; and he thinks with longing of the time when he shall see revealed all that has been accomplished. he feels like a colonist who in some outlying province of an empire is striving to promote the interests of his homeland. his work is to build up peace and order and to civilise barbarous tribes. and there are days when the work seems very long and very hopeless; and then he comforts himself with the thought that this is but a corner of the empire and that one day he will be relieved and called home. there at the centre he will be able to see the whole fact, will be able to understand what this colony means, and will rejoice in the slight contribution to its upbuilding that it has been his mission to make. the heart of the christian is really in the homeland and he feels acutely that here he is on the pilgrim way. but he feels too that his present vocation is here and that he is here contributing the part that god has appointed him for the upbuilding of the kingdom, and that the more he loves our lord and the more he longs for him the more faithfully and exactly will he strive to accomplish his appointed work. they are right, those who are continually reproaching christians with having a centre of interest outside this world; but we do not mind the reproach because we are quite sure that only those will have an intelligent interest in this world who feel that it does not stand by itself as a final and complete fact, but is a single stage of the many stages of god's working. we no more think it a disgrace to be thinking of a future world and to have our centre of interest there than we think it a disgrace for the college lad to be looking forward to the career that lies beyond the college boundaries and for which his college is supposed to be preparing him. we do not consider that boy ideal whose whole time and energy is given to the present interests of a college, its athletics, its societies, and in the end is found to have paid so little attention to the intellectual work that he is sent there to perform that he fails to pass his examinations. christians are interested in this world because it is a province of the kingdom of god and that they are set here to work out certain problems, and that they are quite sure that the successful solution of these problems is the best and highest contribution that they can make to the development of life in this world. they do not believe that as a social contribution to the betterment of human life a saint is less valuable than an agnostic professor of sociology or an atheistic socialistic leader; nor does the christian believe that strict attention to the affairs of the kingdom of god renders him less valuable as a citizen than strict attention to a brewery or a bank. a whole-hearted christian life which has in view all the relations of the kingdom of god in this or in any other world, which loves god and loves its neighbour in god, is quite the best contribution that a human being can make to the cause of social progress. if it were possible to put in evidence anywhere a wholly christian community i am quite convinced that we should see that our social problems were there solved. i think then we shall be right to insist that what is needed is not less otherworldliness but more: that more otherworldliness would work a social revolution of a beneficent character. the result might be that we should spend less of our national income on preparations for war and more in making the conditions of life tolerable for the poor; that we should begin to pay something of the same sort of care for the training of children that we now bestow on the nurture of pigs and calves. we might possibly look on those whom we curiously call the "inferior races" as less objects of commercial exploitation and more as objects of moral and spiritual interest. we shall no doubt do this when we have more fully grasped what the resurrection of christ has done and made possible. it is no account of that resurrection to think of it as a demonstration of immortality. it only touches the fringes of its importance when we think of it as setting the seal of divine approval upon the teaching of jesus. we get to the heart of the matter when we think of the risen humanity of our lord as having become for us a source of energy. the truth of our lord's life is not that he gave us an example of how we ought to live, but that he provided the power that enables us to live as he lived. also he gave us the point of view from which to estimate life. the writer of the epistles to the hebrews uses a striking phrase when he speaks of "the power of an endless life." is not that an illuminating phrase when we think of our relation to our lord? his revelation of the meaning of human life has brought to us the vision of what that life may become and the power to attain that end. the fact of our endlessness at once puts a certain order into life. things, interests, occupations fall into their right places. there are so many things which seem not worth while because of the revelation of the importance of our work. other things there are which we should not have dared to undertake if we had but this life in which to accomplish them. but he who understands that he is building for eternity can build with all the care and all the deliberation that is needed for so vast a work. there is no haste if we select those things which have eternal value. we can undertake the development of the christian qualities of character with entire hopefulness. the very conception of the beauty and perfectness of the fruits of the spirit might discourage us if our time were limited. but if we feel that the work we have done on them, however elementary and fragmentary, as long as it is honest and heartfelt, will not be lost when death comes, then we can go securely on. we can go on in any spiritual work we have undertaken without that sense of feverish haste lest death overtake us and put an end to our labour which so affects men in purely secular things. to us death is not an interruption. death does not destroy our human personality, nor does it destroy our interest in anything that like us is permanent. we feel perfectly secure when we have identified ourselves with the business of the kingdom of god. then we almost feel the throb of our immortality; the power of an endless life is now ours. we have not to wait for death and resurrection to endue us with that power because it is the gift of god to us here, that gift of enternal life which our lord came to bestow upon us. only the gift which we realise imperfectly or not at all at its bestowal we come to understand in something of its real power; and henceforth we live in the possession and fruition of it, growing up "into him in all things, which is the head, even christ." hail, thou brightest star of ocean; hail, thou mother of our god; hail, thou ever-sinless virgin, gateway of the blest abode. ave; 'tis an angel's greeting-- thou didst hear his music sound, changing thus the name of eva-- shed the gifts of peace around. burst the sinner's bonds in sunder; pour the day on darkling eyes; chase our ills; invoke upon us all the blessings of the skies. show thyself a watchful mother; and may he our pleadings hear, who for us a helpless infant owned thee for his mother dear. maid, above all maids excelling, maid, above all maidens mild, freed from sin, oh, make our bosoms sweetly meek and undefiled. keep our lives all pure and stainless, guide us on our heavenly way, 'till we see the face of jesus, and exult in endless day. glory to the eternal father; glory to the eternal son; glory to the eternal spirit: blest for ever, three in one. part two chapter xxi the forty days to whom also he showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of god. acts i, . open unto us the door of thy loving kindness, o blessed mother of god; we have set our hope on thee, may we not be disappointed, but through thee may we be delivered from adversity, for thou art the saving help of all christian people. o mother of god, thou who art a deep well of infinite mercy, bestow upon us thy compassion; look upon thy people who have sinned, and continue to make manifest thy power. for thee do we trust, and to thee do we cry, hail! even as of old did gabriel, the chief of the angelic hosts. russian. these forty days that intervened between our lord's resurrection and ascension must have been utterly bewildering in the experience of the apostles. our lord was once more with them; he had come back from the grave; that would have been the central experience. but in his intercourse with them he was so changed, the same and yet with a vast difference. we think of the perplexed group of the disciples gathered in the familiar place, going over the recent facts and trying to adjust themselves to them. just what is the difference that death and resurrection have made, we hear them discussing. is it that he appears and disappears so strangely, not coming any longer to be with them in the old way, with the old familiar intercourse? there is obviously no failure in himself, no decline in love; but there is a decline in intimacy. they themselves feel a strange awe in his presence such as they had not been accustomed to feel in the past. they feel too that this restrained intercourse is but temporary, that at any moment it may end. the instructions he is giving them are so obviously final instructions, fitting them for a future in which he will not be with them. amid all this perplexity we try to see our lady and to get at her mind. she was no doubt in the small group eagerly waiting our lord's coming, dreading each time he left them that he would return no more. one thinks of her as less bewildered than the others because her interest was more concentrated. she had no problems to work out, no perplexities to absorb her; she had simply to love. life to her was just love--love of the son whom she had brought forth and whom she had followed so far. she lived in his appearings; and between them she lived in remembrance of them. one does not think of her as dwelling very much on what he says, but as dwelling upon him. the thought of him absorbs her. she has passed into that relation to our lord that in the years to come many souls will strive to acquire--the state of absorbed contemplation, the state in which all things else for the time recede and one is alone with god. god so fills the soul that there is room there for nothing else. for the apostles these were days of immense importance as days in which they were compelled to reconstruct their whole view of the meeting of our lord's mission and of their relation to it. they came to these days with their settled notion about the renewed kingdom of israel and of our lord's reign on earth which his teaching hitherto had not been able to expel; but now they are compelled to see that the kingdom of god of which they are to be the missionaries is a kingdom in another sense than they had so far conceived it. it differs vastly from their dream of an israelite empire. it is no doubt true that this mental revolution is of slow operation, and that even when certain truths are grasped it will still take time to grasp them in all their implications. for long their judaism will impede their full understanding of the meaning of the kingdom of god. it will be years before they can see that it is a non-jewish fact and that other nations will stand on an equality with them. but they will by the end of the forty days have grasped the fact that they are not engaged in a secular revolution and are not entering on a career of worldly power. they will be ready for their active ministry after pentecost, a ministry of spiritual initiation into the kingdom of god. when in response to their preaching men asked the question: "men and brethren, what shall we do?" they were ready with their answer: "repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of jesus christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the holy ghost." so the forty days were filled with new meanings emerging from the old teaching, of suddenly grasped significance in some saying of our lord that they had assumed that they understood but in reality had attributed little meaning to. it is one of the striking things about our relation to spiritual truth that we can go on for long thinking that we are attaching a meaning to something which in fact, it turns out, has meant almost nothing to us. some day a phrase which we have often read or repeated suddenly is lighted up with a significance we had never dreamed of. we have long been looking some truth in the face, but in fact it has never laid hold of us; we have made no inferences from it, deduced no necessity of action, till on a day the significance of it emerges and we are overwhelmed by the revelation of our blunder, of our stupidity. the fact is that we assume that our conduct is quite right, and we interpret truth in the light of our conduct rather than interpret conduct in the light of truth. it is the explanation, i suppose, of the fact that so many people read their bible regularly without, so far as one can see, the reading having any effect upon their conduct. the conduct is a settled affair and they are finding it reflected in the pages of the gospel. their minds are already definitely made up to the effect that they know what the gospel means, and that is the meaning that they put into the bible. one does not know otherwise how to account for the fact that it is precisely those who think themselves "bible christians" who are farthest from accepting the explicit teaching of the bible. if there is anything plain in the new testament it is that the whole teaching of our lord is sacramental. if anything is taught there one would think it was the nature and obligation of baptism, the presence of our lord in the sacrament of the altar, the gift of confirmation, the meaning of absolution. yet it is to "bible christians" that sacraments appear to have no value, are things which can be dispensed with as mere ornaments of the christian religion. i wonder if we have wholly got beyond that point of view? i wonder if we have got a religious practice which is settled or one that is continually expanding? i wonder if we force our meaning on the bible or if we are trying to find therein new stimulus to action? that in truth is the reason for reading the holy scriptures at all--to find therein stimulus, stimulus for life; that we may see how little or how much our conduct conforms to the ideal set out there. we do not read to learn a religion, but to learn to practice the religion that we already have. now to take just one point in illustration. the commission of our lord to his church in the person of the apostles was a commission to forgive sins. "he breathed on them, and saith unto them, receive ye the holy ghost: whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained." as to how in detail, this commission is to be exercised is a matter for the church to order as the circumstances of its life require. as i read my bible certain facts emerge: i am a sinner; christ died for my sins; he left power in his church for the forgiveness of sin--of my sin. and then the question arises: what is the bearing of all that on my personal practice? have i settled a practice for myself to which i am subjecting the teaching of the bible and the church? or am i alert to see a contrast or a contradiction between my practice and the teaching of the bible and the church, if such exist? now there are many people in the church who make no use of the sacrament of penance, and there are many others who make use of it very sparingly. it is clear that either they must be right, or the bible and the church must be right. it is clear that such persons, to press it no farther, are imposing the interpretation of their own conduct on the teaching of the christian religion and asserting by their constant practice that that interpretation is quite inadequate, notwithstanding the contrary practice of the entire catholic world. that, to put it mildly, is a very peculiar intellectual and spiritual attitude. we can most of us, i have no doubt, find by searching somewhere in our religious practice parallel attitudes toward truth. we have settled many questions in a sense that is agreeable to us. we cannot tell just how we got them settled, but settled they are. take a very familiar matter which greatly concerns us in this parish dedicated to the blessed virgin mary, the question of the honour and reverence due to our blessed mother. we had got settled in our practice that certain things were right and certain wrong. i doubt if a very intelligent account of this--why they were right or wrong--could, in many cases have been given. but the settled opinion and practice was there. and then came the demand for a review; that we look our practice squarely in the face and ask, "what is the ground of this? does it correspond with the teaching of scripture and of the catholic church? and if it does not, what am i going to do about it? have i only a collection of prejudices there where i supposed that i had a collection of settled truths? do i see that it is quite possible that i may be wholly wrong, and that i am hindered by pride from reversing my attitude?" for there is a certain pride which operates in these matters of belief and practice as well as elsewhere. we are quite apt to pride ourselves on our consistency and think it an unworthy thing to change our minds. that is rather a foolish attitude; changing one's mind is commonly not a mark of fickleness but of intellectual advance. it means oftentimes the abandonment of prejudice or the giving up of an opinion which we have discovered to have no foundation. this is rather a large universe in which we live, and it is improbable that any man's thought of it at any time should be adequate. intellectual progress means the assimilation of new truths. the christian religion is a large and complex phenomenon, and any individual's thought of it at any time must be, in the nature of things, an inadequate thought. progress in religion means the constant assimilation of new truths--new, that is, to us. surely it is a very peculiar attitude to be proud of never learning anything, making it a virtue to have precisely the same opinions this year as last! i should be very much ashamed of myself if a year were to pass in which i had learned nothing, had changed my mind about nothing. in religion, one knows that the articles of the faith are expressed in the dogmatic definitions of the church; but one will never know, seek as one will, all that these mean in detail, all that they demand in practice. and our only tolerable attitude is that of learners constantly seeking to fill up the _lacunae_ in our beliefs and practice. in fact, any living christian experience is always in process of adjustment. those who conceive a dogmatic religion as an immovable religion, as a collection of cut and dried formulae which each generation is expected to learn and repeat and to which it has no other relation, are quite right in condemning that conception, only that is not, in fact, what the christian religion is. the content of the christian dogmas is so full and so complex that there is never any danger of intellectual sterility in those who are called to deal with them; and their application to life is so rich and so manifold that there is not the least danger that those who set out to apply them to the problems of daily existence will become mere formalists. the attempt to live a truly christian life is a never-ending, inexhaustible adventure. only those can miss this fact who have utterly misconceived christianity as a barren set of prohibitions, warning its devotees off the field of great sections of human experience. there are those who appear to imagine that the primary business of christianity is to deal with sin, and that in order to keep itself occupied it has to invent a large number of unreal sins. unfortunately sin, as the deliberate rejection of the known will of god, exists; and, fortunately, the grace of our lord jesus christ who came into the world to save sinners also exists. we can be unendingly thankful for that. but it is also true that the action of christianity is not exhausted in the negative work of dealing with sin. christianity is primarily a positive action for the bringing about and development of the relation of the soul with god in the state of union. we may say that christianity has to turn aside from this its proper business of developing the spiritual life to the preliminary work of dealing with sin which kills spirituality and hinders its development. but it is not necessary to make the blunder of assuming that this dealing with sin is the essential work of christianity because it has so continually to be at it, any more than it is necessary to assume that the essential work of a farmer is the digging up of weeds. surely it would be no adequate treatise on agriculture which would confine itself to description of the nature of weeds and of methods of dealing with them. there is a branch of theology which deals with sin, the methods of its treatment and its cure; but there are also other branches of theology: and the direction of the holy scripture is not to get rid of sin and stop; but having done that, to go on to perfection. christian experience is a constant process of adjustment, a constantly growing experience. by the study of the christian revelation it is always finding new meanings in old truths, new modes of application of familiar practices. this simply means that the christian is alive and not a fossil. it means that his relation to our lord is such that it opens to him inexhaustible depths of experience. it is easy to see this in the concrete by taking up the life of almost any saint. it is easy to trace the growth of s. john from the young fisherman, fiery, impatient, who wished to call down fire from heaven upon his adversaries as elijah did, and gained the rebuke: "ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of," to the mature and supremely calm and simple experience which is reflected in the gospel and epistles. it is easy to trace the development of the impulsive, zealous pharisee that paul of tarsus was, through all the stages of spiritual growth that are reflected in his letters, till he is paul the aged waiting to depart and be with christ "which is far better." you can study it in the confessions of s. augustine in its first stage and follow it through its later stages in his letters and other writings, and in many another saint beside. if you have any spiritual experience at all you can trace it in your own case: you have grown, not through dealing with sin, but through the pursuit of ideal perfection, that perfection which is set before you by the christian religion. you may not feel that you have gone very far: that is not the point at present; you know that you have found a method by which you may go on indefinitely; that there is no need that you should stop anywhere short of the beatific vision. you do know that your religion is not the deadening repetition of dogmas which the unbeliever conceives it to be, but is the never ceasing attempt to master the inexhaustible truth that is contained in your relation to our lord. you do know that however far you have gone you feel that you are still but on the threshold and that the path before your feet runs out into infinity. let us go back again to our examination of the experience of the apostles. when we examine their training we find there, i think, two quite distinct elements both of which must have had a formative influence upon their ministry. in the first place there was the element of dogmatic teaching. there is a class of persons who are accustomed to tell us that there is no dogma in the new testament, by which they appear to mean that the particular dogmatic affirmations of the creed are not formulated in the pages of the new testament, but are of later production. that, no doubt, is true; but nevertheless it would be difficult to find a more dogmatic book than the new testament, or a more dogmatic teacher than was our lord. and our lord taught the apostles in a most definite way the expected acceptance of his teaching because he taught it. "he taught as one having authority, and not as the scribes," it was noted. the point about the teaching of the scribes was that it was traditional, wholly an interpretation of the meaning of the old testament. it made no claim to originality but rather based its claim on the fact it was not original. our lord, it was noticed, did not base his claim on tradition. in fact he often noticed the jewish tradition for the purpose of marking the contrast between it and his own teaching. "ye have heard that it hath been said of old time ... but i say unto you." he commonly refused to give an explanation of what he had said, but demanded acceptance on his authority. he brought discipleship to the test of hard sayings, and permitted the departure of those who could not accept them. he cut across popular prejudices and took small account of the "modern mind" as expressed by the sadducees. he expected the same unhesitating submission from the apostles whom he was training, though it was also a part of their training to be the future heralds of the kingdom that they should have the "mysteries of the kingdom" explained to them. but from the time when jesus began to preach, saying "the kingdom of heaven is at hand," he preached and taught with the same unhesitating note of certainty, and with the same demand for intellectual submission on the part of those who heard him. and that continues to the end. during the forty days, the few sayings that have come to us have the same ring of authority, of dogmatic certainty. the result was that when the apostles went out to teach they were equipped with a body of truth which they presented to the world in the same unhesitating way. indeed, that is the only way in which the central truths of the christian faith can be presented. they are not the conclusions of argument, which may be taken up and argued over again to the end of the world,--they are the dicta of revelation. we either know them to be true because they have been revealed, or we do not know them to be true at all. they are mysteries, that is, truths beyond the possibility of human finding which have been made known to man by god himself. they are the appropriate data of religion and what distinguishes it from philosophy. the presence of mystery in philosophy is annoying, and the aim is to get rid of it, but a religion without mystery is absurd. religion deals with the fundamental relations between god and man and the light it brings us must be a supernatural light. such a religion in its presentation naturally cut across the preconceptions of the traditionalists in jerusalem to whom nothing new could be true, as across the preconceptions of the sophists of athens, to whom nothing that was not new was interesting. this dogmatic equipment was but one side, however, of the apostolic training for their future work, a training to which the finishing touches, so to say, were put during the forty days. the other side of the training was the impression upon them of the personality of our lord, the effect of their close association with him. this has an importance that dwarfs all other influences of the time; and we feel all through the gospel that it was what our lord himself counted upon in forming them for their mission. in the beginning "he chose twelve to be with him," and their day by day association with him was constantly changing their point of view and reforming their character. it was not the teaching, the explanation of parables, or the sight of the miracles; it was the silent effect of a personality that was in contact with them constantly and was constantly presenting to them an ideal of life, an ideal of absolute submission to the will of the father and of utter consecration to the, mission that had been committed to him. we all know this silent pressure of life upon life. we have most of us, i suppose, experienced it either from our parents or from friends in later life; and we can through that experience of ours attempt the explanation of our lord's influence on the apostles. there were not only the hours of formal teaching--they, in a way, were perhaps the less important from our present point of view. we have more in mind the informal talks that would go on as they went from village to village in galilee, or as they gathered about the door of some cottage in the evening or sat in the shelter of some grove during the noon-day heat. it was just talk arising naturally out of the incidents of the day, but it was always talk guided by jesus--talk in which jesus was constantly revealing himself to them, impressing upon them his point of view, making plain his own judgment upon life. and when we turn to his formal teaching we realise how revolutionary was his point of view in regard to life, how he swept aside the customary conventions by which they were accustomed to guide life, and substituted the radical principles that they have left on record in the sermon on the mount for the perplexity of a world yet far from understanding them. evidently the apostles would find their accustomed values tossed aside and a wholly new set of values presented to them. i suppose we find it difficult to appreciate how utterly revolutionary the gospel teaching continually is, not because we have become accustomed to follow it, but because we have got used to hearing it and evacuating it of most of its meaning by clever glossing. it was thus that the teaching classes in jerusalem avoided the pressure of old testament ideals by a facile system of interpretation which made "void the word of god by their traditions." human nature has not altered; and we succeed by the same method in making the gospel of none effect. we are so well accustomed to do this that we lose the point and pungency of much of our lord's teaching. but we know that the apostles did not. we know that they presented that teaching in all its sharpness to would-be disciples. it could not be otherwise with those who for three years had been in day by day intimacy with our lord and had assimilated his point of view and his judgment on life. one effect of their contact with our lord in the days following the resurrection would be that whatever changes the passage to a new level of existence had wrought in him, it had not changed either the tone of his teaching or the beauty and attractiveness of his personality. the concluding charges that were given them, the great commission of proclaiming the kingdom with which they were now definitely endued, the powers which were committed to them in the great words: "all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptising them in the name of the father, and of the son, and of the holy ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever i have commanded you: and, lo, i am with you alway, even unto the end of the world," would but confirm and strengthen all that had gone before in their experience of him. the jesus of the resurrection was no pale ghost returned from the grave, intermittently to appear to them to assure them of the fact of immortality. he was "the same jesus" whom they had known for three years, and whose return from the dead triumphant over the powers that had opposed him, set quite plainly and definitely the seal of indisputable authority upon all the teaching and the example that had gone before. the period of their probation was over: the commission was theirs: it remained that they should abide in jerusalem until they should be "endued with power from on high." proclaimed queen and mother of a god, the light of earth, the sovereign of saints, with pilgrim foot up tiring hills she trod, and heavenly stile with handmaids' toil acquaints; her youth to age, her health to sick she lends; her heart to god, to neighbor hand she bends. a prince she is, and mightier prince doth bear, yet pomp of princely train she would not have; but doubtless, heavenly choirs attendant were, her child from harm, herself from fall to save: word to the voice, song to the tune she brings, the voice her word, the tune her ditty sings. eternal lights enclosèd in her breast shot out such piercing beams of burning love, that when her voice her cousin's ears possessed the force thereof did force her babe to move: with secret signs the children greet each other; but, open praise each leaveth to his mother. robert southwell, s.j. - . part two chapter xxii the ascension and it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. s. luke xxiv, . o mother of god, since we have obtained confidence in thee, we shall not be put to shame, but we shall be saved. and since we have obtained thy help and thy meditation, o, thou holy, pure, and perfect one! we fear not but that we shall put our enemies to flight and scatter them. we have taken unto us the shelter of thy mighty help in all things like a shield. and we pray, and beseech thee that we may call upon thee, o mother of god, so that thou deliver us through thy prayers. and that thou mayest raise us up again from the sleep of darkness, to offer praise through the might of god who took flesh in thee. coptic. there would be no doubt of the finality of our lord's physical withdrawal this time. as the group of disciples stood on the hilltop in galilee and watched the clouds close about him, they would feel that this was the end of the kind of intercourse to which they had been accustomed. the past forty days would have done much to prepare them for the separation. their conception of our lord's work as issuing in the establishment of an earthly kingdom had been swept away; the changed terms of their intercourse with him in the resurrection state had emphasised the change that had taken place; his teaching during these weeks which was centered on the work of the future in which they were to carry on the mission he had initiated; all these elements prepared them for the definite withdrawal of the ascension. nevertheless we can understand the wrench that must have been involved in his actual withdrawal. we face the dying of some one we love. we know that it is a matter of weeks; the weeks shorten to days, and we are "prepared" for the death; but what we mean is that the death will not take us by surprise. however prepared we may be, the pain of parting will be a quite definite pain; there is no way of avoiding that. we know that there was no way for the disciples to avoid the pain of the going of jesus. it was not the same sort of pain that they felt now, as they gazed up from the hill top to the cloud drifting into the distance, as the pain that had been theirs as they hurried trembling and affrighted through the streets of jerusalem on the afternoon of the crucifixion. this pain had no sting of remorse for a duty undone, or of fear for a danger to be met. it was the calm pain of love in the realisation that the parting is final. we know that among the group that watched the receding cloud the eyes that would linger longest and would find it hardest to turn away would be those of the blessed mother. her mission about our lord during all these past years had been a very characteristically womanly mission, a mission of silence and help and sympathy. she was with the women who ministered to him, never obtrusive, never self-assertive; but always ready when need was. it was the silent service of a great love. that is the perfection of service. there are types of service which claim reward or recognition. we are not unfamiliar in the work of the kingdom with people who have to be cajoled and petted and made much of because of what they do. verily, they have their reward. but the type we are considering, of which the blessed mother is the highest expression, is without thought of self, being wholly lost in the wonder of being permitted to serve god at all. to be permitted to give one's time and personal ministry to our lord in his kingdom and in his members is so splendid a grace of god that all thought of self is lost in the joy of it. we know that s. mary could have had no other thought than the offering of her love in whatever way it was permitted to express itself; and we know that the quality of that love was such that the moment of the ascension would have left her desolate, watching the cloud that veiled him from her eyes. all of which does not mean that we are wrong when we speak of the ascension as one of the "glorious mysteries" of s. mary. there we are viewing it in its wide bearing as s. mary would come to view it in a short while. when the meaning of the ascension became plain, when under the guidance of the holy spirit, s. mary was able to view her son as "the one mediator between god and man, the man christ jesus," when she was able to think of the human nature that god had taken from her as permanently enthroned in heaven,--then would all this be to her creative of intense joy. we, seeing so clearly what the ascension essentially meant, can think of it as a mystery of intense joy, but as our lord passed away from sight the passing would for the moment be one last stab of the sword through this so-often wounded heart. there would be no lingering upon the hill top. the angel messengers press the lesson that the life before them is a life of eager contest, of energetic action. jesus had indeed gone in the clouds of heaven, but they were reminded that there would be a reappearance, a coming-again in the clouds of heaven, and in the meantime there was much to do, work that would require their self-expenditure even unto death. back must they go to jerusalem and there await the opening of the next act of the drama of the kingdom of god. as we turn to the epistles of the new testament and to the slowly shaping theology of the early church, we find set out for us the nature of our lord's heavenly activity; we see the full meaning of his incarnation. the human nature which the son of god assumed from a pure virgin, he assumed permanently. he took it from the tomb on the resurrection morning, he bore it with him from the galilean hill to the very presence of uncreated god. when the gates lift and admit the conqueror to heaven, what enters heaven is our nature, what is enthroned at the right hand of god is man, forever united to god. and when we ask, "what is the purpose of this?" the answer is that it is the continual purpose of the incarnation, the purpose of mediatorship between the created and the uncreated, between god and man. the constant purpose of the incarnation is mediation--of the need of mediation there is no end. our lord's work was not finished, though there are those who appear to believe that it was finished, when, as a galilean preacher he had taught men of the father: nor was it finished when he bought redemption for us on the cross, and triumphing over death in the resurrection, returned to heaven at the ascension. there is a very real sense in which we can say that all those acts were the preliminaries of his work, were what made the work possible. we then mean by his work the age-long work of building the kingdom of heaven, and through it bringing souls to the father. to insist perhaps over-much: we are not saved by the memory of what our lord did, we are saved by what he now does. we are saved by the present application to us of the work that was wrought in the years of his earthly life. we need to grasp this living and present character of our lord's work if we will understand the meaning of his mediation. there is a gulf between the divine, the purely spiritual, and the human, which needs some bridge to enable the human to cross it. that bridge was thrown across in the incarnation when god and man became united in the person of the second person of the ever blessed trinity. when god the son became incarnate, god and man were forever united and the door of heaven was about to swing open. henceforth from the demonstrated triumph of our lord in the ascension the kingdom of heaven is open to all believers, and there is an ever-ready way of approach to god the blessed trinity by the incarnate person of the son who is the one mediator between god and man. whoever approaches god, whoever would reach to the divine, must approach by that path, the path of jesus who is the way, the truth and the life. he is the way to god: and that way is one that we follow by participation in his nature, by being taken up into him. we do not reach god by thinking about our lord, or by believing about our lord: thinking and believing are the preliminaries of action. there are wonderful riches in the king's treasury, but you do not get them because you think of them or because you believe that they are there. you get them when you go after them. and you get the ends of the christian religion not because you believe them to exist, but because you go after them in the way in which christ directed. inasmuch as he is the way to the father, we reach the father by being made one with the son, by being made a member of him, by being taken into him in the life of union. "no man cometh unto the father but by me," he says. and the process of coming is by believing all that he said and acting upon his word to the uttermost. those who by partaking of the sacraments are in christ have passed by his mediation to the knowledge of the father. for a road can be travelled in either direction. christ is the road by which we come to the father, to participation in the life of the blessed trinity; but also we can think of him as the road by which the father comes to us. we can think of ourselves as drawing near to god in his beloved son: i love to think the other way of the road, of god drawing near to me, of god pouring of his riches into human life and elevating that life to his very self. i like to think of the christian life as a life to which god continually communicates himself, till we are filled "with all the fulness of god." can we imagine any more wonderful expression of the life of holiness to which we are called than that? we "grow up into him in all things." that is the true account of the christian life, not some thin and dull routine of moral duty, but the spiritual adventure of the road that travels out into the infinite pursuit of spiritual accomplishment till it is lost in the very heart of god. this was the starting point of blessed mary. she was filled with all the fulness of god from the moment of her conception, and was never separated from the joy of the great possession. we are born in sin and have to travel the road to the very end. yet we, too, begin in union, because we are born of our baptism into christ soon after our natural birth, and our problem is to achieve in experience the content of our birthright. in other words: our feet are set in the way from the beginning, and our part is to keep to the way and not wander to the right hand or to the left; that this may be possible for us christ lived and died and to-day is at the right hand of the father where he ever liveth to make intercession for us. we need never walk without christ. the weariness of the journey is sustained by his constant and ready help. the way is lighted by the truth which is himself, and the life that we live is his communicated life. "i live, yet not i, but christ liveth in me." there are those who find the road godward, the road of the christ-life, wearisome because they keep their eyes fixed on the difficulties of the way and treat each step as though it were a separate thing and not one step in a wonderful journey. the way to avoid the weariness of the day's travel is to keep one's eye fixed on the end, to raise the eyes to the heavens where jesus sitteth enthroned at the right hand of the father. the day's song is the sursum corda,--"lift up your hearts unto the lord!" the mediatorial office of our lord is exercised chiefly through his sacrifice. he ever liveth to make intercession for us; and this intercession is the presentation of the sacrifice that he himself offered once for all in blood upon the cross, and forever presents to the father in heaven "one unending sacrifice." this heavenly oblation of our lord which is the means wherethrough we approach pure divinity, is also the sacrifice of the church here on earth. the heavenly altar and the earthly altar are but one in that there is but one priest and one victim here and there. the eucharistic sacrifice is the church's presentation of her head as her means of approach to god, as the ground of all her prayers. these prayers make their appeal through jesus who died and rose again for us and is on the right hand of power. we know of no other way of approach, we plead no other merit as the hope of our acceptance. let us be very clear about this centrality of our lord's mediation because i shall presently have certain things to say which are often assumed to be in conflict with his mediatorial office, but which in reality do not so conflict, but exist at all because of the office. we approach divinity, then, through our lord's humanity; and we at once see how that teaching, so common to-day, which denies the resurrection of our lord's body, and believes simply in the survival of his human soul strikes at the very heart of the catholic religion. if revelation be true, our approach to god is rendered possible because there is a mediator between god and man, the man christ jesus. all our prayers have explicitly, or implicitly, this fact in view. all our masses are a pleading of this fact. how great is our joy and confidence when we realise this! we come together, let us say, on sunday morning at the high mass. we are coming to offer the blessed sacrifice of our lord's body and blood. but who, precisely, is to make the offering? when we ask what this congregation is, what is the answer? the congregation is the congregation of christ's flock: it is the body of christ gathered together for the worship of almighty god. the act that is to be performed is the act of a body, not primarily of individuals. our participation in the act of worship in the full sense of participation is conditioned upon our being members of the body. if we are not members of the body we have no recognised status as worshippers. no doubt we each one have our individual aspirations and needs which we bring with us, but they are the needs and aspirations of a member of the body of christ, and our ability to unite them with the act that is to be performed grows out of our status as members of the body; as such, we join our own intention to the sacrificial act and make our petitions through it. but we are here as offerers of the sacrifice, and may not neglect our official significance, and attempt to turn the mass into a private act of worship. we, then, the body of christ in this place, offer the sacrifice of christ. what is the status of the priest? he is a differentiated organ of the body, not created by the body, but created by god in the creation of the body. he is not separate from the body, an official imposed upon it from the outside, nor is he a creation of the body set apart to act upon its behalf. he is one mode of the expression of the body's life--the body could not perfectly perform its functions without him any more than a physical body can perfectly function without a hand or an eye. but neither has the priest any existence apart from the body of which he is a function. the sacrifice that he offers is not his on behalf of the body, but the body's own sacrifice which is made through his agency. but a complete body has a head; and of the body which is the church the head is christ. we, the members, have our life from him, the head; we are able at all to act spiritually because of our union with him. he is our life; and the acts of the body are ultimately the acts of the head. the sacrifice which the body offers as the means of its approach to divinity is one sacrifice of the head: and the priestly function of the body has any vitality because it is christ who is its life, who functions through the priest, who is, in fact, the true priest. he himself is both sacrifice and priest; and that which is offered here is indentical with that which is offered there. our life flows from our head, is the life of christ in us. so closely are we associated with him that we are called his members, the instrument through which his life expresses itself, through which he acts. by virtue of the life of christ of which all we are partakers, we are not only members of christ, but members one of another. our spiritual life is not our own affair, but we have duties one to another, and all the members of the body are concerned in our exercise of our gifts, have, in fact, claims on the exercise of them. this mutual inherence of the members of the body and these obligations to one another are in strict subordination to the head; but they are very real duties and privileges which are ours to exercise. what we are concerned with at present is that from, this view of them that i have been presenting there results the possibility and obligation of intercession; the love and care of the members for one another is exercised in their prayers for one another. this privilege of intercession is one of the privileges most widely valued and most constantly exercised throughout the church. days of intercession, litanies, the offering of the blessed sacrifice with special intention, the constant requests for prayers for objects in which people are interested, all testify to the value we place on the privilege. here is one action in regard to which there is no doubting voice in christendom. but curiously, and for some reason to me wholly unintelligible, there are a great many who think of this right and duty of intercession between the members of the one body as exclusively the right and duty of those who are living here on earth; or at least if it pertain to the "dead" it is in a way in which we can have no part. one would think--and so the catholic church has always thought--that those whom we call dead, but who are really "alive unto god" with a life more intense, a life more spiritually clear-visioned, than our own, would have a special power and earnestness in prayer, and that a share in their intercessions is a spiritual privilege much to be valued. they are members with us of the same body; death has not cut them off from their membership, rather, if possible, it has intensified it, or at least their perception of what is involved in it. they remain under all the obligations of the life of the body and consequently under the obligation to care for other members of the body. the intercession of the saints for us is a fact that the church has never doubted and cannot doubt except under penalty of denying at the same time the existence of the body. that certain members of the church have of late years doubted our right to invoke the saints, to call upon them for the aid of their prayers, is true; but there seems no ground for rejecting the tradition of invocation except the rather odd ground that we do not know the mode by which our requests reach them! as there are a good many other spiritual facts of which we do not know the mode, i do not think that we need be deterred from the practice of invocation on that ground: certainly the church has never been so deterred. it is strange how little people attempt to think out their religion, and especially their obligation to religious practice. i have so often heard people say, when the practice of invocation of saints was urged: why ask the saints? why not go directly to god? and these same people are constantly asking the prayers of their fellow christians here on earth! suppose when some pious soul comes to me and asks me if i will not pray for a sick child, or a friend at sea, i were to reply: "why come to me? why not go directly to god?" i should be rightly thought unfeeling and unchristian. but that is precisely what the same person says when i suggest that the saints or the blessed mother of god be invoked for some cause that we have in hand! a person comes to me and asks my prayers, and i go to a saint and ask his prayers on precisely the same basis and for precisely the same reason, namely, that we are both members of the body of christ and of one another. we have the right to expect the interest and to count on the love of our fellow-members in christ. we go to the saints with the same directness and the same simplicity with which we go to the living members of the body, living, i mean in the church on earth. if it be not possible to do that, then death has made a very disastrous break in the unity of the body of christ. and if we can count so without hesitation upon the love and sympathy and interest of the saints, surely we can count upon finding the same or greater love and sympathy in the greatest of all the saints, our blessed mother, who is also the mother of god. she in her spotless purity is the highest of creatures. she by her special privilege has boundless power of intercession; not power as i have explained before, because of any sort of favouritism, but power because her spiritual perfection gives her unique insight into the mind of god. power in prayer really means that, through spiritual insight we are enabled to ask according to his will "and this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask anything according to his will, he heareth us." that is why righteousness is the ground of prevailing intercession, because righteousness means sympathetic understanding of the mind of god. and in none is there such sympathetic understanding because in none is there such nearness to god, as in blessed mary. to go to her in our prayers and to beg her to intercede for us is, of course, no more a trenching upon the unique mediatorship of our lord than it is to ask my human friend to pray for me. we tend, do we not? to select from among the circle of our acquaintance those whom for some reason we feel to have what we call a special power in prayer when we seek for some one to pray for us in our need. is it not wholly natural then that we should go to our blessed mother on whose sympathy we can unfailingly count and in whose spiritual understanding we can implicitly trust, when we want to interest those who are dear to our lord in our special needs? we have every claim upon their sympathy because they are fellow-members of the same body; and we know, too, that he who has made us one in his body wills that we should receive his graces through our mutual ministrations. mary, maiden, mild and free, chamber of the trinity, a little while now list to me, as greeting i thee give; what though my heart unclean may be, my offering yet receive. thou art the queen of paradise, of heaven, of earth, of all that is; thou bore in thee the king of bliss without or spot or stain; thou didst put right what was amiss, what man had lost, re-gain. the gentle dove of noe thou art the branch of olive-tree that brought, in token that a peace was wrought, and man to god was dear: sweet ladye, be my fort, when the last fight draws near. thou art the sling, thy son the stone that david at goliath flung; eke aaron's rod, whence blossom sprung though bare it was, and dry: 'tis known to all, who've looked upon thy childbirth wondrous high. in thee has god become a child, the wretched foe in thee is foiled; that unicorn that was so wild is thrown by woman chaste; him hast thou tamed, and forced to yield, with milk from virgin breast. like as the sun full clear doth pass, without a break, through shining glass, thy maidenhood unblemished was for bearing of the lord: now, sweetest comfort of our race, to sinners be thou good. take, ladye dear, this little song that out of sinful heart has come; against the fiend now make me strong, guide well my wandering soul: and though i once have done thee wrong, forgive, and make me whole. wm. de shoreham's translation from the latin, or french of robt. grosseteste; c. . part two chapter xxiii the descent of the holy spirit and there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. and they were all filled with the holy ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance. acts ii, . holy mother of god, virgin ever blessed, glorious and noble, chaste and inviolate, o mary immaculate, chosen and beloved of god, endowed win singular sanctity, worthy of all praise, thou who art the advocate for the sins of the whole world; o listen, listen, listen to us, o holy mary, pray for us. intercede for us. disdain not to help us. for we are confident and know for certain that thou canst obtain all that thou wiliest from thy son, our lord jesus christ, god almighty, the king of ages, who liveth with the father and the holy ghost, for ever and ever. ms. book of cerne, belonging to ethelwald, bp. of sherbourne, . "when the day of pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place"--i suppose the "all" will be not merely the "twelve," but the "all" that were mentioned by s. luke a few verses before. he mentions the apostles by name and then adds, "these all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and mary the mother of jesus, and with his brethren." we think of our lady as sharing in the pentecostal gift. this was the first act of her ascended son, this sending forth of the holy spirit whom he had promised. it was the fulfilment of the prophecy: "i will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams." i do not know of anything in the teaching of the church to lead us to suppose that this gift was to the apostles alone: rather the thought of the church is that to all christians is there a gift of the spirit. the holy spirit is imparted to the church as such, and within the organisation he functions through appropriate organs. "there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit." whatever the operations of god through the body of christ, the same divine energy is making them possible. "all these worketh that one and selfsame spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will." that the holy spirit should manifest himself in her life was, of course, no new experience for s. mary. her conscious vocation to be the mother of god had begun when the holy ghost had come upon her, and she had conceived that "holy thing" which was called the son of god. and we cannot think that the spirit who is the spirit of sanctity had ever been absent from her from the moment of her wonderful conception when by the creative act of the spirit she was conceived without sin, that is, in union with god. but as there are diversities of gifts, so the coming of the spirit on pentecost would have meant to her some new or increased gift of god. for the church as such this coming of the spirit meant the entrance of the work of the incarnation upon a new phase of its action. we may, i suppose, think of the work of our lord during the years of his ministry as intensive. it was the work of preparing the men to whom was to be committed the commission to preach the kingdom of god. they had been chosen to be with him, and their training had been essentially an experience of him, an experience which was to be the essence of their gospel and which their mission was to interpret to the world. "who is this jesus of nazareth whom ye preach? what does he mean?" was to be the question that they would have to answer in the coming years; and they would have to answer it to all sorts of men; to jews who would find this conception of a suffering and rejected messiah "a stumbling-block"; to the greeks who would find "jesus and the resurrection" "foolishness"; to all races of men who would have to be persuaded to leave their ancestral religions and revolutionise their lives, and before they would do so would wish to know what was the true meaning of christ in whose name their whole past was challenged. as we watch the perplexity, the bewilderment, of these apostles in the face of the collapse of all their hopes on the first good friday, as we see them struggling with the fact of the resurrection, and attempting to adjust their lives to that; and then listen to their preaching and follow their action in the days succeeding pentecost, we have brought home to us the nature of the action of the holy spirit when he came to them as the spirit of jesus to enable them to carry on the work that jesus had committed to them. we understand that the work of the spirit was first of all the work of interpreting the experience of the last three years. during these years they had been with jesus, and the result was an experience which, however wonderful, or rather, just because it was wonderful, was in their consciousness at present little more than a chaotic mass of impressions and memories. it was the work of the spirit to enkindle and illuminate their understanding so that they could put the experiences of the last three years in order, if one may put it in that way. he enabled them to draw out the meaning of what they had gone through. we are at once impressed with the reality of the work of the spirit when we listen to the sermon of s. peter to those who have witnessed the miracle of pentecost. here is another miracle of which we have, perhaps, missed something of the wonder. this man who in answer to the mockeries of the crowd--"these men are full of new wine"--stands forth to deliver this exposition of jesus is the same man who but a few days before had denied his lord through fear; he is the same man who even after the resurrection was filled with such discouragement that he could think of nothing to do but to return to the old life of a fisherman, who had said on a day, "i go a-fishing." if we wish to understand the meaning of the coming of the spirit, let us forget for the moment the tongues of fire, which are the symbol, and read over the words of s. peter which are the true miracle of pentecost. and this action of the spirit is not sporadic or temporary. we follow the annals of the church and we find the constant evidence of the spirit's power and action in the christian propaganda. the courage with which the christians meet the opposition of jews and romans, in their resourcefulness in dealing with the utterly unprecedented problems they are called on to face, in the intellectual grip of the apologists who have to meet the criticism of very diverse sets of opponents, in their rapidly growing comprehension of what the incarnation means, and of all in the way of action that our lord's directions involve,--all these, when we recall the antecedents of these men, lead us to a clearer apprehension of the nature of the spirit's work in the church. as our lord had promised, he is bringing "all things to their remembrance" and "leading them into all the truth." if we need proof of the constant supernatural action of god in the church, we get all we can ask in the preaching of jesus by his followers in these opening years of their ministry. i said that our lord's work in the time of his ministry was intensive, the preparing of instruments for the founding of the kingdom. with pentecost and the coming of the spirit it passes into a new stage; it becomes _extensive_ in that it now reaches out to gather all men into the kingdom. to this end there is now a vast development of the machinery (so to call it) of the gospel, a calling into existence of the means whereby christ is to continue his action in men's souls. for there must continue a direct action of christ or the gospel will sink to the condition of a twice-told tale: it will be the constant repetition of the story of jesus of nazareth who went about doing good: and it will have less and less power to be of any help to men as it receeds into the past. without the means which are called into existence to produce continual contact between the redeemer and the redeemed we cannot conceive of the gospel continuing to exist as power. this is not a matter of pure theory: it is a thing that we have seen happen. we have seen the growth of a theory of christianity which dispenses wholly or nearly wholly with the means of grace, and reduces the presentation of the gospel to the presentation of the ideal of a good life as an object of imitation. when one asks: "why should i imitate this life which, however good in an abstract way, is not very harmonious with the ideals of society at present?" one is told that it is the best life ever lived, the life that best interprets god, our heavenly father to us. if one asks: "what is likely to happen if one does not imitate this life, but prefers some more modern type of usefulness?" the answer seems to be: "nothing in particular will happen." in other words, the preaching of the gospel divorced from the means of grace tends more and more to decline to the presentation of a humanitarian ideal of life which has little, and constantly less, driving power. we see then as we study the history of the early days of the church the constant presence and action of the holy spirit in the mode and means by which the gospel is presented. we see it particularly in the development of the ministry and the growth of the sacramental system. it seems to me not very important to find a detailed justification of all the things that were done or established in explicit words or acts in the new testament. if we are dealing, as we believe that we are, with an organism of which the life is god the holy ghost who is the vicar of christ in the building and administration of his kingdom, i do not see why we should not find in the action of the kingdom as much of inspiration as we find in its writings. i do not see why we should accept certain things on the authority of the action of the early christian community, as the baptism of infants and the communion of women, and reject others, as the reservation of the blessed sacraments and prayers for the dead. nor do i see why we should draw some sort of an artificial line through the history of the church and declare all the things on one side of it primitive and desirable, and all on the other late and suspect! especially as no one seems to be able to explain why the line should be drawn in one place rather than in another. if the holy spirit was sent by our lord as his vicar to preside in the church, as i suppose we all believe, it was in fulfilment of our lord's promise to be with it till the end of the world and that the gates of hell should not prevail against it. there is nothing anywhere in holy scripture indicating that the holy spirit was to be sent to the "primitive church," even if any one could tell what the primitive church is, or rather when the church ceased to be primitive. the holy spirit is present as a guide to the church to-day quite as fully as he was in the first century. his presence then was not a guarantee that all men should believe the truth or do the right, nor is it now. the state of christendom is a sufficient evidence of the ability of men to defy the will of god, the holy spirit; but that does not mean that the holy spirit has withdrawn any more than the state of things at corinth which called out s. paul's two epistles to that church is a proof that god the holy ghost never came or did not stay with that primitive christian community. the power of the spirit is not an irresistible power, but a spiritual influence which will guide those who are willing to be guided, who will to be submissive to his will. but the will of god can always be resisted--and always is. nevertheless the holy spirit is in the church. he shaped and is shaping its beliefs and institutions: and to-day we trust that he is leading us back to his obedience that we may at length realize the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace. the work of the holy spirit in the individual christian is a constructive work; it has in view the growth of the child of god in holiness. he makes the soul of the baptised his dwelling-place and wishes to remain there as in his temple, carrying on the work of its sanctification. the state of guiltlessness that follows absolution is not the equivalent of sanctity. guiltlessness is a negative, sanctity is a positive state, and is acquired as the result of active correspondence with the will of god. in order that there may be this correspondence the will of god must be known, not merely as we know the things that we have learned by rote, but known in the sense of understood and appreciated. the will of god is knowable: that is, it has been revealed to man; but it needs to be effectively made known to the individual man. he must be convinced of the importance of divine truth to him. we know that just there is the supremely vital point in the teaching of the truth. men assent to truth as true; but they are not thereby necessarily moved to act upon it: it may remain unassimilated. the vast majority of the people of this country, if they were questioned, would assert a belief in god; but a surprising number of them are unmoved by that belief, are led by it to no action. or take the membership of any parish; they would all profess a belief in the efficacy of the sacraments: yet there is a surprisingly large number who do not frequent the sacraments. how many of you, for example, make your confessions and communions with the frequency and regularity that your theory about the sacraments implies? now it is the work of the holy spirit to effect the passage in life from theory to practice, from profession to action. he illuminates the mind that we may understand; he stirs the will that we may act. he aids us to overcome the intellectual and physical sloth which is the arch-enemy of christian practice. he intercedes for us, and he pleads with us that we may act as the children of god that we believe ourselves to be. but all he can do is to entice the will; if we remain unwilling, unmoved, he is ultimately grieved and leaves us. we may hope that that despair of the holy spirit of a soul rarely happens because it is a spiritual disaster awful to contemplate. in most men and women we can see enough impulse toward god, enough struggle with evil, to encourage us to think that the holy spirit has not utterly abandoned them. and it is never safe for us to judge definitely of another's spiritual case; but we do see lives that are so given over to malignancy that our hope for them is an optimism which has small basis on which to rest. in most we may be certain that there is going on a very active pleading of the holy spirit. he is interpreting the meaning of the truth we accept. he is present in a careful reading of the bible, in meditation, in devotional study. he receives of christ and shows it unto us. i am sure we ought to think more of this interpretative assistance of the holy spirit in the work of understanding the christian religion, especially in its application to the daily life. i am quite certain, and i have no doubt that the experience of some of you, at least, will bear me out, that it makes a vast difference in the results of our reading and study if we undertake it under the direct invocation of the holy spirit and with the conscious giving ourselves up to his guidance. we have to make a meditation, for example, and we begin with prayer to god the holy ghost for guidance and enlightenment. it is often well to let that prayer run on as long as it will. it may be in the end that instead of making the meditation we had planned we shall have spent the time in a prayer of union with the holy spirit and will find ourselves refreshed and enlightened as the result. there is need of that sort of yielding of self to the promptings of the spirit. i think that it not infrequently happens that our rules get in the way of his action by destroying or checking in us a certain flexibility which is necessary if we are to respond quickly to the voice of the spirit. as in the case just mentioned where the spirit is leading us to communion with him we are apt to think: "i must get on with my meditation or the time will be up and i shall not have made it," and we turn from the spirit and stop the work that he was accomplishing. he has so much to do for us, so many things to show us, so many grounds to urge for our more earnest seeking of sanctity. the true point of our bible reading is that it is the opportunity of the holy spirit to exhibit truth to us so that in us it will become energetic. we already are familiar with the incidents of our lord's passion. if it be a matter of knowledge there is no need to-night to take up the gospel and read the chapters which tell of the crucifixion. there is not much point in reading through a chapter as a matter of pious habit. it is extraordinary how many there are who speak with contempt of "mediæval prayers" such as the recitation of the rosary, who yet "read a chapter" once a day in the shortest possible time and with the minimum of attention. we can think of all religious practices as opportunities that we offer to god the holy ghost. the few verses of holy scripture we read may well be the medium of his action upon us. he may give us new insight into their meaning, he may stir our wills to correspondence with their teaching, he may kindle our hearts by the evidence of the divine love that he presses home. who does not remember moments when new meaning seemed to flash from the familiar pages, when we felt ourselves convicted of inadequate response to the knowledge we have, or when we felt our heart stir and send us to our knees in an act of thanksgiving and love? our constant need is the clear knowledge of ourselves. we may, we often do, see clearly god's will, and then we deceive ourselves as to the nature of our response. we think we are seeking for god when in reality we are seeking our own ends. we make our own plans and then seek to impose them on the will of god. self-seeking, which we mistake for something else, is at the root of much spiritual failure. we try to believe that god's will is our will, and we succeed in a measure. we need therefore to be constantly examining ourselves by the revealed standard of god's will, to let in the light of the spirit on our judgments and acts. for the struggle of the spirit for control is a struggle with a resisting and sluggish will. we see, but we do not move; we know, but we do not act. the horrible inertia of spiritual sloth paralyses us, and the call of the spirit is heard in vain. like the man in our lord's parable we plead the lateness of the hour, and our unwillingness to disturb others as our excuse for not rising at the spirit's summons. but the spirit, like the friend at midnight, still knocks at the door, and the sound of the summons penetrates the quietness of the house and breaks in upon our slumbers. well is it for us if in the end we rise and open to him. it is only as we thus become energetic by the yielding to god of our wills that he can go on to his desired work. the aim of god in dealing with our lives is creative. he wills that we bring forth fruit, and the fruit that he wills that we bring forth is the fruit of the spirit. the general notion of holiness analyses into these qualities which are the evidence of god's indwelling, of his actual possession of the soul. when the soul yields at last to the divine will and begins to follow the divinely indicated course of action, then it loses self and finds god, then the results begin to show in the growth of the character-qualities that we call fruits or virtues. the presence or the absence of these is infallible evidence of the spirit's success or failure in his work in us. if we abide in christ, then the natural results of such abiding must be forthcoming. "i am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in me, and i in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." a vine bears fruit because it assimilates the natural elements which are furnished it by the providence of god through earth and air and water, and works them into the fruit which is the end, the meaning of its existence. our lord through the constant operation within us of the holy spirit gives us the spiritual power to work over the endowments of nature and the opportunities of life into the spiritual product which is holiness. we can just as well, and perhaps easier, work up the same natural elements into a quite different product. the result of our life's action may be that we can show the works of the flesh. but what is the will of the spirit, s. paul sets before us in these words: "for when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. what fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. but now being made free from sin, and become the servants of god, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. for the wages of sin is death; but the gift of god is eternal life through jesus christ our lord." any adequate self-examination, therefore, bears not only on our sins, our failures, but on our accomplishment. a tree is known by its fruits; and fruits are things which are evident to all men. if indeed the work of the spirit in us is love, joy, peace and the rest of the fruits, these qualities cannot be hid. certainly they cannot be hid from ourselves. they are the evidence to us of precisely where we stand in the way of spiritual accomplishment. and we must remember that they are supernatural qualities, and not be deceived by the existence in us of a set of human counterfeits. love is not good-natured tolerance; joy is not superficial gaiety, peace is not clever dodging of difficulties. the fruits of the spirit are not of easy growth, but come only at the end of a long period of cultivation, of energetic striving. but like all the gifts of god they do come if we want them to come. "if ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you." but when we ask our lord for gifts we must remember that the giving is not a mechanical giving. what our lord gives is the might of the spirit to effect what we desire. if a man ask of god a good harvest the prayer is answered if there be given the conditions under which a good harvest can be produced; it will not be produced without the appropriate human labour. and when we ask of god the fruits of the spirit the prayer is granted if the conditions are given under which this fruit may be brought forth. but neither here may we expect fruit without appropriate action on our part. god gives, but he gives to those who want. i others do of grace bereave, when, in their mother's womb, they life receive, god, as his sole-borne daughter, loved thee: to match thee like thy birth's nobility, he thee his spirit for thy spouse did leave, of whom thou didst his only son conceive; and so was linked to all the trinity. cease, then, o queens, who earthly crowns do wear, to glory in the pomp of worldly, things: if men such respect unto you bear which daughters, wives and mothers are of kings; what honour should unto that queen be done who had your god for father, spouse and son? ii sovereign of queens, if vain ambition move my heart to seek an earthly prince's grace, show me thy son in his imperial place, whose servants reign our kings and queens above: and, if alluring passions i do prove by pleasing sighs--show me thy lovely face, whose beams the angels' beauty do deface, and even inflame the seraphins with love. so by ambition i shall humble be, when, in the presence of the highest king, i serve all his, that he may honour me; and love, my heart to chaste desires shall bring, when fairest queen looks on me from her throne, and jealous, bids me love but her alone. iii why should i any love, o queen, but thee, if favor past a thankful love should breed? thy womb did bear, thy breast my saviour feed, and thou didst never cease to succour me. if love do follow worth and dignity, thou all in thy perfections dost exceed; if love be led by hope of future meed, what pleasure more than thee in heaven to see? an earthly sight doth only please the eye, and breeds desire, but doth not satisfy: thy sight gives us possession of all joy; and with such full delights each sense shall fill, as heart shall wish but for to see thee still, and ever seeing, ever shall enjoy. iv sweet queen, although thy beauty raise up me from sight of baser beauties here below, yet, let me not rest there; but, higher go to him, who took his shape from god and thee. and if thy form in him more fair i see, what pleasure from his deity shall flow, by whose fair beams his beauty shineth so, when i shall it behold eternally? then, shall my love of pleasure have his fill, when beauty's self, in whom all pleasure is, shall my enamoured soul embrace and kiss, and shall new loves and new delights distill, which from my soul shall gush into my heart, and through my body flow to every part. henry constable: - . part two chapter xxiv the home of s. john and from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. s. john xix, . but now we unite to praise thee, o pure and immaculate one, blessed virgin and sinless mother of thy great son and the god of all. o perfectly spotless and altogether holy, thou art the hope of despairing sinners. we bless thee as most full of grace, who didst give birth to christ, god and man. and we fall down before thee. we all invoke thee and implore thy help. deliver us, o virgin, holy and undefiled, from every pressing strait and from all temptations of the evil one. be thou our peacemaker in the hour of death and judgment. do thou save us from the future unquenchable fire and from the outer darkness. do thou render us worthy of the glory of thy son, o virgin and mother, most sweet and clement. a prayer of s. ephrem the syrian. there is no scene in the whole range of scripture narrative which is more full of pathos than this scene of the cross. two agonies meet: the agony of the nailing, the lifting, the dying; and the agony that looks on in silent helplessness. but while our lord's physical agony was in some sort swallowed up in the intensity of the love which was the motive for enduring it, overpassed in the vision of the need of those for whom he was dying, s. mary's agony was the pain of a love concentrated upon the sufferer who hangs dying before her eyes. if there be anything that can lighten the pain of such love it is that it feels itself answered, that its object is conscious of it and is helped by it. and s. mary had that consolation: the love poured to her from the cross, and revealed itself when the suffering son turned his eyes upon her agony and, understanding what her desolation would be, committed her to his beloved disciple: "behold thy mother; behold thy son." these two great loves which had been our lord's human consolation were thus committed to one another. and when the darkness fell, and death relieved the agony, and the sacred body had been cared for, then the mother found refuge with s. john: "and from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home." from the day of pentecost on, s. mary is no more heard of in the history of the church. as so often, the scriptures are silent and decline to answer our interested questions. they go on with the essentails of their story, the founding of the church of god, and leave other things aside. so we do not know any of the last years of the life of blessed mary. where did she live? how long did she live? the traditions, in any case of quite an untrustworthy nature, are contradictory. jerusalem and ephesus contend for the honour of our lady's residence. jerusalem must have been the site of that "home" to which s. john took her after the crucifixion. did she remain there, or did she follow s. john, and at length come to live with him in ephesus? ephesus puts forward the claim, and we feel that it would be well founded in the nature of the relation between these two, if s. mary lived until the settlement of the last of the apostles in the asian city. our lord's committal of his mother to the beloved disciple implies their personal association as long as s. mary lived: if till s. john was settled in ephesus, then we may be sure that she was there. she would be with s. john as long as she lived, but can we think of her as living long? would not a great love draw her to another world and the presence of her triumphant son? let us, however think, as one tradition bids us, of our lady as living some time with s. john at ephesus. we can understand the situation because it is so much like our own. these asia minor cities of the imperial period were curiously like the great centers of population in the western world of to-day--london, paris, new york, chicago. there was the same over-crowding of population, the same intense commercial activity, the same almost insane thirst for amusement and excitement, the same degeneracy of moral fibre. the sins that sapped the life of ephesus are the same that degrade contemporary life. in some ways ephesus was, possibly, more frankly corrupt; but on the other hand it had no daily press to advertise and promote sin and social corruption. there is more of christianity and of christian influence in the modern city, but even here there is a curious resemblance between the two. the christian religion had but recently been introduced into ephesus, but already it had precisely that touch of ineffectiveness that seems to us so modern. the message of the risen lord to the angel of the church in ephesus is: "nevertheless i have this against thee, that thou hast left thy first love. remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else i will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." the things that hearten us are sometimes strange; but i suppose that there is a feeling of encouragement in our present day distress and spiritual ineffectiveness in the thought that even under s. john the church in ephesus was not wholly ideal. the conditions which baffle us, baffled him. the converts who were so promising and enthusiastic declined in zeal and fell back under the spell of worldliness. zeal is a quality which is maintained with great difficulty, and the pull of the world, whether social or business, is steadily exercised. converts in ephesus, like converts in new york, felt that their friends were right who declared that they were quite unnecessarily strict, and that in order to serve christ it was not necessary to turn their backs absolutely on diana. as one tries to reconstruct the situation in ephesus, one feels that our lady would have had no prominence in the church in the way of an actively exercised influence. one thinks of her as living in retirement, as not even talking very much. if she lived long she would be an object of increasing interest and even of awe to the new converts, and an object of growing love to all those who were admitted to any sort of fellowship with her. but one cannot imagine a crowd about her, inquiring into her experiences and her memories of her divine son. once she told of her experience, for it was necessary that the church should know of the circumstances of the coming of the son of god into the world, but beyond that necessary communication of her experience we cannot think of her as speaking of her sacred memories. silence and meditation, longing and waiting, would have filled the years till the hour of her release. but in the quiet hours spent with s. john it would be different. between the blessed virgin and s. john there was perfect understanding and perfect sympathy, and we love to think of the hours that they would have spent together in deep spiritual intercourse. those hours would not be hours of reminiscence merely; they would rather be hours in which these two would attempt with the aid of the spirit who ruled in them so fully to enter deeper and ever deeper into the meaning of incarnate god. jesus would be the continual object of their thought and their love, and meditation upon his words and acts would lead them to an ever increasing appreciation of their depth and meaning. we have all felt, in reading the pages of s. john, how vast is the difference both in attitude toward his subject and in his understanding of it from that of the other evangelists. the earlier evangelists seem deliberately to keep all feeling out of their story, to tell the life of our lord in the most meagre outline, confining themselves to the essential facts. anything like interpretation they decline. in s. john all this is changed. the jesus whom he presents is the same jesus, but seen through what different eyes! the same life is presented, but with what changes in selection of material! the gospel of s. john seems almost a series of mediations upon selected facts of an already familiar life rather than an attempt to tell a life-story. and so indeed we think of it. when s. john wrote, the life of our lord as a series of events was already before the church. the church had the synoptic gospels, and it had a still living tradition to inform it. what it needed, and what the holy spirit led s. john to give it, was some glimpse of the inner meaning of the incarnation, some unfolding of the spiritual depths of the teaching of jesus. we know how it is that different people listening to the same words get different impressions and carry away with them quite different meanings. we hear what we are able to hear. and s. john was able to hear what the other disciples of our lord seem not to have heard. what dwelt in his memory and was worked up in his meditations and was at length transmitted to us, was the meaning of such incidents as the interview with nicodemus, and the talk with the woman of samaria, the discourse on the holy eucharist and the great high-priestly prayer. men have felt the contrast between s. john and the other evangelists so intensely that they have said that this is another christ who is presented by s. john, and the influences which have shaped the author of the fourth gospel are quite other than those which shaped the men of the inner circle of jesus. but no: it is the instinctive, or rather the spirit-guided, selection of the material afforded by those years of association with jesus for the purpose of transmitting to the church a spiritual depth and beauty, a spiritual significance in our lord's teaching, that the earlier gospel had hardly touched. which perhaps they could not touch because when they wrote there was not yet in the church the spiritual experience which could fully interpret our lord. through the life of union with the risen jesus and all the spiritual experience, all the illumined intelligence that that life brought, s. john was enabled to understand and interpret as he did. writing far on toward the end of the first century he was writing out of the personal experience of christian living of many years, which brought with it year by year an increased power of spiritual vision opening to him the depth and wonder of the fact of god made man. it is to an experience of our lord that he appeals as the basis of his teaching. "that which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the word of life: (for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the father, and was manifested unto us;) that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the father, and his son jesus christ." and as we read on in s. john's epistles we cannot fail to see how deeply the years of meditation have influenced his understanding of our lord and his teaching, and how much his past experience of our lord has been illumined by the experience of the risen jesus which has followed. at no time, we are certain, has s. john been out of touch with his master. and can we for a moment think that the years of intercourse with our lady meant nothing in the spiritual development of s. john? on the contrary, may we not think that much of the spiritual richness which is the outstanding feature of his writings was the outcome of his association with the blessed mother? no one has ever shown the sympathetic understanding of our lord, has been so well able convincingly to interpret him, as the beloved disciple. i myself have no doubt that much of his understanding came by way of s. mary. her interpretative insight would have been deeper than any one else's, not only because of her long association with jesus, but because of her sinlessness. no two lives ever touched so closely; and there was not between them the bar that so blocks our spiritual understanding and clouds our spiritual vision, the bar of sin. i suppose it is almost impossible for us to appreciate the effect of sin in clouding vision and dulling sympathy. our every day familiarity with venial sin, our easy tolerance of it, the adjustment of our lives to habits that involve it, have resulted in a lack of spiritual sensitiveness. much of the meaning of our lord's life and words passes over us just because of this dimness of vision, this insensitiveness to suggestion. and therefore we find it difficult to imagine what would be the understanding, the insight, the response to our lord, of one between whom and him there was no shadow of sin. and such an one was the blessed mother. with unclouded vision she looked into the face of her son. as his life expanded she followed with perfect sympathy; indeed, sometimes, as at cana, her understanding of what he was made her precipitate in concluding as to his necessary action. when he became a public teacher and unfolded largely in parable his doctrine, it was her sinless soul which would see clearest and deepest, and with the most ready response. and therefore i am sure that we cannot go astray in thinking that s. john's relation to s. mary was not simply that of a guardian of her from the pressure of the world, but was indeed that of a son who listened and learned from the experience of his mother. no doubt s. john himself was of a very subtle spiritual understanding; notwithstanding that, and notwithstanding his exceptional opportunities of learning, we may still believe that there are many touches in his gospel which are the result of his association with his lord's mother. is it not possible for us to have our share in that pure insight of blessed mary? when we try to think out the lines of our own spiritual development and the influences that have contributed to shape it, do we not find that the presence or absence of devotion to our lady has been a factor of considerable importance? devotion to her injected an element into our religion which is of vast moment, an element of sympathy, of gentleness, of purity. you can if you like, in condemnatory accents, call that element sentimentalism, although it is not that but the exercise of those gentler elements of our nature without whose exercise our nature functions one-sidedly. you may call it the feminine element, if you like; you will still be indicating the same order of activity. surely, an all around spiritual development will bring out the feminine as well as the masculine qualities. and it seems to be historically true that those systems of religion which represent a revolt against the cultus of our lady and carefully exclude all traces of it from their worship, show as a consequence of this exclusion a hardness and a barrenness which makes their human appeal quite one-sided. and when those same systems have realised their limitations and their lack of human appeal, and have tried to supply what is lacking, they have again failed, because instead of reverting to historical christianity they have taken the road of humanitarianism, basing themselves on our lord's human life and consequent brotherhood with us, rather than upon his supernatural personality as operative through his mystical body. stress is laid upon charitable helpfulness rather than upon the power of grace. the modern man tries to reform life rather than to regenerate it. and, i repeat, i cannot help associating with a repudiation of the cultus of the saints, and especially of the blessed virgin mary, a consequent failure to understand the christian life as a supernatural creation. if one leaves out of account the greater part of the kingdom of heaven, all the multitudes of the redeemed, and their activities, and fastens one's attention exclusively upon that small part of the kingdom which is the church on earth, one can hardly fail to miss the significance of the earthly church itself. religion understood in this limited way may well drift more and more toward deism and humanitarianism, and further and further from any supernatural implications. this is no theory; it is what has happened. it was the course of protestantism from the reformation to the eighteenth century; and, after a partial revival of supernaturalism, is once more the rapid course of protestantism to-day. protestantism has lost or is fast losing any grip on the trinity or the incarnation: to it god is more and more a barren unity, and jesus a good man. and this largely because all interest in the world of the redeemed has been abandoned and all intercourse with the inhabitants of that world denied. it is therefore of the last importance that we, infected as we are with protestantism, should stress the revival of the cultus of the saints, and should insist upon our right and privilege to pay due honour to the mother of god and ask our share in her prayers. we must do all we can to make her known to our brethren. we need her sympathy, her aid, her example. above all, the example of her spotless purity. it is notorious that one of the most marked features of our time is the virulent assault on purity. we had long emphasised a certain quality of conduct which we called modesty; it was, perhaps, largely a convention, but it was one of those protective conventions which are valuable as preservative of qualities we prize. it was protective of purity; and however artificial it was, in some respects, it existed because we felt that purity was a thing too precious to be exposed to unnecessary risk. well, modesty is gone now, whether in conduct or convention. one hears discussed at dinner-tables and in the presence of young girls matters which our mothers would have blushed to mention at all. the quality of modesty is declared puritanical and hypocritical. "hypocritical virtue" is a phrase one frequently meets; and we seem fast going on to the time when all virtue will be regarded as hypocrisy. customary standards are falling all about us, overthrown in the name of personal liberty. and by liberty, one gathers, is meant freedom to do as one pleases, and especially as one sexually pleases. the assault is pushed hardest just now against the sanctity of the sacrament of matrimony and the morals of that sacrament as they have been developed by the christian church. protestantism long ago assented to the overthrow of christian standards in the marriage relation and has aided the sexual anarchy with which we are faced to-day. to-day the chief attack is on the purity of marriage in the interests, ostensibly, of humanity. a vigorous campaign in favour of what is called birth-control is being carried on, and is being supported in quarters which are professedly christian. there are many grounds for opposing the movement, social, humanitarian and other. we are here concerned with it only as it is an attack on purity. from the christian point of view the marriage relation has for its end the procreation of children for the upbuilding of the kingdom of god. if circumstances are such, through reasons of health or economy, that children seem undesirable, the remedy is plain, self control. the theory that human beings have no more control over their appetites than beasts, while it has much to support it in contemporary life, cannot be admitted from the point of view of religion. self-control is always possible, and is constantly exercised by many men and women who choose to be guided by principle rather than by passion. and in any case the christian religion can become no partner, not even a silent one, in a conspiracy to murder, or in the sort of compromise that turns marriage into a licensed sodomy. if indeed the economic status of the modern world is such that the average couple cannot support a family, then the christian church may well aid in the bringing about of an economic revolution; but it can hardly aid in the destruction of its own ideals of purity. what is ultimately at stake in the modern world is the whole conception of purity as a quality that is desirable. this attitude has become possible among us for one reason because we have consented to the suppression of ideals of life which were calculated to sustain it. to sustain any moral or spiritual conception there must be maintained certain appropriate ideals which, while out of the reach of the average man, create and sustain in him an admiration and respect for the ideal standard. so the standard of purity presented in mary and protected by the belief in her immaculate conception and her assumption, has the effect, not only of commending the life of chastity in the sense of the vows of religion, but also in the broad sense of the restraint and discipline of appetite whether within or without the marriage relation. it impresses upon us the truth that purity is not only a human quality but a divinely created virtue, the result of the infusion of sanctifying grace into the soul. is it not largely because the young are taught (when they are taught anything at all in the premises) that purity is a matter of the _will_, that they so often fail? if they were taught the nature of the _virtue_ and were led to rely more on the indwelling might of the holy spirit would they not have better success? and if there were held constantly before their eyes the example of the saints and especially of blessed mary ever-virgin, would not they have an increased sense of the value of purity? the life and example of s. mary are an inestimable treasure of the church of god, and her removal from the world has only enhanced that value. to-day her meaning is clearer to us than ever. the spirit-guided mind of the church has through the centuries been meditating on the meaning of her office as mother of god. the words in which she accepts her vocation, behold the handmaid of the lord, implying, as they do, an active co-operation with the divine purpose, a voluntary association of herself with it, imply, too, the perpetual continuance of that association, and contain in germ all catholic teaching in regard to her office. she passed from this world silently, and to the world unknown; but to the church of god she ever remains of all human beings the greatest spiritual force in the kingdom of god. weep, living things, of life the mother dies; the world doth lose the sum of all her bliss, the queen of earth, the empress of the skies; by mary's death mankind an orphan is. let nature weep, yea, let all graces moan, their glory, grace and gifts die all in one. it was no death to her, but to her woe, by which her joys began, her griefs did end; death was to her a friend, to us a foe, life of whose lives did on her life depend: not prey of death, but praise to death she was. whose ugly shape seemed glorious in her face. her face a heaven; two planets were her eyes, whose gracious light did make our clearest day; but one such heaven there was, and lo, it dies, death's dark eclipse hath dimmed every, ray: sun, hide thy light, thy beams untimely shine; true light since we have lost, we crave not thine. robert southwell, - part two chapter xxv the assumption father, i will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where i am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me. s. john xvii, . hail! holy queen, mother of mercy, hail! our life, our sweetness, our hope, all hail. to thee we cry, poor exiled children of eve. to thee we send up our cries, weeping and mourning in this vale of tears. turn, then, most gracious advocate, thy merciful eyes upon us, and now, after this our exile, show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, jesus. o gracious, o merciful, o sweet virgin mary. anthem from the breviary. attributed to hermann contractus, - . there is nothing more wonderful or beautiful, nothing that brings to us a more perfect revelation of our lord's mind, than this prayer which is recorded for us by s. john. there is in it a complete unfolding of that sympathy and love which we feel to underlie and explain our lord's mission. as we come to know what god is only when we see him revealed in jesus; when we enter into our lord's saying, "he that hath seen me, hath seen the father," so in the revelation of jesus we understand god's attitude toward us. in jesus the love of god shows itself, not as an abstract quality, a philosophical conception, but as a burning, passionate eagerness to rescue, an outgoing of god to individual souls. there is a deep personal affection displayed in this final scene in the upper chamber. this is our lord's real parting from his disciples. he will see them again, but under conditions of strain and tragedy, or under such changed circumstances that they cannot well enter into the old intimacy. but here there is no bar to the expression of love. here he gives them the final evidence of his utter union with them in the humility of the foot-washing. here he marvellously imparts himself in the breaking of the bread, wherein is consummated his personal union with them. this is the demonstration, if one were needed, that having loved his own, he loved them unto the uttermost. it is inconceivable that passionate love such as this should ever end. it is a personal relation which must endure while personality endures. it is really the demands of love which more than anything else outside revelation are the evidence of immortality. we are certain that the love of god which in its fulness has been made known in christ cannot be annihilated by death. "i have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness have i drawn thee." love such as that must draw men, not only in this world, but in all worlds. if it can draw men out of sin to god, it must create an enduring bond. if it can draw god to men, it must be the revelation of a permanent attitude of god to man. it is a love that goes out beyond the world, that love of which s. paul says: "for i am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of god, which is in christ jesus our lord." our instinctive thought of the judgment seems to be of it as condemnation, or, at best, as acquittal. but why not think of it as consummation? why not think of it as setting the seal of god's approval upon our accomplishment of his will and purpose for us? the final judgment is surely that,--the entrance of those who are saved into the full joy of their lord. there once more will our humanity be complete because it is the whole man, not the soul only, but the soul clothed with the body of the resurrection, once more clothed upon with its "house from heaven," which is filled with the joy of the beatific vision. the thought of the particular judgment may fill us with dread; but if we are able to look beyond that to the general judgment at the last day, we shall think only of our perfect bliss in the enjoyment of god. the belief in the assumption of our lady is a belief that in her case that which is the inheritance of all the saints, that they shall rise again with their bodies and be admitted to the vision of god, has been anticipated. in her, that which we all look forward to and dream of for ourselves, has been attained. she to-day is in god's presence in her entire humanity, clothed with her body of glory. this teaching, one finds, still causes some searching of hearts among us, and is thought to raise many questions difficult to answer. and it may be admitted at the outset that it is not a truth taught in holy scripture but a truth arrived at by the mind of the church after centuries of thought. unless we can think of the church as a divine organism with a continuous life from the day of pentecost until now, as being the home of the holy spirit, and as being continuously guided by him into all the truth; unless we can accept in their full sense our lord's promises that he will be with the church until the end of the world, we shall not find it possible to accept the assumption as a fact, but shall decline to believe that, and not only that but, if we are consistent, many another belief of the christian church. but if we have an adequate understanding of what is implied in the continuity of the church as the organ of the present action of the holy spirit, we shall not find that the fact that a given doctrine is not explicitly contained in holy scripture is any bar to its acceptance. we shall have learned that the revelation of god in christ, and our relation to god in christ, are facts of such tremendous import and inexhaustible content that it would be absurd to suppose that all their meaning had been understood and explicitly stated in the first generation of the christian church. we shall not, then, find it any bar to the acceptance of belief in the assumption of our lady that its formal statement came, as is said, "late." we simply want to know that when it came it came as the outcome of the mature thought of the church, the body of christ, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. it is to be noted that the assumption is not a wholly isolated fact. there are several cases of assumption in the old testament though of a slightly different character in that they were assumptions directly from life without any interval of death. such were the assumptions of enoch and elijah. moses, too, it has been constantly believed, was assumed into heaven,--in his case after death and with his resurrection body. a case which is more strangely like what is believed to have taken place in the experience of blessed mary is that closely connected with our lord's resurrection and recorded by s. matthew. "and the graves were opened, and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many." although it is not asserted that these were assumed into heaven, it seems impossible to avoid the inference; and if "many saints which slept" were raised from the dead and assumed into the heavenly world, there can be no _a priori_ difficulty in believing the same thing to have taken place in the blessed mother of god. nay if such a thing as an assumption is at all possible for any human being one would naturally conclude from the very relation of s. mary to our lord that the possibility would be realised in her. and there were elements in her case which were lacking in all the other cases which suggest a certain fitness, if not inevitability, in her assumption. she was conceived without sin,--never had any breath of sin tainted her. was it then possible that she should be holden by death? surely, in any case, it was impossible that her holy body should see corruption: we cannot think of the dissolution of that body which had no part in sin. if ever an assumption were possible, here it was inevitable--so the thought of the church shaped itself. the compelling motives of the belief were theological rather than historical. the germ out of consideration of which was evolved the belief in the assumption was the relation of blessed mary to her son. that unique relation might be expected to carry with it unique consequences, and among these the consequence that the body which was bound by no sin should be reunited to the soul which had needed no purgation, but had passed at once to the presence of its god and its redeemer who was likewise son. it is well to stress the fact that the assumption is not only a fact but a doctrine. fact, of course, it was or there could be no doctrine; but the truth of the fact is certified by the growing conviction in the mind of the church of the inevitability of the doctrine. what is implied in the word assumption is that the body of the mother of our lord was after her death and burial raised to heaven by the power of god. it differed therefore essentially from the ascension of our lord which was accomplished by his own inherent power. when this assumption took place we have no means of knowing. we do not certainly know where s. mary lived, nor where and when she died. jerusalem and ephesus contend in tradition for the privilege of having sheltered her last days and reverently carried her body to its burial. there is no way of deciding between these two claims, although the fact that our lord confided his mother to s. john throws some little weight into the scale of ephesus. and yet s. mary may have died before s. john settled in ephesus. we can only say that history gives us no reliable information on the matter. in the silence of scripture we naturally turn to the other writings of the early church for light and guidance on the matter; but there, too, there is little help. there is, to be sure, a group of apocryphal writings which have a good deal to say about the life of s. mary, where the scriptures and tradition are silent. among other things these apocryphal writings have a good deal to say, and some very beautiful stories to tell, of s. mary's last days, of her burial and assumption. are we to think of these stories as containing any grain of truth? if they do, it is now impossible to sift it from the chaff. these stories are generally rejected as a basis of knowledge. and there has been, and still is in some quarters, a conviction that the belief of the church in the assumption rests on nothing better or more stable than these apocryphal stories; that the authors of these apocrypha were inventing their stories out of nothing, and that in an uncritical age their legends came to be taken as history. thus was a belief in the assumption foisted upon the church, having no slightest ground in fact. the human tendency to fill in the silences of scripture has resulted in many legends, that of the assumption among them. there is a good deal to be said for this position, yet i do not feel that it is convincing. that the incidents of the life of the blessed virgin mary as narrated in the apocrypha are historical, of course cannot be maintained. but neither is it at all probable that such stories grew up out of nothing: indeed, their existence implies that there were certain facts widely accepted in the christian community that served as their starting point. while the apocryphal stories of the life of our lady cannot be accepted as history, they do presuppose certain beliefs as universally, or at least widely, held. thus one may reject all the details of the story of the death and burial and assumption of our lady, and yet feel that the story is evidence of a belief in the assumption among those for whom the story was written. what was new to them was not the fact of the assumption but the detailed incidents with which the apocrypha embroidered it. i feel no doubt that these apocryphal stories are not the source of belief in the assumption, but are our earliest witness to the existence of the belief. they actually presuppose its existence in the church as the necessary condition of their own existence. another fact that tells in the same direction is the absence of any physical relics of our lady. at a time when great stress was laid upon relics, and there was little scruple in inventing them, if the authentic ones were not forthcoming, there were no relics produced which were alleged to be the physical relics of s. mary. why was this? surely, unless there were some inhibiting circumstances, relics, real or forged, would have been produced. the only probable explanation is that the inhibiting circumstance was the established belief in the assumption. if the assumption were a fact, there would be no physical relics; if it were an established belief, there would be no fraud possible. add to this that various relics of our lady were alleged to exist; but they were not relics of her body. again: by the seventh century the celebration of the feast of the assumption had spread throughout the whole church. this universal establishment of the feast implies a preceding history of considerable length, going well back into the past. the feast was kept in many places, and under a variety of names which seem to imply, not mere copying, but independent development. it is alleged, to be sure, that the names by which the feast was called do not imply belief in the assumption. the feast is called "the sleeping," "the repose," "the passage" of the virgin, as well as by the western title, the assumption. but a study of the liturgies and of the sermons preached in honour of the feast will convince any one that the underlying tradition was that of our lady's assumption. these quite separate and yet converging lines of evidence seem to me to show convincingly what was the wide-spread belief of the early christian community as to the destiny of blessed mary. they imply a tradition going well back into the past, so far back, that in view of the theological expression of the mind of the church they may well be regarded as apostolic. our personal belief in the assumption will still rest primarily upon its theological expression in the mind of the church, but having attained certainty as to the doctrine, which is of course at the same time certainty as to the fact, we shall have no difficulty in finding in the above sketched lines of historical development the evidence of the primitive character of the belief. it may not be amiss to give a few characteristic quotations as indicating the mind of the church in this matter. s. modestus, patriarch of jerusalem (d. ), preaching on the falling asleep of the mother of god, said:-- "the lord of heaven and earth has to-day consecrated the human tabernacle in which he himself, according to the flesh, was received, that it may enjoy with him forever the gift of incorruptibility. o blessed sleep of the glorious, ever-virgin mother of god, who has not known the corruption of the grave; for christ, our all-powerful saviour, has kept intact that flesh which gave him his flesh.... hail, most holy mother of god: jesus has willed to have you in his kingdom with your body clothed in incorruptibility.... the most glorious mother of christ our lord and saviour, who gave life and immortality, is raised by her son, and forever possesses incorruptibility with him who called her from the tomb." s. andrew, archbishop of crete (d. ), also preaching on the falling asleep of the mother of god, says:--"it is a wholly new sight, and one that surpasses the reason, that of a woman purer than the heavens entering heaven with her body. as she was born without corruption, so after death her flesh is restored to life." in one of his sermons at the same feast, s. germanus of constantinople (d. ), speaks thus:--"it was impossible that the tomb should hold the body which had been the living temple of the son of god. how should your flesh be reduced to dust and ashes who, by the son born of you, have delivered the human race from the corruption of death?" preaching on the same festival, s. john damascene (d. ) said:--"your flesh has known no corruption. your immaculate body, which knew no stain, was not left in the tomb. you remained virgin in your child-bearing; and in your death your body was not reduced to dust but has been placed in a better and celestial state." there are one or two practical consequences of this doctrine concerning which, perhaps, it may be well to say a few words. the first is as the result of such devotions to our lady as are implied in, or have in fact followed, a belief in her assumption. it is objected to them that even granting the truth of the fact of the assumption, still the stress laid on the fact and the devotions to our lady which are held to be appropriate to it, are unhealthy in their nature, and do, in fact, tend to obscure the worship of our lord: that where devotions to our lady are fostered, there devotion to our lord declines. that therefore instead of trying to advance the cultus of our lady, we should do much better to hold to the sanity and reserve which has characterised the anglican church since the reformation. these and the like arguments seem to me to hang in the air and to be quite divorced from facts. they imply a state of things which does not exist. the assertion that where devotion to our lady prevails devotion to our lord declines is as far as possible from being true. where to-day is the deity of our lord defended most ardently and devotion to him most wide spread? is it in churches where devotion to our lady is suppressed? on the contrary, do you not know with absolute certainty, that in any church where you find devotion to our lady encouraged, there will you find the deity of our lord maintained? has the anglican "sanity and reserve" in regard to the blessed virgin mary saved the anglican church from the inroads of unitarianism and rationalism? is it not precisely in those circles where the very virginity of our lady is denied that the divinity of our lord is denied also? no, devotion to mary is far indeed from detracting from the honour due to mary's son. and we cannot insist too much or too often that the doctrines of the christian church form a closely woven system such that none, even the seemingly least important, can be denied without injuring the whole. no article of christian belief expresses an independent truth, but always a truth depending upon other truths, and in its turn lending others its support. to deny any truth that the mind of the church has expressed is equivalent to the removal of an organ from a living body. and to-day we feel more than ever the need of the doctrine of the assumption. one of the bitterest attacks on the christian faith which is being made to-day, emanating principally from within the christian community, and even from within the christian ministry, is that which is being made on the truth of the resurrection of the body, whether the resurrection of our lord, or our own resurrection. in place of the christian doctrine believed and preached from the beginning, we are asked to lapse back into heathenism and a doctrine of immortality. not many seem to realise the vastness of the difference that is made in our outlook to the future by a belief in the resurrection of the body as distinguished from immortality. but the character of the religions resulting from these two contrary beliefs is absolutely different. it needs only to study them as they actually exist to be convinced of this fact. and it is precisely the doctrine of the assumption of our lady which contributes strong support to the christian doctrine of the resurrection of the body. it teaches us that in her case the vision and hope of mankind at large has been anticipated and accomplished. the resurrection of our lord is found, in fact, to extend (if one may so express it) to the members of his mystical body; and the promise which is fulfilled in blessed mary, is that hope of a joyful resurrection which is thus confirmed to us all. in its stress upon the assumption the mind of the christian church has not been led astray, has not been betrayed into fostering superstitions, but has been led by the spirit of christ which he promised it to the development of a truth not only revealing the present place of his glorious mother in the kingdom of her son, but encouraging and heartening us in our following of the heavenly way. whoe is shee that assends so high next the heavenlye kinge, round about whome angells flie and her prayses singe? who is shee that adorned with light, makes the sunne her robe, at whose feete the queene of night layes her changing globe? to that crowne direct thine eye, which her heade attyres; there thou mayst her name discrie wrytt in starry fires. this is shee, in whose pure wombe heaven's prince remained; therefore, in noe earthly tombe cann shee be contayned. heaven shee was, which held that fire whence the world tooke light, and to heaven doth now aspire, fflames with fflames to unite. shee that did so clearly shyne when our day begunne, see, howe bright her beames decline nowe shee sytts with the sunne. sir john beaumont, - . part two chapter xxvi the coronation and there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. rev. xii, i. to-day the angel gabriel brought the palm and the crown to the triumphant virgin. to-day he introduced to the lord of all, her, who was the temple of the most high, and the dwelling of the holy spirit. for the assumption. armenian. the heaven which s. john the evangelist shows us is the continuation of the earthly church. as we read his pages we feel that entrance there would be a real home-coming for the earnest christian. we are familiar enough with presentations of heaven which seem to us to be so detached from christian reality as to lack any human appeal. we think of philosophic presentations of the future with entire indifference. it is possible, we say, that they may be true; but they are utterly uninteresting. it is not so in the visions of s. john. here we have a heaven which is humanly interesting because it is continous with the present life, and its interests are the interests that it has been the object of our religion to foster. the qualities of character which the christian religion has urged upon our attention are presented as finding their clear field of development in the world to come. there, too, are unveiled the objects of our adoration, the ever-blessed three who yet are but one. love which has striven for development under the conditions and limitations of our earthly life, which has tried to see god and has gone out to seek him in the dimness of revelation, now sees and is satisfied. whom now we see in a mirror, enigmatically, we shall then see face to face. and it is a heaven thronged with saints, with men and women who have gone through the same experiences as those to which we are subjected, and have come forth purified and triumphant. we sometimes in discouragement think of life as continuous struggle. it is perhaps natural and inevitable that we should thus concentrate attention upon the present, but if we lift our eyes so as to clear them from the mists of the present we see that it is far from a hopeless struggle, but rather the necessary discipline from which we emerge triumphant. those saints whom we see rejoicing about the throne of god, those who go out to follow the lamb whithersoever he goeth, passed through the struggle of persecution to their triumphant attainment of the vision. it is our eternal temptation to expect to triumph here; but it is only in a very limited sense that this can be true: our triumph is indeed here, but the enjoyment of it and all that is implied in it is elsewhere. here even our most complete achievement is conditioned by the limitations of earth: there the limitations are done away and life expands in perfectness. so we look eagerly through the door that is opened in heaven as those who are looking into their future home. that is what we all are striving for--presumably. we are consciously selecting out of life precisely those elements, are centering on those interests, which have eternal significance and are imperishable values. as we travel along the pilgrim way it is with hearts uplifted and stimulated by the vision of the end. we advance as seeing him who is invisible. we live by hope, knowing that we shall attain no enduring satisfaction until we pass through the gates into the city, and mingle with the throng of worshippers who sing the song of moses and of the lamb. therefore our life is always forward-looking and optimistic: because we are sure of the end, we wait for it with patience and endurance, thankful for all the experience of the way. as the years flow by we do not look back on them with regret as the unrenewable experiences of a vanished youth, but we think of them as the bearers of experiences by which we have profited, and of goods which we have safely garnered, waiting the time when their stored values can be fully realised. over all the saints whom the church has seen rejoicing in the heavenly life, rises the form of mary, mother of god. s. john's vision of the "great sign in heaven" in its primary meaning has, no doubt, reference to the church itself; but the form of its symbolism would be impossible if there were not a secondary reference to the blessed virgin mary. it is the thought of her and of her office as mother of the redeemer that has determined the form of the vision. the details are too clear to permit of doubt, and such has been the constant mind of catholic interpreters. and how else than as queen of the heavenly host should we expect her to be represented? what does the church teaching as to sanctity imply? it implies the enjoyment of the beatific vision. the normal christian life begins in the sacramental act by which the regenerate child is made one with god, being made a partaker of the divine nature, and develops through sacramental experience and constant response to the will of god to that spiritual capacity which is the medium of the beatific vision and which we call sanctity or purity. "the pure in heart shall see god." but the teaching of the church also implies that there is a marvellous diversity in the sanctity of the members of the body of christ. each saint retains his personal characteristics, and his sanctity is not the refashioning of his character in a common mould but the perfecting of his character on its own lines. we sometimes hear it said that the christian conception of heaven is monotonous, but that is very far from being the fact. it is only those conceptions of heaven which have excluded the communion of saints, and have thought of heaven as the solitary communion of the soul with god; which have in other words, excluded the notion of human society from heaven, which have appeared monotonous. as we read any series of the lives of the saints, and realise that it is these men and women and multitudes of others like them, that make up the society of heaven, we get rid of any other notion than that of endless diversity. and thus studying individual saints we come to understand that not only is the sanctity of them diverse in experience but different in degree. all men have not the same capacity for sanctity, we infer; all cannot develop to the same level of attainment. we may perhaps say that while all partake of god, all do not reflect god in the same way or in the same degree. but if there be a hierachy of saints it is impossible that we should think of any other at its head than blessed mary. whatsoever diversity there may be in the attainments of the saints, there is one saint who is pre-eminent in all things, who,--because in her case there has never been any moment in which she was separate from god, when the bond of union was so much as strained,--is the completest embodiment of the grace of god. that is, i think, essentially what is meant by the coronation of our lady,--that her supremacy in sanctity makes her the head of the heirarchy of saints, that in her the possibilities of the life of union have been developed to the highest degree through her unstained purity and unfailing response to the divine will. it is of the last importance, if the catholic conceptions are to be influential in our lives, that we should gain such a hold on the life of heaven, the life that the saints, with saint mary at their head, are leading to-day, as shall make it a present reality to us, not a picture in some sort of dreamland. our lives are shaped by their ideals; and although we may never attain to our ideals here, yet we shall never attain them anywhere unless we shape them here. heaven must be grasped as the issue of a certain sort of life, as the necessary consequence of the application of christian principles to daily living. it is wholly bad to conceive it as a vague future into which we shall be ushered at death, if only we are "good"; it must be understood as a state we win to by the use of the means placed at our disposal for the purpose. those attain to heaven in the future who are interested in heaven in the present. and a study of the means is wholly possible for us because we have at hand in great detail the lives of those whom the church, by raising them to her altars, has guaranteed to us as having achieved sanctity and been admitted to the beatific vision. they achieved sanctity here--that is, in the past. they achieved it under an infinite variety of circumstanies,--that is the encouragement. they now enjoy the fruits of it in the world of heaven,--that is the promise. and nowhere can we better turn for the purpose of our study than to the life of blessed mary. there is the consummate flower of sainthood; and therefore it it best there that we can study its meaning. and for two principal reasons can we best study it there. in the first place because of its completeness: nowhere else are all the elements of sanctity so well developed. and in the second place because of the riches of the material for understanding blessed mary that is placed at our disposal by the labour of many generations of saints and doctors. all that devout meditation can do to understand the sanctity of blessed mary has been done. our limit is necessarily reduced, our selection partial and our accomplishment fragmentary. we cannot however miss our way if we follow in the steps of holy revelation in making love the central quality. s. mary's greatness is ultimately the greatness of her love. it began as a love of the will of god. she appears as utterly selfless, as having devoted herself to the will of god as he shall manifest that will. and therefore when the time comes she makes the great sacrifice that is asked of her without hesitation and without effort: "behold, the handmaid of the lord; be it unto me according to thy word." and all her life henceforth is loving response to what is unfolded as the content of the accepted revelation. that is a noteworthy thing that i fancy is often missed. it is not uncommon for one to accept a vocation as a whole, and then subsequently, as it unfolds, shrink from this or that detail of it. but in the case of s. mary the acceptance of the vocation meant the acceptance of _god_, and there was no holding back from the result of that. that must be our guide in the pursuit of the heavenly life: we must understand that we are not called to accept this or that belief or practice, but are called to accept god--god speaking to us through the revelation he has entrusted to his catholic church. we do not, when we make our act of acceptance, know all or very much of what god is going to mean; but whatever god turns out to mean in experience, there can be no holding back. the note of a true acceptance of vocation is precisely this limitless surrender, a surrender without reservation. s. mary could by no means understand what was to be asked of her: she only knew it was god who asked it. she could not foresee the years of the ministry when her son would not have where to lay his head, followed by the anxiety of holy week and the watch by the cross on good friday; but as these things came she could understand them as involved in her vocation, in her acceptance of god. and cannot we get the same attitude toward life? in the acceptance of the christian religion what we have accepted is god. we have acknowledged the supremacy of a will outside ourselves. we say, "we are not our own, we are bought with a price," the price of the precious blood. but if our acceptance is a reality and not a theory it will turn out to involve much more than we imagined at the first. the frequent and pathetic failures of those who have made profession of christianity is largely accounted for by this,--that the demands of the christian religion on life turn out to be more searching and far-reaching than was supposed would be the case. religion turns out to be not one interest to be adjusted to the other interests of life, but to be a demand that all life and action shall be controlled by supernatural motive. those who would willingly give a part, find it impossible to surrender the whole. the world is full of young rulers who are willing "to contribute liberally to the support of religion," but shrink from the demand that they "sell all." "i seek not yours, but you," s. paul writes to the corinthians; and that is also the seeking of god--"not yours but you." and because the limit of our willingness is reached in contribution and does not extend to sacrifice, we fail. but blessed mary did not fail because there was no limit to her willingness to sacrifice. her will to sacrifice had the same limitless quality as her love; and because of the limitless quality of her self-giving her growth in the life of union was unlimited, or limited only by the limitations of creaturehood. when therefore we think of her to-day as queen of saints we are not thinking of an arbitrarily conferred position; we are thinking of a position which comes to her because she is what she is. she through the unstinting sacrifice of her love came into more intimate relations with god than is possible for any other, and through that relation came to know more of the mind of god than any other. the power of her intercession is the power of her understanding, of her sympathy with the thoughts of god. when we come to her with our request for her intercession we feel that we are sure of her sympathy and her understanding. her experience of human life, we think, was not very wide: can she whose life was passed under such narrow conditions understand the complex needs of the modern man or woman? it is true that her actual experience of human life was not very wide; but her experience of god is very wide indeed, and she is able to understand our experience better than we can understand it ourselves because of her understanding of god's mind and will. it is seeing life through god's eyes that reveals the truth about it. hence the blunder and the tragedy of those who seek to know life by experience, when they mean experience gained by participation in life's evil as well as in its good. they succeed in soiling life rather than in understanding it; for participation in evil effectually prevents our understandings of good. it is on the face of things that the farther a man goes into sin, the less is righteousness intelligible to him. our lord's rule "he that doeth the will shall know of the doctrine" is not an arbitrary maxim, but embodies the deepest psychological truth. there is but one path to full understanding, and that is the path of sympathy. and therefore are we sure of our lady's understanding and come to her unhesitatingly for the help of her intercession. she understands our case because she sees it revealed in the mind of her son. it cannot be questioned that much of the weakness of religion to-day is due to the fact that christian ideals make but faint appeal. by many they are frankly repudiated as impossible of attainment in a world such as this, and as weakening to human character so far as they are attained. christians, of course, are unable to take this point of view, and, therefore, they treat the ideals with respect, but continue to govern their lives by motives which are not harmonious with them. it is tacitly assumed on all sides that a consistent pursuit of christians ideals will assure failure in social or business life. this, of course, is tantamount to a confession that social and business life are unchristian, and raises the same sort of grave questions as to the duty of a christian as were raised in the early days of the church under the heathen empire. with that, however, we may not concern ourselves now. we are merely concerned to note and to emphasise the fact that, whatever may be true of society or business, our religion is lamentably ineffective because of its failure to emphasise the ideals of sanctity and to present those ideals as the ideals of _all_ christian life, not as the ideals of a select few. while religious teachers asquiesce in the present set of compromises as an adequate expression of christian character, we may expect a decline in the church as a spiritual force, whatever may be true of it as a social force. if christian ideals are to resume their appeal to the membership of the church as a whole it is requisite that they be studied by the clergy and intelligently presented. but little is to be hoped in this direction so long as our theological training ignores religion and concentrates its attention on something that it takes for scholarship. the raw material that is sent by our parishes to the seminaries to be educated for holy orders is commonly turned out of the seminary with less religion that it entered. the outlook for the presentation of christian ideals is not hopeful. we seem destined to drift on indefinitely in our habitual compromises. all the more is it necessary that we should lift our eyes to the heavens where humility and meekness, where sacrifice and obdience, are, in the person of blessed mary, crowned as the most perfect expression of sanctity, as the qualities that raise man nearest god. and what consoles us in the present depressing circumstances of the church is that we are permitted to look through s. john's eyes into the world of heaven, and there see "a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, before the throne and before the lamb, clothed with white robes, and with palms in their hands." somehow, we feel, under whatever distressing and discouraging circumstances, the work of god in the regeneration of souls goes on. no doubt it is a work that is largely hidden from our eyes, from those eyes which are blinded to the reality of spiritual things. humility and meekness are the qualities of a hidden life; they do not flaunt themselves before men's eyes. but in their silence and obscurity great souls are growing up, growing to the spiritual status of the saints of god. in our estimate of values we shall do well to lay to heart the utterances of wisdom: "then shall the righteous man stand in great boldness before the face of such as have afflicted him, and made no account of his labours. when they see it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed at the strangeness of his salvation, so far beyond all that they had looked for. and they repenting and groaning for anguish of spirit shall say among themselves, this is he, whom we had sometime in derision, and a proverb of reproach: we fools accounted his life madness, and his end without honour: how is he numbered among the children of god, and his lot is among the saints! verily we went astray from the way of truth, and the light of righteousness shined not unto us, and the sun of righteousness rose not upon us." when we have attained to the point of view as to life's value which is expressed in the ideal of sanctity then we shall know how to estimate at their true worth the constant criticisms which are directed against those ideals and those who seek them. the saints, we are told, were no doubt estimable men and women, but they were weak, and for the purpose of the world's work, useless. but is this true, to keep to a specific example, of the blessed virgin mary? what is there about her life that suggests weakness? and what can be the meaning of calling such a life useless to the world? take but one aspect of it. it has for centuries furnished an ideal of womanhood. it is contended that the women who have taken blessed mary for their ideal have shown themselves weak and useless?--that those women are stronger in character and of more value to the world who have thrown over the ideals of sanctity and built their lives upon the social ideals prevalent at present? i no not care to attempt any characterisation of the feminine ideal which is commended to us at present; it is sufficient to say that it is difficult to understand how it can be considered socially valuable; still less how it can be considered an advance on the character qualities which distinguish the christian ideal of sanctity. in the midst of the present confusion of values it is for us of vast significance that we have in this matter the mind of christ. there need be no confusion in our minds. what christ commended has proved to be practical of accomplishment, the evidence of which is the great multitude which no man can number who to-day sing about the throne of god and of the lamb. what god approves is evidenced by the coronation of the blessed mother over all the multitudes of the saints of god. blessed mary is the embodied thought of god for humanity, the realised ideal of a human life. he that is mighty hath magnified her, till she shines resplendent in spiritual qualities over all the hosts of the elect. but though so highly exalted she is not thereby removed to an inaccessible distance. she who is privileged to bear the incredible title, mother of god is our mother as well. upon the cross our lord said to us in the person of his beloved disciple, "behold thy mother"; and it is a mother's love that we find flowing to us from the heart of mary. have we been cold to her, and inappreciative of her love? have we felt that we have no need of her in the conduct of our lives? if so, what we have been doing is to isolate ourselves from the divinely provided fount of human sympathy which ever flows from our star-crowned mother. is life so rich in sources of help and sympathy and love that we can afford to over-pass the eagerness of god's saints to help us, the willingness of the very mother of god to intercede? is not the life that shuts out from itself the society of heaven pitifully impoverished? too many of us are like the man who owned the field wherein was the buried treasure. limitless aid is at our disposal, but on condition that we want it and will seek it. let us try to understand what it is to have at our disposal the love and sympathy of the saints of god,--that they are not remote inhabitants of a distant sphere whose present interests have led to forgetfulness of what they once were, whose present joy is so intense as to make them self-centred, but that their very attainment of perfection implies the perfection of their love and the completeness of their sympathy. the perfection of god's saints and their attainment of the end of their course in the enjoyment of the beatific vision, has but made them more sensitive of our needs and more eager to help. the spiritual wisdom and power of the mother of god is at our disposal to-day. to the feebleness of our prayers may be added the spiritual wisdom and strength of her intercession. he whose will it is that we should pray for one another, wills too that the prayers of his blessed mother should be at the disposal of all who call upon her. let us take the fact of the intercession of the queen of saints seriously as a source of power ever open to us. thou who art god's mother and also ours, thou who lookst constantly into the face of the son, thou who art the fullest manifestation of the love of the blessed trinity, thou mary, our mother, pray for us now and in the hour of our death. all hail, o virgin crowned with stars and moon under thy feet, obtain us pardon of our sins of christ, our saviour sweet; for though thou art mother of any god, yet thy humility disdaineth not this simple wretch that flies for help to thee. thou knowest thou art more dear to me than any can express, and that i do congratulate with joy thy happiness. thou who art the queen of heaven and earth thy helping hand me lend, that i may love and praise my god and have a happy end. and though my sins me terrify, yet hoping still in thee, i find my soul refreshèd much when to thee i do flee; for thou most willingly to god petitions dost present, and dost obtain much grace for us in this our banishment. the honour and the glorious praise by all be given to thee, which jesus thy beloved son, ordained eternally; for thee whom he exalts in heaven above the angels all, and whom we find a patroness when unto thee we call. o mater dei, memento mei. amen. dame gertrude more, o.s.b. ob. . ortus christi works by the same author: sponsa christi meditations on the religious life. passio christi meditations for lent. mater christi meditations on our lady. dona christi meditations for ascension-tide, whitsun-tide and corpus christi. longmans, green & co. london, new york, bombay, calcutta, and madras. ortus christi _meditations for advent_ by mother st. paul religious of the retreat of the sacred heart house of retreats--birmingham author of "sponsa christi," "passio christi," "mater christi," "dona christi," etc. preface by rev. joseph rickaby. s.j. "_ambulabunt gentes in lumine tuo et reges in splendore ortus tui._" (is. lx. ). longmans, green and co. paternoster row, london, e.c. fourth avenue and th street, new york bombay, calcutta and madras nihil obstat josephus rickaby s. j. censor deputatus. imprimatur [+] eduardus ilsley administrator apostolicus. die aprilis . preface. reading these meditations we discover with surprise how much spiritual food is obtainable from a study of the lessons and liturgy of advent. mother st. paul is always a heart-searcher. she presses self-reform upon souls, who to the eye of outward observers and perhaps in their own conceit, have little or nothing to amend. we must always be following christ, and christ is ever moving forward. deliberately to stand still is to widen the distance between ourselves and him, an ungenerous, not to say a dangerous thing to do. what are called here meditations may well be taken for daily spiritual reading in preparation for christmas. advent after all is a season of joy, and these meditations must be taken in a joyful spirit. courage and enthusiasm in the cause of christ is the supreme need of all catholics who really _love his coming_. ( tim. iv. ) joseph rickaby, s. j. st. beuno's college. note. although there are twenty-eight meditations given in this book they will not all be needed every year, for the length of advent varies between twenty-two and twenty-eight days. the third sunday of advent _may_ fall as late as december th (the first day of the "great o's") and the fourth sunday of advent be christmas eve. the plan suggested, which will suit all years, is to use no. on advent sunday and the rest according to choice till december th; from then to december th nos. - should be used. contents. page . ortus christi (_advent i_) . our lady's rest . my sins--a triptych . the last judgment . traders and talents . stir up! . st. john the baptist, his preparation . st. john the baptist, his mission . st. john the baptist, his testimony . st. john the baptist, his martyrdom . st. john the baptist, his character . "incarnatus est" . "ex maria virgine" . "the lord is nigh" (_advent iii_) . the interior life, humility . the interior life, oblation . the interior life, imprisonment . the interior life, hiddenness . the interior life, prayer . the interior life, zeal . o sapientia! _december th._ . o adonai! (_expectation of our lady_) _december th._ . o radix jesse! _december th._ . o clavis david! _december th._ . o oriens! (_feast of st. thomas_) _december th._ . o rex gentium! _december nd._ . o emmanuel! _december d._ . christmas eve _december th._ prayers. deus, qui de beatae mariae virginis utero, verbum tuum, angelo nuntiante, carnem suscipere voluisti: praesta supplicibus tuis ut qui vere eam genitricem dei credimus, ejus apud te intercessionibus adjuvemur. o god who didst please that thy word should take flesh, at the message of an angel, in the womb of the blessed virgin mary; grant to thy suppliants that we who believe her to be truly the mother of god, may be helped by her intercession. (collect for the annunciation, said at mass every day during advent.) omnipotens sempiterne deus, qui gloriosae virginis matris mariae corpus et animam, ut dignum filii tui habitaculum effici mereretur, spiritu sancto cooperante, praeparasti: da, ut cujus commemoratione laetamur, ejus pia intercessione, ab instantibus malis, et a morte perpetua liberemur. almighty, everlasting god, who by the co-operation of the holy ghost didst prepare the body and soul of the glorious virgin mother mary to become a habitation meet for thy son; grant that as we rejoice in her commemoration, we may, by her loving intercession, be delivered from present evils and from everlasting death. (collect said at office after the _salve regina_.) conscientias nostras, quaesumus domine, visitando purifica, ut veniens jesus christus filius tuus dominus noster cum omnibus sanctis, paratam sibi in nobis inveniat mansionem. purify our consciences, we beseech thee o lord, by thy visitation, that when thy son jesus christ our lord shall come with all his saints, he may find a mansion prepared in us for himself. (little office b. v. m. vespers for advent.) prayer of ven. father olier. o jesus, vivens in maria, veni et vive in famulis tuis, in spiritu sanctitatis tuae, in plenitudine virtutis tuae, in veritate virtutum tuarum, in perfectione viarum tuarum, in communione mysteriorum tuorum; dominare omni adversae potestati, in spiritu tuo, ad gloriam patris. amen. o jesus, living in mary, come and live in thy servants, in the spirit of thy sanctity, in the fulness of thy strength, in the reality of thy virtues, in the perfection of thy ways, in the communion of thy mysteries. dominate over every opposing power, in thine own spirit, to the glory of the father. amen. ( days, once a day, pius ix, oct. .) sancta dei genitrix, ora pro nobis. mater christi, ora pro nobis. vas spirituale, ora pro nobis. vas honorabile, ora pro nobis. vas insigne devotionis, ora pro nobis. turris davidica, ora pro nobis. turris eburnea, ora pro nobis. domus aurea, ora pro nobis. foederis arca, ora pro nobis. janua coeli, ora pro nobis. ortus christi. =advent sunday.= "=arise=, be enlightened, ... for thy light is come, and the glory of the lord is =risen= upon thee.... the lord shall =arise= upon thee ... the gentiles shall walk in thy light, and kings in the brightness of thy =rising=" (ortus). (is. lx. - ). _ st prelude._ a picture of the first streaks of dawn. _ nd prelude._ grace to arise because the light has come. point i. the rising of christ. the church begins her new liturgical year with the words: "_ad te levavi animam meam_"--to thee have i lifted up my soul ("introit" for to-day)--as though she were straining her eyes to try to see something on the horizon. she cannot see anything very definite yet, but she is full of hope. _deus meus, in te confido, non erubescam_--my god i trust in thee, let me not be ashamed, do not let me lift up my eyes in vain, she cries; and she keeps on looking. this will be her attitude all through the season of advent, an attitude of expectancy, of waiting, of hope, of trust, of prayer. we know for what she is waiting--the _ortus christi_--the rising of christ. "the lord shall arise upon thee" is the promise. "to thee have i lifted up my soul" is her response. what is in her mind when she sees those first streaks of light? they are to her an earnest of what is coming, an earnest of the advent of her lord. st. bernard says that his advent is threefold, that he comes in three different ways: ( ) in the flesh and in weakness, ( ) in the spirit and in power, ( ) in glory and in majesty. the church knows how much these three comings mean to her children, and so at the first sign of dawn she forgets the long weary night, and calls to each one: "_arise_, be enlightened for thy light is come, and the glory of the lord is risen upon thee." "behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye forth to meet him." let us then begin our advent in the spirit of the church. let us arise once more as she bids us, rouse ourselves that is, to look with her at the dawn, while we say to ourselves: "behold he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills. behold he standeth behind our wall, looking through the windows, looking through the lattices." as we look we hear the voice of our beloved, he is speaking to his church. what has he to say as soon as he comes in sight? "_arise_, make haste, my love, my dove, my beautiful one, and come" (cant. ii. - ). it is the same injunction: "_arise_." point ii. the rising of the church. if the bridegroom is rising, it is evident that the bride must do the same. he is rising to come to his bride, she must rise to go to him. how? by meditating on his advents; by thanking him once more for them; by asking herself what use she has made of them hitherto, what use she intends to make during this new year that is beginning; by preparing herself for them; by remembering that as his bride she has a very real share in each. . the _past_ coming, "in the flesh and in weakness." we shall think about this coming more especially at christmas, for which the season of advent is a preparation. "the bright and morning star" (apoc. xxii. ) will by then have risen in all its fulness. the word will be made flesh and once more we shall _rise_ in the "quiet silence" of the night to worship our god "in the flesh and in weakness." . the _present_ coming, "in the spirit and in power"--his coming in grace to the soul, to dwell with it by his spirit. "in _power_"--because only he who is omnipotent could work such a stupendous miracle as the miracle of grace. this miracle could never have been worked, had it not been for the first coming. "the word was made flesh" that he might by his death redeem his people and restore to them the kingdom of grace which they had lost in adam. this second coming is to prepare us for the third. . the _future_ coming, in "glory and in majesty" when he shall "come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead," and when all will be forced to _rise_ and go to meet him whether they will or not. it is those, who have _risen_ voluntarily to meet their god in his second coming, who will have no fear of the third. the second coming, then, the coming in grace, is the most practical one for us as we begin our advent, and upon it we will meditate in our third point. point iii. the dwelling of the blessed trinity within us. this is what god's coming in grace means--a soul in the state of grace is the host of the blessed trinity, neither more nor less. "_we_ will come to him and will make our abode with him," (st. john xiv. ) and from the moment that grace enters, the soul becomes the abode of god the father, god the son and god the holy ghost. it was at the moment of baptism that our souls were raised to the dignity of being hosts of god himself. what happened then? god added to the natural gifts with which he had endowed man _super_natural ones, summed up in the gift of grace. what is that? a participation in his own life, something which makes us "partakers of the _divine_ nature." ( pet. i. ). he created man thus in the beginning, for he meant man always to possess supernatural as well as natural gifts. he meant always to live with man and talk and walk with him in the paradise of his soul; but adam chased out the divine guest and lost this miraculous privilege for all his children. god, however, could not rest content to be outside the souls which he had created solely that he might live in them, and he devised a way (the first coming of christ) by which he might get back to the dwelling which he cherished so much. we need not follow the beautiful story of the redemption through all its wondrous steps, we know it well enough; we will take it up at baptism, when the divine gift of life which adam lost was restored to the soul, when god came back to his chosen dwelling, and the soul regained its responsible position of host to the blessed trinity. when satan had noticed that the soul was left exposed, that it was a human soul only, with nothing divine about it, he naturally had taken possession, as he does of all empty houses; (st. matt. xii. ) so at baptism the priest said: "depart from him, thou unclean spirit, and give place to the holy ghost." where the holy ghost is, there are also the father and the son. the blessed trinity, then, waits to take possession of each soul, waits to come back to its own, waits to restore the privilege that man had at the beginning. thus the new creation takes place, and the soul is no longer a human soul only, but divine, for the divine life within has made it one with itself. does man realize this privilege and rise to it? no! for the greater part of christians we are obliged to say: no. as soon as they come to years of discretion, they invite back the unclean spirit and chase out their divine guest. what base ingratitude! and what folly! but god, who is rich in mercy is not repelled by such conduct; his one thought is to go back to his temple which has been so profaned, and the scheme of redemption included a method, (the sacrament of penance,) whereby, if man would, he could drive out the devil and invite back the divine guest. is god angry? does he upbraid? does he allude to the past and throw doubts on the future? no, he _loves_, and all he asks in return is love. such is our guest! now what is my side of this great question? i am, or if i am not, i can be, a temple of god. god is living within me. how much do i think about it? i often talk about recalling the presence of god, but it is his presence _within_ me that i have to recall. i make acts of contrition, of love. to whom? to the god within me. do not let me forget that my heart is an altar where i can, whenever i will, adore god. he is there to walk with me and talk to me as he did to adam of old. he wants me to live side by side with him, and talk to him as naturally as i do to my friend. let me try this advent, as one of the best ways of preparing for the coming of christ at christmas, and for his coming in judgment, to _realize_ what the supernatural life means, what _god in me_ means, what it means to be the host always of god himself. the realization will transform my life, will alter my point of view, will change me from a mediocre christian into one who is filled with a great idea and who is occupied with it every moment of his time--an idea which is ever stimulating him to aim higher. _god in me_--then i am never alone, my life is intimately bound up with god's life. i am a partaker of his nature. o my god, forgive me for having thought of it so little; help me to _rise_ to my great privileges. i thank thee for letting a few streaks of thy divine light reach my dark soul, and by the time that the sun of justice has risen in all his splendour this advent, may my soul be flooded with the new light which the realization of the divine presence within it, will surely bring. _colloquy_ with god within me. _resolution._ to realize this truth to-day, and every day more and more. _spiritual bouquet._ "we will come to him and make our abode with him." our lady's rest. "in omnibus requiem quaesivi, et in hereditate domini morabor." in all these i sought rest, and i shall abide in the inheritance of the lord. (ecclus. xxiv. ). _ st. prelude._ a statue of our lady. _ nd. prelude._ grace to "abide in the inheritance of the lord." that the church intends us to spend the season of advent with our blessed mother is quite evident to anyone who takes the trouble to study the liturgy. the bridegroom is coming, but it is through the virgin-mother that he will come; and if we would be amongst the first to greet him, if we desire a large share of his grace, if we would have no fear of his judgments, we must keep close to mary. point i. "i shall abide in the inheritance of the lord." the church applies these words to mary; let us try to see what they mean and how far we may copy her in her determination. "the inheritance of the lord," what is it? the words bear many interpretations but we cannot be wrong, surely, in thinking that this inheritance was mary's own soul; it was indeed "the inheritance of the lord," an inheritance to which the blessed trinity had a special right, the father because he had created her in grace, the son because he had saved her from the stain of original sin, the holy ghost because he had ever sanctified her and kept her "full of grace." but what was it that made _this_ inheritance more pleasing to god than any of the other souls which he had redeemed? mary's correspondence with grace we naturally answer; but what do we mean by that? we mean, or we ought to mean, that mary realized to the full that god the father, god the son and god the holy ghost lived within her; and hence her resolution to abide in "the inheritance of the lord," never to leave her divine guest, never to forget that she was the host and that it was her privilege to entertain. this is surely the secret of mary's life and of her correspondence with grace. she dwelt in closest union with the god who dwelt within her. point ii. "in all things i sought rest." where did she seek this rest, this calm of which her whole life speaks? within her own soul with her divine guest, in other words mary lived an _interior_ life. she preferred a life inside with god, to one outside in the world. hers was a continual realization of god's presence--of god's presence within her; and it was this realization which enabled her to find rest in every circumstance of her chequered life. she did not allow outward events to mar her interior calm. her divine guest was always there and to him she could always turn. the consequence was that she was never agitated, disquieted, excited, anxious, troubled. she dwelt "in the inheritance of the lord," and there she sought rest in all things whether it was in: the joy of the archangel's visit, or the difficulty of her visit to elizabeth. the anguish of the reception at bethlehem, or the joy at the birth of her son. the angels who sang: _glorias_ at his birth, or the neighbours who made unkind remarks. the shepherds who came to worship in their poverty, or the wise men in all their pomp and splendour. the ecstasy caused by her babe's smile, or the distress caused by his tears. the words of the angel: "of his kingdom there shall be no end," or the words of simeon: he shall be "a sign which shall be contradicted." the peaceful home-life with jesus and joseph, or the hurried flight into egypt. the anguish of losing him (desolation), or the joy of finding him (consolation). the active work for the little household, or the times of contemplation at jesus' feet. the long, happy days at nazareth with her son, or the sad day when he left his mother's roof. the account of his success: "all men go to him," or the account of his failure: "they all forsook him and fled." the cry: "hosannah, blessed is he!" or the cry: "crucify him, crucify him! it is not fit that he should live." the agony of watching him suffer and die, or the delight of seeing his glorified body. the pain of being left in exile on earth, or the joy of hearing him say: "arise, my fair one and come, the winter is over." * * * * * _in omnibus requiem quaesivi._--not that all these things were the same to her, not that she was indifferent or did not care, she cared more than anyone else could, for her heart was perfect and therefore more delicate and sensitive than any other except the sacred heart of jesus. what then was her secret? that she lived with the blessed trinity, and that made her see god's will in all that happened to her, and see it so vividly that she almost lost sight of the particular circumstances, and hardly knew whether they were painful or joyful. the pain was a joy because it was god's will, and the joy was only a joy because it was god's will; so she never wanted to change any thing. she sought rest in the holy habitation, the home of the blessed trinity; she pondered things over in her heart, that is, she talked about them with her divine guest. point iii. the child of mary. the child must copy the mother. how is it with me? surely if anyone ought to realize the divine presence within, it is a child of mary! how far do i copy our lady in her interior life? what do i know of that deep calm within, into which i can always retire and seek rest, and where i can, if i will, rest so entirely that outward circumstances make little difference? if i have made the same resolution as our lady; namely, to "abide in the inheritance of the lord;" pain and anxiety and difficulty will be an actual source of joy, because they afford an excuse for an extra visit to the home within, and for longer conversations than usual with my loved guest. if a difficulty or a humiliation or something that i do not like comes in my way, i shall not be troubled, my first thought will be with my divine guest. _he_ has permitted this, even planned it. i will go and talk to him about it, find out what he means, what he wants me to do and how i can best act in the circumstances to gain glory for him. this is what is meant by the interior life, and it _can_ be, it _ought_ to be, far stronger than the exterior. it means a holy indifference to everything except god's will; it means rest and peace about everything that happens, without any desire to have things altered; it takes all anxiety and disquiet and perplexity out of life and leaves a great calm which nothing has the power to disturb _except_ a will in opposition to god's will. _in omnibus requiem quaesivi._--is it so very hard? perhaps, for it means the spiritual life, and that means a continual battle against self; but it is a battle worth fighting. to fight is not only the way to "_seek_ rest," but it is also the surest way to obtain it; for they alone who are continually fighting to keep the enemy out can hope to detain their divine guest within. _colloquy_ with mary. help me, my mother, to dwell, this advent, in "the inheritance of the lord," and when outward things are too much for me and i am apt to behave in a manner unworthy of a child of thine, do thou lead me by the hand into the place of rest and calm, where god himself dwells, and where i shall see things from his point of view. "o god, who didst please that thy word should take flesh, at the message of an angel, in the womb of the blessed virgin mary, grant to thy suppliants, that we who believe her to be truly the mother of god may be helped by her intercession." (collect to be said every day at mass from advent to christmas eve.) _resolution._ to "abide in the inheritance of the lord" to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "in all things i sought rest." my sins--a triptych. "the night is past, and the day is at hand; let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and put on the armour of light." (from the "epistle" for the first sunday of advent). _ st. prelude._ the foot of the cross where my sins have all been laid. _ nd. prelude._ the grace of contrition and firm resolution. it is clear from the words which she has chosen for her "epistle" for the first sunday of advent that the church intends us during this solemn season to think about sin,--the darkness of the past night and the light of the day that is coming and our duty with regard to both. it is not sin in the abstract, but our own personal sins that we are to consider. "let _us_ cast off the works of darkness." if the apostle paul included himself in that "_us_," we need not fear to do the same. it is meet, when we are thinking on the one hand of him who is coming to save us from our sins and on the other of his coming to judge us "according to our works," that we should give some thought to those sins. nothing will better help us to understand the mercy of the saviour and the justice of the judge than a meditation upon our own sins. god _forgets_ the sins he has forgiven, but it is better for us, more wholesome and more humiliating, to remember them sometimes. david says: "my sin is always before me" (ps. l. ). the object of this meditation, then, is not to cause trouble in the soul--trouble about sins that are _forgiven_ can only come from the devil--but to excite in us a deeper contrition, more gratitude and a greater watchfulness. point i. a triptych--my sins. am i to consider all the sins of my life? the subject seems so vast, it is difficult to know how to condense it so that i may be able to bring it within my grasp. all sin may be summed up in one word--disobedience--_non serviam_. it was the sin of the angels, it was the sin of our first parents and it is at the root of every sin that has ever been committed. god says: thou shalt not, the sinner says: i will. god says: do this and thou shalt live; the sinner says: i will not, i would rather die. sin is man's will in opposition to god's will. this thought simplifies the subject and makes it easier for me to call up the sins of my life and look at them. let me make a picture of them--a triptych, a picture, that is, with three panels side by side, the middle one shall be called _places_, that on the right hand _persons_ and that on the left _work_. . _places._ as i look at the middle picture i see it consists of numbers and numbers of small ones, each representing some place that is familiar to me--there is the house where i was born, there the school i attended, houses i have visited, hotels where i have stayed, gardens, playgrounds, lonely roads, walks on cliffs, villages, towns, churches, the sea-side, trams, omnibuses, trains, boats, bicycles, carriages, stations.... i am fascinated and cannot help looking still, though the variety and number are almost bewildering. each picture is so familiar; some awaken sweet and precious memories, from some i quickly turn away my eyes. all can witness to my presence, how many can witness also to my sins? "indeed the lord is in this place, and _i knew it not_." (gen. xxviii. ). that may to some extent be true and if so there is one who is always ready to say: "father, forgive them for they know not what they do." _i_ know how much i knew, and the best thing, the only thing for me to do is to make an act of contrition. . _persons._ i turn to the right hand panel and there are crowds and crowds of _faces_, each one familiar--father, mother, brothers, sisters, relations, servants, teachers, scholars, friends, enemies, priests, confessors, acquaintances ... what impression have i left upon each of these? if they could be called up and asked: "what did you think of so and so?" what would they have to say? they would have something, for i left _some_ impression--and yet _none_ of them know me as i really am. the three persons of the blessed trinity have been near me _always_ and always observant. they really know me. what have _they_ to say? "if thou, o lord, wilt mark iniquities, lord, who shall stand it?" (ps. cxxix. ). this picture makes me sad! that is just what our lord wants from this meditation. let me offer once more my heartfelt contrition and he will be glad that i had the courage to open the triptych. . _work._ as i turn to the panel on the left i feel that i can breathe more freely--my work will certainly give satisfaction! it is something to be proud of; i have always got on well; i have never been idle and i have had a certain measure of success, and i feel that in that respect at any rate my life will bear inspection. but this picture too, as i look at it, seems to be divided up. yes, i can see quite clearly all the different works upon which i have been engaged. all are very familiar and bring back for the most part happy memories, but some of them seem to be labelled.--what is it that is written across them? "_you did it to me._" and all the rest that have no labels? they do not count--so evidently considered the one who put on the labels. he left them, passed them over, there was nothing there _for him_. but that hospital that was founded is not labelled, nor that legacy promised for a charitable purpose! surely some of these without labels are "good works!" and these that are labelled are such insignificant things, things i should never have remembered at all if they were not in the picture--a kind word, a smile, a hasty word kept back because i knew it would pain _him_, suffering cheerfully borne because i wanted to be like him who suffered for me. why these and not those? because he prefers _little_ things? no, but because of the motive. had the hospital been built out of love for him and his sick, had it been built for the glory of god and not for the glory of self, it too would have been labelled. had the hasty word been kept back that others might notice my self-control, it would _not_ have been labelled. what counts with god is the intention with which a thing is done. if it is done out of love for him, no matter how insignificant it is, yea, no matter how badly done, it will surely be labelled "_you did it to me_," and it will last when the mighty works that men have so much praised are crumbling in the dust, labelled with another label _you did it not unto me_. have i not need to make another act of contrition as i think of my works, my love of gain, my ambition, love of praise and success, of the motives of my so-called works of charity, of the times in which i have allowed my work to take the first place in my life, while my soul had to take the second? i shut up my triptych and leave it at thy feet o my jesus, where the blood from thy wounds may ever drip upon it, while i with magdalen stoop and bathe thy feet with my tears. point ii. the triptych.--god's mercies. as i look up, i see my triptych opened again and all the thousands of little pictures seem to be transformed. each one is speaking to me of god's goodness and tenderness and love. how good it is to turn away from my own misery to his infinite mercy; yea, more--to recognize that the one is the cause of the other! and this is what he wants. if the sight of self does not lead me instinctively to look at christ, it is a very dangerous thing, for it can only lead to despondency and discouragement. the object of looking at self and its deeds is so to look that everything good or evil may shrivel up and disappear, till self is there no longer, but christ only and all _he_ has done either for or through me. as i gaze now at the picture, i no longer see the places on earth which have known me for short periods of time, but my place in heaven which by his mercy, if i persevere to the end, is to know me through all eternity; not my dear ones as i saw them on earth, but as they are now in my heavenly country waiting for me; not my innumerable sins of omission, nor my "good works" done to please self, but the work of him who always pleased his father, work which has made up for all my omissions, and which shines through every thing that i have done for him, making it, too, acceptable to his father. it seems to me now that i want to linger over the picture, for his mercies are indeed infinite, and i shall never be able to thank him enough for them. but does he, the god of infinite mercy and plenteous redemption, never look at my pictures? he says: "i will forgive their iniquity, and i will remember their sin no more" (jer. xxxi. ); and it is true. he will never open my triptych for the sake of looking at my sins, but may he not open it for the joy of seeing each of those thousands of pictures shining with pearls--the tears of contrition? do not let me disappoint him. this is the chalice of consolation which i can offer to the sacred heart in reparation. _colloquy_ with jesus thanking him for making me look at my triptych and for all that he has taught me in it. _resolution._ never to look at my sins without at once seeing _christ_--a sight which will necessarily produce humility, gratitude and contrition. _spiritual bouquet._ "my sin is always before me" but "thou shalt give joy and gladness.... and my mouth shall declare thy praise" (ps. l. , , ). the last judgment. "the powers of heaven shall be moved; and then shall they see the son of man coming in a cloud with great power and majesty." (the "gospel" for the st. sunday of advent.) _ st. prelude._ the last day. _ nd. prelude._ grace to meditate upon it. the church invites us during advent to turn our thoughts towards the second coming of christ--his coming in judgment at the end of the world. the subject of the last judgment is perhaps one which we are rather inclined to avoid in our meditations; but it is one about which our blessed lord said a great deal; it is continually mentioned, too, in the epistles and in the apocalypse, and as we shall most certainly take a part in that last great scene of the world's drama, it is surely well for us to have a rehearsal from time to time. point i. the coming of the judge. _when will he come?_ god "hath _appointed_ a day wherein he will judge the world in equity by the man whom he hath appointed." (acts xvii. ). the day then is _fixed_, "but of that day and hour no one knoweth, no not the angels of heaven, but the father alone." (st. matt. xxiv. ). _how will he come?_ he "shall so come as you have seen him going into heaven" (acts i. ), the angel told the apostles who had just watched his ascension. he will come, that is, in his beautiful resurrection body, dazzling with brightness and glory, with the wounds in hands and feet and side. he will come "with much power and majesty" (st. matt. xxiv. ) for he will come to judge, not to preach penance nor atone for sin; he will come unexpectedly "as a thief in the night" ( thess. v. ) "at what hour you think not" (st. luke xii. ); he will come "with thousands of his saints" (jude ) for all those "who have slept through jesus will god bring with him" ( thess. iv. ); he will bring, too, "all the angels with him" (st. matt. xxv. ); he will come "with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of god" ( thess. iv. ); he will come "with the clouds" (apoc. i. ); he will come "in the glory of his father with his angels" (st. matt. xvi. ); he will come "as lightning" (xxiv. ) and before him will come his cross--"the sign of the son of man" in the heavens (verse ), every eye shall see it. what different emotions that sign will excite! point ii. the effects of his coming. "every eye shall see him, and they also that pierced him. and all the tribes of the earth shall bewail themselves because of him" (apoc. i. ). "we shall all rise again." ( cor. xv. ). "the sea will give up the dead that are in it, and death and hell ... their dead that are in them." (apoc. xx. ). "the dead who are in christ shall rise first." ( thess. iv. ). "we shall be changed, for this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality." ( cor. xv. ). "he shall send his angels with a trumpet, and a great voice, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds." (st. matt. xxiv. ). "then we who are alive, who are left, shall be caught up together with them (those who died in christ) in the clouds to meet christ." ( thess. iv. ). "then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty," (st. matt. xxv. ) and "render to every man according to his works." (chap. xvi. ). then "the heavens shall pass away with great violence, and the elements shall be melted with heat, and the earth and the works which are in it shall be burnt up." ( pet. iii. ). and all these events are to take place "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye!" ( cor. xv. ). with the vivid words of scripture before us, it is not difficult to make a picture of the scene--the sign of the cross where all can see it; the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of god heralding the approach of the judge; the son of man, coming in the clouds with all his angels and thousands of his saints (all those from heaven and purgatory); the cries of those to whom his coming is as that of "a thief in the night" ( thess. v. ); the shouts of joy of "the children of light" (verse ); the opening of the graves, the sea giving up its dead and the reunion of each soul, whether from heaven, purgatory or hell, with its body; the changing of the bodies of those who are living on the earth into resurrection bodies; then the great multitude of the elect clothed in their bodies of immortality rising to meet their lord in the air; then "the great white throne" set up and he who is "appointed by god to be judge" (acts x. ) taking his seat upon it, "his garment ... white as snow ... his throne like flames of fire ... thousands of thousands" ministering to him (dan. vii. , ); the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne (apoc. xx. ), "ten thousand times a hundred thousand" standing before him. (dan. vii. ). point iii. the judgment. ( ) _the separation._ quickly the angels separate that vast multitude into two companies--those on his right hand and those on his left, the sheep and the goats, those who are to enter into life everlasting and those who are to enter into everlasting punishment (st. matt. xxv. ); those who have been faithful over the few things entrusted to them and those who have hidden their lord's talent; those whose lamps are burning and those whose lamps are going out. there is fixed a great chaos between the two companies, so that they who would pass from one side to the other _cannot_, it is too late. (st. luke xvi. ). ( ) _the books._ "and the books were opened ... and the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books, according to their works." "and another book was opened, which is the book of life," and only "they that are written in the book of life of the lamb" shall enter heaven. (apoc. xx. , xxi. ). "every man's work shall be manifest" ( cor. iii. ); "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgment" (st. matt. xii. ). then will be seen, and _all_ will acknowledge it, the triumph of right over wrong, the triumph of the kingdom, the triumph of christ; then will be adjusted all that we have so often longed to adjust but could not, for "let both grow together till the harvest" was the king's order. then will seeming injustices be explained and crimes that have called to heaven for vengeance receive their just reward. then will the unanimous cry be: "the lord he is god," and all will be forced to add: "he doeth all things well." ( ) _the sentences._ there are only two: ( ) "then shall the king say to them that shall be on his right hand: come, ye blessed of my father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." he tells them why they are to have such a blessed reward--they have been faithful subjects of their king during their lives on earth, they have ministered to his needs, lived for him and not for self. they seem surprised, they cannot remember doing acts of charity to their king and he explains: "as long as you did it to one of these my least brethren, you did it to me." (st. matt. xxv. ). the sentence "come" is pronounced on those who lived their lives for their king, who did all they had to do, no matter what it was, for him, thus uniting themselves with him, and now he will unite himself with them for all eternity--"_come_!" ( ) "then he shall say to them also that shall be on his left hand: depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire." and again he gives his reasons for this terrible punishment--they would not acknowledge him as their king, would not serve him, lived for self instead of for him and his brethren: "as long as you did it _not_ to one of these least, neither did you do it to me" (verse ). during their lives they separated themselves from the king and his interests: "we will not have this man to reign over us;" now he will separate himself from them for all eternity.--"_depart from me!_" then he "will say to the reapers: gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my barn." (st. matt. xiii. ). "the angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire" (verses , ). "then shall the just shine as the sun in the kingdom of their father. he that hath ears to hear let him hear" (verse ). _colloquy._ inter oves locum praesta, et ab hoedis me sequestra, statuens in parte dextra. (among the sheep grant me a place, separate me from the goats, placing me on thy right hand). _resolution._ to remember "the doctrine ... of eternal judgment" (heb. vi. ) to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "he shall come again to judge the living and the dead." traders and talents. "a man going into a far country called his servants and delivered to them his goods; and to one he gave five talents, and to another two, and to another one, to every one according to his proper ability; and immediately he took his journey." (st. matt. xxv. ). _ st. prelude._ jesus telling this parable to his disciples. _ nd. prelude._ grace to learn the lessons from it which he intended. point i. the talents. it is christ himself who is the author of this parable and he told it to show us how we are to prepare for his coming. every word of it is of importance and bears some instruction or warning for advent. the "_man going into a far country_" is the man-god, he who came from heaven to take our human nature and to redeem us to god by his blood. his work of redemption is finished and he is going back to his own country--"_a far country_"--implying that he will be gone a long time. (he) "_called his servants_." they are his own servants, he has created them, he has bought them with his blood, they belong to him--their service, their time, their very lives are his, and this not because they are _slaves_ forced to labour, but because of their own free will and out of love and gratitude to him who has bought them from the cruel slavery of sin, they have said: "i love my master ... i will not go out free" (ex. xxi. ). "_and (he) delivered to them his goods._" they are _his_ goods not the servants', they all belong to him and he entrusts them to his servants to take care of them and to do the best they can with them while he is gone. what are these "goods?" all the good things which god has given to man--his life, his preservation, his baptism, his christian education, intellect, faith, health, rank, wealth, talents, conscience, opportunities of doing good, position,--and all have to be traded with, for the master to whom they belong. his "goods" include too what the world would label "evils"--ill-health, difficulty, failure, poverty, incapability; these have to be traded with too, and there is often a higher profit to be made out of these than out of the others. they are all the master's goods and he delivers them to his servants. "_to one he gave five talents and to another two and to another one, to every one according to his proper ability._" he knows his servants, and he knows exactly the strength and capability of each. he measures each burden before imposing it and calculates each sum before giving it. this servant can manage five, this one two, this can only manage one. it is no disgrace to have only one talent, the ability of the servants is the master's affair, not the servants'. they cannot turn to him and say: "why hast thou made me thus?" (rom. ix. ). he makes each one according to his own will and endows him according to his will too. what the servant has to remember is that he is responsible for all that is entrusted to him, that he _can_ trade with it and that it is not too much for him, it is "according to his proper ability," and that though his master will never try to reap where he has not sown, he _will_ expect to reap where he _has_ sown, he will expect a harvest from each talent. point ii. the traders. "_he that had received the five talents went his way and traded with the same and gained other five._" he lost no time, he loved his master and he loved the "goods" because they belonged to his master and because they had been lent by him. the whole of their value lay in the fact that they were the master's; he felt responsible, he must not only take care of them but put them to the best account, and so he set to work at once to trade with them, and he did well, for he gained _cent per cent_! "_and in like manner he that had received the two gained other two._" there was no jealousy, no thinking the master partial or that he had underrated his powers in only giving him _two_ talents. he loved and trusted his master; the two talents were very precious because they were his and because he had chosen them out with such love and care, giving the servant just what he could manage, no more and no less. he went and traded and did as well as the first, _cent per cent_. thus the good servants, that is those who love, who have said, i _will_ not go out free, are always trading for their master. they say to themselves: this talent, this time, this opportunity, this health, this strength belongs to my master not to me, i must use it for him. they forget sometimes; the master is so long away and they act as if the goods were their own, and even trade with them for their own profit, using their talents to attract people to themselves rather than to their master! but as they really love him and want to "trade" for him only, they see the dishonesty of their trading and they do their best by acts of reparation to restore to him his own. when he comes back, he will not expect perfection but _effort_. some, he says, will gain "a hundred fold" but for our consolation and encouragement he adds: "some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold" (st. matt. xiii. ). "_but he that had received the one, going his way digged into the earth, and hid his lord's money._" he lost no time either, his mind was made up at once, he would take no trouble, make no effort, would hide his master's talent and forget all about it; he wanted no responsibility, he could not be troubled with "trading." his master could not expect much from him, he argued, because he had entrusted so little to him, he knew he was not capable of doing _much_, but he would do nothing at all. he did not waste or spoil his master's goods, his sin was one of _omission_--you did it _not_ to me. he dug in the earth instead of laying up treasure in heaven. point iii. the reckoning. "_after a long time the lord of those servants came and reckoned with them._" each servant must come up before him to give an account and to be judged according to his works. "_lord, thou didst deliver to me five talents, behold i have gained other five over and above._" "_lord, thou deliveredst two talents to me, behold i have gained other two._" the lord gives exactly the same answer, the same reward to each, showing clearly that what counts in the reckoning is not the _number_ of good works but the spirit and intention and motive with which they are done, be they many or few. "_well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, i will place thee over many things._" the reward is not given to the most capable, nor to those who have the most or the greatest talents, but to those who have been _faithful_ over the few things entrusted to them. they have traded with their talents for god's glory and for the salvation of their own souls. they have realized that each thing entrusted to them was a "good," whether it was sickness or health, poverty or riches, prosperity or adversity, and they have said about each: this belongs to the master, how can i best use it for him? now they find that the merit of each action done, each suffering borne for him, has been carefully stored up. "_enter thou into the joy of thy lord._" it is his joy, his interest, his glory that the faithful servant has studied on earth, now he shall share them for ever. "_he that had received the one talent came and said: lord, i know that thou art a hard man_" expecting the impossible, "_and being afraid i went and hid thy talent in the earth; behold here thou hast that which is thine._" he could have traded and made _cent per cent_ as the others had done and earned the "_euge_" ("well done!") he not only did not do this, but he put all the blame on his master who with such care had given him just the talent that was suited to his ability. he was _afraid_, he said, afraid of what? of his master because he was hard and unjust? no, this was only an excuse, he knew his master and he knew it was not true. what he was afraid of was hard work, effort, ceaseless watching against temptation. it was far less irksome to bury the talent and live a life of ease, letting things just take their course, and hoping all would come out right in the end; but at the end things were not right, for he had nothing to give to his master, the one talent _was_ the master's, he knew that quite well: "behold here thou hast that which is thine." "_wicked and slothful servant_"--wicked, because he had robbed god of his rights; slothful, because he would not raise a finger to serve his master. "_take ye away therefore the talent from him and give it him that hath ten._" it is a solemn thought that a grace refused by one may be handed on to another who is more faithful. "_to everyone that hath shall be given_" is a principle of the kingdom. he ever giveth "grace for grace" (st. john i. ). for every grace used he gives "more grace"--"he shall abound." "_from him that hath not, that also which he seemeth to have shall be taken away._" there is such a thing as a last grace, a last opportunity. god has nowhere pledged himself to give the grace of repentance; grace is ever a free gift and he is not unjust if he withholds it. i can never say: i will sin and repent after! to sin is in my power, but to repent is not. our lord speaks of sinners filling up the measure of their iniquity (st. matt. xxiii. ). had herod reached the limit, filled up the measure? is that why our lord refused to speak to him? we do not know, but we do know that it is possible for a sinner to sin to such an extent--not necessarily by gross sin, but by steadily refusing god's grace and the opportunities offered to him--that what he has, that is, his opportunities, will be taken from him. "_the unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness._" he ever shunned the light and now it will _never_ be his. he was _unprofitable_, that was his sin, he did nothing for his master. all sins, however terrible, will be forgiven if the sinner turns to god and repents, because his repentance shows that he is "trading," though he may often fail in his business; but the unprofitable servant carries on no trade with god at all, he leaves him out altogether. there is nothing for god to do but to leave him out in the "exterior darkness" which he has deliberately chosen. _colloquy_ with the master, who though he is a "long time" coming, is never far from those who are trading for him. _resolution._ never to leave the master out of anything i do. _spiritual bouquet._ "well done good and faithful servant!" stir up! "i think it meet ... to stir you up by putting you in remembrance." ( pet. i. ). _ st. prelude._ paul writing to timothy: "stir up the grace of god which is in thee" ( tim. i. ). _ nd. prelude._ grace to stir myself up this advent. on the sunday before advent and nine times during the advent masses, the church puts on the lips of her children this prayer: _stir up, o lord_. let us try in this meditation to catch her spirit which runs all through the advent season and see what it is that she wants god to stir up. point i. his own might. we ask him during advent to stir up his might for four different reasons. ( ) _to protect and deliver us._ "stir up thy might, we beseech thee o lord and come: that by thy protection we may deserve to be delivered from the threatening dangers of our sins and by thy deliverance be saved." (the "collect" for advent sunday.) we ask him to show his might by _protecting_ us from dangers and by _delivering_ us from sin. we want to spend a good advent, we want to prepare well for his coming, then there rise up before us the "threatening dangers of our sins"--those old temptations that are sure to come back again as soon as we begin to put forth fresh effort. are we to be discouraged, to dread them, to say we are sure to fall again, and thus give the enemy a hold over us? no, but to believe that our god who is coming will protect us in the day of battle, that though to humiliate and to strengthen us, he may still permit the temptations, yet he will himself be our shield and buckler, and will deliver us if we trust in his strength and not in our own--"stir up thy might, o lord, and come to protect and deliver." ( ) _to free us from adversity._ "stir up thy power, we beseech thee o lord and come, that they who confide in thy mercy may be more speedily freed from all adversity" (the "collect" for friday in ember week). the adversity from which the church prays to be freed here is probably the same as she continually teaches us to pray for deliverance from in her litanies: war, pestilence, famine, floods, earthquakes--all things which damage the peace of nations and the produce of the earth, great national disasters. from all such the world will never be free till the advent of her lord, till god stirs up his power and comes to save it. meanwhile for our consolation we can remember that it is when god's judgments are in the earth that the nations learn justice (isaias xxvi. ). adversity is a great teacher and trainer for heaven, and as we advance in the spiritual life we see more and more that many things which are adversity to the body are prosperity to the soul. we should naturally like to be freed from the adversity of sickness, poverty, failure, loss of friends, of health and strength, but all these adversities have their work to do. "these are they who came out of great tribulation," and it is probable that but for the tribulation many would never "have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the lamb" (apoc. vii. ). let us strive to be amongst those who _trust_ him, who _confide_ in his mercy, who believe that he knows what is best for them, and who gladly let him arrange all for them. he _will_ stir up his power and speedily free them one day, but it will not be till the flail of adversity has done its work and the corn is ready to be garnered in the heavenly barns. ( ) _to save us._ "stir up thy might o lord and come to save us." in the masses for the third week, that is ember week, the prayer occurs five times, twice in the mass for the third sunday and three times in that for ember saturday. the time of the birth of the saviour is drawing nearer, and the church is beginning to be importunate. stir up thy _might_; for though he is coming as a little helpless infant, he is god "mighty to save." ( ) _to accelerate his coming._ "stir up thy might, we beseech thee o lord and come; and succour us with great power, that by the help of thy grace, the indulgence of thy mercy may accelerate what our sins impede." (the "collect" for the th. sunday of advent). we ask him to stir up his might in _coming_. his advents show his omnipotence. only a _god_ could come to this world to save it, only a _god_ could come to a soul and raise it to the supernatural state. these are miracles and we ask him to stir up his might to come and work them. it is our sins that hold him back and hinder his work both in our own souls and in the world. we want them to do so no more and so we ask for his succour and indulgence. point ii. our wills. "stir up the wills of thy faithful, o lord, we beseech thee; that earnestly seeking after the fruit of good works, they may receive more abundant helps from thy mercy." (the "collect" for the sunday before advent). here we pray for something which it is far more difficult to "stir up"--our own wills. we are not sufficiently in earnest; the might and the mercy of god are there waiting to help us, but we have not the energy nor the desire to receive them. we weaken our wills by yielding to temptation, by deliberately going into occasions of sin, by allowing ourselves to be careless about rules and resolutions, by letting things drift and contenting ourselves with a low standard. advent is a time to rectify all this, to pull ourselves up and make a fresh start, and if we are in earnest, we shall gladly join in the prayer: "stir up the wills of thy faithful, o lord," stir up _my_ will. it is not a prayer to be said lightly for it means much--a will stirred up to "seek after the fruit of good works" means constant and continued effort; it means mortification, suffering, death to self; it means a determination to do or suffer _anything_ rather than run the _least_ risk of committing the _least_ sin; it means constant unremitting attention to little things--to the smallest duties, the least prickings of conscience; it means hard work. _dare_ i say this prayer? if i am _really_ anxious for "the fruit of good works," i shall dare anything. fruit is impossible without hard work either in the natural or the spiritual world. "who is sufficient for these things?" certainly i am not, but the consolation is that the work is _co-operative_. as soon as i pray: stir up my will, o god, because i want to bring forth fruit to thy glory; he will be there giving me "_more abundant helps_" from his mercy. god does not expect me to work alone, nor to suffer alone, nor to make efforts alone. what he wants is a good will. he is coming "to men of good will," and nothing can prove that i am one of them, better than a fervent prayer that my will may be stirred up, cost what it may. the "abundant helps" will immediately be at my service; and when it seems sometimes as if, in spite of all my efforts, the day is going to be lost, i will hold on still, remembering that the help is "_more_ abundant" when the need is greater. the stores of his mercy are infinite and he ever gives _more_ to the generous soul. point iii. our hearts. "stir up our hearts, o lord, to prepare the ways of thy only-begotten son: that by his coming we may be worthy to serve thee with purified minds." (the "collect" for the nd sunday of advent). here lies the secret; if our _hearts_ are stirred up there will be little difficulty about our _wills_. if i _love_, i shall gladly make efforts, no trouble will be too much, no work too exacting, no sacrifice too great, no mortification too hard. "_if you love me, keep my commandments._" my will is to be stirred up to _seek_, but my heart is to be stirred up to _prepare_. it is my king who is coming, he who has a right to my heart, and he is quite sure to pass by my way, for to win my heart and make it all his own is one of the special reasons of his coming. no pains, no cost shall be spared in my preparation; my heart shall be decorated with the flowers that i know he loves and hung with banners which shall speak of my gratitude for all he has done. this is the preparation of the heart--the preparation of _love_; and it will not stop at my own heart, for if i really love my king i shall take an interest in all the work that he is coming to do; i shall try to prepare his way for him in the hearts of others; i shall let them know that jesus of nazareth is going to pass by. perhaps i shall have no opportunity of speaking about his visit, but the careful preparations i am making will not go unnoticed--each thing that i do out of love to him will in some way or another spread his kingdom in the hearts of men. _colloquy._ with my king who is coming. _resolution._ to do something _to-day_ in preparation. _spiritual bouquet._ "stir up!" st. john the baptist. ( ) his preparation. "this is he of whom it is written: behold i send my angel before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee." (st. matt. xi. ). _ st. prelude._ picture of the naming day of st. john the baptist who is on our lady's knee, while elizabeth and the kinsfolk are discussing the name and zachary is writing on a tablet; st. joseph is looking on. _ nd. prelude._ the spirit of penance. often during advent the church directs our thoughts to the great precursor of jesus christ, to him who was sent to prepare his ways. on four occasions she chooses for the "gospel" in the mass, passages which relate to st. john the baptist and his work of preparation. if we would prepare well for the coming of our king, we cannot do better than meditate on st. john the baptist and try in our small measure to prepare as he did. point i. the preparation before his birth. ( ) _a prophecy._ four hundred years before the precursor's birth, malachias prophesied of him: "behold i send my angel," that is my _messenger_; and our lord tells us expressly (his words are noted by three of the evangelists, st. matthew, st. mark and st. luke) that this messenger was john the baptist, who was sent by god to prepare the ways of the messias. ( ) _his miraculous conception_--for his parents were both "well advanced in years." both his father and mother were "just before god walking in all the commandments and justifications of the lord without blame;" and they had their cross to bear--the "reproach" of having no son and therefore no hope of the messias being born to them; but this did not prevent them from praying, as all fervent israelites prayed, for the coming of the messias. the answer to their prayer was nearer than they thought. one day as zachary was performing the most solemn part of his priestly office--offering incense on the golden altar that stood "over against the veil" which separated the holy place from the holy of holies--he saw an angel standing on the right side of the altar, who, after he had calmed his fear, told him that his prayer was heard, that the messias was coming, and that his wife elizabeth was to bear him a son who was to be his precursor, "he shall go before him." the angel then prophesied many things about this child, which all show how careful was god's preparation of his precursor: "thou shall call his name john" (the grace of god). only those who had an important future before them were named by god himself before their birth. "many shall rejoice in his nativity." many--both angels and men. "he shall be great before the lord." great in sanctity and great in office. he "shall drink no wine nor strong drink." he shall be a nazarite, one separated and consecrated to god by a vow. "he shall be filled with the holy ghost even from his mother's womb"--that is, he shall be cleansed from the stain of original sin and put into the state of grace before his birth as was jeremias (jer. i. ). "he shall convert many" by preaching penance and telling of him who takes away sin. "he shall go before him ... to prepare unto the lord a perfect people." zachary listened but he could not believe that what he heard was true, though gabriel, who stands before god, had been sent expressly to him with the message of good tidings. he asked for a sign and he received one which not only proved to him that god can do what he wills as he wills, but also that he expects his children to trust him. when at length zachary appeared from behind the curtain to the waiting and wondering people, instead of giving them the accustomed blessing (num. vi. , ), he made signs to them and remained dumb and they understood that he had seen a vision. god dealt severely with zachary because he was so closely bound up with the advent of the messias. he had to be taught, and we through him, that the least venial sin may hinder god's work and designs, and that if we would be his instruments used by him for the preparation of the coming of his son, we must be absolutely faithful about little things, full of confidence in god, setting no limit to his power and never doubting his dealings with us. ( ) _he was filled with the holy ghost._ six months later, elizabeth who had been waiting in solitude and silence for god to fulfil his designs, received a visit from the mother of god, and the precursor and the messias who was to come were brought into close contact. we cannot doubt that it was at that moment when, as elizabeth said "the infant in my womb leaped for joy," that john was "filled with the holy ghost." thus god cleansed his precursor before his birth from the stain of original sin, again showing us that those who are to prepare for the coming of his son must be distinguished by their purity. ( ) _by the holiness of his mother and his home._ his mother taught by the holy spirit was the first to recognize our lady as the mother of god; she was saluted by our lady and ministered to by her. she had the unspeakable privilege of having our lady with the blessed fruit of her womb jesus living under her roof for three months. a home where the mother of god was welcomed and honoured--such was the home god chose for the precursor of his son. point ii. the preparation after his birth. "there was a man sent from god, whose name was john. this man came to bear witness of the light, to prepare unto the lord a perfect people." (the "gradual" for the vigil of st. john the baptist). the feast of the nativity of st. john the baptist is a double of the first class with an octave, for mary and her son were present at his birth and he was "great before the lord." the eighth day was the day of circumcision and the naming day. everybody naturally was calling him zachary, but his mother who knew from her husband that the name was fixed, said: "not so, but he shall be called john." they would not have it and appealed by signs to the deaf and dumb father, who wrote: "john _is_ his name," for "he was so named of the angel before he was conceived." at that moment zachary's penance came to an end and "he _spoke_ blessing god." this fresh miracle was soon "noised abroad" and the people asked in fear: "what an one, think ye, shall this child be?" zachary, "filled with the holy ghost," used his loosed tongue to sing his beautiful hymn of praise to god who had remembered his holy testament, and had allowed "the _orient_ from on high" to visit them. and then addressing his little son, he said: "and thou child shalt be called the prophet of the highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the lord to prepare his ways." he began to "prepare his ways" by a life of hardship, solitude and penance, having no fixed home, living on what he could find in the deserts--locusts and wild honey, and wearing as a garment camels' hair with a leathern girdle. tradition tells us he began all this at a very early age and he continued it "until the day of his manifestation to israel," that is, until the day he left his solitude and began to preach--nearly thirty years later. he had thirty years' preparation for his life's work, like him whose way he was preparing, and he was preparing it no less as a solitary in the deserts than as the great preacher of penance by the jordan. what lessons can we learn for our own preparation for the coming of christ this advent? . that because we are going to be amongst those who in some way or other "prepare his ways," god has occupied himself with our preparation even before we were born. either by surrounding us with good, or by bringing good out of evil or by some of his many ways which are not our ways, he has had a hand in all that concerns us. we have first firmly to believe this, and secondly to co-operate with all god's designs for us, as john did. . that if we would prepare the ways of christ we must be familiar with his mother, accustomed to receiving her salutations and to returning them. that we must have her to live with us and take an interest in all that concerns us. who could better help us to prepare for the coming of her son than his own mother? . that we must be filled with the holy spirit and never turn him out of our hearts by sin. it would be useless to try to prepare the way for christ if we had not the co-operation of the holy spirit. . that penance in one form or another must have a share in our preparation for the coming of christ. all we know of john from the time of his infancy till he began his mission is that "he was in the deserts." it was not that he preferred such a life, but he felt that it was the one most suited to his own preparation for the messias, for during those long years in the deserts he was preparing the way of christ in his own heart; during his mission he prepared it in the hearts of others. solitude, fasting, lack of ease and comfort, coarse clothing--these were the allies which john chose to aid him in his preparation for the coming of the king, for his "kingdom is not of this world" and "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal" ( cor. x. ). he was consecrated to god, and he separated himself from everything that might interfere with his entire consecration. _colloquy._ ( ) with god the father who has chosen me to prepare the ways of his son. ( ) with him who is coming. ( ) with god the holy ghost who is co-operating with me. ( ) with our lady who is ready to let me do all my work by her side. (ecclus. xxiv. ). ( ) with st. john the baptist who will obtain for me, if i ask him, the spirit of penance. _resolution._ to examine myself to-day as to the place penance is having in my advent, and if it has none, to fix at least _one_ daily penitential act. _spiritual bouquet._ "he was in the deserts." st. john the baptist. ( ) his mission. "in those days cometh john the baptist preaching in the desert of judea.... preaching the baptism of penance unto remission of sins." (st. matt. iii. . and st. mark i. ). _ st. prelude._ john preaching and baptizing by the jordan. _ nd. prelude._ gratitude to the "friend of the bridegroom" for pointing him out to the bride. point i. the prophet. when john was about thirty years of age the "word of the lord" (st. luke iii. ) reached him in his solitude, just as it had done all the prophets of old from samuel down to malachias, but since then, that is for a period of four hundred years, god had spoken through no prophet. as a result of this "word" the "prophet of the highest" came into all the country about the jordan--a large area--and began his mission. his arrival made a great stir and the people flocked to see and hear him. there "went out to him jerusalem and all judea and all the country about jordan." all classes went--publicans, soldiers, even the pharisees and sadducees, for if this man were really a prophet sent from god, it behoved _them_ to know all about him. what did the multitudes see? a man wearing a "garment of camels' hair and a leathern girdle about his loins," whose food consisted of locusts and wild honey--a man as the angel gabriel had prophesied "in the spirit and power of elias" (see iv kings i. ). what did they hear? a voice of one crying in the desert: "prepare ye the way of the lord, make straight his paths." (st. matt. iii. ). and what were their conclusions? that this was he who was spoken of by isaias the prophet (verse ), that he was "sent from god" (st. john i. ) and that he "came for a witness, to give testimony of the light" (st. john i. ). what light? the "light of the world." john came to proclaim that the dawn which the world had been so long watching was on the point of giving place to day, that the "sun of justice" was even now rising with "health in his wings" for those that feared god's name, and that they must go forth to meet him (mal. iv. ). i too must go forth. what am i going to do to-day which will prove to myself, to my guardian angel, to my patron saint, to mary my mother and to him who is coming that i am preparing the way of the lord? point ii. his preaching. john came "preaching the baptism of penance for the remission of sins" (st. luke iii. ). his voice was like that of a herald proclaiming a great event that was close at hand. "do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (st. matt. iii. ). the messias is coming to set up his kingdom. he whom you have so long expected is close to you, prepare for him. then john told them shortly and explicitly how to prepare: ( ) "to believe in him who was to come" (acts xix. ). ( ) to repent of their sins and bring forth fruits worthy of penance such as fasting and self-denial (st. mark ii. ). ( ) to confess their sins (st. mark i. ). ( ) to be baptized as a sign of hope that their sins had been forgiven. john's baptism could not wash away sin, for it was no sacrament, st. paul, as well as st. mark and st. luke, called it the "baptism of penance" (acts xix. ). it was a baptism which proclaimed to all that he who submitted to it acknowledged himself to be a sinner and a penitent. john the baptist was greatly in earnest, for the time was short; he spoke very plainly to those whom he noticed coming to be baptized out of curiosity or human respect without any repentance or intention of doing penance. he warned them of the wrath of god which would fall upon sinners who persisted in their sin, of the folly of thinking that all was well with them because they had abraham for their father; he told them that every tree which did not yield good fruit would be cut down and cast into the fire, that he who was coming and was even now so nigh would divide all people into two classes--the wheat and the chaff, and that the great winnowing fan was already in his hand. the people then began to feel uncomfortable and alarmed, and anxious to make sure that they were not going to be blown away as chaff, or burnt "with unquenchable fires" by the mighty one who was coming; and different classes began to ask john what they must do. his answers were singularly appropriate and confirmed the opinion that he was indeed a prophet. to the people generally he counselled charity, kindness and brotherly love as the best possible preparation; to the public tax-collectors, who grew rich on the sums that they demanded in excess of the fixed tax, that they should do nothing more than that which was appointed; to the soldiers, that they should avoid violence and calumny and be content with their pay (st. luke iii. - ). he showed clearly by his straight and simple answers that the best way for us to prepare for him who is coming, is to look into our daily life and occupations and change anything and everything that we know he would find faulty. point iii. his baptism. one after another the people made up their minds to change their evil lives and bad habits. they made their good resolutions and as a proof of their sorrow for the past and firm purpose of amendment for the future, they went into the jordan confessing their sins, and john baptized them. he told them then that he who was coming was mightier than himself, and that he would baptize them with the holy ghost and fire. "then cometh jesus from galilee to the jordan unto john to be baptized by him!" where had he come from? straight from his home, from nazareth, from his mother. he had come to fulfil john's prophecy, to begin his public ministry to the people, and he would begin it by identifying himself with them. they were sinners, coming to confess their sins and he would be numbered with the transgressors (isaias iii. ). "but john stayed him, saying: i ought to be baptized by thee, and comest thou to me?" (st. matt. iii. ). though they were cousins it is probable that they had not met since their early childhood. one had lived in the seclusion of nazareth and the other in the seclusion of the desert. "i knew him not," (st. john i. , ) john said. it was probably the fact of someone coming for the baptism of penance who had no sins to confess that made john suspect and then protest; but he could not resist the gentle, authoritative words: "suffer it to be so now, for so it becometh us to fulfil all justice." then when he had gone out of the water john saw a wonderful sight--he described it himself: "i saw the spirit coming down as a dove from heaven and he remained upon him; and i knew him not, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me: he upon whom thou shalt see the spirit descending and remaining upon him, he it is that baptizeth with the holy ghost. and i saw; and i gave testimony, that this is the son of god." (st. john i. - ). he knew him now--there was no longer any doubt, no more time of waiting and preparation, he who should come had come. god himself pointed him out to the faithful precursor--a voice from heaven said: "this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased" (st. matt. iii. ). what a reward for john after his life of solitude and penance and mortification--to be in close contact with the son of god, to see the holy spirit in the form of a dove, and to hear the voice of god the father, and thus have the seal set to his mission! "and i saw; and i gave testimony." and what have the waters of jordan to say? that he, over whose sacred head they closed, has, by the contact of his precious body, sanctified them and all other waters and given them power, when they are in contact with his mystical body to wash away sin. jesus went down to john in the jordan not to _receive_ a gift, but to _impart_ one. from henceforth the waters will bring forth abundantly and god will say of his new creation, as he did in the beginning, that it is good. all three persons of the blessed trinity were present at this new creation, the holy spirit brooded over the face of the waters for this new baptism was the baptism of the holy ghost, the voice of the lord was upon the waters (ps. xxviii. ), the voice, that is, of the father proclaiming that he was well pleased, not only with his "beloved son" but with this first act of his public ministry; for in him he saw a countless multitude coming out of the sanctified water, and of each one he will say: "_this_ is my beloved son, in whom i am well pleased." "o almighty eternal god, preside over the mysteries of thy great mercy, preside over thy sacraments and send forth the spirit of adoption to regenerate the new people, whom the font of baptism brings forth to thee" (prayer for the blessing of the font on holy saturday). _colloquy._ "grant we beseech thee, almighty god, that thy servants may walk in the way of salvation; and by following the exhortation of blessed john the precursor may securely attain the possession of him whom he foretold, our lord jesus christ." (collect for the vigil of st. john the baptist). _resolution._ to "prepare his ways" to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "blessed john the baptist ... pray to the lord our god for us." st. john the baptist. ( ) his testimony. "this man came for a witness to give witness of the light, that all men might believe through him." (st. john i. ). _ st. prelude._ "john stood and two of his disciples and beholding jesus walking, he saith: behold the lamb of god." (verses , ). _ nd. prelude._ grace so to hear his testimony that we follow jesus. point i. "that he may be made manifest therefore am i come" (verse ). this was all john wanted, all he cared about, it was his vocation, it was the point of his long years of mortification, the reason for his preaching and baptism; he was a man of one idea--the christ is coming, i must manifest him to the people. this man came for a witness to give testimony of the light (verse ). when the people wondering asked him: art thou the christ? art thou elias? art thou the prophet? his answer was: no, i am only a voice proclaiming his coming. i, he? oh, no, i am not worthy to be his slave. he is the light, the light of the whole world. "i saw the spirit coming down as a dove from heaven and he remained upon him.... and i saw; and i gave testimony that this is the _son of god_" (verses - ). let me look at my preparation for his coming this advent and see whether i am in any way following in the footsteps of the great precursor. can i be said to be a person of one idea--that of manifesting my lord to others? when people want to make much of me and my work and ask who i am, is my one thought to turn their eyes from me to him who is coming? am i really persuaded that i am only here to make him manifest? _is_ he being made manifest to others through me? do those with whom i come in contact leave me, with a greater knowledge of him, with a greater desire for his coming, with more anxiety about the salvation of their souls and with more zeal for that of others? do my words and deeds, does my very manner, speak to them of him and make them think of him? "art thou the christ?" in one sense, yes, for i am or ought to be another christ (_alter christus_), living his life, doing his work and representing him in the world. point ii. "behold the lamb of god." this is he, behold him! he is the lamb of god. he it is to whom all the lambs that have been sacrificed point; their blood could not wash away sin, but "behold him who taketh away the sin of the world." you are sorry for your sins, you have confessed them and i have baptized you as a sign that they are forgiven, now there is one among you who takes them away. behold the lamb of god! this was what john said when he saw jesus the day after his baptism; he said the same thing the next day when he saw him walking by the jordan; two of his disciples were with him, andrew and john (probably), and when they saw their master pointing to jesus and saying: "behold the lamb of god!" they did what john meant them to do, they left their master and followed _him_. how well had the faithful precursor prepared the way in their hearts! how thoroughly he had done his work! how absolutely he had effaced himself! there was no doubt, no hesitation in the minds of his disciples, no wondering whether john would mind; "_they followed_ jesus," and john had the joy of seeing jesus turn and speak to them: "what seek you?" and then the joy of hearing them call _him_ master. "master, where dwellest thou?" "come and see." then the friend of the bridegroom saw the three going away together, and he knew that his mission had not been in vain, the bride was beginning to join the bridegroom. point iii. "he that hath the bride is the bridegroom." it was not for nothing that andrew and john spent that day with jesus. they told others what they had found: "we have found the messias, which is being interpreted the christ," and they brought their companions one by one to jesus, with the result that very soon the baptism of the holy ghost was taking place in the jordan as well as the baptism of penance, and the people instructed by john left the less for the greater. there were "busybodies," as st. paul calls them ( tim. v. ), even in those days, people who could not let others alone, who could not understand the situation or pretended that they could not; they "came to john and said to him: rabbi, he that was with thee beyond the jordan, to whom thou gavest testimony, behold he baptizeth and all men come to _him_" (st. john iii. ). they were words calculated to stir up jealousy and ill-feeling; but john was too humble and too great to be disturbed by them, his answer was characteristic: "you yourselves do bear me witness, that i said that i am not christ, but that i am sent before him. he that hath the bride is the bridegroom." there is the proof that all i have been telling you is true. he has the bride, the people all go to him, you see for yourselves that he _must_ be the bridegroom; "but the friend of the bridegroom, who standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth with joy because of the bridegroom's voice. this my joy therefore is fulfilled." it was enough for "the friend of the bridegroom" to hear his master's voice. the necessity for him and his preaching was fast passing away and he knew it. he had been for a time the great man, the popular preacher, the one every one talked about, whose advice everyone sought, now he must stand aside and see his disciples gather round another master, himself not in the group at all. it is a position most workers in god's vineyard find themselves in sooner or later, they have to give place to others, to watch others reaping the fruit of their labours, to see those whom they have taught going to other teachers, those who have sought their advice seeking it elsewhere. how do they bear this difficult situation? how am i going to bear it when my turn comes? am i going to pose as a martyr, craving for and expecting every one's sympathy? am i going to put difficulties in the way of those who succeed me, and make it hard for those to whom it has been my privilege to minister? some are even jealous and show their displeasure by criticizing those who succeed them! what was john's attitude? all he wanted was his master and his will. he was the "friend of the bridegroom." he was satisfied to stand on one side, and his cup of joy was full when he heard his master's voice. "he must increase" in the minds of the people "and i must decrease." let me learn a lesson from john the baptist and make my sacrifice beforehand, remembering that nothing matters so long as i am the friend of the bridegroom, can hear his voice and see the souls i have tried to help following him. these are joys, real joys, and they are perhaps never fully realized till the cool shade of the background is reached. point iv. john's testimony of himself. . i am sent before him (st. john iii. ). . i am the voice (chap. i. ). . i baptize with water (verses , ). . i am not worthy (verse ). . i am come that he may be made manifest (verse ). . i ought to be baptized by thee (st. matt. iii. ). . i knew him not. (st. john i. ). . i saw the spirit coming down ... and he remained upon him (verse ). . i saw (verse ); (that is, i understood). . i gave testimony that this is the son of god. (ibid.) . i am not the christ (verse ). . i must decrease (chap. iii. ). _colloquy_ with st. john the baptist. _resolution._ to bear my testimony. _spiritual bouquet._ "behold the lamb of god!" st. john the baptist. ( ) his martyrdom. "herod the tetrarch, when he was reproved by him for herodias, his brother's wife, and for all the evils which herod had done, he added this also above all, and shut up john in prison." (st. luke iii. , ). _ st. prelude._ john the baptist in prison. _ nd. prelude._ grace to be faithful unto death. point i. john in prison. john knew no fear where right was concerned. his duty was to make the paths straight for him who was coming and it mattered little to him whether he rebuked the pharisees and sadducees at the jordan or herod in his palace. herod, however, could not brook such plain speaking and he had (at first) a mind to put him to death (but) "he feared the people, because they esteemed him as a prophet" (st. matt. xiv. ). herodias also had "laid snares for him and was desirous to put him to death and could not" because of herod who knowing that john was "a just and holy man" (afterwards) protected his life (st. mark vi. , ). so john was shut up in prison; josephus tells us that it was at a place called machaerus on the east of the dead sea where herod had a castle. let us go and visit john in that lonely prison, where he was cast quite at the beginning of christ's ministry. his long years of preparation in the desert, his fearless, outspoken preaching, his generosity and humility in giving place to his master, his important office of forerunner of the messias, his vision of the blessed trinity--are they all to end thus? is this how god treats his friends? is this the reward for fidelity and loyalty? yes, st. john would be the first to answer, these are ever god's ways, "he must increase, i must decrease." john had indeed been specially favoured and he was specially favoured in prison too. it is not everybody whom god can trust with a trial such as this. john was still preparing the ways of the lord, no longer by an active life, but by a life of suffering, solitude and privation. his patience and his perfect submission to god's will no doubt prepared the ways of christ in the hearts of many. if he is to increase, i _must_ decrease, it is only natural. yes, it is natural for the saints to reason like this, but what about me? i want to be a saint. i often perhaps ask god to make me one, perhaps i even tell him to use any means he likes, not to spare me. does not this solve many a problem? god is only taking me at my word; the beginning, the middle and the end of the process of saint-making is _humility_. "i must decrease," and if i ask to be a saint, he will give me the humiliations and the sufferings which alone can teach me humility and unite me to himself. what then does it matter, if i have to suffer physically or morally, if a career of usefulness in his service is suddenly cut short, if i have to stand on one side and see the work i love and for which my whole life has been a preparation, being done by another, if those i have taught do not seem to understand, if my life is full of little things i dislike and which seem made to annoy me--all these and everything else that can possibly happen to me are the direct result of my god-given wish to be a saint. let me ask st. john the baptist for courage to continue my prayer this advent and to accept joyfully for him who is coming all that it entails, saying, to myself when something seems to happen on purpose to annoy me: "this is to help to make me a saint," and then seeing to it that it does. point ii. the end. vengeance still rankled in the breast of herodias for john had said to herod: "it is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife." she laid her plans and awaited her opportunity; it came on herod's birthday; he gave a supper for the princes and tribunes and chief men of galilee, and she made her daughter come in and dance till they were all so pleased that herod swore to the girl: "whatsoever thou shalt ask i will give thee, though it be the half of my kingdom." herodias knew herod and expecting that this would happen had told her daughter to do nothing without consulting her. "what shall i ask?" she said to her mother, who replied without any hesitation: "the head of john the baptist." herodias was evidently afraid that the king would change his mind and that her wicked plans would after all fail, for she impressed upon her daughter the necessity of haste. the girl went back _immediately, with haste_ to herod, and said: "i will that _forthwith_ thou give me in a dish the head of john the baptist." herod was very sorry, for he was interested in his prisoner, also he knew him to be "a just and holy man" (st. mark vi. ) and he hesitated before such a crime; but he had taken an oath and to break it before his guests would be inconsistent with his dignity, besides "he would not displease" the girl, so he acted at once as herodias had bidden him: "he sent and beheaded john in the prison, and his head was brought in a dish, and it was given to the damsel, and she brought it to her mother." "faithful unto death."--"o lord, thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones" ("communion" for the feast of the beheading of st. john the baptist, august th). "and his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and came and told jesus," told the bridegroom that his "friend" was dead. "which when jesus had heard, he retired from thence by a boat, into a desert place apart." "faithful unto death," i must be too, if my preparation this advent is to be anything like that of st. john the baptist. he died to self long before his cruel death in the prison; his whole life from the day he went into the desert as a little child was a living death: "as dying and behold we live" ( cor. vi. ). this is how st. paul describes the state of all those who "_will_ live godly in christ jesus" ( tim. iii. ). it is the death of "the old man," the death of self; the "i" must ever be decreasing, ever receiving the blows which will one day, probably not before the soul's last day on earth, cause its death. such is the prospect i have before me, if i would copy john the baptist and be faithful unto death. what is my consolation and strength? that jesus knows and sympathizes. not one of the blows which cost me so much, not one of the sufferings, not one hour of desolation or loneliness or temptation or misunderstanding or unkindness, or any of the many things which are conspiring together for the death of "the old man," are lost upon him. he knows, he cares, he sympathizes and he is glad, for in proportion as the "i" is decreasing, _he_ is increasing in my soul. _colloquy_ ( ) with john in the prison. ( ) with jesus in "a desert place apart." _resolution._ to be "faithful unto death" to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "i spoke of thy testimonies before kings and i was not ashamed" ("introit" for the feast of the beheading of st. john the baptist). st. john the baptist. ( ) his character. "what went you out into the desert to see? a reed shaken with the wind? but what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garments? behold they that are in costly apparel and live delicately, are in the houses of kings. but what went you out to see? a prophet? yea, i say to you, and more than a prophet, for ... among those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than john the baptist. but he that is the lesser in the kingdom of god, is greater than he." (st. luke vii. - ). _ st. prelude._ jesus talking to his disciples about john. _ nd. prelude._ grace to stand by and listen and learn. point i. his humility. one day when john was in prison his disciples came and told him that they had heard that jesus was working a great many miracles and that his fame was spreading all through the country. at capharnaum he had healed a centurion's servant, and at naim he had raised a widow's son to life; and the people were all glorifying god and saying: "a great prophet is risen up among us, and god hath visited his people" (st. luke vii). this news sounded like music in john's ears; it was just what he wanted; it was a proof that his life's work had not been in vain: "he _must_ increase." the disciples however who brought the news did not take at all the same view of the case. they were not pleased that another should take the place of their master while he languished in prison. john knew that had they been quite sure that jesus was the messias, such thoughts could have had no place in their minds, and so to strengthen their faith he sent two of them to jesus with the question: "art thou he that art to come or look we for another?" hoping no doubt that they might see some miracles for themselves, or at any rate that personal contact with jesus would clear away their doubts. see the beautiful humility of john's character, there is no thought for himself; he is only anxious still to point out the lamb of god and to remove all obstacles from his path in the hearts of all; he is still the voice crying with no uncertain sound. it happened (not by chance) that just when the two disciples arrived many miracles were being worked by jesus, and in answer to their question, which they were probably now rather ashamed to put, he said: "go and relate to john what you have heard and seen;" and he added: "blessed is he whosoever shall not be scandalized in me." surely after that the disciples could never again stumble in their faith, and it must have been with joy in their hearts that they told their master of all they had seen and heard. point ii. christ's testimony of john. when the messengers had gone, jesus began to talk to the people about his faithful precursor, whom they all knew so well. "what went you out in the desert to see?" he asked them. was it "a reed shaken with the wind?" was it "a man clothed in soft garments" and living delicately? was it "a prophet?" on another occasion he spoke of him as "a burning and a shining light" (st. john v. ). what praise this was on the lips of the master! the four points he picked out are characteristics that he appreciates not only in john but in all who are preparing for his coming. let us see where we stand with regard to them. . _a determination of purpose._ "what went you out into the desert to see? a reed shaken with the wind?" no, but a man of one idea, and who pursued that idea through all difficulties and opposition and failure, not counting the cost. i want to copy john the baptist. i want to prepare the way of the lord in my heart, how shall i do it? not by allowing myself to be a reed shaken with the wind, trying very hard for a day or two and then giving all up and saying it is no use; not by making good resolutions and then quietly dropping them because they have been broken. no, but by a steady, determined effort, in spite of many failures, to overcome in myself everything which i know will be a hindrance to my king pursuing his way in my soul. he is never disappointed by my failures; these are more than made up for directly i tell him that i am sorry. what pains his loving heart is cessation of effort, giving up the fight, running away from the enemy instead of standing up to be knocked down again, if my captain thus wills to give me another opportunity of meriting, and of practicing humility. saints are not made by victories all along the line, but by repeated failures humbly and patiently accepted, with a firm determination that each failure shall be the _last_. but what is the use when i know i shall fail again? i do not know; i need not fall, it is my own fault if i do. to do less than have a firm determination about the future, would be to lay down my arms. every effort made for god leaves me holier, and as long as i keep on trying i am making progress in the spiritual life, though i cannot see it. . _self-sacrifice._ "but what went you out to see? a man clothed in soft garments? behold they that are in costly apparel and live delicately are in the houses of kings." john prepared for the coming of his king by a life of self-sacrifice, every day giving up for the sake of him who was coming all the things that were just as dear to his nature as they are to mine. what part is self-sacrifice taking in my preparation for my king this advent? i have no need to go into the desert or live the life of a hermit. it is the little tiny acts of self-sacrifice known only to my king and me which are so pleasing to him. it is wonderful what notice he takes of little things which are done out of love to him. if we could promise him a certain number of these little acts every day--perhaps six or ten, or even _one_--and mark them down to ensure their being remembered, it would be a preparation very precious in his sight. to do a hard thing just because it is hard, to keep silent when i could say something sarcastic or clever but not quite charitable, to bear little physical sufferings without letting everybody know about them, to be cheerful and bright when i am feeling tired and moody, to accept all that happens to me as coming straight from god's hands, especially all the little crosses that come to me through others--these are the things that will make me a saint and i cannot keep advent or any other season better than by practicing them. nothing is too small for my king to notice. let me then be generous and give him all i can, remembering that as long as the little act _costs_ me something, it is sure to be acceptable to him; "he must increase, i must decrease," and it is by self-sacrifice that this great work will slowly but surely be accomplished in my soul. . _fidelity to duty._ "but what went you out to see? a prophet? yea, i say to you, and more than a prophet for ... amongst those that are born of women, there is not a greater prophet than john the baptist. but he that is the lesser in the kingdom of god is greater than he." john was more than a prophet, because he not only prophesied of christ as so many other prophets had done, but he was the last of the prophets, the immediate forerunner of the messias. no office could be greater than this and no one else ever held it, it was unique and made john "more than a prophet." nevertheless, our lord said: "he that is the lesser in the kingdom of god is greater than he"--_lesser_ in holiness and in office, but _greater_ in dignity and privilege, because he is a member of the holy catholic church and a partaker of her sacraments. thanksgiving that i am a member of the holy catholic church should often find a place in my heart, and especially during advent when the church begins again to spread out before me all the treasures of her liturgy and when my thoughts and meditations are centred round him who is coming to be incarnate for that church, to die for it, to make a plan which will enable him to be with it "all days, even to the consummation of the world" (st. matt. xxviii. ), and finally to judge it that he may "present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish." (eph. v. ). if my privileges are greater than those of st. john the baptist, my responsibilities are greater also. as i think how faithfully he fulfilled one of the greatest offices ever entrusted to man, let me remember that i too have a special office given me to fulfil, and it is no less important for me to fulfil it faithfully, than it was for st. john. it may be that my office is a very lowly one, that i have only one talent, but jesus is taking notice how i am trading with it. what have his messengers to say when he asks: "what went you out to see?" let the season of advent inspire me to be up and doing--faithful in that which is least, living as one who has to give an account of each talent, each occasion of merit, each opportunity of influencing another, each inspiration of grace. . _light giving._ "he was a burning and a shining light." this was the secret of john's greatness, of his humility, of his courage, of his zeal. his heart so burned with love for god and zeal for his service that it shone out on all with whom he came in contact. let me make one last examen on myself here. do i feel sometimes that my influence on others is very small, that my light seems to be hidden under a bushel, that try as i will, i cannot make any impression? may it not be that i am thinking too much about the shining of the light and too little about the burning? the candle must _burn_ before it can _shine_. if my heart is in constant touch with the sacred heart of jesus it will burn with his love and zeal, and the shining will follow as a matter of course, i need not trouble about it; but if i allow anything to separate my heart from his, even ever so little, the fire in my heart will die down; there may be a little glow left, unless i leave it too long, but there is not enough to "shine before men." "what went you out to see?" what answer would those with whom i live, those who know me best, have to give? _colloquy_ with jesus and st. john the baptist. _resolution._ to win the approval of jesus to-day by the way in which i prepare for his coming. _spiritual bouquet._ "what went you out to see?" "incarnatus est" regem venturum dominum venite adoremus. [come let us adore the king our lord who is to come.] _ st. prelude._ picture of the annunciation. _ nd. prelude._ grace to understand the mystery of the incarnation. point i. venite adoremus. "come let us adore the king our lord who is to come." these are the opening words of the invitatory which the church uses every day at matins during the first fortnight of advent. let us turn then from the precursor, who has taught us so many lessons, to jesus christ himself. what is he doing during these months of waiting before christmas? he, too, is preparing, preparing for the work for which he has already come into the world, although he is not yet manifest. john the baptist has pointed him out to me: "behold the lamb of god!" now i will do what his disciples did--leave "the friend of the bridegroom" for the bridegroom himself. he has become incarnate for me; it behoves me then to keep as close to him as possible, to love him with all my heart and to copy him as far as i can. he is god and therefore there can be nothing imperfect about him; from the first moment of the word being made flesh in the womb of his mother till "she brought forth her first-born son" on christmas day, his faculties, his reason, his intelligence, his sensibilities were all in a state of perfection; he knew the past, the present, and the future; and he, the source of grace, was pouring forth grace on all around him. directly we understand this, we feel that we must draw near, not only to adore but to sympathize, to wonder, to love, to learn, to imitate. for those who understand the incarnation, his work did not begin on christmas day, but on the feast of the annunciation, when mary said: "behold the handmaid of the lord, be it done unto me according to thy word." what happened at that moment? the holy ghost overshadowed her, the body of our lord was formed from her pure blood, god created the human soul to dwell in it, and by the act of the incarnation that soul and body became the soul and body of the word, the second person of the blessed trinity; mary became the mother of god and gabriel worshipped before the tabernacle of the word made flesh. mary was the next to adore; joseph, elizabeth, john, zachary followed, and there may have been other privileged ones to whom our lord himself revealed his secret; but the world at large went on as usual--it "knew him not." the same thing happens every day in our midst. when the priest with his god hidden on his breast passes on his way to give the bread of life to some sufferer, only a few privileged ones know the secret and offer their silent adoration. _venite adoremus._ point ii. divine adoration. it was a _new life_ that our lord entered upon at the moment of the incarnation. he had had his divine life from all eternity, but god had never before been man. he now for the first time could express himself through a human body. god could adore with human lips, could love with a human heart, could suffer through human senses, could plan with a human intelligence, could reason with a human mind. the consequence of the union of the two natures was that the human nature was perfect, more than perfect--it was divine, and god received at the moment of the incarnation, the first perfect human act of adoration, the first perfect human act of love, of humility and of all the other virtues. the god-man could adore perfectly, because being god he knew god and knew what adoration was fitting for god; it was god adoring god and yet it was a human act, the act of a man like ourselves. at that moment god received what he wanted from one of the human race. the first breath drawn by his son incarnate made it worth his while to have created man in spite of the fall. he received not only reparation but all he expected from the human race when he first created it. he was satisfied, and would have been satisfied even if that first moment had also been his last on earth. the incarnation would have done its work, the justice of god could have required no more--a human will was perfectly submissive to his will, a human heart beat in unison with his, a human creature offered itself as a victim for the race: "behold, i come to do thy will, o my god," i have desired it. (ps. xxxix. , ). god received at the moment of the incarnation a higher act of worship than he had ever received from all the nine choirs of angels, and that act was a _human_ act. did the angels who fell understand this and was this the cause of their rebellion? it is true that this first moment of the incarnation would have more than satisfied god, but it was not enough for the god-made-man. he would go on, on even to the death of the cross, not to satisfy his father's justice, but his own love, and to show to those whom by his incarnation he had made his brethren to what lengths love can go. every breath he drew was as perfect as the first--a perfect offering, a perfect act of adoration; every beat of his heart until he said: "father, into thy hands i commend my spirit," was a perfect act of love; every act, every thought, every word perfect, because they were the acts, thoughts and words of _god_. point iii. the practical conclusion. what have i to do with these sublime truths? everything, for he was incarnate _for me_. what does it mean? it means that he is my brother and that he is giving to god what god must have, but what i cannot give him; and that all i have to do is to unite myself to him and to offer my imperfect acts of adoration, love, humility with his perfect ones. he has given himself to me, that i may give him back to god--a perfect offering with which god will be entirely satisfied. my god, i cannot adore thee as i should, though i desire to do so with my whole heart, but jesus is there incarnate for me, he is adoring thee perfectly for me, accept his adoration and mine with it. my god, i love thee, but i cannot love thee enough, i cannot love thee as i ought, i cannot love thee as thou deservest to be loved, but jesus is incarnate for me, he has a human heart which is loving thee _perfectly_; i put my heart inside his, accept his love and mine with it. my god, i want to be perfectly submissive, perfectly humble, a perfect victim, but great though my desires are, i cannot arrive at the perfection which thou dost require. oh, look upon my brother incarnate for me, accept all his perfections; let me offer my little struggles and desires and efforts with all that he is doing, for is it not all for me? "_through_ him and _with_ him and _in_ him." let me go to nazareth to mary; she will welcome me for she knows that he has become incarnate _for me_. the angel has just left her to take back her _fiat_ to heaven. i will take his place and on bended knees before that holy shrine where the new life has just begun, i will meditate. never before perhaps have i so felt the need of thanksgiving, of adoration, of wonder, of love. all i offer now and from henceforth must pass through mary to her son, who will offer my gifts with his own to his father. _colloquy_ with god-incarnate. _resolution._ to thank god often to-day for the incarnation. _spiritual bouquet._ "he was incarnate by the holy ghost of the virgin mary and was made man." "ex maria virgine" "apud me est fons vitae." [in me is the source of life.] _ st. prelude._ mary, just after the angel had departed from her. _ nd. prelude._ grace to understand mary's part in the incarnation. point i. mary shares all with her son. all the joy that the incarnation brought to the blessed trinity, mary to a great extent must have shared. there was the joy of god the father, because he saw his designs in creating man fulfilled, his justice satisfied and a human creature doing him perfect homage and bringing him so much glory. there was the joy of god the son, because at last he was united to our human nature, because he being god had nevertheless a human soul and a human body, to which he could unite all the divine perfections, and by means of which he could carry out all his father's designs for the lost human race. there was the joy of the holy spirit who had overshadowed mary and by his divine power created in her a soul and a body so beautiful that they were worthy to be taken by the eternal word and for ever united to the divinity. the holy ghost saw now a human soul into which he could pour _all_ the grace that would be needed by the whole human race. of his fulness all were to receive (st. john i. ). and what was the means whereby all this joy was given to the blessed trinity? the body which had been formed from the most pure flesh and blood of mary. she had lent herself at god's request to be the instrument used, and now she was the tabernacle where the god-man lay hidden. as he shared his life with his mother, since it was her blood which was coursing through his veins, so he shared all his acts with her. that first perfect act of adoration made by a human soul to god was shared by mary--she adored too. that first whole-hearted oblation of a human soul to god was shared by mary when she said her: "_fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum_." that first perfect act of love from a human heart was shared by mary for how close was the union between the sacred heart of jesus and the most pure heart of mary! when jesus made acts of reparation of humility, of conformity to his father's will, mary made them too--she could not but do so, for her life was so closely bound up with that of her son; he became the mainspring of all she did. it was the charity and humility in _his_ heart that made her go to visit her cousin elizabeth and make herself her handmaid; it was _his_ salutation that made hers so powerful with regard both to elizabeth and to the infant john; it was the thanksgiving in _his_ heart which overflowed into hers and made her sing her _magnificat_. that mary spent the nine months in adoration we may well believe, but she spent them also in union with her son, sharing all with him and giving us a perfect model of the interior life--which means not only that god shares in the acts of the soul, but also that the soul shares in the acts of god, emmanuel--god with us--in order that we may be "with the king for _his_ works" ( paralip. iv. ). point ii. mary my example. he was incarnate for me, and his mother is my mother; it is to her that i must look now to teach me how to spend these days before his birth. teach me, my mother, to follow the great example which you set. teach me, too, to rejoice in the wonders of the incarnation. who should be more filled with joy than i for whom he was incarnate? teach me what the interior life means, teach me to allow him to be the mainspring within me of all i do, so that the life which i live is not mine but his, the words which i speak not mine but his,--jesus acting, thinking, speaking through me. this is the interior life which mary understood so well and lived so perfectly during her time of waiting. there is, however, another side to the interior life, and this is the one we want to meditate about more especially, while we are thinking of the son of god incarnate in the womb of the blessed virgin. he has taken human nature, my nature, and joined it to the godhead. he has made himself a partaker of my human nature in order that i may be a partaker of his divine nature. i must not only think, then, of his working in and through me, but of my working in and through him. mary entered into and shared not only his acts of adoration and love and praise, but also the work he had come to do, his plans for the redemption of the world. "they dwelt with the king for his works, and they abode there" ( paral. iv. ). how true this was of mary! it is in this that i must try to copy her. "i will abide in the tabernacle of the most high," and i will offer myself for _his works_, his interests shall be mine, he shall feel that _one_ soul at least, sympathizes and cares and intends to co-operate in the great work he has come to do. let me, then, as the season of advent is fast passing, ask myself once again: am i doing all i can for the spread of the kingdom which he came to this earth to set up? am i trying to look at the world with the eyes of love with which he regarded it, when he first made himself incarnate for it? am i helping his poor, tending his sick, instructing his ignorant, bringing home his sheep, loving his little ones, comforting his sorrowful ones? such are "his works," and if i would do them, i must dwell with the king and learn to do them in his way--i must live an interior life. point iii. all passes through mary. it is only those who do not understand the incarnation who stumble over this statement. what could be more natural? if he chose to redeem the world through mary, to do all his great works which depend on the incarnation--such as the foundation of the church with all her sacraments--through mary, is it strange that when i want to help the king in his works, i should do the same and put my little gifts for the king into her hands? rather would it be strange if i wanted to work on a different plan from my king's. she is the _janua coeli_, _the turris davidica_, _the sacrarium spiritus sancti_; the tabernacle where he was incarnate for me. through her and by means of her, he hands me all the graces i receive. what more natural than that i should make use of such a messenger to take back my offerings? and do they lose in the transaction? surely they must gain, first because she will purify them and add to them her own merits and graces, and secondly because a gift presented by his own mother cannot but be enhanced in value. blessed grignon de montfort says: "god has chosen her for the treasurer, steward and dispenser of all his graces, so that all his graces and all his gifts pass through her hands; and according to the power she has received over them, as st. bernardine teaches, she gives to whom she wills, as she likes, and as much as she likes, the graces of the eternal father, the virtues of jesus christ and the gifts of the holy ghost." we may, if we like, "do all our actions with mary, in mary, by mary, for mary, in order to do them more perfectly with jesus, in jesus, by jesus, and for jesus, our last end."[ ] if i am a child of mary in anything more than in name, i shall not hesitate to use this great privilege which is offered to me, knowing that by so doing, not only will the value of my prayers and penances and actions be enhanced in god's sight, but my merits and graces will be increased. mary will see to it that her children who thus trust her have a benjamin's portion. _colloquy_ with mary, asking her to obtain for me during this waiting time the grace to trust her with all my secrets for her son. _resolution._ to dwell "with the king for his works" to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ janua coeli, ora pro nobis. "the lord is nigh" "brethren, rejoice in the lord always; again, i say rejoice. let your modesty be known to all men. the lord is nigh. be nothing solicitous; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to god. and the peace of god which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in christ jesus." (phil. iv. - ). (the "epistle" for the third sunday of advent). _ st. prelude._ before the tabernacle. _ nd. prelude._ grace to remember the presence of god. the lord is nigh because by his grace he is within us, because by his omnipresence he is "not far from every one of us" (acts xvii. ), because in the blessed sacrament he is with us "all days, even to the consummation of the world" (st. matt. xxviii. ) and because it may be _to-day_ that he will come in judgment. in consequence of this nearness of our god to us, from whatever point of view we regard it, st. paul tells us that there are certain practices which are incumbent upon us. point i. "rejoice in the lord always." to rejoice _always_--this is my duty, because the lord is nigh. when joy is absent from me, it is because faith in his nearness is absent. when clouds hide the sun of justice, and i am disposed to be sad and despondent, let me make an act of faith in his presence: my god, i know that thou art within my soul, because i have reason to believe that i am in the state of grace. my jesus, i believe that thou art there in the tabernacle. my god, i believe that thou art truly present behind every person and every circumstance and every trial. my jesus, i believe that it may be to-day that thou wilt summon me to stand before thee as my judge.... i shall find that acts of faith, such as these, will help to dispel the despondency and send me on my way rejoicing. how can i do anything but rejoice when i think of the divine inhabitation? can i be sad when i realize the presence of jesus in the blessed sacrament of the altar and all that means to me? can i allow circumstances and trials to depress and crush me when i know with what infinite love and care they have been arranged for me by him who hides _himself_ in each one of them? and if the thought that the lord is nigh in judgment can hardly in itself be a thought that brings joy, yet, when i know how much value he sets on joy, i should like him to find me rejoicing when he pays that always unexpected visit to my soul. the lord is nigh, therefore _rejoice_. to rejoice _in the lord_ is always possible, it only means a realization of the supernatural, and as soon as that is realized, everything is seen in a different light. "in thy light we shall see light" (ps. xxxv. ), and "at thy right hand are delights even to the end" (ps. xv. ). it is just because the lord is nigh that i cannot but rejoice, and it is only when i forget his presence that the clouds have the power to chill and depress me and rob me of my joy. st. paul is afraid that i _may_ forget, and so he adds: "_again_ i say: rejoice." point ii. "let your modesty be known to all men." the greek word which is translated "modesty" means more, it means fairness, kindness, gentleness, moderation, self-restraint, not insisting on strict justice. these are the qualities by which i am to be known to all men, _because_ the lord is nigh. he is within me--always if i will by his grace and often by the blessed sacrament. i may truly be said to "bear god in my body." what follows? i am his representative to the world; he is living his life in the world through me; if people want to know something about god and what he is like, they ought to be able to find out by watching my life. the lord is nigh--my gentleness has to recall this fact to others. "the servant of the lord must not wrangle, but be mild towards all men." ( tim. ii. ). he must not stand up for his rights, though strictly speaking he may have them; he must not be wedded to his own opinions and ever anxious to give them; he must not argue and strive to show that he is in the right, which means that everybody else is in the wrong. no, if he does these things, he is giving an altogether false representation of christ who is within him, of the lord who is so nigh. some people are gentle by nature, but it is not this natural quality of gentleness, often a mark of weakness of character and will, which is to be known to all men. it needs a strong will and much self-restraint to show the gentleness of christ; it means the temper kept in check when slighting, insulting or unkind words are said; it means keeping silence when misjudged or falsely accused because "jesus was silent;" it means keeping back the cutting word or the stinging sarcasm and letting them die away before his presence; it means giving up a cherished plan or desire and letting no one except him who asks for the sacrifice know what it costs; it means being able to let a matter drop, though we may be in the right--such is the gentleness of christ, which we have to make known so that by our behaviour others may be attracted to him who is so nigh. what a point it would give to our preparation for his coming this advent, if each day found us striving to let our gentleness win others to him and make them long to know the babe of bethlehem. point iii. "be nothing solicitous." take no thought, for your heavenly father knoweth that you have need. do not be solicitous, careful, anxious about anything, there is no need for the lord is nigh. he knows what is best for his child. he can alter things if he likes, leave all to him. all worry and anxiety only come really from want of faith. does a child worry when its father is near? no, it leaves everything to him without any care. the lord is nigh, be nothing solicitous. the way may seem blocked, but it is not blocked to him; the lord is still nigh, "he knoweth my way" (job xxiii. ), is it not enough? let me love and trust and continually talk to him who is so near; let me remember that i am never alone, that the difficulties and problems and sorrows of life concern _two_, that the responsibility is _shared_, that the important business of life is a _joint_ one. surely with such a partner, one who is never absent but always nigh, i need be in _nothing_ solicitous. point iv. "in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known unto god." the conclusion i arrived at in the last point is a just one, but i am not on that account to do nothing. he must have my active co-operation and whether i am working for my own salvation or for the salvation of others or, which ought to be the case, for both, i must in _everything_ i do, let my petitions be made known unto god, that is, i must never act on my own responsibility. i am going to see such and such a person, come with me; i have this letter to write, tell me what to say; i have a difficult matter to settle, give me the necessary wisdom and tact; i am going to rest, or to take my food or my recreation, i want thee with me all the same--such must be my requests. what about my mistakes, the things i forget and leave out, the faults that i mean with all my heart not to commit, but which i am always falling into all the same? ah, it is here that the inestimable benefit of having such an all-powerful partner comes in. instead of bewailing my incapability, which only makes me still less capable, i must make my requests known to him. what sort of requests will these be? i have committed that fault, made that same mistake again, please forgive me and correct it; i have forgotten to say something i meant to say, please say it for me; i have been stiff, unyielding, ungracious, discourteous, harsh, severe, please make up for my deficiencies and whatever happens do not let them judge thee by thy representative, make them understand that he for whom i am working is never anything but gracious and gentle, that he never breaks the bruised reed nor quenches the smoking flax; do not let me spoil thy work. such are the prayers and supplications by which i should continually be making known my needs to him who is always nigh. and what about the thanksgiving? this is most necessary, otherwise, ashamed though i am to confess it, i shall be attributing the successes to my own powers and skill and capability! it seems hardly credible, but unfortunately past experience tells me that it is all too true. in order to guard against such a distorted and absurd view of things, st. paul tells us not to forget the _thanksgiving_. the lord is nigh, let me turn to him and say: _deo gratias_, for it is he who has prevented my awkwardness from spoiling his work. he loves to be thanked and he notices when he is not. let me be thoroughly persuaded that the work _is_ all his, and that if anything succeeds that _i_ do, it is only because he has allowed _his_ success to pass through me, thus thanksgiving will not only be easy but natural. but who is ever going to persuade me that no glory is due to me? "who is sufficient for these things?" he who condescends to be my co-worker. he can do even that, if i love him sufficiently to _want_ him to have all the glory. point v. the result--peace. "the peace of god which passeth all understanding (shall) keep your hearts and minds in christ jesus." this will be the result, not of our lord being nigh, but of our _realization_ of his nearness. a great peace will _keep_, that is, take possession of, our hearts and minds. everything will be right because it comes straight from god's hands. "_my_ peace i give unto you, not as the world giveth do i give unto you" (st. john xiv. ). god's peace passes the understanding of the world, it has nothing to compare with it. it passes the understanding of god's children too. it is one of the mysteries with which he blesses his own and makes life possible for them in a world of turmoil. _colloquy_ with him who is nigh. _resolution._ to remember that i am never alone. _spiritual bouquet._ "the lord is nigh." footnote: [footnote : "the secret of mary unveiled to the devout soul" by louis-marie grignon de montfort.] the interior life. ( ) humility. "i am thy servant, i am thy servant and the son of thy handmaid." (ps. cxv. ). janua coeli, ora pro nobis. _ st. prelude._ the gate of heaven. _ nd. prelude._ grace to enter that gate and learn. we are going now to keep very close to mary. she is passing all these precious days in communion with her son and he is teaching her what conformity to himself means. but she has him not for herself alone but for all those for whom he has made himself incarnate and has come to die. the time passed within that "gate of heaven" was the first stage of his earthly journey and he was there for me, for my learning. he was already my model. let me go, then, to-day to the "gate of heaven," go to mary and ask to be allowed to study some of those heavenly lessons which were so dear to her heart. _janua coeli, ora pro nobis._ "remember, o most gracious virgin mary, that never was it known that any who implored thy help or sought thy intercession were left unaided. inspired with this confidence i fly unto thee.... o, mother of the word incarnate despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me." point i. the humility of jesus. we cannot contemplate this stage of our lord's life without being struck first of all by the humility and self-abasement of it, by the way in which in some sense he _annihilated_ himself that he might do his father's will. st. paul says: "he emptied himself ... being made in the likeness of men" (phil. ii. ). he stripped himself, robbed himself of all that he possessed: _semetipsum exinanivit_. we know that mary, his created home, was chaste and pure, that no breath of sin had ever touched her, that the holy spirit himself had overshadowed her and had undertaken the preparation and the adornment of the earthly tabernacle of the word; but pure and holy though she was, mary was only a creature and he was the creator. he was god and she was one of the human race. his place was on the highest throne of heaven and yet "he abhorred not the virgin's womb" but there lived hidden from the sight of all, like any other infant and yet wholly unlike, because he had full possession of his faculties and intelligence. in the manger he will be _seen_, and so will be loved, pitied and worshipped; there will be many consolations which will go far to lessen and soften his humiliations, but _here_, he is alone, hidden; his very existence not even suspected. he has annihilated himself, made himself nothing. he could have taken our nature, had he so wished, without all these humiliations; why then did he despise not the virgin's womb? because this is to be his principle all through his life, he will love "unto the end." he will leave nothing undone that he could possibly do. he came to do his father's will and he will do it thoroughly. he will bear all the humiliations because he wants to be my model and to teach me that there is only one way of learning humility. point ii. the humility of mary. mary, though she cannot see him, is sharing intimately all his humiliations. she knows as no one else can all he is going through; and because she is his mother she feels more intensely than anyone could what his humiliations are, she can never forget them. she shares all with him and he lets her; her sympathy is his consolation. of all the virtues of the interior life, humility is the one which is the most strongly marked in mary, and perhaps more strongly during these nine months than at any other time. it was her humility which attracted the eternal word from heaven to take up his dwelling in his earthly tabernacle. it was her humility which made her visit her cousin elizabeth. it was her humility which made her sing in her _magnificat_ of the great things god had done for her and how he had regarded the low estate of his handmaid. it was her humility which made her ready to suffer any humiliation rather than disclose god's secret to st. joseph. it was her humility which made her incapable of resenting all the humiliations she had to bear at bethlehem on christmas eve--and all this humility, all this power to bear humiliations, came from the fact that she was living an interior life, living a hidden life with her son, looking at everything from his point of view and not from her own. point iii. "learn of me." now let me turn from the interior life of jesus and mary to my own. jesus lived his interior life for me. if he allowed mary to share it, he will allow me, for he said once that he counted as his mother all those who do his will. his will is quite clear: "learn of me for i am _humble_." dare i go to the "gate of heaven" and say that i want to learn to be humble, that is, that i want to copy jesus and mary in their humiliations? it takes a great deal of courage to ask for humiliations, and perhaps it is almost impossible to do so without some pride lurking in the request; but what i can do is to be so anxious to learn to be humble as he bids me, that i ask for strength to bear the humiliations that he sends. how _do_ i bear them? do i say: oh well, it is a humiliation, i must bear it! or, oh well, i shall never learn humility without humiliations! or: i am always getting humiliations, some people are, but i gladly accept them! all such speeches have their source, not in humility but in pride. can we imagine mary talking like this? humiliations will never do their blessed work of making me humble if i thus use them to attract attention to my supposed virtue. a humiliation is spoiled the moment it sees the light; it has no strength left in it wherewith to produce humility. do i want to be humble? then let me go to that quiet retreat where jesus is humiliating himself for me, let me take all my humiliations there. when i am left out, forgotten, despised, when my help is unasked, my opinion disregarded, when things are said of me that are hard to bear, when reflections are made on my actions, let me go at once to where jesus is hidden and hide myself and my pain there, my one fear being lest anyone but he should suspect my pain, and this not from stoicism or natural self-restraint, so pleasing and consoling to self, but because i am afraid of spoiling my chance and preventing the humiliation from doing its work. if i can only deposit it safely in his heart before another sees it and robs me of my jewel, all will be well. he who suffered all those humiliations for me, will know how to ease my pain, he will tell me what a consolation it is to him that his child understands and is trying to make a faithful copy. _colloquy._ o mary, "gate of heaven" keep the gate wide open and beckon me in whenever you see me in danger of falling through my pride. you know the dangerous moments, please forestall them for me, and when i am safe, and listening to the sacred heart beating for me, the pain of the humiliation will be turned into joy and perhaps i shall make him feel that his humiliations have not been in vain. _resolution._ to examine myself to-day on how i take my humiliations and to resolve how i will take them for the future. _spiritual bouquet._ "learn of me for i am humble." the interior life. ( ) oblation. "sacrifice and oblation thou wouldest not, but a body thou hast fitted to me. holocausts for sin did not please thee. then said i: behold i come. in the head of the book it is written of me, that i should do thy will, o god." (heb. x. - ). _ st. prelude._ "thy holy tabernacle, which thou hast prepared from the beginning" (wisdom ix. ). _ nd. prelude._ grace to be generous. point i. the oblation of jesus. as soon as the word had taken possession of his earthly home, he began to live his new life--a life in all its fulness of knowledge and of grace and which will ever remain at its highest point, a life of infinite worth, a life lived for others, a life abounding in merits and satisfactions, a life of contemplation and yet of activity, a life to be studied carefully by all who seek to live an interior life and specially by those who for the love of their incarnate god hide themselves in the cloister. this new life was before everything else a life of _oblation_. the first act of the word incarnate was to offer himself to his father: here i am; i have come to do thy will and i have come to do it not for myself but for all creation; i offer myself to do what it cannot do and to satisfy thy claims. he made himself, then, from the first moment of his existence a _victim_--a victim laid on the altar. this was his first posture, and he will keep it not only during this first stage of his life, but all through his life and all through his sacramental life, whether the host is offered to god at the holy mass or is living its life of a victim in the tabernacle; and in heaven he will still be "the lamb as it had been slain." with the oblation of himself, so acceptable to the father, the victim offers all that concerns him, all for which he has come to this earth, all his designs for man's salvation. he submits all his plans for his great building, the holy catholic church, of which he offers himself to be the chief corner-stone, dwelling in it as its life throughout all time. he offers himself also to bear all the effects of his oblation and to drink the chalice to the dregs. he offers himself as a surety for the whole human race and for it he offers all his merits and satisfactions. he keeps nothing back--the whole of the life just begun is offered for the glory of god and the salvation of the world. it is a whole burnt-offering, a holocaust offered at its very beginning to him who "spared not even his own son, but delivered him up for us all." (rom. viii. ). point ii. the oblation of mary. mary lived her life with her son and to her he communicated his secrets. it is impossible to imagine that he did not reveal to her his plans and designs which were the reason of his coming to this earth, and how he was going to carry them out. she knew, then, that she was the mother of a victim; and when he offered himself to god, she joined in, offering herself and her son for all that he wished. "behold the handmaid of the lord!" here i am, i offer myself to thee, do what thou wilt with me. this was mary's attitude all through her life from the time when her _fiat_ was a sign for the incarnation to take place, till she stood on calvary's hill assisting at the offering of the victim. truly had the mother of sorrows caught the spirit of her son; all through her life she regarded him as a victim. when he was forty days old she formally offered him to god, and her life though bound up with his was nevertheless detached from him, as from something given to another. now at this early stage of his life, mary is learning her lesson and gaining her strength. she is doing it by leading an interior life, hidden with her son. o my mother, as i come to-day to the holy tabernacle "prepared from the beginning" where the sacred victim lies hidden, help me to make my life one with his as thou didst, help me to detach myself from everything for his sake and to say my _fiat_ whenever he asks for it. point iii. learn of me. if i want to live an interior life, i must model it on the life of jesus hidden in the womb of his mother. he wants me to lead it for he is ever saying: learn of me who led this life for you. an interior life must be essentially a life of oblation. this is its foundation: the offering of the soul as a holocaust to god and then regarding itself as a victim, all it has and does and is and thinks and plans, belonging not to itself but to god. it lies on the altar waiting to be consumed; it is not surprised when it is treated as a victim and feels the flames, not surprised, that is, when it is forgotten and thought nothing of; its life is _hidden_, how should people remember it! if it has to suffer, it considers it the most natural thing in the world for a victim. if its plans are all frustrated, it knows that it is lying there on the altar to do god's will, not its own, and that this is only the fire consuming the victim; if it did _not_ happen thus the victim might indeed be surprised and anxious, wondering whether god had accepted its sacrifice. "present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, pleasing unto god, your reasonable service" (rom. xii. ). the sacrifice is ever _living_, and ever being consumed. the victim feels keenly all the many processes by which god shows that he has accepted the offering, but if it copies its model, there will be no complaint, no drawing back of the offering, no wishing that it had chosen an easier course, no wondering whether it had made a mistake in its vocation; rather will there be joy in its heart because in its humble way it is like its master, and each fresh touch of the fire will be to it a fresh proof that god has not forgotten it, but has taken it at its word and counts on it to be all that it promised to be. what is necessary for all this? only one thing: _love_. if i love, i can do it. "walk in love as christ also hath loved us and given himself an oblation for us." o my little jesus, hidden there for me and offering thyself for me, teach me to be generous, teach me to love thee as thou deservest; help me to lie quietly and unresistingly on the altar. i am not alone. thou art there, bearing all with me and giving me the necessary strength to bear all for thee. help me to sacrifice willingly all my cherished desires and tastes, all my will. thou didst withhold nothing from me, help me to withhold nothing from thee. so shall i make thee some reparation for all the time wasted in the past, for all the sins committed against thy love; so only can i obey thy command: "learn of me," and make some little return for thy infinite love. _colloquy_ with jesus and his blessed mother. _resolution._ to offer myself as a victim to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "walk in love as christ also hath loved us, and hath delivered himself for us, an oblation and a sacrifice to god." (eph. v. ). the interior life. ( ) imprisonment. "i was in prison and you came to me." "lord when did we see thee ... in prison?" (st. matt. xxv. , ). _ st. prelude._ turris davidica. _ nd. prelude._ grace to visit him in his prison. point i. dependence. our blessed lord's life, during the nine months, was a life of imprisonment. he chose for himself a position of dependence, helplessness and inability. he who was the light of the world chose to live in darkness; he whom the heavens cannot contain chose a more cramped position than any prisoner has ever had to endure; he who was infinite allowed himself to be confined; he who was immortal took a mortal body. he endured all the sufferings that helplessness and inability and immobility entail; and we have to keep reminding ourselves that he was fully alive to all his sufferings. we are not making an imaginary picture, but trying to realize what were the actual facts of those nine months. his mother understood, let us try to do the same. let us go to the "tower of david" where our lord is kept a prisoner and let us remember that he is there for us. let us not be amongst those to whom he will have to say sadly: "i was in prison and you did not visit me." later on, at the end of his life, he will allow his own people to take him prisoner and will stand still while they put the chains on his wrists and will allow himself to be dragged where they wish. later on still he will choose to be imprisoned in the little host and to make himself to the end of time our prisoner of love. thy imprisonments were all voluntary, my jesus, they were all suffered out of love and out of love for me. oh, may these visits that i am paying thee during the blessed season of advent result in my imbibing more of the spirit of my imprisoned master. mine too is a voluntary imprisonment; i am his captive because i said: i will be his servant, "i will not go out free" (ex. xxi. ). i gave up my liberty, preferring to be his prisoner rather than the devil's free man. naturally he takes me at my word, but oh, sometimes prison-life is very hard to bear! he chains me to a bed of sickness, where i must lie still and see the work i long to do left undone or, what is perhaps harder still, badly done; he gives me great desires and no means of fulfilling them; he fills me with plans and schemes for his glory and then seems to make it impossible for them to be realized; he trains me, as i think, for some particular position and then detains me in another for which it seems to me i have not the least aptitude; he sets limits to my strength; he seems to keep me always in the background; he appears to use everybody else except me for his work; he seems to cramp my efforts and allow me no scope for the talents he has given me. the divine prisoner himself answers my plaints: my child, all these things only prove that you are my prisoner, that i have taken you at your word and that i do with you as i wish. your time is not lost any more than mine was. by doing my will, however inscrutable it may seem to you, you are doing far more for me than if you were doing your own. trust me, be patient, bear and suffer all for me, who am a prisoner for you. i love you to be dependent on me, i love you to walk by faith, i love you to trust me, and so i am constantly doing little things to remind you that you are my prisoner. strive to be a prisoner of love as i am, that is ( ) one who is in prison for love of another, ( ) one who loves his chains, ( ) one whose every act in prison is done to please me. point ii. darkness. how much darkness adds to the sufferings of prison life! it was a suffering which jesus living in mary endured for me; and yet while he, the light of the world was there, her blessed womb was flooded with light, with the light of heaven itself. what light this thought throws on my interior life! the suffering of darkness! it is a suffering which he inflicts upon many of his prisoners of love. "who is there among you that feareth the lord, that heareth the voice of his servant, that hath walked in darkness and hath no light? let him hope in the name of the lord and lean upon his god." (is. l. ). if only i can make myself believe that the darkness is permitted by him there will be a ray of light at once in the darkness because god is there, "surely god is in this place." but how can i be sure that the darkness is permitted by him? if i am living the interior life, if my intention is to please him in all that i do, and if, however badly i succeed, i never willingly take back that intention, then _i am pleasing god_; and if i am pleasing god, i am one of his own dear children, just as really as was his son who did always the things that pleased him. if i am one of his children i know, for he has told me so, that _nothing_ can happen to me without his knowledge and his permission, yea his arranging. so if i have to walk in darkness rather than in light, if desolation is my spiritual lot and consolation is almost unknown to me, if a veil hides god's face and my continual cry is: "oh, that i might know and find him" (job xxiii. ), if prayer seems impossible, if i have a distaste, almost a repugnance for all spiritual things, if even our lady seems to desert me, if at times i am on the brink of despair, tempted even to think that my soul will be lost, if, in short, darkness, thick darkness has settled down on my soul--what then? "let him _hope_ in the name of the lord and lean upon his god." but how can i hope in darkness, how can i lean upon someone who is not there? by faith, that is by saying all the time: this darkness is _his_ doing, therefore it is what he wants for me. "i, the lord create darkness!" that makes all the difference. faith, as it always does, lets a streak of light into the darkness; god is there and it is only to make the soul more sure of this that he permits the darkness. if the soul can find and recognize god in the darkness then it knows him very intimately and this is what god wants--a love so great that it detects the beloved one at once. does darkness make any difference to the intercourse of those who love? they rather prefer it, so that all may be shut out except each other. this is what god wants from those whom he is teaching to be interior--he puts them into prison and leaves them in the dark. are they going to be unhappy, to repine and complain, longing for consolation and all the sweet things with which god fed them when they hardly knew him? not if they have faith; and if their faith is strong, they will hardly be able to distinguish desolation from consolation, god's absence from his presence, yea the very darkness itself from the light! for is it not their god who is the cause of all that is happening to them, and is not that enough for those who love? they only want his will, not their own, and his will is to keep them in prison and in the dark and so to unite them more closely to himself who for their sake faced for nine months the darkness of the womb. in the terrible moments when despair seems so near us, let us hold on to the fact that we _want_ to please god and therefore that we are his children and that he loves us and is arranging everything--this is the little ray of hope in the darkness, the line of light, and in it we read the words: "i give them life everlasting and they shall not perish for ever; and no man shall pluck them out of my hand." (st. john x. ). _colloquy_ with jesus, the light of the world, imprisoned in darkness for me. _resolution._ to lean upon my god in times of darkness. _spiritual bouquet._ "i form the light and create darkness." (is. xlv. ). the interior life. ( ) hiddenness. "verily, thou art a hidden god, the god of israel the saviour." (is. xlv. ). _ st. prelude._ jesus hidden in mary. _ nd. prelude._ grace so to find him that i may live the hidden life. point i. "thou art a hidden god." he was hidden in the womb of his mother; all through his life and death on earth, his divinity was hidden except to a very few; in his eucharistic life he will hide himself to the end of time in the little host. he seemed to love hiding when he was on earth and when he did reveal himself, it was something like a child playing at hide and seek. he hid himself from the samaritan woman till he had heard all her story and then said suddenly: "i am he (the messias) who am speaking with thee" (st. john iv. ). the blind man whom he cured had not the least idea who he was till jesus, hearing that he had been reviled and cast out of the synagogue, went and talked to him about the son of god and then said in the middle of the conversation: "thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee" (chap. ix. ). from mary magdalen at the sepulchre he deliberately hid himself under the form of a gardener that he might have the joy of suddenly surprising her with his presence. perhaps the most touching story of all is that of the two disciples going to emmaus; out of his very love for them, he blindfolded them and then made them look for him, while he put them off the scent by pretending that he knew nothing about all the things that had been happening in jerusalem; and then when his moment was come "their eyes were opened and they knew him." (st. luke xxiv. ). he treats his children in the same way still, he constantly hides himself from them, leaves them alone to fight and struggle in desolation, solitude and spiritual darkness, and then sometimes shows by his sudden presence how near he has been all the time. let me consider two questions: . _how does he hide himself?_ ( ) behind obstacles that he makes: suffering, desolation, darkness, temptation, scruples, failure (spiritual as well as temporal), uncongenial people and surroundings--all those many forms of the cross which the true disciple knows so well. let us remember that _he_ is hidden in them, it will make all the difference. ( ) behind obstacles that we ourselves make. this is not so consoling. he has every right to hide himself from me, but i have no right to make his coming to me difficult by obstacles that i put in his path, and yet how often i do it! self is the great obstacle. i am taken up with myself, with my own shortcomings and miseries and failures and weaknesses, with my imagination (how it runs away with me, away from him!) and my fears, my introspection--uselessly looking into myself to see how i am advancing. what are all these but obstacles which keep god at a distance? the soul that attracts him is the soul that is occupied with him, not with self. . _why does he hide himself?_ why does he deliberately set up obstacles which prevent the soul from seeing him? why does a mother hide from her child? is it not for the joy of seeing it look for her and for the consolation she is going to give it in letting herself be found? it is the same with our god who hides himself. he wants to make us look for him, he wants to increase our love, our desire and our merit, he wants to make us strong in faith and confidence, while acknowledging our helplessness and dependence and nothingness without him. point ii. "your life is hid with christ in god." though jesus was hidden in mary, he was never hidden from her. this was ( ) because mary never put any obstacle between herself and jesus--her thoughts were all with him and never with herself, and ( ) because her faith and love and desire were so strong that she at once overcame all obstacles, which he in his love and desire for her merit put in her way as was the case during the three days' loss. jesus and mary are the models of my interior life. like mary i must try to surmount all obstacles, welcome every sword that pierces, leave self and seek him. like jesus in mary i must strive to lead a hidden life. how is it to be done? there is only one way--to have god always before my eyes, and self only there to be sacrificed. if i make this my rule, it will simplify my life and be the quick solution of many problems. why this _dryness_ in prayer? to bring god to my mind and to give me an opportunity of sacrificing self with its love of spiritual consolation and sensible enjoyment. the very dryness makes me thirst after god: "as the hart panteth after the fountains of water, so my soul panteth after thee, o god. my soul hath thirsted after the strong living god; when shall i come and appear before the face of god?" (ps. xli. - ). this is what god wants--to see the soul longing and thirsting for him. that is why he puts the obstacle of dryness between himself and the soul, and hides himself behind it while he watches the soul struggling to forget itself and saying: "o my soul why dost thou disquiet me? hope thou in god, for i will still give praise to him" (verse ). this is how the faithful soul overcomes the obstacles--not by praying to have them removed, but by a firm faith that god is in them. so with temptations--why these terrible temptations, when god could so easily remove them? because he is the master and he knows what is best. if the temptations were removed, the soul would soon be wrapped up in self-complacency and self-satisfaction. temptations properly used keep the soul close to god, it sees god hidden in them and forgetting all about its treacherous self, it turns to him who alone can save it from falling, it keeps god only in view and makes the sacrifice of self. the same principle holds good for all the many obstacles behind which god hides. if they are properly used they are no longer obstacles, but stepping-stones by means of which we pass to him. god everywhere and self nowhere! god everything and self nothing! god, not self, the object of all i do and think and plan! and that not because i can feel him and see him and enjoy him, but because my faith tells me that though hidden _he is there_. this was the principle of mary's life hidden with her son. he was the cause, the direct cause, of all her troubles, of all the many swords that pierced her most pure heart, yet never was there a life hidden with christ as was mary's and the reason was that she forgot herself and saw jesus only. "_your_ life is hid with christ in god." are these words of st. paul true about me? let me read the whole verse and then i shall know: "for _you are dead_, and your life is hid with christ in god." _when_ self is dead, then i shall be able to say _god only_, and till then, god be thanked, i can hide my miserable self in him and tell him that i want it to be sacrificed though i so seldom have the courage to do it. _colloquy_ with jesus hidden in mary. _resolution._ to see my hidden god everywhere and self nowhere. _spiritual bouquet._ "why hidest thou thy face?" (job xiii. ). the interior life. ( ) prayer. "behold i come that i should do thy will: o my god, i have desired it, and thy law in the midst of my heart." (ps. xxxix. , ). _ st. prelude._ vas spirituale. vas insigne devotionis. _ nd. prelude._ grace to "pray without ceasing." ( thess. v. ). point i. the spirit of prayer. amongst all the lessons that jesus living in mary teaches us, that on prayer must ever hold a foremost place. what is prayer? "the lifting up of the heart and mind to god," the catechism tells us. to love god, then, and to think about him is to pray. jesus lived in mary uniquely to do the will of his father. he and the father were _one_--one heart, one mind. he took pleasure in all that concerned his father: "hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." he taught us to pray in the same way, taking our thoughts away from ourselves to our father, and when we do ask for something for ourselves, letting it be just a short prayer for mercy or for help, acknowledging our weakness and misery and nothingness, while we keep our eyes fixed on our father--he god, i his creature; he everything, i nothing. "god be merciful to me a sinner," this prayer contains all we need. o my little jesus, who didst think of me in thy communion with thy father, for thou didst come to do his will, and his will was that i should be saved, teach me to think of thee and to love thee so much that my life, too, may be one perpetual prayer, that is, that communion with god may be the attitude of my soul. point ii. mary's spirit of prayer. she was ever holding colloquies with her god within her, pondering things over in her heart, that is, talking them over with him from whom she had no secrets and between whom and her soul she put no obstacles. her life was spent with him; whatever her duties might be, everything was done with him, that is prayer. if duties or conservation demanded all her attention for a while, did it matter? no, for he was there all the same. he, in her, carried on the blessed converse with his father; there was never any separation between mary and the blessed fruit of her womb, jesus. she would come back to him with all the more joy, and tell him what she had been doing and saying. oh, blessed life of union between jesus and mary! teach me, my mother, what prayer is. thou didst understand it so well. it was prayer that made thy life interior for thou wast ever communing with him who was _within_ thee. "o mother of the word, despise not my words." point iii. "learn of me." when we think of jesus praying for nine months to his father, when we think of mary's nine months' colloquy with jesus, we begin to think that there is something wrong about our methods of prayer, that they need re-modelling. let us try to understand something of what his prayer was. we think of him, and quite rightly, as talking over with his father all his plans for man's salvation, praying for each individual thing that would be connected with it through all time. we love to think that he prayed particularly for each one of us. but all this was not the _essence_ of his prayer, if it were, we might well be discouraged and feel that we could never copy such a model; our distractions and fatigues, our ignorance and want of memory, to say nothing of our times of dryness and distaste for prayer would make such prayers, except perhaps now and again in times of consolation, impossible for us. am i to turn away sadly then from mary this time, saying: it is too hard for me, i cannot copy thy son here? no, rather let me ask what was the essence of his prayer? what was it which lay behind all? it was the _intention_. and what was that? we have meditated upon it many times: "_behold i come to do thy will, o my god._" the essence of his prayer was: thy will be done and i am here to do it. naturally there are many different ways of doing that will, and many degrees in the perfection with which it is done; and that is why we are quite safe in picturing to ourselves jesus in the womb of his mother forgetting no single detail; or perhaps a truer picture would be a union with his father so perfect that everything lay open before them both, and that there was no need to talk about what was so evident. now let me apply all this to myself and i shall find that instead of being discouraging it is most encouraging, instead of making my prayers harder it will make them far easier. what is my intention in my prayers? is it not to please god and to do his will? what does my morning offering mean, but that the prayers, work and sufferings of the day are all offered to him? i form then my _intention_ for the day, and as long as i do not deliberately take back that intention, it is there, even if i forget to renew it each morning. now let me see how this works out in practice. i pay a visit to our lord, perhaps i am too tired to think about him, i may even sleep in his presence; perhaps i am so busy that i find it impossible to keep away distracting thoughts; perhaps i am more taken up with the spiritual book i am reading than with him--the time is up and i go, thinking, perhaps, what is the good of paying him a visit like that? there is great good even in that visit which all the same might have been so much more perfect. what was my intention in paying it? certainly to please him. then i _have_ pleased him. it was a pleasure to him to see me come in and sit with him, even though i was occupied with my own concerns most of the time. we are too much taken up with asking _how_ we say our prayers, but the important question is _why_ do we say them. to go and sit in his presence, because he is lonely or because i am tired and i would rather sit with him than with anyone else is _prayer_, even if i say nothing. what god is doing for me is of far more importance to my soul than what i am doing for god; and all the time that i am there, whether i am thinking of him or not, he is impressing his image on my soul, and this is true, if i am in the state of grace, not only of my stated times of prayer, but of all the day long and the night too. what god wants in our prayers is simplicity. to help us to understand what simplicity is, let us think of a little child with its mother. the mother gives it something to play with or something to do. is she very much concerned about _what_ the child is doing or _how_ it is doing it? not at all, that is of no consequence; nothing it does can be of any real _service_ to the mother; but there is something that concerns her very much, and that is whether her child loves her, is happy to be with her, and wants to please her. we are only children and god is more tender than the tenderest mother. it makes very little difference to him what we are doing while we are with him or even how we do it (how can our little services make any difference to him!); but whether or no we love him, whether or no we care to be with him, whether or no we want to please him, these things make all the difference. _colloquy_ with jesus and mary about prayer. _resolution._ to try to live more in the spirit of prayer. _spiritual bouquet._ "let nothing hinder thee from praying _always_" (ecclus. xviii. ). the interior life. ( ) zeal. "behold i come that i should do thy will. o my god, i have desired it, and thy law in the midst of my heart." (ps. xxxix. , ). _ st. prelude._ jesus living in and working through mary. _ nd. prelude._ the grace of zeal according to his methods. there is a very close connection between prayer and zeal; the more perfect the prayer, the greater necessarily will be the zeal. why? because prayer is identifying oneself with the mind and will of god, and doing everything with the unique intention of pleasing him. what are the will and pleasure of god? the salvation of the world for which he became incarnate--the closer we unite ourselves to god in prayer, the dearer will his intentions be to us. the best workers are those who pray best, those who enter most deeply into god's will and plans. when we find our zeal flagging, it would be well to examine ourselves on our spirit of prayer. point i. the zeal of jesus living in mary. this zeal showed itself at once. no sooner had he become incarnate than he inspired his mother to take a difficult journey into the "hill country" to visit her cousin elizabeth. the zeal of jesus showed itself first of all, as it naturally would, on his mother and filled her spirit with the humility and charity and forgetfulness of self which were needed for the journey. it then effected elizabeth and filled her with the holy ghost, but these were only the overflowings of his zeal on his way to make what father faber calls his "first convert." the soul of john the baptist, his chosen precursor, was very precious to him and as yet it lay unconscious at a distance from god in darkness and the shadow of death. one of the first acts of god incarnate was to deliver that soul from prison and let it see what great things he had in store for it. at the sound of the voice of the mother with her child, a change was wrought in that dark soul; it was set free from the curse of original sin, it was flooded with grace, it was brought nigh to god, the holy ghost with all his gifts took possession of it and as a consequence, it leapt in the womb in joy and gratitude and adoration. the voice of mary directed by her child had simultaneously worked two miracles of grace. elizabeth heard the salutation first, but it was the leaping of the babe in her womb which made her understand that the incarnation had taken place, and cry with a loud voice: "blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." if the zeal of jesus was so powerful during the first hours of his life, what must it not have effected during the nine months! how many souls without knowing (as st. john the baptist did) the cause, were brought nearer to heaven by the presence of the incarnate god in the world! point ii. mary's zeal. we have no need to dwell at any length on the zeal of her whom jesus used as his instrument during the nine months. mary's was a zeal which compelled her to spend and be spent in the service of those whom jesus loved; and the secret of its force was the interior life which she lived with her son--a perfect union of will and purpose with his. let me try to copy my mother in her interior life and then i may hope that her son will use me too as an instrument of some of his zeal for souls. he must use someone, for he has made himself as dependent now in the tabernacle as he was during the time that he lived in mary. he has deliberately put himself in the position of _needing_ instruments for his work and he will naturally choose those who are most imbued with his spirit and who are willing to adopt his methods. such an instrument was mary. she put no obstacles in his way, because she had no will apart from his, her zeal was only a reflexion of his. point iii. "learn of me." if i am to fashion my zeal after the pattern of the zeal of jesus, i must be careful to see that my methods are the same as his. what were his? ( ) _solitude._ such was his solitude that no one but mary knew that he was there. he chose solitude not only during this first stage but during the greater part of his life on earth, and he chooses it still in his eucharistic life. it must then be a very necessary accompaniment to zeal. "_learn of me._" what am i to learn? that if my zeal is to be efficacious i must live a hermit's life far from the haunts of men? not necessarily. it would be possible to do this without finding the solitude that begets zeal; and it is quite possible to find the necessary solitude even in the midst of the world's tumult. to say that i have no opportunities for doing good because i am in uncongenial surroundings, or because i am obliged by my circumstances to lead a lonely life or to live where there is apparently no scope for work for souls is to fail to understand what zeal is. why do people shut themselves up in convents, cries the world, when they might do so much good outside? uniquely because of their zeal for souls--they have sufficient courage to adopt our lord's methods. if i am one whom he has trusted with the trial of loneliness in my life, let me cultivate a devotion to him in his mother's womb, and let me take heart and be of good courage. all the activity in the world that is of any use is of use because of the prayer that is behind it. _whose_ prayers who shall say? they may be _mine_ if i live an interior life, for those who live in the retreat of their own heart with god have a limitless scope for their zeal. ( ) _silence._ zeal for god and his work does not depend then, on words. i need not be troubled because i am not eloquent, or because i have an impediment in my speech, or because i never know what to say. how could such things matter to god, the omnipotent god! he could alter them in a moment if necessary. the word himself who could have spoken so attractively and with such power was silent for most of his life. the time he chose for his incarnation was "while all things were in quiet silence and the night was in the midst of her course" (wisdom xviii. ); and he is silent still in the tabernacle; he loves silence, and the more the soul is interior, the more it will adopt his method of silence and the more it will understand what a marvellous help it is to zeal. how can this be? because the silence that we choose to keep for god means shutting out all else, that we may talk to him alone. could there be a better method than this for making us zealous for the work so dear to his heart? ( ) _obedience._ think of his obedience in the womb of his mother. his very incarnation was an act of obedience, he waited for mary's _fiat_. his waiting for nine months was purely an act of obedience to the laws of nature, for his soul and body were perfect from the moment of his conception. all the time that he lived in mary, he obeyed all whom she obeyed--st. joseph, the roman emperor, the people at bethlehem. he gave up his own will to others. this was his method of being zealous. this is how he did the work that he had come to do. can i adopt this method? it is not easy. i do so love to follow my own sweet will especially when i am working for the souls of others. i feel that no one has a right to dictate to me, that my work ought to be spontaneous, not cramped nor confined nor limited nor any other adjective that the devil can persuade me to use, if only he can make me believe that it is a blessed thing to be independent! if my zeal for god is to be worth anything, let me follow the methods of god incarnate in the womb of his mother and be absolutely obedient to god, to his holy church and to those whom i ought to obey. ( ) _poverty._ "you know the grace of our lord jesus christ, that being rich, he became poor for your sakes, that through his poverty you might be rich" ( cor. viii. ). in his zeal for our wealth, he made himself poor, he deliberately adopted poverty as one of his methods in his life of zeal. poverty is the voluntary laying aside of all that we might have, in order that our purpose may be single. all can do this whether rich or poor, for all have much that they would rather not lay on one side, and _all_ have _self_. let us think what the eternal word was as god, and then what he was in mary's womb, and we shall understand what poverty means. if we are to be zealous in his service, we must not only understand, but copy. ( ) _patience._ patience is a twofold grace, that of _waiting_ and that of _suffering_, both are a great aid to zeal. the eternal word's zeal for the salvation of men had existed in all its perfection and all its fulness from all eternity, yet think how long he waited! when the conditions were changed and he had at length become incarnate, he still waited patiently for nine months, and after that he waited for thirty years! this was zeal, zeal in its _perfection_. is my zeal tempered with patience? am i patient with souls, patient with myself, patient above all when god says: _wait_, do nothing? jesus showed his patience in the womb of his mother not only by waiting; but by suffering, as we have already seen, all the inconveniences that were incident to his new existence. he doubtless also forestalled all the sufferings that were in store for him and offered them all to his father. zeal without the aid of suffering cannot go far and it was one of the methods he chose. if i have not courage enough to _choose_ it, i must, if my zeal is to be at all like his, be ready for it when he chooses it for me. it will probably be seen one day that those whose lives have been lives of suffering, and who have never been able to do any active work for him, are those whose zeal has effected the most for his glory and his kingdom. those of us who are not entrusted with this wonderfully blessed gift of suffering, can at any rate offer to him for souls all the many little inconveniences and incommodities of our lives, and so copy to some small extent the life of jesus hidden in mary. o my little jesus, help me, at whatever cost to self, to copy thee. _colloquy_ with jesus hidden in mary, asking him for grace, so to adopt his methods that he may use me as an instrument of his zeal. _resolution._ not to shrink from adopting his methods. _spiritual bouquet._ "every one that hath zeal ... let him follow me" ( macc. ii. ). o sapientia! december th. "o wisdom who camest forth from the mouth of the most high, reaching from end to end mightily, and disposing all things sweetly, come and teach us the way of prudence!" (_vide_ wisdom viii. ). _ st. prelude._ the tabernacle of the hidden god. _ nd. prelude._ the grace of prudence. for seven days before the vigil of christmas, the church makes use of seven solemn antiphons, commonly known as the "seven o's," because they all begin with "o." one is sung every day at vespers reminding us that our lord is to come in the evening of the world's history. they are a sort of cry or invitation of the church, addressing her bridegroom by some spiritual title and begging him to come. before and after the _magnificat_ is the time the church chooses for these solemn antiphons in order to keep constantly before our minds the truth that he is coming by mary. as the days of advent draw nearer to their close, this truth is plainly marked in the mass. the epistle, gospel and communion for ember wednesday (in the third week) are all full of mary; the gospel for ember friday gives the account of the visitation; the mass for the fourth sunday of advent, as if the church were loath to leave her out, brings mary in at the offertory and communion; and that for the vigil of christmas devotes its gospel to her. let us then as we meditate on these great antiphons look in the direction of mary where our king is as yet hidden, remembering that it is she who when christmas comes, is going to shew unto us the blessed fruit of her womb jesus. point i. "o wisdom that proceedest from the mouth of the most high." he is the _eternal_ wisdom, and he has now become the _incarnate_ wisdom. it is to him that the church is calling to-day. he is the "wisdom of god" ( cor. i. ) and the source of all wisdom; and yet as man the spirit of god has rested upon him and filled his human soul with the seven-fold gifts, of which wisdom is the first. this gift enabled him as man to know all mysteries, all god's secret designs and plans, and to enjoy to the full all his perfections. the subject is so vast that it seems impossible for me to meditate about it, but i will take one of the many things which the holy scriptures say about wisdom, one which will lead me again to the sanctuary where i would be. "god loveth none but him that dwelleth with wisdom" (wisdom vii. ). he so loved his poor fallen world that he gave his only begotten son to be incarnate for it, and now all he asks from his children in return is their love and that they should show it by dwelling with him. he came to be _emmanuel_, god with us. he tabernacled among us, and what his father asks is that we should not shun him and live far away from him, but that we should dwell with him. let me keep close then in spirit to his blessed mother, the tabernacle where my god is hidden, and let me keep close in reality to the tabernacle on the altar where he is expecting my confidences as surely as he expected those of his mother; let me treat him as my friend to whom i can tell everything that concerns me--how anxious i am to desire him to come and yet how little desire i seem to have. there is a way of dwelling with him which is even closer still: "he that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood abideth in me and i in him" (st. john vi. ). this is the extension of the incarnation, the way that infinite wisdom devised by which poor fallen man could nevertheless dwell with wisdom. o eternal wisdom, help me to make better use of this thy most wonderful plan for continuing the incarnation! he was incarnate for me in the womb of the blessed virgin, but he is incarnate for me in a more special and personal way each time that i receive him in holy communion. by means of my communions and their effects i can dwell always without any interruption in the tabernacle of the most high, for it is of me that eternal wisdom speaks when he says: "my father will love him, and we will come to him and will make our abode with him." (st. john xiv. ). point ii. "reaching from end to end mightily and disposing all things sweetly." wisdom "can do all things" (wisdom vii. ) and it is god hidden in the womb of mary, who is reaching from end to end of the earth and ordering the whole world to be enrolled everyone in his own city. why was this? because the roman emperor wanted to know the number of the subjects in his vast empire just to satisfy his ambition? this is the answer the world would give, but in this case the children of light--the children of the incarnate wisdom know better. the world is being agitated, though it does not know it, not by the command of any earthly monarch, but by the king of kings who is about to be born and who must fulfil a certain prophecy as to his birthplace. the prophet micaias said of him: "his going forth is from the beginning, from the days of eternity. and thou, bethlehem ephrata art a little one among the thousands of juda; _out of thee shall he come_" (chap. v. ); and mary, the mother who had been destined from all eternity to give birth to him who was "from the days of eternity," was living quietly at _nazareth_ making all her preparations for his birth there. but could not god have devised means to send mary to bethlehem without disturbing the whole world? yes, but he would show to those who have eyes to see, that wisdom "_can_ do all things," that though he is to all appearances helpless, hidden and dependent, yet it is he and not any other who is king of the whole world, and that even now before his birth he can reach from end to end of it mightily and do what he will therein. and so "there went out a decree from caesar augustus that the whole world should be enrolled ... everyone in his own city," and joseph and mary went to bethlehem and it so happened (as we should say) "that when they were there, her days were accomplished, that she should be delivered" (st. luke ii. - ) and the king was born in _bethlehem_. sweetly he had ordered all things to suit his divine purpose. point iii. "come and teach us the way of prudence." come, my little king, who art nevertheless the eternal wisdom, come and teach me this heavenly prudence. i know thy power and i know thy gentleness. i know, that is to say, that thou _canst_ do everything and that thou art disposing sweetly everything in my life; but i want thee to come and teach me to put my knowledge into practice. if the whole world could be set in motion by thee just in order that one little desire of thy divine providence might be fulfilled, shall i not be ready to own that thou art indeed the king, that whatever may happen in the earth, it is the lord who _reigneth_; and in my own life when things seem, as they sometimes do, inexplicable and beyond all human ken, oh! come and teach me that the way of prudence is to lie still like a little child in its mother's arms, not to try to fathom nor to understand, but to say: i am in the arms of the eternal wisdom, who can do all things, who loves me with an infinite love and who is disposing all things sweetly, gently, mercifully for my sake. this is the lesson the child yet unborn would teach. his mother understood, for, as we have seen, one principle guided the two lives; but it was not easy for her to have all her plans disarranged, to hear that she and her husband must take a long journey perhaps of two or three days, to know that her son could not be born in her own little home so dear to her with all its hallowed memories, to know that she could not lay him in the little cradle that she had so lovingly prepared for him nor surround him with the little comforts that she had been able to provide. all this would have been much even for a rich mother to give up, and mary was poor and she knew that she and joseph would have to take just what they could get and no more. yet in mary's heart there was no anxiety, no murmuring, no hesitation, no regret even. why? because the babe within her taught her prudence, taught her, that is, that god's ways are best, that it was he who was ordering all things sweetly, and that if her plans were upset, it simply meant that they did not happen to be god's plans; and she willingly gave up hers for his. o mary as i kneel before the tabernacle where thy son as yet lies hidden, present my petitions to him. tell him that, cost what it may, i do want his will to be done, i do want to realize that it is he who is ordering all things sweetly for me and that though the way is often difficult it is _his_ way and therefore mine--"the way of prudence." _colloquy_ with the incarnate wisdom. _resolution._ "i purposed therefore to take her (wisdom) to me to live with me, knowing that she will communicate to me of her good things" (wisdom viii. ). _spiritual bouquet._ "o sapientia! ... come and teach us the way of prudence." o adonai! december th. feast of the expectation of our lady. "o adonai and leader of the house of israel! who appearedst to moses in the fire of the flaming bush and gavest him the law on sinai. come and redeem us by thy outstretched arm." (ex. vi. , iii. - , xx. - ). _ st. prelude._ the tabernacle of the hidden god. _ nd. prelude._ grace to expect and desire with mary. point i. "o virgo virginum!" we think again to-day of the mother as well as of the son. there is another "o" which is in the vespers of the feast of the expectation together with the "_o adonai_!" and that is "_o virgo virginum_!" we appeal again then to mary asking her to show us how to wait, how to desire, how to love, how to worship. let us try to think what her feelings must have been during these last few days. she is preparing for her journey, putting together the few necessaries that they could take, packing up the little "swaddling clothes," and all the time thinking of nothing but her son, whose face she is now so soon to see. the joy of the expectation is so great that it overshadows all else--she can talk of and think of nothing but his birth, now so near, and it is to _him_ that she talks. all her secrets, all her longings, all her hopes, all her words of love and joy are for him. this is the interior life. as the great day approaches is my interior life becoming more intense? are all my desires centred on the little one who is coming? am i continually holding converse with him, telling him all that is in my heart? is he the centre of all my preparations for christmas? is the real christmas joy, that is, the joy caused by the thought of his coming, so great that it puts into the shade all difficulties, sorrows, disappointments and inconveniences? mary's troubles were all caused by jesus. if it had not been for the prophecy which said he must be born in bethlehem she would not have had to leave her home at such an inconvenient moment and at such an inclement season of the year. when shall i learn that all my troubles come directly from jesus too, and from my union with him? when i do, i shall have peace, the peace which mary had and which a really interior life cannot fail to produce. if i find that my peace is easily disturbed by passing events, let me examine my conscience as to my interior life and i shall probably find the reason. point ii. o adonai et dux! o lord and _leader_! "give ear, o thou that rulest israel, thou that _leadest_ joseph like a sheep!" ("introit" for advent ii and "gradual" for advent iii). this is the idea in the church's cry to-day, she is saluting her general. he it is who though as yet hidden is nevertheless leading all. he it is who slowly though surely has been leading the world through many phases till it is ready for its creator to come and live upon it. he it is who has led joseph like a sheep--carefully watched over the chosen nation, because he himself, when the time came, was to be born in it. he it is who led the prophets, carefully guiding their hands to write of him and making their prophecies more and more lucid as the day approached. he it is who is now leading the whole world and placing everybody in his own city. he it is who is leading joseph away from nazareth. he it is who is leading his own mother over every step of that difficult and tiring journey, letting the joy in his own heart overflow into hers; and he is _my_ leader too. with such a general, nothing will be overlooked in my life; everything will be arranged in wisdom and love. i need have no fear, no anxiety on that account; but such a leader expects a whole-hearted, unswerving allegiance from his followers. he expects not only their obedience, but their loyalty and their love. does he demand these by force? no, for he is a _leader_, not a driver. "he calleth his own sheep by name and _leadeth_ them.... he goeth before them and the sheep follow him" (st. john x. , ). what are his methods? the incarnation with all its consequences. he made himself a _man_, not an angel, because he wanted to attract man to himself, to win his love. he identified himself with man, because he wanted man to identify himself with him. the church, the holy eucharist, the tabernacle, holy communion, his sacred heart--all these are to attract men to follow him. he is there in each of these going before and leading men on. he is appealing to them now from the womb of his mother, suggesting to them that they should choose suffering and humiliation and the hidden life, because he chose them and loved them and submitted to them for us; they were his methods, and his object in becoming incarnate for us was to win our love to such an extent that we should take him as our leader and adopt his methods. oh! come, little leader, come and redeem us. i for one am determined to follow wheresoever thou dost lead, "in what place soever thou shalt be, my lord king, either in death or in life there will thy servant be" ( kings xv. ). "behold i have given him for a leader" (is. lv. ). point iii. the outstretched arm. the outstretched arm is a sign ( ) of _power_. the little one whom we are expecting, though so winning and gentle and loving, is nevertheless the almighty and all-powerful god. he it is who said: "i made the earth and the men and the beasts that are upon the earth by my great power and by my stretched out arm" (jer. xxvii. ). he it is who said of those who would not acknowledge him as their king: "i will myself fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm" (chap. xxi. ). he it is who "with a strong hand and a stretched-out arm" delivered his people of old out of the land of egypt (deut. xxvi. ). he it is who gave the law on sinai, when "the thunders began to be heard and lightning to flash and a very thick cloud to cover the mount, and the noise of the trumpet sounded exceeding loud and the people ... feared." why? because "the lord came down upon mount sinai in the very top of the mount" (ex. xix. , ). he came then in power to give with his own outstretched arm his commandments to his people; but now he is coming in the silence of the night to win them by his love and no one will be afraid of a little child. oh! come, and redeem us by thy stretched out arm. come in all thy might to save us from our sins--our past sins and the evil habits they have left, our present attachment to venial sins which we are ashamed of, but are obliged to confess lingers still; come and deliver us from our countless imperfections: "lord if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean" (st. matt. viii. ). the outstretched arm is also a sign ( ) of _pity_, of _yearning_, of _longing_. a mother stretches out her arms to receive her babe taking its first tottering steps, to welcome her prodigal, to protect those in danger, to help in every time of need. when god was longing to deliver his people of old from the cruel bondage in egypt, he attracted moses' attention by a burning bush, so that he could tell him of his yearnings towards his people. moses saw that the bush was on fire and was not burnt and he said: "i will go and see why the bush is not burnt" (ex. iii. - ). that bush hid two mysteries which were beyond moses' power of reason, but god revealed them later to his saints. the fire that burned was the divinity and the bush which was impregnated by the fire and yet not burnt was the sacred humanity. again, the bush was a figure of mary who though she received the god-man into her sacred womb yet remained a virgin--the bush held the flame of fire which lighted the whole world and yet remained intact. moses though he did not see the things which we see, nevertheless saw a "great sight" and "when the lord saw that he went forward to see, he called to him out of the midst of the bush" and told him not to come too near and to take off his shoes for the ground was holy. he then told him who he was and why he had come: "i have seen the afflictions of my people.... i have heard their cry ... and knowing their sorrow, i am come down to deliver them" (verses , ). it was the heart of god yearning for his children. his hands were stretched out in pity and love, but his hour was not yet. he waited and "when the fulness of the time was come, god sent his son" (gal. iv. ); and now we are kneeling before the sanctuary wherein he has still a few days to wait; we have turned aside to see the "great sight," we know that we are treading on holy ground. "_rubum quem viderat moyses incombustum conservatam agnovimus tuam laudabilem virginitatem_; _dei genitrix intercede pro nobis._" in the bush which moses saw unconsumed, we acknowledge thy admirable virginity preserved: intercede for us, o mother of god. (little office. b. v. m.--a christmas antiphon). as we keep near to the burning bush we wonder more and more at the mystery; we ask why, but we never receive a satisfying answer, for who can fathom the mystery of the love of god? the word is silent yet. could he speak, we should hear the same words as moses heard, for the heart of god changes not: "i have seen the afflictions of my people.... i am come down to deliver them." how intense were his yearnings! how great was his expectation! let me try to make him some little return by my desires and my yearnings for him! oh! come, little saviour, come and redeem us by thy outstretched arm! _colloquy_ with him who is so soon to come. _resolution._ to wait with his mother to-day asking her to give me some of her desire. _spiritual bouquet._ "a little child shall lead them" (is. _xi._ ). o radix jesse! december th. "o root of jesse! who standest as the ensign of the people, before whom kings shall keep silence and unto whom the nations shall make their supplication, come and set us free, tarry now no longer." (vide is. xi. and apoc. xxii. ). _ st. prelude._ the tree of jesse so often seen carved on cathedral porches and painted on windows, and in missals. _ nd. prelude._ grace to rally under the standard of the tree of jesse. point i. the root of jesse. "there shall come forth a rod out of the root of jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root; and the spirit of the lord shall rest upon him: the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of godliness; and he shall be filled with the spirit of the fear of the lord" (is. xi. - ). st. jerome says that the branch is our lady and the flower her son, who says of himself: "i am the flower of the field and the lily of the valleys" (cant. ii. ); and a responsory dating from the middle ages says: "_r._ the root of jesse gave out a branch: and the branch a flower; and on the flower resteth the holy spirit. _v._ the virgin mother of god is the branch, her son is the flower, and on the flower resteth the holy spirit." so once again, if we would find the flower we must first find the branch which bears it. the flower is still in bud but presently it will open, and its beauty and fragrance will fill the whole earth and attract all men to it: "what manner of one is thy beloved of the beloved, o thou most beautiful among women?" "my beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands" (cant. v. , ). i can understand that thy beautiful lily is white, for i know that such is his purity that even the heavens are not pure in his sight, but why is his apparel _red_? (is. lxiii. ). because he is "clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is called: _the word of god_" (apoc. xix. ). even now, before his delicate petals are unfolded, they are marked with the cross. o root of jesse, can ever tree compare with thine--one of whose branches was found worthy to bear a flower so fair! there are further beauties as we gaze--a heavenly dew is resting on the flower, it is the holy spirit himself, who at that blest moment when he overshadowed the branch poured out all his choicest gifts upon the flower. as god, the seven-fold gifts were his from all eternity, and directly the humanity was united to the eternal word, the divine perfections belonged to it, so that as man "he was made unto us the _wisdom_ of _god_" and could understand all mysteries. by the gift of _understanding_ he knew and entered into all god's plans for the redemption of the world. the gift of _counsel_ showed him exactly what was the will of his father which he had come to do. the gift of _fortitude_ gave him the strength to carry out his father's will and to say ever: not my will but thine be done. his _knowledge_ was so profound that he preferred poverty to riches, and to be despised rather than to be honoured; he knew as man the true worth of the thing which as god he had created. the gift of _piety_ established that tender relationship between him and his father which he wished us to have when he taught us to say: _our father_; it included also his perfect relationship with his mother and st. joseph. the gift of _fear_ gave him as man a reverence and respect for the majesty of god. (_vide_ heb. v. ). it was thus that the heavenly dew rested on the heavenly flower. o my jesus, come and tarry no longer! i know that thou hadst no need of any of these gifts; they rested on thee because thou art my model and thou wouldst show me how to use them. point ii. the ensign of the people. it is the tree of jesse which stands as an ensign, about which our lord says: "i am the root and stock of david" (apoc. xxii. ). he then is the standard-bearer and the standard is his cross. "bearing his own cross he went forth" (st. john xix. ). he is the "_sign_ which shall be contradicted" by his enemies (st. luke ii. ), but when the sign of the son of man shall appear in the heavens (st. matt. xxiv. ) it will bring joy and hope to the hearts of all those who love his coming ( tim. iv. ). "my beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands," or according to another translation: "my beloved is white and ruddy a _standard bearer_" (cant. v. a. v. margin), chosen for his strength as well as for his beauty. to him shall the nations make supplication, for he said: "i, if i be lifted up from the earth will draw all things to myself" (st. john xii. ). there are only two standards in the world--that of jesus christ and that of the devil. both leaders want me to enlist; both are trying to win me; but by what different means! the devil strives to entrap me with the silken threads of sin which seem so insignificant and harmless, but which if i allow myself to be trapped by them, he will twine into a thick rope and hold me fast; while jesus draws me to himself with the cords of love. both are infinitely more powerful than i am, and yet all depends on _me_, that is, on my will. the cords of love are far stronger than the cords of hate, so i need not be afraid of the devil's capturing me against my will; but on the other hand jesus will not draw me with the cords of love against my will. "_if thou wilt_, ... come," is his method. there _are_ chains, there _is_ a cross, but all is love. a little child holds the standard, a little child leads, and all he asks is that we should follow him and do as he does. come, then, little jesus, set up thy royal standard, come, tarry no longer. i am longing to show thee that i am not going to be a soldier in name only; longing to show thee that i understand that a soldier who has pledged himself to fight under thy standard must adopt thy methods, that if i would be a soldier on whom thou canst count, i must be really mortified, really poor, really ready to give up my own will and my own methods, really anxious to have humiliations because i know that there is no other way of attaining the beautiful virtue of humility. i am longing to show thee that i understand that those who march under thy standard must be marked by the cross. oh! come, and set me free from all that keeps me from offering myself whole-heartedly for thy service. come and cut all the many little cords that still bind me to the service of self. thy mother wants thee, the angels are longing to look upon thy face, the world wants thee though it knows it not, and i am longing to want thee too. oh! teach me to want thee more. _colloquy_ with the branch and the flower. _resolution._ to examine myself to-day as to my attachments. _spiritual bouquet._ "come and set us free, tarry now no longer." o clavis david! december th. "o key of david and sceptre of the house of israel! who openest and no man shutteth; who shuttest and no man openeth; come and bring forth from his prison-house the captive sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death." (isaias xxii. , apoc. iii. , gen. xlix. , heb. i. ). _ st. prelude._ the little king with the key and the sceptre. _ nd. prelude._ grace to respond to the key and the sceptre. point i. the key of david. "i will lay the key of the house of david upon his shoulder" (is. xxii. ). "to the angel of the church of philadelphia write: these things saith the holy one and the true one, he that hath the key of david, he that openeth and no man shutteth, shutteth and no man openeth: i know thy works. behold i have given before thee a door opened which no man can shut, because thou hast a little strength." (apoc. iii. - ). the babe unborn has already had the key laid upon his shoulder. he already has authority. soon, very soon now, he will come to use it. how will he use this key and what is it? it is the key of authority but it is also the key of love. ( ) he is coming to unlock the gates which hold the human race fast in ignorance and sin, to be its redeemer, to give it "a door opened which no man can shut," to give it a chance if it will of walking out of its prison-house into the liberty wherewith christ alone can make it free (gal. iv. ). ( ) he is coming to put his golden key of love into the hearts of men, to open those doors which are shut against him and which none but he can open, for none but he can give grace. each little child whose heart is filled with grace at its baptism is only able to receive it because the little child with the golden key has opened its heart. "thou hast opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers." come, then, o key of david, come and begin thy blessed work on earth. thou hast already put thy magic key into the heart of st. john the baptist and doubtless of many another; come and tarry not, come and found thy church and pass on the wondrous power of the keys to those with whom thou wilt leave thy authority. ( ) he is coming to open with his key of love his own most sacred heart. none but he can open that vast treasure-house of love, and none but he can shut it. it will be there for a refuge for all his children in all time--a standing memorial of his love. what does he ask in return? only that when we hear him put his golden key into our hearts, there may be a response: "my beloved put his hand through the key-hole and my heart was moved at his touch. i arose up to open to my beloved" (cant. v. - ). the rising up to let him in is our part, he puts in his key and unlocks, that is, he removes all obstacles by his grace, but we must respond to that grace for though he has unlocked the door he will not force an entrance. "behold i stand at the door and knock," and then he waits, waits for our correspondence and for our love. "my son, give me thy heart," he wants it, he has used his key of love to obtain it, but he will not take it, it must be a free gift of love. at the last great advent the door of his mercy will be shut against all those who have refused him an entrance into their hearts, and when he shuts, no man can open. "lord, lord, open to us," and the answer will come through the eternally locked door: "i never knew you, depart from me." oh! come, divine little one, come with thy key while yet there is time and unlock the many hearts which still find no place for thee, no time to attend to thee waiting so patiently, no desire to give thee an invitation this christmas; and give them grace to respond. point ii. the sceptre of the house of israel. the little one who is to come not only has a key on his shoulder, but a sceptre in his hand. the word used for sceptre (_shebet_) in the hebrew has four distinct meanings and we can apply them all to our lord and saviour, jesus christ. it is: ( ) a rod of _command_, a sign of _royalty_ (esther iv. , ps. xliv. ); ( ) a rod of iron, a rod of _correction_ (ps. ii. , prov. xxii. ); ( ) the _shepherd's_ rod or wand (lev. xxvii. ); ( ) the _flail_ which separates the grain from the chaff (is. xxviii. ). ( ) _a sign of royalty._ he is my king--how much that says to me! he has authority over me and a right to command me, a right to my service from every point of view; but he will not exact it from me. he stretches out his sceptre of mercy in token of clemency. he wants my service, but he wants it to be the outcome of my love and so he uses his sceptre to attract me. he brings himself down to my level, he calls himself my brother, my friend. he tells me that if i will throw in my lot with him and do as he does, one day i shall share his kingdom and reign with him. such is my king and such is the meaning of his sceptre. "where is he that is born king of the jews?" thou art as yet hidden, o my little king, but thou wilt be _born_ a king for "thy throne, o god, is for ever and ever, a sceptre of justice is the sceptre of thy kingdom" (heb. i. ). what is my response going to be to that sceptre stretched out once again? that of a loyal, whole-hearted, loving subject or that of one who is still hesitating between the service of self and the service of the king? ( ) _a rod of correction._ for his enemies it is a "rod of iron," but for his children a rod of love, for what son is there whom the father doth not correct? "whom the lord loveth he chastiseth; and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. persevere under discipline. god dealeth with you as with his sons." (heb. xii. - ). we are not to "faint" nor "be weary" nor "neglect the discipline," not to be inclined to give all up and choose an easier path; no, but to regard the discipline as a "consolation," (verse ) a proof of love, a sign that we are really the children with whom he does what he likes, instructing us according to his own pleasure (verse ). oh! my little king, come with thy rod of correction, come and make me a saint and do not spare me in the making. he that spareth the rod spoileth the child. i do not want to be a spoilt child, but a child on whom thou canst count, that is, a child to whom thou canst say what thou wilt and whom thou canst criticize as thou wilt, by the mouth of whom thou wilt, a child whom thou dost not _consider_ because thou art sure of its love, sure, that is, that it loves thee and thy ways better than self and its ways. ( ) _a shepherd's staff or crook._ as it had been prophesied of him that he should be a king, so it had also been prophesied that he should be a shepherd: "i will save my flock ... and i will set up one shepherd over them and he shall feed them and he shall be their shepherd" (ezech. xxxiv. , , and xxxvii. ). "he shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall gather together the lambs with his arms, and shall take them up in his bosom, and he himself shall carry them that are with young" (is. xl. ). "i am the good shepherd;" even now while he is yet in the womb of his mother he is counting his sheep, calling them out, knowing each one by name, thinking of the great fold which he is going to make, of the one shepherd to whom he will entrust the great work of feeding his sheep, of the "other sheep" whom he "must bring" into the fold sooner or later. even now he is planning to lay down his life for his sheep "that they may have life and have it more abundantly." ( ) _the flail_ which separates the chaff from the good grain, the _tribulum_ which causes "great _tribulation_" on earth's threshing floor, but which is used only for the good of the grain and ensures its being gathered into the heavenly garners. oh! my little king, who art coming to bring peace make me understand that i shall never have peace till i am fully persuaded that all my _tribulation_, all my troubles, trials and afflictions are directly caused by thee, that it is thou thyself and no other who dost use the threshing instruments to separate me from all that is not pleasing to thee. come then, and with thy key of love unlock the prison-house and bring forth the captive sitting in darkness and then with thy sceptre rule him, correct him, guide him and afflict him. _colloquy_ with him who has the key and the sceptre. _resolution._ to rise up and open to my beloved. _spiritual bouquet._ o clavis david! o oriens! december st. feast of st. thomas. "o orient! (dawn of the east, rising sun. dayspring) splendour of the light eternal and sun of justice, come and enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death." (is. ix. , zach. iii. , vi. , mal. iv , st. luke i. ). _ st. prelude._ "the light of the morning when the sun riseth" ( kings xxiii. ). _ nd. prelude._ grace to tread always the "way of peace." point i. the orient. "behold i will bring my servant the orient." (zach. iii. ). now god has kept his promise for zachary has already sung: "the orient from on high has visited us." but where is he, this servant of god who has come to do his will, this man who is also god, this splendour of the light eternal and sun of justice? as yet he is hiding his light, but "fear not for on the fifth day our lord will come unto you" (antiphon of the _benedictus_ for to-day). he will come and he will not tarry; but when he comes he will still hide his light under the swaddling clothes and the helplessness and dependence of a little babe. why is this, o orient? thou art the light eternal and the sun of justice and yet thy rising seems to make so little difference in the world. hardly any know that thou hast risen. my child, it is true that i am the light of the world, true that i am the bright and morning star, but the light can only reach the world by faith. those who have faith like zachary and his wife and infant son know that i have visited them, not because they have _seen_ me, but by faith. it is the same with my own sweet mother: "blessed art thou that hast _believed_" (st. luke i. ). it will be the same when i am born in a few days' time. most will see nothing beyond a babe in swaddling clothes, but to a chosen few who have the gift of faith the sun of justice will have risen, the star will have appeared, their cry will be: "behold a man," even the man-god, "the orient is his name." it will be the same all through my life on earth, only the few will recognize the light of the world; most will not come to me, but will prefer darkness rather than light. it will be the same with my sacramental life in the church. i shall be there, but only the eye of faith will detect me. the sun of justice has risen with health in his wings, but only very gradually will he make himself felt in a world that is sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death. and why, o orient, splendour of the light eternal, why dost thou not cast thy bright beams over the whole world at once that all may know and recognize thee as the dayspring which has risen? because, my child, i love faith and it is by faith that i intend men to know me. i do enlighten "every man that cometh into this world" (st. john i. ), that is i give to each sufficient light to save his soul, to one more, to another less, and i shall judge according to the light i have given; but what i want from all is co-operation, i want their faith, i want them to believe, not because they can see and understand, but because by means of my grace in their hearts and especially by means of the revelation given to my church i enlighten their minds. yes, the sun has risen with health in his wings, and gradually he will increase in strength till the "uttermost parts of the earth" respond to his light. it is a work of time just as it is a work of time in each individual soul. the soul does not see clearly as soon as the light enters; there is a period when men seem like trees walking (st. mark viii. ); but if only it will respond and hold on by faith, the time will come when it will see all things clearly. o orient, come and enlighten those that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death with the light of faith. it is faith that is needed on the earth, it is faith that is needed in each individual soul. it is faith that i need, more faith, more confidence in thy dealings. many shadows are still cast on my soul by sin--even a wilful imperfection casts a shadow. oh what need i have of thee, o orient from on high, to come and visit me and chase away the shadows of the night! "till the day break and the shadows retire" (cant. ii. , iv. ). point ii. st. thomas. it is a coincidence, if not something more, that puts the antiphon _o oriens!_ on the same day as the feast of st. thomas. it was on account of st. thomas' _doubt_ that the great principle was given to the church: "blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed." it is on account of st. thomas' _faith_ that countless indulgences are granted every day to the faithful who make use of his words: "my lord and my god" when their sight shows them nothing but a little host elevated by a priest. it was st. thomas' _zeal_ which made him go to the indies and proclaim that the orient had visited his people and that god had become incarnate for men. "thou didst make all the indies shine with much light" (hymn of the greek church to st. thomas), and that light was the light of faith in him whom they had not seen. it is st. thomas who comes to-day to revive our flagging faith, to introduce us to the babe of bethlehem and tell us that he is indeed the orient though he is hiding his light, to warn us to give no heed to temptations against the faith, to tell us that when we are contemplating the humility and nothingness of our god and the temptation comes to us, as it did to him to say: unless i see for myself, "i will not believe," to remember the words of the master: "blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed." o blessed saint thomas! who art now in the land of light and vision, intercede for us that we may be as little children, believing all we are told and quietly waiting till the day dawn and the orient arises in all his majesty and strength, _preparing_ as a giant to run his course, but for the moment hiding everything under the form of a helpless babe. we do not ask for sight but for the light which will lead us to him, the light of faith, so that when we see him wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger we may cry out with you: "my lord and my god." point iii. the way of peace. the orient visited us not only "to enlighten them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death," but also "to direct our feet into the way of peace" (st. luke i. ). and what is the way of peace but the way of _faith_, which he is coming to light up? nothing can bring peace to this dark and sin-stricken world but faith. the sun of justice is rising with health in his wings and that health is faith. it is the remedy for all ills. men try every other remedy but they leave out god and his faith and the result is that the world remains in chaos. the light has risen, the orient has visited us, but men shut their eyes to the light and prefer the darkness, because their deeds are evil. the _way of peace_ is made by the prince of peace, it is the highway to the heaven of peace. am i on it? yes, for i am one of "the household of faith" and can never thank him sufficiently for having directed my feet into the city of peace. but this is not all. many people, even those of the "household of faith" have very little real peace in their lives. they spend their time in complaints, regrets, criticisms, anxieties. is this what the king of peace intends? oh no! he is ever there waiting to direct their feet towards the "green pastures" and "the still waters," but the way of peace is the way of faith, of trust and confidence. until i can really trust him, the peaceful pastures can never be mine, i can never lie down in them and rest. i am his sheep, but i do not wholly trust my shepherd. if i did, i should believe that whatever he chose and arranged for me was the best; i could not _complain_ of what he had planned for me, however hard it might be. i could not criticize his arrangements and want to make my own. may my trust be so absolute this christmas that it is apparent to everyone that i possess the peace which the babe of bethlehem comes to bring. o orient come once more and direct my feet into the way of peace. _colloquy_ with the orient. _resolution._ "although he should kill me, i will trust in him." (job. xiii. ). _spiritual bouquet._ o oriens! o rex gentium! december nd. "o king of nations and their desired one and the corner-stone that makest both one, come and save man whom thou didst form out of slime!" (gen. xlix. , agg. ii. , isaias xxviii. , gen. ii. ). _ st. prelude._ mary and joseph on the road to bethlehem. "behold thy king will come to thee.... he is poor and riding upon an ass." (zach. ix. ). _ nd. prelude._ grace to welcome my king. point i. "the desired of all nations shall come." king of nations he has always been, for he created them; in him they live and move and are. (acts xvii. ). he has been in his earth ever since he created it, governing it, sustaining and preserving the life which he gave, co-operating always with his creatures. we must not think of him as creating the world and then leaving it to do the best it could till the time came for him to be incarnate. that is a false idea. his delights were _always_ to be with the children of men and though the orient did not begin to dawn till the time of the incarnation, the light had been in the world all along; the sun of justice had existed from all eternity. "he was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not." (st. john i. ). but though it knew him not, the world had enough light to desire him. ever since god at the time of man's fall had made his great promise concerning the woman and her seed, he that was to come had been to the nations "their desired one." that promise had been carefully cherished, handed on from father to son till moses came and recorded it in the book of genesis; and though of necessity one nation had to be selected to which the woman and her seed were to belong, yet the promise was given to all nations and all claimed their share in it. the chosen _nation_ through whom all the others were to be blessed was abraham's. through him and his seed the great promise was to be fulfilled (gen. xii. ). the _time_ was hinted at in the patriarch jacob's blessing to juda: "the sceptre shall not be taken away from juda, nor a ruler from his thigh, till he come that is to be sent and he shall be the expectation of nations" (gen. xlix. ). the house or _family_ which was to have the joy of realizing the promise was david's; the _place_ where the woman was to bring forth her seed was bethlehem. here "she that travaileth shall bring forth" and here "shall he come ... that is to be the ruler in israel" (mich. v. - ). each subsequent prophecy or promise developed and enlarged the original one given in eden, but in that one the nations had all that they needed upon which to build up their hopes and nourish their desires--the woman and her seed, the "child with his mother"--and though the promise _belonged_ to the chosen nation (rom. ix. ), the first great promise had been handed down through the other nations and they knew enough to make them _desire_, enough to find the light if they sought it as did the wise kings of the east. o king of nations, as i look back through the ages and see the child and his mother so clearly set forth in promise and prophecy, in type and example, when i think of thy plans for the redemption of the world, made from all eternity and gradually unfolding as the fulness of time approached, when i think of the nations all desiring thy coming, when i think of the intense desire of thy loving heart, there is one thing that seems to jar and to be out of harmony with the rest, and that is the lamentable want of desire in my own heart! the time is very short now, the child with his mother are already on the way to bethlehem. oh! let me multiply my acts of desire that my little king when he comes may be indeed _my_ "desired one" too. "i sat down under his shadow, whom i desired." (cant. ii. ). point ii. the corner-stone that maketh both one. "behold i will lay a stone in the foundations of sion, a tried stone, a corner-stone, a precious stone, founded in the foundations" (isaias xxviii. ), "the stone which the builders rejected" (ps. cxvii. ). this is one of the promises confided to the chosen nation. our blessed lord claims it as applying to himself (st. matt. xxi. , st. luke xx. ), and st. peter and st. paul both speak of it as if it were well known. (acts iv. , peter ii. - , rom. ix. , eph. ii. ). he is the corner-stone who is coming to make both one (eph. ii. ), both the jews to whom belongs the promise (rom. ix. ) and the gentiles who are "co-partners of his promise" (eph. iii. ). he is coming to preach peace to them that are far off as well as to them that are nigh, coming to make "the strangers and foreigners" feel that they are "fellow-citizens with the saints and the domestics of god," coming to weld all together into one great building of which he himself is to be the chief corner-stone, binding together the two walls (jews and gentiles), supporting each stone and keeping each in its place, a holy temple in the lord, "a habitation of god in the spirit." such is the picture st. paul draws for us (eph. ii), and such is the picture which the antiphon for to-day brings before our minds. "all one in christ jesus." he is the king of all nations, the desired of all nations, the corner-stone of the whole building; with him there is neither jew nor gentile (gal. iii. ). let me tell him even now before he comes how i long to share in the great work so dear to his sacred heart, let me offer myself to co-operate with him in his designs for the human race which he loves so well. let me be ready to labour, to suffer, to pray, to spend and be spent, if only i may thus bring him a few stones for his holy temple. i was "sometime afar off" but now have been "made nigh by the blood of christ" (eph. ii. ). "what shall i render?" (ps. cxv. ). point iii. come and save man whom thou didst form out of the dust. "their desired one" who has never been far from the hearts of his children, knows the need of the nations. he who formed man out of the dust knows his need of a saviour. what are the desires of the nations compared with his desire? from all eternity he has desired the time to come when by taking the nature of man he could fulfil their desires and be to them both a king and a saviour. very soon now will the angels be telling the glad tidings to man: to you is born the saviour. very soon will the heavenly choirs be singing the praises of the new-born king, and the question will be asked even by distant nations: "where is he that is born king?" oh! come, little king, come and fulfil the desires of all hearts. thou hast given them and thou also must satisfy them. art thou really the one desire of my heart, around which all my hopes centre? if thou wert not there, i know that life would be nothing but a blank. come and create a greater desire than ever after the perfection thou wouldst have, and then show me how to follow after it. "in what place soever thou shalt be, my lord king ... there will thy servant be" ( kings xv. ). to-day then i will journey with thy blessed mother, for surely the closer i keep to her, the greater must be my desires. _colloquy_ with "the desired one." _resolution._ grace to desire him more ardently. _spiritual bouquet._ o rex gentium! o emmanuel! december rd. "o emmanuel, our king and lawgiver, the expectation and saviour of the nations! come and save us, o lord our god." (is. vii. , viii. , xxxiii. , st. jas. iv. ). _ st. prelude._ mary and joseph in the temple at jerusalem. _ nd. prelude._ grace to worship with them. point i. emmanuel, god with us. on the way from nazareth to bethlehem lies jerusalem and we may be quite sure that a happy event for mary and joseph on this long and tiring journey now nearing its end would be their visit to the temple, near which mary, and probably joseph too, had spent most of her life. we may think, then, of mary to-day taking her son into his own temple. we may think of the joy of the angels as they lifted high the gates to let the hidden king come in. in the holy of holies of solomon's temple was the ark of the covenant, inside which were the tables of god's law and upon which was manifested the presence of the all-holy. but here kneeling in the temple, in the women's court afar off, was the real ark of the covenant of which the other was only a type, hiding within her chaste womb the new lawgiver whose presence was known only to the angels who were worshipping round his shrine, and to mary and joseph the only earthly worshippers in the temple that day who understood. here was the virgin with her son, the prophecy was fulfilled--god with us. "his name shall be called _emmanuel_." yet mary and joseph were not the only worshippers in the temple that day--there was a human soul worshipping god as he had never been worshipped before. the heart of jesus now so near the end of the first stage of its existence on earth was offering to god all its homage and all its love, offering to him all the work that had been done during the nine months passed in the holy "ark of the covenant," all the humiliation and self-abasement, the silence and dependence, the suffering and patience, the satisfaction and merit. he had been doing all the time the things that pleased his father, the things that he had made himself man to be able to do. now he is waiting--and the very waiting is another act of worship--waiting for the moment to come when he can take the next step in his earthly journey, waiting with his mother whose intense desire is only second to his own. o emmanuel! god with us! i feel that i must go too to thy sacred courts to-day and make one more worshipper before that holy shrine. advent is nearly over, my time of preparation is well-nigh at an end. what have i to offer as i kneel in adoration? feeble desires, broken resolutions, failure again in the thing i did so want not to fail in this advent, good intentions, but little else. dare i come and kneel there where all is so holy and so perfect? yes, for he is _emmanuel_, god incarnate for me. let me hand him through his mother all my poverty and wretchedness and weakness and failure, together with my contrition and repentance and love, and in exchange he will hand me his forgiveness and the promise to offer my inadequate worship, together with his own divine perfections, to his father, who will be satisfied. this is what _emmanuel_ means. point ii. our lawgiver. "the lord is our judge, the lord is our lawgiver, the lord is our king he will save us." (is. xxxiii. ). he is our king, therefore he has a right to make laws for us. and who could be a better judge of how the laws are kept than he who made them? am i afraid at the sterner aspect which things seem to have taken? there is no need, for he is still our _emmanuel_, but he can only be thus our friend and companion by being also the one who has an absolute right to make laws for us and to expect our obedience. "you are my _friends_, if you do the things i command you" (st. john xv. ). the reason for _all_ his titles is that he wills to _save_ us. he is first of all the saviour and then, in order that our salvation may be accomplished, he makes himself our king, our lawgiver and finally our judge. "if you love me, keep my commandments." such is our lawgiver's appeal. surely his commandments are not grievous. he who did always the things which pleased his father, asks us to try to do the same. o my little lawgiver, accomplishing so silently and so perfectly the will of thy father, command me and i will obey, give thy orders through whom thou wilt; be they hard or easy, be they in accordance with my will or contrary to my whole nature! i will think of thy perfect submission to thy father's will during those nine months for me and will say: i, too, will do always the things which please him no matter what they cost. point iii. the expectation of the nations. jesus is waiting, mary is waiting, the angels are waiting, all nations, all the earth, and heaven too is waiting--waiting for our emmanuel to come and save us. the empty manger speaks of the church's expectation to-day. we can count the hours now, all things are ready. oh! come and save us! come and begin thy blessed work over again, come and save the many who as yet know thee not and who are expecting everything this christmas _except_ a saviour. may the sight of the empty crib remind me to look well into my preparations to-day to see that nothing is wanting in the welcome i am going to give to the king! _colloquy_ with our emmanuel. at the incarnation, at thy birth, all through thy life, thou didst dwell _with us_; on every altar thou hast promised to be _with us_ all days; in holy communion thou hast said i will dwell _with them_; in the hour of death i will fear no evil for thou wilt be _with me_; and thou hast secured heaven for me by thy prayer: "father, i will that those whom thou hast given me be _with me_ where i am." "emmanuel, _god with us_." _resolution._ grace to expect him to-day in all that i do. _spiritual bouquet._ o emmanuel! christmas eve. "this day you shall know that the lord will come and save us: and in the morning you shall see his glory." (ex. xvi. "introit" for christmas eve). _ st. prelude._ the stable and the manger waiting for jesus. _ nd. prelude._ grace to make my final preparations. point i. my preparation--last touches. to-day mary and joseph arrive at their journey's end. we think of them footsore, weary, homeless; we think of the discouragement and rebuffs that they meet with as they hear on all sides that there is no room for them; but do we think enough of the intense joy that reigned in mary's heart, a joy communicated to her by her son? he is rejoicing that his hour is come; the very refusals of his people to receive him and his mother are to him a sign that his work has begun and is already being opposed. mary shares his joy; she is absorbed by one thought--soon she will look upon his face--and that thought is so great that there is scarcely room for any other in her heart. and joseph? can we imagine him anxious and disturbed and worried? no, it is impossible--he is with jesus and mary, he has lived his life close to them for nine months, he has imbibed their spirit. if his joy is not as intense as theirs, his _peace_ is unruffled; he has brought the mother with her child to bethlehem as he was told to do, and he knows that god will take care of his own. my first lessons, then, for to-day are apparent. in the morning i shall see his glory; the point of advent is reached, my preparation is nearly over. i was told to get ready for him, i was told to come to bethlehem, i have been trying to do so, trying to keep up with mary and joseph on their journey; often, i am obliged to admit it, it has been a following afar off, but still by god's grace, i _am_ following and i know that to-day he is coming to save us and that to-morrow i shall see his glory for he will come to me in holy communion. he will be born again in my heart and make me understand once more that he is incarnate for me. are my joy and my peace so great that nothing has the power to touch them? there are many occupations that must of necessity claim my time and my attention to-day, as there were many coming and going on the roads that led to bethlehem; there are many things to be thought about in my last preparations for christmas--it was so with mary and joseph too. almost certainly i shall have to-day, as they had, things that try and weary me, perhaps suffering, temptation, slights and even insults. shall i receive them as last and most precious opportunities for adding the finishing touches to my preparation, for gaining a victory where i have perhaps so recently lost one, for making reparation to my king and for uniting myself more closely to him and his mother? will the thought that he is coming be so absorbing that the difficulties of the way are hardly noticed or are welcome as a reminder that i too am journeying to bethlehem? if i cannot aspire to the joy of jesus and mary, i can at least aim at the peace of st. joseph. point ii. his preparation. _his_ preparation is coming to an end too. let me go over in my mind once again all that he had to plan and to do by way of preparation before he could come to me in holy communion. it was for this that the incarnation was a preparation. in order to feed me with his flesh and blood, he had to become incarnate. this is the point of christmas, and it is the point of contact between jesus and my soul. to-morrow mary in an ecstasy of joy will look upon his face and press him to her heart; to-morrow joseph, full of awe and wonder, will take him in his arms; to-morrow the angels will sing their _glorias_ as they gaze upon their god incarnate; to-morrow the shepherds will adore and offer him their gifts; and to-morrow i too shall touch him very closely for i shall receive into my body and into my heart his body and blood, his soul and his divinity. he will be with me and i with him. it is for this that i have been making my preparations and it is for this that he has been making his. how long has he been preparing? not only during advent, not only during the nine months, not only since the great promise was given in eden, not only since the time when there was war among the angels because of the incarnation--i am getting beyond time already and farther back than that i cannot go for my mind is finite; but his is infinite and just because it is infinite there never was a time when the incarnation was not in his mind, and there never was a time when i, his child, was not in his mind, and also there never was a time when he did not see the blest moments when he should bring the two into contact and make me understand personally what the point of the incarnation is. these blest moments are my communions and surely one of the most blest must be my christmas communion when he who comes to me and who feeds me with himself is the child who was born at bethlehem, he who had been so long expected, the seed of the woman, the orient from on high, the star of the east, the desired one of the nations, the root of jesse, the king of the gentiles with his key and his sceptre, emmanuel, god with us. _colloquy._ i kneel at the door of the empty stable and offer thee my heart, o my little jesus! i have tried to make room for thee; i have made my poor little preparations with thy blessed mother; i have taken long journeys to get to thee; but my body is not fit to be thy temple and my heart is treacherous and faithless. i am ashamed to have so poor a shelter to offer thee. if it were not that thou didst ask for it, i dare not offer it. oh! thou who didst not refuse the manger-bed, come to my heart, look at the contrition and the humiliation and the reparation and the aching longing to be what thou dost want, and forget the faithlessness and the failures and the weakness. come, my little king, incarnate for me, come and save me, if i were not a sinner i should not need a saviour. _resolution._ to keep very near to mary and joseph to-day. _spiritual bouquet._ "in the morning you shall see his glory." * * * * * bokstel--holland electrische drukkerij wilhelm van eupen * * * * * transcriber's notes: obvious spelling and punctuation errors were repaired, but unusual period spellings and grammatical usages were retained. headings and scripture references were inconsistently formatted and have been standardized, but variations in book titles and abbreviations were retained. where punctuation in contents page entries and chapter headings in original did not agree, the contents page entries were corrected. he, him, his, etc. when referring to "jesus" and "god" are capitalized throughout the original, and "jesus" placed in small caps. the few exceptions have been changed to conform to the majority. contents page--ditto marks were used in the original. the marks were replaced by actual repeated words as follows: chapters - , st. john the baptist; chapters - , the interior life; chapters - and - , december. also, under prayers, "sancta dei genitrix," for each line after the first, "ora pro nobis" replaces ditto marks. p. : "few streaks of thy divine light"--original shows "th divine light" with a gap after "th." p. : "( ) the sentences." the original labels the subheadings within ( ) as ( ) and ( ). this format was retained. also "there are only two," original shows "the are only two." p. : "come to do thy will," original reads "come do thy will." p. - : "example which you set. teach me, too;" original reads "example which you set [page break] teach me, too." note: project gutenberg also has an html version of this file which includes the original illustration. see -h.htm or -h.zip: (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h/ -h.htm) or (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/ / -h.zip) transcriber's note: text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_). small capital text has been replaced with all capitals. character and conduct [illustration: faithful unto death sir e. j. poynter, bart., p.r.a. _this picture represents a roman guard on duty at one of the palaces during the destruction of herculanæum, who, although he might perhaps have made his escape prefers to remain at his post, faithful unto death._] character and conduct a book of helpful thoughts by great writers of past and present ages selected and arranged for daily reading by the author of "being and doing" with a frontispiece by sir e. j. poynter, bart., p.r.a. liverpool henry young & sons london simpkin, marshall, hamilton, kent & co. ltd. first edition, copies, printed november second edition, copies, printed december to _e. k._ _"it is more_ men _that the world wants, not more systems. it is character that our modern life waits for, to redeem and transform it; and conduct as the fruitage of character."_ _the citizen in his relation to the industrial situation_, bishop potter. preface this collection of noble thoughts expressed by men and women of past and present ages who have endeavoured to leave the world a little better than they found it, is similar in arrangement and purpose to my former volume "being and doing"; and has been compiled at the request of several readers who have found that book helpful. it is obvious that without the kindly co-operation of many authors and publishers such books could not exist, and i tender sincere and hearty thanks to those who have made the work possible. all have treated me with unfailing courtesy and generosity. where i have occasionally used short quotations without permission i ask forgiveness. it would be impossible to name separately each one to whom i am a grateful debtor, so special mention must only be made of the more heavily taxed, and of those who have asked for a formal acknowledgment, namely:-- the literary executors of the late mr. ruskin, _per_ mr. george allen, for extracts from mr. ruskin's works. mr. edward arnold for those from _red pottage_, by mary cholmondeley. canon barnett for those from _the service of god_. messrs. deighton bell & co. for those from _pastor pastorum_, by the rev. henry latham. mr. james drummond for those from the writings of professor henry drummond. messrs. kegan paul, trench, trübner & co. for those from sir edwin arnold's _light of asia_. miss may kendall for those from _turkish bonds_, &c. messrs. longmans, green & co. for those from the works of bishop paget, and from canon maccoll's _here and hereafter_. professor maccunn for those from _the making of character_. messrs. macmillan & co. for those from the works of bishop westcott, mrs. bernard bosanquet; tennyson's poems; from the present lord tennyson's life of his father; from the _mettle of the pasture_, by james lane allen; and from mrs. humphry ward's translation of _amiel's journal_. messrs. methuen & co. for one from the _life of r. l. stevenson_. mr. lloyd osbourne for those from r. l. stevenson's works. messrs. wells, gardner, darton & co. for those from bishop winnington ingram's _under the dome_ and _friends of the master_. dr. john watson for those from his writings. permission was kindly given me before by messrs. macmillan to quote from the works of the late archbishop temple and of matthew arnold. by messrs. smith, elder & co. for quotations from robert browning. by mr. c. lewes for quotations from george eliot; and from lord avebury and the rev. stopford brooke for those from their works. in my experience the reading of extracts often leads to the reading of the books from which they were taken, and i hope and believe many of these gleanings will serve as introductions. constance m. whishaw. sunny bank, arnside, carnforth. new year's day january "here you stand at the parting of the ways; some road you are to take; and as you stand here, consider and know how it is that you intend to live. carry no bad habits, no corrupting associations, no enmities and strifes into this new year. leave these behind, and let the dead past bury its dead; leave them behind, and thank god that you are able to leave them." ephraim peabody. "would'st shape a noble life? then cast no backward glances toward the past, and though somewhat be lost and gone, yet do thou act as one new-born; what each day needs, that shalt thou ask, each day will set its proper task." goethe. "no aim is too high, no task too great, no sin too strong, no trial too hard for those who patiently and humbly rest upon god's grace: who wait on him that he may renew their strength." _faculties and difficulties for belief and disbelief_, bishop paget. purpose january "you did not come into this world by chance, you were not born by accident. you all came charged with a mission to use your best efforts to extend the frontier of your master's kingdom by purifying your own hearts and leavening for good the hearts of all who come within the sphere of your influence. your business here is not to enjoy yourselves in those fleeting pleasures which perish in the using; not to sip as many dainties as you can from the moments as they fly; not to gather as many flowers as you can pluck from the garden of this perishing earth; not even to rest in the enjoyment of those nobler delights which come from the exercise of the intellect in the investigation of the works of god and man; but rather to do your best to fit yourselves and others for the new heavens and new earth, which god has prepared for those who love him." _life here and hereafter_, canon maccoll. "do not despise your situation; in it you must act, suffer, and conquer. from every point on earth we are equally near to heaven and to the infinite." _amiel's journal._ a noble life january "a man's greatness lies not in wealth and station, as the vulgar believe, nor yet in his intellectual capacity, which is often associated with the meanest moral character, the most abject servility to those in high places, and arrogance to the poor and lowly; but a man's true greatness lies in the consciousness of an honest purpose in life, founded on a just estimate of himself and everything else, on frequent self-examination, and a steady obedience to the rule which he knows to be right, without troubling himself about what others may think or say, or whether they do or do not do that which he thinks and says and does." george long. "whether a life is noble or ignoble depends not on the calling which is adopted, but on the spirit in which it is followed." _the pleasures of life_, lord avebury. "every noble life leaves the fibre of itself interwoven for ever in the work of the world." trench. holiness january "jesus and his apostles teach that the supreme success of life is not to escape pain but to lay hold on righteousness, not to possess but to be holy, not to get things from god but to be like god. they were ever bidding christians beware of ease, ever rousing them to surrender and sacrifice." _the potter's wheel_, dr. john watson. "the end of life is not to deny self, nor to be true, nor to keep the ten commandments--it is simply to do god's will. it is not to get good nor be good, nor even to do good--it is just what god wills, whether that be working or waiting, or winning or losing, or suffering or recovering, or living or dying." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. "do not act as if thou wert going to live ten thousand years. death hangs over thee. while thou livest, while it is in thy power, be good." marcus aurelius. the power of the holy spirit january "we are haunted by an ideal life, and it is because we have within us the beginning and the possibility of it." phillips brooks. "the power of the holy spirit!--an everlasting spiritual presence among men. what but that is the thing we want? that is what the old oracles were dreaming of, what the modern spiritualists tonight are fumbling after. the power of the holy ghost, by which every man who is in doubt may know what is right, every man whose soul is sick may be made spiritually whole, every weak man may be made a strong man,--that is god's one sufficient answer to the endless appeal of man's spiritual life; that is god's one great response to the unconscious need of spiritual guidance, which he hears crying out of the deep heart of every man.--i hope that i have made clear to you what i mean. i would that we might understand ourselves, see what we might be; nay, see what we are. while you are living a worldly and a wicked life, letting all sacred things go, caring for no duty, serving no god, there is another self, your possibility, the thing that you might be, the thing that god gave you a chance to be." phillips brooks. a symphony january "to live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not rich; to study hard, think quietly, talk gently, act frankly; to listen to stars and birds, to babes and sages, with open heart; to bear all cheerfully, do all bravely, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common--this is to be my symphony." william ellery channing. "heed how thou livest. do no act by day which from the night shall drive thy peace away. in months of sun so live that months of rain shall still be happy." whittier, _translation_. patience with ourselves january "to be honest, to be kind--to earn a little and to spend a little less, to make upon the whole a family happier for his presence, to renounce when that shall be necessary and not be embittered, to keep a few friends but these without capitulation--above all, on the same grim condition, to keep friends with himself--here is a task for all that a man has of fortitude and delicacy." _across the plains_, r. l. stevenson. "people who love themselves aright, even as they ought to love their neighbour, bear charitably, though without flattery, with self as with another. they know what needs correction at home as well as elsewhere; they strive heartily and vigorously to correct it, but they deal with self as they would deal with some one else they wished to bring to god. they set to work patiently, not exacting more than is practicable under present circumstances from themselves any more than from others, and not being disheartened because perfection is not attainable in a day." fÉnÉlon. "one is so apt to think that what works smoothest works to the highest ends, having no patience for the results of friction." mrs. ewing. the foot-path to peace january "to be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to work and to play and to look up at the stars; to be satisfied with your possessions, but not contented with yourself until you have made the best of them; to despise nothing in the world except falsehood and meanness, and to fear nothing except cowardice; to be governed by your admirations rather than by your disgusts; to covet nothing that is your neighbour's except his kindness of heart and gentleness of manners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of your friends, and every day of christ; and to spend as much time as you can, with body and with spirit, in god's out-of-doors--these are little guideposts on the foot-path to peace." henry van dyke. "o lord, that lends me life, lend me a heart replete with thankfulness." shakespeare. purpose january "he who lives without a definite purpose achieves no higher end than to serve as a warning to others. he is a kind of bell-buoy, mournfully tolled by the waves of circumstance, to mark the rocks or shoals which are to be avoided." "surely there is something to be done from morning till night, and to find out _what_ is the appointed work of the onward-tending soul." fanny kemble. "i ask you while hope is still fresh and enthusiasm unchilled to gain some conception of the solemnity, the vastness, the unity, the purpose of life: to pause in the street or on the river bank and ask yourselves what that strange stream of pleasure and frivolity and sorrow and vice means, and means to you: to reflect that you are bound by intelligible bonds to every suffering, sinning man and woman: to learn, while the lesson is comparatively easy, the secret of human sympathy: to search after some of the essential relationships of man to man: to interpret a little of the worth of even trivial labour: to grow sensitive to the feelings of the poor: to grow considerate to the claims of the weak." bishop westcott. life, a school january "all life is a school, a preparation, a purpose: nor can we pass current in a higher college, if we do not undergo the tedium of education in this lower one." _tennyson--a memoir_, by his son. "life is a succession of lessons, which must be lived to be understood." emerson. "we never know for what god is preparing us in his schools, for what work on earth, for what work in the hereafter. our business is to do our work well in the present place, whatever that may be." lyman abbott. character and service january "never should we forget the close connection between character and service, between inward nobleness and outward philanthropy. we are not here to dream, or even to build up in grace and beauty our individual life; we are responsible, each in our own little way, for trying to leave this sad world happier, this evil world better than we found it. in this way slackness is infamy, and power to the last particle means duty. each of us, in some degree, must have the ambition to be an 'alter christus'--another christ, shouldering with the compassionate son of god to lift our shadowed world from the gates of death." "what men want is not talent, it is purpose; not the power to achieve, but the will to labour." bulwer lytton. "'awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and christ shall give thee light.' this is the principle with which we should look forth upon the world and our own life at the beginning of this year. we look upon the world; it seems as if it were sleeping still, like rome, as if it needed as much as ever to hear the shout, 'awake, thou that sleepest.'" stopford brooke. present circumstances january "everywhere and at all times it is in thy power piously to acquiesce in thy present condition, and to behave justly to those who are about thee, and to exert thy skill upon thy present thoughts, that nothing shall steal into them without being well examined." marcus aurelius. "such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. dye it then with a continuous series of such thoughts as these: for instance, that where a man can live, there he can also live well. but he must live in a palace;--well then, he can also live well in a palace." marcus aurelius. "of nothing can we be more sure than this: that, if we cannot sanctify our present lot, we could sanctify no other." martineau. circumstances january "occasion is the father of most that is good in us. as you have seen the awkward fingers and clumsy tools of a prisoner cut and fashion the most delicate little pieces of carved work; or achieve the most prodigious underground labours, and cut through walls of masonry, and saw iron bars and fetters; 'tis misfortune that awakens ingenuity, or fortitude or endurance, in hearts where these qualities had never come to life but for the circumstance which gave them a being." _esmond_, w. m. thackeray. "it always remains true that if we had been greater, circumstances would have been less strong against us." g. eliot. "a consideration of petty circumstances is the tomb of great things." voltaire. the ifs of life january "if it were--_if_ it might be--_if_ it could be--_if_ it had been. one portion of mankind go through life always regretting, always whining, always imagining. _as_ it is--this is the way in which the other class of people look at the conditions in which they find themselves. i venture to say that if one should count the _ifs_ and the _ases_ in the conversation of his acquaintances, he would find the more able and important persons among them--statesmen, generals, men of business--among the _ases_, and the majority of conspicuous failures among the _ifs_." _over the teacups_, o. w. holmes. "it is sad, indeed, to see how man wastes his opportunities. how many could be made happy, with the blessings which are recklessly wasted or thrown away! happiness is a condition of mind, not a result of circumstances; and, in the words of dugald stewart, the great secret of happiness is to accommodate ourselves to things external, rather than to struggle to accommodate external things to ourselves. hume wisely said that a happy disposition was better than an estate of £ , a year. try to realise all the blessings you have, and you will find perhaps that they are more than you suppose. many a blessing has been recognised too late." lord avebury. "the pleasure of life is according to the man that lives it, and not according to the work or the place." emerson. harmony january "... have good will to all that lives, letting unkindness die and greed and wrath; so that your lives be made like soft airs passing by. ... govern the lips as they were palace-doors, the king within; tranquil and fair and courteous be all words which from that presence win. ... let each act assoil a fault or help a merit grow: like threads of silver seen through crystal beads let love through good deeds show." _the light of asia_, e. arnold. "the past is something, but the present more; will it not, too, be past? nor fail withal to recognise the future in your hopes; unite them in your manhood, each and all, nor mutilate the perfectness of life!-- you can remember; you can also hope." a. h. clough. harmony january ... "this is peace to conquer love of self and lust of life, to tear deep-rooted passion from the breast, to still the inward strife; for love to clasp eternal beauty close; for glory to be lord of self; for pleasure to live beyond the gods; for countless wealth to lay up lasting treasure of perfect service rendered, duties done in charity, soft speech, and stainless days: these riches shall not fade away in life, nor any death dispraise." _the light of asia_, e. arnold. "we are all of us made more graceful by the inward presence of what we believe to be a generous purpose; our actions move to a hidden music--'a melody that's sweetly played in tune.'" george eliot. ideals january "it is not the ideals of earlier years that are the most unattainable. 'the petty done, the undone vast' is not the thought of the youth, but of those who, having done the most, yet count themselves unprofitable servants, because it is to them only that the experience, the knowledge, and the reflection of maturer years have opened up the far vistas of moral possibility." _the making of character_, prof. maccunn. "in doing is this knowledge won, to see what yet remains undone. with this our pride repress, and give us grace, a growing store, that day by day we may do more and may esteem it less." trench. "comfort me not!--for if aught be worse than failure from over-stress of a life's prime purpose, it is to sit down content with a little success." lytton. the celestial surgeon january the celestial surgeon "if i have faltered more or less in my great task of happiness; if i have moved among my race and shown no glorious morning face; if beams from happy human eyes have moved me not; if morning skies, books, and my food, and summer rain knocked on my sullen heart in vain:-- lord, thy most pointed pleasure take and stab my spirit broad awake; or, lord, if too obdurate i, choose thou, before that spirit die, a piercing pain, a killing sin, and to my dead heart run them in." _underwoods_, r. l. stevenson. influence of great men january "the thirst for memoirs and lives and letters is not all to be put down to the hero-worship which is natural to every heart. it means, perhaps, a higher thing than that. it means, in the first place, that great living is being appreciated for its own sake; and, in the second, that great living is being imitated. if it is true that any of us are beginning to appreciate greatness for its own sake--greatness, that is to say, in the sense of great and true living--it is one of the most hopeful symptoms of our history. and, further, if we are going on from the mere admiration of great men to try and live like them, we are obeying one of the happiest impulses of our being. there is indeed no finer influence abroad than the influence of great men in great books, and all that literature can do in supplying the deformed world with worthy and shapely models is entitled to gratitude and respect." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. "glimpses into the inner regions of a great soul do one good. contact of this kind strengthens, restores, refreshes. courage returns as we gaze; when we see what has been, we doubt no more that it can be again. at the sight of a man we too say to ourselves, let us also be men." _amiel's journal._ influence of great men january "we cannot look, however imperfectly, upon a great man, without gaining something by him. he is the living life-fountain, which it is good and pleasant to be near; the light which enlightens, which has enlightened, the darkness of the world; and this not as a kindling lamp only, but rather as a natural luminary, shining by the gift of heaven; a flowing light-fountain, as i say, of native original insight, of manhood and heroic nobleness, in whose radiance all souls feel that it is well with them." carlyle. "my sole fear was the fear of doing an unrighteous or unholy thing." socrates. "the truly honest man, here and there to be found, is not only without thought of legal, religious, or social compulsion, when he discharges an equitable claim on him, but he is without thought of self-compulsion. he does the right thing with a simple feeling of satisfaction in doing it; and is, indeed, impatient if anything prevents him from having the satisfaction of doing it." herbert spencer. the habit of admiration january "'we live by admiration, hope, and love,' wordsworth tells us,--not, therefore, by contempt, despondency, and hatred. these contract and narrow the soul, as the others enlarge it. the more a man heartily admires, the more he takes into his nature the goodness and beauty which excite his admiration. his being grows up toward what thus evokes his enthusiasm. and the habit of admiration is the outcome of a moral discipline which represses peevish and fault-finding dispositions, and seeks the admirable in every situation and every person that life brings to us. 'be ye enlarged' implies 'learn to admire and to praise.'" "learn to admire rightly; the great pleasure of life is that. note what the great men admired; they admired great things: narrow spirits admire basely, and worship meanly." thackeray. character of henry drummond january _of henry drummond._--"he seemed to be invariably in good spirits, and invariably disengaged. he was always ready for any and every office of friendship. it should be said that though few men were more criticised or misconceived, he himself never wrote an unkind word about any one, never retaliated, never bore malice, and could do full justice to the abilities and character of his opponents. i have just heard that he exerted himself privately to secure an important appointment for one of his most trenchant critics, and was successful.... the spectacle of his long struggle with a mortal disease was something more than impressive. those who saw him in his illness saw that, as the physical life flickered low, the spiritual energy grew. always gentle and considerate, he became even more careful, more tender, more thoughtful, more unselfish. he never in any way complained. his doctors found it very difficult to get him to talk of his illness. it was strange and painful, but inspiring, to see his keenness, his mental elasticity, his universal interest. dr. barbour says: 'i have never seen pain or weariness, or the being obliged to do nothing, more entirely overcome, treated, in fact, as if they were not. the end came suddenly from failure of the heart. those with him received only a few hours' warning of his critical condition.' it was not like death. he lay on his couch in the drawing-room, and passed away in his sleep, with the sun shining in, and the birds singing at the open window. there was no sadness nor farewell. it recalled what he himself said of a friend's death--'putting by the well-worn tools without a sigh, and expecting elsewhere better work to do.'" _character sketch by_ w. robertson nicoll _in "the ideal life."_ character of r. l. stevenson january "i have referred to his chivalry only to find that in reality i was thinking of every one of the whole group of attributes which are associated with that name. loyalty, honesty, generosity, courage; courtesy, tenderness, and self-devotion; to impute no unworthy motives and to bear no grudge; to bear misfortune with cheerfulness and without a murmur; to strike hard for the right and take no mean advantage; to be gentle to women and kind to all that are weak; to be very rigorous with oneself and very lenient to others--these, and any other virtues ever implied in 'chivalry,' were the traits that distinguished stevenson." _the life of r. l. stevenson_, graham balfour. "through life he did the thing he was doing as if it were the one thing in the world that was worth being done." _the life of r. l. stevenson_, graham balfour. being and doing january "upon the man who desired to be his disciple and a member of god's kingdom were laid the conditions of a pure heart, of a forgiving spirit, of a helpful hand, of a heavenly purpose, of an unworldly mind. christ did not ground his christianity in thinking, or in doing, but, first of all, in being." _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. "history and literature furnish many instances of men who have made their mark in virtue of a striking _personality_; whose reputation rests, not on any visible tokens,--not on kingdoms conquered, institutions founded, books written, or inventions perfected or anything else that they _did_,--but mainly on what they _were_. their merely having passed along a course on earth, and lived and talked and acted with others, has left lasting effects on mankind." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. being and doing january "perfection is being, not doing--it is not to effect an act, but to achieve a character. if the aim of life were to do something, then, as in an earthly business, except in doing this one thing the business would be at a standstill. the student is not doing the one thing of student-life when he has ceased to think or read. the labourer leaves his work undone when the spade is not in his hand, and he sits beneath the hedge to rest. but in christian life, every moment and every act is an opportunity for doing the one thing of _becoming_ christ-like. every day is full of a most expressive experience. every temptation to evil temper which can assail us to-day will be an opportunity to decide the question whether we shall gain the calmness and the rest of christ, or whether we shall be tossed by the restlessness and agitation of the world. nay, the very vicissitudes of the season, day and night, heat and cold, affecting us variably, and producing exhilaration or depression, are so contrived as to conduce towards the being which we become, and decide whether we shall be masters of ourselves, or whether we shall be swept at the mercy of accident and circumstance, miserably susceptible of merely outward influences. infinite as are the varieties of life, so manifold are the paths to saintly character; and he who has not found out how directly or indirectly to make everything converge towards his soul's sanctification, has as yet missed the meaning of this life." frederick w. robertson. life-giver, not deed-doer january "christ was not primarily the deed-doer or the word-sayer. he was the life-giver. he made men live. wherever he went he brought vitality. both in the days of his incarnation and in the long years of his power which have followed since he vanished from men's sight, his work has been to create the conditions in which all sorts of men should live." phillips brooks. "therefore with all the strength god has given us, let us be fulfillers. let us try to make the life of the world more complete. what can we do? first, each of us can put one more healthy and holy life into the world, and so directly increase the aggregation of righteousness. that is much. to fasten one more link, however small, in the growing chain that is ultimately to bind humanity to god beyond all fear of separation, is very much indeed. and besides that, we can, with sympathy and intelligence, patience and hope, bring up the lagging side in all the vitality around us, and assert for man the worth, the meaning, and the possibility of this his human life." phillips brooks. seeing one's life in perspective january "if we wish to cultivate our higher nature we must have solitude. it is vitally necessary at times that we should be able to get away from every other being on the face of the earth. what thoughtful person does not love to be alone; to be surrounded with no objects but the fields and the trees, the mountains and the waters, to hear nothing but the rustling of the foliage and the songs of the birds, and to feel the fresh breeze of heaven playing upon his cheeks? moreover, when we are very much in contact with human life, when we are mingling with it, we are liable to become too conscious of its turbid side, or drearily oppressed with its commonplace features. to see human life, and weigh it in its many aspects, we need at times to go away and be as it were on a pinnacle, where we can take it all in with one sweeping glance. solitude can affect us somewhat as religious worship does. it can take us out of the consciousness of where we belong, away from the ordinary selfish instincts by which we may be dominated. "too much solitude may be dangerous, just as too much of the sense of mystery may be. yet something of it is essential to our advance in spiritual life. a man must go away where he can feel the mystery of his own being. moreover, a certain degree of solitude seems necessary to the full growth of the mind, and it is in solitude that great principles are first thought out, and the genius of eminent men formed, for solitude is the nurse of enthusiasm, and enthusiasm is the real parent of genius. solitude, moreover, is essential to any depth of meditation or of character, and is the cradle of thoughts and aspirations." h. w. smith. "one sees one's life in perspective when one goes abroad, and to be spectators of ourselves is very solemn." henry drummond. triviality january "triviality is the modern equivalent for worldliness, the regard for the outward and the visible. the trivial mind is enmity with god, and it is of many kinds. there is the triviality which concerns itself with 'nothing,' which gossips about 'him' and 'her,' and becomes serious over a form, a phrase, a dress, a race or a show. there is the triviality to which the working people are forced by the cares of this life, who all day and every day have to think of the bread which perisheth, while their souls starve for lack of knowledge which endureth. the cares of life as often choke the growth of the word as the deceitfulness of riches. there is also that most insidious kind of triviality which tends to haunt the more serious circles, wrapping itself in talk about social schemes, church progress, policies and philosophies, passing itself off as serious, when all the time the concern of the talker is to achieve a wordy success or to get notice for his little self or his little system." _the service of god,_ canon barnett. "i believe that the mind can be profaned by the habit of attending to trivial things, so that all our thoughts shall be tinged with triviality." thoreau. triviality january "they that use to employ their minds too much upon trifles, commonly make themselves incapable of any thing that is serious or great." la rochefoucauld. "be still and cool in thy own mind and spirit from thy own thoughts, and then thou wilt feel the principle of god to turn thy mind to the lord, from whom cometh life; whereby thou mayest receive the strength and power to allay all storms and tempests. that is it which works up into patience, innocency, soberness, into stillness, staidness, quietness up to god, with his power. therefore mind; that is the word of the lord god unto thee, that thou mayest feel the authority of god, and thy faith in that, to work down that which troubles thee; for that is it which keeps peace, and brings up the witness in thee, which hath been transgressed, to feel after god with his power and life, who is a god of order and peace." george fox. "it is not sin so much as triviality which hides god." _the service of god_, canon barnett. the art of being quiet january "it is only when we begin to _think_ about life, and how we should live, that the art of being quiet assumes its real value; to the irrational creature it is nothing, to the rational it is much. in the first place, it removes what de quincey, with his usual grand felicity of expression, calls 'the burden of that distraction which lurks in the infinite littleness of details.' it is the infinite littleness of details which takes the glory and the dignity from our common life, and which we who value that life for its own sake and for the sake of its great giver must strive to make finite. "since unconscious life is not possible to the intellectual adult, as it is to the child--since he cannot go on living without a thought about the nature of his own being, its end and aim--it is good for him to cultivate a habit of repose, that he may think and feel like a man putting away those childish things--the carelessness, the thoughtless joy, 'the tear forgot as soon as shed,' which, however beautiful, because appropriate, in childhood, are not beautiful because not appropriate in mature age. "the art of being quiet is necessary to enable a man to possess his own soul in peace and integrity--to examine himself, to understand what gifts god has endowed him with, and to consider how he may best employ them in the business of the world. this is its universal utility. it is unwholesome activity which requires not repose and thoughtful quiet as its forerunner, and every man should secure some portion of each day for voluntary retirement and repose within himself." the art of being quiet january "one of the special needs of our day is more time for meditation and reflection." _life here and hereafter_, canon maccoll. "we are too busy, too encumbered, too much occupied, too active! we read too much! the one thing needful is to throw off all one's load of cares, of preoccupations, of pedantry, and to become again young, simple, child-like, living happily and gratefully in the present hour. we must know how to put occupation aside, which does not mean that we must be idle. in an inaction which is meditative and attentive the wrinkles of the soul are smoothed away, and the soul itself spreads, unfolds, and springs afresh, and, like the trodden grass of the roadside or the bruised leaf of a plant, repairs its injuries, becomes new, spontaneous, true, and original. reverie, like the rain of night, restores colour and force to thoughts which have been blanched and wearied by the heat of the day. with gentle fertilising power it awakens within us a thousand sleeping germs, and, as though in play, gathers round us materials for the future, and images for the use of talent." _amiel's journal._ inward stillness february "let each of us sit still, and keep watch for awhile in the silent house of his spirit.... as near as is the light to one sleeping in the light, so near is christ, the awakener, to every eternal man, deeply as he may be asleep within his outer man." john pulsford. "let us then labour for an inward stillness, an inward stillness and an inward healing; that perfect silence where the lips and heart are still, and we no longer entertain our own imperfect thoughts and vain opinions, but god alone speaks in us, and we wait in singleness of heart that we may know his will, and in the silence of our own spirits, that we may do his will, and that only." longfellow. commune with your own heart and be still february "perhaps one very simple, but alas too often neglected rule, may be suggested to those who are indeed desirous of realising through all the petty vicissitudes and monotonous or trivial round of their daily life, the divine presence and power. 'devotion early in the day _before the day's worries begin._ it is the _only_ way to keep the spirit godward through them all.' devotion, it is needless to add, is not 'saying prayers' in words either of our own or any one else's--nor is it only or chiefly 'making request.' it is pre-eminently _worship_, the deliberate homage of the mind and heart--of the whole being to god who is its source. and here steadfastness of will, showing itself in determined concentration of attention, is the indispensable condition of success; for such concentration is by no means always an easy matter to attain, even when the effort is 'made early in the day before the day's worries begin.' sometimes there are sleepless 'worries' which assert their presence with the first dawn of consciousness; sometimes we are mentally or physically lazy, inert or languid. well, if we habitually give in to such difficulties in a way of which we should be utterly ashamed were any other object of mental effort in question, we must not be surprised if the entirely natural result ensues that we fail to 'realise' what we have never honestly set ourselves to treat as real.... amid the thronging duties, the ceaseless cares, the toilsome or pleasurable round of daily life, we must take and we must keep time to 'commune with our own hearts and in our own chamber, and be still.'" e. m. caillard. the receptive side of life february "to all who are active in christian work i would say, ever remember that there must be fidelity to the receptive side of life if you are to exercise any real abiding influence. how often do we hear men say that they have worked hard in their district, or their school, or their class, and yet there is no result. "perhaps they have worked too hard. there are a multitude of marthas in modern english life; but it were good for such if, at times, they would follow the example of the wiser mary, and sit down quietly at jesus' feet, and draw in from him that power which cannot by any possibility be given out, before it is taken in." canon body. "the problem set before us is to bring our daily task into the temple of contemplation and ply it there, to act as in the presence of god, to interfuse one's little part with religion. so only can we inform the detail of life, all that is passing, temporary, and insignificant, with beauty and nobility. so may we dignify and consecrate the meanest of occupations. so may we feel that we are paying our tribute to the universal work and the eternal will. so are we reconciled with life and delivered from the fear of death. so are we in order and at peace." _amiel's journal._ regulation of time february "no two things differ more than hurry and despatch. hurry is the mark of a weak mind, despatch of a strong one. a weak man in office, like a squirrel in a cage, is labouring eternally, but to no purpose, and in constant motion, without getting on a jot: like a turnstile, he is in everybody's way, but stops nobody: he talks a great deal, but says very little; looks into everything, but sees into nothing; and has a hundred irons in the fire, but very few of them are hot, and with these few that are he burns his fingers." colton. "hurry belongs to the mortal who wants to see the outcome of his work, while eternity is lavish of time." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. "unfaithfulness in the keeping of an appointment is an act of clear dishonesty. you may as well borrow a person's money as his time." horace mann. "punctuality is the politeness of kings." louis xiv. business-like habits february "it is very important to cultivate business-like habits. an eminent friend of mine assured me not long ago that when he thought over the many cases he had known of men, even of good ability and high character, who had been unsuccessful in life, by far the most frequent cause of failure was that they were dilatory, unpunctual, unable to work cordially with others, obstinate in small things, and, in fact, what we call unbusiness-like." lord avebury. "a 'bustling' man is, to a man of business, what a monkey is to a man. he is the shadow of despatch, or, rather, the echo thereof; for he maketh noise enough for an alarm. the quickness of a true man of business he imitateth, imitateth excellently well, but neither his silence nor his method; and it is to be noted that he is ever most vehement about matters of no significance. he is always in such headlong haste to overtake the next minute, that he loses half the minute in hand; and yet is full of indignation and impatience at other people's slowness, and wasteth more time in reiterating his love of despatch than would suffice for doing a great deal of business. he never giveth you his quiet attention with a mind centred on what you are saying, but hears you with a restless eye, and a perpetual shifting posture, and is so eager to show his quickness that he interrupteth you a dozen times, misunderstands you as often, and ends by making you and himself lose twice as much time as was necessary." h. rogers. time and method february "the thrift of time will repay in after life with usury of profit beyond your most sanguine dreams, and waste of it will make you dwindle alike in intellectual and moral stature beyond your darkest reckoning." gladstone. "one of the striking characteristics of successful persons is their faculty of readily determining the relative importance of different things. there are many things which it is desirable to do, a few are essential, and there is no more useful quality of the human mind than that which enables its possessor at once to distinguish which the few essential things are. life is so short and time so fleeting that much which one would wish to do must fain be omitted. he is fortunate who perceives at a glance what it will do, and what it will not do, to omit. this invaluable faculty, if not possessed in a remarkable degree naturally, is susceptible of cultivation to a considerable extent. let any one adopt the practice of reflecting, every morning, what must necessarily be done during the day, and then begin by doing the most important things first, leaving the others to take their chance of being done or left undone. in this way attention first to the things of first importance soon acquires the almost irresistible force of habit, and becomes a rule of life. there is no rule more indispensable to success." concentration february "the marked differences of working power among men are due chiefly to differences in the power of concentration. a retentive and accurate memory is conditioned upon close attention. if one gives entire attention to what is passing before him, he is not likely to forget it, or to confuse persons or incidents. the book which one reads with eyes which are continually lifted from the page may furnish entertainment for the moment, but cannot enrich the reader, because it cannot become part of his knowledge. attention is the simplest form of concentration, and its value illustrates the supreme importance of that focussing of all the powers upon the thing in hand which may be called the sustained attention of the whole nature. "here, as everywhere in the field of man's life, there enters that element of sacrifice without which no real achievement is possible. to secure a great end, one must be willing to pay a great price. the exact adjustment of achievement to sacrifice makes us aware, at every step, of the invisible spiritual order with which all men are in every kind of endeavour. if the highest skill could be secured without long and painful effort, it would be wasted through ignorance of its value, or misused through lack of education; but a man rarely attains great skill without undergoing a discipline of self-denial and work which gives him steadiness, restraint, and a certain kind of character. the giving up of pleasures which are wholesome, the turning aside from fields which are inviting, the steady refusal of invitations and claims which one would be glad to accept or recognise, invest the power of concentration with moral quality, and throw a searching light on the nature of genuine success. "to do one thing well, a man must be willing to hold all other interests and activities subordinate; to attain the largest freedom, a man must first bear the cross of self-denial." concentration february "strive constantly to concentrate yourself; never dissipate your powers; incessant activity, of whatever kind, leads finally to bankruptcy." goethe. "all impatience disturbs the circulation, scatters force, makes concentration difficult if not impossible." c. b. newcomb. "they have great powers, and they waste them pitifully, for they have not the greatest power,--the power to rule the use of their powers." f. w. robertson. "concentration is the secret of strength." emerson. readiness february "to know how to be ready--a great thing--a precious gift,--and one that implies calculation, grasp and decision. to be always ready, a man must be able to cut a knot, for everything cannot be untied; he must know how to disengage what is essential from the detail in which it is enwrapped, for everything cannot be equally considered; in a word, he must be able to simplify his duties, his business, and his life. to know how to be ready, is to know how to start. "it is astonishing how all of us are generally cumbered up with the thousand and one hindrances and duties which are not such, but which nevertheless wind us about with their spider threads and fetter the movement of our wings. it is the lack of order which makes us slaves; the confusion of to-day discounts the freedom of to-morrow. "confusion is the enemy of all comfort, and confusion is born of procrastination. to know how to be ready we must be able to finish. nothing is done but what is finished. the things which we leave dragging behind us will start up again later on before us and harass our path. let each day take thought for what concerns it, liquidate its own affairs and respect the day which is to follow, and then we shall be always ready. to know how to be ready, is at bottom to know how to die." _amiel's journal._ order february "what comfort, what strength, what economy there is in _order_--material order, intellectual order, moral order. to know where one is going and what one wishes--this is order; to keep one's word and one's engagements--again order; to have everything ready under one's hand, to be able to dispose of all one's forces, and to have all one's means of whatever kind under command--still order; to discipline one's habits, one's efforts, one's wishes; to organise one's life, to distribute one's time, to take the measure of one's duties and make one's rights respected; to employ one's capital and resources, one's talent and one's chances profitably;--all this belongs to and is included in the word _order_. order means light and peace, inward liberty and free command over oneself; order is power. Æsthetic and moral beauty consist, the first in a true conception of order, and the second in submission to it, and in the realisation of it, by, in, and around oneself. order is man's greatest need and his true well-being." _amiel's journal._ "the commissioning of the twelve imposed no particular form of rule; but it taught the lesson that organisation and order and the distribution of duty were essential in things spiritual as well as in things temporal, and that it was well for the children of light to be as 'wise in their generation' as the children of the world." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. the secret of thrift february "the secret of thriving is thrift; saving of force; to get as much work as possible done with the least expenditure of power, the least jar and obstruction, the least wear and tear. and the secret of thrift is knowledge. in proportion as you know the laws and nature of a subject, you will be able to work at it easily, surely, rapidly, successfully, instead of wasting your money or your energies in mistaken schemes, irregular efforts, which end in disappointment and exhaustion." charles kingsley. "it is never enough for us simply to _know_. we must also _weigh_." _the making of character_, prof. maccunn. "doing good, being so divine a privilege, is beset by its own dangers. let us see that our good be not evil spoken of by want of thought, method, and self-denial in the doing of it. the world is waiting for us, with our little store. oh that we might economise it more, devote it more thoroughly, and add to it! every time we pray, or study, or work, we are receiving to give away. men are looking to us in faintness, weariness, and want, and a voice says to us, 'give ye them to eat.' if it is but five loaves, we can offer them to christ, and he will multiply them." phillips brooks. endurance february "'a somewhat varied experience of men has led me, the longer i live,' said huxley, 'to set less value on mere cleverness; to attach more and more importance to industry and physical endurance. indeed, i am much disposed to think that endurance is the most valuable quality of all; for industry, as the desire to work hard, does not come to much if a feeble frame is unable to respond to the desire. no life is wasted unless it ends in sloth, dishonesty, or cowardice. no success is worthy of the name unless it is won by honest industry and brave breasting of the waves of fortune.'" "of all work producing results, nine-tenths must be drudgery. there is no work, from the highest to the lowest, which can be done well by any man who is unwilling to make that sacrifice. part of the very nobility of the devotion of the true workman to his work consists in the fact that a man is not daunted by finding that drudgery must be done, and no man can really succeed in any walk of life without a good deal of what in ordinary english is called pluck. that is the condition of all success, and there is nothing which so truly repays itself as this perseverance against weariness." bishop philpotts. perseverance february "practise thyself even in the things which thou despairest of accomplishing. for even the left hand, which is ineffectual for all other things for want of practice, holds the bridle more vigorously than the right hand; for it has been practised in this." marcus aurelius. "'it is not the spurt at the start, but the continued, unresting, unhasting advance that wins the day.'" "the same law runs in ordinary life, and he only need expect to attain success and win the honour of his fellow-men who is thorough. the reason why men fail is, in five cases out of six, not through want of influence or brains, or opportunity, or good guidance, but because they are slack; and the reason why certain men with few advantages succeed, is that they are diligent, concentrated, persevering and conscientious--because, in fact, they are thorough." _the homely virtues_, dr. john watson. "unto him who works, and feels he works, this same grand year is ever at the doors." tennyson. pleasure in work february "joy or delight in what we are doing is not a mere luxury; it is a means, a help for the more perfect doing of our work. indeed, it may be truly said that no man does any work perfectly who does not enjoy his work. joy in one's work is the consummate tool without which the work may be done indeed, but without which the work will always be done slowly, clumsily, and without its finest perfectness. men who do their work without enjoying it are like men carving statues with hatchets. the statue gets carved perhaps, and is a monument for ever of the dogged perseverance of the artist; but there is a perpetual waste of toil, and there is no fine result in the end." phillips brooks. "efforts to be permanently useful must be uniformly joyous,--a spirit all sunshine; graceful from very gladness, beautiful because bright." carlyle. "every joy is gain, and gain is gain, however small." browning. duty february "in life's small things be resolute and great to keep thy muscle trained: know'st thou when fate thy measure takes, or when she'll say to thee 'i find thee worthy; do this thing for me'?" lowell. "our duty is to be useful, not according to our desires but according to our powers." _amiel's journal._ "i'll bind myself to that which, once being right, will not be less right when i shrink from it." kingsley. "there's life alone in duty done, and rest alone in striving." whittier. duty february "a duty is no sooner divined than from that very moment it becomes binding upon us." _amiel's journal._ "don't waste life in doubts and fears; spend yourself on the work before you, well assured that the right performance of this hour's duties will be the best preparation for the hours or ages that follow it." emerson. "the toppling crags of duty scaled are close upon the shining table-lands to which our god himself is moon and sun." tennyson. the iron chains of duty february "... one conviction i have gained from the experience of the last years--life is not jest and amusement; life is not even enjoyment ... life is hard labour. renunciation, continual renunciation--that is its secret meaning, its solution. not the fulfilment of cherished dreams and aspirations, however lofty they may be--the fulfilment of duty, that is what must be the care of man. without laying on himself chains, the iron chains of duty, he cannot reach without a fall the end of his career." _a lear of the steppes_, ivan turgenev. "granted that life is tragic to the marrow, it seems the proper function of religion to make us accept and serve in that tragedy, as officers in that other and comparable one of war. service is the word, active service, in the military sense; and the religious man is he who has a military joy in duty--not he who weeps over the wounded." _lay morals_, r. l. stevenson. power february "oh, do not pray for easy lives. pray to be stronger men! do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. pray for powers equal to your tasks! then the doing of your work shall be no miracle. but you shall be a miracle. every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come in you by the grace of god. "there is nothing which comes to seem more foolish to us, i think, as years go by, than the limitations which have been quietly set to the moral possibilities of man. they are placidly and perpetually assumed. 'you must not expect too much of him,' so it is said. 'you must remember that he is only a man after all.' 'only a man!' that sounds to me as if one said, 'you may launch your boat and sail a little way, but you must not expect to go very far. it is only the atlantic ocean.' why, man's moral range and reach is practically infinite, at least no man has yet begun to comprehend where its limit lies. man's powers of conquering temptation, of despising danger, of being true to principle, have never been even indicated, save in christ." phillips brooks. "virgil said of the winning crew in his boat-race, 'they can, because they believe they can.'" an ideal level february "no man who, being a christian, desires the kingdom of god, can justly neglect giving his energy to the bettering of the social, physical, and educational condition of the poor, the diseased, and the criminal classes. but he is not a christian, or he has not realised the problem fully, if that is all he does. social improvement is a work portions of which any one can do, in which all ought to share; but if we who follow christ desire to do the best work in that improvement, and in the best way, we ought to strive--while we join in the universal movement towards a juster society--to give a spiritual life to that movement; to keep it at an ideal level; to free it from mere materialism; to maintain in it the monarchy of self-sacrifice; to fix its eyes on invisible and unworldly truths; to supply it with noble and spiritual faiths; to base all associations of men on the ground of their spiritual union--all being children of god, and brothers of one another, in the love and faith by which jesus lived; and to maintain the dignity of this spiritual communion of men in faith in their immortal union with god. this is the fight of faith we, as fellow-workers with god, shall have to wage; and this not only binds us up with the poor, but with the rich, not only with the ignorant, but the learned; for on these grounds all men are seen as stripped of everything save of their humanity and their divine kinship.... improve, then, the material condition and the knowledge of all who are struggling for justice; it is part of your life which if you neglect, you are out of touch with the new life; but kindle in it, uphold and sanctify in it, the life which is divine, the communion with man of god, without union with whose character all effort for social improvement will revert to new miseries and new despair." _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. work february "idleness standing in the midst of unattempted tasks is always proud. work is always tending to humility. work touches the keys of endless activity, opens the infinite, and stands awe-struck before the immensity of what there is to do. work brings a man into the good realm of facts. work takes the dreamy youth who is growing proud in his closet over one or two sprouting powers which he has discovered in himself, and sets him out among the gigantic needs and the vast processes of the world, and makes him feel his littleness. work opens the measureless fields of knowledge and skill that reach far out of sight. i am sure we all know the fine, calm, sober humbleness of men who have really tried themselves against the great tasks of life. it was great in paul, and in luther, and in cromwell. it is something that never comes into the character, never shows in the face of a man who has never worked." phillips brooks. "no man is born into the world, whose work is not born with him; there is always work, and tools to work withal, for those who will; and blessed are the horny hands of toil! the busy world shoves angrily aside the man who stands with arms akimbo set, until occasion tells him what to do; and he who waits to have his task marked out shall die and leave his errand unfulfilled." james russell lowell. special work for each february "there is some particular work which lies to every one's hand which he can do better than any other person. what we ought to be concerned about is not whether it be on a large scale or a small--about which we can never be quite certain--nor whether it is going to bring us fame or leave us in obscurity--an issue which is in the hands of god--but that we do it, and that we do it with all our might. having done that, there is no cause to fret ourselves or ask questions which cannot be answered. we may rest with a quiet conscience and a contented heart, for we have filled our place and done what we could. the battle of life extends over a vast area, and it is vain for us to inquire about the other wings of the army; it is enough that we have received our orders, and that we have held the few feet of ground committed to our charge. there let us fight and there let us die, and so fighting and so dying in the place of duty we cannot be condemned, we must be justified. brilliant qualities may never be ours, but the homely virtues are within our reach, and character is built up not out of great intellectual gifts and splendid public achievements, but out of honesty, industry, thrift, kindness, courtesy, and gratitude, resting upon faith in god and love towards man. and the inheritance of the soul which ranks highest and lasts for ever is character." _the homely virtues,_ dr. john watson. the sin of idleness february "there is a certain amount of work to be done in this world. if any of us does not take his full share, he imposes that which he does not take on the shoulders of another; and the first cause of poverty, of disease, of misery in all states, is the overwork which is imposed on men and women by the idle and indifferent members of the nation. this is to steal from the human race; to steal from them joy, leisure, health, comfort and peace, and to impose on them sorrow and overwork, disease and homelessness, bitter anger and fruitless tears. this is the curse which the selfish dreamer leaves behind him. many have been the fierce oppressors and defrauders of the human race, but the evil they have done is less than that done by those who drop by drop and hour by hour drain the blood of mankind by doing no work for the overworked. this is the crime with which the idle and indifferent will be confronted when the great throne is set in our soul, and the books we have written on men's lives are opened, and god shall lay judgment to the line and righteousness to the plummet. 'lord, what hast thou to do with it?' we will say. 'i did not neglect thee; i took my ease, it is true, but i kept thy law. i was never impious, never an atheist. when was i not religious?' then he will answer: 'inasmuch as ye never worked for the least of these my brothers, ye never worked for me!'" _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. "let us start up and live: here come moments that cannot be had again; some few may yet be filled with imperishable good." j. martineau. idleness february "it is not necessary for a man to be actively bad in order to make a failure of life; simple inaction will accomplish it. nature has everywhere written her protest against idleness; everything which ceases to struggle, which remains inactive, rapidly deteriorates. it is the struggle towards an ideal, the constant effort to get higher and further which develops manhood and character." "shun idleness, it is the rust that attaches itself to the most brilliant metals." voltaire. "there is always hope in a man that actually and earnestly works. in idleness alone is there perpetual despair." carlyle. "'twere all as good to ease one breast of grief as sit and watch the sorrows of the world." _the light of asia_, e. arnold. fear of failure february "who would ever stir a finger, if only on condition of being guaranteed against oversights, misinformation, mistakes, ignorance, loss, and danger?" h. martineau. "the man who insists upon seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides." _amiel's journal._ "he who is too much afraid of being duped has lost the power of being magnanimous." _amiel's journal._ "nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must be first overcome." dr. johnson. fear of failure february "extreme caution is no less harmful than its opposite." vauvenargues. "the men who succeed best in public life are those who take the risk of standing by their own convictions." garfield. "our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt." shakespeare. "it is better by a noble boldness to run the risk of being subject to half of the evils which we anticipate, than to remain in cowardly listlessness for fear of what may happen." herodotus. falterers february "nay, never falter: no great deed is done by falterers who ask for certainty. no good is certain, but the steadfast mind, the undivided will to seek the good: 'tis that compels the elements, and wrings a human music from the indifferent air. the greatest gift the hero leaves his race is to have been a hero. say we fail!-- we feed the high tradition of the world, and leave our spirit in our children's breasts." george eliot. "how dull it is to pause, to make an end, to rest unburnish'd, not to shine in use! as though to breathe were life." tennyson. "after all, depend upon it, it is better to be worn out with work in a thronged community, than to perish in inaction in a stagnant solitude: take this truth into consideration whenever you get tired of work and bustle." mrs. gaskell's _life of c. brontë_. courage february "whether you be man or woman you will never do anything in the world without courage. it is the greatest quality of the mind next to honour." james lane allen. "the brave man is not he who feels no fear, for that were stupid and irrational, but he whose noble soul its fear subdues and bravely dares the danger nature shrinks from." joanna baillie. "heroism is the brilliant triumph of the soul over the flesh--that is to say, over fear: fear of poverty, of suffering, of calumny, of sickness, of isolation, and of death. there is no serious piety without heroism. heroism is the dazzling and glorious concentration of courage." _amiel's journal._ "self-trust is the essence of heroism." emerson. responsibility february "thousands live and die in the dim borderland of destitution; that little children wail, and starve, and perish, and soak and blacken soul and sense, in our streets; that there are hundreds and thousands of the unemployed, not all of whom, as some would persuade us, are lazy impostors; that the demon of drink still causes among us daily horrors which would disgrace dahomey or ashantee, and rakes into his coffers millions of pounds which are wet with tears and red with blood; these are facts patent to every eye. now, god will work no miracle to mend these miseries. if we neglect them they will be left uncured, but he will hold us responsible for the neglect. it is vain for us to ask, 'am i my brother's keeper?' in spite of all the political economists, in spite of all superfine theories of chilly and purse-saving wisdom, in spite of all the critiques of the irreligious--still more of the semi-religious, and the religious press, he will say to the callous and the slothful, with such a glance 'as struck gehazi with leprosy, and simon magus with a curse,' 'what hast thou done? smooth religionist, orthodox churchman, scrupulous levite, befringed and bephylacteried pharisee, thy brother's blood crieth to me from the ground!'" f. w. farrar. "the healing of the world is in its nameless saints. each separate star seems nothing, but a myriad scattered stars break up the night, and make it beautiful." bayard taylor. the sin of indifference march "they hear no more the cries of their brothers caught in the nets of misery: 'help us, we are perishing.' the curtains of their comfort are fast drawn; they sit at home wrapt in family ease. outside, the sleet is falling, the bitter wind is blowing, thousands of the children of sorrow are dying in the fierce weather. god himself is knocking at the door, calling 'come forth and seek the lost with jesus.' we hear nothing, the cotton of comfort stops our ears. for a time, till god himself breaks in on us with storm, and disperses our comfort to the winds, we can run no christian race.... therefore, lay aside, not all comfort--men have a right to that--but that excess of it which softens and enfeebles the soul; which sends to sleep the longing for god's perfection; which makes our life too slothful to follow christ, the healer of the world!" _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. "all my soul is full of pity for the sickness of this world; which i will heal, if healing may be found by uttermost renouncing and strong strife." _the light of asia_, e. arnold. wasted emotions march "pity, indignation, love, felt and not made into acts of pity or of self-sacrifice, lose their very heart in our dainty dreaming, and are turned into their opposites. our animation and activity of love, unexercised, becomes like the unused muscle, attenuated; and we are content to think with pleasure of the times when we were animated and active--a vile condition. but the worst wretchedness of these losses does not consist in the damage we do ourselves, but in the loss of power to benefit mankind, in the loss of power to do god's work for the salvation and the greater happiness of man. we are guilty to man, and guilty before god, when we lose our powers in inglorious ease. we owe ourselves to men and women; no amount of work frees us from the duty of keeping ourselves in the best possible trim, body and soul, mind and spirit, that we may nobly work the loving work of him that sent us." _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. "opportunities are swarming around us all the time, thicker than gnats at sundown. we walk through a cloud of them." van dyke. "doing" more than "feeling" march "our lord ... always brings back to mind that doing is more than feeling." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. "a maxim of professor james 'never to suffer a single emotion to evaporate without exacting from it some practical service.'" _the making of character_, prof. john maccunn. "but two ways are offered to our will-- toil with rare triumph, ease with safe disgrace:-- nor deem that acts heroic wait on chance! the man's whole life preludes the single deed that shall decide if his inheritance be with the sifted few of matchless breed, or with the unnoticed herd that only sleep and feed." lowell. the sacredness of work march "all true work is sacred; in all true work, were it but true hand-labour, there is something of divineness." carlyle. "some of the commonest faults of thought and work are those which come from thinking too poorly of our own lives, and of that which must rightly be demanded of us. a high standard of accuracy, a chivalrous loyalty to exact truth, generosity to fellow-workers, indifference to results, distrust of all that is showy, self-discipline and undiscouraged patience through all difficulties,--these are among the first and greatest conditions of good work; and they ought never to seem too hard for us if we remember what we owe to the best work of bygone days." _the spirit of discipline_, bishop paget. "whether thy work be fine or coarse, planting corn or writing epics, so only it be honest work, done to thine own approbation, it shall earn a reward to the senses as well as to the thought; no matter how often defeated, you are born to victory. the reward of a thing well done is to have done it." emerson. doing our best march "it is not the quantity of our work that he regards, but the quality of it. he is less anxious that we should fulfil our task--for he can make up for our deficiencies--than that we should do our best; for what he desires is the improvement of our characters, and that requires the co-operation of our own wills with his." _life here and hereafter_, canon maccoll. "experience shows that success is due less to ability than to zeal. the winner is he who gives himself to his work, body and soul." charles buxton. "life is too short to waste, * * * * * 'twill soon be dark; up! mind thine own aim, and god speed the mark!" emerson. work--effective reforms march "we must be careful not to undermine independence in our anxiety to relieve distress. there is always the initial difficulty that whatever is done for men takes from them a great stimulus to work, and weakens the feeling of independence; all creatures which depend on others tend to become mere parasites. it is important therefore, as far as possible, not so much to give a man bread, as to put him in the way of earning it for himself; not to give direct aid, but to help others to help themselves. the world is so complex that we must all inevitably owe much to our neighbours; but, as far as possible, every man should stand on his own feet." lord avebury. "we are now generally agreed upon our aims: nobility of character and not only outward prosperity; victory over evil at its source, and not in its consequences; reforms which shall regard the welfare of future generations, who are 'the greatest number.'" bishop westcott. "we fall under the temptation of seeking material solutions for spiritual problems; material remedies for spiritual maladies. the thought of spiritual poverty, of spiritual destitution, is crowded out. we treat the symptoms and neglect the disease itself." bishop westcott. work--effective reforms march "if you are moved with a vague desire to help men be better men, you must know that you can do it not by belabouring the evil but by training the good that there is in them." phillips brooks. "the christian, therefore, i repeat, as christian, will take his full part in preparing for the amelioration of the conditions of men no less than for their conversion. he will in due measure strive to follow, under the limitations of his own labour, the whole example of his lord, who removed outward distresses and satisfied outward wants, even as he brought spiritual strength and rest to the weak and weary. moreover, this effort based upon resolute thought, belongs to the completeness of the religious life of the christian." bishop westcott. "reforms which are effective must develop and strengthen character." bishop westcott. work--"to cure is the voice of the past" march "all measures of reformation are effective in exact proportion to their timeliness. partial decay may be cut away and cleansed, incipient error corrected: but there is a point at which corruption can no more be stayed, nor wandering recalled. it has been the manner of modern philanthropy to remain passive until that precise period, and to leave the sick to perish, and the foolish to stray, while it spent itself in frantic exertions to raise the dead, and reform the dust." _the queen of the air_, john ruskin. "the real work of charity is not to afford facilities to the poor to lower their standard, but to step in when calamity threatens and prevent it from falling." _the standard of life_, mrs. bernard bosanquet. "to cure is the voice of the past; to prevent, the divine whisper of to-day." _children's rights_, kate douglas wiggin. satan's opportunities march "physiologists know as much about morality as ministers of the gospel. the vices which drag men and women into crime spring as often from unhealthy bodies as from weak wills and callous consciences. vile fancies and sensual appetites grow stronger and more terrible when a feeble physique and low vitality offer no opposing force. deadly vices are nourished in the weak diseased bodies that are penned, day after day, in filthy crowded tenements of great cities." _children's rights_, kate douglas wiggin. "man's unpitied misery is satan's opportunity." "mould conditions aright, and men will grow good to fit them." horace fletcher. "evil is wrought by want of thought" march "but evil is wrought by want of thought, as well as want of heart." thomas hood. "it is clear that in whatever it is our duty to act, those matters also it is our duty to study." dr. arnold. "no alms-giving of money is so helpful as alms-giving of care and thought; the giving of money without thought is indeed continually mischievous; but the invective of the economist against indiscriminate charity is idle if it be not coupled with pleading for discriminate charity, and above all, for that charity which discerns the uses that people may be put to, and helps them by setting them to work in those services. that is the help beyond all others; find out how to make useless people useful, and let them earn their money instead of begging it." _arrows of the chace_, john ruskin. (from a letter published in the _daily telegraph_ of december , .) the hallowing of work march "we shall not do much of that which is best worth doing in the world if we only consecrate to it our gifts. we have something else to consecrate for our work's sake, for our friend's sake, for the sake of all for whom in any way we are responsible. beyond and above all that we may do, is that which we may be. 'for their sakes i sanctify, i consecrate, myself.' so our blessed lord spoke in regard to those whom he had drawn nearest to himself--his friends; those whose characters he would fashion for the greatest task that ever yet was laid upon frail men. and even when we have set apart all that was unique in the nature and results of his self-consecration, all that he alone could, once for all, achieve; still, i think, the words disclose a principle that concerns every one of us--the principle of all that is highest and purest in the influence of one life upon the lives it touches: 'for their sakes i consecrate myself.' there is the ultimate secret of power; the one sure way of doing good in our generation. we cannot anticipate or analyse the power of a pure and holy life; but there can be no doubt about its reality, and there seems no limit to its range. we can only know in part the laws and forces of the spiritual world; and it may be that every soul that is purified and given up to god and to his work releases or awakens energies of which we have no suspicion--energies viewless as the wind; but we can be sure of the result, and we may have glimpses sometimes of the process--surely, there is no power in the world so unerring or so irrepressible as the power of personal holiness. all else at times goes wrong, blunders, loses proportion, falls disastrously short of its aim, grows stiff or one-sided, or out of date--'whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away;' but nothing mars or misleads the influence that issues from a pure and humble and unselfish character." _the hallowing of work_, bishop paget. one by one march "nothing is more characteristic of jesus' method than his indifference to the many--his devotion to the single soul. his attitude to the public, and his attitude to a private person were a contrast and a contradiction. if his work was likely to cause a sensation jesus charged his disciples to let no man know it: if the people got wind of him, he fled to solitary places: if they found him, as soon as might be he escaped. but he used to take young men home with him, who wished to ask questions: he would spend all night with a perplexed scholar: he gave an afternoon to a samaritan woman. he denied himself to the multitude: he lay in wait for the individual. this was not because he under-valued a thousand, it was because he could not work on the thousand scale: it was not because he over-valued the individual, it was because his method was arranged for the scale of one. jesus never succeeded in public save once, when he was crucified: he never failed in private save once, with pontius pilate. his method was not sensation: it was influence. he did not rely on impulses: he believed in discipline. he never numbered converts, because he knew what was in man: he sifted them, as one winnoweth the wheat from the chaff. spiritual statistics are unknown in the gospels: they came in with st. peter in the pardonable intoxication of success: they have since grown to be a mania. as the church coarsens she estimates salvation by quantity, how many souls are saved: jesus was concerned with quality, after what fashion they were saved. his mission was to bring humanity to perfection." _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. one by one march "our lord ... does not, on entering a village, ordain that all the lepers in it shall be cleansed, or all the palsied restored to the use of their limbs. he condescends to take each case by itself." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. "'one by one' is not only the safest way of helping, it is the only possible way of ensuring that any real good is done." _rich and poor_, mrs. bernard bosanquet. "love cannot be content while any suffer,--cannot rest while any sin." "i would not let one cry whom i could save." _the light of asia_, e. arnold. interruptions march "so long as there is work to do there will be interruptions--breaks in its progress. the minister at work on his sermon, the merchant at his desk, the woman in her household duties--all must expect these calls to turn aside from the work in hand. and it is a part of one's character growth to bear these timely or untimely interruptions without any break in good temper or courtesy. a young student who was privileged to call often upon phillips brooks in his study, told the writer that he could never have learned from the bishop's manner or words, that the big-hearted, busy man was ever too busy to receive him. to bear interruptions thus serenely is an opportunity for self-control not to be overlooked by any one who wants to do god's work in the right spirit." "he threw himself spontaneously, apparently without effort and yet irresistibly, into the griefs and joys, the needs and interests of others. he had the happy gift of taking everybody to his heart. he was never inattentive. as you talked to him you always felt he was listening and really trying to understand your case. in the light of sympathy you saw yourself reflected in the mirror of his heart. nor did he forget you when you were gone from sight. his was not the cheap sympathy of an outward manner, but the true emotion of the inward self. to your surprise, when you had left bishop fraser with a sense of shame at having occupied, in your interview, so much of his overcrowded time, you would find the next morning a letter upon your table giving his fuller and more mature opinion of your plans or course of action."... "tender and loving, in sympathy with the lowliest, forbearing with the most unreasonable, often interrupted, but never resenting, the sacrifice of self crowning all." _bishop fraser's lancashire life_, archdeacon diggle. mechanical work march "miss keane took but little heed of the presence of rachel and hester in her brother's house. those who work mechanically on fixed lines seem as a rule to miss the pith of life. she was kind when she remembered them, but her heart was where her treasure was--namely, in her escritoire, with her list of bible classes, and servants' choral unions, and the long roll of contributors to the guild of work which she herself had started." _red pottage_, mary cholmondeley. "any man seeking to be holy who does not set himself in close live contact with the life about him, stands in great danger of growing pious or punctilious instead of holy." phillips brooks. an ideal guest-chamber march "in mrs. charles' well-known book, 'chronicles of the schonberg-cotta family,' there is a beautiful passage where fritz and eva, beginning their young life together, take into their house a penitent woman who was thought to be near death. eva writes: 'there is a little room over the porch that we had set apart as a guest-chamber, and very sweet it was to me that bertha should be its first inmate; very sweet to fritz and me that our home should be what our lord's heart is, a refuge for the outcast, the penitent, the solitary, and the sorrowful.'" "we all say we follow christ, but most of us only follow him and his cross--part of the way. when we are told that our lord bore our sins, and was wounded for our transgressions, i suppose that meant that he felt as if they were his own, in his great love for us. but when you shrink from bearing your fellow-creatures' transgressions, it shows that your love is small." _red pottage_, mary cholmondeley. "radiant with heavenly pity, lost in care for those he knew not, save as fellow lives." _the light of asia_, e. arnold. "to be trusted is to be saved" march "no one can perish in whom any spark of the divine life is still burning. no one can be plucked out of the saviour's hands who still struggles towards him, however feebly and falteringly." _life here and hereafter_, canon maccoll. "to be trusted is to be saved. and if we try to influence or elevate others, we shall soon see that success is in proportion to their belief of our belief in them. for the respect of another is the first restoration of the self-respect a man has lost; our ideal of what he is becomes to him the hope and pattern of what he may become." _the greatest thing in the world_, henry drummond. "coarse treatment never wins souls." god's children march "hallow the name of god, hallow his character, in all noble and good humanity. "that is not difficult. but to hallow god's character in men and women who are not good, in sinful humanity--that is not so easy. yet, if we would be true to this prayer of christ, this too is part of our duty. the evil are also the children of god. they have not hallowed his character, but abandoned its worship. nevertheless they cannot get rid of it. that divine thing lies hid, ineradicably, beneath their evil doing and evil thought. the truth, justice, love, piety, and goodness of god are in abeyance in the wrong-doer, but they are not dead in him. they cannot die; nothing can destroy them. and we, whose desire it should be to save men, can, if we have faith in the indestructible god in men, pierce to this immortal good in the evil, appeal to it, and call it forth to light, like lazarus, from the tomb. this we can do, if, like jesus, we love men enough; if our faith that the evil are still god's children be deep and firm enough. in this we can keep closest to christ, for it was his daily way of life; and divinely beautiful it was. he hallowed god's character in the criminal and the harlot. he saw the good beneath the evil. at his touch it leaped into life, and its life destroyed the death in the sinner's soul. it seems as if he said when he looked into the face of the wrong-doer, 'father, hallowed be thy character.' no lesson for life can be wiser or deeper than this. it ought to rule all our doings with the weak and guilty. it is at the very centre of the prayer, 'hallowed be thy name.'" _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. "always at the door of foulest hearts, the angel-nature yet knocks to return and cancel all its debt." j. r. lowell. raw material march "one also is filled with _hope_ at the figure of the clay, because it suggests the immense and unimagined possibilities of human nature. upon first sight how poor a thing is this man, with his ignorances, prejudices, pettinesses, his envy, jealousy, evil temper. upon second thoughts how much may be in this man, how much he may achieve, how high he may attain. this dull and unattractive man must not be despised, whether he be yourself or another: he is incalculable and unfathomable. he is simply raw material, soul stuff, and one can no more anticipate him than you could foresee a turner from the master's colours--some of them very strange--or a persian rug from a heap of wool. out of that unpromising face, that sleeping intellect, those awkward ways, this crust of selfishness and a hundred faults, is going to be made a man whom the world will admire and honour." _the potter's wheel_, dr. john watson. "to have faith is to create; to have hope is to call down blessing; to have love is to work miracles." _the roadmender_, michael fairless. "the faith which saves others is the enthusiasm of patience." _the service of god_, canon barnett. pessimism march "the next thing to speak of is a tendency in the world which is the very opposite of that of which we have spoken, but which is equally characteristic of a time when a new life and spirit is on the verge of taking its form. as part of the fight of faith is to support and direct the first, so part of that battle is to weaken and oppose the doctrine that the world is going from bad to worse, that there is no regeneration for it, and that there ought to be none. on this doctrine i have frequently spoken, but i do not hesitate to speak of it again. it is the fashion to praise it; it deserves no praise, it is detestable. this is a favourite doctrine of the comfortable classes who are idle and luxurious or merely fantastic, and of a certain type of scientific men, both of whom are profoundly ignorant of the working world and of the poor, who hate this doctrine and despise it. the sufferings of the poor and the oppressed are used as an argument in its favour, but, curiously enough, you scarcely ever find it held by the poor and the oppressed;--on the contrary, these are the creators and builders of utopias: out of this class grow those who prophesy a golden year. those who have most reason to despair never despair." _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. "of all bad habits despondency is among the least respectable, and there is no one quite so tiresome as the sad-visaged christian who is oppressed by the wickedness and hopelessness of the world." service march "service implies self-giving. there is service which is just self-satisfaction, pleasing to the taste for doing and meddling, and there is service which is exactly measured to its pay. true service implies giving, the surrender of time or taste, the subjection of self to others, the gift which is neither noticed nor returned." _the service of god_, canon barnett. "christian greatness is born of willingness to lay the lowliest duties on yourself, and the way to be first is to be ready to remain last." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. "nobleness consists in a valiant suffering for others, not in making others suffer for us. the chief of men is he who stands in the van of men; fronting the peril which frightens back all others.... every noble crown is, and on earth will for ever be, a crown of thorns." _past and present_, carlyle. "no one is useless in this world who lightens the burden of it to any one else." dickens. service march "they were to mortify the self-importance and vain dignity that will not render commonplace kindness. 'if i then, your lord and master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet.'" _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. "nothing is degrading which a high and graceful purpose ennobles, and offices the most menial cease to be menial the moment they are wrought in love." j. martineau. "and service will be the personal tribute to jesus, whom we shall recognise under any disguise, as his nurse detected ulysses by his wounds, and whose body, in the poor and miserable, will ever be with us for our discernment. jesus is the leper whom the saint kissed, and the child the monk carried over the stream, and the sick man the widow nursed into health, after the legends of the ages of faith. and jesus will say at the close of the day, 'inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.'" _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. service march "we must not be perplexed or put out if we have to change our plans. god sends us hither and thither; we may think that we are wasting our special talents, when god has, after all, some particular need for our particular work at a particular time. and equally we must learn to measure our strength; we cannot all do the same things, we are not all adapted to the same work, or charged with the same duties. why should we overstrain ourselves in that which is beyond our strength, or neglect plain duties for others less obvious? ah! god receives many a corban now which he will never accept; self-chosen work done at the expense of duty; work outside done to the neglect of our own proper work; work done at the entire expense of our home and social duties; the clear commandment of god shattered to pieces by some purely human tradition." canon newbolt. "every christian is the servant of men, always and everywhere, without respect to the distinctions of sex, or class, or nationality, or creed." canon body. mens sana in corpore sano march "as there is a will of god for our higher nature--the moral laws--as emphatically is there a will of god for the lower, the natural laws. if you would know god's will in the higher, therefore, you must begin with god's will in the lower: which simply means this--that if you want to live the ideal life, you must begin with the ideal body. the law of moderation, the law of sleep, the law of regularity, the law of exercise, the law of cleanliness,--this is the law or will of god for you. this is the first law, the beginning of his will for you. and if we are ambitious to get on to do god's will in the higher reaches, let us respect it as much in the lower; for there may be as much of god's will in minor things, as much of god's will in taking good bread and pure water, as in keeping a good conscience or living a pure life. whoever heard of gluttony doing god's will, or laziness, or uncleanness, or the man who was careless and wanton of natural life? let a man disobey god in these, and you have no certainty that he has any true principle for obeying god in anything else: for god's will does not only run into the church and the prayer-meeting and the higher chambers of the soul, but into the common rooms at home down to wardrobe and larder and cellar, and into the bodily frame down to blood and muscle and brain." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. the duty of physical health march "excess is not the only thing which breaks men in their health, and in the comfortable enjoyment of themselves; but many are brought into a very ill and languishing habit of body by mere sloth; and sloth is in itself both a great sin, and the cause of many more." bishop south. "there is no true care for the body which forgets the soul. there is no true care for the soul which is not mindful of the body.... the duty of physical health and the duty of spiritual purity and loftiness are not two duties; they are two parts of one duty,--which is the living of the completest life which it is possible for man to live. and the two parts minister to one another. be good that you may be well; be well that you may be good. both of those two injunctions are reasonable, and both are binding on us all." phillips brooks. the duty of physical health march "moreover, health is not only a great element of happiness, but it is essential to good work. it is not merely wasteful but selfish to throw it away. "it is impossible to do good work,--at any rate, it is impossible to do our best,--if we overstrain ourselves. it is bad policy, because all work done under such circumstances will inevitably involve an additional period of quiet and rest afterwards; but apart from this, work so done will not be of a high quality, it will show traces of irritability and weakness: the judgment will not be good: if it involves co-operation with others there will be great possibility of friction and misunderstandings." lord avebury. "when we are out of sorts things get on our nerves, the most trifling annoyances assume the proportions of a catastrophe. it is a sure sign that we need rest and fresh air." lord avebury. "o almighty and most merciful god, of thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech thee, from all things that may hurt us; that we, being ready both in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things that thou wouldest have done; through jesus christ our lord. amen." _the book of common prayer._ physical morality march "the preservation of health is a _duty_. few men seem conscious that there is such a thing as physical morality. men's habitual words and acts imply the idea that they are at liberty to treat their bodies as they please. disorders entailed by disobedience to nature's dictates they regard simply as grievances, not as the effects of a conduct more or less flagitious. though the evil consequences inflicted on their dependants, and on future generations, are often as great as those caused by crime, yet they do not think themselves in any degree criminal. it is true that in the case of drunkenness the viciousness of this bodily transgression is recognised, but none appear to infer that if this bodily transgression is vicious, so, too, is every bodily transgression. the fact is that all breaches of the laws of health are _physical sins_." herbert spencer. "... health is not merely a matter of the body. 'anger, hatred, grief, and fear are among the influences most destructive of vitality.' and, on the other hand, cheerfulness, good-humour, and peace of mind are powerful elements of health." lord avebury. invalids march "if you are an invalid, do your best to get well; but, if you must remain an invalid, still strive for the unselfishness and serenity which are the best possessions of health. there are no sublimer victories than some that are won on sick-beds." "we have sometimes known some men or women, helpless so that their lives seemed to be all dependent, who yet, through their sickness, had so mounted to a higher life and so identified themselves with christ that those on whom they rested found the christ in them and rested upon it. their sick-rooms became churches. their weak voices spoke gospels. the hands they seemed to clasp were really clasping theirs. they were depended on while they seemed to be most dependent. and when they died, when the faint flicker of their life went out, strong men whose light seemed radiant found themselves walking in the darkness; and stout hearts, on which theirs used to lean, trembled as if the staff and substance of their strength was gone." phillips brooks. "pain is no evil unless it conquers us." george eliot. invalids march "it may be that god used to give you plentiful chances to work for him. your days went singing by, each winged with some enthusiastic duty for the master whom you loved.... you can be idle for him, if so he wills, with the same joy with which you once laboured for him. the sick-bed or the prison is as welcome as the harvest-field or the battle-field, when once your soul has come to value as the end of life the privilege of seeking and of finding him." phillips brooks. "to be well enough to work is the wish of my natural heart; but if that may not be, i know that 'they also serve who only stand and wait.' god will not require healthy men's labour from you or me; and if we are poor in power and opportunity to serve him, our widow's mite will weigh against the gold ingots of his chosen apostles." _memoir of george wilson._ "the widow's mite? well, when they laughed at s. theresa because she wanted to build a great orphanage and had only three ducats to begin with, she answered, 'with three ducats theresa can do nothing, but with god and her three ducats there is nothing which theresa cannot do.'" f. w. farrar. lessons of suffering march "to have suffered much is like knowing many languages. you have learnt to understand all, and to make yourself intelligible to all." "we have all met some great sufferers, whose cheerfulness and good-humour are not only a lesson to us who enjoy good health, but who seem to be, as it were, raised and consecrated by a life of suffering." lord avebury. "what man goes worthily through sorrow and does not come out hating shams and pretences, hungering for truth; and also full of sympathy for his fellow-man whose capacity for suffering has been revealed to him by his own?" phillips brooks. hypochondriacs march --april "there is a temperament called _hypochondriac_, to which many persons, some of them the brightest, the most interesting, the most gifted, are born heirs,--a want of balance of the nervous powers, which tends constantly to periods of high excitement and of consequent depression,--an unfortunate inheritance for the possessor, though accompanied often with the greatest talents.... "people of this temperament are subject to fits of gloom and despondency, of nervous irritability and suffering, which darken the aspect of the whole world to them, which present lying reports of their friends, of themselves, of the circumstances of their life, and of all with which they have to do. "now the highest philosophy for persons thus afflicted is to understand themselves and their tendencies, to know that these fits of gloom and depression are just as much a form of disease as a fever or a toothache,--to know that it is the peculiarity of the disease to fill the mind with wretched illusions, to make them seem miserable and unlovely to themselves, to make their nearest friends seem unjust and unkind, to make all events appear to be going wrong and tending to destruction and ruin. "the evils and burdens of such a temperament are half removed when a man once knows that he has it, and recognises it for a disease,--when he does not trust himself to speak and act in those bitter hours as if there were any truth in what he thinks and feels and sees. he who has not attained to this wisdom overwhelms his friends and his family with the waters of bitterness; he stings with unjust accusations, and makes his fireside dreadful with fancies which are real to him, but false as the ravings of fever. "a sensible person, thus diseased, who has found out what ails him, will shut his mouth resolutely, not to give utterance to the dark thoughts that infest his soul. "a lady of great brilliancy and wit, who was subject to these periods, once said to me, 'my dear sir, there are times when i know i am possessed of the devil, and then i never let myself speak.' and so this wise woman carried her burden about with her in a determined, cheerful reticence, leaving always the impression of a cheery, kindly temper, when, if she had spoken out a tithe of what she thought and felt in her morbid hours, she would have driven all her friends from her, and made others as miserable as she was herself. she was a sunbeam, a life-giving presence in every family, by the power of self-knowledge and self-control." _little foxes_, harriet beecher stowe. "comfort's art" april "it would be very petty of us who are well and can bear things, to think much of small offences from those who carry a weight of trial." george eliot. "trouble is so hard to bear, is it not? how can we live and think that any one has trouble--piercing trouble--and we could help them and never try?" george eliot. "pity makes the world soft to the weak and noble for the strong." _the light of asia_, e. arnold. "ask god to give thee skill for comfort's art, that thou may'st consecrated be, and set apart unto a life of sympathy! for heavy is the weight of ill for every heart, and comforters are needed much of christlike touch." irritability april "irritability is, more than most unlovely states, a sin of the flesh. it is not, like envy, malice, spite, revenge, a vice which we may suppose to belong equally to an embodied or a disembodied spirit: in fact, it comes nearer to being physical depravity than anything i know of. there are some bodily states, some conditions of the nerves, such that we could not conceive of even an angelic spirit, confined in a body thus disordered, as being able to do any more than simply endure. it is a state of nervous torture; and the attacks which the wretched victim makes on others are as much a result of disease as the snapping and biting of a patient convulsed with hydrophobia.... i think it is undeniable that the peace and happiness of the home-circle are very generally much invaded by the recurrence in its members of these states of bodily irritability. every person, if he thinks the matter over, will see that his condition in life, the character of his friends, his estimate of their virtues and failings, his hopes and expectations, are all very much modified by these things. cannot we all remember going to bed as very ill-used, persecuted individuals, all whose friends were unreasonable, whose life was full of trials and crosses, and waking up on a bright bird-singing morning to find all these illusions gone with the fogs of the night? our friends are nice people, after all; the little things that annoyed us look ridiculous by bright sunshine; and we are fortunate individuals." _little foxes_, harriet beecher stowe. irritability april "the philosophy of life, then, as far as this matter is concerned, must consist of two things: first, to keep ourselves out of irritable bodily states; and, second, to understand and control these states, when we cannot ward them off. of course, the first of these is the most important; and yet, of all things, it seems to be least looked into and understood. we find abundant rules for the government of the tongue and temper; it is a slough into which, john bunyan hath it, cartloads of wholesome instructions have been thrown; but how to get and keep that healthy state of brain, stomach, and nerves which takes away the temptation to ill-temper and anger is a subject which moral and religious teachers seem scarcely to touch upon.... we have a common saying, that this or that person is soon used up. now most nervous, irritable states of temper are the mere physical result of a used-up condition. the person has overspent his nervous energy,--like a man who should eat up on monday the whole food which was to keep him for a week, and go growling and faint through the other days; or the quantity of nervous force which was wanted to carry on the whole system in all its parts is seized on by some one monopolising portion, and used up to the loss and detriment of the rest." _little foxes_, harriet beecher stowe. accidie april "... 'accidie,' the spiritual sloth, which we rechristen 'depression' and 'low spirits,' and meet with sympathy! dante met it by fixing its victims in the mire beneath the water, where they keep gurgling in their throats the confession-- 'we sullen were in the sweet air, which by the sun is gladdened, bearing within ourselves the sluggish reek; now we are sullen in this sable mire.'" _stray thoughts on reading_, lucy soulsby. "a dull day need not be a depressing day; depression always implies physical or moral weakness, and is therefore never to be tolerated so long as one can struggle against it." hamilton w. mabie. accidie april "... the sin of accidie, which is 'a sorrowfulness so weighing down the mind that there is no good it likes to do. it has attached to it as its inseparable comrade a distress and weariness of soul, and a sluggishness in all good works, which plunges the whole man into lazy languor, and works in him a constant bitterness. and out of this vehement woe springs silence and a flagging of the voice, because the soul is so absorbed and taken up with its own indolent dejection, that it has no energy for utterance, but is cramped, and hampered, and imprisoned in its own confused bewilderment, and has not a word to say.'" _the spirit of discipline_, bishop paget. "try it for a day, i beseech you, to preserve yourself in an easy and cheerful frame of mind. compare the day in which you have rooted out the weed of dissatisfaction with that on which you have allowed it to grow up, and you will find your heart open to every good motive, your life strengthened and your breast armed with a panoply against every trick of fate; truly, you will wonder at your own improvement." richter. accidie april "as one compares the various estimates of the sin, one can mark three main elements which help to make it what it is--elements which can be distinguished, though in experience, i think, they almost always tend to meet and mingle; they are _gloom_ and _sloth_ and _irritation_." _the spirit of discipline_, bishop paget. "you find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people. why not make earnest effort to confer that pleasure on others? you will find half the battle is gained if you never allow yourself to say anything gloomy." lydia maria childs. "wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness; altogether past calculation its power of endurance." carlyle. accidie april "'it is a mood which severs a man from thoughts of god, and suffers him not to be calm and kindly to his brethren. sometimes, without any provoking cause, we are suddenly depressed by so great sorrowfulness, that we cannot greet with wonted courtesy the coming even of those who are dear and near to us, and all they say in conversation, however appropriate it may be, we think annoying and unnecessary, and have no pleasant answer for it, because the gall of bitterness fills all the recesses of our soul.' those who are sad after this fashion have, as st. gregory says, anger already close to them; for from sadness such as this come forth (as he says in another place) malice, grudging, faint-heartedness, despair, torpor as to that which is commanded, and the straying of the mind after that which is forbidden." _the spirit of discipline_, bishop paget. "activity is the antidote to the depressions that lower our vitality, whether they come from physical or psychical causes." accidie april "we may be somewhat surprised when we discover how precisely pascal, or shakspeare, or montaigne, can put his finger on our weak point, or tell us the truth about some moral lameness or disorder of which we, perhaps, were beginning to accept a more lenient and comfortable diagnosis. but when a poet, controversialist and preacher of the eastern church, under the dominion of the saracens, or an anchoret of egypt, an abbot of gaul, in the sixth century, tells us, in the midst of our letters, and railway journeys, and magazines, and movements, exactly what it is that on some days makes us so singularly unpleasant to ourselves and to others--tells us in effect that it is not simply the east wind, or dyspepsia, or overwork, or the contrariness of things in general, but that it is a certain subtle and complex trouble of our own hearts, which we perhaps have never had the patience or the frankness to see as it really is; that he knew it quite well, only too well for his own happiness and peace, and that he can put us in a good way of dealing with it--the very strangeness of the intrusion from such a quarter into our most private affairs may secure for him a certain degree of our interest and attention." _the spirit of discipline_, bishop paget. accidie april "and now, as ever, over against accidie rises the great grace of fortitude; the grace that makes men undertake hard things by their own will wisely and reasonably. there is something in the very name of fortitude which speaks to the almost indelible love of heroism in men's hearts; but perhaps the truest fortitude may often be a less heroic, a more tame and business-like affair than we are apt to think. it may be exercised chiefly in doing very little things, whose whole value lies in this, that, if one did not hope in god, one would not do them; in secretly dispelling moods which one would like to show; in saying nothing about one's lesser troubles and vexations; in seeing whether it may not be best to bear a burden before one tries to see whither one can shift it; in refusing for one's self excuses which one would not refuse for others. these, anyhow, are ways in which a man may every day be strengthening himself in the discipline of fortitude; and then, if greater things are asked of him, he is not very likely to draw back from them. and while he waits the asking of these greater things, he may be gaining from the love of god a hidden strength and glory such as he himself would least of all suspect; he may be growing in the patience and perseverance of the saints. for most of us the chief temptation to lose heart, the chief demand upon our strength, comes in the monotony of our failures, and in the tedious persistence of prosaic difficulties; it is the distance, not the pace, that tries us. to go on choosing what has but a look of being the more excellent way, pushing on towards a faintly glimmering light, and never doubting the supreme worth of goodness even in its least brilliant fragments,--this is the normal task of many lives; in this men show what they are like. and for this we need a quiet and sober fortitude, somewhat like that which botticelli painted, and mr. ruskin has described." _the spirit of discipline_, bishop paget. temper april "what is temper? its primary meaning, the proportion and mode in which qualities are mingled, is much neglected in popular speech, yet even here the word often carries a reference to an habitual state or general tendency of the organism in distinction from what are held to be specific virtues and vices. as people confess to bad memory without expecting to sink in mental reputation, so we hear a man declared to have a bad temper and yet glorified as the possessor of every high quality. when he errs or in any way commits himself, his temper is accused, not his character, and it is understood that but for a brutal bearish mood he is kindness itself. if he kicks small animals, swears violently at a servant who mistakes orders, or is grossly rude to his wife, it is remarked apologetically that these things mean nothing--they are all temper. "certainly there is a limit to this form of apology; and the forgery of a bill, or the ordering of goods without any prospect of paying for them, has never been set down to an unfortunate habit of sulkiness or of irascibility. but on the whole there is a peculiar exercise of indulgence towards the manifestations of bad temper which tends to encourage them, so that we are in danger of having among us a number of virtuous persons who conduct themselves detestably, just as we have hysterical patients who, with sound organs, are apparently labouring under many sorts of organic disease. let it be admitted, however, that a man may be a 'good fellow' and yet have a bad temper, so bad that we recognise his merits with reluctance, and are inclined to resent his occasionally amiable behaviour as an unfair demand on our admiration." george eliot. temper april "jealousy, anger, pride, uncharity, cruelty, self-righteousness, sulkiness, touchiness, doggedness,--these are the staple ingredients of ill-temper. and yet men laugh over it. 'only temper,' they call it: a little hot-headedness, a momentary ruffling of the surface, a mere passing cloud. but the passing cloud is composed of drops, and the drops here betoken an ocean, foul and rancorous, seething somewhere within the life--an ocean made up of jealousy, anger, pride, uncharity, cruelty, self-righteousness, sulkiness, touchiness, doggedness, lashed into a raging storm. "this is why temper is significant. it is not in what it is that its significance lies, but in what it reveals. but for this it were not worth notice. it is the intermittent fever which tells of un-intermittent disease; the occasional bubble escaping to the surface, betraying the rottenness underneath; a hastily prepared specimen of the hidden products of the soul, dropped involuntarily when you are off your guard. in one word, it is the lightning-form of a dozen hideous and unchristian sins." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. "whenever you are angry, be assured that it is not only a present evil, but that you have increased a habit." epictetus. temper april "certainly if a bad-tempered man can be admirably virtuous, he must be so under extreme difficulties. i doubt the possibility that a high order of character can co-exist with a temper like touchwood's. for it is of the nature of such temper to interrupt the formation of healthy mental habits, which depend on a growing harmony between perception, conviction, and impulse. there may be good feelings, good deeds--for a human nature may pack endless varieties and blessed inconsistencies in its windings--but it is essential to what is worthy to be called high character, that it may be safely calculated on, and that its qualities shall have taken the form of principles or laws habitually, if not perfectly, obeyed. if a man frequently passes unjust judgments, takes up false attitudes, intermits his acts of kindness with rude behaviour or cruel words, and falls into the consequent vulgar error of supposing that he can make amends by laboured agreeableness, i cannot consider such courses any the less ugly because they are ascribed to 'temper.' especially i object to the assumption that his having a fundamentally good disposition is either an apology or a compensation for his bad behaviour." george eliot. temper april "consider how much more often you suffer from your anger and grief, than from those very things for which you are angry and grieved." marcus aurelius. "the _difficult_ part of good temper consists in forbearance, and accommodation to the ill-humour of others." empson. "do we not know that the storm of feeling can be checked, if only we can prevent the first word from being spoken, the first gesture from being made. and is it not matter of common observation that persons who begin by being stoics in demeanour end by becoming stoics in reality?" _the making of character_, professor maccunn. temper april "if this be one of our chief duties--promoting the happiness of our neighbours--most certainly there is nothing which so entirely runs counter to it, and makes it impossible, as an undisciplined temper. for of all things that are to be met with here on earth, there is nothing which can give such continual, such cutting, such useless pain. the touchy and sensitive temper, which takes offence at a word; the irritable temper, which finds offence in everything whether intended or not; the violent temper, which breaks through all bounds of reason when once roused; the jealous or sullen temper, which wears a cloud on the face all day, and never utters a word of complaint; the discontented temper, brooding over its own wrongs; the severe temper, which always looks at the worst side of whatever is done; the wilful temper, which over-rides every scruple to gratify a whim,--what an amount of pain have these caused in the hearts of men, if we could but sum up their results! how many a soul have they stirred to evil impulses; how many a prayer have they stifled; how many an emotion of true affection have they turned to bitterness! how hard they sometimes make all duties! how painful they make all daily life! how they kill the sweetest and warmest of domestic charities! the misery caused by other sins is often much deeper and much keener, more disastrous, more terrible to the sight; but the accumulated pain caused by ill-temper must, i verily believe, if added together, outweigh all other pains that men have to bear from one another." bishop temple. quarrels april "blow not into a flame the spark which is kindled between two friends. they are easily reconciled, and will both hate you." from the german. "quarrels would not last long if the fault was only on one side." la rochefoucauld. "he approaches nearest to the gods who knows how to be silent even though he knows he is in the right." cato. "when any one has offended me, i try to raise my soul so high that the offence cannot reach it." descartes. quarrels april "the mind is often clouded by passion until it is incapable of clear thought. harsh words, stinging words, cruel words are usually spoken without thought. rash deeds which result in most serious consequences are performed without thought. the wrong-doer does not consider beforehand the character of his deed, its effects on himself and others, and its ultimate consequences." "we shall never be sorry afterwards for thinking twice before we speak, for counting the cost before entering upon any new course, for sleeping over stings and injuries before saying or doing anything in answer, or for carefully considering any business scheme presented to us before putting money or name into it. it will save us from much regret, loss, and sorrow, always to remember to do nothing rashly." "do nothing in a hurry. nature never does. 'most haste, worst speed,' says the old proverb. if you are in doubt, sleep over it. but, above all, never quarrel in a hurry. think it over well. take time. however vexed you may be overnight, things will often look very different in the morning. if you have written a clever and conclusive, but scathing letter, keep it back till the next day, and it will very often never go at all." lord avebury. revenge april "he that studieth revenge keepeth his own wounds green." bacon. "ill-temper and envy and revenge find here an arsenal of pious disguises; this is the playground of inverted lusts. with a little more patience and a little less temper, a gentler and wiser method might be found in almost every case; and the knot that we cut by some fine heady quarrel-scene in private life, or, in public affairs, by some denunciatory act against what we are pleased to call our neighbour's vices, might yet have been unwoven by the hand of sympathy." _across the plains_, r. l. stevenson. "still in thy right hand carry gentle peace to silence envious tongues." shakespeare. touchiness april "touchiness, when it becomes chronic, is a morbid condition of the inward disposition. it is self-love inflamed to the acute point." henry drummond. "purge out of every heart the lurking grudge. give us grace and strength to forbear and to persevere. offenders, give us the grace to accept and to forgive offences. forgetful ourselves, help us to bear cheerfully the forgetfulness of others. give us courage and gaiety and the quiet mind. spare to us our friends, soften to us our enemies. bless us, if it may be, in all our innocent endeavours. if it may not, give us the strength to encounter that which is to come, that we be brave in peril, constant in tribulation, temperate in wrath, and in all changes of fortune, and down to the gates of death, loyal and loving one to another. as the clay to the potter, as the windmill to the wind--as children of their sire, we beseech of thee this help and mercy for christ's sake." _vailima prayers_, r. l. stevenson. unbalanced memory april "it is so easy to forget a kindness, and to remember a kick. yet controlling our recollections is almost as important as controlling our temper. we are apt to forget completely a hundred little kindnesses and courtesies which one has shown us, and to remember a single careless slight or thoughtless word. often we hear it said of some wrong or foolish deed, 'i have never thought so well of that man since then; it was there he showed his real character,'--as if a man's real character appeared more in one separate deed to which, perhaps, he was sorely tempted, than in the striving and overcoming of many days and years." "our thoughts are often worse than we are, just as they are often better than we are. and god sees us as we are altogether, not in separate feelings or actions, as our fellow-men see us. we are always doing each other injustice, and thinking better or worse of each other than we deserve, because we only hear and see separate words and actions. we don't see each other's whole nature." george eliot. "enveloped in a common mist, we seem to walk in clearness ourselves, and behold only the mist that enshrouds others." george eliot. unbalanced memory april "strange endurance of human vanity! a million of much more important conversations have escaped one since then, most likely--but the memory of this little mortification (for such it is, after all) remains quite fresh in the mind, and unforgotten, though it is a trifle, and more than half a score of years old. we forgive injuries, we survive even our remorse for great wrongs that we ourselves commit; but i doubt if we ever forgive slights of this nature put upon us, or forget circumstances in which our self-love has been made to suffer." w. m. thackeray. "a past error may urge a grand retrieval." george eliot. "memory is not a pocket, but a living instructor, with a prophetic sense of the values which he guards; a guardian angel set there within you to record your life, and by recording it to animate you to uplift it." emerson. "silence a great peacemaker" april "hard speech between those who have loved is hideous in the memory, like the sight of greatness and beauty sunk into vice and rags." george eliot. "i don't want to say anything nasty, because nasty words always leave a scar behind." _isabel carnaby_, ellen thorneycroft fowler. "silence is a great peacemaker." longfellow. "if bitterness has crept into the heart in the friction of the busy day's unguarded moments, be sure it steals away with the setting sun. twilight is god's interval for peace-making." reconciliation april "it is exceedingly noteworthy that in the rule laid down here by our lord, the responsibility of seeking reconciliation is laid primarily, not upon the man who has done wrong, but upon the man who has received the wrong. it is the injured man who is to take the initiative, to go after the offender, to seek him out, and to exhaust all proper means of bringing him to a right state of mind, and of getting him reconciled to the man whom he has wronged. it is only after all these proper means have been exhausted, after the man who has been injured has done everything in his power--a great deal more than the law prescribed--it is then only that he is to regard the offender as 'a heathen man and a publican.' is not this the exact opposite to the world's code of morality upon that subject? is it not the rule among men of the world--i do not use the word in a bad sense--is it not the rule among christian men of the world, who live what we should call on the whole good honest lives, to wait until the offender has come to them with a confession and an apology? and if they then accept the apology and forgive the offence, they probably think they have done something very magnanimous; nor would they consider they had done anything very much amiss if they refused to accept the apology, especially if the offence had been a gross one. if the offender did not apologise, even an otherwise good christian would probably think that he might treat the matter with indifference, take no notice of it, and say to himself, 'he has offended me, i will take no notice, i will leave him to himself.' would not men of the world--christian men--consider that they had upon the whole discharged the christian duty of forgiveness if they treated the offender in that way? but the law which our lord laid down in his answer to peter, which governed his own conduct, the law which rules the dealing of almighty god with sinful man, is that the man who has been injured, to whom the wrong has been done, is to make the first move, is to take the first step, is to go after the man who has done the wrong, and use his utmost means of persuasion to convince him of his guilt, and to bring him back from the error of his ways." _life here and hereafter_, canon maccoll. reconciliation and forgiveness april "never forget, when you have been injured, that your duty is not only to refrain from retaliating, not simply to retire upon your dignity and self-respect, not to leave the offender severely alone; but to seek him out, to reason with him, to pray for him, to exhaust all your powers of persuasion, all the resources of gentleness and love. it is only when all this has been done that your responsibility is ended, and you are justified in leaving him to be dealt with by almighty god." _life here and hereafter_, canon maccoll. "'remember,' he said, ... 'that if you forgive him, you become changed yourself. you no longer see what he has done as you see it now. that is the beauty of forgiveness: it enables us better to understand those whom we have forgiven. perhaps it will enable you to put yourself in his place.'" _the mettle of the pasture_, james lane allen. "could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?" thoreau. forgiveness april "the little hearts that know not how to forgive!" tennyson. "oh, make my anger pure--let no worst wrong rouse in me the old niggard selfishness. give me thine indignation--which is love turned on the evil that would part love's throng; thy anger scathes because it needs must bless, gathering into union calm and strong all things on earth, and under, and above. "make my forgiveness downright--such as i should perish if i did not have from thee; i let the wrong go, withered up and dry, cursed with divine forgetfulness in me. 'tis but self-pity, pleasant, mean and sly, low whispering bids the paltry memory live:-- what am i brother for, but to forgive? * * * * * lord, i forgive--and step in unto thee." george macdonald. reparation april "all high happiness has in it some element of love; all love contains a desire for peace. one immediate effect of new happiness is to make us turn toward the past with a wish to straighten out its difficulties, heal its breaches and forgive its wrongs." james lane allen. "as long as we love, we can forgive." la rochefoucauld. "when it is our duty to do an act of justice it should be done promptly. to delay is injustice." la bruyÈre. "his heart was as great as the world, but there was no room in it to hold the memory of a wrong." emerson (_said of lincoln_). the unamiable april "of all mortals none are so awfully self-deluded as the unamiable. they do not, any more than others, sin for the sake of sinning, but it may be doubted whether, in the hour when all shall be uncovered to the eternal day, there will be revealed a lower depth than the hell which they have made. they inflict torments with an unconsciousness almost worthy of spirits of light. the spirit sinks under the prospect of the retribution of the unamiable, if all that happens be indeed for eternity, if there be, indeed, a record of every chilling frown, of every querulous tone, of every bitter jest, of every insulting word, of all abuses of that tremendous power which mind has over mind. the throbbing pulse, the quivering nerves, the wrung hearts that surround the unamiable; what a cloud of witnesses is here! the terror of innocents who should know no fear, the vindictive emotions of dependents who dare not complain, the faintness of heart of lifelong companions, the anguish of those who love; what an array of judges is here! the unamiable, the domestic torturer, has heaped wrong upon wrong, woe upon woe, through the whole portion of time which was given into his power, till it would be rash to say that any others are more guilty than he." harriet martineau. ill-nature april "how is ill-nature to be met and overcome? first, by humility: when a man knows his own weaknesses, why should he be angry with others for pointing them out? no doubt it is not very amiable of them to do so, but still, truth is on their side. secondly, by reflection: after all we are what we are, and if we have been thinking too much of ourselves, it is only an opinion to be modified; the incivility of our neighbours leaves us what we were before. above all, by pardon: there is only one way of not hating those who do us wrong, and that is by doing them good; anger is best conquered by kindness. such a victory over feeling may not indeed affect those who have wronged us, but it is a valuable piece of self-discipline. it is vulgar to be angry on one's own account; we ought only to be angry for great causes. besides, the poisoned dart can only be extracted from the wound by the balm of a silent and thoughtful charity. why do we let human malignity embitter us? why should ingratitude, jealousy--perfidy even--enrage us? there is no end to recriminations, complaints, or reprisals. the simplest plan is to blot everything out. anger, rancour, bitterness, trouble the soul. every man is a dispenser of justice; but there is one wrong that he is not bound to punish--that of which he himself is the victim. such a wrong is to be healed, not avenged." _amiel's journal._ the science of social life april "every man has his faults, his failings, peculiarities, eccentricities. every one of us finds himself crossed by such failings of others, from hour to hour. and if he were to resent them all, or even notice all, life would be intolerable. if for every outburst of hasty temper, and for every rudeness that wounds us in our daily path, we were to demand an apology, require an explanation, or resent it by retaliation, daily intercourse would be impossible. the very science of social life consists in that gliding tact which avoids contact with the sharp angularities of character, which does not argue about such things, does not seek to adjust or cure them all, but covers them, as if it did not see." frederick w. robertson. "if you would have a happy family life, remember two things,--in matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current." the science of social life april "much of the sorrow of life, however, springs from the accumulation, day by day and year by year, of little trials--a letter written in less than courteous terms, a wrangle at the breakfast table over some arrangement of the day, the rudeness of an acquaintance on the way to the city, an unfriendly act on the part of another firm, a cruel criticism needlessly reported by some meddler, a feline amenity at afternoon tea, the disobedience of one of your children, a social slight by one of your circle, a controversy too hotly conducted. the trials within this class are innumerable, and consider, not one of them is inevitable, not one of them but might have been spared if we or our brother man had had a grain of kindliness. our social insolences, our irritating manners, our censorious judgment, our venomous letters, our pinpricks in conversation, are all forms of deliberate unkindness, and are all evidences of an ill-conditioned nature." _the homely virtues_, dr. john watson. "let us think, too, how much forbearance must have been shown us that we were not even conscious of needing; how often, beyond doubt, we have wounded, or annoyed, or wearied those who were so skilful and considerate that we never suspected either our clumsiness or their pain." _studies in the christian character_, bishop paget. the science of social life may "then, to be able, when we live with our brother men, not to remember what we wish for ourselves, but only their wants, their joy and their sorrow; to think, not of our own desires, but how to minister to the great causes and the great conceptions which help mankind; to be eager to give pity to men, and forgiveness to their wrong; to desire with thirst to bind up the broken heart of man, and to realise our desire in act--this is to thirst for god as love. for this is self-forgetfulness, and in the abysmal depths of his being, as well as in every surface-form into which he throws himself out of himself, god is the absolute self-forgetfulness." _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. "if, in the paths of the world, stones might have wounded thy feet, toil or dejection have tried thy spirit, of that we saw nothing--to us thou wast still cheerful, and helpful, and firm! therefore to thee it was given many to save with thyself; and, at the end of thy day, o faithful shepherd! to come, bringing thy sheep in thy hand." matthew arnold. the science of social life may "if you would be loved as a companion, avoid unnecessary criticism upon those with whom you live. the number of people who have taken out judges' patents for themselves is very large in any society. now it would be hard for a man to live with another who was always criticising his actions, even if it were kindly and just criticism. it would be like living between the glasses of a microscope. but these self-elected judges, like their prototypes, are very apt to have the persons they judge brought before them in the guise of culprits. "let not familiarity swallow up old courtesy. many of us have a habit of saying to those with whom we live such things as we say about strangers behind their backs. there is no place, however, where real politeness is of more value than where we mostly think it would be superfluous. you may say more truth, or rather speak out more plainly to your associates, but not less courteously than to strangers." sir arthur helps. "for manners are not idle, but the fruit of loyal nature, and of noble mind." tennyson. sympathy may "there is nothing which seems to try men's patience and good temper more than feebleness: the timidity, the vacillation, the conventionality, the fretfulness, the prejudices of the weak; the fact that people can be so well-meaning and so disappointing, these things make many men impatient to a degree of which they are themselves ashamed. but it is something far more than patience and good temper towards weakness that is demanded here. it is that the strong, in whatsoever sphere their strength may lie, should try in silence and simplicity, escaping the observation of men, to take upon their own shoulders the burdens which the weak are bearing; to submit themselves to the difficulties amidst which the weak are stumbling on; to be, for their help's sake, as they are; to share the fear, the dimness, the anxiety, the trouble and heart-sinking through which they have to work their way; to forego and lay aside the privilege of strength in order to understand the weak and backward and bewildered, in order to be with them, to enter into their thoughts, to wait on their advance; to be content, if they can only serve, so to speak, as a favourable circumstance for their growth towards that which god intended them to be. it is the innermost reality of sympathy, it is the very heart and life of courtesy, that is touched here: but like all that is best in moral beauty, it loses almost all its grace the moment it attracts attention." _the spirit of discipline_, bishop paget. "nothing but the infinite pity is sufficient for the infinite pathos of human life." j. shorthouse. patience may "the example of our lord, as he humbly and calmly takes the rebuff, and turns to go to another village, may help us in the ordinary ways of ordinary daily life. the little things that vex us in the manner or the words of those with whom we have to do; the things which seem to us so inconsiderate, or wilful, or annoying, that we think it impossible to get on with the people who are capable of them; the mistakes which no one, we say, has any right to make; the shallowness, or conventionality, or narrowness, or positiveness in talk which makes us wince and tempts us towards the cruelty and wickedness of scorn;--surely in all these things, and in many others like them, of which conscience may be ready enough to speak to most of us, there are really opportunities for thus following the example of our saviour's great humility and patience. how many friendships we might win or keep, how many chances of serving others we might find, how many lessons we might learn, how much of unsuspected moral beauty might be disclosed around us, if only we were more careful to give people time, to stay judgment, to trust that they will see things more justly, speak of them more wisely, after a while. we are sure to go on closing doors of sympathy, and narrowing in the interests and opportunities of work around us, if we let ourselves imagine that we can quickly measure the capacities and sift the characters of our fellow-men." _studies in the christian character_, bishop paget. selfishness may "any man--with the heart of a man and not of a mouse--is more likely than not to behave well at a pinch; but no man who is habitually selfish can be _sure_ that he will, when the choice comes sharp between his own life and the lives of others. the impulse of a supreme moment only focusses the habits and customs of a man's soul. the supreme moment may never come, but habits and customs mould us from the cradle to the grave.... vice and cowardice become alike impossible to a man who has never--cradled in selfishness, and made callous by custom--learned to pamper himself at the expense of others!" _a happy family_, mrs. ewing. "sympathy is the safeguard of the human soul against selfishness." carlyle. "where love is, god is" may "where love is, god is. he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in god. god is love. therefore _love_. without distinction, without calculation, without procrastination, love. lavish it upon the poor, where it is very easy; especially upon the rich, who often need it most; most of all upon our equals, where it is very difficult, and for whom perhaps we each do least of all. there is a difference between _trying to please_ and _giving pleasure_. give pleasure. lose no chance of giving pleasure. for that is the ceaseless and anonymous triumph of a truly loving spirit. 'i shall pass through this world but once. any good thing therefore that i can do, or any kindness that i can show to any human being, let me do it now. let me not defer it or neglect it, for i shall not pass this way again.'" _the greatest thing in the world_, henry drummond. "let the weakest, let the humblest remember, that in his daily course he can, if he will, shed around him almost a heaven. kindly words, sympathising attentions, watchfulness against wounding men's sensitiveness--these cost very little, but they are priceless in their value. are they not almost the staple of our daily happiness? from hour to hour, from moment to moment, we are supported, blest, by small kindnesses." f. w. robertson. oil and wine may "whatever impatience we may feel towards our neighbour, and whatever indignation our race may rouse in us, we are chained one to another, and, companions in labour and misfortune, have everything to lose by mutual recrimination and reproach. let us be silent as to each other's weakness, helpful, tolerant, nay, tender towards each other! or, if we cannot feel tenderness, may we at least feel pity! may we put away from us the satire which scourges and the anger which brands; the oil and wine of the good samaritan are of more avail. we may make the ideal a reason for contempt; but it is more beautiful to make it a reason for tenderness." _amiel's journal._ "it is always a mistake to paint people blacker than the facts warrant, both because such exaggeration is pretty sure to cause a reaction to the opposite extreme, and also because we are likely to miss the lesson which the errors or misconduct of others should teach us, if we think them so exceptionally wicked that we are ourselves in no danger of following their example." _life here and hereafter_, canon maccoll. family life--"without jar or jostle" may "let us give everybody a right to live his own life, as far as possible, and avoid imposing our own peculiarities on another. "if we were to picture a perfect family, it should be a union of people of individual and marked character, who, through love, have come to a perfect appreciation of each other, and who so wisely understand themselves and one another, that each may move freely along his or her own track without jar or jostle,--a family where affection is always sympathetic and receptive, but never inquisitive,--where all personal delicacies are respected,--and where there is a sense of privacy and seclusion in following one's own course, unchallenged by the watchfulness of others, yet withal a sense of society and support in a knowledge of the kind dispositions and interpretations of all around. "in treating of family discourtesies, i have avoided speaking of those which come from ill-temper and brute selfishness, because these are sins more than mistakes. an angry person is generally impolite; and where contention and ill-will are, there can be no courteousness. what i have mentioned are rather the lackings of good and often admirable people, who merely need to consider in their family-life a little more of whatsoever things are lovely. with such the mere admission of anything to be pursued as a duty secures the purpose; only in their somewhat earnest pursuit of the substantials of life, they drop and pass by the little things that give it sweetness and perfume." _little foxes_, harriet beecher stowe. ungraciousness may "we can recall occasions in which we have been impatient, inconsiderate, self-willed, self-asserting. we have sharply resented some want of good taste: we have made light of a scruple or of a difficulty which weighed heavily on another: we have yielded ungraciously a service which may have been claimed inopportunely: we have been exact in requiring conventional deference to our judgment: we have not checked the keen word, or the smile which might be interpreted to assert a proud superiority. "in all this we may have been justifiable according to common rules of conduct; but we have given offence. we have not, that is, shewn, when we might have shewn, that christian sympathy, devotion, fellowship, come down to little things; that the generosity of love looks tenderly, if by any means it may find the soul which has not revealed itself." bishop westcott. "seek the graces of god with all your strength; but above all seek the graces that specially belong to heaven. try hard to be humble, to be free from all conceit, to question your own opinions, to give up your own way, to put simplicity first among all excellences of character, to be ready to think yourself in the wrong, to prefer others to yourself; for this character is nearest to god's heart, and to babes who are of this sort does god reveal his most secret mysteries." bishop temple. the spectrum of love may "the spectrum of love has nine ingredients:-- _patience_--'love suffereth long.' _kindness_--'and is kind.' _generosity_--'love envieth not.' _humility_--'love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.' _courtesy_--'doth not behave itself unseemly.' _unselfishness_--'seeketh not her own.' _good temper_--'is not easily provoked.' _guilelessness_--'thinketh no evil.' _sincerity_--'rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.' patience; kindness; generosity; humility; courtesy; unselfishness; good temper; guilelessness; sincerity--these make up the supreme gift, the stature of the perfect man. you will observe that all are in relation to men, in relation to life, in relation to the known to-day and the near to-morrow, and not to the unknown eternity. we hear much of love to god; christ spoke much of love to man. we make a great deal of peace with heaven; christ made much of peace on earth. religion is not a strange or added thing, but the inspiration of the secular life, the breathing of an eternal spirit through this temporal world. the supreme thing, in short, is not a thing at all, but the giving of a further finish to the multitudinous words and acts which make up the sum of every common day." _the greatest thing in the world_, henry drummond. "my duty to my neighbour" may "there is an idea abroad among moral people that they should make their neighbours good. one person i have to make good: myself. but my duty to my neighbour is much more nearly expressed by saying that i have to make him happy--if i may." _across the plains_, r. l. stevenson. "of all the weapons we wield against wrong, there is none more effective than pure and burning joy." _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. "there is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behaviour, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us." emerson. duty of giving happiness may "it is astonishing how large a part of christ's precepts is devoted solely to the inculcation of happiness. how much of his life, too, was spent simply in making people happy! there was no word more often on his lips than 'blessed,' and it is recognised by him as a distinct end in life, _the_ end for this life, to secure the happiness of others. this simple grace, too, needs little equipment. christ had little. one need scarcely even be happy one's self. holiness, of course, is a greater word, but we cannot produce that in others. that is reserved for god himself, but what is put in our power is happiness, and for that each man is his brother's keeper. now society is an arrangement for producing and sustaining human happiness, and temper is an agent for thwarting and destroying it. look at the parable of the prodigal son for a moment, and see how the elder brother's wretched pettiness, explosion of temper, churlishness, spoiled the happiness of a whole circle. first, it certainly spoiled his own. how ashamed of himself he must have been when the fit was over, one can well guess. yet these things are never so quickly over as they seem. self-disgust and humiliation may come at once, but a good deal else within has to wait till the spirit is tuned again. for instance, prayer must wait. a man cannot pray till the sourness is out of his soul. he must first forgive his brother who trespassed against him before he can go to god to have his own trespasses forgiven." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. duty of giving happiness may "the function of culture is not merely to train the powers of enjoyment, but first and supremely for helpful service." bishop potter. "it was often in george eliot's mind and on her lips that the only worthy end of all learning, of all science, of all life, in fact, is that human beings should love one another better. culture merely for culture's sake can never be anything but a sapless root, capable of producing at best a shrivelled branch.... she was cheered by the hope and by the belief in gradual improvement of the mass; for in her view each individual must find the better part of happiness in helping another. she often thought it wisest not to raise too ambitious an ideal, especially in young people, but to impress on ordinary natures the immense possibilities of making a small circle brighter and better. few are born to do the great work of the world, but all are born to this. and to the natures capable of the larger effort the field of usefulness will constantly widen." _the life of george eliot_, j. w. cross. "blessed are the happiness makers" may "have you ever noticed how much of christ's life was spent in doing kind things--in _merely_ doing kind things? run over it with that in view, and you will find that he spent a great proportion of his time simply in making people happy, in doing good turns to people." _the greatest thing in the world_, henry drummond. "take life all through, its adversity as well as its prosperity, its sickness as well as its health, its loss of its rights as well as its enjoyment of them, and we shall find that no natural sweetness of temper, much less any acquired philosophical equanimity, is equal to the support of a uniform habit of kindness. nevertheless, with the help of grace, the habit of saying kind words is very quickly formed, and when once formed it is not speedily lost. sharpness, bitterness, sarcasm, acute observation, divination of motives--all these things disappear when a man is earnestly conforming himself to the image of christ jesus. the very attempt to be like our dearest lord is already a wellspring of sweetness within us, flowing with an easy grace over all who come within our reach." f. w. faber. "blessed are the happiness makers. blessed are they who know how to shine on one's gloom with their cheer." henry ward beecher. character--the right atmosphere may "character cannot be formed without action. through it strength comes. but every action must have its reaction upon the nature of the one who puts it forth. if it does not, it fails of that which is its highest result; for the finest expression of a man's nature is not to be found in action, but in that very intangible thing which we call his atmosphere. there are a great many people who are alert, energetic, and decisive, but who give forth very little of this rare effluence--this quality which seems to issue out of the very recesses of one's nature. it is, however, through this quality that the most constant influence is exercised; that influence which is not only put forth most steadily, but which penetrates and affects others in the most searching way. the air we breathe has much to do with health; in a relaxing atmosphere it is difficult to work; in an atmosphere of vitality it is easy to work. we never meet some people without going away from them with our ideals a little blurred, or our faith in them a little disturbed. we can never part from others without a sense of increased hope. there are those who invigorate us by simple contact; something escapes from them of which they are not aware and which we cannot analyse, which makes us believe more deeply in ourselves and our kind. "so far as charm is concerned, there is no quality which contributes so much to it as the subtle thing we call atmosphere. there are some people who do not need to speak in order not only to awaken our respect, but to give us a sense of something rare and fine. in such an influence, all that is most individual and characteristic flows together, and the woman reveals herself without being conscious that she is making herself known. such an atmosphere in a home creates a sentiment and organises a life which would not be possible if one should attempt to fashion these things by intention. the finest things, like happiness, must be sought by indirection and are the results of character, rather than objects of immediate pursuit." "it is always good to know, if only in passing, charming human beings. it refreshes one like flowers, and woods, and clear brooks." george eliot. character--child-like-ness may "jesus afterwards focussed the new type of character in a lovely illustration which is not always appreciated at its full value, because we deny it perspective. every reader of the gospels has marked the sympathy of jesus with children. how he watched their games! how angry he was with his disciples for belittling them! how he used to warn men, whatever they did, never to hurt a little child! how grateful were children's praises when all others had turned against him! one is apt to admire the beautiful sentiment, and to forget that children were more to jesus than helpless gentle creatures to be loved and protected. they were his chief parable of the kingdom of heaven. as a type of character the kingdom was like unto a little child, and the greatest in the kingdom would be the most child-like. according to jesus, a well-conditioned child illustrates better than anything else on earth the distinctive features of christian character. because he does not assert nor aggrandise himself. because he has no memory for injuries, and no room in his heart for a grudge. because he has no previous opinions, and is not ashamed to confess his ignorance. because he can imagine, and has the key of another world, entering in through the ivory gate and living amid the things unseen and eternal. the new society of jesus was a magnificent imagination, and he who entered it must lay aside the world standards and ideals of character, and become as a little child." _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. character--negative virtues may "some people seem to be here in the world just on their guard all the while, always so afraid of doing wrong that they never do anything really right. they do not add to the world's moral force; as the man, who, by constant watchfulness over his own health, just keeps himself from dying, contributes nothing to the world's vitality. all merely negative purity has something of the taint of the impurity that it resists. the effort not to be frivolous is frivolous itself. the effort not to be selfish is very apt to be only another form of selfishness." phillips brooks. "beware of making your moral staple consist of the negative virtues. it is good to abstain and teach others to abstain, from all that is sinful and hurtful. but making a business of it leads to emaciation of character, unless one feeds largely also on the more nutritious diet of active sympathetic benevolence." o. w. holmes. "the seductions of life are strong in every age and station; we make idols of our affections, idols of our customary virtues; we are content to avoid the inconvenient wrong, and to forego the inconvenient right with almost equal self-approval, until at last we make a home for our conscience among the negative virtues and the cowardly vices." _the life of r. l. stevenson_, graham balfour. character may "the moments of our most important decisions are often precisely those in which nothing seems to have been decided; and only long afterwards, when we perceive with astonishment that the rubicon has been crossed, do we realise that in that half-forgotten instant of hesitation as to some apparently unimportant side issue, in that unconscious movement which betrayed a feeling of which we were not aware, our choice was made. the crises of life come, like the kingdom of heaven, without observation. our characters, and not our deliberate actions, decide for us; and even when the moment of crisis is apprehended at the time by the troubling of the water, action is generally a little late. character, as a rule, steps down first." _diana tempest_, mary cholmondeley. "great occasions do not make heroes or cowards--they simply unveil them to the eyes of men. silently and imperceptibly, as we wake or sleep, we grow and wax strong, or we grow and wax weak, and at last some crisis shows us what we have become." bishop westcott. character--"our echoes roll from soul to soul" may "one of the main seats of our weakness lies in this very notion, that what we do at the moment cannot matter much; for that we shall be able to alter and mend and patch it just as we like by-and-by." hare. "we sleep, but the loom of life never stops; and the pattern which was weaving when the sun went down is weaving when it comes up to-morrow." beecher. "let every soul heed what it doth to-day, because to-morrow the same thing it shall find gone forward there to meet and make and judge it." _the light of asia_, e. arnold. "our echoes roll from soul to soul, and grow for ever and for ever." tennyson. habit may "like flakes of snow that fall unperceived upon the earth, the seemingly unimportant events of life succeed one another. as the snow gathers together, so are our habits formed: no single flake that is added to the pile produces a sensible change; no single flake creates, however it may exhibit, a man's character; but as the tempest hurls the avalanche down the mountain, and overwhelms the inhabitant and his habitation, so passion, acting upon the elements of mischief, which pernicious habits have brought together by imperceptible accumulation, may overwhelm the edifice of truth and virtue." jeremy bentham. "in the conduct of life, habits count for more than maxims, because habit is a living maxim, become flesh and instinct. to reform one's maxims is nothing: it is but to change the title of the book. to learn new habits is everything, for it is to reach the substance of life. life is but a tissue of habits." _amiel's journal._ habit may "the hell to be endured hereafter which theology tells, is no worse than the hell we make for ourselves in this world by habitually fashioning our characters the wrong way. could the young realise how soon they will become mere walking bundles of habits, they would give more heed to their conduct while in the plastic state. we are spinning our own fates, good or evil, and never to be undone. every smallest stroke of virtue or of vice leaves its never-so-little scar." _psychology_, professor william james. "routine is a terrible master, but she is a servant whom we can hardly do without. routine as a law is deadly. routine as a resource in the temporary exhaustion of impulse and suggestion is often our salvation." phillips brooks. "it is just as easy to form a good habit as it is a bad one. and it is just as hard to break a good habit as a bad one. so get the good ones and keep them." mckinley. sin has its pedigree may "one false note will spoil the finest piece of music, and one little sin, as we deem it, may ruin the most promising character, involving it in a network of unforeseen consequences out of which there may be no escape." _life here and hereafter_, canon maccoll. "there is a physical demonstration of sin as well as a religious; and no sin can come in among the delicate faculties of the mind, or among the coarser fibres of the body, without leaving a stain, either as a positive injury to the life, or, what is equally fatal, as a predisposition to commit the same sin again. this predisposition is always one of the most real and appalling accompaniments of the stain of sin. there is scarcely such a thing as an isolated sin in a man's life. most sins can be accounted for by what has gone before. every sin, so to speak, has its own pedigree, and is the result of the accumulated force, which means the accumulated stain of many a preparatory sin." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. temptation may "two things a genuine christian never does. he never makes light of any known sin, and he never admits it to be invincible." canon liddon. "we always meet the temptation which is to expose us when we least expect it." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. "it is of the essence of temptation that it should come on us unawares." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. "if we cannot at once rise to the sanctities of obedience and faith, let us at least resist our temptations." emerson. sin may "we judge of sins, as we judge of most things, by their outward form. we arrange the vices of our neighbours according to a scale which society has tacitly adopted, placing the more gross and public at the foot, the slightly less gross higher up, and then by some strange process the scale becomes obliterated. finally it vanishes into space, leaving lengths of itself unexplored, its sins unnamed, unheeded, and unshunned. but we have no balance to weigh sins. coarser and finer are but words of our own. the chances are, if anything, that the finer are the lower. the very fact that the world sees the coarser sins so well is against the belief that they are the worst. the subtle and unseen sin, that sin in the part of the nature most near to the spiritual, ought to be more degrading than any other. yet for many of the finer forms of sin society has yet no brand." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. "tried by final tests, and reduced to its essential elements, sin is the preference of self to god, and the assertion of the human will against the will of god. with jesus, from first to last, sin is selfishness." _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. sin may - "we deceive ourselves in another way, namely, by seeking for all manner of excuses and palliations. the strength of the temptation, or the suddenness of it, or the length of it; our own weakness, our natural tendency to that particular sort of sin; our wishes to be better, the excellence of our feelings, the excellence of our desires; the peculiarity of our circumstances, the special disadvantages which make us worse off than others; all these we put before our minds as excuses for having done wrong, and persuade ourselves too often that wrong is not really wrong, and that though the deed was sinful the doer of it was not. i do not mean that these palliations are never worth anything, nor do i mean that in every case the same deed is the same sin. there are no doubt infinite varieties of guilt in what appears outwardly the same deed, and god will distinguish between them and will judge justly. but the habit of mind which leads us to palliate our sins and find good excuses for them, has this dangerous tendency, that it blinds us to the evil of evil. we slip into the delusion that we are better than we seem, that our faults look worse than they are, that inside we have good dispositions, and good desires, and warm feelings, and religious emotions, and that it is only the outside that is marked by those evil stains. this _is_ a delusion and a grievous delusion. you cannot _be_ good and _do_ wrong. you cannot _be_ righteous and _do_ unrighteousness. granted that you may slip once into a sin which notwithstanding is not really a part of your nature. still, this cannot happen several times over. make no mistake. if you _do_ wrong the deed is a real part of your life, and cannot be removed out of it by any fancy of yours that it is on your circumstances, your temptations, your peculiar disadvantages that the blame can be cast, still less by any wishes or emotions or feelings even of the most religious kind." bishop temple. "the strength of a man's virtue is not to be measured by the efforts he makes under pressure, but by his ordinary conduct." pascal. sins of the spirit may "we must remember that it is by the mercy of christ that we are saved from being what we might have been. 'there goes john bradford, but for the grace of god,' said a good man when he saw a criminal being led to execution. we are too apt to take the credit to ourselves for our circumstances. imagine that you were born of poor parents out of work in whitechapel, and had to pick up your living in the docks, or that you were a working girl in bethnal green, trying to keep your poor parents or nurse a sick brother out of making match-boxes at ¼d. a gross, and then thank god you were spared the temptation to a bad life, which they have to undergo. so, again, we must remember that sins of the spirit are quite as bad in the eyes of christ as sins of the flesh; he never spoke a hard word of the publican and sinner, but he lashed with his scorn the 'scribes and pharisees, hypocrites.' the sins that we respectable people commit lightly every day, of pride and indolence and indifference to the sufferings of the poor, may be worse in his sight than the most flagrant sins of those who know no better." _friends of the master_, bishop winnington ingram. sin may "i have often observed in the course of my experience of human life, that every man, even the worst, has something good about him; though often nothing else than a happy temperament of constitution, inclining him to this or that virtue. for this reason, no man can say in what degree any other person besides himself can be, with strict justice, called wicked. let any one with the strictest character for regularity of conduct among us, examine impartially how many vices he has never been guilty of, not from any care or vigilance, but for want of opportunity, or some accidental circumstances intervening; how many of the weaknesses of mankind he has escaped because he was out of the line of such temptation; and--what often, if not always, weighs more than all the rest--how much he is indebted to the world's good opinion because the world does not know all: i say, any man who can thus think will scan the failings, nay, the faults and crimes of mankind with a brother's eye." burns. "very late in life, and only after many experiences, does a man learn, at the sight of a fellow-creature's real failing or weakness, to sympathise with him, and help him without a secret self-congratulation at his own virtue and strength, but on the contrary, with every humility and comprehension of the naturalness, almost the inevitableness of sin." _an unhappy girl_, ivan turgenev. sin may "remove from us the protection, the encompassing safeguards and shelters we enjoy; withdraw the influences for good that are daily and weekly dropped on us like gentle dew from heaven, and have dropped ever since we had any being; deprive us of the comforts and interests, the innocent substitutes for forbidden pleasures; expose us to the loneliness, the vacancy, the dreary monotony, the hopeless struggle, the despair in which the majority of the men and women who fall find themselves immersed; and bring before us, thus exposed and bereft, what temptation you will--uncleanness, intemperance, theft, lying, blasphemy--and not one in ten of ordinary christian people, i believe, would stand before it." r. w. barbour. "looking within myself, i note how thin a plank of station, chance, or prosperous fate, doth fence me from the clutching waves of sin;-- in my own heart i find the worst man's mate, and see not dimly the smooth-hingëd gate that opes to those abysses where ye grope darkly,--ye who never knew on your young hearts love's consecrating dew or felt a mother's kisses, or home's restraining tendrils round you curled; ah, side by side with heart's-ease in this world, the fatal night-shade grows and bitter rue!" james russell lowell. conscience may "conscience is harder than our enemies, knows more, accuses with more nicety, nor needs to question rumour if we fall below the perfect model of our thought." george eliot. "if a man has nothing to reproach himself with, he can bear anything." phillips brooks. "character is the ground of trust and the guarantee for good living, and that character only is sound which rests upon a good conscience and a clean heart and a strong will." dr. john watson. repentance may "what is true contrition? sorrow for sin in itself, not for sin's consequences." _the guided life_, canon body. "remorse and repentance are two very different things. repentance leads back to life; but remorse ends often in the painless apathy and fatal mortification of despair." dean farrar. "penitence is like the dawn.... it is the breaking of the light in the soul,--dark enough sometimes no doubt, but a darkness giving place steadily to the growing light." bishop walsham how. heredity june "the father says of his profligate son whom he has never done one wise or vigorous thing to make a noble and pure-minded man: 'i cannot tell how it has come. it has not been my fault. i put him into the world and this came out.' the father whose faith has been mean and selfish says the same of his boy who is a sceptic. everywhere there is this cowardly casting off of responsibilities upon the dead circumstances around us. it is a very hard treatment of the poor, dumb, helpless world which cannot answer to defend itself. it takes us as we give ourselves to it. it is our minister fulfilling our commissions for us upon our own souls. if we say to it, 'make us noble,' it does make us noble. if we say to it, 'make us mean,' it does make us mean. and then we take the nobility and say, 'behold, how noble i have made myself.' and we take the meanness and say, 'see how mean the world has made me.'" phillips brooks. "speaking of ancestors--'what right have i to question them, or judge them, or bring them forward in my life as being responsible for my nature? if i roll back the responsibility to them, had they not fathers? and had not their fathers fathers? and if a man rolls back his deeds upon those who are his past, then where will responsibility be found at all, and of what poor cowardly stuff is each of us?" _the mettle of the pasture_, james lane allen. heredity june "this tracing of the sin to its root now suggests this further topic--its cure. christianity professes to cure anything. the process may be slow, the discipline may be severe, but it can be done. but is not temper a constitutional thing? is it not hereditary, a family failing, a matter of temperament, and can _that_ be cured? yes, if there is anything in christianity. if there is no provision for that, then christianity stands convicted of being unequal to human need. what course then did the father take, in the case before us, to pacify the angry passions of his ill-natured son? mark that he made no attempt in the first instance to reason with him! to do so is a common mistake, and utterly useless both with ourselves and others. we are perfectly convinced of the puerility of it all, but that does not help us in the least to mend it. the malady has its seat in the affections, and therefore the father went there at once. reason came in its place, and the son was supplied with valid arguments--stated in the last verse of the chapter--against his conduct, but he was first plied with love." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. heredity june "any insistence on heredity would have depreciated responsibility, and jesus held every man to his own sin. science and theology have joined hands in magnifying heredity and lowering individuality, till a man comes to be little more than the resultant of certain forces, a projectile shot forth from the past, and describing a calculated course. jesus made a brave stand for each man as the possessor of will-power, and master of his life. he sadly admitted that a human will might be weakened by evil habits of thought, he declared gladly that the divine grace reinforced the halting will: but, with every qualification, decision still rested in the last issue with the man. 'if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean,' as if his cure hinged on the divine will. of course, i am willing, said jesus, and referred the man back to his inalienable human rights. jesus never diverged into metaphysics, even to reconcile the freedom of the human will with the sovereignty of the divine. his function was not academic debate, it was the solution of an actual situation. logically, men might be puppets; consciously, they were self-determinating, and jesus said with emphasis, 'wilt thou?'" _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. "even natural disposition, of which we make so much when we speak of heredity, is only a tendency till habit takes it and sets it and hardens it and drives it to a settled goal." hugh black. bearing criticism june "when people detect in us what are actually imperfections and faults, it is clear that they do us no wrong, since it is not they who cause them; and it is clear, too, that they do us a service, inasmuch as they help us to free ourselves from an evil, namely, the ignorance of these defects. we should not be angry because they know them and despise us, for it is right that they should know us for what we are, and that they should despise us if we are despicable. "such are the feelings which would rise in a heart filled with equity and justice. what then should we say of our own heart when we see in it a quite contrary frame of mind? for is it not a fact that we hate the truth and those who tell it us, that we love those who deceive themselves in our favour, and that we wish to be esteemed by them as other than we really are?" pascal. "a man should never be ashamed to say he has been in the wrong, which is but saying, in other words, that he is wiser to-day than he was yesterday." pope. faults june "too many take the ready course to deceive themselves; for they look with both eyes on the failings and defects of others, and scarcely give their good qualities half an eye: on the contrary, in themselves they study to the full their own advantages, while their weaknesses and defects (as one says) they skip over, as children do the hard words in their lessons that are troublesome to read; and making this uneven parallel, what wonder if the result be a gross mistake of themselves." archbishop leighton. "to hide a fault with a lie is to replace a blot by a hole." "it is a great folly not to part with your own faults, which is possible, but to try instead to escape from other people's faults, which is impossible." marcus aurelius. "the greatest of faults, i should say, is to be conscious of none." carlyle. obstinacy june "obstinacy is will asserting itself without being able to justify itself. it is persistence without a plausible motive. it is the tenacity of self-love substituted for the tenacity of reason or conscience." _amiel's journal._ "if any man is able to convince me and show me that i do not think or act right, i will gladly change; for i seek the truth by which no man was ever injured. but he is injured who abides in his error and ignorance." marcus aurelius. "it is never too late to give up our prejudices." thoreau. "when one's character is naturally firm, it is well to be able to yield upon reflection." vauvenargues. calumny june "any man of many transactions can hardly expect to go through life without being subject to one or two very severe calumnies. amongst these many transactions, some few will be with very ill-conditioned people, with very ignorant people, or, perhaps, with monomaniacs; and he cannot expect, therefore, but that some narrative of a calumnious kind will have its origin in one of these transactions. it may be fanned by any accidental breeze of malice or ill-fortune, and become a very serious element of mischief to him. such a thing is to be looked upon as pure misfortune coming in the ordinary course of events; and the way to treat it is to deal with it as calmly and philosophically as with any other misfortune. as some one has said, the mud will rub off when it is dry, and not before. the drying will not always come in the calumniated man's time, unless in favourable seasons, which he cannot command." helps. "if any one tells you such a one has spoken ill of you, do not refute them in that particular; but answer, had he known all my vices, he had not spoken only of that one." epictetus. calumny june "i am beholden to calumny that she hath so endeavoured and taken pains to belie me. it shall make me set a surer guard on myself, and keep a better watch upon my actions." ben jonson. "as to people saying a few idle words about us, we must not mind that, any more than the old church-steeple minds the rooks cawing about it." george eliot. "the power men possess to annoy me i give them." emerson. "assailed by scandal and the tongue of strife, his only answer was--a blameless life." cowper. flattery june "flattery is a false coinage which would have no currency but for our vanity." la rochefoucauld. "if we did not flatter ourselves, the flattery of others could do us no harm." la rochefoucauld. "self-love is the greatest flatterer in the world." la rochefoucauld. "the devil has no stauncher ally than want of perception." philip h. wickstead. pride june "there are two states or conditions of pride. the first is one of self-approval, the second one of self-contempt. pride is seen probably at its purest in the last." _amiel's journal._ "the foundation of pride is the wish to respect one's self, whatever others may think; the mainspring of vanity is the craving for the admiration of others, no matter at what cost to one's self-respect." _the heart of rome_, f. marion crawford. "any revelation of greatness overwhelms petty thoughts.... the presence of death turns enemies into friends. in the same way the petty feelings of pride and vanity would lose much of their power if people had the overwhelming feeling which comes from the contemplation of almightiness, all-goodness, and all-love. there would be a marked change in all human relations if men turned from the presence of the thrice holy to face one another; if thoughts of self and for self were driven out of their minds by worship." _the service of god_, canon barnett. conceit june "it is indeed a desirable thing to be well descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors." plutarch. "conceit spoils many an excellency. some persons are so proud of their goodness, or of their attainments, or of their position, or of their character, or of their family, that they become offensive to many who would otherwise be won by their merit. pride mars, blights, and withers whatever it touches. it begets assumptions that are very belittling as well as hard to bear. a man weakens his influence and retards his personal and public interests by giving it full control. its exhibition may be natural; but noble manhood, high moral character, regard to the feelings of others and christianity all demand its suppression." humility june "what hypocrites we seem to be, whenever we talk of ourselves! our words sound so humble, while our hearts are so proud." _guesses at truth_, edited by archdeacon hare. "by despising himself too much a man comes to be worthy of his own contempt." _amiel's journal._ "just as criticism alone ministers to pride and then to death, so creation, even of the smallest kind, ministers to humility. and that stands to reason: the slightest act of shaping instantly opens before you an ever-expanding sea, and the vision of the infinite is the death of vanity and pride." _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. "humility is the hall-mark of wisdom." jeremy collier. egotism june "we ought to have this measure of charity for egotistical people--a willingness to suppose that they actually believe themselves to be what they assume to be. it is quite possible for a person to be in such a fog of misapprehension that everything about him--his little world, his personal interest--will loom abnormally large. when the fog is dispelled, he will see things as they are, and estimate them and himself accordingly. "egotism of this kind is pardonable; and there is a great deal of it which is peculiar to the mists and strange refractions of youth. when the sun of a clearer and larger knowledge chases away the fog, a right-minded young person emerges from this egotistical, too self-conscious period of his life, and finds a new adjustment for himself in the great and serious world." "he who is always enquiring what people will say, will never give them opportunity to say anything great about him." "reputation is in itself only a farthing candle, of wavering and uncertain flame, and easily blown out; but it is the light by which the world looks for and finds merit." lowell. the code of society june "'freedom' is not the power to do what we like, but to be what we ought to be." charles gore. "there is no commoner danger than that of accepting the code of the society in which you live as the rule of right." bishop temple. "strive all your life to free men from the bondage of custom and self, the two great elements of the world that lieth in wickedness." charles kingsley. "what i _must_ do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. this rule ... is harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than _you_ know it." emerson. public opinion june "it is not the many who reform the world; but the few who rise superior to that public opinion which crucified our lord many years ago." charles kingsley. "we are tempted to measure ourselves by others, to acquiesce in an average standard and an average attainment. we forget that while we are not required to judge our neighbours, we are required to judge ourselves." bishop westcott. "moral courage is obeying one's conscience, and doing what one believes to be right in face of a hostile majority; and moral cowardice is stifling one's conscience, and doing what is less than right to win other people's favour." dr. john watson. public opinion june "opinion has its value and even its power: to have it against us is painful when we are among friends, and harmful in the case of the outer world. we should neither flatter opinion nor court it; but it is better, if we can help it, not to throw it on to a false scent. the first error is a meanness; the second an imprudence.... be careful of your reputation, not through vanity, but that you may not harm your life's work, and out of love for truth. there is still something of self-seeking in the refined disinterestedness which will not justify itself, that it may feel itself superior to opinion. it requires ability to make what we seem agree with what we are,--and humility to feel that we are no great things." _amiel's journal._ "suppose any man shall despise me. let him look to that himself. but i will look to this, that i be not discovered doing or saying anything deserving of contempt." marcus aurelius. spiritual balance and proportion june "a well-governed mind learns in time to find pleasure in nothing but the true and the just." _amiel's journal._ "not only does sympathy lead us to see the opinions of others in a truer light, it enables us to form a sounder judgment on our own; for as long as a man looks only 'on his own things,' he fails to see them in true proportion." lucy soulsby. "if we can live in christ and have his life in us, shall not the spiritual balance and proportion which were his become ours too? if he were really our master and our saviour, could it be that we should get so eager and excited over little things? if we were his, could we possibly be wretched over the losing of a little money which we do not need, or be exalted at the sound of a little praise which we know that we only half deserve and that the praisers only half intend? a moment's disappointment, a moment's gratification, and then the ocean would be calm again and quite forgetful of the ripple which disturbed its bosom." phillips brooks. temperance june "(of training...) its aim must be to bring into human character more of that unity, consistency, harmony, proportion, upon which the greek philosophers were never weary of insisting as the essence of virtue." _the making of character_, professor maccunn. "_temperance._--the original term describes that sovereign self-mastery, that perfect self-control, in which the mysterious will of man holds in harmonious subjection all the passions and faculties of his nature. "self-will is to mind what self-indulgence is to sense, the usurpation by a part of that which belongs to the whole. "_in knowledge temperance._--the apostle counsels temperance, the just and proportionate use of every faculty and gift, and not the abolition or abandonment of any. "it is easier in many cases to pluck out the right eye or to cut off the right hand than to discipline and employ them." bishop westcott. balance june "temperance is reason's girdle and passion's bridle." jeremy taylor. "be wary and keep cool. a cool head is as necessary as a warm heart. in any negotiations, steadiness and coolness are invaluable; while they will often carry you in safety through times of danger and difficulty." lord avebury. "place a guard over your strong points! thrift may run into niggardliness, generosity into prodigality or shiftlessness. gentleness may become pusillanimity, tact become insincerity, power become oppression. characters need sentries at their points of weakness, true enough, but often the points of greatest strength are, paradoxically, really points of weakness." balance june "culture implies all which gives a mind possession of its powers." emerson. "there are very, very few from whom we get that higher, deeper, broader help which it is the prerogative of true excellence in judgment to bestow: help to discern, through the haste and insistence of the present, what is its real meaning and its just demand; help to give due weight to what is reasonable, however unreasonably it may be stated or defended; help to reverence alike the sacredness of a great cause and the sacredness of each individual life, to adjust the claims of general rules and special equity; help to carry with one conscientiously, on the journey towards decision, all the various thoughts that ought to tell upon the issue; help to keep consistency from hardening to obstinacy, and common sense from sinking into time-serving; help to think out one's duty as in a still, pure air, sensitive to all true signs and voices of this world, and yet unshaken by its storms." _studies in the christian character_, bishop paget. sound judgment june "we are all inclined to judge of others as we find them. our estimate of a character always depends much on the manner in which the character affects our own interests and passions. we find it difficult to think well of those by whom we are thwarted or depressed, and we are ready to admit every excuse for the vices of those who are useful or agreeable to us." macaulay. "to judge is to see clearly, to care for what is just, and therefore to be impartial,--more exactly, to be disinterested,--more exactly still, to be impersonal." _amiel's journal._ "of all human faculties there is none which more enriches our lives than a sound moral judgment. genius is rarer and more wonderful. but this surpasses even genius in the fact that it is not only in itself a virtue, but the fruitful mother of virtues. it is as aristotle said, 'given a sound judgment and all the virtues will follow in its train.' * * * * * "if the moral judgment is to be sound it must presuppose character, faculty to deliberate, and enlightenment." _the making of character_, professor maccunn. sound judgment june "that is a penetrating sarcasm of george eliot's in 'amos barton': 'it is so much easier to say that a thing is black, than to discriminate the particular shade of brown, blue, or green to which it really belongs. it is so much easier to make up your mind that your neighbour is good for nothing, than to enter into all the circumstances that would oblige you to modify that opinion.' everybody needs the suggestion that is embodied in the above remark. our judgments of men are always more or less defective. but it is the man who prides himself on his outspokenness, the man who thinks it would be cowardice to withhold an opinion of men and things, particularly if he is charged with the duty of public utterance, that needs to learn that blue or brown or green is not black, and that in nothing is so much discrimination needed as in the diagnosis of character." "never does a man portray his own character more vividly than in his manner of portraying another." richter. sound judgment june "it hardly can seem strange that excellence in judgment is thus rare if we go on to think of the manifold discipline that it needs. "for we cannot deny that even physical conditions tend at least to tell on it; and most of us may have to own that there are days on which we know that we had better distrust the view we take of things. it is good counsel that a man should, if he has the chance, reconsider after his holiday any important decision that he was inclined to make just before it; that he should appeal from his tired to his refreshed self; and men need to deal strictly with the body, and to bring it into subjection, not only lest its appetites grow riotous, but also lest it trouble, with moods and miseries of its own, the exercise of judgment. "and then, with the calmness of sound health, or the control that a strong and vigilant will can sometimes gain over the encroachments of health that is not sound, there must also be the insight and resourcefulness of learning; that power to recognise, and weigh, and measure, and forecast, which comes of long watching how things move; the power that grows by constant thoughtfulness in study or in life; the distinctive ability of those who, in hooker's phrase, are 'diligent observers of circumstances, the loose regard whereof is the nurse of vulgar folly.'" _studies in the christian character_, bishop paget. harsh judgment june "how often we judge unjustly when we judge harshly. the fret and temper we despise may have its rise in the agony of some great unsuspected self-sacrifice, or in the endurance of unavowed, almost intolerable pain. whoso judges harshly is sure to judge amiss." christina rossetti. "we meet and mingle, we mark men's speech; we judge by a word or a fancied slight; we give our fellows a mere glance each, then brand them for ever black or white. "meanwhile god's patience is o'er us all, he probes for motives, he waits for years; no moment with him is mean or small, and his scales are turned by the weight of tears." judging june "perhaps it were better for most of us to complain less of being misunderstood, and to take more care that we do not misunderstand other people. it ought to give us pause at a time to remember that each one has a stock of cut-and-dry judgments on his neighbours, and that the chances are that most of them are quite erroneous. what our neighbour really is we may never know, but we may be pretty certain that he is not what we have imagined, and that many things we have thought of him are quite beside the mark. what he does we have seen, but we have no idea what may have been his thoughts and intentions. the mere surface of his character may be exposed, but of the complexity within we have not the faintest idea. people crammed with self-consciousness and self-conceit are often praised as humble, while shy and reserved people are judged to be proud. some whose whole life is one subtle studied selfishness get the name of self-sacrifice, and other silent heroic souls are condemned for want of humanity." _the potter's wheel_, dr. john watson. "to weigh other minds by our own is the false scale by which the greater number of us miscalculate all human actions and most human characters." john oliver hobbes. biassed judgments june "how difficult it is to submit anything to the opinion of another person without perverting his judgment by the way in which we put the matter to him. if one says, 'for my part i think it beautiful,' or 'i think it obscure,' or the like, one inclines the hearer's imagination to that opinion, or incites it to take the contrary view." pascal. "human speech conveys different meanings to differently biassed minds." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. "we judge of others by what we see in them: and, what is more perilous still, we are tempted to judge of ourselves by what others can see in us." bishop westcott. judging june "the sinner's own fault? so it was. if every own fault found us out, dogged us and hedged us round about, what comfort should we take because not half our due we thus wrung out? "clearly his own fault. yet i think my fault in part, who did not pray but lagged and would not lead the way. i, haply, proved his missing link. god help us both to mind and pray." christina g. rossetti. "she had the clear judicial mind which must inevitably see the tragic pitifulness of things. she had thought too much to be able to indulge in the primitive luxury of unqualified condemnation." _in connection with the de willoughby claim_, mrs. hodgson burnett. "she was one of those lowly women who apply the severity born of their creed to themselves, and spend only the love born of the indwelling spirit upon their neighbour." g. macdonald. justice and mercy june "it is not even, amongst men, the best and purest who are found to be the severest censors and judges of others. quickness to detect and expose the weakness and frailties of a fellow-man, harshness in condemning them, mercilessness in punishing them, are not the characteristics which experience would lead us to expect in a very high and noble nature.... to be gentle, pitying, forbearing to the fallen, to be averse to see or hear of human faults and vices, and when it is impossible not to see them to be pained and grieved by them, to be considerate of every extenuating circumstance that will mitigate their culpability, to delight in the detection of some redeeming excellence even in the vilest.... is not all this the sort of conduct which, as experience teaches us, betokens, not moral apathy or indifference, but the nature which is purest and most elevated beyond all personal sympathy with vice.... if, then, human goodness is the more merciful in proportion as it approaches nearer to perfection ... might we not conclude that when goodness becomes absolutely perfect, just then will mercy reach its climax and become absolutely unlimited?" principal caird. "search thine own heart. what paineth thee in others, in thyself may be; all dust is frail, all flesh is weak; be thou the true man thou dost seek." whittier. judging june "it is my way when i observe any instance of folly, any queer or absurd illusion, straightway to look for something of the same type in myself, feeling sure that amid all differences there will be a certain correspondence; just as there is more or less correspondence in the natural history even of continents widely apart, and of islands in opposite zones.... "introspection which starts with the purpose of finding out one's own absurdities is not likely to be very mischievous, yet of course it is not free from dangers any more than breathing is, or the other functions that keep us alive or active. to judge of others by oneself is in its most innocent meaning the briefest expression for our only method of knowing mankind; yet, we perceive, it has come to mean in many cases either the vulgar mistake which reduces every man's value to the very low figure at which the valuer himself happens to stand; or else, the amiable illusion of the higher nature misled by a too generous construction of the lower. one cannot give a recipe for wise judgment: it resembles appropriate muscular action, which is attained by the myriad lessons in nicety of balance and of aim that only practice can give." george eliot. contemptuousness june "our lord not only _told_ men that they were the children of god, that they should strive after their father's likeness, and that they might approach nearer and nearer to being perfect as he is perfect: but, what was more than this, in every word he spake,--whether of teaching, or reproof, or expostulation, or in his passing words to those who received his mercies,--he _treated_ them as god's children. man, as man, has in his eyes a right to respect. anger we find with our lord often, as also surprise at slowness of heart, indignation at hypocrisy, and at the rabbinical evasions of the law; but never in our lord's words or looks do we find personal disdain. towards no human being does he show contempt. the scribe would have trodden the rabble out of existence; but there is no such thing as rabble in our lord's eyes. the master, in the parable, asks concerning the tree, which is unproductively exhausting the soil, why cumbers it the ground; but it is not to be rooted up, till all has been tried. there it stands, and mere existence gives it claims, for all that exists is the father's." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. "tennyson was very grand on contemptuousness. it was, he said, a sure sign of intellectual littleness. simply to despise, nearly always meant not to understand. pride and contempt were specially characteristic of barbarians. real civilisation taught human beings to understand each other better, and must therefore lessen contempt. it is a little or immature or uneducated mind which readily despises. one who has travelled and knows the world in its length and breadth, respects far more views and standpoints other than his own." _tennyson--a memoir_, by his son. false impressions july "there are thousands and thousands of little untruths that hum and buzz and sting in society, which are too small to be brushed or driven away. they are in the looks, they are in the inflections and tones of the voice, they are in the actions, they are in reflections rather than in direct images that are represented. they are methods of producing impressions that are false, though every means by which they are produced is strictly true. there are little unfairnesses between man and man, that are said to be minor matters and that are small things; there are little unjust judgments and detractions; there are petty violations of conscience; there are ten thousand of these flags of passions in men which are called foibles or weaknesses, but which eat like moths. they take away the temper, they take away magnanimity and generosity, they take from the soul its enamel and its polish. men palliate and excuse them, but that has nothing to do with their natural effect on us. they waste and destroy us, and that, too, in the soul's silent and hidden parts." henry ward beecher. "a lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies." tennyson. truth july "truth is the great mark at which we ought to aim in all things--truth in thought, truth in expression, truth in work. those who habitually sacrifice truth in small things will find it difficult to pay her the respect they should do in great things." lord iddesleigh. "stand upright, speak thy thought, declare the truth thou hast that all may share. be bold, proclaim it everywhere, they only live who dare." sir lewis morris. "the mind can only repose upon the stability of truth." dr. johnson. truthfulness july "be profoundly honest. never dare to say ... through ardent excitement or conformity to what you know you are expected to say, one word which at the moment when you say it, you do not believe. it would cut down the range of what you say, perhaps, but it would endow every word that was left with the force of ten." phillips brooks. "be honest with yourself, whatever the temptation; say nothing to others that you do not think, and play no tricks with your own mind. of all the evil spirits abroad at this hour in this world, insincerity is the most dangerous." j. a. froude. "truthfulness is the foundation of all personal excellence. it exhibits itself in conduct. it is rectitude, truth in action, and shines through every word and deed." samuel smiles. accuracy july "we always weaken what we exaggerate." la harpe. "it is no great advantage to have a lively wit if exactness be wanting. the perfection of a clock does not consist in its going fast, but in its keeping good time." vauvenargues. "after much vehement talk about 'the veracities,' will come utterly unveracious accounts of things and people--accounts made unveracious by the use of emphatic words where ordinary words alone are warranted: pictures of which the outlines are correct, but the lights and shades and colours are doubly and trebly as strong as they should be." herbert spencer. truthfulness july "it takes two to speak truth--one to speak and another to hear." thoreau. "truth of intercourse is something more difficult than to refrain from open lies. it is possible to avoid falsehood and yet not tell the truth. it is not enough to answer formal questions. to reach the truth by yea and nay communications implies a questioner with a share of inspiration, such as is often found in mutual love. _yea_ and _nay_ mean nothing; the meaning must have been related in the question. many words are often necessary to convey a very simple statement; for in this sort of exercise we never hit the gold; the most that we can hope is by many arrows, more or less far off on different sides, to indicate, in the course of time, for what target we are aiming, and after an hour's talk, back and forward, to convey the purport of a single principle or a single thought." _virginibus puerisque_, r. l. stevenson. truthfulness july "in very truth lying is a hateful and accursed vice. it is words alone that distinguish us from the brute creation, and knit us to each other. if we did but feel proper horror of it, and the fearful consequences that spring from such a habit, we would pursue it with fire and sword, and with far more justice than other crimes. i observe that parents take pleasure in correcting their children for slight faults, which make little impression on the character, and are of no real consequence. whereas lying, in my opinion, and obstinacy, though in a less degree, are vices, the rise and progress of which ought to be particularly watched and counteracted; these grow with their growth, and when once the tongue has got a _wrong set, it is impossible to put it straight again_. whence we see men, otherwise of honourable natures, slaves to this vice. if falsehood had, like truth, only one face, we should be on more equal terms with it, for we should consider the contrary to what the liar said as certain; but the reverse of truth has a hundred thousand forms, and is a field of boundless extent." montaigne. "every violation of truth is not only a sort of suicide in the liar, but is a stab at the health of human society." emerson. truthfulness july "the cruellest lies are often told in silence. a man may have sat in a room for hours and not opened his teeth, and yet come out of that room a disloyal friend or a vile calumniator. and how many loves have perished because, from pride, or spite, or diffidence, or that unmanly shame which withholds a man from daring to betray emotion, a lover, at the critical point of the relation, has but hung his head and held his tongue? and, again, a lie may be told by a truth, or a truth conveyed through a lie. truth to facts is not always truth to sentiment; and part of the truth, as often happens in answer to a question, may be the foulest calumny. a fact may be an exception; but the feeling is the law, and it is that which you must neither garble nor belie. the whole tenor of a conversation is a part of the meaning of each separate statement; the beginning and the end define and travesty the intermediate conversation. you never speak to god; you address a fellow-man, full of his own tempers: and to tell truth, rightly understood, is not to state the true facts, but to convey a true impression; truth in spirit, not truth to letter, is the true veracity." _virginibus puerisque_, r. l. stevenson. "truth is violated by falsehood, and it may be equally outraged by silence." amman. gossip july "gossip is a beast of prey that does not wait for the death of the creature it devours." _diana of the crossways_, g. meredith. "give to a gracious message a host of tongues; but let ill tidings tell themselves when they be felt." shakespeare. "let evil words die as soon as they're spoken." george eliot. "if there is much art in speaking, there is no less in keeping silence. there is an eloquent silence; it serves to praise and to condemn: there is a scornful silence: and there is a respectful silence." la rochefoucauld. back-biting july "hear as little as you possibly can to the prejudice of others; believe nothing of the kind unless you are forced to believe it; never circulate, nor approve of those who circulate, loose reports; moderate as far as you can the censure of others; always believe that if the other side were heard a very different account would be given of the matter." _everyday christian life_, dean farrar. "we must be as courteous to a man as we are to a picture, which we are willing to give the advantage of a good light." emerson. "refrain your tongue from back-biting; for there is no word so secret that shall go for nought, and the mouth that belieth, slayeth the soul." wisdom i. . gossip july "when people run about to disseminate some scrap of news which they alone possess, the result is not usually beneficial either to character or to mind." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. "slander meets with no regard from noble minds, only the base believe what the base only utter." "no word, once spoken, returneth even if uttered unwillingly-- shall god excuse our rashness? that which is done, that abides." charles kingsley. egotism july "above all things, let us avoid speaking too often about ourselves, and referring to our own experiences. nothing is more disagreeable than a man who is constantly quoting himself." la rochefoucauld. "the pest of society is egotists." emerson. "avoid the personal view, the small view, the critical and fault-finding view. run away from gossip as from a pestilence, and keep in your soul great ideals and ideals to solace your solitude. they will drive out petty worries, conceits and thoughts of carking care." ada c. sweet. conversation july "the etiquette of conversation consists as much in listening politely as in talking agreeably." h. a. "the reason why so few persons are agreeable in conversation is that every one thinks more about what he shall say than about what others are saying, and because one cannot well be a good listener when one is eager to speak." la rochefoucauld. "i am an enemy to long explanations; they deceive either the maker or the hearer, generally both." goethe. conversation july "the tone of good conversation is flowing and natural; it is neither heavy nor frivolous; it is learned without pedantry, lively without noise, polished without equivocation. it is neither made up of lectures nor epigrams. those who really converse, reason without arguing, joke without punning, skilfully unite wit and reason, maxims and sallies, ingenious raillery and severe morality. they speak of everything in order that every one may have something to say: they do not investigate too closely, for fear of wearying: questions are introduced as if by-the-bye, and are treated with rapidity; precision leads to elegance, each one giving his opinion, and supporting it with few words. no one attacks wantonly another's opinion, no one supports his own obstinately. they discuss in order to enlighten themselves, and leave off discussing where dispute would begin: every one gains information, every one recreates himself, and all go away contented; nay, the sage himself may carry away from what he has heard matter worthy of silent meditation." argument july "argument is always a little dangerous. it often leads to coolness and misunderstandings. you may gain your argument and lose your friend, which is probably a bad bargain. if you must argue, admit all you can, but try to show that some point has been overlooked. very few people know when they have had the worst of an argument, and if they do, they do not like it. moreover, if they know they are beaten, it does not follow that they are convinced. indeed it is perhaps hardly going too far to say that it is very little use trying to convince any one by argument. state your case as clearly and concisely as possible, and if you shake his confidence in his own opinion it is as much as you can expect. it is the first step gained." lord avebury. "speak fitly, or be silent wisely." george herbert. "after speech silence is the greatest power in the world." lacordaire. "it is better to remain silent than to speak the truth ill-humouredly, and so spoiling an excellent dish by covering it with bad sauce." st. francis de sales. argument july "when opposition of any kind is necessary, drop all colour of emotion out of it and let it be seen in the white light of truth." "nothing does reason more right than the coolness of those that offer it: for truth often suffers more by the heat of its defenders than from the arguments of its opposers." william penn. "be calm in arguing: for fierceness makes error a fault, and truth discourtesy." george herbert. "to speak wisely may not always be easy, but not to speak ill requires only silence." argument july "prejudice is opinion without judgment." "when a positive man hath once begun to dispute anything, his mind is barred up against all light and better information. opposition provokes him, though there be never so good ground for it, and he seems to be afraid of nothing more, than lest he should be convinced of the truth." la rochefoucauld. "in proportion as we love truth more and victory less, we shall become anxious to know what it is which leads our opponents to think as they do. we shall begin to suspect that the pertinacity of belief exhibited by them must result from a perception of something we have not perceived. and we shall aim to supplement the portion of truth we have found with the portion found by them." herbert spencer. an open mind july "he often thought that dr. arnold's maxim of being prepared each morning to consider everything an open question a good working rule. not that one should readily change one's opinions, but should always have an open mind, never a closed one, on any question outside exact knowledge." "he that never changed any of his opinions, never corrected any of his mistakes; and he who was never wise enough to find out any mistakes in himself, will not be charitable enough to excuse what he reckons mistakes in others." whichcote. "narrow-mindedness is a cause of self-sufficiency. we are slow to believe what is beyond the scope of our vision." la rochefoucauld. tolerance july "nothing, in our lord's wisdom, strikes me more than his moderation with regard to error. what seems false to one man's mind may be true to that of another." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. "a genuine universal tolerance is most surely attained, if we do not quarrel with the peculiar characteristics of individual men and races, but only hold fast to the conviction, that what is truly excellent is distinguished by its belonging to all mankind." goethe _to_ carlyle. "new ideas want a little time to grow into shape: we know how easily a man is startled into shutting his mind against novelty when it is suddenly presented." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. right use of speech july "there is no better way, i believe, in which to test the reality of our culture than by the self-discipline it teaches us to use in talk; and it may be that the chief service we can render, the chief outcome that god looks for from our higher education, is that in our homes, in the society around us, we should set a higher example of the right use of speech; the right tone and temper and reticence in conversation; the abhorrence of idle words. neither let us think that this ever will be easy to us. we must not be affected or pedantic, we must not be always setting other people right; but we must be careful; we must keep our wishes and passions from colouring our view of things; we must take great pains to enter into the minds and feelings of others, to understand how things look to them, and we must remember that, whatever pains we take in that regard, the result is still sure to be imperfect; we must rule our moods, our likes and dislikes, with a firm hand; we must distrust our general impressions till we have frankly, faithfully examined them; we must resist the desire to say clever or surprising things; we must be resolute not to overstate our case; we must let nothing pass our lips that charity would check; we must be always ready to confess our ignorance, and to be silent.--yes, it is a hard and long task; but it is for a high end, and in a noble service. it is that we may be able to help others; to possess our souls in days of confusion and vehemence and controversy; to grow in the rare grace of judgment; to be such that people may trust us, whether they agree with us or not. it is that we may somewhat detach ourselves from the stream of talk, and learn to listen for the voice of god, and to commit our ways to him." _studies in the christian character_, bishop paget. thoughts july "if we are not responsible for the thoughts that pass our doors, we are at least responsible for those we admit and entertain." charles b. newcomb. "the pleasantest things in the world are pleasant thoughts, and the great art in life is to have as many of them as possible." bovÉe. "we lose vigour through thinking continually the same set of thoughts. new thought is new life." prentice mulford. culture july "culture is not an accident of birth, although our surroundings advance or retard it; it is always a matter of individual education." hamilton w. mabie. "the secret of culture is to learn that a few great points steadily reappear, alike in the poverty of the obscurest farm, and in the miscellany of metropolitan life, and that these few are alone to be regarded:--the escape from all false ties; courage to be what we are; and the love of what is simple and beautiful,--these, and the wish to serve, to add somewhat to the well-being of men." emerson. "the highest we can attain to is not knowledge, but sympathy with intelligence." thoreau. courtesy july "courtesy is really doing unto others as you would be done unto, and the heart of it lies in a careful consideration for the feelings of other people. it comes from putting one's self in his neighbour's place, and trying to enter into his mind, and it demands a certain suppression of one's self, and a certain delicate sympathy with one's neighbour." dr. john watson. "even as one tries thus to think out the quality and work of courtesy, to understand the skill and power which it wields so quietly, to see the issues upon which it tells in the lives that are affected by it, one may begin to feel that its place is really with the great forces of character that ennoble and redeem the world; that, simply and lightly as it moves, it rests on deep self-discipline and deals with a real task; that it is far more than a decoration or luxury of leisurely excellence. but it is in contact with those who are growing perfect in it, those who never fail in it, that one may more nearly realise its greatness. in seeing how every part of life is lit and hallowed by it; how common incidents, daily duties, chance meetings, come to be avenues of brightness, and even means of grace; how points of light come quivering out upon the dull routine of business, or the conventionality of pleasure; how god is served through every hour of the day;--it is in seeing this that one may come to think it far from strange that for his beginning of miracles our saviour chose an act of courtesy." _studies in the christian character_, bishop paget. courtesy july "courtesy. this is love in society, love in relation to etiquette. 'love doth not behave itself unseemly.' politeness has been defined as love in trifles. courtesy is said to be love in little things. and the one secret of politeness is to love. love _cannot_ behave itself unseemly." _the greatest thing in the world_, henry drummond. "the nearer you come into relation with a person, the more necessary do tact and courtesy become." o. w. holmes. "kindness is the principle of tact, and respect for others the condition of 'savoir-vivre.'" _amiel's journal._ "life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy." emerson. courtesy july "true politeness arises from the heart, not the head." "... the machinery of life is so apt to be heated, one keenly appreciates those who are ever deftly pouring in the cooling oil, by their patience and their tact, their sweetness and their sympathy. and one resents keenly that class of people who are honest and well meaning, but who are persistently discourteous and are not ashamed--i mean the man who is credited with what is called a bluff, blunt manner, and who credits himself with a special quality of downrightness and straightforwardness. he considers it far better to say what he thinks, and boasts that he never minces his words, and people make all kinds of excuses for him, and rather talk as if he were a very fine fellow, beside whom civil-spoken persons are little better than hypocrites. as a matter of fact, no one can calculate the pain this outspoken gentleman causes in a single day, both in his family and outside." dr. john watson. "there is a courtesy of the heart; it is allied to love. from it springs the purest courtesy in the outward behaviour." goethe. manners july "manners are the happy ways of doing things. if they are superficial, so are the dew-drops, which give such a depth to the morning meadows." emerson. "love's perfect blossom only blows where noble manners veil defect." c. patmore. "the gentle minde by gentle deeds is knowne; for a man by nothing is so well bewrayed as by his manners." spenser. "true politeness is perfect ease and freedom. it simply consists in treating others just as you love to be treated yourself." lord chesterfield. manners july "manners aim to facilitate life, to get rid of all impediments. they aid our dealings and conversation, as a railway aids travelling, by getting rid of all the obstructions on the road." emerson. "defect in manners is usually the defect of fine perceptions." emerson. "he is beautiful in face, in port, in manners, who is absorbed in objects which he truly believes to be superior to himself." emerson. "familiar acts are beautiful through love." manners july "manners impress as they indicate real power. a man who is sure of his point, carries a broad and contented expression, which everybody reads. and you cannot rightly train one to an air and manner, except by making him the kind of man of whom that manner is the natural expression. nature forever puts a premium on reality." emerson. "a man's own good breeding is the best security against other people's ill manners." chesterfield. "manners are the ornament of action, and there is a way of speaking a kind word, or of doing a kind thing, which greatly enhances its value. what seems to be done with a grudge, or as an act of condescension, is scarcely accepted as a favour." s. smiles. manners july "there are many tests by which a gentleman may be known;--but there is one that never fails--how does he exercise power over those subordinate to him? how does he conduct himself towards women and children?... he who bullies those who are not in a position to resist, may be a snob, but cannot be a gentleman. he who tyrannises over the weak and helpless may be a coward, but no true man." s. smiles. "our servants never seem to leave us; they are paid what many people would call absurdly high wages, but i do not think that is the attraction. my mother does not see very much of them, and finds fault, when rarely necessary, with a simple directness which i have in vain tried to emulate; but her displeasure is so impersonal that there seems to be no sting in it. it is not that they have failed in their duty to herself, but they have been untrue to the larger duty to which she is herself obedient." _the house of quiet._ influence july "and just as we may ruin our own characters without knowing it, so we may ruin the characters of others. we are always influencing each other--a truth which i have often impressed upon you, because i feel its deep importance. we cannot help ourselves. and this influence, which we thus unconsciously exercise by our mere presence, by look, gesture, expression of face, is probably all the more potent for being unconscious. there are germs of moral health or disease continually passing from us and infecting for good or ill those about us. we read that when our lord was on earth virtue went out of him sometimes, and healed the bodies of those who came in contact with it. his divine humanity was always diffusing a spiritual atmosphere of purity around him, which attracted, they knew not how, those who came within the sphere of his influence. so it must be with us in so far as our characters are pure and unselfish and christlike. our very presence will influence for good all who are near us, making them purer and nobler and more unselfish, and shaming what is mean and base out of them. if, on the other hand, our characters are ignoble and impure, we shall exude, without knowing or intending it, a poisonous influence on all who come near us. have we not sometimes felt this mysterious influence--a presence attracting, perhaps awing, us by some sort of spiritual magnetism; or, on the other hand, repelling us as by the presage of impending danger? let us endeavour to keep this inalienable responsibility of ours always in our thoughts. and it will be a great help to test ourselves now and then by the example of our divine master." _life here and hereafter_, canon maccoll. influence july "let us reflect that the highest path is pointed out by the pure ideal of those who look up to us, and who, if we tread less loftily, may never look so high again. remembering this, let it suggest one generous motive for walking heedfully amid the defilements of earthly ways." n. hawthorne. "others are affected by what i am, and say, and do. and these others have also their sphere of influence. so that a single act of mine may spread in widening circles through a nation or humanity." channing. "a man who lives right, and is right, has more power in his silence than another has by his words. character is like bells which ring out sweet music, and which, when touched accidentally even, resound with sweet music." phillips brooks. "quench not the smoking flax" july "make a great deal more of your right to praise the good than of your right to blame the bad. never let a brave and serious struggle after truth and goodness, however weak it may be, pass unrecognised. do not be chary of appreciation. hearts are unconsciously hungry for it. there is little danger that appreciation shall be given too abundantly. here and there, perhaps, in your shops and schools and households, there is some one who has too lazily sunk down upon the praise he has received for some good work, and rested in sluggish satisfaction on it; but such disasters hardly count among the unfulfilled lives which have lived meagrely and stuntedly for the lack of some simple cordial human approval of what they have honestly, however blunderingly, tried to do." phillips brooks. "it is a great sign of mediocrity to be always praising moderately." vauvenargues. "'quench not the smoking flax'--to which i add, 'never give unnecessary pain.' the cricket is not the nightingale; why tell him so? throw yourself into the mind of the cricket--the process is newer and more ingenious; and it is what charity commands." _amiel's journal._ "quench not the smoking flax" august "christians are very often liable not, perhaps, to put obstacles into the way of efforts to do right so much as to refuse them the needful help, without which they have little chance of succeeding. to look coldly on while our fellows are struggling in the waves of this evil sea and never to hold out a hand or to say a word of encouragement, is very often most cruelly to depress all energy of repentance. the strong virtue that can go on its own way without being shaken by any ordinary temptation too often forgets the duty due to the weakness close to its side. by stern treatment of faults which were yet much struggled against, by cold refusal to acknowledge any except plainly successful efforts, by rejecting the approaches of those who have not yet learnt the right way, but are really wishing in their secret hearts to learn it, those who are strong not unfrequently do much harm to those who are weak." bishop temple. "the best we can do for each other is to remove unnecessary obstacles, and the worst--to weaken any of the motives which urge us to strive." _the standard of life_, mrs. bernard bosanquet. influence august "even in ordinary life, contact with nobler natures arouses the feeling of unused power and quickens the consciousness of responsibility." bishop westcott. "do we not all know how apt we are to become like those whom we see, with whom we spend our hours, and, above all, like those whom we admire and honour? for good and for evil, alas! for evil--for those who associate with evil or frivolous persons are too apt to catch not only their low tone, but their very manner, their very expression of face, speaking and thinking and acting.... but thank god, ... just in the same way does good company tend to make them high-minded.... i have lived long enough to see more than one man of real genius stamp his own character, thought, even his very manner of speaking, for good or for evil, on a whole school or party of his disciples. it has been said, and truly, i believe, that children cannot be brought up among beautiful pictures,--i believe, even among any beautiful sights and sounds--without the very expression of their faces becoming more beautiful, purer, gentler, nobler." charles kingsley. influence august "throw a stone into the stream, and the circles that propagate themselves are the beautiful type of all influence." emerson. "it requires but little knowledge of society and history to assure us of the strong permeating invisible influence upon society at large of any body of men of clear thought, strong conviction, and disciplined conduct. at once many things respond to the magnetism; many are put on their mettle who would not for the world own it: many recognise their own best things more clearly in the new light shed upon them; there is instinctive moral competition. such influences travel fast and far.... i have always myself believed that the later thought of the roman world--the mellow stoicism of aurelius and epictetus in the second century, with its strong unexplained instinct for a personal and fatherly god, with its gentle and self-denying ethics, shews the tincture of the influence diffused through the thoughts and prayers, the quiet conversations or the dropped words and overheard phrases--or the bearing and countenance of a slave here or a friend there, known or perhaps not known to belong to that strange new body of people with their foolish yet arresting faith, with their practices everywhere spoken against yet of such pure and winning charm--who bore the name of the nazarene." _the church's failures and the work of christ_, bishop talbot. friendship august "we should ever have it fixed in our memories, that by the characters of those whom we choose for our friends, our own is likely to be formed, and will certainly be judged of by the world. we ought, therefore, to be slow and cautious in contracting intimacy; but when a virtuous friendship is once established, we must ever consider it as a sacred engagement." blair. "might i give counsel to any young hearer, i would say unto him: try to frequent the company of your betters. in books and life is the most wholesome society; learn to admire rightly; the great pleasure of life is that. note what the great men admired--they admired great things; narrow spirits admire basely, and worship meanly." thackeray. "be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant." socrates. friendship august "there is nothing so bad for man or woman as to live always with their inferiors. it is a truth so important, that one might well wish to turn aside a moment and urge it, even in its lower aspects, upon the young people who are just making their associations and friendships. many a temptation of laziness or pride induces us to draw towards those who do not know as much or are not in some way as strong as we are. it is a smaller tax upon our powers to be in their society. but it is bad for us. i am sure that i have known men, intellectually and morally very strong, the whole development of whose intellectual and moral life has suffered and been dwarfed, because they have only accompanied with their inferiors, because they have not lived with men greater than themselves. whatever else they lose, they surely must lose some culture of humility. if i could choose a young man's companions, some should be weaker than himself, that he might learn patience and charity; many should be as nearly as possible his equals, that he might have the full freedom of friendship; but most should be stronger than he was, that he might for ever be thinking humbly of himself and be tempted to higher things." phillips brooks. friendship august "for good or evil a man's moral and spiritual outlook is altered by the outlook of his comrade. it is inevitable, and in all true comradeship it makes for truth, and generosity, and freedom. it is an incalculable enlargement of human responsibility, because it constitutes us, in a measure, guardians each of the other's soul. and yet, it is never the suppression of a weak individuality by a strong one. that is not even true discipleship, but spiritual tyranny. what the play of two personalities brings about is a fuller, deeper self-realisation on either side. the experience of comradeship, with all the new knowledge and insight that it brings into a life, can leave no ideal unchanged, but the change is not of the nature of a substitution, but of continuous growth. it is not mental or moral bondage, but deliverance from both. "and it is the deliverance from bondage to ourselves. it is our refuge from pride. more than all else, comradeship teaches us to walk humbly with god. for while god's trivial gifts may allow us to grow vain and self-complacent, his great gifts, if we once recognise them, make us own our deep unworthiness, and bow our heads in unspeakable gratitude. we may have rated our deserts high, and taken flattery as our just due; we may have competed for the world's prizes, and been filled with gratified ambition at securing them. but however high we rate ourselves, in the hour in which the soul is conscious of its spiritual comrades, we know that god's great infinite gift of human love is something we have never earned, could never earn by merit or achievement, by toil, or prayer, or fasting. it has come to us straight out of the heart of the eternal fatherhood; and all our pride and vanity fall away, and our lives come again to us as the lives of little children." _comradeship_, may kendall. friendship august "friendship is a plant which cannot be forced. true friendship is no gourd, springing in a night and withering in a day." charlotte brontË. "blessed are they who have the gift of making friends, for it is one of god's best gifts. it involves many things, but, above all, the power of going out of one's self, and appreciating whatever is noble and loving in another." thomas hughes. "friendship cannot be permanent unless it becomes spiritual. there must be fellowship in the deepest things of the soul, community in the highest thoughts, sympathy with the best endeavours." hugh black. friendship august "our chief want in life is, somebody who shall make us do what we can. this is the service of a friend." emerson. "the end of friendship is for aid and comfort through all the passages of life and death." emerson. "every man rejoices twice when he has a partner of his joy. a friend shares my sorrow, and makes it but a moiety; but he swells my joy, and makes it double." jeremy taylor. "he that is thy friend indeed, he will help thee in thy need. if thou sorrow, he will weep. if thou wake, he cannot sleep. thus in every grief in heart he with thee doth bear a part." shakespeare. friendship august "to begin with, how can life be worth living, to use the words of ennius, which lacks that repose which is to be found in the mutual good-will of a friend? what can be more delightful than to have some one to whom you can say everything with the same absolute confidence as to yourself? is not prosperity robbed of half its value if you have no one to share your joy? on the other hand, misfortunes would be hard to bear if there were not some one to feel them even more acutely than yourself." cicero. "comradeship is one of the finest facts, and one of the strongest forces in life." hugh black. "... all i can do is to urge on you to regard friendship as the greatest thing in the world; for there is nothing which so fits in with our nature, or is so exactly what we want in prosperity or adversity." cicero. friendship august "beware lest thy friend learn to tolerate one frailty of thine, and so an obstacle be raised to the progress of thy love." thoreau. "that he had 'a genius for friendship' goes without saying, for he was rich in the humility, the patience and the powers of trust, which such a genius implies. yet his love had, too, the rarer and more strenuous temper which requires 'the common aspiration,' is jealous for a friend's growth, and has the nerve to criticise. it is the measure of what he felt friendship to be, that he has defined religion in the terms of it." _of henry drummond_, george adam smith. "all men have their frailties, and whoever looks for a friend without imperfection will never find what he seeks. we love ourselves notwithstanding our faults, and we ought to love our friends in like manner." cyrus. friendship august "... for instance, it often happens that friends need remonstrance and even reproof. when these are administered in a kindly spirit they ought to be taken in good part. but somehow or other there is truth in what my friend terence says in his andria: 'compliance gets us friends, plain speaking hate.' "plain speaking is a cause of trouble, if the result of it is resentment, which is poison to friendship; but compliance is really the cause of much more trouble, because by indulging his faults it lets a friend plunge into headlong ruin. but the man who is most to blame is he who resents plain speaking and allows flattery to egg him on to his ruin.... if we remonstrate, it should be without bitterness; if we reprove, there should be no word of insult.... but if a man's ears are so closed to plain speaking that he cannot bear to hear the truth from a friend, we may give him up in despair. this remark of cato's, as so many of his did, shews great acuteness: 'there are people who owe more to bitter enemies than to apparently pleasant friends: the former often speak the truth, the latter never.' besides, it is a strange paradox that the recipients of advice should feel no annoyance where they ought to feel it, and yet feel so much where they ought not. they are not at all vexed at having committed a fault, but very angry at being reproved for it." cicero. "men of character like to hear of their faults; the other class do not." emerson. "before giving advice we must have secured its acceptance, or rather, have made it desired." _amiel's journal._ friendship august "the friendship of jesus was not checked or foiled by the discovery of faults or blemishes in those whom he had taken into his life. even in our ordinary human relations we do not know what we are engaging to do when we become the friend of another. 'for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health,' runs the marriage covenant. the covenant in all true friendship is the same. we pledge our friend faithfulness, with all that faithfulness includes. we know not what demands upon us this sacred compact may make in years to come. misfortune may befall our friend, and he may require our aid in many ways. instead of being a help he may become a burden. but friendship must not fail, whatever its cost may be. when we become the friend of another, we do not know what faults and follies in him closer acquaintance may disclose to our eyes. but here, again, ideal friendship must not fail." _personal friendships of jesus_, j. r. miller. "for he that wrongs his friend wrongs himself more, and ever bears about a silent court of justice in his breast, himself the judge and jury, and himself the prisoner at the bar, ever condemned." tennyson. friendship august "treat your friends for what you know them to be. regard no surfaces. consider not what they did, but what they intended." thoreau. "what makes us so changeable in our friendships, is our difficulty to discern the qualities of the soul, and the ease with which we detect those of the intellect." "judge not thy friend until thou standest in his place." rabbi hillel. "criticism often takes from the tree caterpillars and blossoms together." friendship august "there are two elements that go to the composition of friendship, each so sovereign that i can detect no superiority in either, no reason why either should be first named. one is truth ... the other is tenderness." emerson. "the essence of friendship is entireness, a total magnanimity and trust.... a friend is a person with whom i may be sincere. before him i may think aloud." emerson. "people do not sufficiently remember that in every relation of life, as in the closest one of all, they ought to take one another 'for better for worse.' that, granting the tie of friendship, gratitude, esteem, be strong enough to have existed at all, it ought, either actively or passively, to exist for ever. and seeing we can at best know our neighbour, companion, or friend as little, as alas! we often find he knoweth of us, it behoveth us to trust him with the most patient fidelity, the tenderest forbearance; granting unto all his words and actions that we do not understand, the utmost limit of faith that common sense and christian justice will allow. nay, these failing, is there not left christian charity? which being past believing and hoping, still endureth all things." friendship august "mutual respect implies discretion and reserve even in love itself; it means preserving as much liberty as possible to those whose life we share. we must distrust our instinct of intervention, for the desire to make our own will prevail is often disguised under the mask of solicitude." _amiel's journal._ "everything that is mine, even to my life, i may give to one i love, but the secret of my friend is not mine to give." philip sidney. "when true friends part they should lock up one another's secrets and change the keys." feltham. friendship august "so true it is that nature abhors isolation, and ever leans upon something as a stay and support; and this is found in its most pleasing form in our closest friend." cicero. "and great and numerous as are the blessings of friendship, this certainly is the sovereign one, that it gives us bright hopes for the future and forbids weakness and despair. in the face of a true friend a man sees as it were a second self. so that where his friend is he is; if his friend be rich, he is not poor; though he be weak, his friend's strength is his; and in his friend's life he enjoys a second life after his own is finished." cicero. "in distress a friend comes like a calm to the toss'd mariner." euripides. friendship august "a man only understands what is akin to something already existing in himself." _amiel's journal._ "there are some to whom we speak almost in a language of our own, with the confidence that all our broken hints are recognised with a thrill of kinship, and our half-uttered thoughts discerned and shared: some with whom we need not cramp our meaning into the dead form of an explicit accuracy, and with whom we can forecast that we shall walk together in undoubting sympathy even over tracks of taste and belief which we may never yet have touched." _faculties and difficulties for belief and disbelief_, bishop paget. "talking with a friend is nothing else but thinking aloud." addison. friendship august "and though aristotle does well to warn us that absence dissolves friendship, it is happily none the less true that friend may powerfully influence friend though the two be by no means constant associates. even far removal in place, or in occupation, or in fortunes, cannot arrest influence. for once any man has true friends, he never again frames his decisions, even those that are most secret, as if he were alone in the world. he frames them habitually in the imagined company of his friends. in their visionary presence he thinks and acts; and by them, as visionary tribunal, he feels himself, even in his unspoken intentions and inmost feelings, to be judged. in this aspect friendship may become a supreme force both to encourage and restrain. for it is not simply what our friends expect of us that is the vital matter here. they are often more tolerant of our failings than is perhaps good for us. it is what in our best moments we believe that they expect of us. for it is then that they become to us, not of their own choice but of ours, a kind of second conscience, in whose presence our weaknesses and backslidings become 'that worst kind of sacrilege that tears down the invisible altar of trust.'" _the making of character_, professor maccunn. friendship august "few things are more fatal to friendship than the stiffness which cannot take a step towards acknowledgment." _life of f. w. crossley_, rendel harris. "do not discharge in haste the arrow which can never return: it is easy to destroy happiness; most difficult to restore it." herder. "discord harder is to end than to begin." spenser. "think of this doctrine--that reasoning beings were created for one another's sake; that to be patient is a branch of justice, and that men sin without intending it." marcus aurelius. friendship august "we should learn from jesus that the essential quality in the heart of friendship is not the desire to have friends, but the desire to be a friend; not to get good and help from others, but to impart blessing to others. many of the sighings for friendship which we have are merely selfish longings,--a desire for happiness, for pleasure, for the gratification of the heart, which friends would bring. if the desire were to be a friend, to do others good, to serve and to give help, it would be a far more christlike longing, and would transform the life and character." _personal friendships of jesus_, j. r. miller. "to love is better, nobler, more elevating, and more sure, than to be loved. to love is to have found that which lifts us above ourselves; which makes us capable of sacrifice; which unseals the forces of another world. he who is loved has gained the highest tribute of earth; he who loves has entered into the spirit of heaven. the love which comes to us must always be alloyed with the sad sense of our own unworthiness. the love which goes out from us is kept bright by the ideal to which it is directed." bishop westcott. friendship august "friendships that have been renewed require more care than those that have never been broken off." la rochefoucauld. "broken friendship may be soldered, but never made sound." spanish proverb. "a friend once won need never be lost, if we will be only trusty and true ourselves. friends may part, not merely in body, but in spirit for a while. in the bustle of business and the accidents of life, they may lose sight of each other for years; and more, they may begin to differ in their success in life, in their opinions, in their habits, and there may be, for a time, coldness and estrangement between them, but not for ever if each will be trusty and true. for then they will be like two ships who set sail at morning from the same port, and ere night-fall lose sight of each other, and go each on its own course and at its own pace for many days, through many storms and seas, and yet meet again, and find themselves lying side by side in the same haven when their long voyage is past." charles kingsley. friendship august "the most fatal disease of friendship is gradual decay or dislike, hourly increased by causes too slender for complaint and too numerous for removal. those who are angry may be reconciled, those who have been injured may receive a recompense; but when the desire of pleasing, and willingness to be pleased, is silently diminished, the renovation of friendship is hopeless: as when the vital powers sink into languor, there is no longer any use for the physician." _the idler._ "... there is such a disaster, so to speak, as having to break off friendship.... in such cases friendships should be allowed to die out gradually by an intermission of intercourse. they should, as i have been told that cato used to say, rather be unstitched than torn in twain.... for there can be nothing more discreditable than to be at open war with a man with whom you have been intimate.... our first object then should be to prevent a breach; our second to secure that if it does occur, our friendship should seem to have died a natural rather than a violent death." cicero. friendship august "friends--those relations that one makes for one's self." deschamps. "some one asked kingsley what was the secret of his strong joyous life; and he answered, 'i had a friend.'" "the years have taught some sweet, some bitter lessons--none wiser than this: to spend in all things else, but of old friends to be most miserly." lowell. "the best wish for us all is, that when we grow old, as we must do, the fast friends of our age may be those we have loved in our youth." mason. jealousy august "jealousy is a terrible thing. it resembles love, only it is precisely love's contrary. instead of wishing for the welfare of the object loved, it desires the dependence of that object upon itself, and its own triumph. love is the forgetfulness of self; jealousy is the most passionate form of egotism, the glorification of a despotic, exacting, and vain _ego_, which can neither forget nor subordinate itself. the contrast is perfect." _amiel's journal._ "jealousy is a secret avowal of inferiority." massillon. jealousy august "we are not jealous of what we give up, but of what is wrested from our unwilling hands. the first is always ours, the second never can be. * * * * * "jealousy is not love, but it is the two-edged sword that parts true love from counterfeit. at its touch, the knowledge of what it is to love without reward, thrills heart and brain, sharp and clear, almost a vision of hell. then if we are base, we die to love; but if we are noble, it is to ourselves we die. * * * * * "it is only what we surrender willingly that is ours always, as the wave never loses what it surrenders to the sea." _turkish bonds_, may kendall. jealousy august "what state of mind can be so blest, as love that warms the gentle brest; two souls in one; the same desire to grant the bliss, and to require? if in this heaven a hell we find, 'tis all from thee, o jealousie! thou tyrant, tyrant of the mind. "all other ills, tho' sharp they prove, serve to refine a perfect love; in absence, or unkind disdain sweet hope relieves the lover's pain; but o! no cure but death we find to sett us free from jealousie, thou tyrant, tyrant of the mind. "false in thy glass all objects are, some set too near, and some too far: thou art the fire of endless might, the fire that burns and gives no light. all torments of the damned, we find in only thee, o jealousie; thou tyrant, tyrant of the mind." dryden. love and remorse august "we should get a lesson in friendship's ministry. too many wait until those they love are dead, and then bring their alabaster boxes of affection and break them. they keep silent about their love when words would mean so much, would give such cheer, encouragement, and hope, and then, when the friend lies in the coffin, their lips are unsealed and speak out their glowing tribute on ears that heed not the laggard praise. many persons go through life, struggling bravely with difficulty, temptation, and hardship, carrying burdens too heavy for them, pouring out their love in unselfish serving of others, and yet are scarcely ever cheered by a word of approval or commendation, or by delicate tenderness of friendship; then, when they lie silent in death, a whole circle of admiring friends gathers to do them honour. every one remembers a personal kindness received, a favour shown, some help given, and speaks of it in grateful words. letters full of appreciation, commendation, and gratitude are written to sorrowing friends. flowers are sent and piled about the coffin, enough to have strewn every hard path of the long years of struggle. how surprised some good men and women would be, after lives with scarcely a word of affection to cheer their hearts, were they to awake suddenly in the midst of their friends, a few hours after their death, and hear the testimonies that are falling from every tongue, the appreciation, the grateful words of love, the rememberings of kindness! they had never dreamed in life that they had so many friends, that so many had thought well of them, that they were helpful to so many." _personal friendships of jesus_, j. r. miller. love and remorse august "when our indignation is borne in submissive silence, we are apt to feel twinges of doubt afterwards as to our own generosity, if not justice; how much more when the object of our anger has gone into everlasting silence, and we have seen his face for the last time in the meekness of death." george eliot. "all about us move, these common days, those who would be strengthened and comforted by the good cheer that we could give. let us not reserve all the flowers for coffin-lids. let us not keep our alabaster boxes sealed and unbroken till our loved ones are dead. let us show kindness when kindness will do good. it will make sorrow all the harder to bear if we have to say beside our dead, 'i might have brightened the way a little, if only i had been kinder.'" _personal friendships of jesus_, j. r. miller. "i like not only to be loved, but to be told i am loved. the realm of silence is large enough beyond the grave." george eliot. love and remorse august "oh! do not let us wait to be just or pitiful or demonstrative towards those we love until they or we are struck down by illness or threatened with death! life is short, and we have never too much time for gladdening the hearts of those who are travelling the dark journey with us. oh, be swift to love, make haste to be kind!" _amiel's journal._ "too soon, too soon comes death to show we love more deeply than we know! the rain that fell upon the height too gently to be called delight, within the dark vale reappears as a wild cataract of tears; and love in life should strive to see sometimes what love in death would be!" coventry patmore. dissension august "alas! how light a cause may move dissension between hearts that love! hearts that the world in vain had tried, and sorrow but more closely tied; that stood the storm when waves were rough, yet in a sunny hour fall off, like ships that have gone down at sea, when heaven was all tranquillity! a something, light as air--a look, a word unkind or wrongly taken-- oh! love that tempests never shook, a breath, a touch like this has shaken; and ruder words will soon rush in to spread the breach that words begin; and eyes forget the gentle ray they wore in courtship's smiling day; and voices lose the tone that shed a tenderness round all they said; till fast declining, one by one, the sweetnesses of love are gone, and hearts, so lately mingled, seem like broken clouds--or like the stream that smiling left the mountain's brow, as though its waters ne'er could sever, yet, ere it reach the plain below, breaks into floods, that part for ever. o you that have the charge of love, keep him in rosy bondage bound!" _lalla rookh_, t. moore. love august "love is the first and the last and the strongest bond in experience. it conquers distance, outlives all changes, bears the strain of the most diverse opinions." _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. "say never, ye loved once! god is too near above, the grave, beneath: and all our moments breathe too quick in mysteries of life and death, for such a word. the eternities avenge affections light of range; there comes no change to justify that change, whatever comes,--loved _once_." e. b. browning. unrequited love september "it was the old problem, of love that may not even spend itself for those it loves. some hold that the purpose of such privation--as bitter to the spirit as the loss of light, and warmth, and air to the body--is to teach men to love god, and not their fellow-men. rather, it is to teach them to love human beings more, with love not separate from the love of god, but near to his own heart. such love is never fruitless, though it may seem to be. our longing to serve personally is often only longing for the personal reward of service; and love that serves in finite fashion often misses the mark. we hurt where we desire to heal: we bind a greater burden on the life whose load we only strive to lighten. god's cross is always a crown: our crowns are often crosses. the cup of water that we put to our friend's lips is from a poisoned spring. only the cup that we give god to bear to him, is always pure and cool." _turkish bonds_, may kendall. unrequited love september "infancy? what if the rose-streak of morning pale and depart in a passion of tears? once to have hoped is no matter for scorning: love once: e'en love's disappointment endears, a moment's success pays the failure of years." r. browning. "it looks like a waste of life, that mowing down of our best years by a relentless passion which itself falls dead on the top of them. but it is not so. every year i live i am more convinced that the waste of life lies in the love we have not given, the powers we have not used, the selfish prudence which will risk nothing, and which, shirking pain, misses happiness as well. no one ever yet was the poorer in the long run for having once in a lifetime 'let out all the length of the reins.'" _red pottage_, mary cholmondeley. bereavement september "if we still love those we lose, can we altogether lose those we love?" _the newcomes_, thackeray. "they that love beyond the world cannot be separated by it. "death cannot kill what never dies. nor can spirits ever be divided that love and live in the same divine principle; the root and record of their friendship. "if absence be not death, neither is it theirs. "death is but crossing the world, as friends do the seas; they live in one another still. "for they must needs be present, that love and live in that which is omnipresent. "in this divine glass they see face to face; and their converse is free as well as pure. "this is the comfort of friends, that though they may be said to die, yet their friendship and society are, in the best sense, ever present, because immortal." william penn. bereavement september "parting and forgetting? what faithful heart can do these? our great thoughts, our great affections, the truths of our life, never leave us. surely they cannot separate from our consciousness; shall follow it whithersoever that shall go; and are of their nature divine and immortal." thackeray. "i can only say that i sympathise with your grief, and if faith means anything at all it is trusting to those instincts, or feelings, or whatever they may be called, which assure us of some life after this." _tennyson--a memoir_, by his son. "what is it when a child dies? it is the great head-master calling that child up into his own room, away from all the under-teachers, to finish his education under his own eye, close at his feet. the whole thought of a child's growth and development in heaven instead of here on earth, is one of the most exalting and bewildering on which the mind can rest." phillips brooks. death of young children september "nothing is left or lost, nothing of good or lovely; but whatever its first springs has drawn from god, returns to him again." _on an early death_, trench. "when one comes to the loss of young children--a sad perplexity--let it not be forgotten that they were given. if in the hour of bitterest grief it were asked of a bereaved mother whether she would prefer never to have possessed in order that she might never have lost--her heart would be very indignant. no little child has ever come from god and stayed a brief while in some human home--to return again to the father--without making glad that home and leaving behind some trace of heaven. a family had counted themselves poorer without those quaint sayings, those cunning caresses, that soft touch, that sudden smile. this short visit was not an incident: it was a benediction. the child departs, the remembrances, the influence, the associations remain. if one should allow us to have sarto's annunciation for a month, we would thank him: when he resumed it for his home he would not take everything, for its loveliness of maid and angel is now ours for ever. and if god recalls the child he lent, then let us thank him for the loan, and consider that what made that child the messenger of god--its purity, modesty, trustfulness, gladness--has passed into our soul." _the potter's wheel_, dr. john watson. the dead september "the dead abide with us! though stark and cold earth seems to grip them, they are with us still:-- they have forged our chains of being for good or ill and their invisible hands these hands yet hold. our perishable bodies are the mould in which their strong imperishable will-- mortality's deep yearning to fulfil-- hath grown incorporate through dim time untold. "vibrations infinite of life in death, as a star's travelling light survives its star! so may we hold our lives, that when we are the fate of those who then will draw this breath, they shall not drag us to their judgment bar, and curse the heritage which we bequeath." mathilde blind. "we are learning, by the help of many teachers, the extent and the authority of the dominion which the dead exercise over us, and which we ourselves are shaping for our descendants. "we feel, as perhaps it was impossible to feel before, how at every moment influences from the past enter our souls, and how we in turn scatter abroad that which will be fruitful in the distant future. it is becoming clear to us that we are literally parts of others and they of us." bishop westcott. the dead september "i with uncovered head salute the sacred dead, who went and who return not. say not so! * * * * * we rather seem the dead that stayed behind. blow, trumpets, all your exaltations blow! for never shall their aureoled presence lack: i see them muster in a gleaming row, with ever-youthful brows that nobler show; we find in our dull road their shining track: in every nobler mood we feel the orient of their spirit glow, part of our life's unalterable good, of all our saintlier aspiration: they come transfigured back, secure from change in their high-hearted ways, beautiful evermore, and with the rays of morn on their white shields of expectation." james russell lowell. the dead september "and yet, dear heart! remembering thee, am i not richer than of old? safe in thy immortality, what change can reach the wealth i hold? what chance can mar the pearl and gold thy love hath left in trust for me? and while in life's long afternoon, where cool and long the shadows grow, i walk to meet the night that soon shall shape and shadow overflow, i cannot feel that thou art far, since near at need the angels are; and when the sunset gates unbar, shall i not see thee waiting stand, and, white against the evening star, the welcome of thy beckoning hand?" john greenleaf whittier. the dead september "lord, make me one with thine own faithful ones, thy saints who love thee, and are loved by thee; till the day break and till the shadows flee, at one with them in alms and orisons; at one with him who toils and him who runs, and him who yearns for union yet to be; at one with all who throng the crystal sea, and wait the setting of our moons and suns. ah, my beloved ones gone on before, who looked not back with hand upon the plough! if beautiful to me while still in sight, how beautiful must be your aspects now; your unknown, well-known aspects in that light, which clouds shall never cloud for evermore!" christina rossetti. death september "most persons have died before they expire--died to all earthly longings, so that the last breath is only, as it were, the locking of the door of the already deserted mansion. the fact of the tranquillity with which the great majority of dying persons await this locking of those gates of life through which its airy angels have been coming and going from the moment of the first cry, is familiar to those who have been often called upon to witness the last period of life. almost always there is a preparation made by nature for unearthing a soul, just as on the smaller scale there is for the removal of a milk tooth. the roots which hold human life to earth are absorbed before it is lifted from its place. some of the dying are weary, and want rest, the idea of which is almost inseparable, in the universal mind, from death. some are in pain, and want to be rid of it, even though the anodyne be dropped, as in the legend, from the sword of the death-angel. and some are strong in faith and hope, so that, as they draw near the next world, they would fain hurry toward it, as the caravan moves faster over the sands when the foremost travellers send word along the file that water is in sight. though each little party that follows in a foot-track of its own will have it that the water to which others think they are hastening is a mirage, not the less has it been true in all ages, and for human beings of every creed which recognised a future, that those who have fallen, worn out by their march through the desert, have dreamed at least of a river of life, and thought they heard its murmurs as they lay dying." _the professor at the breakfast table_, o. w. holmes. crossing the bar september "sunset and evening star, and one clear call for me! and may there be no moaning of the bar, when i put out to sea. "but such a tide as moving seems asleep, too full for sound and foam, when that which drew from out the boundless deep turns again home. "twilight and evening bell, and after that the dark! and may there be no sadness of farewell when i embark; "for, tho' from out our bourne of time and place the flood may bear me far, i hope to see my pilot face to face when i have crost the bar." tennyson. life after death september "if the immediate life after death be only sleep, and the spirit between this life and the next should be folded like a flower in a night slumber, then the remembrance of the past might remain, as the smell and colour do in the sleeping flower; and in that case the memory of our love would last as true, and would live pure and whole within the spirit of my friend until after it was unfolded at the breaking of the morn, when the sleep was over." _tennyson--a memoir_, by his son. "life! i know not what thou art, but know that thou and i must part; and when, or how, or where we met, i own to me's a secret yet. "life! we have been long together, through pleasant and through cloudy weather; 'tis hard to part when friends are dear; perhaps 'twill cost a sigh, a tear;-- then steal away, give little warning, choose thine own time; say not good night, but in some brighter clime bid me good morning!" a. l. barbauld. bearing sorrow september "it is dangerous to abandon oneself to the luxury of grief; it deprives one of courage, and even of the wish for recovery." _amiel's journal._ "its way of suffering is the witness which a soul bears to itself." _amiel's journal._ "we must bury our dead joys and live above them with a living world." george eliot. bearing sorrow september "sorrow brings also a temptation to exactingness. it may be that friends are very helpful to us. let us take care that no selfishness mingles with our love for their companionship, with our claims for their sympathy. "what, for the time, at any rate, is all the world to us, can only be a small part of another's life. "and one must struggle, as time goes on, to take what comes in one's way of sympathy, of kindness, of companionship, but one must also try never to exact sympathy, to allow ourselves to feel neglected, or slighted, or forgotten. "this is a hard lesson--sometimes. "the whole of one's nature becomes sensitive, easily wounded, easily depressed." canon scott holland. bearing sorrow september "selfishness in sorrow is another temptation. one is so apt to become absorbed in one's sorrow. "it is quite possible to become almost selfish in one's spiritual life under the stress of great sorrow. "to see everything, every lesson, every allusion, solely from one's own point of view, to grow too fond of thinking of one's burden.... "the hard path of daily duty is the only path to tread, not because one is thinking of oneself, but because one wishes to forget oneself, and to think only of god, and of those that remain. "self-denial: to put self last, not out of sight, but last, that is what one is always called to do, and it is a sad bit of disloyalty to god's grace if one becomes more selfish in sorrow." canon scott holland. bearing sorrow september "a great sorrow which changes life altogether is apt to produce a certain irritability, a sort of nervous jar. "very often this is an affair of nerves, of physical health, but it is well to watch--'watch and pray.' "all sorts of things will jar and hurt us. people will do and say things with perfect unconsciousness that they are wounding us to the quick. some careless allusion, some chance speech, will set our nerves quivering.... the worries, the jarring incidents, the introduction of discordant topics in the very presence of death, the disappointments, are all to lead us upwards. it is a rough bit of road on which we are set to walk, and the sharp stones cut our feet, but every step brings us nearer god. "do not let _temper_ mar the days of sorrow. "there most probably will be something to try our temper. who does not know the trials which seem peculiar to a break-up, a change in our outward life? who has not seen real christians giving way to peevishness, fretfulness, petty dislikes, petty jealousies of near relations, of those who may be taking the place of the one they mourn? perhaps there is nothing which so mars and spoils the religious life as bad temper and selfishness. "nothing which is so apt to make outsiders shrug their shoulders at those who make frequent communions, and go much to church, and who, especially in dark hours, give way to crossness. there is no better name." canon scott holland. the meaning of religion september "the meaning of religion is a rule of life; it is an obligation to do well; if that rule, that obligation, is not seen, your thousand texts will be to you like the thousand lanterns to the blind man. as he goes about the house in the night of his blindness, he will only break the glass and burn his feet and fingers: and so you, as you go through life in the night of your ignorance, will only break and hurt yourselves on broken laws. "before christ came, the jewish religion had forbidden many evil things; it was a religion that a man could fulfil, i had almost said, in idleness; all he had to do was to pray and to sing psalms, and to refrain from things forbidden. do not deceive yourselves; when christ came, all was changed. the injunction was then laid upon us not to refrain from doing, but to do. at the last day he is to ask us not what sins we have avoided, but what righteousness we have done, what we have done for others, how we have helped good and hindered evil: what difference has it made to this world and to our country and our family and our friends, that we have lived. the man who has been only pious and not useful will stand with a long face on that great day, when christ puts to him his questions. "but this is not all that we must learn: we must beware everywhere of the letter that kills, seek everywhere for the spirit that makes glad and strong. for example, these questions that we have just read are again only the letter. we must study what they mean, not what they are. we are told to visit them that are in prison. a good thing, but it were better if we could save them going there. we are told to visit the sick; it were better still, and we should so better have fulfilled the law, if we could have saved some of them from falling sick." _the life of r. l. stevenson_, graham balfour. pure religion september "righteousness in the old testament is not a theological, but an ethical word, and has to do not with a person's creed, but with a person's character." dr. john watson. "in those days men were working their passage to heaven by keeping the ten commandments, and the hundred and ten other commandments which they had manufactured out of them. christ said, i will show you a more simple way. if you do one thing, you will do these hundred and ten things, without ever thinking about them. if you love, you will unconsciously fulfil the whole law.... love is the rule for fulfilling all rules, the new commandment for keeping all the old commandments, christ's one secret of the christian life." _the greatest thing in the world_, henry drummond. "pure religion as taught by jesus christ is a life, a growth, a divine spirit within, coming out in love and sympathy, and helpfulness to our fellow-men." h. w. thomas. the christian law september "we are often reminded that christ left no code of commandments. it is in him--in his person and his work--the law lies. he has given indeed for our instruction some applications of the negative precepts of the decalogue to the new order. he has added some illustrations of positive duties, almsgiving, prayer, fasting. he has set up an ideal and a motive for life; and, at the same time, he has endowed his church with spiritual power, and has promised that the paraclete, sent in his name, shall guide it into all the truth. (the fundamental principle of the christian social union is "to claim for the christian law the ultimate authority to rule social practice.") "the christian law, then, is the embodiment of the truth for action in forms answering to the conditions of society from age to age. the embodiment takes place slowly, and it can never be complete. it is impossible for us to rest indolently in the conclusions of the past. in each generation the obligation is laid on christians to bring new problems of conduct and duty into the divine light, and to find their solution under the teaching of the spirit. the unceasing effort to fulfil the obligation establishes the highest prerogative of man, and manifests the life of the church. from this effort there can be no release; and the effort itself becomes more difficult as human relations grow fuller, wider, more complex." _christian social union addresses_, bishop westcott. the christian law september "the sanction of this law (the christian law) is not fear of punishment, but that self-surrender to an ever-present lord, of those who are his slaves at once and his friends, which is perfect freedom. this law animates the heart of him who receives it with the invigorating truth that character is formed rather by what we do than by what we refrain from doing. it requires that every personal gift and possession should minister to the common welfare, not in the way of ransom, or as a forced loan, but as an offering of love. it reaches to the springs of action, and gives to the most mechanical toil the dignity of a divine service. it makes the strong arm co-operate in one work with the warm heart and the creative brain. it constrains the poet and the artist to concentrate their magnificent powers on things lovely and of good report, to introduce us to characters whom to know is a purifying discipline, and to fill the souls of common men with visions of hidden beauty and memories of heroic deeds. it enables us to lift up our eyes to a pattern of human society which we have not yet dared to contemplate, a pattern which answers to the constitution of man as he was made in the divine image to gain the divine likeness. it forbids us to seek repose till, as far as lies in us, all labour is seen to be not a provision for living, but a true human life; all education a preparation for the vision of god here and hereafter; all political enterprise a conscious hastening of the time when the many nations shall walk in the light of the holy city, and the kings of the earth bring their glory into it." _christian social union addresses_, bishop westcott. trustees september "for the christian there can be but one ideal, the perfect development of every man for the occupation of his appointed place, for the fulfilment of his peculiar office in the 'body of christ'; and as a first step towards this, we are all bound as christians to bring to our country the offering of our individual service in return for the opportunities of culture and labour which we receive from its organisation. we are all as christians trustees and stewards of everything which we possess, of our time, our intellect, our influence, no less than of our riches. we ourselves are not our own: still less can we say of that which we inherit or acquire, 'it is my own.' we all belong, in the fulness of life 'in christ,' to our fellow-citizens, and our nation belongs to mankind. what we hold for a time is to be administered for the relief of distresses, and for the elevation of those among whom we are placed. personal and social egoism are equally at variance with this conception of humanity. the repression of individuality and the individual appropriation of the fruits of special vigour and insight equally tend to impoverish the race. service always ready to become sacrifice is the condition of our growth, and the condition of our joy." _christian social union addresses_, bishop westcott. "not to destroy, but to fulfil" september "christ took the world as he found it, he left it as it was. he had no quarrel with existing institutions. he did not overthrow the church--he went to church. he said nothing against politics--he supported the government of the country. he did not denounce society--his first public action was to go to a marriage. his great aim, in fact, outwardly, and all along, was to be as normal, as little eccentric as possible. the true fanatic always tries the opposite. the spirit alone was singular in jesus; a fanatic always spoils his cause by extending it to the letter. christ came not to destroy, but to fulfil. a fanatic comes not to fulfil, but to destroy. if we would follow the eccentricity of our master, let it not be in asceticism, in denunciation, in punctiliousness, and scruples about trifles, but in largeness of heart, singleness of eye, true breadth of character, true love to men, and heroism for christ." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. "religion has been treated as if it were a special exercise of a special power, not as if it were the possible loftiness of everything that a man could think or be or do." phillips brooks. religion in daily life september "if we want to get religion into life, or anything whatever in us into life, we are bound to have no contentment, no rest, no dreaming, no delays, till we get thought into shape, feeling into labour, some conviction, some belief, some idea, into form without us, among the world of men. this is the main principle, and it applies to every sphere of human effort. so much for the habit whereby we gain power to bring religion into daily life. "righteousness, shaped from within to without in the world of men, is justice, and the doing of justice. this is the first need of commonwealths, the first duty of individuals, and the practical religion of both. a still higher form into which we may put our religion in life is in doing the things which belong to love; and love is the higher form because it secures justice. these are the things we should shape into life because we love them. to be faithful always to that which we believe to be true; to be faithful to our principles and our conscience when trial comes, or when we are tempted to sacrifice them for place or pelf; to be faithful to our given word; to keep our promises when we might win favour by eluding or breaking them; to cling to intellectual as well as to moral truth; to so live among men that they may know where we are; to fly our flag in the storm as well as in the calm. it is to pass by with contempt the dark cavern where men worship mammon; to fix our thought and effort on the attainment of righteousness in public and in private homes, to have the courage to attempt what seems impossible through love of the ideals of truth and beauty, and to prefer to die on the field of work and self-devotion rather than to live in idleness and luxury." stopford brooke. unfelt creeds september "there are also some who forget that the laws of the spiritual world are no less inflexible and inviolable than those of the physical world; that conduct is everything; and that the faith which saves, and which, working by love, makes conduct, is something much deeper and more substantial than the muttering of an unfelt creed, or than the melancholy presumption that to think ourselves saved is by itself a passport into the everlasting habitations." bishop thorold. "holiness is an infinite compassion for others: greatness is to take the common things of life and walk truly among them: happiness is a great love and much serving." "heaven does not make holiness, but holiness makes heaven." phillips brooks. fasting september "it makes me half afraid, half angry, to see the formal, mechanical way in which people do what they call their 'lenten penances,' and then rush off, only with increased ardour, to their easter festivities. literal fasting does not suit me--it makes me irritable and uncomfortable, and certainly does not spiritualise me; so i have always tried to keep my lents in the nobler and more healthful spirit of isaiah lviii. i have kept them but poorly, after all; still, i am sure _that_ is the true way of keeping them." _letters from_ bishop fraser's _lancashire life_, archdeacon diggle. "god does not call us to give up some sin or some harmful self-indulgence in lent that we may resume it at easter." _the guided life_, canon body. fasting september "fasting comes by nature when a man is sad, and it is in consequence the natural token of sadness: when a man is very sad, for the loss of relations or the like, he loses all inclination for food. but every outward sign that can be displayed at will is liable to abuse, and so men sometimes fasted when they were not really sad, but when it was decorous to appear so. moreover a kind of merit came to be attached to fasting as betokening sorrow for transgressions; and at last it came to be regarded as a sort of self-punishment which it was thought the almighty would accept in lieu of inflicting punishment himself. our lord does not decry stated fasts or any other jewish practices, they had their uses and would last their times; only he points men to the underlying truth which was at the bottom of the ordinance." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. the great law of love september "those who go to christ and not to custom for their view of that which is essential in religion, know the infinitesimal value of profession and ceremonies, beside the great law of love to our neighbour." f. w. farrar. "not only the happiness but the efficiency of the passive virtues, love as a power, as a practical success in the world, is coming to be recognised. the fact that christ led no army, that he wrote no book, built no church, spent no money, but that he loved, and so conquered, this is beginning to strike men. and paul's argument is gaining adherents, that when all prophecies are fulfilled, and all our knowledge is obsolete, and all tongues grow unintelligible, this thing, love, will abide and see them all out one by one into the oblivious past. this is the hope for the world, that we shall learn to love, and in learning that, unlearn all anger and wrath and evil-speaking and malice and bitterness." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. soldiers of the same army september "to him, as to so many, truth is so infinitely great that all we can do with our poor human utterances is to try and clothe it in such language as will make it clear to ourselves, and clear to those to whom god sends us with a message; but meanwhile above us and our thoughts--above our broken lights--god in his mercy, god in his love, god in his infinite nature is greater than all." _tennyson--a memoir_, by his son. "are not all true men that live, or that ever lived, soldiers of the same army, enlisted under heaven's captaincy, to do battle against the same enemy--the empire of darkness and wrong? why should we mis-know one another, fight not against the enemy, but against ourselves, from mere difference of uniform?" carlyle. by their works september "call him not heretic whose works attest his faith in goodness by no creed confessed. whatever in love's name is truly done to free the bound and lift the fallen one is done to christ. whoso in deed and word is not against him labours for our lord. when he, who, sad and weary, longing sore for love's sweet service, sought the sisters' door, one saw the heavenly, one the human guest, but who shall say which loved the master best?" whittier. "hast thou made much of words, and forms, and tests, and thought but little of the peace and love,-- his gospel to the poor? dost thou condemn thy brother, looking down, in pride of heart, on each poor wanderer from the fold of truth?... go thy way!-- take heaven's own armour for the heavenly strife, welcome all helpers in thy war with sin ... and learn through all the future of thy years to form thy life in likeness of thy lord's!" plumptre. faith september "faith is the communication of the divine spirit by which christ as the revealed god dwells in our heart. it is the awakening of the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, 'abba father.'" t. h. green. "he thought with arthur hallam, that 'the essential feelings of religion subsist in the utmost diversity of forms,' that 'different language does not always imply different opinions, nor different opinions any difference in _real_ faith.' 'it is impossible,' he said, 'to imagine that the almighty will ask you, when you come before him in the next life, what your particular form of creed was; but the question will rather be, "have you been true to yourself and given in my name a cup of cold water to one of these little ones?"'" _tennyson--a memoir_, by his son. "religion consists not in knowledge, but in a holy life." bishop taylor. a new creed october "imagine a body of christians who should take their stand on the sermon of jesus, and conceive their creed on his lines. imagine how it would read, 'i believe in the fatherhood of god; i believe in the words of jesus; i believe in the clean heart; i believe in the service of love; i believe in the unworldly life; i believe in the beatitudes; i promise to trust god and follow christ, to forgive my enemies, and to seek after the righteousness of god.' could any form of words be more elevated, more persuasive, more alluring? do they not thrill the heart and strengthen the conscience? liberty of thought is allowed; liberty of sinning is alone denied." _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. the sermon on the mount has been called "the text-book of duty." phillips brooks. "the magna charta of the kingdom of god." neander. "christ's manifesto, and the constitution of christianity." dr. john watson. "the great proclamation, which by one effort lifted mankind on to that new and higher ground on which it has been painfully struggling ever since, but on the whole with sure but slow success, to plant itself, and maintain sure foothold." t. hughes. the programme of christianity october "there may be worship without words." longfellow. "all the world is the temple of god. its worship is ministration. the commonest service is divine service." george macdonald. the programme of christianity. "to preach good tidings unto the meek: to build up the broken-hearted: to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound: to proclaim the acceptable year of the lord, and the day of vengeance of our god: to comfort all that mourn: to appoint unto them that mourn in zion, to give unto them-- beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness." henry drummond. the lord's supper october "the lord's supper, the right and need of every man to feed on god, the bread of divine sustenance, the wine of divine inspiration offered to every man, and turned by every man into what form of spiritual force the duty and the nature of each man required, how grand and glorious its mission might become! no longer the mystic source of unintelligible influence; no longer, certainly, the test of arbitrary orthodoxy; no longer the initiation rite of a selected brotherhood; but the great sacrament of man!... there is no other rallying place for all the good activity and worthy hopes of man. it is in the power of the great christian sacrament, the great human sacrament, to become that rallying place. think how it would be, if some morning all the men, women, and children in this city who mean well, from the reformer meaning to meet some giant evil at the peril of his life to the school-boy meaning to learn his day's lesson with all his strength, were to meet in a great host at the table of the lord, and own themselves his children, and claim the strength of his bread and wine, and then go out with calm, strong, earnest faces to their work. how the communion service would lift up its voice and sing itself in triumph, the great anthem of dedicated human life! ah, my friends, that, nothing less than that, is the real holy communion of the church of the living god." phillips brooks. nominal christians october "the bane of the church of god, the dishonour of christ, the laughing-stock of the world, is in that far too numerous body of half-alive christians who choose their own cross, and shape their own standard, and regulate their own sacrifices, and measure their own devotions; whose cross is very unlike the saviour's, whose standard is not that of as much holiness as they can attain, but of as little holiness as they can safely be content with to be saved; whose sacrifices do not deprive them from one year's end to another of a single comfort, or even a real luxury, and whose devotions can never make their dull hearts burn with love of christ." bishop thorold. "men find christ through their fellow-men, and every glimpse they get of him is a direct message from himself." henry drummond. manifestations of god october "the distinguishing mark of religion is not so much liberty as obedience, and its value is measured by the sacrifices which it can extract from the individual." _amiel's journal._ "there is perhaps no human soul which never hungers after god. men's unbelief in lies is often quoted against them, by the liar especially. but we believe--not when we are told about, but when we are shown--christ." _turkish bonds_, may kendall. "let your lives preach." george fox. manifestations of god october "for how, as a matter of fact, do we grow to know god? let me refer you to professor flint's book on theism for the best answer i know. we begin to know god as we begin to know our fellow-man--through his manifestations. we may be tempted to think that we cannot know what we cannot see, but in a perfectly true sense we never see our fellow-man: we see his manifestations; we see his outward appearance. we hear what he says; we notice what he does, and we infer from all this what his unseen character is like, what the man is in himself; so similarly and as surely we learn to know god. we see what he has done in nature and in history; we see what he is doing to-day; we read what he has conveyed to us for our instruction 'in sundry times and in divers manners'; and so we learn to listen for and to love 'the still small voice' in which he speaks to our hearts. one knowledge is as gradual and yet as sure and certain and logical as the other." _work in great cities_, bishop winnington ingram. manifestations of god october "it is human character or developed humanity that conducts us to our notion of the character divine.... in proportion as the mysteries of man's goodness unfold themselves to us, in that proportion do we obtain an insight into god's." j. b. mozley. "if you want your neighbour to know what the christ spirit will do for him, let him see what it has done for you." henry ward beecher. "when a man lives with god, his voice shall be as sweet as the murmur of the brook and the rustle of the corn." emerson. prayer october "'we do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies. o lord, hear; o lord, forgive; o lord, hearken and do.'--dan. ix. , . "every true prayer has its background and its foreground. the foreground of prayer is the intense, immediate desire for a certain blessing which seems to be absolutely necessary for the soul to have; the background of prayer is the quiet earnest desire that the will of god, whatever it may be, should be done. what a picture is the perfect prayer of jesus in gethsemane! in front burns the strong desire to escape death and to live; but, behind, there stands, calm and strong, the craving of the whole life for the doing of the will of god.... leave out the foreground--let there be no expression of the wish of him who prays--and there is left a pure submission which is almost fatalism. leave out the background--let there be no acceptance of the will of god--and the prayer is only an expression of self-will, a petulant claiming of the uncorrected choice of him who prays. only when the two, foreground and background, are there together,--the special desire resting on the universal submission, the universal submission opening into the special desire,--only then is the picture perfect and the prayer complete!" phillips brooks. prayer october "about prayer he said: 'the reason why men find it hard to regard prayer in the same light in which it was formerly regarded is that _we_ seem to know more of the unchangeableness of law. but i believe that god reveals himself in each individual soul. prayer is, to take a mundane simile, like opening a sluice between the great ocean and our little channels when the great sea gathers itself together and flows in at full tide.' 'prayer on our part is the highest aspiration of the soul.'" "a breath that fleets beyond this iron world and touches him who made it." "speak to him, thou, for he hears, and spirit with spirit can meet-- closer is he than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet." and "more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of." _tennyson--a memoir_, by his son. prayer october "there can be no objection to praying for certain special things. god forbid! i cannot help doing it, any more than a child in the dark can help calling for its mother. only it seems to me that when we pray, 'grant this day that we run into no kind of danger,' we ought to lay our stress on the 'run' rather than on the 'danger,' to ask god not to take away the danger by altering the course of nature, but to give us light and guidance whereby to avoid it." charles kingsley. "special prayer is based upon a fundamental instinct of our nature. and in the fellowship which is established in prayer between man and god, we are brought into personal union with him in whom all things have their being. "in this lies the possibility of boundless power; for when the connection is once formed, who can lay down the limits of what man can do in virtue of the communion of his spirit with the infinite spirit?" bishop westcott. prayer october "it is abundantly clear that answered prayer encourages faith and personal relations in a way which broad principles only cannot effect. as the _spectator_ put it many years ago, much that would be positively bad for us if given without prayer, is good if sent in answer. we feel (do we not?) that all the evil of the world springs from mistrust of god. nothing can recover us from this state of alienated unrest like answered prayer." _life of f. w. crossley_, rendel harris. "prayer will in time make the human countenance its own divinest altar; years upon years of true thoughts, like ceaseless music shut up within, will vibrate along the nerves of expression until the lines of the living instrument are drawn into correspondence, and the harmony of visible form matches the unheard harmonies of the mind." _the choir invisible_, james lane allen. prayer october "pray, till prayer makes you forget your own wish, and leave it or merge it in god's will. the divine wisdom has given us prayer, not as a means whereby to obtain the good things of earth, but as a means by which we learn to do without them; not as a means whereby we escape evil, but as a means whereby we become strong to meet it. 'there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.' this was the true reply to the prayer of christ." f. w. robertson. "never let us get into the common trick of calling unbelief--resignation; of asking, and then because we have not faith to believe, putting in a 'thy will be done' at the end. let us make god's will our will, and so say 'thy will be done.'" charles kingsley. prayer october "accustom yourself gradually to let your mental prayer spread over all your daily external occupations. speak, act, work quietly, as though you were praying, as indeed you ought to be. "do everything without excitement, simply in the spirit of grace. so soon as you perceive natural activity gliding in, recall yourself quietly into the presence of god. hearken to what the leadings of grace prompt, and say and do nothing but what god's holy spirit teaches. you will find yourself infinitely more quiet, your words will be fewer and more effectual, and while doing less, what you do will be more profitable. it is not a question of a hopeless mental activity, but a question of acquiring a quietude and peace in which you readily advise with your beloved as to all you have to do." fÉnÉlon. "a blessing such as this our hearts might reap, the freshness of the garden they might share, through the long day an heavenly freshness keep, if, knowing how the day and the day's glare must beat upon them, we would largely steep and water them betimes with dews of prayer." trench. self-examination october "it is my custom every night to run all over the words and actions of the past day; for why should i fear the sight of my errors when i can admonish and forgive myself? i was a little too hot in such a dispute: my opinion might have been as well spared, for it gave offence, and did no good at all. the thing was true; but all truths are not to be spoken at all times." seneca. resolves. "to try to be thoroughly poor in spirit, meek, and to be ready to be silent when others speak. "to learn from every one. "to try to feel my own insignificance. "to believe in myself and the powers with which i am entrusted. "to try to make conversation more useful, and therefore to store my mind with facts, but to guard against a wish to shine. "to try to despise the principle of the day 'every man his own trumpeter,' and to feel it a degradation to speak of my own doings, as a poor braggart. "to speak less of self and to think less. "to contend one by one against evil thoughts. "to try to fix my thoughts in prayer without distraction. "to watch over a growing habit of uncharitable judgment." _f. w. robertson's life._ confession of sin october "an immense quantity of modern confession of sin, even when honest, is merely a sickly egotism which will rather gloat over its own evil than lose the centralisation of its interest in itself." _ethics of the dust_, john ruskin. "the fit of low spirits which comes to us when we find ourselves overtaken in a fault, though we flatter ourselves to reckon it a certain sign of penitence, and a set-off to the sin itself which god will surely take into account, is often nothing more than vexation and annoyance with ourselves, that, after all our good resolutions and attempts at reformation, we have broken down again." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. "and be you sure that sorrow without resolute effort at amendment is one of the most contemptible of all human frailties; deserving to be despised by men, and certain to be rejected by god." bishop temple. morbid introspectiveness october "plainly there is one danger in all self-discipline which has to be most carefully watched and guarded against, that, namely, of valuing the means at the expense of the end, and so falling into either self-righteousness or formalism, and very probably into uncharitableness also. if we esteem our obedience to rule, and self-imposed restraints, for their own sake, we effectually destroy their power to train and elevate. i suppose this is the real mistake of a false asceticism, which sees the merit rather in the amount of discipline undergone than in the character and self-conquest to be gained by it." bishop walsham how. "... it is a clear view of higher motives, which at once reveals and defeats our meaner impulses; which assists the discipline of _proper_ self-searching, by making it healthy and hopeful; and resists any habit of morbid introspectiveness with its fatal tendency to paralyse activity of character." canon knox little. introspection october "beware of despairing about yourself." st. augustine. "any man who is good for anything, if he is always thinking about himself, will come to think himself good for nothing very soon. it is only a fop or a fool who can bear to look at himself all day long, without disgust. and so the first thing for a man to do, who wants to use his best powers at their best, is to get rid of self-consciousness, to stop thinking about himself and how he is working, altogether." phillips brooks. "on somehow. to go back were to lose all." tennyson. our true selves and our traditional selves october "i have sometimes thought that this facility of men in believing that they are still what they once meant to be--this undisturbed appropriation of a traditional character which is often but a melancholy relic of early resolutions, like the worn and soiled testimonial to soberness and honesty carried in the pocket of a tippler whom the need of a dram has driven into peculation--may sometimes diminish the turpitude of what seems a flat, barefaced falsehood. it is notorious that a man may go on uttering false assertions about his own acts till he at last believes in them: is it not possible that sometimes in the very first utterance there may be a shade of creed-reciting belief, a reproduction of a traditional self which is clung to against all evidence? there is no knowing all the disguises of the lying serpent. "when we come to examine in detail what is the sane mind in the sane body, the final test of completeness seems to be a security of distinction between what we have professed and what we have done; what we have aimed at and what we have achieved; what we have invented and what we have witnessed or had evidenced to us; what we think and feel in the present and what we thought and felt in the past." george eliot. un-self-consciousness october "an unconscious, easy, selfish person shocks less and is more easily loved than one who is laboriously and egotistically unselfish. there is at least no fuss about the first; but the other parades his sacrifices, and so sells his favours too dear. selfishness is calm, a force of nature: you might say the trees are selfish. but egoism is a piece of vanity; it must always take you into its confidence; it is uneasy, troublesome, searching; it can do good, but not handsomely; it is uglier, because less dignified, than selfishness itself." "if a man has self-surrender pressed incessantly upon him, this keeps the idea of self ever before his view. christ does not cry down _self_, but he puts it out of a man's sight by giving him something better to care for, something which shall take full and rightful possession of his soul. the apostles, without ever having any consciousness of sacrificing self, were brought into a habit of self-sacrifice by merging all thoughts for themselves in devotion to a master and a cause, and in thinking what they could do to serve it themselves." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. un-self-consciousness october "think as little as possible about any good in yourself; turn your eyes resolutely from any view of your acquirement, your influence, your plan, your success, your following: above all, speak as little as possible about yourself. the inordinateness of our self-love makes speech about ourselves like the putting of the lighted torch to the dried wood which has been laid in order for the burning. nothing but duty should open our lips upon this dangerous theme, except it be in humble confession of our sinfulness before our god. again, be specially upon the watch against those little tricks by which the vain man seeks to bring round the conversation to himself, and gain the praise or notice which the thirsty ears drink in so greedily; and even if praise comes unsought, it is well, whilst men are uttering it, to guard yourself by thinking of some secret cause for humbling yourself inwardly to god; thinking into what these pleasant accents would be changed if all that is known to god, and even to yourself, stood suddenly revealed to man." bishop wilberforce. "those who have never sought to attain true humility ... have yet to learn how it lies at the root of all our dear lord's teaching.... the first step towards the inner life is to attain a childlike spirit in heavenly things.... it is solely god's gift." grou. love the destroyer of sin october "it is quite idle, by force of will, to seek to empty the angry passions out of our life. who has not made a thousand resolutions in this direction, only and with unutterable mortification to behold them dashed to pieces with the first temptation? the soul is to be made sweet not by taking the acidulous fluids out, but by putting something in--a great love, god's great love. this is to work a chemical change upon them, to renovate and regenerate them, to dissolve them in its own rich fragrant substance. if a man let this into his life, his cure is complete; if not, it is hopeless." _the ideal life_, henry drummond. "the secret of success consists not in the habit of making numerous resolutions about various faults and sins, but in one great, absorbing, controlling purpose to serve god and do his will! if this be the controlling motive of life, all other motives will be swept into the force of its mighty current and guided aright." love the destroyer of sin october "for the most of us the more hopeful plan is to overcome our passions by thinking of something else. this something else need by no means be a serious thing. for it happens sometimes that ideas that do not soar above trivialities may nevertheless have sent down such roots into a man's life, and become so fruitful of suggestion, that they prove more effective allies than more imposing and pretentious resources. whence it comes that a sport, or a pastime, have before now weaned many from cares and sorrows which seemed proof against even the consolations of religion. be it granted that, severely construed, this is a proof of the frivolity of human nature. but it is none the less an illustration of the expulsive power of ideas." _the making of character_, professor maccunn. "he proposed to make sin impossible by replacing it with love. if sin be an act of self-will, each person making himself the centre, then love is the destruction of sin, because love connects instead of isolating. no one can be envious, avaricious, hard-hearted; no one can be gross, sensual, unclean, if he loves. love is the death of all bitter and unholy moods of the soul, because love lifts the man out of himself and teaches him to live in another." _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. mental hygiene october "it is poor strategy to wage against evil feelings or propulsions a war of mere repression. we have seen that this is so in educational control of others. it is not less so in control of ourselves. if we would really oust our evil proclivities, we must cultivate others that are positively good. it is not enough to hate our failings or our vices with a perfect hatred. we must love something else. in other words, we must contrive to open mind and heart to tenants in whose presence unwelcome intruders, unable to find a home, will torment us only for a season and at last take their departure. 'there is a mental just as much as a bodily hygiene.'" _the making of character_, professor maccunn. "moses said, 'do this or do that.' jesus refrained from regulations--he proposed that we should love. jesus, while hardly mentioning the word, planted the idea in his disciples' minds, that love was law. for three years he exhibited and enforced love as the principle of life, until, before he died, they understood that all duty to god and man was summed up in love. progress in the moral world is ever from complexity to simplicity. first one hundred duties; afterwards they are gathered into ten commandments; then they are reduced to two: love of god and love of man; and, finally, jesus says his last word: 'this is my commandment, that ye love one another, as i have loved you.'" _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. "as night enters, darkness departs" october "if sin be a principle in a man's life, then it is evident that it cannot be affected by the most pathetic act in history exhibited from without; it must be met by an opposite principle working from within. if sin be selfishness, as jesus taught, then it can only be overcome by the introduction of a spirit of self-renunciation. jesus did not denounce sin: negative religion is always impotent. he replaced sin by virtue, which is a silent revolution. as the light enters, the darkness departs, and as soon as one renounced himself, he had ceased from sin." _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. "'why could not we cast him out?' "let his love fill you with love, and then the conquering of your sins by his help shall be in its course one long enthusiasm and at the end a glorious success. that is your hope; and that hope, if you will, you may seize to-day." phillips brooks. stepping-stones october "the block of granite which was an obstacle in the pathway of the weak, becomes a stepping-stone in the pathway of the strong." carlyle. "out of difficulties grow miracles." "i hold it truth with him who sings to one clear harp in divers tones, that men may rise on stepping stones of their dead selves to higher things." tennyson. "why wilt thou defer thy good purpose from day to day? arise and begin this very instant, and say, 'now is the time to be doing, now is the time to be striving, now is the fit time to amend myself.'" thomas À kempis. never lose a battle october "a fourth maxim is 'never if possible to lose a battle.' and none can be sounder. for it is always to be remembered that a single lapse involves here something worse than a simple failure. the alternative is not between good habit or no habit, but between good habit and bad. for, as professor bain points out, the characteristic difficulty here lies in the fact that in the moral life rival tendencies are in constant competition for mastery over us. the loss of a battle here is therefore worse than a defeat. it strengthens the enemy, whether this enemy be some powerful passion, or nothing more than the allurements of an easy life. it has worse effects still. for if by persistence in well-doing we all of us create a moral tradition for our individual selves, so do we by every failure hang in the memory a humiliating and paralysing record of defeat." _the making of character_, professor maccunn. "if one surrender himself to jesus, and is crucified on his cross, there is no sin he will not overcome, no service he will not render, no virtue to which he will not attain." _the mind of the master_, dr. john watson. living in the present october "be not anxious about to-morrow. do to-day's duty, fight to-day's temptation, and do not weaken and distract yourself by looking forward to things which you cannot see, and could not understand, if you saw them." charles kingsley. "do not disturb thyself by thinking of the whole of thy life. let not thy thoughts at once embrace all the various troubles which thou mayest expect to befall thee: but on every occasion ask thyself, what is there in this which is intolerable and past bearing? for thou wilt be ashamed to confess. in the next place remember that neither the future nor the past pains thee, but only the present. but this is reduced to a very little, if thou only circumscribest it, and chidest thy mind, if it is unable to hold out against even this." marcus aurelius. "finish every day and be done with it. you have done what you could. some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. to-morrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense. this day is all that is good and fair. it is too dear, with its hopes and invitations, to waste a moment on the yesterdays." emerson. day by day october "by trying to take in the idea of life as a whole we only give ourselves mental indigestion; a day at a time is as much as a man can healthily swallow." edna lyall. "think that this day will never dawn again. the heavens are calling you and wheel around you, displaying to you their eternal beauties, and still your eye is looking on the ground." _the divine comedy_, dante. "to-day is a king in disguise: let us unmask the king as he passes." emerson. day by day october "lo, here hath been dawning another blue day; think, wilt thou let it slip useless away!" carlyle. "the perfection of moral character consists in this, in passing every day as the last, and in being neither violently excited, nor torpid, nor playing the hypocrite." marcus aurelius. "when night comes, list thy deeds; make plain the way 'twixt heaven and thee; block it not with delays: but perfect all before thou sleep'st; then say, 'there's one sun more strung on my bead of days.' what's good store up for joy, the bad, well scann'd, wash off with tears, and get thy master's hand." henry vaughan. gaining or losing ground october "gaining or losing all the time is our condition, morally and spiritually. we cannot stand utterly still. if we are not improving we are losing ground. outside forces compel that, in addition to the forces that are working within. we are pressing forward and being helped in that direction, or we are being pressed backward and are yielding to that pressure. let us not deceive ourselves with the idea that even though we are making no progress we are at least holding our own. we can no more stand still than time can." "whose high endeavours are an inward light, that makes the path before him always bright. "and through the heat of conflict, keeps the law in calmness made, and sees what he foresaw. "who, not content that former worth stand fast, looks forward persevering to the last, from well to better, daily self-surpassed." _the happy warrior_, wordsworth. pressing forward october "plutarch records that when simonides offered to teach themistocles the art of memory the latter said: 'teach me rather the art of forgetting.' how much the world needs to learn that art. paul spoke of forgetting the things that are behind. we should forget our mistakes and failures, so far as these cause discouragement. we should forget our successes if they cause pride or preoccupy the mind. we should forget the slights that have been put upon us or the insults that have been given us. to remember these is to be weak and miserable, if not worse. he who says he can forgive but he cannot forget is deceived by the sound of words. forgiveness that is genuine involves forgetfulness of the injury. true forgiveness means a putting away of the wrong behind the back and remembering it no more. that is what god does when he forgives, and that is what we all must do if we truly forgive." "... it is wise to forget past errors. there is a kind of temperament which, when indulged, greatly hinders growth in real godliness. it is that rueful, repentant, self-accusing temper, which is always looking back, and microscopically observing how that which is done might have been better done. something of this we ought to have. a christian ought to feel always that he has partially failed, but that ought not to be the only feeling. faith ought ever to be a sanguine, cheerful thing; and perhaps in practical life we could not give a better account of faith than by saying, that it is, amidst much failure, having the heart to _try again_. our best deeds are marked by imperfection; but if they really were our best, 'forget the things that are behind'--we shall do better next time." f. w. robertson. the evil of brooding november "throughout the gospel history we discern our lord's care to keep men in a fit condition to serve god by active work. all that would impair their efficiency is to be shunned. now, to repine and brood over some past error cuts the sinews of action; from this the apostles therefore are always diverted, and they are to be watchful to prevent others from sinking into dejection and folding their hands in despair. a man who is hopeless has no heart for work, but when he is so far encouraged as to be able to exert himself his despondency soon disappears." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. "disappointment should always be taken as a stimulant, and never viewed as a discouragement." c. b. newcomb. "i always loved 'at evening time it shall be light,' and i am sure it comes true to many a young troubled soul, which in its youthful zeal and impatience cannot help eating its heart out over its own and other people's failings and imperfections, and has not yet learnt the patience which comes from realising that in this world we see but the beginning of things." aspiration november "if a man constantly aspires, is he not elevated?" thoreau. "the thing we long for,--that we are for one transcendent moment! before the present, poor and bare, can make its sneering comment! * * * * * longing is god's fresh heavenward will with our poor earthward striving; we quench it that we may be still content with merely living; but would we learn that heart's full scope which we are hourly wronging, our lives must climb from hope to hope and realise our longing! * * * * * ah! let us hope that to our praise good god not only reckons the moments when we tread his ways, but when the spirit beckons-- that some slight good is also wrought beyond self-satisfaction, when we are simply good in thought, howe'er we fail in action." lowell. there shall never be one lost good november "therefore to whom turn i but to thee, the ineffable name? builder and maker, thou, of houses not made with hands! what, have fear of change from thee who art ever the same? doubt that thy power can fill the heart that thy power expands? there shall never be one lost good! what was shall live as before; the evil is null, is nought, is silence implying sound; what was good, shall be good, with, for evil, so much good more; on the earth the broken arcs; in the heaven a perfect round. all we have willed or hoped or dreamed of good, shall exist, not its semblance, but itself; no beauty, nor good, nor power whose voice has gone forth, but each survives for the melodist, when eternity confirms the conception of an hour. the high that proved too high, the heroic for earth too hard, the passion that left the ground to lose itself in the sky, are music sent up to god by the lover and the bard; enough that he heard it once; we shall hear it by-and-bye." _abt vogler_, robert browning. struggling november "if what shone afar so grand turn to nothing in thy hand, on again, the virtue lies in the struggle, not the prize." r. m. milnes. "one would like one's own failures to be one's friends' stepping stones.... i am trying to teach myself that if one _has_ been working, one has not necessarily been working to good purpose, and that one may waste strength and forces of all sorts, as well as time." _mrs. ewing's letters._ "rise ... as children learn, be thou wiser for falling." tennyson. true patience november "there are those who think it is christian patience to sit down by the wayside to endure the storm, crying in themselves, 'god is hard on me, but i will bear his smiting'; but their endurance is only idleness which is ignoble, and hiding from the battle which is cowardice. or they cry, 'i am the victim of fate, but i will be patient'--as if any one could be a victim if god be love, or as if there were such a thing as blind fate, when the order of the world is to lead men into righteousness; when to be victor and not victim is the main word of that order. no, the severity of the battle is to force us into self-forgetfulness; and this lazy resignation, this wailing patience, is mere self-remembrance. the true patience is activity of faith and hope and righteousness in the cause of men for the sake of god's love of them; is in glad proclamation of the gospel; is in wielding the sword of the truth of god against all that injures mankind." _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. "wise men ne'er sit and wail their loss, but cheerly seek how to redress their harms. what though the mast be now blown overboard, the cable broke, the holding anchor lost, and half our sailors swallowed in the flood-- yet lives our pilot still." shakespeare. the appetite for condolence november "it is right to exercise a great deal of self-restraint in speaking of our troubles, and not to let the appetite for condolence grow on us." _studies in the christian character_, bishop paget. "carlyle says, 'my father had one virtue which i should try to imitate--he never spoke of what was disagreeable and past,' and my mother was the same; she turned her back at once upon the last months, which she put away for ever like a sealed volume." _the story of my life_, augustus hare. "hacket's motto, 'serve god and be cheerful.'" "the sharp ferule of calamity" november "it is to keep a man awake, to keep him alive to his own soul and its fixed design of righteousness, that the better part of moral and religious education is directed; not only that of words and doctors, but the sharp ferule of calamity under which we are all god's scholars till we die." _the life of r. l. stevenson_, graham balfour. "the best help is not to bear the troubles of others for them, but to inspire them with courage and energy to bear their burdens for themselves and meet the difficulties of life bravely." lord avebury. the essentials of happiness november "we weigh ourselves down with burdens of sorrow which are the results of our selfish thoughts and selfish desires; and every one of these burdens lessens our power to live righteously in ourselves, and to live usefully for others." _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. "when you find yourself overpowered, as it were by melancholy, the best way is to go out, and do something kind to somebody or other." _letters of spiritual counsel_, keble. "the grand essentials of happiness are, something to do, something to love, and something to hope for." chalmers. "happiness is easy when we have learnt to renounce." mme. de staËl. unrest november "self-interest is but the survival of the animal in us. humanity only begins for man with self-surrender." _amiel's journal._ "what are the chief causes of _unrest_? if you know yourself, you will answer pride, selfishness, ambition. as you look back upon the past years of your life, is it not true that its unhappiness has chiefly come from the succession of personal mortifications and almost trivial disappointments which the intercourse of life has brought you? great trials come at lengthened intervals, and we rise to breast them; but it is the petty friction of our everyday life with one another, the jar of business or of work, the discord of the domestic circle, the collapse of our ambition, the crossing of our will, the taking down of our conceit, which make inward peace impossible. wounded vanity, then, disappointed hopes, unsatisfied selfishness--these are the old, vulgar, universal sources of man's unrest." _pax vobiscum_, henry drummond. rest november "now, what is the first step towards the winning of that rest? it is the giving up of self-will and the receiving of god's will as our own--and what that means is clear. it is to make our life at one with god's character, with justice and purity, with truth and love, with mercy and joy. it is the surrender of our own pleasure and the making of god's desire for us the master of our life. that is the first step--a direction of the soul to god. the second has to do with mankind. it is the replacing of all self-love by the love of our fellow-men; a direction of the soul to god through man. "these two ways are in reality one; and there is no other way, if we search the whole world over, in which we may attain rest. simple as it sounds, it is the very last way many of us seek. we fight against this truth, and it has to be beaten into us by pain. clear as it seems, it is a secret which is as difficult to discover as the elixir of life, but it is so difficult because we do not will to discover it." _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. the duty of happiness november "i cannot think but that the world would be better and brighter if our teachers would dwell on the duty of happiness as well as the happiness of duty." lord avebury. "reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has many; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some." dickens. "half the world is on the wrong scent in the pursuit of happiness. they think it consists in having and getting, and in being served by others. it consists in giving and in serving others." henry drummond. discontent november "he or she that is idle, be they of what condition they will, never so rich, so well allied, fortunate, happy--let them have all things in abundance and felicity that heart can wish and desire,--all contentment--so long as he, or she, or they are idle, they shall never be pleased, never well in mind or body, but weary still, sickly still, vexed still, loathing still, weeping, sighing, grieving, suspecting, offended with the world, with every object, wishing themselves gone or dead, or else carried away with some foolish phantasy or other." burton. "we are never more discontented with others than when we are discontented with ourselves. the consciousness of wrong-doing makes us irritable, and our heart in its cunning quarrels with what is outside it, in order that it may deafen the clamour within." _amiel's journal._ "look within. within is the fountain of good, and it will ever bubble up, if thou wilt ever dig." marcus aurelius. self-centred people november "it is self-centred people that are lonely--the richer the gift, the richer the giver. no one was ever the worse for giving." f. f. montrÉsor. "misanthropy is always traceable to some vicious experience or imperception--to some false reading in the lore of right and wrong, or it proceeds from positive defects in ourselves, from a departure from things simple and pure, whereby we forfeit happiness without losing the sense of the proper basis on which it rests; yet even thus perverted by the prejudices of the world, we still find a soothing pleasure in contemplating that happiness which belongs to simplicity and virtue." acton. "the largest and most comprehensive natures are generally the most cheerful, the most loving, the most hopeful, the most trustful. it is the wise man, of large vision, who is the quickest to discern the moral sunshine gleaming through the darkest cloud." contentment november "contentment comes neither by culture nor by wishing; it is reconciliation with our lot, growing out of an inward superiority to our surroundings." j. k. mclean. "if you wish to be miserable, think about yourself, about what you want, what you like, what respect people ought to pay you; and then to you nothing will be pure. you will spoil everything you touch, you will make misery for yourself out of everything which god sends you: you will be as wretched as you choose." charles kingsley. "do not let your head run upon that which is none of your own, but pick out some of the best of your circumstances, and consider how eagerly you would wish for them, were they not in your possession." marcus aurelius. contentment november "man seeks pleasure and self--great unforeseen results follow. man seeks god and others--and there follows pleasure." arnold toynbee. "the true felicity of life is to be free from perturbations; to understand our duties towards god and man; to enjoy the present without any serious dependence upon the future. not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears, but to rest satisfied with what we have. the great blessings of mankind are within our reach; but we shut our eyes, and, like people in the dark, we fall foul upon the very thing we search for, without finding it. tranquillity is the state of human perfection, it raises us as high as we can go, and makes every man his own supporter; whereas he that is borne up by anything else may fall. he that judges right and perseveres in it, enjoys a perpetual calm; he takes a true prospect of things; he observes an order, measure, a decorum in all his actions; he has a benevolence in his nature; and squares his life according to reason, and draws to himself love and admiration. without a certain and unchangeable judgment, all the rest is but fluctuation. liberty and serenity of mind must necessarily ensue upon the mastering of those things which either allure or affright us, when, instead of those flashy pleasures we shall find ourselves possessed of joys transporting and everlasting." seneca. "nothing can bring you peace but yourself, nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principle." emerson. discontent november "discontent is want of self-reliance; it is infirmity of will." emerson. "to repel one's cross is to make it heavier." _amiel's journal._ "she had that rare sense which discerns what is unalterable; and submits to it without murmuring." george eliot. "but for me, what good i see, humbly i seek to do, and live obedient to the law, in trust that what will come and shall come, must come well." _the light of asia_, e. arnold. magnifying troubles november "another weight is the cares of life. we keep so many which we might shake off, that it is more than pitiful. we encourage fears for our life, our future, our wealth, till all our days are harassed out of peace, till the very notion of trust in god is an absurdity. we waste life away in petty details, spending infinite trouble on transient things, magnifying the gnats of life into elephants, tormenting ourselves and others over household disturbances, children, servants, little losses, foolish presentiments, our state of health, our finances,--till every one around us is infected with our disease of fret and worry. this is indeed to weight our soul. our life with god, our work for man, are dragged to earth." _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. "i pack my troubles in as little compass as i can for myself, and never let them annoy others." southey. bearing trouble november "once open the door to trouble, and its visits are three-fold; first, anticipation; second, in actual presence; third, in living it over again. therefore never anticipate trouble, make as little of its presence as possible, forget it as soon as past." "it is better to employ our minds in bearing the ills we have, than in providing against those which may never befall us." la rochefoucauld. "let us be of good cheer, remembering that the misfortunes hardest to bear are those which never come." lowell. "if you want to be cheerful, jes' set yer mind on it an' do it. can't none of us help what traits we start out in life with, but we kin help what we end up with. when things first got to goin' wrong with me, i says, 'oh, lord, whatever comes, keep me from gettin' sour.'... since then i've made it a practice to put all my worries down in the bottom of my heart, then set on the lid an' smile." _lovey mary_, alice hegan rice. the secret of the joy of living november "we live not in our moments or our years-- the present we fling from us like the rind of some sweet future, which we after find bitter to taste, or bind that in with fears, and water it beforehand with our tears-- vain tears for that which never may arrive: meanwhile the joy whereby we ought to live, neglected or unheeded, disappears. wiser it were to welcome and make ours whate'er of good, tho' small, the present brings-- kind greetings, sunshine, song of birds, and flowers, with a child's pure delight in little things; and of the griefs unborn to rest secure, knowing that mercy ever will endure." archbishop trench. "the secret of the joy of living is the proper appreciation of what we actually possess." causes of thankfulness november "i sleep, i eat and drink, i read and meditate, i walk in my neighbour's pleasant fields, and see the varieties of natural beauties, and delight in all that in which god delights--that is, in virtue and wisdom, in the whole creation, and in god himself. and he that hath so many causes of joy, and so great, is very much in love with sorrow and peevishness, who loses all these pleasures, and chooses to sit down upon his little handful of thorns." jeremy taylor. "where much is given, much shall be required. there are never privileges to enjoy without corresponding duties to fulfil in return." phillips brooks. "thou that hast given so much to me, give one thing more--a grateful heart." george herbert. causes of thankfulness november on leaving a home for incurables "it didn't seem much to be able to walk away, to look back, to remember what we had seen; and yet how is it that we are not on our knees in gratitude and thankfulness for every active motion of the body, every word we speak, every intelligent experience and interest that passes through our minds?" miss thackeray. "nothing raises the price of a blessing like its removal; whereas, it was its continuance which should have taught us its value." hannah more. "o god, animate us to cheerfulness! may we have a joyful sense of our blessings, learn to look on the bright circumstances of our lot, and maintain a perpetual contentedness." channing. grumbling november "his eyes were bright with intelligence and trained powers of observation; and they were beautiful with kindliness, and with the well-bred habit of giving complete attention to other people and their affairs when he talked with them. he had a rare smile ... but the real beauty of such mouths as his comes from the lips being restrained into firm and sensitive lines, through years of self-control and fine sympathies.... under-bred and ill-educated women are, as a general rule, much less good-looking than well-bred and highly-educated ones, especially in middle life; not because good features and pretty complexions belong to one class more than to another, but because nicer personal habits and stricter discipline of the mind do.... and if, into the bargain, a woman has nothing to talk about but her own and her neighbour's everyday affairs, and nothing to think about to keep her from continually talking, life, my dear child, is so full of little rubs, that constant chatter of this kind must almost certainly be constant grumbling. and constant grumbling makes an ugly under-lip, a forehead wrinkled with frowning, and dull eyes that see nothing but grievances." _a bad habit_, mrs. ewing. grumbling november "cultivate the habit of never putting disagreeables into words, even if it be only the weather which is in question; also of never drawing other people's attention to words or things which will irritate them." lucy soulsby. "a cucumber is bitter--throw it away.--there are briars in the road--turn aside from them.--this is enough. do not add, and why were such things made in the world?" marcus aurelius. "patience under adverse circumstances will often bring about favourable results, while complaint only accentuates and fixes the cause of complaint. avoid mention of the disagreeable things that may come into your life. if you cannot be patient you can at least be silent. the secret of success lies not so much in knowing what to say as in what to avoid saying." grumbling november "if you have not slept, or if you have slept, or if you have a headache, or sciatica, or leprosy, or thunder-stroke, i beseech you by all the angels to hold your peace, and not pollute the morning, to which all the housemates bring serene and pleasant thoughts, by corruptions and groans." emerson. "walk thy way greatly! so do thou endure thy small, thy narrow, dwarfed and cankered life, that soothing patience shall be half the cure for ills that lesser souls keep sore with strife." c. greene. "our personal interests, by the force of their importunity, exclude all larger sympathies if these are not already matured before the conflict begins. in the press of the world we lose sight of life, if the life is not within us." bishop westcott. grumblers november "there is a sect, unfortunately known to most in this land, under the denomination of grumblers, whose fundamental maxim is--whatever is, is wrong. wherever they are found, and they are found almost everywhere, they operate as a social poison; and though they contrive to embitter the enjoyments of everybody about them, they perpetually assume that themselves are the only aggrieved persons, and with such art as to be believed, till thoroughly known. they have often some excellent qualities, and the appearance of many amiable ones; but rank selfishness is their chief characteristic, accompanied by inordinate pride and vanity. they have a habit of laying the consequences of their own sins, whether of omission or of commission, upon others; and, covered with faults, they flatter themselves they 'walk blameless.' where their selfishness, pride, or vanity are interested, they exhibit signs of boundless zeal, attention, and affection, to which those who are not aware of their motives, are the dupes; but the very moment their predominant feelings are offended, they change from april to december. they have smiles and tears at command for their holiday humour; but in 'the winter of their discontent,' there is no safety from the bitterest blasts. their grievances are seldom real, or if real, are grossly exaggerated, and are generally attributed to themselves; for, absorbed in their own feelings, they are wonderful losers of opportunities. in conclusion, i think it would be for their advantage, as it certainly would be for that of the rest of the world, if they were made subject to some severe discipline; and i would suggest for the first, second, and third offence, bread and water and the treadmill, for one, two, and three months respectively; for the fourth offence, transportation for seven years to boothia felix, or some such climate; and any subsequent delinquency i would make capital, and cause the criminal to be shut up with some offender in equal degree, there to grumble each other to death." _the original_, thomas walker. cheerfulness november "'tis a dutch proverb that 'paint costs nothing,' such are its preserving qualities in damp climates. well, sunshine costs less, yet is finer pigment. and so of cheerfulness, or a good temper, the more it is spent, the more of it remains." emerson. "mirth is like a flash of lightning that breaks through a gloom of clouds and glitters for a moment. cheerfulness keeps up a kind of daylight in the mind and fills it with a steady and perpetual serenity." addison. "always laugh when you can; it is a cheap medicine. merriment is a philosophy not well understood. it is the sunny side of existence." byron. "fortune will call at the smiling gate." japanese proverb. humour november "the sense of humour is the oil of life's engine. without it, the machinery creaks and groans. no lot is so hard, no aspect of things is so grim, but it relaxes before a hearty laugh." g. s. merriam. "it was a novel with a purpose, and its purpose was to show that it is only by righteousness that men and nations prevail; also that there is much that is humorous in life as well as much that is holy, and that healing virtue lies in laughter as well as in prayers and tears." _isabel carnaby_, ellen thorneycroft fowler. "i dare not tell you how high i rate humour, which is generally most fruitful in the highest and most solemn human spirits. dante is full of it, shakespeare, cervantes, and almost all the greatest have been pregnant with this glorious power. you will find it even in the gospel of christ." _tennyson--a memoir_, by his son. humour november "gird up the loins of your mind, be sober." peter i. . "a merry heart doeth good like a medicine." prov. xvii. . "gravity ... i mean simply that grave and serious way of looking at life which, while it never repels the true light-heartedness of pure and trustful hearts, welcomes into a manifest sympathy the souls of men who are oppressed and burdened, anxious and full of questions which for the time at least have banished all laughter from their faces.... gravity has a delicate power of discrimination. it attracts all that it can help, and it repels all that could harm it or be harmed by it. it admits the earnest and simple with a cordial welcome. it shuts out the impertinent and insincere inexorably. "the gravity of which i speak is not inconsistent with the keenest perception of the ludicrous side of things. it is more than consistent with--it is even necessary to--humour. humour involves the perception of the true proportions of life.... it has softened the bitterness of controversy a thousand times. you cannot encourage it too much. you cannot grow too familiar with the books of all ages which have in them the truest humour, for the truest humour is the bloom of the highest life. read george eliot and thackeray, and, above all, shakespeare. they will help you to keep from extravagances without fading into insipidity. they will preserve your gravity while they save you from pompous solemnity." phillips brooks. beauties of nature november "there are few of us that are not rather ashamed of our sins and follies as we look out on the blessed morning sunlight, which comes to us like a bright-winged angel beckoning us to quit the old path of vanity that stretches its dreary length behind us." george eliot. "that man is blessed who every day is permitted to behold anything so pure and serene as the western sky at sunset, while revolutions vex the world." thoreau. "so then believe that every bird that sings, and every flower that stars the elastic sod, and every thought the happy summer brings to the pure spirit is a word of god." coleridge. sense of the beautiful november "no man receives the true culture of a man in whom the sensibility to the beautiful is not cherished; and i know of no condition in life from which it should be excluded. of all luxuries this is cheapest and the most to hand; and it seems to me to be the most important to those conditions where coarse labour tends to give a grossness to the mind. from the diffusion of the sense of beauty in ancient greece, and of the taste for music in modern germany, we learn that the people at large may partake of refined gratifications which have hitherto been thought to be necessarily restricted to a few." channing. "music--there is something very wonderful in music. words are wonderful enough, but music is more wonderful. it speaks not to our thoughts as words do, it speaks straight to our hearts and spirits, to the very core and root of our souls. music soothes us, stirs us up; it puts noble feelings into us; it melts us to tears, we know not how; it is a language by itself, just as perfect, in its way, as speech, as words; just as divine, just as blessed. music has been called the speech of angels; i will go farther, and call it the speech of god himself. "the old greeks, the wisest of all the heathen, made a point of teaching their children music, because, they said, it taught them not to be self-willed and fanciful, but to see the beauty of order, the usefulness of rule, the divineness of law." _good news of god sermons_, charles kingsley. the gospel of beauty december "beauty is far too much neglected. it never belongs to criticism; it ought by right to be always bound up with creation. what it is, is hard to define; but, whenever anything in nature or in the thoughts and doings of man awakens a noble desire of seeing more of it; kindles pure love of it; seems to open out before us an infinite of it which allures us into an endless pursuit; stimulates reverence, and makes the heart leap with joy--there is beauty, and with it always is imagination, the shaping power. "the capacity for seeing beauty with the heart is one of the first necessities for such a life in a living world as i now urge upon you. when you see it, you always see more and more of it. and the more you see it, the more love and reverence you will feel in your heart; and the less you will care to criticise, and the more you will care to create. the world needs it now, and the glory of it, more almost than anything else, for nearly all the world has lost the power of seeing it. the monied men want it; the scientific men want it; the artists themselves have of late betrayed it; the business men want it. the middle-class and the aristocracy are almost destitute of it; the working men abide in conditions in which its outward forms are absent. to give them the power to see all that is lovely in nature, in human thought, in art, and in the noble acts of men--that is a great part of your work, and you should realise it, and shape it day by day." _the gospel of joy_, stopford brooke. nature december "to the body and mind which have been cramped by noxious work or company, nature is medicinal, and restores their tone. the tradesman, the attorney, comes out of the din and craft of the street, and sees the sky and the woods, and is a man again. in their eternal calm, he finds himself." emerson. "nature is loved by what is best in us." emerson. "rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under the trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means waste of time." lord avebury. nature december "the unobtrusive influences of earth, sea, and sky do their work. they pass imperceptibly and unsought into the soul." "... outdoor sights sweep gradual gospels in." "bid me work, but may no tie keep me from the open sky" (barnes). _the making of character_, professor maccunn. "the cheerfulness of heart which springs up in us from the survey of nature's works, is an admirable preparation for gratitude. the mind has gone a great way towards praise and thanksgiving that is filled with such a secret gladness: a grateful reflection on the supreme cause who produces it, sanctifies the soul, and gives it its proper value. such an habitual disposition of mind consecrates every field and wood, turns an ordinary walk into a morning or evening sacrifice, and will improve those transient gleams of joy, which naturally brighten up and refresh the soul on such occasions, into an inviolable and perpetual state of bliss and happiness." addison. holidays december "there are only two rules for a successful holiday; the first is to earn it, the second is to have just enough holiday to make the prospect of work pleasant. periods of rest we all need, but labour and not rest is the synonym of life. from these periods of rest we should return with a new appetite for the duties of common life. if we return dissatisfied, enervated, without heart for work, we may be sure our holiday has been a failure. if we return with the feeling that it is good to plunge into the mid-stream of life again, we may know by this sign that we are morally braced and strengthened by our exodus. the wise man will never allow his holiday to be a time of mere idleness. he will turn again to the books that interest him, he will touch the fringe of some science for which his holiday gives him opportunity, or he will plunge into physical recreation, and shake off the evil humours of the body in active exercise. the failure of holidays lies very much in the fact that nothing of this sort is attempted. the holiday is simply a series of aimless days, and the natural result is _ennui_. the supreme purpose of a holiday should be to regain possession of ourselves. he who does this comes back from his holiday as from a sanctuary." w. j. dawson. books december "but what strange art, what magic can dispose the troubled mind to change its native woes? or lead us willing from ourselves, to see others more wretched, more undone than we? this, books can do;--nor this alone, they give new views to life, and teach us how to live; they soothe the grieved, the stubborn they chastise, fools they admonish, and confirm the wise: their aid they yield to all: they never shun the man of sorrow, nor the wretch undone: unlike the hard, the selfish and the proud, they fly not sullen from the suppliant crowd; nor tell to various people various things, but show to subjects, what they show to kings." _the library_, crabbe. books december "narrowness may be met by recourse to the larger life revealed in literature. there is no stronger plea for biography, drama, or romance, or for any imaginative expansion of interests, than that founded upon the need for them as counteractives of the pitiable contractedness of outlook begotten of division of labour." _the making of character_, professor maccunn. "when i consider what some books have done for the world, and what they are doing, how they keep up our hope, awaken new courage and faith, soothe pain, give an ideal life to those whose hours are cold and hard, bind together distant ages and foreign lands, create new worlds of beauty, bring down truth from heaven; i give eternal blessings for this gift, and thank god for books." james freeman clarke. reading december "reading furnishes the mind only with materials of knowledge; it is thinking makes what we read ours. we are of the ruminating kind, and it is not enough to cram ourselves with a great load of collections; unless we chew them over again they will not give us strength and nourishment." locke. "in the course of our reading we should lay up in our minds a store of goodly thoughts in well-wrought words, which should be a living treasure of knowledge always with us, and from which, at various times, and amidst all the shifting of circumstances, we might be sure of drawing some comfort, guidance, and sympathy." helps. the object of education december "we shall be agreed, i assume, that the object of education is to train for life, and not for a special occupation; to train the whole man for all life, for life seen and unseen, for the unseen through the seen and in the seen; to train _men_ in a word and not _craftsmen_, to train citizens for the kingdom of god. as we believe in god and the world to come, these must be master thoughts. "we shall be agreed further that with this object in view, education must be so ordered as to awaken, to call into play, to develop, to direct, to strengthen powers of sense and intellect and spirit, not of one but of all: to give alertness and accuracy to observation: to supply fulness and precision to language: to arouse intelligent sympathy with every form of study and occupation: to set the many parts and aspects of the world before the growing scholar in their unity: to open the eyes of the heart to the eternal of which the temporal is the transitory sign. "we shall be agreed again that the elements of restraint alike and of personal development which enter into education will be used to harmonise the social and individual instincts, and to inspire the young, when impressions are most easy and most enduring, with the sense of fellowship and the passion for service. "we shall be agreed once more that the noblest fruit of education is character, and not acquirements: character which makes the simplest life rich and beneficent, character which for a christian is determined by a true vision of god, _of whom, through whom, unto whom, are all things_." _christian social union addresses_, bishop westcott. the object of education december "the entire object of true education is to make people not merely _do_ the right things, but enjoy the right things--not merely industrious, but to love industry--not merely learned, but to love knowledge--not merely pure, but to love purity--not merely just, but to hunger and thirst after justice." _the crown of wild olive_, john ruskin. "our great mistake in education is, as it seems to me, the worship of book-learning--the confusion of instruction and education. we strain the memory instead of cultivating the mind.... the important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn.... if we succeed in giving the love of learning, the learning itself is sure to follow." lord avebury. a happy childhood december "a happy childhood is one of the best gifts that parents have it in their power to bestow; second only to implanting the habit of obedience which puts the child in training for the habit of obeying himself, later on." _diana tempest_, mary cholmondeley. "the main duty of those who care for the young is to secure their wholesome, their entire growth; for health is just the development of the whole nature in its due sequences and proportions: first the blade--then the ear--then, and not till then, the full corn in the ear; and thus, as dr. temple wisely says, 'not to forget wisdom in teaching knowledge.' if the blade be forced, and usurp the capital it inherits; if it be robbed by you, its guardian, of its birthright, or squandered like a spendthrift, then there is not any ear, much less any corn; if the blade be blasted or dwarfed in our haste and greed for the full shock and its price, we spoil all three. it is not easy to keep this always before one's mind, that the young 'idea' is in a young body, and that healthy growth and harmless passing of the time are more to be cared for than what is vainly called accomplishment." dr. john brown. moral education december "remember that the aim of your discipline should be to produce a _self-governing_ being, not to produce a being to be _governed by others_. were your children fated to pass their lives as slaves, you could not too much accustom them to slavery during their childhood; but as they are by-and-by to be free men, with no one to control their daily conduct, you cannot too much accustom them to self-control while they are still under your eye. this is it which makes the system of discipline by natural consequences so especially appropriate to the social state which we in england have now reached. in feudal times, when one of the chief evils the citizen had to fear was the anger of his superiors, it was well that during childhood parental vengeance should be a chief means of government. but now that the citizen has little to fear from any one--now that the good or evil which he experiences is mainly that which in the order of things results from his own conduct, he should from his first years begin to learn, experimentally, the good or evil consequences which naturally follow this or that conduct. aim, therefore, to diminish the parental government, as fast as you can substitute for it in your child's mind that self-government arising from a foresight of results.... "all transitions are dangerous; and the most dangerous is the transition from the restraint of the family circle to the non-restraint of the world. hence the importance of pursuing the policy we advocate, which, by cultivating a boy's faculty of self-restraint, by continually increasing the degree in which he is left to his self-restraint, and by so bringing him, step by step, to a state of unaided self-restraint, obliterates the ordinary sudden and hazardous change from externally-governed youth to internally-governed maturity. let the history of your domestic rule typify, in little, the history of our political rule. at the outset, autocratic control, where control is really needful; by-and-by an incipient constitutionalism, in which the liberty of the subject gains some express recognition; successive extensions of this liberty of the subject, gradually ending in parental abdication." _education_, herbert spencer. moral education december "self-government with tenderness,--here you have the condition of all authority over children. the child must discover in us no passion, no weakness of which he can make use; he must feel himself powerless to deceive or to trouble us; then he will recognise in us his natural superiors, and he will attach a special value to our kindness, because he will respect it. the child who can rouse in us anger, or impatience, or excitement, feels himself stronger than we, and a child only respects strength. the mother should consider herself as her child's sun, a changeless and ever radiant world, whither the small restless creature, quick at tears and laughter, light, fickle, passionate, full of storms, may come for fresh stores of light, warmth and electricity, of calm and of courage. the mother represents goodness, providence, law; that is to say, the divinity under that form of it which is accessible to childhood. if she is herself passionate, she will inculcate on her child a capricious and despotic god, or even several discordant gods. the religion of a child depends on what its mother and its father are, and not on what they say. the inner and unconscious ideal which guides their life is precisely what touches the child; their words, their remonstrances, their punishments, their bursts of feeling, even, are for him merely thunder and comedy; what they worship--this it is which his instinct divines and reflects. "the child sees what we are, behind what we wish to be. hence his reputation as a physiognomist. he extends his power as far as he can with each of us; he is the most subtle of diplomatists. unconsciously he passes under the influence of each person about him, and reflects it while transforming it after his own nature. he is a magnifying mirror. this is why the first principle of education is: train yourself; and the first rule to follow if you wish to possess yourself of a child's will is: master your own." _amiel's journal._ moral education december "all wise teachers, i believe, recognise now that the best way of dealing with naughty children is to absorb their whole attention with some _interest_, which will not only leave no energy to spare for naughtiness, but will of itself tend to organise their minds, to subordinate mental elements to a _purpose_, and so to develop character." _the standard of life_, mrs. bernard bosanquet. "discipline, like the bridle in the hand of a good rider, should exercise its influence without appearing to do so, should be ever active, both as a support and as a restraint, yet seem to lie easily in hand. it must be always ready to check or to pull up, as occasion may require; and only when the horse is a runaway, should the action of the curb be perceptible." _guesses at truth_, edited by archdeacon hare. "if 'pas trop gouverner' is the best rule in politics, it is equally true of discipline." _children's rights_, kate douglas wiggin. punishment december "punishments, then, must in the first place be proportionate to the offence, lest, by an undiscriminating severity or an undiscriminating leniency, distinctions of moral desert be blurred or effaced. "_secondly_, they must be analogous to the offence. the greedy must be starved, the insolent humbled, the idle compelled to work. otherwise the imposition will not effectually go home to the offender. "_thirdly_, punishments ought to be exemplary. since they needs must come, it is not enough that they should simply open the eyes of the culprit, by giving him his deserts. they must be utilised as object-lessons for the behoof of that large class, the culprits in potentiality. "_fourthly_, they ought to be economical. 'it is good that they should suffer,' we sometimes say; and so it is, so long as suffering, in itself always an evil, do not exceed the quantum that is lamentably needful, needful, that is, to vindicate authority, to stigmatise the offence, and to impress the offender. "_fifthly_, punishments ought to be reformatory. not only must they never, by vindictiveness in him who gives, and degradation in him who receives, impair the instincts and resolves for a better life; they must be devised in the belief, or at least in the hope, that these instincts and resolves exist, though they may be inhibited by the evil proclivities which punishment is meant to crush. the killing of what is bad must always look to the liberation of what is good. "_finally_, punishments ought to insist upon, and to define indemnity, so that the wrong-doer, in things small or great, may be forced to repair, so far as this is possible, the irreparable mischief which offence implies." _the making of character_, professor maccunn. rebuking december "the gentleness of our lord in rebuking, has an effect which gentleness often has, it awakens compunctions in those to whom it is shown. a child, who by severity is set on its defence or drawn into falsehood, is often melted into full confession by being loved and trusted more than it deserves." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. "our lord's reply is again gentle; to be hard on a fault that was confessed would have dried up that confidence which flowed so freely." _pastor pastorum_, henry latham. "better make penitents by gentleness than hypocrites by severity." s. francis de sales. example december "children have more need of models than of critics." joubert. "it is by imitation, far more than by precept, that we learn everything; and what we learn thus we acquire not only more effectually, but more pleasantly. this forms our manners, our opinions, our lives." burke. "meanwhile there is much that we can do. it need not be said that home is the most effective school of character. on the duties of home i cannot dwell now. but there is a more general influence of common tone and habits of which serious account ought to be taken. we are at all times unconsciously educating others by our own example. our standard of duty in the discharge of business and in the use of leisure necessarily influences the desires and the actions of those who look to us for guidance. the young are quick-eyed critics, and the sight of quiet devotion to work, of pleasure sought in common things--and all truly precious things are common--will enforce surely and silently some great lessons of school. we do not, as far as i can judge, rate highly enough our responsibility for the customary practices of society. not infrequently we neutralise our teaching through want of imagination by failing to follow out the consequences of some traditional custom. we seem to be inconsiderate when we are only ignorant." bishop westcott. wealth december "christ did not denounce wealth any more than he denounced pauperism. he did not abhor money; he used it. he did not abhor the company of rich men; he sought it. he did not invariably scorn or even resent a certain profuseness of expenditure. with a fine discrimination, he, while habitually discouraging it, yet recognised that, here and there, there was place for it. what he denounced was the _love_ of, the _lust_ of riches; the vulgar snobbishness that chose exclusively the fellowship or the ways of rich men; the habit of extravagance; in one word, greed and luxury and self-indulgence. he taught men, first of all and last of all, that they were stewards, that in the final analysis of men and things neither they nor theirs were their own. * * * * * we must not only affirm the brotherhood of man: we must live it. for then the state, and in the state, the home, the church, and the individual shall become the incarnation of a regenerated humanity, and earth, this earth, our earth, here and to-day, the vestibule of heaven!" _the citizen in relation to the industrial situation_, bishop potter. the limit of luxury december "the expenditure of money is no easy matter. it is wrong to let the poor want. it is wrong to starve the nature which asks for other things than food. there is only one principle of guidance. whatever is done must be done in thought for others, and not in thought for ourselves. money on luxuries which end in ourselves is wrongly spent; money spent on luxuries--on scents, sounds and sights--which directly or indirectly pass on to others is rightly spent. the limit of luxury is the power of sharing." _the service of god_, canon barnett. "all that depends on individual choice--our recreations, our expenditure--can be brought to one test, which we are generally able to apply: does this or that help me to do my work more effectively? to us most literally, even if the confession overwhelms us with shame, whatsoever is not of faith is sin." bishop westcott. "imitate a little child.... while you gather and use this world's goods with one hand, always let your other be fast in your heavenly father's hand, and look round from time to time, and make sure that he is satisfied." s. francis de sales. expenditure december "i will take heart to lay down what i hold to be a fundamental rule, that, while we endeavour to gain the largest and keenest power of appreciating all that is noblest in nature and art and literature, we must seek to live on as little as will support the full vigour of our life and work. the standard cannot be fixed. it will necessarily vary, within certain limits, according to the nature and office of each man. but generally we shall strive diligently to suppress all wants which do not tend through their satisfaction to create a nobler type of manhood, and individually we shall recognise no wants which do not express what is required for the due cultivation of our own powers and the fulfilment of that which we owe to others. we shall guard ourselves against the temptations of artificial wants which the ingenuity of producers offers in seductive forms. we shall refuse to admit that the caprice of fashion represents any valuable element in our constitution, or calls into play any faculties which would otherwise be unused, or encourages industry. on the contrary, we shall see in the dignity and changelessness of eastern dress a typical condemnation of our restless inconstancy. we shall perceive, and act as perceiving, that the passion for novelty is morally and materially wasteful: that it distracts and confuses our power of appreciating true beauty: that it tends to the constant displacement of labour: that it produces instability both in the manufacture and in the sale of goods to the detriment of economy. we shall, to sum up all in one master-principle, estimate value and costs in terms of life, as mr. ruskin has taught us; and, accepting this principle, we shall seek nothing of which the cost to the producer so measured exceeds the gain to ourselves." _christian social union addresses_, bishop westcott. money december "if money be not thy servant, it will be thy master. the covetous man cannot so properly be said to possess wealth, as that wealth may be said to possess him." bacon. "the covetous man is like the camel, with a great haunch on his back; heaven's gate must be made higher and broader, or he will hardly get in." adams. "who shuts his hand hath lost his gold, who opens it hath it twice told." george herbert. "wealth in every form, material, intellectual, moral, has to be administered for the common good. god only can say of any possession 'my own.'" bishop westcott. courage to be poor december "how the sting of poverty, or small means, is gone when one keeps house for one's own comfort, and not for the comfort of one's neighbours." dinah maria muloch. "i wish that more of us had the courage to be poor; that the world had not gone mad after fashion and display; but so it is, and the blessings we might have are lost in the effort to get those which lie outside the possible." alice carey. "to have what we want is riches; but to be able to do without is power." george macdonald. hospitality december "the truest hospitality is shown not in the effort to entertain, but in the depth of welcome. what a guest loves to come for, and come again, is not the meal, but those who sit at the meal. if we remembered this, more homes would be habitually thrown open to win the benedictions upon hospitality. it is our ceremony, not our poverty, it is self-consciousness oftener than inability to be agreeable that makes us willing to live cloistered. seldom is it that pleasantest homes to visit are the richest. the real compliment is _not_ to apologise for the simple fare. that means trust, and trust is better than fried oysters." w. c. gannett. "hospitality must be for service, and not for show, or it pulls down the host." emerson. hospitality december "i pray you, o excellent wife, not to cumber yourself and me to get a rich dinner for this man or this woman who has alighted at our gate, nor a bedchamber made ready at too great a cost. these things, if they are curious in, they can get for a dollar at any village. but let this stranger, if he will, in your looks, in your accent and behaviour, read in your heart and earnestness, your thought and will, which he cannot buy at any price in any village or city, and which he may well travel fifty miles and dine sparely and sleep hard in order to behold. certainly, let the board be spread and let the bed be dressed for the traveller; but let not the emphasis of hospitality lie in these things. honour to the house where they are simple to the verge of hardship, so that there the intellect is awake and reads the laws of the universe." emerson. "i should count myself fortunate if my home were remembered for some inspiring quality of faith, charity and aspiring intelligence." hamilton w. mabie. christmas eve december a christmas carol "it chanced upon the merry, merry christmas eve, i went sighing past the church across the moorland dreary-- 'oh! never sin and want and woe this earth will leave, and the bells but mock the wailing rounds, they sing so cheery. how long, o lord! how long before thou come again! still in cellar, and in garret, and on moorland dreary the orphans moan, and widows weep, and poor men toil in vain, till earth is sick of hope deferred, though christmas bells be cheery.' "then arose a joyous clamour from the wild-fowl on the mere, beneath the stars, across the snow, like clear bells ringing, and a voice within cried,--'listen! christmas carols even here! tho' thou be dumb, yet o'er their work the stars and snows are singing. blind! i live, i love, i reign; and all the nations through, with the thunder of my judgments even now are ringing; do thou fulfil thy work but as yon wild-fowl do, thou wilt heed no less the wailing, yet hear through it angels singing.'" charles kingsley. christmas day december "and now once more comes christmas day. once more, borne abroad on the words of simple-minded shepherds, runs the story. god and man have met, in visible, actual union, in a life which is both human and divine.... lift up yourselves to the great meaning of the day, and dare to think of your humanity as something so sublimely precious that it is worthy of being made an offering to god. count it a privilege to make that offering as complete as possible, keeping nothing back, and then go out to the pleasures and duties of your life, having been truly born anew into his divinity, as he was born into our humanity, on christmas day." phillips brooks. "let not the hearts, whose sorrow cannot call this christmas merry, slight the festival; let us be merry that may merry be, but let us not forget that many mourn; the smiling baby came to give us glee, but for the weepers was the saviour born." coleridge. mile-marks december "but christmas is not only the mile-mark of another year, moving us to thoughts of self-examination: it is a season, from all its associations, whether domestic or religious, suggesting thoughts of joy. a man dissatisfied with his endeavours is a man tempted to sadness. and in the midst of the winter, when his life runs lowest and he is reminded of the empty chairs of his beloved, it is well he should be condemned to this fashion of the smiling face. noble disappointment, noble self-denial, are not to be admired, not even to be pardoned, if they bring bitterness. it is one thing to enter the kingdom of heaven maimed; another to maim yourself and stay without. and the kingdom of heaven is of the childlike, of those who are easy to please, who love and who give pleasure." _across the plains_, r. l. stevenson. growing old december "to grow old is more difficult than to die, because to renounce a good once and for all, costs less than to renew the sacrifice day by day and in detail. to bear with one's own decay, to accept one's own lessening capacity, is a harder and rarer virtue than to face death. there is a halo round tragic and premature death; there is but a long sadness in declining strength. but look closer: so studied, a resigned and religious old age will often move us more than the heroic ardour of young years. the maturity of the soul is worth more than the first brilliance of its faculties, or the plenitude of its strength, and the eternal in us can but profit from all the ravages made by time. there is comfort in this thought." _amiel's journal._ "to know how to grow old is the master-work of wisdom, and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living." _amiel's journal._ old age december "we must not take the faults of our youth into our old age; for old age brings with it its own faults." goethe. "it is only to the finest natures that age gives an added beauty and distinction; for the most persistent self has then worked its way to the surface, having modified the expression, and to some extent, the features, to its own likeness." mathilde blind. "the most beautiful existence, it seems to me, would be that of a river which should get through all its rapids and waterfalls not far from its rising, and should then in its widening course form a succession of rich valleys, and in each of them a lake equally but diversely beautiful, to end, after the plains of age were past, in the ocean where all that is weary and heavy-laden comes to seek for rest." _amiel's journal._ the love and grace and tenderness of life december "neither toil, nor the end of toil in oneself or in the world, is all vanity, in spite of the preacher; but there is enough vanity in both to make one sit loose to them. what seems to grow fairer to me as life goes by is the love and grace and tenderness of it; not its wit and cleverness and grandeur of knowledge--grand as knowledge is--but just the laughter of little children and the friendship of friends, the cosy talk by the fireside, the sight of flowers and the sound of music." j. r. green. "life is sweet, brother.... there's night and day, brother, both sweet things; sun, moon and stars, brother, all sweet things; there's likewise the wind on the heath. life is very sweet, brother; who would wish to die?" borrow. a prayer december "be patient still; suffer us yet a while longer; with our broken purposes of good, with our idle endeavours against evil, suffer us a while longer to endure, and (if it may be) help us to do better. bless to us our extraordinary mercies; if the day come when these must be taken, brace us to play the man under affliction. be with our friends; be with ourselves. go with each of us to rest; if any dream, be their dreams quiet; if any awake, temper to them the dark hours of watching; and when the day returns, return to us our sun and comforter, and call us up with morning faces and with morning hearts--eager to labour--eager to be happy, if happiness shall be our portion--and if the day be marked for sorrow, strong to endure it." _vailima prayers_, r. l. stevenson. new year's eve december "ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky the flying cloud, the frosty light: the year is dying in the night; ring out, wild bells, and let him die. "ring out the old, ring in the new, ring, happy bells, across the snow: the year is going, let him go; ring out the false, ring in the true. "ring out the grief that saps the mind, for those that here we see no more; ring out the feud of rich and poor, ring in redress to all mankind. "ring out a slowly dying cause, and ancient forms of party strife; ring in the nobler modes of life, with sweeter manners, purer laws. "ring out the want, the care, the sin, the faithless coldness of the times; ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes, but ring the fuller minstrel in. "ring out false pride in place and blood, the civic slander and the spite; ring in the love of truth and right, ring in the common love of good. "ring out old shapes of foul disease; ring out the narrowing lust of gold; ring out the thousand wars of old, ring in the thousand years of peace. "ring in the valiant man and free, the larger heart, the kindlier hand; ring out the darkness of the land, ring in the christ that is to be." tennyson. index of subjects accidie, , , , , , accuracy, age, , appetite for condolence, the, argument, , , art of being quiet, the, , as light enters darkness departs, aspiration, back-biting, balance, , bearing criticism, bearing sorrow, , , , bearing trouble, beauties of nature, beautiful, sense of, beauty, the gospel of, being and doing, , bereavement, , blessed are the happiness-makers, books, , business-like habits, by their works, calamity, sharp ferule of, calumny, , causes of thankfulness, , celestial surgeon, the, character, character-- childlike-ness, negative virtues, our echoes roll from soul to soul, the right atmosphere, character and service, character of henry drummond, ---- r. l. stevenson, cheerfulness, childhood, a happy, christian law, the, , christianity, programme of, christmas day, christmas eve, circumstances, , code of society, the, comfort's art, commune with your own heart and be still, conceit, concentration, , condolence, appetite for, confession of sin, conscience, contemptuousness, contentment, , conversation, , courage, courage to be poor, courtesy, , , creed, a new, creeds, criticism, crossing the bar, culture, day by day, , dead, the, , , , death, death of young children, discontent, , dissension, doing more than feeling, doing our best, duty, , , duty of giving happiness, , duty of happiness, the, duty of physical health, the, , duty to my neighbour, education, the object of, , ---- moral, , , egotism, , endurance, essentials of happiness, the, evil is wrought by want of thought, evil of brooding, the, example, expenditure, faith, false impressions, falterers, family life, fasting, , faults, fear of failure, , flattery, foot-path to peace, the, forgiveness, friendship, - gaining or losing ground, god, manifestations of, , , god's children, gossip, , growing old, grumblers, grumbling, , , habit, , habit of admiration, the, hallowing of work, the, happiness, , , , , happiness makers, harmony, , health, duty of, , heart, commune with, heredity, , , holidays, holiness, holy spirit, hospitality, , humility, humour, , hypochondriacs, , ideal guest-chamber, an, ideal level, an, ideals, idleness, , ifs of life, the, ill-nature, indifference, sin of, influence, , , , influence of great men, , interruptions, introspection, introspectiveness, invalids, , inward stillness, iron chains of duty, the, irritability, , jealousy, , , judging, , , judgment, biassed, judgment, harsh, judgment, sound, , , justice and mercy, law of love, the great, lessons of suffering, life, ifs of, life a school, life after death, life-giver, not deed-doer, limit of luxury, the, living in the present, lord's supper, the, love, , , love, grace, and tenderness of life, the, love and remorse, , , love unrequited, , love, law of, luxury, magnifying troubles, manifestation of god, , , manners, , , , mechanical work, memory, , mens sana in corpore sano, mental hygiene, mercy, method, mile-marks, money, morality, physical, morbid introspectiveness, my duty to my neighbour, nature, , , never lose a battle, new year's day, new year's eve, noble life, a, nominal christians, "not to destroy, but to fulfil," obstinacy, oil and wine, old age, one by one, , open mind, an, order, our true selves and our traditional selves, patience, , patience with ourselves, peace, perseverance, pessimism, physical morality, pleasure in work, poverty, power, power of the holy spirit, the, prayer, - prayer, a, present circumstances, pressing forward, pride, programme of christianity, the, public opinion, , punishment, purpose, , quarrels, , "quench not the smoking flax," , quiet, , raw material, readiness, reading, rebuking, receptive side of life, the, reconciliation, , regulation of time, religion-- the meaning of, pure, in daily life, reparation, repentance, resolves, responsibility, rest, revenge, right use of speech, sacredness of work, the, satan's opportunities, science of social life, the, , , , secret of the joy of living, the, secret of thrift, the, seeing one's life in perspective, self-centred people, self-examination, selfishness, sense of the beautiful, sermon on the mount, service, , , sharp ferule of calamity, the, silence a great peacemaker, sin, , , , , , sin has its pedigree, sin of idleness, the, sin of indifference, the, sins of the spirit, sociability, society, soldiers of the same army, sorrow, , , , spectrum of love, the, spiritual balance and proportion, stepping-stones, struggling, sympathy, symphony, a, temper, , , , , temperance, temptation, thankfulness, , there shall never be one lost good, thoughts, thrift, time, time and method, to be trusted is to be saved, tolerance, touchiness, triviality, , trouble, , true patience, trustees, truth, truthfulness, , , , unamiable, the, unbalanced memory, , unfelt creeds, ungraciousness, unrest, un-self-consciousness, , wasted emotions, wealth, where love is, god is, work, , work-- effective reforms, , special, for each, to cure is the voice of the past, sacredness of, works, index of authors a. h., abbott, lyman, acton, adams, addison, , , allen, james lane, , , , , _amiel's journal_ (translated by mrs. humphry ward), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ammian, arnold, dr., arnold, sir edwin, , , , , , , , , arnold, matthew, augustine, saint, avebury, lord, , , , , , , , , , , , , , bacon, , baillie, joanna, balfour, graham, barbauld, mrs. a. l., barbour, r. w., barnes, barnett, canon, , , , , , beecher, henry ward, , , , bentham, jeremy, black, hugh, , , blair, blind, mathilde, , body, canon, , , , book of common prayer, borrow, g., bosanquet, mrs. bernard, , , , bovée, brontë, charlotte, brooke, stopford, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , brooks, bishop phillips, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , brown, dr. john, browning, e. b., browning, robert, , , bruyère, la, bulwer-lytton, , burke, burnett, mrs. hodgson, burns, burton, buxton, charles, byron, caillard, e. m., caird, principal, carey, alice, carlyle, thomas, , , , , , , , , , , cato, chalmers, channing, w. e., , , , chesterfield, lord, , childs, lydia m., cholmondeley, mary, , , , , cicero, , , , clarke, j. freeman, clough, arthur hugh, coleridge, , collier, jeremy, colton, cowper, crabbe, crawford, f. marion, cross, j. w., cyrus, dante, dawson, rev. w. j., de staël, madame, descartes, deschamps, dickens, charles, , diggle, archdeacon, , drummond, professor henry, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , dryden, eliot, george, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , emerson, r. w., , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , empson, epictetus, , euripides, ewing, mrs., , , , faber, f. w., fairless, michael, farrar, dean, , , , , feltham, fénélon, , fletcher, horace, fowler, ellen thorneycroft, , fox, george, , froude, j. a., gannett, w. c., garfield, gaskell, mrs., gladstone, w. e., goethe, , , , , , gore, bishop, green, t. h., green, j. r., greene, c., grou, hacket, hare, , hare, archdeacon, , harpe, la, harris, rendel, , hawthorne, nathaniel, helps, sir arthur, , , herbert, george, , , , herder, herodotus, hillel, rabbi, hobbes, john oliver, holland, canon scott, , , holmes, o. w., , , , hood, thomas, how, bishop walsham, , hughes, t., iddesleigh, lord, _idler, the_, ingram, bishop winnington, , james, professor william, japanese proverb, johnson, dr., , jonson, ben, joubert, keble, kemble, fanny, kempis, thomas à, kendall, may, , , , kingsley, charles, , , , , , , , , , , , , lacordaire, latham, the rev. henry, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , leighton, archbishop, liddon, canon, little, canon knox, locke, long, george, longfellow, h. w., , , louis xiv., lowell, james russell, , , , , , , , , , , lyall, edna, lytton, , mabie, hamilton w., , , macaulay, maccoll, canon, , , , , , , , , maccunn, professor john, , , , , , , , , , , , , macdonald, george, , , , mann, horace, marcus aurelius, , , , , , , , , , , , martineau, martineau, h., , martineau, j., , mason, massillon, mckinley, mclean, rev. j. k., meredith, george, merriam, g. s., miller, the rev. j. r., , , , milnes, r. m., montaigne, montrésor, f. f., moore, t., more, hannah, morris, sir lewis, mozley, j. b., mulford, prentice, muloch, dinah m., neander, newbolt, canon, newcomb, c. b., , , nicoll, w. robertson, paget, bishop, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , pascal, , , patmore, coventry, , peabody, ephraim, penn, william, , philpotts, bishop, plumptre, plutarch, pope, potter, bishop, , pulsford, john, rice, alice hegan, richter, , robertson, the rev. f. w., , , , , , _robertson, life of the rev. f. w._, rochefoucauld, la, , , , , , , , , , , rogers, h., rossetti, christina, , , ruskin, john, , , , sales, s. francis de, , , seneca, , shakespeare, , , , , , shorthouse, john, sidney, philip, smiles, samuel, , , smith, george adam, smith, h. w., socrates, , soulsby, lucy, , , south, bishop, southey, spanish proverb, spencer, herbert, , , , , spenser, , staël, madame de, stevenson, r. l., , , , , , , , , , , , , stowe, harriet beecher, , , , , sweet, ada c., talbot, bishop, taylor, bayard, taylor, bishop, taylor, jeremy, , , temple, archbishop, , , , , , , tennyson, lord, , , , , , , , , , , , , _tennyson--a memoir_, by his son, , , , , , , , thackeray, miss, thackeray, w. m., , , , , , thomas, dr. h. w., thoreau, , , , , , , , , thorold, bishop, , toynbee, arnold, trench, archbishop, , , , , turgenev, ivan, , van dyke, , vaughan, henry, vauvenargues, , , , virgil, voltaire, , walker, thomas, watson, dr. john, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , westcott, bishop, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , whichcote, whittier, john greenleaf, , , , , wickstead, philip h., wiggin, kate d., , , wilberforce, bishop, wilson, wisdom, book of, wordsworth, printed by ballantyne, hanson & co. edinburgh & london * * * * * transcriber's note: variations in spelling have been preserved except in obvious cases of typographical error and inconsistency. these have been corrected without comment. transcriber's notes: the word 'lord' in small-caps has been rendered as +lord+ to differentiate it from the word 'lord' in regular all-caps. obvious missing punctuation was added. p . hill-crest was changed to hillcrest * * * * * the shepherd psalm a meditation by william evans, ph.d., d.d. bible teacher and author of "the book of books," "how to memorize," "outline study of the bible," "how to prepare sermons and gospel addresses," "the book-method of bible study," "epochs in the life of christ," "through the bible, book by book," etc. chicago the bible institute colportage ass'n north la salle street copyright, , by the bible institute colportage association of chicago printed in the united states of america contents foreword introduction chapter one: "the +lord+ is my shepherd; i shall not want" chapter two: "he maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside still waters" chapter three: "he restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake" chapter four: "yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me" chapter five: "thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over" chapter six: "surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and i will dwell in the house of the +lord+ forever" [the illustration on the cover is from an actual photograph by the author, when he was in palestine.] foreword this production of the shepherd psalm is sent forth at the request of many hundreds of kind persons who have listened to the writer preach on it and who desire to see it in print, that it may be a blessing to many who cannot hear it. it is a well known psalm. untold numbers of sermons have been preached on it. books without number have been printed in attempts to set forth its life, depth, richness, and beauty. doubtless much more will be written and spoken concerning this charming pastoral symphony--and, after that, much more will remain yet to be said, so full is the inspiration of the divine word. may god make this psalm to the reader all that it has been--yea, and more,--to the writer! william evans. introduction the twenty-third psalm the world could afford to spare many a magnificent library better than it could dispense with this little psalm of six verses. if the verses of this psalm had tongues and could repeat the tale of their ministry down throughout the generations of the faithful, what marvels of experience they would reveal! their biographies would be gathered from the four winds of heaven and from the uttermost parts of the sea; from lonely chambers, from suffering sick beds, from the banks of the valley of the shadow of death, from scaffolds and fiery piles; witnessing in sunlight from moors and mountains, beneath the stars and in high places of the field. what hosts of armies of aliens it has put to flight! if by some magic or divine touch, yea, some miraculous power, the saints' experience of this psalm could shine out between its lines, what an illumination of the text there would be! luther was fond of comparing this psalm to the nightingale, which is small among the birds and of homely plumage, but with what thrilling melody it pours out its beautiful notes! into how many dungeons filled with gloom and doubt has this little psalm sung its message of hope and faith! into how many hearts, bruised and broken by grief, has it brought its hymn of comfort and healing how many darkened prison cells it has lightened and cheered! into what thousands of sick rooms has it brought its ministry of comfort and support! how many a time, in the hour of pain, has it brought sustaining faith and sung its song of eternal bliss in the valley of the shadow of death! it has charmed more griefs to rest than all the philosophies of the world. and i am persuaded that this little psalm-bird will continue to sing its song of comfort and cheer to your children, to my children, and to our children's children, and will not cease its psalmody of love until the last weary pilgrim has placed his last climbing footstep upon the threshold of the father's house to go out no more. then, i think, this little bird will fold its golden pinions and fall back on the bosom of god, from whence it came. it has been well said that this psalm is the most perfect picture of happiness that ever was or ever can be drawn to represent that state of mind for which all alike sigh, and the want of which makes life a failure to most. it represents that heaven which is everywhere, if we could but interpret it, and yet almost nowhere because not many of us do. =_unusual application_= how familiar this psalm is the world over! go where you will; inquire in every nation, tongue and tribe under heaven where the bible is known, you will find this psalm among the first scriptures learned and lisped by the little child at its mother's knee, and the last bit of inspired writ uttered in dying breath by the saintly patriarch. this psalm is so universal, says one, because it is so individual; it is so individual because it is so universal. as we read it, we are aware not only of the fact that we are listening to the experience of an old testament saint, but also that a voice comes speaking to us through the long centuries past--speaking to us in our own language, recounting our own experience, breathing out our own hopes. the davidic authorship of this psalm has been questioned. we believe firmly that david is the writer; and yet a man feels as he reads the psalm that it is so personal, so true to his own individual experience, that he could fain claim to have written it himself. it might seem as though the promises and precious things set forth in this psalm lie beyond our reach; we have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep, but "one of like passions with ourselves has passed that way before and has left a cup to be let down, with his name and story written on the rim, and we may let that cup down into the well and draw a draught of the deep, refreshing water." =_the location of the psalm_= have you ever noticed just where this psalm is located? it lies between the twenty-second and the twenty-fourth psalms. a very simple statement that--but how deep and wondrous a lesson lies hidden therein! the twenty-second psalm. what is it? it is "the psalm of the cross." it begins with the words uttered by christ on the cross: "my god, my god, why hast thou forsaken me?" it ends with the exclamation of the cross: "he hath done it," or, as it may be translated, "it is finished." the twenty-second psalm, then, is the psalm of mount calvary--the psalm of the cross. what is the twenty-fourth psalm? it is the psalm of mount zion--a picture of the king entering into his own. how beautifully it reads: "lift up your heads, o ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the king of glory shall come in. who is this king of glory? the lord of hosts, he is the king of glory." the twenty-fourth psalm, then, is the psalm of the coming kingdom of glory. there you have the two mountains; mount calvary and mount zion. what is it that lies between two mountains? a valley with its green grass, its quiet waters, its springing flowers, with shepherd and grazing sheep. here, then, is the lesson we learn from the _location_ of the psalm: it is given to comfort, help, inspire and encourage god's people during this probationary period of our life, between the cross and the crown. is not this the reason why the tenses of this psalm are _present_ tenses? "the +lord+ _is_ my shepherd"; "he _maketh_ me to lie down"; "he _leadeth_ me." even the last verse, "_i will_ (not i shall) dwell in the house of the lord for ever," describes the _present_ attitude of the soul of the psalmist, who determines by no means to miss participation in the fellowship of the saints in heaven. we love _the christ of the cross_. we may not yet fully understand that cross; may not yet have found any particular theory of the atonement which completely satisfies our intellect. but we have learned to say that we believe in the atonement and in the vicarious death of our redeemer. somehow or other we have come, by faith, to throw our trembling arms around that bleeding body and cry out in the desperate determination of our sin-stricken souls to him who hangs on that cross to save us by his death. we have come to express our faith in that divine sacrifice in the words of the hymn: other refuge have i none, hangs my helpless soul on thee. let us never forget that we reach the twenty-third psalm by the way of the twenty-second psalm--the psalm of the cross. "the way of the cross leads home." we love the christ of the twenty-second psalm, the christ of calvary, the christ of the cross. we also love _the christ of the throne and the glory_. it may be, that, at times, we have trembled and feared as we have thought of the coming judgment, but when we have remembered that he who sits upon the throne is our elder brother, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh; that he left his throne in the glory and took on him the form of a servant, dying the ignominious death of the cross that he might redeem us and save us from the just wrath of god against sin; that some day, he who loved us and gave himself for us, will say: "come, ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world," then we take courage and look forward with joy to the time when, having washed the last sleep from our eyes in the river of life, we shall gaze with undimmed vision upon him, whom having not seen, we have yet loved. we love the christ of the cross, the christ of the past, the christ of mount calvary. we love the christ of the future, the christ of the throne, the christ of mount zion. but more precious to us, and we say it reverently, than the christ of the past, or the christ of the future, is the christ of the present, he who lives with us now, dwells within us, walks by our side every moment and every hour of the day. we used to sing in our childhood days that beautiful hymn, i think, when i read that sweet story of old, when jesus was here among men, how he called little children as lambs to his fold, i should like to have been with him then. i wish that his hands had been placed on my head, that his arms had been thrown around me; and that i might have seen his kind look when he said, "let the little ones come unto me." --_mrs. jemima luke_ many of us feel that we would have given anything to have walked by the side of the christ in the days of his earthly pilgrimage, and we almost envy those who saw his face in the flesh. some of us know the thrill of joy that came to our hearts when we trod the sands of galilee that once were fresh with his footprints, trod the temple's marble pavements that once echoed with his tread, and sailed the blue waters of galilee that once were stilled by his wonderful word. and yet, we should not forget that the enjoyment of the real presence of christ is just as truly ours today as it was the possession of the disciples in the days of his flesh. as the old hymn so beautifully says, we may not climb the heavenly steeps to bring the lord christ down; in vain we search the lowest deeps, for him no depths can drown. but warm, sweet, tender, even yet a present help is he; and faith has still its olivet, and love its galilee. the healing of his seamless dress is by our beds of pain; we touch him in life's throng and press, and we are whole again. --_john g. whittier_ the name given to our lord in connection with his birth was immanuel, which being interpreted is, "god with us." one of the most beautiful doctrines of the christian faith is the divine immanence, the continued presence of the ever-living christ with his people; for for god is never so far off as even to be near, he is within. --_f. w. faber_ closer is he than breathing, and nearer than hands or feet. --_alfred tennyson_ i know not where his islands lift their fronded palms in air; i only know i cannot drift beyond his love and care. --_john g. whittier_ the shepherd psalm [illustration] chapter one "=the +lord+ is my shepherd; i shall not want.=" "the +lord+ is my shepherd." have you ever noted how the word "lord" is printed in the bible? sometimes all the letters are large capitals (lord); or the first letter is a large capital and the other letters smaller capitals (+lord+); then, again, the first letter is a large capital and the remaining letters ordinary (lord). each method of spelling the divine name indicates a different phase of the character of god. "lord" refers to jehovah as the covenant-keeping god, the one who never fails to fulfill all his promises. "+lord+" points to our lord jesus christ as the second person in the trinity, he who became incarnate. "lord" signifies also god in christ, the jehovah of the old testament, god of power, the one who is able to do all things and with whom nothing is impossible, manifesting himself in jesus christ. what a world of meaning, then, lies wrapped up in the word "+lord+" in the first verse of this psalm! jehovah who is all-faithful, never failing in his promises, almighty, all-powerful, who is able to supply all of our needs, who created the heavens and the earth, who upholds all things by the word of his power, who spake and it was done, who commanded and it stood fast; the +lord+ of whom job said: "i know that thou canst do anything, and no purpose of thine can be hindered"; the "+lord+" who never fails in the keeping of his promises, however seemingly impossible of fulfillment, from a natural viewpoint, those promises may be; the "+lord+" of whom it is said, "god is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent." "hath he said and shall he not do it; hath he promised and shall he not bring it to pass?" the "lord," the incarnate one, who for our sakes took on himself our nature with all its sinless infirmities, who was tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin, and who is thus able to feel our needs and sympathize with us in all our trials and temptations; the "+lord+" who, speaking to the multitudes, said, "i am the good shepherd; the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep"--such a shepherd, faithful, powerful, sympathetic, is our "+lord+." what a wealth of meaning, then, lies in the first clause, "the +lord+" (who is lord, and lord) such a "+lord+" is "my shepherd." we can then well say, "i shall not want." with such a shepherd, how could we want for anything for time or eternity? all that we need for body, mind and soul shall be supplied. the god who provided the table in the wilderness, who fed elijah by the brook, who struck the rock in the wilderness that the thirst of his people might be quenched, will provide for his children according to his riches in glory. reviewing israel's history in the wilderness it could be recorded, "these forty years jehovah, thy god, hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing." how wonderfully god supplied the needs of his people when they were traveling through that long, weary wilderness! "for the +lord+ thy god hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand; he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness; these forty years the +lord+ thy god hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing" (deuteronomy : ). "thou gavest also thy good spirit to instruct them, and withheldest not thy manna from their mouth, and gavest them water for their thirst. yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not" (nehemiah : , ). let us, then, as the children of god, take all the comfort possible out of these words. let us not go about mourning, grumbling, and borrowing trouble, thereby proclaiming to the world that our great banker is on the verge of bankruptcy. the "+lord+" is our shepherd; we shall not want for nourishment (verse ), refreshment (verse ), rest (verse ), protection (verse ), guidance (verse ), home (verse ). here is a bank the child of god can draw on at any time without fear of its being broken. millions have been supplied and there's room for millions more. no want shall turn me back from following the shepherd. how encouraging to recall the words of jesus uttered to the disciples when they had returned from their itinerary of missionary activity: "when i sent you without purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing? and they said, nothing" (luke : ). the lord my shepherd is, i shall be well supplied, since he is mine and i am his, what can i want beside? --_isaac watts_ when the writer was a lad he secured a position for which he was promised so much a week in money and "everything found," by which was meant board, room, and clothing. so this verse may read, "the +lord+ is my shepherd," and "everything found." in a park one day two women were overheard talking. one of them, who by her appearance showed that she was in very straitened circumstances, said to the other, "i am at my wit's end; i know not what to do. my husband has been sick and unable to work for almost a year. what little money we had saved is all spent. we have not a penny with which to buy food or clothing for ourselves or the children. this morning we received notice from the landlord to vacate." and then, in words that were full of suggestive meaning, she added, "if john d. rockefeller were my father, i would not want, would i?" oh, what a world of comfort lies in the thought, "the +lord+ is my shepherd," and, therefore, "i shall not want"! i shall want for nothing in time or eternity. every need of body, mind, and soul shall be supplied. in the great shepherd lies strength for my weakness, hope for my despair, food for my hunger, satisfaction for my need, wisdom for my ignorance, healing for my wounds, power for my temptation--the complement of all my lack. thou, o christ, art all i want; more than all in thee i find. --_charles wesley_ =_religion is a personal thing_= "the +lord+ is my shepherd." _my_ shepherd. religion is a _personal_ thing. really speaking, your religion consists in your personal relationship to god in jesus christ. not mere profession, but actual possession is what counts. christianity emphasizes the worth of the individual and his personal relation to god. sin degrades men into mere numbers. a photograph was placed on my desk. it had inscribed on it a number, but no name. it was the likeness of a convict. it was a number i went to jail to see; a number i spoke with by the cell door; a number i stood by and saw handcuffed; a number with whom i walked down the steps of the jail; a number with whom i walked up the stairs to the scaffold; a number around whose neck i saw the rope placed; a number i saw drop to his death. sin degrades personality, but the religion of christ exalts its adherents to a place in that innumerable company which cannot be numbered, but every one of whom bears upon his forehead the name of his redeemer and king. jesus calleth his sheep by name, not by number. at the close of a sermon in a church in the highlands of scotland the preacher, who was supplying the pulpit for a few sundays, was asked to call upon a shepherd boy who was very sick. arm in arm with one of the elders of the church the minister crossed the moor, climbed the hillside, and came to the cottage where the boy and his widowed mother lived. after knocking at the door the visitors were admitted by the mother. her face showed the marks of long vigil. the boy was her only child. the minister and elder went into the room where the sick boy lay on his cot. the minister, looking upon the pale, haggard face of the sick shepherd boy, asked him tenderly, "laddie, do you know the twenty-third psalm?" every scotch boy knows the twenty-third psalm, and so the little fellow replied, "yes, sir, i ken (know) the psalm well." "will you repeat it to me?" said the minister to the boy. slowly and tenderly the lad quoted the words, "the +lord+ is my shepherd, i shall not want," unto the end of the psalm. "do you see," said the minister to the boy, "that in the first clause of the first verse there is just one word for each finger. hold up your hand, laddie; take the second finger of your right hand, put it on the fourth finger of your left, hold it over your heart and say with me, 'the +lord+ is _my_ shepherd.'" the fourth finger of the left hand! why that finger? every woman knows. it is the ring finger. who placed that ring on your finger? my friend, my lover, my husband; the man who is more to me and different to me than any other and all other men in this world; the man without whom life would not be worth living; _my_ friend, _my_ lover, _my_ husband. the following sunday the elder and the minister again crossed the moor and came to the cottage on the hillside. as the mother opened the door to admit them they saw by the expression on her face that a deeper sorrow had fallen on her heart since they last saw her. she took them, silently and solemnly, into a little room, and there, covered with a snow-white sheet, lay the lifeless form of the shepherd laddie, her only child. as the minister took the white sheet and passed it from forehead to chin, from chin to breast, and from breast to waist, he saw, frozen stiff in death, the second finger of the right hand on the fourth of the left hand, which was fastened in death over his heart. the mother exclaimed amid her tears, "he died saying, 'the +lord+ is _my_ shepherd.'" what a world of difference that little word _my_ makes, does it not? as a pastor i have often stood by the open grave that was to receive the body of someone's beloved daughter, the light and joy of some heart. i sought to be deeply sympathetic with those who were suffering bereavement. i tried to mourn with those who mourned, and weep with those who wept, and i think i did, so far as it is possible for a friend to sympathize. but one day i stood by an open grave when _my_ daughter, _my_ child, _my own_ darling girl, _my_ dorothy, was placed beneath the sod. ah! then i knew what grief was. ah, what a world of difference that little word _my_ makes! it will not profit you much, my friend, to be able to say, "the +lord+ is _a_ shepherd"; you must be more personal; you must say, "the +lord+ is _my_ shepherd." a shepherd who giveth his life for the sheep, a shepherd both mighty to save and to keep-- yes, this is the shepherd, the shepherd we need, and he is a shepherd indeed! is he yours? is he yours? is this shepherd, who loves you, _yours_? --_ada r. habershon_ chapter two [illustration] ="he maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside still waters."= they tell us that it is a very difficult and well-nigh impossible thing to get a sheep that is hungry to lie down in a pasture, or that is thirsty to drink by turbulent waters. a hungry dog will, but not a hungry sheep. the sheep described in this verse, then, are such as have been fed and satisfied in richest pastures, and whose thirst have been slaked in quiet waters. doubtless the mind of the psalmist is going back to such scenes in his own shepherd life when he had led his flock into rich, green pastures, sought out for his sheep some quiet watering-place, or had so manipulated the flow of turbulent waters as to make them flow smoothly. the writer of this psalm is seeking to illustrate spiritual truths from his own experience as a shepherd among the hills of judea. he is spiritualizing his soliloquy. he thinks of the cry of god's people for the satisfaction of the soul's hunger and thirst; he sees the necessity for such feeding and nourishment if there is to be a walk of obedience "in the paths of righteousness." spiritualizing this verse, we may say that the "green pastures" and "still waters" refer to the spiritual nourishment which the child of god receives as he waits upon god in the study of his word and prayer. there can be no spiritual strength sufficient to walk in "paths of righteousness" unless time is taken to "lie down" in the "green pastures" of the divine word by "the still waters" of prayer. to "lie down" is the first lesson the great shepherd would teach his sheep. not lie down after you are tired, but before. "lie down" that you may have strength to walk in "the paths of righteousness." one of the hardest commands for the soldier to obey is to wait in the trenches. he would sooner "go over the top." it is generally recognized as being a very difficult thing to get god's people to thus "lie down." they will do almost anything and everything else but that. they will run, walk, fight, sing, teach, preach, work, in a word do almost anything and everything except seek seasons of quiet and periods of retirement for secret communion with god and quiet soul nurture. most of our favorite hymns indicate this attitude. they are militant, working, active hymns: "work, for the night is coming," "the fight is on," "onward, christian soldiers, marching as to war," "stand up, stand up for jesus," "steadily marching on, with his banner waving o'er us," and many another. where are such hymns as "alone with jesus, o the hush, the rapture," "in the secret of his presence how my soul delights to hide," "take time to be holy"? how few of us are willing to go alone into the woods whither the master went, clean forspent, clean forspent? we do not like pauses in our meetings. if there should be a pause we seek at once to fill it in with a verse of scripture, or someone says, "let us sing a verse of hymn sixty-six," and so we fill up the pauses with choruses. from the rush into the hush jesus calls us. from the turbulent tumult into the quiet secret of his presence. where there is peace, perfect peace, jesus calls us. jesus calls us, o'er the tumult of our life's wild restless sea; day by day his sweet voice soundeth, saying, "christian, follow me!" jesus calls us--from the worship of the vain world's golden store; from each idol that would keep us-- saying, "christian, love me more!" in our joys and in our sorrows, days of toil and hours of ease, still he calls in cares and pleasures-- "christian, love me more than these!" jesus calls us! by thy mercies, saviour, may we hear thy call; give our hearts to thy obedience, serve and love thee best of all. --_cecil f. alexander_ lie down we _must_. the text says, "he _maketh_ me to lie down." the word "maketh" is the hebrew causative and indicates forcible, compelling action. our great shepherd knows that amid the activity, the stress, the strain and the restlessness of our lives it is absolutely necessary for us to take periods of quiet and rest, without which it will be impossible for us to continue in the way of righteousness. have you so much to do that you do not have time to "lie down"? then the gracious shepherd will see to it that you have less to do. he would _make_ you lie down. the overworked watchspring snaps. there must be pauses and parentheses in all our lives. we make much today of _active_ christianity. we lay emphasis on the _activities_ of church work. pragmatism is more than quietism to us. we must "bring things to pass," and "deliver the goods." this is all very well in its place, but we fear that the strength of our activities is not very deeply rooted. we shall be able to bear fruit upward and outward only as the roots of our spiritual life grow downward and deep. the secret springs of our lives must be well cared for. one day we read in the daily newspaper of some leading man in the community who had fallen and brought discredit on the cause of christ. this unfaithful one was described as having been "an active member of the church." yes, that was the trouble. he was too active; he was not passive enough. he had omitted to "lie down" and feed in "green pastures" and drink by the "still waters" of god's word and by prayer. a friend tells us that while in the orient he visited a syrian shepherd. he observed that every morning the shepherd carried food to the sheepfold. on inquiry he found that he was taking it to a sick sheep. the next morning the friend accompanied the shepherd and saw in the sheepfold a sheep with a broken leg. the friend asked the shepherd how the accident happened. was it struck by a stone? did it fall into a hole? did a dog bite it? how was the limb injured? the shepherd replied, "no, i broke it myself." in amazement the friend replied, "what, you broke it! why did you do that?" the shepherd then told him how wayward this sheep had been, how it had led others astray, and how difficult it had been to come near it. it was necessary that something should be done to preserve the life of this particular member of the flock, and also to prevent it from leading other sheep astray. the shepherd therefore broke its leg and reset it. this breakage necessitated the sheep's _lying down_ for a week or more. during that time it was compelled to take food from the hand of the shepherd. thus had the compulsion of lying down cured the wandering and wayward disposition of the sheep. it is said that when a sheep will not follow the shepherd he takes up the lamb in his arms--and then the mother follows. so it sometimes happens with the children of god. our great shepherd has to lay us aside, put us on our backs, perhaps, for a while in order that we may look up into his face and learn needed lessons. a little girl lay dying. she looked up into the face of her father, who years before had been a very active church worker, but on account of business prosperity had drifted away from christian moorings, and said, "papa, if you were as good as you used to be, do you think i would have to die?" god was _making_ this man to "lie down," do you see? a deacon in a baptist church told me this story. when first married, he and his wife observed family prayers every day. this worshipful spirit continued for some years after their first child was born; then gradually the father became so engrossed in business that the family altar, bible reading and prayer were gradually neglected and finally altogether dispensed with. one day, on coming home from the office, the deacon found his nine-year-old girl very ill with a fever. for weeks they watched over her, but finally the angel of death took her home. as the deacon told me this story, the tears filling his eyes, he said, "then i knew that my daughter had been taken for my sake and that god was _making_ me to 'lie down.' from that day until this, which is over a quarter of a century, the family altar has been maintained in our home." mother, in that sweetest of all hours to a mother, the last hour of the day when the child is being put to sleep, when the last thing its eyes rest upon is the face of the mother, does its last vision rest on a mother who has taught it to pray, to love jesus? it would be infinitely better that the heavenly father take that little child to be with himself than that it should go out into the world from a godless, christless, prayerless home. fathers and mothers, are we taking time to "lie down," to be alone with god in prayer and the reading of his word? has the family altar in your home been neglected? what are you waiting for? do you want god to come and lay his hand upon some precious one in your family circle to take to be with himself? would you then take time to "lie down"? it is said that when a sheep is wayward and will not cross the brook, the shepherd finds that by taking the little lamb from it and carrying it across, the mother sheep will at once follow, rushing over the stream. fathers and mothers, are you waiting for god to do this? our fathers and mothers used to have the family altar. they took time to read the bible and pray with their children. what kind of age will the next be if we neglect these religious privileges? it may be that our parents were not the scholars that some of their children are, but i think we may safely say that they were the saints that we never will be until we "lie down" in the green pastures and quiet waters of god's word and prayer as they did. christian workers especially need to learn the lesson of "lying down," we are restless; we fume and worry and fret because we are tired and hungry. we do not take time to "lie down." strange, is it not, that we will do almost anything but lie down? we will walk, run, climb, sing, preach, teach--do anything but "lie down." let us not forget that the secret of power lies in being alone with god. christ _drew_ the multitudes to him because he _withdrew_ from them at times. the drawing preacher is the withdrawing man. significant are the words of jesus to his _active_ disciples: "come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while." resting in the pastures and beneath the rock, resting by the waters where he leads his flock, resting, while we listen, at his glorious feet, resting in his very arms! o rest complete! --_frances ridley havergal_ these seasons of lying down are periods of renewal of strength for duty, not for indolence or mere ecstasy. by thus feeding in the green pastures and drinking by the still waters, we are strengthened in order that we may walk in the paths of righteousness. we eat and drink for strength, not for drunkenness. one may lie in a bath so long that his strength is exhausted thereby, or he may take a good plunge in the morning which will be a source of exhilaration to him throughout the day. these times of "lying down" may be likened to the plunge. we must not be mere recluses or visionaries. our "lying down" must fit us for "walking." if our private communion with god does not fit us for christian activity in our daily avocation, distrust it. we cannot keep the rapture of devotion if we neglect duty of service. life must not be all contemplation any more than it must not be all activity. we will not need to speak of these times of lying down, nor advertise that we have seasons of quiet communion, of ecstasy and vision; but the result thereof will be clearly apparent in our lives as we walk in the path of righteousness, and in the joyful assurance of soul when we are called upon to pass through the valley of the shadow. would that we knew how much depended, both for ourselves and others, on these seasons of retirement for meditation and prayer! what a blessing it would be to us! what a benediction to others! lord, what a change within us one short hour spent in thy presence will prevail to make; what heavy burdens from our bosoms take; what parched grounds refresh as with a shower! we kneel, and all around us seem to lower; we rise, and all the distant and the near stands forth in sunny outline, brave and clear; we kneel, how weak! we rise, how full of power! why, therefore, should we do ourselves this wrong-- or others--that we are not always strong; that we are ever overborne with care; that we should ever weak or heartless be, anxious or troubled, then with us in prayer, and joy and strength and courage are with thee! --_richard chenevix trench_ chapter three [illustration] ="he restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."= david, the shepherd psalmist, is doubtless thinking of the refreshment that comes to the soul from browsing or meditating in the green pastures and by the still waters of the word of god, and of the exhilaration and inspiration that comes from being alone with god with an open bible and on bended knee. every true child of god knows the strength and blessing that comes from such fellowship and communion. "even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait upon the +lord+ shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint" (isaiah : , ). but the psalmist is referring more particularly, perhaps, to the restoration of the soul from a spiritual lapse or backsliding, resulting from failure to "lie down." we well know from what we have read regarding the oriental shepherd life, that the shepherd must needs be a physician as well as a guide. a sheep is a most defenceless creature. a cat, horse, cow or a dog will defend itself--a sheep cannot. sheep have a genius for going wrong. a sheep is said to have less brains than any other animal of its size. if lost, it cannot find its way back unaided. a dog, a cat, a horse can, but not a sheep. "all we, like sheep, have gone astray." if the good shepherd had not gone after us we would not have been in the fold today. have you ever looked into a sheep's eyes? they look for all the world like glass eyes. a sheep can see practically nothing beyond ten or fifteen yards. it recognizes persons by sound and not by sight. jesus said, "my sheep hear my voice; a stranger will they not follow, for they know not the voice of strangers." =_traps for falling_= palestinian fields were covered with narrow criss-cross paths over which the shepherd would have to lead his flock in seeking new pasture. some of these paths led to a precipice or deep ravine over which a stupid sheep might easily fall to its death. from such dangers the shepherd had to guard his flock. some sheep, however, being wayward by nature would take one of these criss-cross paths leading to danger and fall headlong into thickets or down ravines, where they would lie wounded, bleeding and dying. what does a stupid sheep know of ravines, precipices or haunts of wild beasts? that hill or valley seems to offer fair prospects and good pasture--but death lurks there. the sheep knows not. the shepherd would have to seek the lost, wounded sheep, and, finding it, bind up its wounds, reset broken limbs and restore its health. it is said that if a sheep wandered into a stranger's pasture the finder could cut its throat and keep the carcass, providing the shepherd did not come in time to save the sheep. many times the shepherd arrived just after the sheep had been mutilated, and by care saved its life and restored it to health again. the sheep was again his own--it was "restored." =_the wandering sheep_= david is spiritually soliloquizing. he thinks of the tendency of human nature to err and stray like a sheep. "all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way." man, too, has a genius for going wrong. "there is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." no man is clever enough to guide himself through the devious ways of life. he needs god as a guide. david recalls how tenderly god had dealt with him after his backslidings and how graciously and completely he had restored him to fellowship. how gently christ deals with the backslider! when john the baptist temporarily wavered in his conception of the mission of the christ, and sent his disciples to jesus to ask, "art thou he that should come, or look we for another?" how tenderly christ dealt with his forerunner! the circumstances in the case might have led us to expect harsh treatment. john had seen the open heavens and heard the voice of god saying, "this is my beloved son." in a special and miraculous way it had been revealed to john that jesus was the messiah, "the lamb of god, which taketh away the sin of the world!" the people had looked upon john as a prophet. all that he had said concerning the christ they had believed, and now from the forerunner of christ comes this message of doubt repeated to jesus within the hearing of the multitudes. but that child of the desert had been incarcerated for some time in a narrow prison cell. no wonder the eyes of the caged eagle began to film, and the faith of the stern prophet began to waver. other great men have wavered in their faith before john. david himself said, even though god had definitely promised that he should succeed saul as king, "i shall one day perish by the hand of saul." elijah, after his great triumph over the four hundred prophets of baal, sat down under a juniper tree, and full of fear because of jezebel's threat asked disconsolately that he might die. no wonder then that, momentarily, the faith of john the baptist was in the shadow. you and i have failed in faith amid circumstances less trying than those which surrounded john the baptist in his dungeon. =_the gentleness of the shepherd_= how does jesus answer john? does he curse the doubter? no. that would not be like him. he has never been known to do that. not once, so far as we know, did he ever send a message of censure to a soul in the dungeon of darkness, doubt, and despair. we have seen him blast, with the lightning of his eloquence, the false pride of scribe and pharisee who stood before him in haughtiness and scorn, but we never knew him to say a harsh word to a creature that was sore stricken in soul. no, "he will not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax." no, he will not send a curse; he will send a blessing. that will be more like him. he will say, "go tell john again those things that ye do see and hear; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the dead are raised, the poor are evangelized, and _blessed_ is he that shall not be offended in me." not a curse, but a blessing will he send. how much like his treatment of us! do we not remember when we first came to him as our saviour, how he forgave, freely and gladly, all our sins, and sent us on our way rejoicing? do we not recall how shortly after, when we had sinned and spotted the clean white sheet of paper he had given us, that when we brought it back to him all spotted with sin he freely pardoned, gave us another clean sheet, and, without upbraiding, sent us away, saying, "thy sins are forgiven; sin no more"? yes, we recall it. we believe in the deity of christ, not because of the metaphysical arguments that have been produced to prove it, no matter how elaborately stated or eloquently discussed; not because our library shelves are groaning beneath the weight of evidences of his deity; nor because theologians are said to have forced him to that high eminence. we believe jesus christ to be god because when we sinned and came asking pardon he freely forgave, and gave us a clean sheet of acquittal, saying "thy sins are forgiven; go and sin no more," and then when we did sin again and brought back the sheet of paper all blotted over with sin and said we were sorry and again asked pardon, he freely forgave, and without chiding sent us on our way rejoicing. that is what makes us believe in him as the son of god and love him with a love surpassing expression. poor wandering soul, have you fallen by the wayside? have you become a wayward sheep? have you wandered from the fold? are you tossed about, wounded, sick and sore? do you desire to come back again to the shepherd's care? come now, right now, while the throb of passion is still beating high, while the deed of shame is recent; while the blot of sin is still wet; come now, say, with all the shame, with all the keen distress, quick, "waiting not," i flee to thee again; close to the wound, beloved lord, i press, that thine own precious blood may overflow the stain. o precious blood, lord, let it rest on me! i ask not only pardon from my king, but cleansing from my priest, i come to thee, just as i came at first--a sinful, helpless thing. oh cleanse me now, my lord, i cannot stay for evening shadows and a silent hour: now i have sinned, and now with no delay, i claim thy promise and its total power. o saviour, bid me go and sin no more, and keep me always 'neath the mighty flow of thy perpetual fountain, i implore that thy perpetual cleansing i may fully know. --_frances ridley havergal_ o wandering sheep, backslidden soul, may the saviour find you today, put his strong arms around about you, bring you back again into the fold, keep you from wandering, teach you all you need to know, until the gloaming, until after having washed the last sleep from your eyes in the river of life, you place your last climbing footstep on the threshold of our father's house to go out no more. callest thou thus, o master, callest thou thus to me? i am weary and heavy laden, and longing to come to thee; and out in the distant darkness thy dear voice sounds so sweet, but i am not worthy, not worthy, o master, to kiss thy feet. "child!" said the gracious master, "why turnest thou thus away, when i came through the darkness seeking my sheep that have gone astray? i know thou art heavy laden, i know thou hast need of me and the feet of thy loving master are weary with seeking thee." callest thou thus, o master, callest thou thus to me? when my untrimmed lamp is dying and my heart is not meet for thee; for thou art so great and holy, and mine is so poor a home, and i am not worthy, not worthy, o master, that thou shouldst come. "child," said the tender shepherd--and his voice was very sweet-- "i only ask for a welcome, and rest for my weary feet." then over my lonely threshold, though weak and defiled by sin, though i am not worthy, o master, i pray thee enter in. --_helen marion burnsides_ =_christ the restorer_= do i not speak to a soul who once has known christ as the good shepherd, but has now wandered away from the fold? perverse and foolish oft i strayed, but yet in love he sought me, and on his shoulders gently laid, he home rejoicing brought me. --_sir henry w. baker_ may i not remind you of the master's own parable, "what man of you, having one hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which has gone astray, until he find it?" may i impress upon the words _until he find it_? he will not cease the search until he has found the sheep. it has been said that the first verse of this psalm may be translated, "the +lord+ is my shepherd, i shall not be _missing_." "o love that will not let me go." the shepherd stands at the door of the sheepfold and counts the sheep, his one hundred sheep. he counts to ninety-nine. one is missing. he cannot rest until that last one is found. the door of the sheepfold is closed, and out into the darkness and cold and pain of the night the shepherd goes until he finds his lost sheep, and on his shoulders he carries it back to the fold, then calls upon his neighbors to rejoice with him. he has found his lost sheep. there were ninety and nine that safely lay in the shelter of the fold, but one was out on the hills away, far off from the gates of gold-- away on the mountains wild and bare, away from the tender shepherd's care. lord, thou hast here thy ninety and nine; are they not enough for thee? but the shepherd made answer, "this of mine has wandered away from me, and although the road be rough and steep, i go to the desert to find my sheep." but none of the ransomed ever knew how deep were the waters crossed, nor how dark was the night that the lord passed through ere he found his sheep that was lost. out in the desert he heard its cry-- sick and helpless, and ready to die. lord, whence are those blood-drops all the way that mark out the mountain's track? they were shed for one who had gone astray ere the shepherd could bring him back. lord, whence are thy hands so rent and torn? they are pierced tonight by many a thorn. but all through the mountains, thunder-riven, and up from the rocky steep, there arose a glad cry to the gates of heaven, rejoice! i have found my sheep! and the angels echoed around the throne, rejoice, for the +lord+ brings back his own! --_elizabeth c. clephane_ "=_the paths of righteousness_=" "he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." these words are strikingly significant, and show forth the tender aspect of god's guidance. ofttimes, after rain, the heavy wagon wheels would leave deep ruts in the road, which in cold weather would become hardened and make it difficult for the sheep to walk. not such roads did the true shepherd willingly choose for his sheep. if compelled, however, to take such roads, he would choose those that had been flattened down by wagon wheels until level. he chose those roads that had been worn smooth, that the tender feet of the sheep might not be bruised. "he leadeth me in smooth roads." "thou didst sustain them in the wilderness; their feet swelled not." he who follows the divine leading will always be led aright. his feet will travel in "right roads." no man will go wrong who follows christ. he never leads the soul into questionable places, and no feet guided by him will go into any place where he himself does not go. "where i am, there shall my servant be." "he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness." "god is light, and in him is no darkness at all. if we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." sometimes the road he chooses may not be after our liking, but it will always be for our best interest, welfare and usefulness. this fact will eventually be made clear to us, and we will gladly go with him all the way. i said, "let me walk in the fields," he said, "no, walk in the town," i said, "there are no flowers there," he said, "no flowers, but a crown." i said, "but the skies are black; there is nothing but noise and din," but he wept as he sent me back-- "there is more," he said, "there is sin." i said, "but the air is thick, and fogs are veiling the sun," he answered, "yet souls are sick, and souls in the dark, undone." i said, "i shall miss the light, and friends will miss me, they say." he answered: "choose tonight if i am to miss you or they." i pleaded for time to be given. he said, "it is hard to decide? it will not seem hard in heaven, to have followed the steps of your guide." i cast one look at the fields, then set my face to the town. he said, "my child, do you yield? will you leave the flowers for the crown?" then into his hand went mine, and into my heart came he; and i walk in a light divine, the paths i had feared to see. --_george macdonald_ "=_his name's sake_=" all this he does for his name's sake. how beautiful those words are, "_for his name's sake_." christ's own glory is involved in the security and care of his children. the physician cares for your child who is sick unto death, for your sake, it is true, but for "his own name's sake" as well. to lose your child would hurt his reputation and practice. the lawyer protects his client for his client's sake, it is true, but also, and perhaps more so, for "his own name's sake." to lose the case would be to hurt his standing in the legal profession. the pilot guides the ship safely into harbor for the passengers' sake, it is true, but more particularly for "his own name's sake," for to lose the ship would be to lose his license. we remember that jesus said, "father, i will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where i am, that they may behold my glory." he also said, "and of all that thou hast given me, i have lost none." christ himself is the door. his broad figure and bulk fills it. who shall strip him of his power, or rob him of his sheep? he is the secret of the security of the believer; yea, he is the security itself. we are hid in him. it is rather the perseverance of the christ than of the believer. here, then, is the security of the believer, saved and kept for "his own name's sake." how proud we are of someone who is named after us! we have more solicitude and care for the child that carries our name than for other children. _for his name's sake_, therefore, is an indication of the intense, intimate interest and care of the christ for his people. do we not recall what moses said to jehovah when he said he thought to destroy the people of israel? did not moses plead thus with god, "if thou dost destroy them, what shall we say to the nations, and what wilt thou do for thine own name's sake?" shall it not be that in that great day not one of christ's sheep will be missing? "my sheep hear my voice, and i know them, and they follow me; and i give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. my father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my father's hand." "the +lord+ is my shepherd, i shall not be missing." christ jesus hath the power, the power to renew, the power to cleanse your heart from sin, and make you wholly true. christ jesus hath the power for evermore to keep; oh, none can pluck you from his hand, or rob him of his sheep! --_dr. james m. gray_ =_god as a guide_= what a wonderful truth is asserted in this verse--"_he_ leadeth _me_." meditate just a moment on these words--"_he_," god, the great and mighty one, the creator of the heavens and the earth, the one who upholdeth all things by the word of his power, the unerring, unchangeable, all-seeing, all-knowing, all-powerful one--"_he_ leadeth me"--_me_, poor, trembling, wayward, straying, sinning, fallible, erring son of adam, unworthy, unfit, not entitled to the least of god's blessings; yet, incomprehensible as the truth may seem, god in heaven leads "_me_," here, on earth. he leadeth me on a journey in which it is so easy of myself to go astray from the right path. further, he _leads_, not drives, his sheep. "he goeth _before_ his own sheep and leadeth them." the good shepherd will not ask you to go anywhere where he himself has not gone. he does not drive his children. he leads them. he leadeth me! oh! blessed thought, oh, words with heav'nly comfort fraught! whate'er i do, where'er i be, still 'tis god's hand that leadeth me. sometimes 'mid scenes of deepest gloom, sometimes where eden's bowers bloom, by waters calm, o'er troubled sea-- still 'tis his hand that leadeth me. lord, i would clasp thy hand in mine, nor ever murmur nor repine; content, whatever lot i see, since 'tis my god that leadeth me. and when my task on earth is done, when, by thy grace, the victory's won, e'en death's cold wave i will not flee, since god through jordan leadeth me. he leadeth me! he leadeth me! by his own hand he leadeth me; his faithful follower i would be, for by his hand he leadeth me. --_joseph h. gilmore_ =_knowing god's will_= god's way of guidance varies with different individuals. there is probably no point on which we need more careful instruction than that which concerns the will of god for us. we may speak of two wills of god. the first concerns our _character_ and may be known by all, for it is distinctly declared in the word of god in such passages, for example, as, "this is the will of god, even your sanctification." there can be no doubt or hesitancy with regard to knowing what the _general_ will of god regarding our _character_ may be. there is another will of god, however, which affects not our character but our _career_. this _particular_ will of god is not as easy to discern as that which touches our character. others may not know this for me. in the last analysis god and i alone must solve the problem of my career. it is true i may consult others and get all the light possible on the question at issue, but ultimately the solution of the matter is to be found in the quiet with the soul and god himself. =_three things about guidance_= three things may be said to indicate clearly the _particular_ will of god which concerns my _career_. the first comes from a constant and prayerful reading of the _word of god_, through which god will in some way make known to me in particular his will regarding me. the scripture which decides the matter for me may not have the same meaning to others, but i recognize it to be god's will for me. a minister received one day two calls to the pastorate of two churches. one offered a stipend of $ a year and manse, and an established church with members, and located under the shadow of a great university. a flattering call indeed. the other invitation was from a struggling suburban church with a membership of , and offering a salary of $ a year. what should the minister do? which call should he accept? to say there was no struggle in the heart at the time would be to belie the fact. the man of god took the two invitations, laid them on the bed, knelt by its side, and put his open bible in front of him between the two letters. after prayer for guidance and after reading the word for some time his attention was riveted upon this verse: "set not your mind on high things, but condescend to them that are lowly" (romans : , r. v.). he had read that verse before, many times, but somehow he could not get beyond it at _this_ time. to _him_ at _that particular time_ it was indicative of god's will. obediently he chose the smaller church. after years proved the wisdom of the choice. so god will in some way indicate to you through the reading of his word his will for _you_ at _that time_. the second element in discerning the will of god is what may be called _the inward impression_, by which we mean the constant, irrepressible, insistent, persistent conviction in the heart of the child of god that he ought to do thus and so in a given case. it often happens that a strong impulse comes to a child of god. in a day or two that impulse has passed away, and he looks back and sees that he has no assurance that such was the will of god for him; but to the obedient soul in communion with the heavenly father, the constant, irrepressible, insistent and persistent conviction that a certain thing should or should not be done is one of the sure indications of god's voice in the soul. the third feature in discerning the will of god is what may be called _the favorable circumstance_, or _the open door_. if god wants one to go to a certain place or do a certain thing, the opportunity to do it will be present with the call to do it. if it is not, then one should wait until the door opens. if the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night remains stationary, then israel must remain in the camp. when these emblems of god's guidance lifted and moved, then israel knew that it was time for them to move. so long thy power hath blest me, sure it still will lead me on o'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till the night is gone; and with the morn those angel faces smile which i have loved long since and lost awhile. --_john h. newman_ these three things, the word of god, the inward impression, and the open door, should be present in every clear indication of the will of god. if any one of them is missing, it indicates that the will of god is not yet clear. we have a beautiful illustration of these three things in the call of peter to admit cornelius into the church (acts and ). first, peter had the _word of god_--nothing should be regarded common or unclean; second, he had _the inward impression_--he was meditating on what the vision he had seen should mean; and third, there was _the open door_--three men were already waiting for him to convey him to cæsarea. wonderfully instructive is god's guidance of the children of israel by the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. in this connection we should recall the words of jesus when in the temple, at the time they were celebrating god's care for his people in the wilderness in providing them with the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire. he said, "i am the light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." christ is our guide; the word of god is our chart. having them, we may rest assured that god who has guided his people in all the ages will guide us safely to the end. guide me, o thou great jehovah, pilgrim through this barren land; i am weak, but thou art mighty, hold me with thy powerful hand; bread of heaven, feed me till i want no more. open now the crystal fountain whence the healing stream doth flow; let the fiery, cloudy pillar lead me all my journey through; strong deliverer, be thou still my strength and shield. when i tread the verge of jordan, bid my anxious fears subside, death of deaths and hell's destruction, land me safe on canaan's side: songs of praises i will ever give to thee. --_william williams_ chapter four [illustration] ="yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."= it was necessary for shepherds in palestine, when leading their flocks from one pasture to another, to lead them, at times, through dark ravines, on either side of which were caves and holes wherein dwelt ravenous beasts. from the attack of these beasts the shepherd must protect his flock. for this purpose he used the staff which he carried with him. the staff was a great stick with a large knob at the end of it pierced through with sharp nails and spikes. this weapon was used to beat off the attacks of the wild beasts. the shepherd must be bold and courageous. we recall how david referred to his encounters with wild beasts which attacked his flock. "and david said unto saul, thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock; and i went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth; and when he arose against me, i caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. thy servant slew both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living god. david said moreover, the lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of the philistine. and saul said unto david, go, and the +lord+ be with thee" (i samuel : - ). =_the valley of the shadow_= "the valley of the shadow of death" may refer to any dark, dread or awful experience through which the child of god is called to pass. in this sense it is used in many places in the scriptures. the christian's path is not always beside still waters and in green pastures. in pastures green? not always; sometimes he who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me in weary ways, where heavy shadows be. and by still waters? no not always so, ofttimes the heavy tempests round me blow, and o'er my soul the waves and billows go. but when the storm beats loudest, and i cry aloud for help, the master standeth by, and whispers to my soul, "lo, it is i!" above the tempest wild i hear him say, "beyond the darkness lies the perfect day, in every path of thine i lead the way." --_henry h. barry_ but is it not kind of our father that he puts the valley in the middle of the psalm--not at the beginning of our christian journey, lest we should be unduly discouraged, but in the middle--after we have been strengthened with food and drink and have been assured of the tender care and guidance of the great shepherd. oh! wondrous thought and care! of course, "the valley of the shadow of death" refers also, and probably more particularly, to the experience of death itself. at least we have come to look upon it in such light, and doubtless thousands of god's people have found the comforting truth of this verse a safe pillow in the dying hour. it has lightened the valley, removed the fear of death, and illumined immortality. =_the fear of death_= when a robber would scatter a flock of sheep and cause fear and consternation he throws a dead carcass in the midst of the flock. sheep fear nothing as much as the sight of death. is this not true of man also? about the last fear taken from the human heart is "the fear of death." "the last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." even though the believer knows that the sting of death has been removed, nevertheless there is usually an attendant fear connected with the passing out of this life. i have read that a famous scientist was in the habit of visiting a zoological garden in london. among the many things that always interested him was a large snake--a boa constrictor. it was kept in a large glass case so that inspection of the reptile was perfectly safe from the outside. the scientist, we are told, was in the habit of knocking on the glass in order to awaken the snake. instantly, when the knock was heard, the snake would raise its head and strike at the glass with its fangs. the scientist, instinctively shrank back, fearful of being struck, though he knew there was absolutely no danger. so sometimes is it with the believer's relationship to death. even though he knows the sting is removed, nevertheless the experience of death is somewhat of a dread. the soul naturally recoils at the thought of death. no really thoughtful man will speak lightly of death. he may, as some men may, in the fullness of health and vigor, laugh at the idea of dying; but when he comes face to face with the real experience, there is, as any minister or physician will tell you, quite a different story to tell. it reminds me of an experience in our own family life. behind a former residence of ours was a stretch of woods where, after school, our boys would go to play their outdoor games. it was the understanding in the home that when the whistle was blown or some other signal given the boys should come home for their meals. at times the boys would come home in response to the signal in a somewhat murmuring spirit. they have said something like this to their mother: "mother, what did you call us home for anyway? didn't you know that we were just in the midst of a great game and our side was about to win? we wish you wouldn't call us." i have felt as i have listened to them speaking thus to their mother that, just at that particular time and in the middle of the day, they could, apparently, get along very well without their mother. but i have noticed this also, that at night time, after their mother had prayed with them and the lights were turned out, there was another story to tell. it seems to me that i can still hear one of the boys calling out in the dark to his mother, "mamma, are you there?" "yes, son." "mamma." "yes." "is your face turned towards me?" "yes." "mamma, will you hold my hand? it's dark, isn't it, mamma? good night, mamma." ah, yes, in the day-time they might think they could get along very well without their mother, but when the night comes, and the lights are all out, and it's dark, then nobody on earth but mother will do. so it is with you, my friend. in your bravado of health and strength you may say that you are not afraid of death, but you wait until your feet come down to the brink of the river; then there will be a different story to tell. some men haven't much use for god in life, but nobody else but god will do in the hour of death. =_the valley is certain and narrow_= death is certain. it is appointed unto men once to die. while the lord tarries, every child of adam will have to pass through the experience of death. there is no flock, however watched and tended, but one dead lamb is there! there is no fireside, howsoe'er defended, but has one vacant chair! --_henry w. longfellow_ we cannot bribe death. we cannot avoid or evade passing through the valley of the shadow. we cannot dig under it, nor tunnel around it, nor fly over it. face it we must. it behooves us, therefore, to make sure that we have the light and the life which alone will secure for us a happy exit from this valley and a glorious entrance into the unfading light of a new day. the valley of the shadow of death is narrow, very narrow--so narrow indeed that even a mother cannot take her one-hour-old babe with her. it is so narrow. she must go through the valley alone. single file, if you please, is the order of march through this valley of the shadow. an aged woman lay dying. by her bedside, with his hand in hers, sat the man who for over fifty years had been her husband. the light was failing fast, and eternity drawing near to the aged woman. grasping the hand of her husband tightly, she said, "john, it's getting dark. take my hand. for over fifty years we have traveled together, and you have led me. now it's getting dark, and i cannot see the way. john, come with me, won't you?" but john could not go, and with tear-filled eyes and trembling voice, he said, "anna, i cannot, cannot go. only jesus can go with you." she was a little girl of ten years. the angel of death was hovering over her bed. the end was drawing near. she said to her father, who was standing by the mother's side at the bed, "papa, it's getting dark and i cannot see. will you please go with me?" with heart breaking, the father had to say, "child, i cannot, i cannot go with you." the girl turned to her mother and said, "mamma, then you will, won't you?" but the mother, in turn, amid her tears, replied, "child, i would, but i cannot. only jesus can go with you." =_the personal pronouns change_= it is interesting to note the change in the personal pronoun in this verse. up to this point the psalmist has been speaking in the third person and using the personal pronoun "he"--"_he_ leadeth me." "_he_ maketh me." "he restoreth;" _he, he, he_. when he comes to speak of the valley of the shadow of death, however, the third personal pronoun is changed to that of the second person, "yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil; for _thou_, (_thou_--not _he_, is with me, but _thou_) art with me." there is no room for a third person in this valley. if one does not have christ as saviour and guide in the dark hour of death, he goes through the valley of the shadow all alone. surely, without christ with him man will stumble and fall in this valley. poor indeed is that soul who, when his feet are about to enter the valley, has no guide, or, when he comes to the brink of death's river, has no pilot. oh, to have no christ, no saviour, how lonely life must be! like a sailor lost and driven on a wide and shoreless sea. oh, to have no christ, no saviour, no hand to clasp thine own! through the dark, dark vale of shadows thou must press thy way alone. --_w. o. cushing_ but what a blessing and comfort it is for those who know christ as saviour and comforter, to have the assurance that in that last hour of life he is by their side to guide them. it was doubtless this thought of the presence of christ that comforted tennyson when he wrote the words of that beautiful poem: sunset and evening star, and one clear call for me! and, may there be no moaning of the bar, when i put out to sea. * * * * * twilight and evening bell, and after that the dark! and, may there be no sadness of farewell, when i embark; for tho' from out our bourne of time and place the flood may bear me far, i hope to see my pilot face to face when i have crossed the bar. --_alfred tennyson_ some one has called the fourth verse of the psalm a song of the waters. did you ever hear singing on the water? there is something wonderful about it. the water seems to take all harshness out of the music, and puts something exquisitely beautiful into it. here then is "a psalm of the waters," a song for the believer to sing when his feet are touching the margin of the river: "when thou passest through the waters, i will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.... for i am the +lord+ thy god." here, too, is "a song in the night." sing it, christian pilgrim, when earth's last hour is at hand. sing it as you enter the valley. sing it as the darkness deepens. sing it when the light of earth's day begins to fade. sing it when the earth is receding, heaven is opening and god is calling you. sing it until the glory of the eternal morn breaks upon thine enraptured vision. sing it until your feet stand upon that golden shore against which death's chilly wave never again shall dash, and where death is no more. sing it, sing this song of the waters--"yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." why be afraid of death as though your life were breath! death but anoints your eyes with clay. oh glad surprise! why should you be forlorn? death only husks the corn. why should you fear to meet the thresher of the wheat? is sleep a thing to dread? yet sleeping, you are dead till you awake and rise, here, or beyond the skies. why should it be a wrench, to leave your wooden bench? why not with happy shout run home when school is out? the dear ones left behind? o foolish one and blind. a day--and you will meet--a night--and you will greet! this is the death of death, to breathe away a breath, and know the end of strife and taste the deathless life. and joy without a fear and smile without a tear, and work, nor care, nor rest, and find the last the best. --_maltbie d. babcock_ "=_thy rod and thy staff they comfort me_=" the rod is a protection from all the adversaries of the night. no enemy, not even the last enemy, death, can affright the soul in the care of the tender shepherd, for he has extracted the sting from death. the staff is used for counting the sheep as they pass one by one into the fold. this action is sometimes called "passing under the rod." the language used here indicates safety and security. i fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless; ills have no weight and tears on bitterness. where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory? i triumph still, if thou abide with me. --_henry f. lyte_ christ hath _abolished_ death and brought life and immortality to light. the word "abolished" is a very strong one in the greek. it has three root letters, a, r and g. then the preposition _kata_ is added to it, thus making our english word "energy" which means "a working force." then, in a way known to greek students, the preposition gives the word, as it were, the force of a double negative. so the apostle teaches us that christ, when he came into the world and died on the cross, did something with death. he double-twisted it, he de-vitalized it, double-negatived it, made it inoperative, rendered it powerless, so that ever afterwards it would be unable to hurt the children of god. i do not know very much about bees except, of course, that they sting. i am told, however, that when a bee stings you it leaves its sting in the wound and goes away to die. a little child may play with the bee after it has stung a person without any harm coming to the child. the bee has lost its power to hurt. so we are told that the sting of death is sin. death stung christ on the cross and left its sting in him, so that ever after it could not hurt the children of god. he is "death of death and hell's destruction." christ, the great shepherd, will be there at the entrance of the valley to meet you and lead you through. he will beat off all the powers of death. he will destroy all the enemies of darkness and convey you safely through the valley into the homeland. he holds the keys of death and the grave. how helpless a thing a sheep is! how much in need of a defender it is! it seems as though almost any other animal can defend itself. a dog will fight when attacked. a sheep stands helpless in the presence of its opponent. christ, the good shepherd, will protect to the last. the comforting thoughts of this verse must certainly take the sting out of death to those who grasp the great truths taught here. it surely abolishes death and illumines immortality. no one need fear death with such thoughts as these before him. the apostle paul asserts that every believer in christ has "a cheerful view of death," and desires rather "to be absent from the body and at home with the lord" than to remain here upon the earth. go to thy grave, not as the slave scourged to his dungeon, or the dog whipped to his kennel, but as the prince wraps around him the drapery of his couch and lies down to pleasant dreams. the conscious companionship of the christ will remove thy fears. with what alacrity, courage and fearlessness doth he walk the highway whose heart is honest and whose conscience doth not convict him of the violation of his country's laws! how different with the criminal! how full of fear and apprehension! abide with me! fast falls the eventide; the darkness deepens--lord, with me abide! when other helpers fail, and comforts flee, help of the helpless, oh, abide with me! swift to its close ebbs out life's little day; earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away; change and decay in all around i see; o thou who changest not, abide with me! i fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless; ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness. where is death's sting? where, grave, thy victory? i triumph still, if thou abide with me! hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies; heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee; in life, in death, o lord, abide with me! --_henry f. lyte_ chapter five [illustration] ="thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over."= there is a variety of senses in which the truth of this verse may be understood. it is said that in the ancient days a shepherd's tent was a kind of city of refuge. the man who had unwittingly slain another could find refuge in a shepherd's tent from the avenger of blood. the fugitive was permitted to stay a given length of time within the shepherd's care, during which time he was as safe from the pursuer as though he were in the actual city of refuge. the pursuer might be raging with fury outside of the door of the tent, but the fugitive could eat with perfect safety and peace in the presence of his enemy. how like christ in his relation to the believer! one day charles wesley stood looking out of a partly open window at the fierce storm howling without, when a young robin, quickly passing some other birds, flew to his breast, seeking shelter from its foes. it was then he wrote that wonderful hymn, the opening words of which are: jesus, lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly! is not this a picture of this verse of the psalm? "and a man (jesus christ) shall be for a hiding place and a refuge from the storm." are we not safe in him from all our foes? "there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in christ jesus." we are told that in david's day it was the custom of conquering kings and princes to bring the royal captives of the contending defeated army into a large banqueting house. to each pillar in the house a prisoner of royal blood or a commanding officer was chained. the banquet tables were heavily laden with good things of which the victors partook. feasting and jollification were indulged in, and joy and gladness were manifest in the presence of defeated and chained enemies. are we not made "always to triumph" over all our foes in christ? are we not made "more than conquerors" in him who hath "led captivity captive"? "ye shall eat your meat in quietness, and nothing shall make you afraid." or, again, it may be that reference is made in this verse to the grazing of sheep in fields full of snakeholes or of poisonous plants. a sheep raiser in texas once told the writer that he lost a great many sheep because snakes would come up through holes in the ground and bite the sheep as they grazed, poisoning them. after losing many of the flock he finally discovered a remedy. a mixture of some kind was poured down the holes, which killed the snakes, and after that the sheep were able to graze in peace and safety. hath not christ abolished death for the believer? has he not deprived death of its sting and stripped the grave of its victim? hath he not overcome that old serpent, the devil? do we not overcome the dragon, that old serpent, the devil and satan, the accuser of the brethren day and night--do we not overcome him by the blood of the lamb? whichever of these meanings may be adopted as indicating the teaching of this verse, we may be certain that the truth the psalmist desires to express is this: that god gives his children victory over all their foes, and makes them more than conquerors over all their enemies. thus shall we "eat our meat in peace and quietness, and nothing shall make us afraid." "why do the heathen rage?... he that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh"--and so shall we. on the rock of ages founded, who can shake thy sure repose? with salvation's walls surrounded, thou mayes't smile at all thy foes. --_rev. john newton_ "=_thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over_=" a shepherd must needs be a physician also. in the belt of the shepherd medicines are always carried. sheep are very susceptible to sicknesses of many kinds, particularly fevers. ofttimes at night as the sheep passed into the fold the shepherd's knowing eye would detect that one or another of them was sick and feverish. perhaps it had been bitten by a serpent or torn by some wild animal. he would take the feverish sheep and plunge its head into clear, cold water, plunging the head so far into the pail that the water would run over, or anoint the bruise with mollifying ointment. doubtless david is thinking of this experience of his shepherd life. or, again, david may be referring to the bountiful water supply provided for the sheep and applying it to the rich provision god has made for the believer. not only is there grace enough for oneself, but with the believer as a channel, an abundance for others. thou, o christ, art all i want; more than all in thee i find! --_charles wesley_ this is the wonderful truth taught by jesus in the temple: "now on the last day, the great day of the feast, jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. he that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water." here we see how the believer may come to christ for the quenching of his own thirst, and then draw on, or drink more deeply of, christ for the quenching of the thirst of others. "thou, o christ, art all i want, more than all in thee i find." here we have the personal and relative side of a consecrated life of service. my cup is to "run over." no selfish religion must i claim. i am to be satisfied with christ first myself, then i am to take from him so large a supply that others with whom i come into contact may also partake of his fullness. no hermit, no ascetic, monk, or recluse would the master have me be. there are hermit souls that live withdrawn in the peace of their self-content; there are souls, like stars, that dwell apart in a fellowless firmament. there are pioneer souls that blaze their paths where highways never ran-- but let me live by the side of the road and be a friend to man. let me live in my house by the side of the road where the race of men go by-- the men who are good and the men who are bad, as good and as bad as i, i would not sit in the scorner's seat, or hurl the cynic's ban-- let me live in the house by the side of the road and be a friend to man. i see from my house by the side of the road, by the side of the highway of life, the men who press with the ardor of hope, the men who are faint with the strife; but i turn not away from their smiles nor their tears-- both parts of an infinite plan-- let me live in a house by the side of the road and be a friend to man. --_sam walter foss_ chapter six [illustration] ="surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and i will dwell in the house of the +lord+ for ever."= the writer was once called to speak with a scotch presbyterian elder who was rapidly passing from this life. i had read to him this last verse of the psalm, when, turning in his bed, he said to me in words that were almost his last, "take my bible and read that verse to me from 'the psalms in metre' in the back of my bible." i took his scotch bible from a table close by and read: goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me, and in god's house for evermore my dwelling place shall be. --_william whittingham_ some one has well said that "goodness and mercy" are god's two collie dogs to preserve the christian from all danger. others have likened "goodness and mercy" to the christian's footmen to wait upon him daily. "the house of the +lord+" is doubtless here contrasted with the tent of the shepherd, just as the words "dwell for ever" are contrasted with the fact that the fugitive was allowed to stay in the shepherd's tent only a limited time. this verse expresses the confidence of the christian with regard to the future. it is the christian's confidence that in the father's house a mansion is prepared for him, and that when the earthly house of this tabernacle is taken down and dissolved by death he has a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. this is surely a grand provision for old age, a life insurance worthy of the name, a home for the winter of life, and a blessed assurance with regard to one's eternity. how poor indeed is that soul that cannot say, "yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil," for the grave is not the terminus but the passageway that leads to endless light and life, into the glory and beauty of the house of the lord in which the believer shall "dwell for ever." beyond the night of death lies the perfect day; beyond the valley of the shadow lie the plains of peace. one cannot help but wonder if you, reader, have such a confident hope with regard to your future life. only those who are able to say "the +lord+ is my shepherd" are able to say "i will dwell in the house of the +lord+ for ever." a famous scotch preacher tells us that a demented boy, who was in the habit of attending one of the classes in his sunday school, was sick unto death. the minister was asked to go to see the boy. he went to the house, and in speaking with the lad and after reading the scriptures he was about to leave, when this boy, with only half his reasoning power, demented and partly idiotic, asked the great preacher if he wouldn't kneel down and recite for him the twenty-third psalm. in obedience to the boy's request he knelt and repeated the twenty-third psalm, until he came to the last verse which, as you know, reads "surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and i will dwell in the house of the +lord+ for ever." but the preacher did not repeat this last verse, for he was saying to himself while on his knees, "this verse can hardly be true of this boy, surely goodness and mercy has not followed him all the days of his life, and further, what does he know about the determination of this verse--to dwell in the house of the +lord+ for ever?" and so the great preacher was rising from his knees, having omitted the last verse, when the boy reached out his hand and, placing it on the shoulder of the minister, pressed him again to his knees and repeated the last verse of the psalm--the verse the preacher had omitted, as it is written in the scotch hymn book: goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me; and in god's house for evermore my dwelling place shall be. --_william whittingham_ this was a lesson the preacher never forgot. can you, my reader, you, with all your senses, your keenness of brain and intellect--can you say what this idiotic boy could say: "i will dwell in the house of the +lord+ for ever"? i am reminded in this connection of one of bunyan's characters in the "pilgrim's progress." he is referred to as "mr. feeble mind." this character in speaking of his immortal hope--that hope which lies beyond the valley of the shadow and the grave--expresses it in this way: "but this i am resolved on: to run when i can, to go when i cannot run, and to creep when i cannot go. as to the main, i thank him that loved me. i am fixed. my way is before me. my mind is beyond the river that hath no bridge, though i am, as you see, but of a feeble mind." mark that wonderful expression, will you?-- "my mind is beyond the river that hath no bridge." is yours? you--man, woman, with all your senses, of strong and sound mind, can you give expression to an exclamation of faith like that? there are some of my readers on whose head time has laid its hand and whitened their hair to the whiteness of that winter in which all their glory must fade. their sun of life is going down beyond the hill of life. the young may die; the old must die. oh, the pity of it, to see the old and gray with no eternal life insurance for the winter of life! the gray head is indeed a crown of glory if it be found in the way of life; otherwise it is a fool's cap. reader, may your eventide be light, and may your path be as the path of the just that shineth brighter and brighter unto the perfect day! thus we see that the grave is not the end. we pass through the grave only in order that we may place our last climbing footstep upon the threshold of our father's house, to go out no more. then we shall dwell for ever there. beyond the grave lie the plains of peace, the homeland--with all the loved who have gone before--those whom we "have loved long since and lost awhile." is the way so dark, o wanderer, is the hillcrest wild and steep, far, so far, the vale beyond thee, where the homelights vigil keep? still the goal lies far before thee, soon will fall on thee the night; breast the path that takes thee onward, fight the storm with all thy might. tho' thy heart be faint and weary, tho' thy footsteps fain would cease, journey onward--past the hillcrest lie for thee the plains of peace! is thy path so rough, o pilgrim, passing on thy way through life; deep the sorrows that beset thee, great the burden, wild the strife? tho' the hill of life be weary, tho' the goal of rest be far, set thy whole heart to endeavor, turn thy soul to yon bright star. from the toiling, from the striving there at last shall come release; one shall bring thee past the hillcrest, home unto his plains of peace; one shall bring thee past the hillcrest, home, home, home unto his plains of peace! --_clifton bingham_ fraternal charity fraternal charity by rev. father valuy, s.j. authorized translation new york, cincinnati, chicago benziger brothers printers to the holy apostolic see nihil obstat. f. thomas bergh, o.s.b., _censor deputatus._ imprimatur. gulielmus, _episcopus arindelensis,_ _vicarius generalis._ westmonasterii, _die feb., ._ translator's note the name of father valuy, s.j., is already favourably known to english readers by several translations of his works, which have a large circulation. the following little treatise is taken from one of his works on the religious life, and is translated with the kind permission of the publisher, m. emmanuel vitte, of lyons. the subject is so important a factor in community life that i feel confident it will supply a want hitherto felt by many. though specially written for religious, it cannot fail to prove beneficial to seculars in every sphere of life, as love, the sunshine of existence, is wanted everywhere. contents i. charity the peculiar virtue of christ ii. first fundamental truth iii. second fundamental truth iv. the family spirit v. egotism, or self-seeking vi. first characteristic of fraternal charity vii. second characteristic viii. third characteristic ix. fourth characteristic x. fifth characteristic xi. sixth characteristic xii. seventh characteristic xiii. eighth characteristic xiv. ninth characteristic xv. tenth characteristic xvi. eleventh characteristic xvii. twelfth characteristic xviii. extent and delicacy of god's charity for men xix. extent and delicacy of the charity of jesus christ during his mortal life xx. first preservative xxi. second preservative xxii. third preservative xxiii. fourth preservative xxiv. fifth preservative xxv. sixth preservative xxvi. seventh preservative xxvii. eighth preservative xxviii. ninth preservative xxix. tenth preservative xxx. eleventh preservative xxxi. means to support the evil thoughts and tongues of others xxxii. second means to bear with others xxxiii. conclusion appendix: the practice of fraternal charity fraternal charity i charity the peculiar virtue of christ our divine saviour shows both by precept and example that his favourite virtue, his own and, in a certain sense, characteristic virtue, was charity. whether he treated with his ignorant and rude apostles, with the sick and poor, or with his enemies and sinners, he is always benign, condescending, merciful, affable, patient; in a word, his charity appeared in all its most amiable forms. oh, how well these titles suit him!--a king full of clemency, a lamb full of mildness. how justly could he say, "learn of me, that i am meek and humble of heart"! his yoke was sweet, his burden light, his conversation without sadness or bitterness. he lightened the burdens of those heavily laden; he consoled those in sorrow; he quenched not the dying spark nor broke the bruised reed. he calls us his friends, his brothers, his little flock; and as the greatest sign of friendship is to die for those we love, he gave to each of us the right to say with st. paul: "he loved me, and delivered himself up for me." let us, then, say: "my good master, i love thee, and deliver myself up for thee." religious, called to reproduce the three great virtues of jesus christ--poverty, chastity, and obedience--have still another to practise not less noble or distinctive--viz., fraternal charity. by this virtue they are not called to rise above earthly or sensual pleasures, nor above their judgment and self-will, but above egotism and self-love, which shoot their roots deepest in the soul. they must consider attentively the fundamental truths on which charity is based and its effects, as also the principal obstacles to its attainment, and the means to overcome them. ii first fundamental truth _we are all members of the great christian family_ charity towards our neighbour is charity towards god in our neighbour, because, faith assuring us that god is our father, jesus christ our head, the holy ghost our sanctifier, it follows that to love our neighbour--inasmuch as he is the well-beloved child of god, the member of jesus christ, and the sanctuary of the holy ghost--is to love in a special manner our heavenly father, his only-begotten son, together with the holy spirit. and because it is scarcely possible for religious to behold their brethren in this light without wishing them what the most holy trinity so lovingly desires to bestow on them, acts of fraternal charity include--almost necessarily at least--implicit acts of faith and hope; and the exercise of the noblest of the theological virtues thus often becomes an exercise of the other two. thus it is that charity poured into our hearts by the holy spirit, uniting christians among themselves and with the adorable trinity whose images they are, is the vivid and perfect imitation of the love of the father for the son, and of the son for the father--a substantial love which is no other than the holy ghost, and makes us all one in god by grace, as the father and son are only one god with the holy ghost by nature, according to the words of our lord: "that they all may be one; as thou, father, in me, and i in thee: that they also may be one in us." such is the chain that unites and binds us--a chain of gold a thousand times stronger than those of flesh and blood, interest or friendship, because these permit the defects of body and the vices of the soul to be seen, whilst charity covers all, hides all, to offer exclusively to admiration and love the work of the hands of god, the price of the blood of jesus christ and the masterpiece of the holy spirit. iii second fundamental truth _we are members of the same religious family_ to love our brethren as ourselves in relation to god, it suffices without doubt to have with them the same faith, the same sacraments, the same head, the same life, the same immortal hopes, etc. but, besides these, there exist other considerations which lead friendship and fraternity to a higher degree among the members of the same religious order. all in the novitiate have been cast in the same mould, or, rather, have imbibed the milk of knowledge and piety from the breasts of the same mother. all follow the same rules; all tend to the same end by the same means; all from morning to night, and during their whole lives, perform the same exercises, live under the same roof, work, sanctify themselves, suffer and rejoice together. like fellow-citizens, they have the same interests; like soldiers, the same combats; like children of a family, the same ancestors and heirlooms; and, like friends, a communication of ideas and interchange of sentiments. if our lord said to christians in general, "this is my commandment, that you love one another as i have loved you. by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (john xiii.), can he not say to the members of the same religious order: "this is my own and special recommendation: before all and above all preserve amongst you a mutual charity. have but one soul in several different bodies. you will be recognized as religious and brethren, not by the same habit, vows, and virtues, nor by the particular work entrusted to you by the church, but by the love you have one for the other. ah! who will love you if you do not love one another? love one another fraternally, because as human beings you have only one heavenly father. love one another holily, because as christians you have only one head. love one another tenderly, because as religious you have only one mother--your order"? it is impossible for religious to love their brethren with a true, sincere, pure, and constant love if they do not look at them in this light. iv the family spirit based on the foregoing principles, fraternal charity begets the family spirit--that spirit which forgets itself in thinking only of the common good; which makes particular give way to general interests; which forces oneself to live with all without exception, to live as all without singularity, and to live for all without self-seeking; that spirit which, binding like a divine cement all parts of the mysterious edifice of religion, uniting all hearts in one and all wills in one, permits the community to proceed firmly and securely, and its members to work out efficaciously and peacefully their personal sanctification and perfection; in fine, that spirit which gives to all religious not only an inexpressible family happiness, but a delicious foretaste of heaven, which renders them invincible to their enemies, and causes to be said of them with admiration: "see how they love one another!" writing on these words of the psalmist, "behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to live together in union," st. augustine cries out: "behold the words which make monasteries spring up! sweet, delightful, and delicious words which fill the soul and ear with jubilation." yes, certainly the happiness of community life is great and its advantages inappreciable; but without the family spirit there is no community, as there would be no beauty in the human body without harmony in its members. oh, never forget this comparison, you who wish to live happy in religion, and who wish to make others happy. a community is a body. now, as the members of a body, each in its proper place and functions, live in perfect harmony, mutually comfort, defend, and love each other, without being jealous or vengeful, and have only in view the well-being of that body of which they are parts, so in the community of which you are members and in the employment assigned to you. remember you are parts of a whole, and that it is necessary to refer to this whole your time, labour, and strength; to have the same thoughts, sentiments, designs, and language, without which there would no longer exist either body, members, parts, or whole. if you wish, then, to obtain and practise the family spirit, study what passes within you. your actions bespeak your sentiments. v egotism, or self-seeking egotism, taking for its motto "every one for himself," is very much opposed to fraternal charity and the family spirit. it never hesitates, when occasion offers, to sacrifice the common good to its own. it isolates the individuals, makes them concentrated in self, places them in the community, but not of it, makes them strangers amongst their brethren, and tends to justify the words of an impious writer, who calls monasteries "reunions of persons who know not each other, who live without love, and die without being regretted." egotism breeds distrust, jealousy, parties, aversions. it destroys abnegation, humility, patience, and all other virtues. it introduces a universal disgust and discontent, makes religious lose their first fervour, presents an image of hell where one expected to find a heaven on earth, saps the very foundation of community life, and leads sooner or later to inevitable ruin. as the family spirit causes the growth and prosperity of an order, however feeble its beginning, so, on the other hand, egotism dries the sap and renders it powerless, no matter what other advantages it may enjoy. if the one, by uniting hearts, is a principle of strength and duration, the other, by dividing, is a principle of dissolution and decay. sallust says that "the weakest things become powerful by concord, and the greatest perish through discord." whilst the descendants of noah spoke the same language the building of the tower of babel proceeded with rapidity. from the moment they ceased to understand one another its destruction commenced, and the monument which was to have immortalized their name was left in ruin to tell their shame and pride. on each of the four corners of the monastery religion or charity personified ought to be placed, bearing on shields in large characters the following words: ( ) "love one another"; ( ) "he who is not with me is against me, and he who gathers not with me scatters"; ( ) "every kingdom divided will become desolate"; ( ) "they had all but one heart and one soul." vi first characteristic of fraternal charity _to esteem our brethren interiorly_ "charity, the sister of humility," says st. paul, "is not puffed up." she cannot live with pride, the disease of a soul full of itself. it willingly prefers others by considering their good qualities and one's own defects, and shows this exteriorly when occasion offers by many sincere proofs. it always looks on others from the most favourable point. instead of closing the eyes on fifty virtues to find out one fault, without any other profit than to satisfy a natural perverseness and to excuse one's own failings, it closes the eyes on fifty faults to open them on one virtue, with the double advantage of being edified and of blessing god, the author of all good. since an unfavourable thought, or the sight of an action apparently reprehensible, tends to cloud the reputation of a religious, charity hastens before the cloud thickens to drive it away, saying, "what am i doing? should i blacken in my mind the image of god, and seek deformities in the member of jesus christ? besides, cannot my brethren be eminently holy and be subject to many faults, which god permits them to fall into in order to keep them humble, to teach them to help others, and to exercise their patience?" vii second characteristic _to treat brethren with respect, openness, and cordiality_ exterior honour being the effect and sign of interior esteem, charity honours all those whom it esteems superiors, equals, the young and the old. it carefully observes all propriety, and takes into consideration the different circumstances of age, employment, merit, character, birth, and education to make itself all to all. convinced that god is not unworthy to have well-bred persons in his service, and that religious ought not to respect themselves less than people in the world, it conforms to all the requirements of politeness as far as religious simplicity will permit; not that politeness which is feigned and hypocritical, and which is merely a sham expression of deceitful respect, but that politeness, the flower of charity, which, manifesting exteriorly the sentiments of a sincere affection and a true devotion, is accompanied with a graceful countenance, benign and affable regards, sweetness in words, foresight, urbanity, and delicacy in business. in fine, that politeness which is the fruit of self-denial and humility no less than of charity and friendship; which is the art of self-restraint and self-conquest, without restraining others; which is the care of avoiding everything that might displease, and doing all that can please, in order to make others content with us and with themselves. in a word, a mixture of discretion and complaisance, cordiality and respect, together with words and manners full of mildness and benignity. viii third characteristic _to work harmoniously with those in the same employment, and not to cause any inconvenience to them_ why should we cling so obstinately to our own way of seeing and doing? do not many ways and means serve the same ends provided they be employed wisely and perseveringly? some have succeeded by their methods, and i by mine--a proof that success is reached through many ways, and that it is not by disputing it is obtained, nor by giving scandal to those we should edify, nor, perhaps, by compromising the good work in which we are employed. the four animals mentioned by ezekiel joined their wings, were moved by the same spirit and animated by the same ardour, and so drew the heavenly chariot with majesty and rapidity, giving us religious an example of perfect union of efforts and thoughts. charity avoids haughty and contemptuous looks, forewarns itself against fads and manias, and in the midst of most pressing occupations carefully guards against rudeness and impatience. careful of wounding the susceptibility of others, it neither blames nor despises those who act in an opposite way. religious animated by fraternal charity are not ticklish spirits who are disturbed for nothing at all, and who do not know how to pass unnoticed a little want of respect, etc.; nor punctilious spirits, who find pleasure in contradicting and making irritating remarks; nor self-opinionated spirits, who pose themselves as supreme judges of talent and virtue as well as infallible dispensers of praise and blame. neither are they suspicious characters who are constantly ruminating in their hearts, and who consider every little insult as levelled at themselves; nor discontented beings, who find fault with the places whither obedience sends them and the persons with whom they live, and who could travel the entire world without finding a single place or a single person to suit them. charitable religious are not those imperious minds who endeavour to impose their opinions on all and refuse to accept those of others, however just they may be, simply because they did not emanate from themselves, nor are they those ridiculing, hard-to-be-pleased sort of people who do not spare even grey hairs. finally, they are not those great spouters who, instead of accommodating themselves to circumstances as charity and politeness require, monopolize the conversation, and thereby shut up the mouths of others and make them feel weary when they should be joyful and free. ix fourth characteristic _to accommodate oneself to persons of different humour_ they who are animated by charity support patiently and in silence, in sentiments of humility and sweetness, as if they had neither eyes nor ears, the difficult, odd, and most inconstant humours of others, although they may find it very difficult at times to do so. no matter how regular and perfect we may be, we have always need of compassion and indulgence for others. to be borne with, we must bear with others; to be loved, we must love; to be helped, we must help; to be joyful ourselves, we must make others so. surrounded as we are by so many different minds, characters, and interests, how can we live in peace for a single day if we are not condescending, accommodating, yielding, self-denying, ready to renounce even a good project, and to take no notice of those faults and shortcomings which are beyond our power or duty to correct? charity patiently listens to a bore, answers a useless question, renders service even when the need is only imaginary, without ever betraying the least signs of annoyance. it never asks for exceptions or privileges for fear of exciting jealousy. it does not multiply nor prolong conversations which in any way annoy others. it fights antipathy and natural aversions so that they may never appear, and seeks even the company of those who might be the object of them. it does not assume the office of reprehending or warning through a motive of bitter zeal. it seeks to find in oneself the faults it notices in others, and perhaps greater ones, and tries to correct them. "if thou canst not make thyself such a one as thou wouldst, how canst thou expect to have another according to thy liking? we would willingly have others perfect, and yet we mend not our own defects. we would have others strictly corrected, but are not fond of being corrected ourselves. the large liberty of others displeases us, and yet we do not wish to be denied anything we ask for. we are willing that others be bound up by laws, and we suffer not ourselves to be restrained by any means. thus it is evident how seldom we weigh our neighbour in the same balance with ourselves" ("imitation," i. ). x fifth characteristic _to refuse no reasonable service, and to accept or refuse in an affable manner_ charity is generous; it does everything it can. when even it can do little, it wishes to be able to do more. it never lets slip an opportunity of comforting, helping, and taking the most painful part, after the example of its divine model, who came to serve, not to be served. one religious, seemingly in pain, seeks comfort; another desires some book, instrument, etc.; a third bends under a burden; while a fourth is afflicted. in all these cases charity comes to the aid by consoling the one, procuring little gratifications for the other, and helping another. without complaining of the increased labour or the carelessness of others, it finishes the work left undone by them, too happy to diminish their trouble, while augmenting its own reward. "does the hunter," says st. john chrysostom, "who finds splendid game blame those who beat the brushwood before him? or does the traveller who finds a purse of gold on the road neglect to pick it up because others who preceded him took no notice of it?" it would be a strange thing to find religious uselessly giving themselves to ardent desires of works of charity abroad, such as nursing in a hospital or carrying the gospel into uncivilized lands, and at the same time in their own house and among their own brethren showing coldness, indifference, and want of condescension. there is an art of giving as well as of refusing. several offend in giving because they do so with a bad grace; others in refusing do not offend because they know how to temper their refusal by sweetness of manner. charity possesses this art in a high degree, and, besides, raises a mere worldly art into a virtue and fruit of the holy ghost. xi sixth characteristic _to share the joys and griefs of our brethren_ as the soul in the human body establishes all its members as sharers equally in joys and griefs, so charity in the religious community places everything in common content, affliction, material goods driving out of existence the words mine and thine. it lavishes kind words and consolations on all who suffer in any way through ill-humour, sickness, want of success, etc.; it rejoices when they are successful, honoured, and trusted, or endowed with gifts of nature or grace, felicitates them on their good fortune, and thanks god for them. if, on the one hand, compassion sweetens pains to the sufferer by sharing them, on the other hand participation in a friend's joys doubles them by making them personal to ourselves. would to god that this touching and edifying charity replaced the low and rampant vice of jealousy! when david returned after he slew the philistines, the women came out of all the cities of israel singing and dancing to meet king saul. and the women sang as they played, "saul slew his thousands and david his ten thousands." saul was exceedingly angry, and this word was displeasing in his eyes, and he said: "they have given david ten thousand, and to me they have given but a thousand. . . . and saul did not look on david with a good eye from that day forward. . . . and saul held a spear in his hand and threw it, thinking to nail david to the wall" ( kings). thus it is that the jealous complain of their brethren who are more successful, learned, or praised; thus it is that they lance darts of calumny, denunciation, and revenge. xii seventh characteristic _not to be irritated when others wrong us_ we must pardon and do good for evil, as god has pardoned us and rendered good for evil in jesus christ. it is vain to trample the violet, as it never resists, and he who crushes it only becomes aware of the fact by the sweetness of its perfume. this is the image of charity. it always strives to throw its mantle over the evil doings of others, persuading itself that they were the effects of surprise, inadvertence, or at most very slight malice. if an explanation is necessary, it is the first to accuse itself. never does it permit the keeping of a painful thought against any of the brethren, and does all in its power to hinder them from the same; and, moreover, excuses all signs of contempt, ingratitude, rudeness, peculiarities, etc. cassian makes mention of a religious who, having received a box on the ear from his abbot in presence of more than two hundred brethren, made no complaint, nor even changed colour. st. gregory praises another religious, who, having been struck several times with a stool by his abbot, attributed it not to the passion of the abbot, but to his own fault. he adds that the humility and patience of the disciple was a lesson for the master. this charity will have no small weight in the balance of him who weighs merit so exactly. charity gives no occasion to others to suffer, but suffers all patiently, not once, but all through life, every day and almost every hour. it is most necessary for religious, as, not being able to seek comfort abroad, they are obliged to live in the same house, often in the same employment with characters less sympathetic than their own. these little acts of charity count for little here below, and they are rather exacted than admired. hence there is less danger of vainglory, and all their merit is preserved in the sight of god. xiii eighth characteristic _to practise moderation and consideration_ tell-tales, nasty names, cold answers, lies, mockery, harsh words, etc., are all contrary to charity. st. john chrysostom says: "when anyone loads you with injuries, close your mouth, because if you open it you will only cause a tempest. when in a room between two open doors through which a violent wind rushes and throws things in disorder, if you close one door the violence of the wind is checked and order is restored. so it is when you are attacked by anyone with a bad tongue. your mouth and his are open doors. close yours, and the storm ceases. if, unfortunately, you open yours, the storm will become furious, and no one can tell what the damage may be." if we have been guilty in this respect, let us humble ourselves before god. "the tongue," says st. gertrude, "is privileged above the other members of the body, as on it reposes the sacred body and precious blood of jesus christ. those, then, who receive the holy of holies without doing penance for the sins of the tongue are like those who would keep a heap of stones at their doors to stone a friend on arrival." in order to keep ourselves and others in a state of moderation, we must remember that all persons have some fad, mania, or fixed ideas which they permit no one to gainsay. if we touch them on these points, it will be like playing an accompaniment to an instrument with one string out of tune. xiv ninth characteristic _care of the sick and infirm_ charity lavishes care on the sick and infirm, on the old, on guests and new-comers. it requires that we visit those who are ill, to cheer and console them, to foresee their wants, and thereby to spare them the pain or humiliation of asking for anything. bossuet says: "esteem the sick, love them, respect and honour them, as being consecrated by the unction of the cross and marked with the character of a suffering jesus." charity pays honour to the aged in every respect, coincides with their sentiments, consults them, forestalls their desires, and attempts not to reform in them what cannot be reformed. charity receives fraternally all guests and new-comers, and makes us treat them as we would wish to be treated under similar circumstances. it also causes us to lavish testimonies of affection on those who are setting out, and warns us to be very careful of saying or doing anything that may in the least degree offend even the most susceptible. religious must ever feel that they can bless, love, and thank religion as a good mother. but religion is not an abstract matter; it is made up of individuals reciprocally bound together in and for each other. alas! how many times are the sick and the old made to consider themselves as an inconvenient burden, or like a useless piece of furniture! in reality what are they doing? they pray and do penance for the community, turn away the scourge of god, draw down his graces and blessings, merit, perhaps, the grace of perseverance for several whose vocation is shaking, hand down to the younger members the traditions and spirit of the institute, and finally practise, and cause to be practised, a thousand acts of virtue. did our divine lord work less efficaciously for the church when he hung on the cross than when he preached? we must, then, do for the sick and the old who are now bearing their cross what we would have wished to do for jesus in his suffering. xv tenth characteristic _prayer for living and deceased brethren_ "we do not remember often enough our dear dead, our departed brethren," says st. francis de sales, "and the proof of it is that we speak so little of them. we try to change the discourse as if it were hurtful. we let the dead bury their dead. their memory perishes with us like the sound of the funeral knell, without thinking that a friendship which perishes with death is not true. it is a sign of piety to speak of their virtues as it urges us to imitate them." in communities distinguished for fraternal charity and the family spirit the conversation frequently turns on the dead. one talks of their virtues, another of their services, a third quotes some of their sayings, while a fourth adds some other edifying fact; and who is the religious that will not on such occasions breathe a silent prayer to god and apply some indulgence or other satisfactory work for the happy repose of their souls? charity also prays for those who want help most, and who are often known to god alone--those whose constancy is wavering, those who are led by violent temptations to the edge of the precipice. it expands pent-up souls by consolations or advice; it dissipates prejudices which tend to weaken the spirit of obedience; it is, in fine, a sort of instinct which embraces all those things suggested by zeal and devotion. can there be anything more agreeable to god, more useful to the church, or more meritorious, than to foster thus amongst the well-beloved children of god peace, joy, love of vocation, together with union amongst themselves and with their superiors? it is one of the most substantial advantages we have in religion to know that we are never forsaken in life or death; to find always a heart that can compassionate our pains, a hand which sustains us in danger and lifts us when we fall. xvi eleventh characteristic _to have a lively interest in the whole order, in its works, its success, and its failures_ religious who have the family spirit wish to know everything which concerns the well-being of the different houses. they willingly take their pens to contribute to the edification and satisfy the lawful curiosity of their brethren. they bless god when they hear good news, and grieve at bad news, losses by death, and, above all, scandalous losses of vocation. those who would concentrate all their thoughts on their own work, as if all other work counted for nothing or merited no attention, who would speak feebly or perhaps jealously of it, as if they alone wished to do good, or that others wished to deprive them of some glory, would show that they only sought themselves, and that to little love of the church they joined much indifference for their order. charity, by uniting its good wishes and interest to the deeds of others, becomes associated at the same time in the merit. it shares in a certain manner in the gifts and labours of others. it is, at the same time, the eye, the hand, the tongue, and the foot, since it rejoices at what is done by the eye, the hand, the tongue, etc., or, rather, it is as the soul which presides over all, and to whom nothing is a stranger in the body over which it presides. xvii twelfth characteristic _mutual edification_ be edified at the sight of your brethren's virtues, and edify them by your own. in other words, be alternately disciple and master. profit by the labours of others, and make them profit by your own. receive from all, in order to be able to give to all. borrow humility from one, obedience from another, union with god, and the practice of mortification from others. by charity we store up in ourselves the gifts of grace enjoyed by every member of the community, in order to dispense them to all by a happy commerce and admirable exchange. as the bee draws honey from the sweetest juices contained in each flower; as the artist studies the masterpieces to reproduce their marvellous tints in pictures which, in their turn, become models; as a mirror placed in a focus receives the rays of brilliancy from a thousand others placed around it to re-invest them with a dazzling brilliancy, so happy is the community whose members multiply themselves, so to say, by mutually esteeming, loving, admiring, and imitating each other in what is good. this spontaneity of virtues exercises on all the members a constant and sublime ministry of mutual edification and reciprocal sanctification. xviii extent and delicacy of god's charity for men in order to excite ourselves to fraternal charity, let us try and picture that of god for us. after having had us present in his thoughts from all eternity, he has called us from nothingness to life. he himself formed man's body, and, animating it with a breath, enclosed in it an immortal soul, created to his own image. scarcely arrived on the threshold of life, we found an officer from his court an angel deputed to protect, accompany, and conduct us in triumph to our heavenly inheritance. what a superb palace he has prepared for us in this world, supplied with a prodigious variety of flowers, fruits, and animals which he has placed at our disposal! we were a fallen race, and he sent his son to raise us and save us from hell, which we merited. the word was made flesh. he took a body and soul like ours, thus ennobling and deifying, so to speak, our human nature. before ascending to his heavenly father, after having been immolated for us on the cross, for fear of leaving us orphans, he wished to remain amongst us in the holy eucharist, to nourish us with his flesh, and to infuse into our hearts his divine spirit as the living promise and the delicious foretaste of the felicity and glory which he went to prepare for us in his kingdom. truly, o god, you treat us not only with a paternal love, but with an infinite respect and honour; and cannot i love and honour those whom you have thus honoured and loved yourself? why do not these thoughts inflame my charity in the fire of your divine love? my brethren and myself are children of god and members of jesus christ. my brethren have their angels, who are companions of my angel. one day my brethren will be my companions in glory, chanting eternally the divine praises. it is but a short time since, with them, i partook of the heavenly banquet of the most holy sacrament, and to-morrow shall do so again. xix extent and delicacy of the charity of jesus christ during his mortal life let us now admire the charity of our divine saviour while on earth. if wine was wanting at a feast; if fishermen laboured in vain during the night; if a vast crowd knew not where to procure food in the desert; if unfortunate persons were possessed by devils or deprived of the use of their limbs; if death deprived a father of his daughter, or a widow of an only son, jesus was there to supply what was wanting, to give back what was lost, or to sweeten all their griefs. sometimes he forestalled the petition by curing before being asked, or by exciting the wavering faith. he generally went beyond the demands of the petitioners. he was always ready to interrupt his meal, to go to a distance, or to quit his solitude. nicodemus, as yet trembling and timid, came to find jesus during the night, and he did not hesitate to sacrifice his sleep by prolonging the conversation. the samaritan woman was not beneath his notice, although he was fatigued after a long journey. he lavished with prodigality his caresses on the children who pressed around him. when the crowd was so great that the poor woman with the flow of blood could not come within reach of his hand, he caused an all-powerful virtue to set out from him, and a simple touch of the hem of his garment supplied instead. with what charming grace his benefits were accompanied! "zacheus, come down quickly, for i will abide this day in thy house." who more than he excelled in the art of making agreeable surprises? in his apparitions to magdalen, to the holy women, to the disciples at emmaus, did he not pay well for the ointment, the tears, and the perfumes, and the hospitality he received from them? who is not moved with emotion when he sees his lord preparing a meal for the apostles on the lake-shore, or asking peter thrice to give him an opportunity of publicly repairing his triple denial, "lovest thou me?" who would not be moved when he hears what st. clement relates having heard it from st. peter that our lord was accustomed to watch like a mother with her children near his disciples during their sleep to render them any little service? o jesus! the sweetest, the most amiable, the most charitable of the children of men, make me a sharer in your mildness, your love, and your charity. xx first preservative _how to fortify ourselves against uncharitable conversations, the principal danger to fraternal charity_ to meditate on what the holy scripture says of it: "place, o lord, a guard before my mouth" (ps. cxl.)--a vigilant sentinel, well armed, to watch, and, if necessary, to arrest in the passing out any unbecoming word--"and a door before my lips," which, being tightly closed, will never let an un charitable dart escape. "shut in your ears with a hedge of thorns," to counteract the tongue, which would pour into them the poison of uncharitableness, "and refuse to listen to the wicked tongue." "put before your mouth several doors and on your ears several locks"--_i.e._, put doors upon doors and locks upon locks, because the tongue is capable, in its fury, to force open the first door and break the first lock. "melt your gold and silver, and make for your words a balance"--weighing them all before uttering them--"and have for your mouth solid bridles which are tightly held," for fear that the tongue, getting the better of your vigilance, will break loose and do mischief in all directions. considering these many barriers and formidable checks, must we not see the necessity of burying in a well-fortified prison that most dangerous monster, the tongue? "ah! truly death and life are in the power of the tongue" (prov. xviii.). "and although the sword has been the instrument of innumerable murders, the tongue has at all times beaten it in producing death" (ecclus. xxviii.). "it forms but a small part of the body, and has done mighty evil: as the helm badly directed causes the wreck of a fine ship, and as a spark may enkindle a forest. . . . unquiet evil, inflamed firebrand, source of deadly poison, world of iniquity" (st. james iii.). xxi second preservative _to meditate on what the saints say_ st. bonaventure relates that st. francis of assisi said to his religious one day: "uncharitable conversation is worse than the assassin, because it kills souls and becomes intoxicated with their blood. it is worse than the mad dog, because it tears out and drags on all sides the living entrails of the neighbour. it is worse than the unclean animal, because it wallows in the filth of vices and makes its favourite pasture there. it is worse than cham, because it exposes everywhere the nasty spots which soil the face of religion--its mother." st. bernard goes further: "do not hesitate to regard the tongue of the backbiter as more cruel than the iron of the lance which pierced our saviour's side, because it not only pierces his sacred side, but one of his living members also, to whom by its wound it gives death. it is more cruel than the thorns with which his venerable head was crowned and torn, and even than the nails with which the wicked jews fastened his sacred hands and feet to the cross, because if our divine saviour did not esteem more highly the member of his mystic body (which is pierced by the foul tongue of the slanderer) than his own natural body formed by the operation of the holy ghost in the chaste womb of the virgin mary, he would never have consented to deliver the latter to ignominies and outrages to spare the former." now st. francis and st. bernard are here speaking to religious. is it possible, then, for backbiting to glide into religious communities? yes, certainly. and it is by this snare that satan catches souls which have escaped all others. st. jerome says: "there are few who avoid this fault. amongst those even who pride themselves on leading an irreproachable life, you will scarcely find any who do not criticize their brethren." rarely, without doubt, but too often, nevertheless, we calumniate at first secretly or with one or two friends, afterwards openly and in public. we speak of the mistakes, shortcomings, and defects, great and small, and sometimes transmit them as a legacy. sometimes we use a moderate hypocrisy by purposely letting ourselves be questioned, and sometimes brutally attack our victim without shame. "have i, then," may the religious thus attacked say, "in making my vows renounced my honour and delivered my character to pillage? has my position as religious, has the majesty of the king of kings, of whom i have become the intimate friend, in place of ennobling me, degraded me? you call yourselves my brethren, and yet there are none who esteem me less! you would not steal my money, and yet you make no scruple of stealing my character, a thousand times more precious. you pay court to your saviour and persecute his child! the same tongue on which reposes the holy of holies spreads poison and death! is this to be the result of your study and practice of virtue? has not jesus christ, by so many communions, placed a little sweetness on your tongue and a little charity in your heart? by eating the lamb have you become wolves? as st. john chrysostom reproached the clergy of antioch. and you, who fly so carefully the gross vices of the world, have you no care or anxiety about damning yourself by slander?" xxii third preservative _to guard the tongue_ this must be done especially in five circumstances: ( ) at the change of superiors. do not criticize the outgoing superior nor flatter the new one. ( ) when you replace another religious. never by word or act cast any blame on him. inexperience, or a desire to introduce new customs, sometimes causes this to be done. ( ) when you are getting old. because then we are apt to think-- erroneously, of course--that the young members growing up are incapable of fulfilling duties once accomplished by ourselves. ( ) when religious come from another house do not ask questions which they ought not to answer, and do not tell them anything which might prejudice or disgust them with the house or anyone in it. lastly, in our interviews with our particular friends we must be very cautious. there are some who, when anything goes amiss with them, always seek the company of their confidants. these should seriously examine before god whether it is a necessary comfort in affliction or a support in weakness, or the too human satisfaction of justifying themselves, giving vent to their feelings, or getting blame and criticism for the superior or some one else. they should also examine whether on such occasions they speak the exact truth, and whether they seek a friend, who knows how to take the arrow sweetly from the wound rather than to bury it deeper. the way to find out the gravity of the sin of detraction is--( ) to consider the position of him who speaks and the weight which is attached to his words; ( ) the position of him who is spoken about, and the need he has of his reputation; ( ) the evil thing said; ( ) the number of the hearers; ( ) the result of the detraction; and, lastly, the intention of the speaker, and the passion which was the cause of it. xxiii fourth preservative _to be on our guard with certain persons_ there are six sorts of religious who wound fraternal charity more or less fatally, ( ) those who say to you, "such a one said so-and-so about you." these are the sowers of discord, whom god almighty declares he has in abomination. their tongues have three fangs more terrible than a viper. "with one blow," says st. bernard, "they kill three persons--themselves, the listeners, and the absent." ( ) those who, obscuring and perverting this amiable virtue, possess the infernal secret of transforming it into vice. is not this to sin against the holy ghost? ( ) those who skilfully turn the conversation on those brethren of whom they are jealous, in order to have all put in a bad word. they thus double the fault they apparently wish to avoid. ( ) those who constantly have their ears cocked to hear domestic news, who are skilful in finding out secrets and picking up stories, whose trade seems to be to take note of all little bits of scandalous news going, and to take them from ear to ear, or, worse, from house to house. oh, what an occupation! what a recreation for a spouse of christ! ( ) those who, under pretext of enlivening the conversation, sacrifice their brethren to the vain and cruel wantonness of witticism by relating something funny in order to give a lash of their tongue or to expose some weakness. alas! they forget that they ruin themselves in the esteem and opinion of the hearers. ( ) critics of intellectual work. on this point jealousy betrays itself very easily on one side, and susceptibility is stirred on the other. the heart is never insensible nor the mouth silent when we are wounded in so delicate a part. it is evident, besides, that in this case the blame supposes a desire of praise, and that in proportion as we endeavour to lower our brethren we try to raise ourselves. all these religious ought to be regarded as pests in the community. if we call those who maintain fraternal charity the children of god, should not those who disturb it be called the children of satan? do they not endeavour to turn the abode of peace into a den of discord, and the sanctuary of prayer into a porch of hell? xxiv fifth preservative _to be cautious in letter-writing and visiting_ great care must be taken never to repeat anything at visits or in letters which might compromise the honour of the community or any of its members. never utter a word or write a syllable which might in the least degree diminish the esteem or lower the merit of anyone. every well-reared person knows that little family secrets must be kept under lock and key. st. jane frances de chantal writes: "to mention rashly outside the community without great necessity the faults of religious would be great impudence. never relate outside, even to ecclesiastics, frivolous complaints and lamentations without foundation, which serve only to bring religion, and those who govern therein, into disrepute. certainly, we ought to be jealous of the honour and good odour of religious houses, which are the family of god. guard this as an essential point which requires restitution." xxv sixth preservative _caution in communication with superiors_ in communications made to superiors say the exact truth, and for a good purpose. do not speak into other ears that which, strictly speaking, should only be told to the local superior or superior-general. with the exception of extraordinary cases, or when it refers to a bad habit or something otherwise irremediable, there is generally little charity and less prudence in telling the superior-general of something blameable which has occurred. do not reveal, even before a superior, confidences which conscience, probity, or friendship requires to be guarded with an inviolable seal of friendship. if we write a complaint about a personal offence, lessen it rather than exaggerate, and endeavour to praise the person for good qualities, because nothing is easier than to blacken entirely another's reputation. pray and wait till your emotion be calmed. when passion holds the pen, it is no longer the ink that flows, but spleen, and the pen is transformed into a sword. before speaking or writing to the superior it would be well to put this question to ourselves: "am i one of those proud spirits who expose the faults of others in order to show off their own pretended virtues? or jealous spirits who are offended at the elevation of others? or vindictive spirits who like to give tit for tat? or polite spirits who wish to appear important? or ill-humoured, narrow-minded spirits, scandalized at trifles? or credulous, inconsiderate spirits who believe and repeat everything--the bad rather than the good? in fine, am i a hypocrite who, clothing malice with the mantle of charity, and hiding a cruel pleasure under the veil of compassion, weep with the victim they intend to immolate, as though profoundly touched by his misfortune, and seem to yield only to the imperative demands of duty and zeal?" xxvi seventh preservative _caution in doubtful cases_ act with the greatest reserve in doubtful cases where grave suspicions, difficult to be cleared up, rest on a religious superior or inferior, as the case may be. the ears of the superior are sacred, and it is unworthy profanation to pour into them false or exaggerated reports. to infect the superior's ears is a greater crime than to poison the drinking fountain or to steal a treasure, because the only treasure of religious is the esteem of their superior, and the pure water which refreshes their souls is the encouraging and benevolent words of the same superior. some, by imprudence or under the influence of a highly coloured or impressionable imagination which carries everything to extremes (we would not say through malice), render themselves often guilty of crying acts of injustice and ruin a religious. what is uncertain they relate as certain, and what is mere conjecture they take as the base of grave suspicions. several facts which, taken individually, constitute scarcely a fault, they group together, and so make a mountain out of a few grains of sand. an act which, seen in its entirety, would be worthy of praise, they mutilate in such a fashion as to show it in an unfavourable light. enemies of the positive degree, they lavish with prodigality the words _often, very much, exceedingly,_ etc. when they have only one or two witnesses, they make use of the word _everybody_, thereby leaving you under the impression that the rumour is scattered broadcast. on such statements, how can a superior pronounce judgment? xxvii eighth preservative _to check uncharitable conversation in others_ when you see charity wounded by an equal call him to order. if to say or do anything scandalous is the first sin forbidden by charity, not to stop, when you can, him who speaks or acts badly ought to be considered the second. when the discourse degenerates, represent jesus christ entering suddenly into the midst of the company, and saying, as he did formerly to the disciples of emmaus: "what discourse hold you among yourselves, and why are you sad?" recall also these words of the psalmist: "you have preferred to say evil rather than good, and to relate vices rather than virtues. o deceitful, inconsiderate, and rash tongue! dost thou think thou wilt remain unpunished? no; god will punish thee in everlasting flames." after having thus fortified ourselves against uncharitable conversation, we ought to try and put a stop to it. st. john climacus tells us to address the following words to those who calumniate in our presence: "for mercy's sake cease such conversation! how would you wish me to stone my brethren--me, whose faults are greater and more numerous?" a holy religious replied to an uncharitable person: "we have to render infinite thanks to god if we are not such as those of whom you speak. alas! what would become of us without him?" the philosopher zeno, hearing a man relate a number of misdeeds about antisthenes, said to him: "ah! has he never done anything good? has he never done anything for which he merits praise?" "i don't know," he replied. then said zeno, "how is that? you have sufficient perception to remark, and sufficient memory to remember, this long list of faults, and you have had no eyes to see his many good qualities and virtuous actions." st. john chrysostom says: "to the calumniator i wish you to say the following: if you can praise your neighbours, my ears are open to receive your perfume. if you can only blacken them, my ears are closed, as i do not wish them to be the receptacle of your filthy words. what matters it to me to hear that such a one is wicked, and has done some detestable act? friend, think of the account that must be rendered to the sovereign judge. what excuse can we give, and what mercy will we deserve--we who have been so keen-sighted to the faults of others, and so blind to our own? you would consider it very rude for a person to look into your private room; but i say it is far worse to pry into another's private life and to expose it. the calumniator should remember that, besides the fault he commits and the wrong he does to his neighbours, he exposes himself, by a just punishment of god, to be the victim of calumny himself. xxviii ninth preservative _how to check uncharitable conversation in superiors, etc._ when we see charity wounded by persons worthy of respect, keep silent, in order to show your regret, or relate something to the advantage of the absent. if necessary, withdraw. it is related in the life of sister margaret, of the blessed sacrament of the carmelite order, that when a discourse against charity took place in the house she saw a smoke arise of such suffocating odour that she nearly fainted, and fled immediately to her divine master for pardon. st. jerome, writing to nepotian on this subject, says: "some object that they cannot warn the speaker of his fault without failing in the respect due to him. this excuse is vain, because their eagerness to listen increases his itch for speaking. no one wishes to relate calumnies and murmurs to ears closed with disgust. is there anyone so foolish as to shoot arrows against a stone wall?" let your strict silence be a significant and salutary lesson for the detractor. "have no commerce with those who bite," said solomon, because perdition is on the eve of overtaking them; and who can tell the disaster and ruin with which the rash detractor and equally blamable listener are threatened? if it be true, according to the testimony of a religious who was visitor of the houses of his order, that the virtue against which one can most easily commit a grievous sin in religion is charity; and, according to st. francis de sales, sins of the tongue number three-fourths of all sins committed; cannot it be said with equal truth that to refuse to listen to detractors is with one blow to prevent the sin and safeguard charity? in many cases one can adroitly make known the good qualities and virtues which more than counterbalance the defects related by the defamer. to act thus is to spread about the good odour of christ. xxix tenth preservative _be cautious after hearing uncharitable conversation_ after having heard uncharitable words, observe the following precautions given by the saints: . repeat nothing. . believe all the good you hear, but believe only the bad you see. malice does the contrary. it demands proofs for good reports, but believes bad reports on the slightest grounds. out of every thousand reports one can scarcely be found accurate in all its details. when, as a rule of prudence, superiors are told to believe only half of what they hear, to consider the other half, and still suspect the remaining part, what rule should be prescribed for inferiors? when the act is evidently blameworthy, suppose a good intention, or at least one not so bad as apparent, leaving to god what he reserves to himself the judgment of the heart; or consider it as the result of surprise, inadvertence, human frailty, or the violence of the temptation. never come to hasty conclusions-- _e.g._, "he is incorrigible; as he is, so will he always be." expect everything from grace, efforts, and time. . efface as much as possible the bad impression produced on the mind, because calumny always produces such. the recital of something bad about a fellow-religious based on probabilities has sufficed to tarnish a reputation which ample apologies cannot fully repair. the detractor's evil reports are believed on account of the audacity with which he relates them, but when he wants to relate something good he will not be believed on oath. we know by experience that evil reports spread with compound interest, while good ones are retailed at discount. xxx eleventh preservative _not to judge or suspect rashly_ expel every doubt, every thought, likely to diminish esteem. they amuse themselves with a most dangerous game who always gather up vague thoughts of the past, rumours without foundation, conjectures in which passion has the greatest share, and thus form in their minds characters of their brethren--adding always, never subtracting--and by dint of the high idea they have of their own ability conclude that all their judgments are true, and thus become fixed in their bad habit. st. bernard, comparing them to painters, warns them that it is the devil who furnishes the materials, and even the evil conceptions, necessary to depict such bad impressions of their brethren. we read in the "life of st. francis" that our lord himself called in a distinct voice a certain young man to his order. "o lord," replied the young man, "when i am once entered, what must i do to please you?" pay particular attention to our lord's answer: "lead thou a life in common with the rest. avoid particular friendships. take no notice of the defects of others, and form no unfavourable judgments about them." what matter for consideration in these admirable words! thomas à kempis says: "turn thy eyes back upon thyself, and see thou judge not the doing of others. in judging others a man labours in vain, often errs, and easily sins; but in judging and looking into himself he always labours with fruit. we frequently judge of a thing according to the inclination of our hearts, because self-love easily alters in us a true judgment." rodriguez tells us to turn on ourselves the sinister questions, etc., we are tempted to refer to others _e.g._: "it is i who am deceived. it is through jealousy that i condemn my brethren. it is through malice that i find so much to blame in them. finally, the fault is mine, not theirs." even when reports more or less true might depreciate in your eyes some of the community, may they not have, besides their faults, some great but hidden virtues, and by these be entitled to a more merciful judgment? st. augustine says beautifully: "if you cast your eye over a field where the corn has been trampled, you only perceive the straw, not the grain. lift up the straw, and you will see plenty of golden sheaves full of grain." the simile is very applicable to a poor religious beaten down by foul tongues. we blame the defects of our brethren, and perhaps we have the same, or others more shameful still. we usurp the right of judgment, which god reserves to himself, and forget that he will punish us by leaving us to our own irregular passions. ah! is it not already a very great misfortune to have these contemptuous, slanderous, distrustful thoughts, and many other sins, the result of malicious suspicions and rash judgments, rooted in the soul? xxxi means to support the evil thoughts and tongues of others what must be done in those painful moments when, being the victim of a painful calumny, the object of suspicion, the butt of domestic persecution, we are tempted to believe that charity is banished from the community, and so to banish it from our own heart? recall the words of st. john of the cross. "imagine," says he, "that your brethren are so many sculptors armed with mallets and chisels, and that you have been placed before them as a block of marble destined in the mind of god to become a statue representing the man of sorrows, jesus crucified." consider a hasty word said to you as a thorn in the head; a mockery as a spit in the face; an unkind act as a nail in the hand; a hatred which takes the place of friendship as a lance in the side; all that which hurts, contradicts, or humiliates us as the blows, stripes, the gall and vinegar, the crown of thorns and the cross. the work proceeds always, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly. let us not complain. we will one day thank these workmen, who, without intending it, give to our soul the most beautiful, the most glorious, and the noblest traits. we ourselves are sculptors as well as statues, and we will find that, on our part, we have materially helped to form in them the same traits. "if all were perfect," says the "imitation," "what, then, should we have to suffer from others for god's sake?" it is not forbidden us to seek consolation. but from whom? is it from those discontented spirits whose ears are like public sewers, the receptacle of every filth and dirt? they increase our pain by pouring the poison of their own discontent instead of the oil of the good samaritan. they will take our disease and give us theirs, and, like samson's foxes, spread destruction around by repeating what we said to them. may god preserve us from this misfortune! if we cannot carry our burden alone, and if we find it no relief to lay our griefs in the sacred heart of jesus, let us go to him whom the rule appoints to be our friend and consoler, our confidant and director, and who, as st. augustine relates of st. monica, after having listened to us with patience, charity, and compassion, after having at first appeared to share our sentiments, will sweeten and explain all with prudence, will lift up and encourage our oppressed heart, and by his counsel and prayers will restore us to peace and charity. xxxii second means to bear with others recall the words of our lord to blessed margaret mary: "with the intention of perfecting thee by patience i will increase thy sensibility and repugnance, so that thou wilt find occasions of humiliation and suffering even in the smallest and most indifferent things." what would be considered, when we were in the world, as the prick of a needle, we look upon in religion as the blow of a sword. what we looked upon in our own house as light as a feather, becomes in community life as heavy as a rock. an insignificant word becomes an outrage, and a little matter which formerly would escape our notice now upsets us, and even deprives us of sleep and appetite. is not this increase of sensibility and repugnance found in the religious state only to form in us the image of our crucified lord? if christ alone has suffered interiorly more than all the saints and martyrs together, was it not because of this extreme repugnance of his soul, which multiplied to infinity for him the bitterness of the affronts and the rigour of his torments? religious may expect for a certainty that, like their divine master, there are reserved for them moments of complete abandonment, those agonies intended for the souls of the elect, in which nature seems on the point of succumbing. no consolation from their families, which they have quitted; nor from their companions, who are busy in their various employments; nor from their superiors, who do not understand the excess of their grief, and whose words by divine permission produce no effect. the solemn moment of agony with our divine saviour was that in which, abandoned, betrayed, and denied by his apostles, and perceiving in his father only an irritated face, he exclaimed, "my god! my god! why hast thou forsaken me?" such will be for religious the last touch which will complete in them the resemblance of jesus crucified, provided they will render themselves worthy of it. when will be the time of this complete abandonment? how long will this agony be prolonged? this is a secret known only to god. xxxiii conclusion poverty, chastity, obedience, and charity--such are the virtues suitable and characteristic of the religious. in this little treatise we have endeavoured to trace the features of the last. in every community we can distinguish two sorts of religious-- those who mount and those who descend--those whose face is towards the path of perfection, and those who have turned their back to it. perhaps amongst these latter some have only one more step to abandon it altogether. now we mount or descend, proceed or retrace our steps, in proportion as we practise these four virtues or neglect them. a religious order is like a fire balloon, which requires four conditions in order to rise into the clouds amidst the applause of the spectators. first, the rarefaction of the air by fire. this represents the vow of poverty, which empties the heart through the hands, and substitutes the desire of heavenly goods for those of earth. second, release from the cords which bind it down. this represents the effects of the vow of chastity, which, by breaking human attachments, permits us to soar towards god with freedom and rapidity. third, a man who will feed the fire and moderate the flight of the balloon upwards. this represents the right which the vow of obedience places in the hands of the superior, to nourish the sacred fire, and direct the sublime movement of the soul and foresee dangers. fourth, the union of its component parts. this represents the operations of charity, in causing all the members of a community to have but one heart and one soul. possessing these four virtues, a religious order soars in the heights of perfection; but if one of these be wanting it falls helplessly, and is no longer an object of edification, but of scandal and ridicule. when it happens that some members, losing the spirit of their state, abandon their holy vocation, we may say with st. john: "they went out from us; but they were not of us. for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but that they might be made manifest that they are not all of us" ( john ii.). they appeared to have the religious virtues, but in reality one or all were wanting to them. o god, do not permit that lukewarmness or an uncontrolled passion will ever make me waver in my vocation. during life and at death i wish to remain a faithful religious, so that i may find the salvation which thou hast promised by procuring thy glory. as good grain improves by pulling up the weeds, and the body becomes healthy when purged of bad humours, pour into my soul the grace and unction which others refuse, in order that, practising more perfectly from day to day poverty, chastity, obedience, and charity, and redoubling my ardour and zeal to my last hour, i may obtain the priceless treasure promised to those who have quitted all to follow thee. amen. appendix the practice of fraternal charity (father faber) . often reflect on some good point in each of your brethren. . reflect on the opposite faults in yourself. . do this most in the case of those whom we are most inclined to criticize. . never claim rights or even let ourselves feel that we have them, as this spirit is most fatal both to obedience and charity. . charitable thoughts are the only security of charitable deeds and words. they save us from surprises, especially from surprises of temper. . never have an aversion for another, much less manifest it. . avoid particular friendships. . never judge another. always, if possible, excuse the faults we see, and if we cannot excuse the action, excuse the intention. we cannot all think alike, and we should, therefore, avoid attributing bad motives to others. charitable religious they have a disregard of self and a desire to accommodate others. they rejoice with their companions in their joys and recreations, and grieve with them in their afflictions. they try to bring all the good they can to the community and to avert all the evil. they begin with themselves, by being as little trouble as possible to others. with great charity and affability they bear with the faults and shortcomings of others, careful to fulfil the law of christ, which tells us to bear one another's burdens. they dispense to others what they have for their own advantage; more particularly do they give spiritual assistance by prayer and the other spiritual works of mercy. they never contradict anyone. they never speak against anyone. they are convinced that charity, holy friendships, and concord form the great solace of this life, and that no good ever came from dissensions and disputes. they consider that god is ever in the midst of those who live united together by the bonds of holy love. we will do likewise if we consider the image of god in the souls of our brethren. as we form one body here and one spirit in the same faith and charity, let us hope not to be separated hereafter, but to belong for ever to that one body in heaven when faith and hope shall disappear, but where charity alone shall remain, and remain for ever. --- _r. & t. washbourne, ltd., , & paternoster row_ [transcriber's note: this production is based on https://archive.org/details/followingofchris thom. this work has almost every sentence and sentence fragment in a separate paragraph. the original work is about forty characters wide, which has been maintained in the text format to imitate "pocket book" layout. "usccb" refers to bible citations from the united states conference of catholic bishops, http://usccb.org/bible/books-of-the-bible/ these notes are inserted where the text has been relocated, e.g.: from ecclesiastes to sirach; and psalms, where chapter numbers are modified. the abbreviated names of biblical books have been replaced with their full names. some archaic, uncommon words. burthen: burden compunction: deep regret, scruples, guilt. concupiscence: sexual desire contemn: look down on with disdain. fain: having made preparations. increated: not created. longanimity: good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence. procurator: person authorized to act for another. refection: light meal. vouchsafe: grant in a condescending manner. wo: woe. the table of contents is on page .] --------------------------------------- { } the _following of christ,_ in four books, translated from the original latin of _thomas a kempis_, by the rt. rev. and ven. richard challoner, d.d. v.a, fifteenth edition, london: printed by keating, brown and co. , duke-street, grosvenor-square. . { } { } the _following of christ_. ------------------- book i. chap. i.--_of following christ, and despising all the vanities of the world._ . _he that followeth me, walketh not in darkness,_ saith our lord, _john viii._ . these are the words of christ, by which we are admonished that we must imitate his life and manners, if we would be truly enlightened, and delivered from all blindness of heart. let it then be our chief study to meditate on the life of jesus christ. . the doctrine of christ surpasseth all the doctrines of the saints: and whosoever hath the spirit, will find therein a hidden manna. { } but it happeneth that many, by frequent hearing the gospel, are very little affected: because they have not the spirit of christ. but he who would fully and feelingly understand the words of christ: must study to make his whole life conformable to that of christ. . what doth it avail thee, to discourse profoundly of the trinity: if thou be void of humility, and consequently displeasing to the trinity? in truth, sublime words make not a man holy and just: but a virtuous life maketh him dear to god. i had rather feel compunction, than know its definition. if thou didst know the whole bible by heart, and the sayings of all the philosophers: what would it all profit thee, without the love of god and his grace? _vanity of vanities, and all is vanity_, besides loving god, and serving him alone. this is the highest wisdom: by despising the world, to tend to heavenly kingdoms. { } . it is vanity therefore to seek after riches which must perish, and to trust in them. it is vanity also to be ambitious of honours, and to raise one's self to a high station. it is vanity to follow the lusts of the flesh: and to desire that for which thou must afterwards be grievously punished. it is vanity to wish for a long life: and to take little care of leading a good life. it is vanity to mind only this present life, and not to look forward into those things which are to come. it is vanity to love that which passeth with all speed: and not to hasten thither where everlasting joy remains. . often remember that proverb: _the eye in not satisfied with seeing, nor is the ear filled with hearing._ ecclesiastes i. . study therefore to withdraw thy heart from the love of visible things, and to turn thyself to things invisible; for they that follow their sensuality, defile their conscience, and lose the grace of god. { } chap. ii.--_of having an humble sentiment of one's self._ . all men naturally desire to know; but what doth knowledge avail without the fear of god? indeed an humble husbandman, that serveth god; is better than a proud philosopher, who, neglecting himself, considers the course of the heavens. he, who knows himself well, is mean in his own eyes, and is not delighted with being praised by men. if i should know all things that are in the world, and should not be in charity: what help would it be to me in the sight of god, who will judge me by my deeds? . leave off that excessive desire of knowing: because there is found therein much distraction and deceit. they who are learned, are desirous to appear and to be called wise. there are many things, the knowledge of which is of little or no profit to the soul. { } and he is very unwise who attends to other things than what may serve to his salvation. many words do not satisfy the soul; but a good life gives ease to the mind; and a pure conscience affords a great confidence in god. . the more and better thou knowest, the more heavy will be thy judgment, unless thy life be also more holy. be not therefore puffed up with any art or science; but rather fear upon account of the knowledge which is given thee. if it seems to thee that thou knowest many things, and understandest them well enough: know at the same time that there are many more things of which thou art ignorant. _be not high minded_, but rather acknowledge thy ignorance. why wouldst thou prefer thyself to any one, since there are many more learned and skilful in the law than thyself? if thou wouldst know and learn any thing to the purpose: love to be unknown, and esteemed as nothing. { } . this is the highest and most profitable lesson, truly to know, and to despise ourselves. to have no opinion of ourselves, and to think always well and commendably of others, is great wisdom and high perfection. if thou shouldst see another openly sin, or commit some heinous crime, yet thou oughtest not to esteem thyself better: because thou knowest not how long thou mayest remain in a good state. we are all frail: but see thou think no one more frail than thyself. chap. iii.--_of the doctrine of truth_. . happy is he whom _truth_ teacheth by itself, not by figures and words that pass, but as it is in itself. our opinion, and our sense, often deceive us, and discover but little. what signifies making a great dispute about abstruse and obscure matters, for not knowing of which we shall not be questioned at the day of judgment. { } it is a great folly for us to neglect things profitable and necessary, and willingly to busy ourselves about those which are curious and hurtful.--we have eyes and see not. . and what need we concern ourselves about questions of philosophy? he to whom the _eternal word_ speaketh, is set at liberty from a multitude of opinions. from _one word_ are all things, and this one all things speak: and this is _the beginning which also speaks to us_, john viii. . without this _word_ no one understands or judges rightly. he to whom all things are _one_ [footnote], and who draws all things to _one_,--and who sees all things in _one_,--may be steady in heart, and peaceably repose in god. [footnote: the author seems here to allude to that passage of st. paul, corinthians ii. . where he says, "that he desired to know nothing but jesus christ, and him crucified."] o _truth_, my god, make me one with thee in everlasting love. { } i am weary with often reading and hearing many things: in thee is _all_ that i will or desire. let all teachers hold their peace; let all creatures be silent in thy sight: speak thou alone to me. . the more a man is united within himself, and interiorly simple, the more and higher things doth he understand without labour: because he receives the light of understanding from above. a pure, simple, and steady spirit, is not dissipated by a multitude of affairs; because he performs them all to the honour of god, and endeavours to be at rest within himself, and free from all seeking of himself. who is a greater hinderance and trouble to thee, than thine own unmortified affection of heart? a good and devout man first disposes his works inwardly, which he is to do outwardly. neither do they draw him to the desires of an inordinate inclination: but he bends them to the rule of right reason. { } who has a stronger conflict than he who strives to overcome himself? and this must be our business, to strive to overcome ourselves, and daily to gain strength against ourselves, and to grow better and better. . all perfections in this life are attended with some imperfections: and all our speculations with a certain obscurity. the humble knowledge of thyself is a surer way to god, than the deepest search after science. learning is not to be blamed, nor the mere knowledge of any thing, which is good in itself, and ordained by god: but a good conscience and a virtuous life is always to be preferred before it. but because many make it more their study to know, than to live well: therefore are they often deceived, and bring forth none, or very little fruit. . oh! if men would use as much diligence in rooting out vices and planting virtues, as they do in proposing questions: there would not be so great evils committed, nor scandals among the people, nor so much relaxation in monasteries. { } verily, when the day of judgment comes, we shall not be examined what we have read, but what we have done; nor how learnedly we have spoken, but how religiously we have lived. tell me now where are all those great doctors, with whom thou wast well acquainted, whilst they were living, and flourished in learning? now others possess their livings, and i know not whether they ever think of them. in their life-time they seemed to be something: and now they are not spoken of. . oh! how quickly doth the glory of the world pass away! would to god their lives had been answerable to their learning! then would they have studied and read well. how many perish in the world thro' vain learning, who take little care of the service of god. { } and because they chuse rather to be great than to be humble, therefore they are lost in their own imaginations. he is truly great, who is great in charity. he is truly great, who is little in his own eyes: and makes no account of the height of honour. he is truly prudent, who looks upon all earthly things as dung, that he may gain christ. and he is very learned indeed, who does the will of god, and renounces his own will. chap. iv.--_of prudence in our doings_. . we must not be easy in giving credit to every word or suggestion; but carefully and leisurely weigh the matter according to god. alas! such is our weakness, that we often more readily believe and speak of another that which is evil: than that which is good. but perfect men do not easily give credit to every report; because they know man's weakness, which is very prone to evil, and very subject to fail in words. { } . it is great wisdom not to be rash in our doings: nor to maintain too obstinately our own opinion. as also not to believe every man's word; nor presently to tell others the things which we have heard or believed. consult with the wise and conscientious man: and seek rather to be instructed by one that is better, than to follow thine own inventions. a good life make's a man wise according to god, and expert in many things. the more humble a man is in himself, and more subject to god: the more wise will he be in all things, and the more at peace. chap. v.--_of reading the holy scriptures._ . truth is to be sought for in holy scripture, not eloquence. all holy scripture ought to be read with that spirit with which it was made. { } we must rather seek for profit in the scriptures, than for subtlety of speech. we ought as willingly to read devout and simple books: as those that are high and profound. let not the authority of the writer offend thee, whether he was of little or great learning: but let the love of pure truth lead thee to read. enquire not who said this: but attend to what is said. . men pass away: but _the truth of the lord remains for ever_. god speaks many ways to us: without respect of persons. our curiosity often hinders us in reading the scriptures, when we attempt to understand and discuss that which should be simply passed over. if thou wilt receive profit, read with humility, simplicity, and faith: and seek not at any time the fame of being learned. willingly enquire after and hear with silence the words of the saints: and be pleased with the parables of the ancients: for they are not spoken without cause. { } chap. vi.--_of inordinate affection_. . whensoever a man desires any thing inordinately, he is presently disquieted within himself. the proud and covetous are never easy. the poor and humble of spirit, live in much peace. the man that is not yet perfectly dead to himself, is soon tempted and overcome with small and trifling things. he that is weak in spirit, and in a manner yet carnal and inclined to sensible things, can hardly withdraw himself wholly from earthly desires. and therefore he is often sad, when he withdraws himself from them: and is easily moved to anger if any one thwarts him. . and if he has pursued his inclinations, he is presently tormented with the guilt of his conscience: because he has followed his passion, which helps him not at all towards the peace he sought for. { } it is then by resisting our passions, that we are to find true peace of heart, and not by being slaves to them. there is no peace therefore in the heart of a _carnal_ man, nor in a man that is addicted to outward things: but only in a fervent spiritual man. chap. vii.--_of flying vain hope and pride_. . he is vain who puts his trust in men, or in creatures. be not ashamed to serve others, and to appear poor in the world, for the love of jesus christ. confide not in thyself: but place thy hope in god. do what is in thy power, and god will be with thy good will. trust not in thy own knowledge, nor in the cunning of any man living: but rather in the grace of god, who helps the humble, and humbles those who presume of themselves. . glory not in riches, if thou hast them; nor in friends, because they are powerful; but in god, who gives all things, and desires to give himself above all things. { } boast not of thy stature, nor beauty of the body, which is spoiled and disfigured by a little sickness. do not take a pride in thy talents or thy wit, lest thou displease god, to whom appertaineth every natural good quality and talent which thou hast. . esteem not thyself better than others, lest perhaps thou be accounted worse in the sight of god, who knows what is in man. be not proud of thy own works: for the judgments of god are different from the judgments of men; and oftentimes, that displeaseth him, which pleaseth men. if thou hast any thing of good, believe better things of others, that thou mayest preserve humility. it will do thee no harm to esteem thyself the worst of all: but it will hurt thee very much to prefer thyself before any one. continual peace is with the humble: but in the heart of the proud, is frequent envy and indignation. { } chap. viii.--_of shunning too much familiarity._ . _discover not thy heart to every one_ (ecclesiastes viii.): but treat of thy affairs with a man that is wise and feareth god. keep not much company with young people and strangers. he not a flatterer with the rich: nor willingly appear before the great. associate thyself with the humble and simple, with the devout and virtuous: and treat of those things which may be to edification. be not familiar with any woman: but recommend all good women in general to god. desire to be familiar only with god and his angels: and fly the acquaintance of men. we must have charity for all, but familiarity is not expedient. it sometimes happens that a person, when not known, shines by a good reputation; who, when he is present, is disagreeable to them that see him. { } we think sometimes to please others by being with them: and we begin rather to disgust them by the evil behaviour which they discover in us. chap. ix.--_of obedience and subjection._ . it is a very great thing to stand in obedience, to live under a superior, and not to be at our own disposal. it is much more secure to be in the state of subjection; than in authority. many are under obedience more out of necessity, than for the love of god: and such as these are in pain, and easily repine. nor will they gain freedom of mind, unless they submit themselves with their whole heart for god's sake. run here or there, thou will find no rest, but in an humble subjection under the government of a superior. the imagination and changing of places has deceived many. . it is true, every one is desirous of acting according to his own liking; and is more inclined to such as are of his own mind. { } but if god be amongst us, we must sometimes give up our own opinion for the sake of peace. who is so wise as to be able fully to know all things? therefore trust not too much to thine own thoughts: but be willing also to hear the sentiments of others. although thy opinion be good, yet if for god's sake thou leavest it, to follow that of another, it will be more profitable to thee. . for i have often heard, that it is more safe to hear and take counsel, than to give it. it may also happen, that each one's thought may be good; but to refuse to yield to others, when reason or a just cause requires it, is a sign of pride and wilfulness. chap. x.--_of avoiding superfluity of words._ . fly the tumult of men as much as thou canst: for treating of worldly affairs hinders very much, although they be discoursed of with a simple intention. { } for we are quickly denied and ensnared with vanity. i could wish i had often been silent, and that i had not been in company. but why are we so willing to talk and discourse with one another: since we seldom return to silence without prejudice to our conscience? the reason why we are so willing to talk, is, because by discoursing together we seek comfort from one another; and would gladly ease the heart, wearied by various thoughts. and we very willingly talk and think of such things as we most love and desire, or which we imagine contrary to us. . but, alas! it is often in vain and to no purpose: for this outward consolation is no small hinderance of interior and divine comfort. therefore we must watch and pray, that our time may not pass away without fruit. { } if it be lawful and expedient to speak, speak those things which may edify. a bad custom and the neglect of our spiritual advancement, is a great cause of our keeping so little guard upon our mouth. but devout conferences concerning spiritual things, help very much to spiritual progress: especially where persons of the same mind and spirit are associated together in god. chap. xi.--_of acquiring peace and zeal of spiritual progress_. . we might have much peace, if we would not busy ourselves with the sayings and doings of others, and with things which belong not to us. how can he remain long in peace, who entangles himself with other people's cares; who seeks occasions abroad, and who is little or seldom inwardly recollected? blessed are the single hearted, for they shall enjoy much peace. { } . what was the reason why some of the saints were so perfect and contemplative? because they made it their study wholly to mortify in themselves all earthly desires; and thus they were enabled, with the whole interior of their hearts, to cleave to god, and freely to attend to themselves. we are too much taken up with our own passions; and too solicitous about transitory things. and seldom do we perfectly overcome so much as one vice, nor are we earnestly bent upon our daily progress; and therefore we remain cold and tepid. . if we were perfectly dead to ourselves and no ways entangled in our interior: then might we be able to relish things divine, and experience something of heavenly contemplation. the whole and greatest hinderance is, because we are not free from passions and lusts; nor do we strive to walk in the perfect way of the saints. and when we meet with any small adversity, we are too quickly dejected, and turn away to seek after human consolation. { } . if we strove like valiant men to stand in the battle; doubtless we should see that our lord would help us from heaven. for he is ready to help them that fight and trust in his grace: who furnishes us with occasions of fighting that we may overcome. if we place our progress in religion in these outward observances only, our devotion will quickly be at an end. but let us lay the axe to the root, that being purged from passions, we may possess a quiet mind. . if every year we rooted out one vice, we should soon become perfect men. but now we often find it quite otherwise: that we were better and more pure in the beginning of our conversion, than after many years of our profession. our fervour and progress ought to be every day greater: but now it is esteemed a great matter if a man can retain some part of his first fervour. { } if we could use but a little violence upon ourselves in the beginning, we might afterwards do all things with ease and joy. it is hard to leave off our old customs: and harder to go against our own will. but if thou dost not overcome things that are small and light: when wilt thou overcome greater difficulties? resist thy inclination in the beginning, and break off the evil habit; lest perhaps by little and little the difficulty increase upon thee. o! if thou wert sensible how much peace thou shouldst procure to thyself, and joy to others, by behaving thyself well; thou wouldst be more solicitous for thy spiritual progress. chap. xii.--_of the advantage of adversity_. . it is good for us to have sometimes troubles and adversities; for they make a man enter into himself, that he may know that he is in a state of banishment, and may not place his hopes in any thing of this world. { } it is good that we sometimes suffer contradictions, and that men have an evil or imperfect opinion of us; even when we do and intend well. these things are often helps to humility, and defend us from vain glory. for then we better run to god our inward witness, when outwardly we are despised by men, and little credit is given to us. . therefore should a man establish himself in such a manner in god, as to have no need of seeking many comforts from men. when a _man of good will_ is troubled or tempted, or afflicted with evil thoughts; then he better understands what need he hath of god, without whom he finds he can do no good. then also he laments; he sighs, and prays by reason of the miseries which he suffers. then he is weary of living longer: and wishes death to come that he may be _dissolved and be with christ_. { } then also he well perceives that perfect security and full peace cannot be found in this world. chap. xiii.--_of resisting temptation._ . as long as we live in this world, we cannot be without tribulation and temptation. hence it is written in job: _man's life upon earth is a temptation_. therefore ought every one to be solicitous about his temptations, and to watch in prayer; lest the devil, (who never sleeps, but _goes about seeking whom he may devour_,) find room to deceive him. no man is so perfect and holy as not to have sometimes temptations: and we cannot be wholly without them. . temptations are often very profitable to a man, although they be troublesome and grievous: for in them a man is humbled, purified, and instructed. { } all the saints have passed through many tribulations and temptations, and have profited by them: and they who could not support temptations, have become reprobates, and fell off. there is not any order so holy, nor place so retired, where there are not temptations and adversities. . a man is never entirely secure from temptations as long as he lives: because we have within us the source of temptations, having been born in concupiscence. when one temptation or tribulation is over, another comes on: and we shall have always something to suffer, because we have lost the good of our original happiness. many seek to fly temptations, and fall more grievously into them. by flight alone we cannot overcome: but by patience and true humility we are made stronger than all our enemies. . he that only declines them outwardly, and does not pluck out the root, will profit little; nay, temptations will sooner return to him, and he will find himself in a worse condition. { } by degrees, and by patience, with longanimity, thou shalt, by god's grace, better overcome them, than by harshness and thine own importunity. in temptation, often take counsel, and deal not roughly with one that is tempted: but comfort him, as thou wouldst wish to be done to thyself. . inconstancy of mind, and small confidence in god, is the beginning of all temptations. for as a ship without a rudder is tossed to and fro by the waves: so the man who is remiss, and who quits his resolution, is many ways tempted. fire tries iron, and temptation tries a just man. we often know not what we can do: but temptation discovers what we are. . however, we must be watchful, especially in the beginning of temptation: because then the enemy is easier overcome, when he is not suffered to come in at the door of the soul, but is kept out and resisted at his first knock. { } whence a certain man said: _withstand the beginning, after-remedies come too late_. for first a bare thought comes to the mind, then a strong imagination; afterwards delight, and evil motion and consent. and thus, by little and little, the wicked enemy gets full entrance, when he is not resisted in the beginning. and how much the longer a man is negligent in resisting: so much the weaker does he daily become in himself, and the enemy becomes stronger against him. . some suffer great temptations in the beginning of their conversion, and some in the end. and some there are who are much troubled in a manner all their life time. some are but lightly tempted, according to the wisdom and equity of the ordinance of god, who weighs the state and merits of men, and pre-ordains all for the salvation of his elect. . we must not therefore despair when we are tempted, but pray to god with so much the more fervour, that he may vouchsafe to help us in all tribulations: who, no doubt, according to the saying of st. paul, will _make such issue with the temptation, that we may be able to sustain it._ corinthians x. { } let us therefore humble our souls, under the hand of god in all temptations and tribulations: for the humble in spirit he will save and exalt. . in temptations and tribulations, a man is proved what progress he has made: and in them there is greater merit, and his virtue appears more conspicuous. nor is it much if a man be devout and fervent when he feels no trouble: but if in the time of adversity he bears up with patience, there will be hope of a great advancement. some are preserved from great temptations, and are often overcome in daily little ones: that being humbled, they may never presume of themselves in great things, who are weak in such small occurrences. { } chap. xiv.--_of avoiding rash judgment_. . turn thy eyes back upon thyself, and see thou judge not the doings of others. in judging others a man labours in vain, often errs, and easily sins; but in judging and looking into himself, he always labours with fruit. we frequently judge of a thing according as we have it at heart: for we easily love true judgment through private affection. if god were always the only object of our desire, we should not so easily be disturbed at the resistance of our opinions. . but there is often something lies hid within, or occurs from without, which draws us along with it. many secretly seek themselves in what they do, and are not sensible of it. they seem also to continue in good peace, when things are done according to their will and judgment: but if it fall out contrary to their desires, they are soon moved and become sad. { } difference of thoughts and opinions is too frequently the source of dissensions amongst friends and neighbours, amongst religious and devout persons. . an old custom is with difficulty relinquished: and no man is led willingly farther than himself sees or likes. if thou reliest more upon thine own reason or industry than upon the virtue that subjects to jesus christ, thou wilt seldom and hardly be an _enlightened_ man: for god will have us perfectly subject to himself, and to transcend all reason by inflamed love. chap. xv.--_of works done out of charity_. . evil ought not to be done, either for any thing in the world, or for the love of any man: but for the profit of one that stands in need, a good work is sometimes freely to be omitted, or rather to be changed for a better. { } for, by doing thus, a good work is not lost, but is changed into a better. without charity, the outward work profiteth nothing: but whatever is done out of charity, be it ever so little and contemptible, all becomes fruitful. for god regards more with how much affection and love a person performs a work, than how much he does. . he does much who loves much. he does much that does well what he does. he does well who regards rather the common good than his own will. that seems often to be charity which is rather natural affection: because our own natural inclination, self-will, hope of retribution, desire of our own interest, will seldom be wanting. . he that has true and perfect charity, seeks himself in no one thing: but desires only the glory of god in all things. { } he envies no man, because he loves no private joy; nor does he desire to rejoice in himself: but above all good things, he wishes to be made happy in god. he attributes nothing of good in any man, but refers it totally to god, from whom all things proceed as from their fountain, in the enjoyment of whom all the saints repose as in their last end. ah! if a man had but one spark of perfect charity, he would doubtless perceive that all earthly things are full of vanity. chap. xvi.--_of bearing the defects of others_. . what a man cannot amend in himself or others, he must bear with patience, till god ordains otherwise. think, that it perhaps is better so for thy trial and patience: without which, our merits are little worth. thou must, nevertheless, under such impressions, earnestly pray that god may vouchsafe to help thee, and that thou mayest bear them well. { } . if any one being once or twice admonished, does not comply, contend not with him: but commit all to god, that his will may be done, and he may be honoured in all his servants, who knows how to convert evil into good. endeavour to be patient in supporting others defects and infirmities of what kind so ever: because thou also hast many things which others must bear withal. if thou canst not make thyself such a one as thou wouldst: how canst thou expect to have another according to thy liking? we would willingly have others perfect: and yet we mend not, our own defects. . we would have others strictly corrected: but are not willing to be corrected ourselves. the large liberty of others displeases us: and yet we would not be denied any thing we ask for. { } we are willing that others should be bound up by laws: and we suffer not ourselves by any means to be restrained. thus it is evident how seldom we weigh our neighbour in the same balance with ourselves. if all were perfect: what then should we have to suffer from others for god's sake? . but now god has so disposed things, that we may learn to bear one another's burdens: for there is no man without defect; no man without his burden: no man sufficient for himself; no man wise enough for himself: but we must support one another, comfort one another, assist, instruct, and admonish one another. but how great each one's virtue is, best appears by occasion of adversity: for occasions do not make a man frail, but shew what he is. chap. xvii.--_of a monastic life._ . thou must learn to renounce thy own will in many things, if thou wilt keep peace and concord with others. { } it is no small matter to live in a monastery, or in a congregation, and to converse therein without reproof, and to persevere faithful till death. blessed is he who has there lived well, and made a happy end. if thou wilt stand as thou oughtest, and make a due progress, look upon thyself as a banished man, and a stranger upon earth. thou must be content to be made a fool for christ, if thou wilt lead a religious life. . the habit and the tonsure contribute little; but a change of manners, and an entire mortification of the passions, make a true religious man. he that seeks here any other thing than purely god and the salvation of his soul, will find nothing but trouble and sorrow. neither can he long remain in peace, who does not strive to be the least, and subject to all. { } . thou camest hither to serve, not to govern: know that thou art called to suffer and to labour, not to be idle and talkative. here then men are tried as gold in the furnace. here no man can stand, unless he be willing with all his heart to humble himself for the love of god. chap. xviii.--_of the example of the holy fathers_. . look upon the lively examples of the holy fathers, in whom true perfection and religion was most shining, and thou wilt see how little, and almost nothing, that is which we do. alas! what is our life if compared to theirs? the saints and friends of christ served the lord in hunger and thirst; in cold and nakedness; in labour and weariness; in watchings and fastings; in prayers and holy meditations; in persecutions and many reproaches. { } . ah! how many and how grievous tribulations have the apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and all the rest, gone through, who have been willing to follow christ's footsteps: for they hated their lives in this world, that they might possess them for eternity. o! how strict and mortified a life did the holy fathers lead in the desert! how long and grievous temptations did they endure! how often were they molested by the enemy! what frequent and fervent prayers did they offer to god! what rigorous abstinence did they go through! what great zeal and fervour had they for their spiritual progress! how strong a war did they wage for overcoming vice! how pure and upright was their intention to god! they laboured all the day, and in the nights, they gave themselves to long prayers: though even whilst they were at work, they ceased not from mental prayer. . they spent all their time profitably: every hour seemed short which they spent with god: and through the great sweetness of divine contemplation, they forgot even the necessity of their bodily refreshment. { } they renounced all riches, dignities, honours, friends, and kindred; they desired to have nothing of this world; they scarce allowed themselves the necessaries of life: the serving the body even in necessity, was irksome to them. they were poor, therefore, as to earthly things: but very rich in grace and virtues. outwardly they wanted, but inwardly they were refreshed with divine graces and consolations. . they were strangers to the world: but near and familiar friends to god. they seemed to themselves as nothing, and were despised by this world: but in the eyes of god they were very valuable and beloved. they stood in true humility, they lived in simple obedience, they walked in charity and patience: and therefore they daily advanced in spirit, and obtained great favour with god. they were given as an example for all religious: and ought more to excite us to make good progress, than the number of the lukewarm to grow slack. { } . o! how great was the fervour of all religious in the beginning of their holy institution! o! how great was their devotion in prayer! how great their zeal for virtue! how great discipline was in force amongst them! how great reverence and obedience in all, flourished under the rule of a superior! the footsteps remaining still bear witness that they were truly perfect and holy men: who waging war so stoutly, trod the world under their feet. now he is thought great who is not a transgressor: and who can with patience endure what he hath undertaken. . ah! the lukewarmness and negligence of our state, that we so quickly fall away from our former fervour, and are now even weary of living through sloth and tepidity! would to god that advancement in virtues were not wholly asleep in thee, who hast often seen many examples of the devout! { } chap. xix.--_of the exercises of a good religious man_. . the life of a good religious man ought to be eminent in all virtue: that he may be such interiorly, as he appears to men in his exterior. and with good reason ought he to be much more in his interior, than he exteriorly appears; because he who beholds us is god, of whom we ought exceedingly to stand in awe, wherever we are, and like angels walk pure in his sight. we ought every day to renew our resolution, and excite ourselves to fervour, as if it were the first day of our conversion, and to say: help me, o lord god, in my good resolution, and in thy holy service, and give me grace now this day perfectly to begin; for what i have hitherto done, is nothing. { } . according as our resolution is, will the progress of our advancement be; and he had need of much diligence who would advance much. now if he that makes a strong resolution often fails: what will he do who seldom or but weakly resolves? the falling off from our resolution happens divers ways: and a small omission in our exercises seldom passeth without some loss. the resolutions of the just depend on the grace of god, rather than on their own wisdom: and in whom they always put their trust, whatever they take in hand. for man proposes, but god disposes: nor is the way of man in his own hands. . if for piety's sake, or with a design to the profit of our brother, we sometimes omit our accustomed exercises, it may afterwards be easily recovered. but if through a loathing of mind, or negligence, it be lightly let alone, it is no small fault, and will prove hurtful. let us endeavour what we can, we shall still be apt to fail in many things. { } but yet we must always resolve on something certain, and in particular against those things which hinder us most. we must examine and order well both our exterior and interior! because both conduce to our advancement. . if thou canst not continually recollect thyself, do it sometimes, and at least once a day, that is, at morning or evening. in the morning resolve, in the evening examine thy performances: how thou hast behaved this day in word, work, or thought: because in these perhaps thou hast often offended god and thy neighbour. prepare thyself like a man to resist the wicked attacks of the devil; bridle gluttony, and thou shalt the easier restrain all carnal inclinations. be never altogether idle: but either reading, or writing, or praying, or meditating, or labouring in something that may be for the common good. { } yet in bodily exercises, a discretion is to be used: nor are they equally to be undertaken by all. . those things which are not _common_ are not to be done in public: for _particular_ things are more safely done in private. but take care then be not slack in common exercises, and more forward in things of thy own particular devotion: but having fully, and faithfully performed what thou art bound to, and what is enjoined thee, if thou hast any time remaining, give thyself to thyself according as thy devotion shall incline thee. all cannot have the self same exercise: but this is more proper for one, and that for another. moreover, according to the diversity of times, divers exercises are more pleasing: for some relish better on festival days, others on common days. we stand in need of one kind in time of temptation, and of another in time of peace and rest. some we willingly think on when we are sad, others when we are joyful in the lord. { } . about the time of the principal festivals, we must renew our good exercises: and more fervently implore the prayers of the saints. we ought to make our resolution from festival to festival: as if we were then to depart out of this world, and to come to the everlasting festival. therefore we ought carefully to prepare ourselves at times of devotion; and to converse more devoutly, and keep all observances more strictly, as being shortly to receive the reward of our labour from god. . and if it be deferred, let us believe that we are not well prepared, and that we are as yet unworthy of the great glory which shall be revealed in us at the appointed time: and let us endeavour to prepare ourselves better for our departure. _blessed is that servant_, says the evangelist st. luke, _whom when his lord shall come he shall find watching. amen, i say to you, he shall set him over all his possessions_. luke xiii. { } chap. xx.--_of the love of solitude and silence_. . seek a proper time to retire into thyself, and often think of the benefits of god. let curiosities alone. read such matters as may rather move thee to compunction, than give thee occupation. if thou wilt withdraw thyself from superfluous talk and idle visits, as also from giving ear to news and reports, thou wilt find time sufficient and proper to employ thyself in good meditations. the greatest saints avoided the company of men as much as they could, and chose to live to god in secret. . _as often as i have been amongst men_, said one, _i have returned less a man_: this we often experience when we talk long. it is easier to be altogether silent, than not to exceed in words. { } it is easier to keep retired at home, than to be able to be sufficiently upon one's guard abroad. whosoever, therefore, aims at arriving at _internal_ and _spiritual_ things, must, with jesus, go aside from the crowd. no man is secure in appearing abroad, but he who would willingly lie hid at home. no man securely speaks, but he who loves to hold his peace. no man securely governs, but he who would willingly live in subjection. no man securely commands, but he who has learned well to obey. . no man securely rejoiceth, unless he has within him the testimony of a good conscience. yet the security of the saints was always full of the fear of god. neither were they less careful or humble in themselves because they were shining with great virtues and grace. but the security of the wicked arises from pride and presumption; and will end in deceiving themselves. { } never promise thyself security in this life, though thou seemest to be a good religious man, or a devout hermit. . oftentimes they that were better in the judgments of men, have been in greater danger by reason of their too great confidence. so that it is better for many not to be altogether free from temptations, but to be often assaulted; that they may not be too secure: lest, perhaps, they be lifted up with pride, or take more liberty to go aside after exterior comforts. o! how good a conscience would that man preserve, who would never seek after transitory joy, nor ever busy himself with the world. o! how great peace and tranquillity would he possess, who would cut off all vain solicitude, and only think of the things of god and his salvation, and place his whole hope in god. . no man is worthy of heavenly comfort who has not diligently exercised himself in holy compunction. { } if thou wouldst find compunction in thy heart, retire into thy chamber, and shut out the tumults of the world, as it is written: _have compunction in your chambers_. psalms iv. thou shalt find in thy cell what thou shalt often lose abroad. thy cell, if thou continue in it, grows sweet: but if thou keep not to it, it becomes tedious and distasteful. if in the beginning of thy conversion thou accustom thyself to remain in thy cell, and keep it well; it will be to thee afterwards a dear friend, and a most agreeable delight. . in silence and quiet the devout soul goes forward, and learns the secrets of the scriptures. there she finds floods of tears, with which she may wash and cleanse herself every night: that she may become so much the more familiar with her maker, by how much the farther she lives from all worldly tumult. for god with his holy angels will draw nigh to him, who withdraws himself from his acquaintance and friends. { } it is better to lie hid, and take care of one's self, than neglecting one's self to work even miracles. it is commendable for a religious man, to go seldom abroad, to fly being seen, and not to desire to see men. . why wilt thou see what thou must not have? _the world passeth and its concupiscences_. john ii. the desires of sensuality draw thee abroad: but when the hour is past, what dost thou bring home, but a weight upon thy conscience, and a dissipation of heart. a joyful going abroad often brings forth a sorrowful coming home, and a merry evening makes a sad morning. so all carnal joy enters pleasantly; but in the end brings remorse and death. what canst thou see elsewhere which thou seest not here? behold the heaven and the earth, and all the elements; for of these are all things made. . what canst thou see any where which can continue long under the sun? { } thou thinkest perhaps to be satisfied, but thou canst not attain to it. if thou couldst see any thing at once before thee, what would it be but a vain sight? lift up thine eyes to god on high, and pray for thy sins and negligences. leave vain things to vain people: but mind thou the things which god has commanded thee. shut thy doors upon thee, and call to thee jesus thy beloved. stay with him in thy cell, for thou shalt not find so great peace any where else. if thou hadst not gone abroad, and hearkened to rumours, thou hadst kept thyself better in good peace: but since thou art delighted sometimes to hear news, thou must from thence suffer a disturbance of heart. chap. xxi.--_of compunction of heart_. . if thou wilt make any progress keep thyself in the fear of god, and be not too free, but restrain all thy senses under discipline, and give not thyself up to foolish mirth. { } give thyself to compunction of heart, and thou shalt find devotion. compunction opens the way to much good, which dissolution is wont quickly to lose. it is wonderful that any man can heartily rejoice in this life, who weighs and considers his banishment, and the many dangers of his soul. . through levity of heart, and the little thought we have of our defects, we feel not the sorrows of our soul: but often vainly laugh, when in all reason we ought to weep. there is no true liberty, nor good joy, but in the fear of god with a good conscience. happy is he who can cast away all impediments of distractions, and recollect himself to the union of holy communion. happy is he who separates himself from all that may burthen or defile his conscience. strive manfully: custom is overcome by custom. { } if thou canst let men alone, they will let thee do what thou hast to do. . busy not thyself with other men's affairs, nor entangle thyself with the causes of great ones. have always an eye upon thyself in the first place: and take special care to admonish thyself preferably to all thy dearest friends. if thou hast not the favour of men, be not grieved thereat: but let thy concern be, that thou dost not carry thyself so well and so circumspectly as it becomes a servant of god, and a devout religious man to demean himself. it is oftentimes more profitable and more secure for a man not to have many comforts in this life; especially according to the flesh. yet, that we have not divine comforts, or seldom experience them, is our own faults: because we do not seek compunction of heart, nor cast off altogether vain and outward satisfactions. { } . acknowledge thyself unworthy of divine consolation, and rather worthy of much tribulation. when a man has perfect compunction, then the whole world is to him burdensome and distasteful. a good man always finds subject enough for mourning and weeping. for whether he considers himself, or thinks of his neighbour, he knows that no man lives here without tribulations; and the more thoroughly he considers himself, the more he grieves. the subjects for just grief and interior compunction are our vices and sins, in which we lie entangled in such manner, as seldom to be able to contemplate heavenly things. . if thou wouldst oftener think of thy death, than of a long life, no doubt but thou wouldst more fervently amend thyself. and if thou didst seriously consider in thy heart the future punishments of hell and purgatory, i believe thou wouldst willingly endure labour and pain, and fear no kind of austerity. but because these things reach not the heart, and we still love the things which flatter us, therefore we remain cold and very sluggish. { } . it is oftentimes a want of _spirit_, which makes the wretched body so easily complain. pray therefore humbly to our lord, that he may give thee the spirit of compunction: and say with the prophet: _feed me, lord, with the food of tears, and give me drink of tears in measure_. chap. xxii.--_of the consideration of the misery of man_. . thou art miserable wherever thou art, and which way soever thou turnest thyself, unless thou turn thyself to god. why art thou troubled because things do not succeed with thee according to thy will and desire? who is there that has all things according to his will? neither i, nor thou, nor any man upon earth. { } there is no man in the world without some trouble or affliction, though he be a king or a pope. who is there that is most at ease? doubtless he who is willing to suffer something for god's sake. . many unstable and weak men are apt to say: behold how well such a one lives, how rich, how great, how mighty and powerful! but attend to heavenly goods, and thou wilt see that all these temporal things are nothing, but very uncertain, and rather burdensome: because they are never possessed without care and fear. the happiness of a man consisteth not in having temporal things in abundance, but a moderate competency sufficeth. it is truly a misery to live upon earth. the more a man desireth to be spiritual, the more this present life becomes distasteful to him: because he the better understands, and more clearly sees the defects of human corruption. { } for to eat, drink, watch, sleep, rest, labour, and to be subject to other necessities of nature, is truly a great misery and affliction to a devout man, who desires to be released, and free from all sin. . for the _inward_ man is very much burdened with the necessities of the body in this world. and therefore the prophet devoutly prays to be freed from them, saying: _from my necessities deliver me, o lord_. psalms xxiv. but wo to them that know not their own misery, and more wo to them that love this miserable and corruptible life. for some there are who love it to that degree, although they can scarce get necessaries by labouring or begging, that if they could live always here, they would not care at all for the kingdom of god. . o senseless people, and infidels in heart, who lie buried so deep in earthly things, as to relish nothing but the things of the flesh! miserable wretches! they will in the end find to their cost, how vile a nothing that was which they so much loved. { } but the saints of god, and all the devout friends of christ, made no account of what pleased the flesh, or flourished in this life; but their whole hope and intentions aspired to eternal goods. their whole desire tended upwards to things everlasting and invisible; for fear lest the love of visible things should draw them down to things below. lose not, brother, thy confidence of going forward to spiritual things; there is yet time, the hour is not yet past. . why wilt thou put off thy resolution from day to day? arise, and begin this very moment, and say: now is the time for doing, and now is the time to fight; now is the proper time to amend my life. when thou art troubled and afflicted, then is the time to merit. thou must pass through fire and water, before thou comest to refreshment. unless thou do violence to thyself, thou wilt not overcome vice. { } as long as we carry about us this frail body, we cannot be without sin, nor live without uneasiness and sorrow. we would fain be at rest from all misery: but because we have lost innocence by sin, we have also lost true happiness. we must therefore have patience, and wait for the mercy of god, till iniquity pass away, and this mortality be swallowed up by immortal life. . o! how great is human frailty, which is always prone to vice! to-day thou confessest thy sins, and to-morrow thou again committest what thou hast confessed! now thou resolvest to take care, and an hour after thou dost as if thou hadst never resolved. we have reason therefore to humble ourselves, and never to think much of ourselves, since we are so frail and inconstant. that may also quickly be lost through negligence, which with much labour and time was hardly gotten by grace. { } . what will become of us yet in the end: who grow lukewarm so very soon? wo be to us if we are for giving ourselves to rest, as if we had already met with peace and security, when there does not appear any mark of true sanctity in our conversation. it would be very needful that we should yet again, like good novices, be instructed in all good behaviour: if so, perhaps there would be hopes of some future amendment, and greater spiritual progress. chap. xxiii.--_of the thoughts of death_. . very quickly must thou be gone from hence: see then how matters stand with thee: a man is here to-day, and to-morrow he is vanished. and when he is taken away from the sight, he is quickly also out of mind. o! the dulness and hardness of man's heart, which only thinks on what is present, and looks not forward to things to come! { } thou oughtest in every action and thought so to order thyself, as if thou wert immediately to die. if thou hast a good conscience, thou wouldst not much fear death. it were better for thee to fly sin, than to be afraid of death. if thou art not prepared to-day, how wilt thou be to-morrow? to-morrow is an uncertain day; and how dost thou know that thou shalt be alive to-morrow? . what benefit is it to live long, when we advance so little? ah! long life does not always make us better, but often adds to our guilt! would to god we had behaved ourselves well in this world, even for one day! many count the years of their conversion; but oftentimes the fruit of amendment is but small. if it be frightful to die, perhaps it will be more dangerous to live longer. { } blessed is he that has always the hour of his death before his eyes, and every day disposes himself to die. if thou hast at any time seen a man die, think that thou must also pass the same way. . in the morning, imagine thou shalt not live till night: and when evening comes, presume not to promise thyself the next morning. be therefore always prepared, and live in such a manner, that death may never find thee unprovided. many die suddenly, and when they little think of it: _for the son of man will come at the hour when he is not looked for_. matthew xxiv. when that last hour shall come, thou wilt begin to have quite other thoughts of thy whole past life: and thou wilt be exceedingly grieved that thou hast been so negligent and remiss. . how happy and prudent is he who strives to be such now in this life, as he desires to be found at his death. for it will give a man a great confidence of dying happily, if he has a perfect contempt of the world, a fervent desire of advancing in virtue, a love for discipline, the spirit of penance, a ready obedience, self-denial, and patience in bearing all adversities for the love of christ. { } thou mayest do many good things whilst thou art well: but when thou art sick, i know not what thou wilt be able to do. few are improved by sickness; they also that travel much abroad seldom become holy. . trust not in thy friends and kinsfolks, nor put off the welfare of thy soul to hereafter: for men will sooner forget thee than thou imaginest. it is better now to provide in time and send some good before thee, than to trust to others helping thee after thy death. if thou art not now careful for thyself, who will be careful for thee hereafter? the present time is very precious: _now are the days of salvation_: now is an acceptable time. { } but it is greatly to be lamented, that thou dost not spend this time more profitably: wherein thou mayest acquire a stock on which thou mayest live for ever! the time will come, when thou wilt wish for one day or hour to amend: and i know not whether thou wilt obtain it. . o my dearly beloved, from how great a danger mayest thou deliver thyself: from how great a fear mayest thou be freed, if thou wilt but now be always fearful, and looking for death! strive now so to live, that in the hour of thy death thou mayest rather rejoice than fear. learn now to die to the world, that then thou mayest begin to live with christ. learn now to despise all things, that then thou mayest freely go to christ. chastise thy body now by penance, that thou mayest then have an assured confidence. . ah! fool! why dost thou think to live long, when thou art not sure of one day? how many thinking to live long, have been deceived, and unexpectedly have been snatched away. { } how often hast thou heard related, that such a one was slain by the sword; another drowned; another falling from on high, broke his neck: this man died at the table; that other came to his end when he was at play. some have perished by fire; some by the sword; some by pestilence; and some by robbers. thus death is the end of all, and man's life passeth suddenly like a shadow. . who will remember thee when thou art dead; and who will pray for thee? do now, beloved, do now all thou canst, because thou knowest not when thou shalt die: nor dust thou know what shall befal thee after death. whilst thou hast time, heap up to thyself riches that will never die; think of nothing but thy salvation; care for nothing but the things of god. make now to thyself friends, by honouring the saints of god, and imitating their actions; that when thou shalt fail in this life, they may receive thee into everlasting dwellings. { } . keep thyself as a pilgrim, and a stranger upon earth, to whom the affairs of this world do not in the least belong. keep thy heart free, and raised upwards to god; because thou hast not here a lasting city. send thither thy daily prayer, with sighs and tears; that after death thy spirit may be worthy to pass happily to our lord. _amen_. chap. xxiv.--_of judgment and the punishment of sins_. . in all things look to thy end, and how thou shalt be able to stand before a severe judge, to whom nothing is hidden: who takes no bribes, nor receives excuses, but will judge that which is just. o most wretched and foolish sinner, what answer wilt thou make to god, who knows all thy evils? thou who sometimes art afraid of the looks of an angry man. why dost thou not provide for thy self against the day of judgment, when no man can be excused or defended by another; but every one shall have enough to do to answer for himself? { } at present thy labour is profitable; thy tears are acceptable; thy sighs will be heard, and thy sorrow is satisfactory, and may purge away thy sins. . a patient man hath a great and wholesome purgatory, who receiving injuries is more concerned at another person's sin than his own wrong; who willingly prays for his adversaries, and from his heart forgives offences; who delays not to ask forgiveness of others; who is easier moved to compassion than to anger; who frequently useth violence to himself, and labours to bring the flesh wholly under subjection to the spirit. it is better now to purge away our sins, and cut up our vices, than to reserve them to be purged hereafter. truly, we deceive ourselves through the inordinate love we bear to our flesh. . what other things shall that fire feed on but thy sins? the more thou sparest thyself now, and followest the flesh, the more grievously shalt thou suffer hereafter, and the more fuel dost thou lay up for that fire. { } in what things a man has more sinned, in those shall he be more heavily punished. there the slothful shall be pricked forward with burning goads, and the glutton will be tormented with extreme hunger and thirst. there the luxurious and the lovers of pleasure will be covered all over with burning pitch and stinking brimstone, and the envious, like mad dogs, will howl for grief. . there is no vice which will not have its proper torments. there the proud will be filled with all confusion; and the covetous be straitened with most miserable want. there one hour of suffering will be more sharp, than a hundred years here spent in the most rigid penance. there is no rest, no comfort for the damned: but here there is sometimes intermission of labour, and we receive comfort from our friends. { } be careful at present, and sorrowful for thy sins: that in the day of judgment thou mayest be secure with the blessed. _for then the just shall stand with great constancy against those that afflicted and oppressed them_. wisdom v. then will he stand to judge: who now humbly submits himself to the judgment of men. then the poor and humble will have great confidence: and the proud will fear on every side. . then it will appear that he was wise in this world, who learned for christ's sake to be a fool, and despised. then all tribulation suffered with patience will be pleasing, _and all iniquity shall stop her mouth_. psalms cvi. then every devout person will rejoice, and the irreligious will be sad. then the flesh that has been mortified shall triumph more than if it had always been pampered in delights. then shall the mean habit shine, and fine clothing appear contemptible. then shall the poor cottage be more commended than the gilded palace. { } then constant patience shall more avail, than all the power of the world. then simple obedience shall be more prized, than all worldly craftiness. . then a pure and good conscience shall be a greater subject of joy, than learned philosophy. then the contempt of riches shall weigh more than all the treasures of worldlings. then wilt thou be more comforted that thou hast prayed devoutly, than that thou hast fared daintily. then wilt thou rejoice more that thou hast kept silence, than that thou hast made long discourses, or talked much. then will holy works be of greater value than many fair words. then will a strict life and hard penance be more pleasing than all the delights of the earth. learn at present to suffer in little things, that then thou mayest be delivered from more grievous sufferings. try first here what thou canst suffer hereafter. { } if thou canst now endure so little how wilt thou be able to bear everlasting torments? if a little suffering now makes thee so impatient, what will hell fire do hereafter? surely thou canst not have thy pleasure in this world, and afterwards reign with christ. . if to this day thou hadst always lived in honours and pleasures: what would it avail thee, if thou wert now in a moment to die? all then is vanity, but to love god, and to serve him alone! for he that loves god with his whole heart, neither fears death, nor punishment, nor judgment, nor hell: because perfect love gives secure access to god. but he that is yet delighted with sin, no wonder if he be afraid of death and judgment. it is good, however, that if love, as yet, reclaim thee not from evil, at least the fear of hell restrain thee. but he that lays aside the fear of god, will not be able to continue long in good, but will quickly fall into the snares of the devil. { } chap. xxv.--_of the fervent amendment of our whole life_. . be vigilant, and delight in god's service, and often think with thyself, to what end thou camest hither, and why thou didst leave the world: was it not that thou mightest live to god, and become a spiritual man? be fervent therefore in thy spiritual progress, for thou shalt shortly receive the reward of thy labours: and then grief and fear shall no more come near thee. thou shalt labour now a little, and thou shalt find great rest: yea, everlasting joy. if thou continue faithful and fervent in working, god will doubtless be faithful and liberal in rewarding. thou must preserve a good and firm hope of coming to the crown: but must not think thyself secure, lest thou grow negligent or proud. { } . when a certain person in anxiety of mind was often wavering between hope and fear; and on a time being overwhelmed with grief, had prostrated himself in prayer in the church before a certain altar, he revolved these things within himself, saying: _if i did but know that i should still persevere_: and presently he heard within himself an answer from god: _and if thou didst know this, what wouldst thou do? do now what thou wouldst then do, and thou shalt be very secure_. and immediately being comforted and strengthened, he committed himself to the divine will, and his anxious wavering ceased. neither had he a mind any more to search curiously, to know what should befal him hereafter; but rather studied to enquire what was the will of god, _well pleasing and perfect_, for the beginning and accomplishing every good work. _hope in the lord, and do good_, saith the prophet, _and inhabit the land, and thou shalt be fed with the riches thereof_. psalms xxxi. { } there is one thing which keeps many back from spiritual progress and fervent amendment of life, and that is, the apprehension of difficulty, or the labour which must be gone through in the conflict. and they indeed advance most of all others in virtue, who strive manfully to overcome those things which they find more troublesome or contrary to them. for there a man makes greater progress, and merits greater grace, where he overcomes himself more, and mortifies himself in spirit. . but all men have not alike to overcome and mortify. yet he that is diligent and zealous, although he have more passions to fight against, will be able to make a greater progress than another who has fewer passions, but is withal less fervent in the pursuit of virtues. two things particularly conduce to a great amendment: these are forcibly to withdraw one's self from that to which nature is viciously inclined, and earnestly to labour for that good which one wants the most. { } study likewise to fly more carefully, and to overcome those faults which most frequently displease thee in others. . turn all occasions to thy spiritual profit: so that if thou seest or hearest any good examples, thou mayest be spurred on to imitate them. but if thou observe any thing that is blame-worthy, take heed thou commit not the same: or if thou at any time hast done it, labour to amend it out of hand. as thine eye observeth others: so art thou also observed by others. o how sweet and comfortable it is to see brethren fervent and devout, regular and well disciplined! how sad a thing, and how afflicting, to see such walk disorderly, and who practise nothing of what they are called to. how hurtful it is to neglect the intent of our vocation, and to turn our minds to things that are not our business. { } . be mindful of the resolution thou hast taken, and set before thee the image of the _crucifix_. well mayest thou be ashamed, if thou looked upon the life of jesus christ, that thou hast not yet studied to conform thyself more to his pattern, although thou hast been long in the way of god. a religious man, who exercises himself seriously and devoutly in the most holy life and passion of our lord, shall find there abundantly all things profitable and necessary for him: nor need he seek for any thing better out of jesus. o if our crucified jesus did but come into our heart, how quickly and sufficiently learned should we be! . a fervent religious man bears and takes all things well that are commanded him. a negligent and lukewarm religious man has trouble upon trouble, and on every side suffers anguish: because he has no comfort within, and is hindered from seeking any without. { } a religious man that lives not in discipline, lies open to dreadful ruin. he that seeks to be more loose and remiss will always be uneasy: for one thing or other will always displease him. . how do so many other religious do, who live under strict monastic discipline? they seldom go abroad; they live very retired; their diet is very poor; their habit coarse; they labour much; they speak little; they watch long; they rise early; they spend much time in prayer; they read often; and keep themselves in all kind of discipline. consider the _carthusians_, the _cistercians_, and the monks and nuns of divers orders: how every night they rise to sing psalms to the lord. it would therefore be a shame for thee to be sluggish at so holy a time, when such multitudes of religious begin with joy to give praises to god. . o that we had nothing else to do but to praise the lord our god with our whole heart and mouth! { } o that thou didst never want to eat, nor drink, nor sleep, but couldst always praise god, and be employed solely in spiritual exercises! thou wouldst then be much more happy than now, whilst thou art under the necessity of serving the flesh. would to god there were no such necessities, but only the spiritual refreshments of the soul, which, alas, we taste too seldom! . when a man is come to this, that he seeks his comfort from nothing created, then he begins perfectly to relish god; then likewise will he be well content, however matters happen to him. then will he neither rejoice for much, nor be sorrowful for little: but will commit himself wholly and confidently to god, who is to him all in all; to whom nothing perishes or dies, but all things live to him, and serve him at a beck without delay. . always remember thy end, and that time once lost never returns. without care and diligence thou shalt never acquire virtues. { } if thou beginnest to grow lukewarm, thou wilt begin to be uneasy. but if thou givest thyself to fervour, thou shalt find great peace: and the grace of god, and love of virtue will make thee feel less labour. a fervent and diligent man is ready for all things. it is a greater labour to resist vices and passions, than to toil at bodily labours. he that does not shun small defects, by little and little falls into greater. thou wilt always rejoice in the evening, if thou spend the day profitably. watch over thyself, stir up thyself, admonish thyself; and whatever becometh of others, neglect not thyself. the greater violence thou offerest to thyself, the greater progress thou wilt make. _amen_. end of book i. { } the _following of christ._ book ii. chap i.--_of interior conversation_. . _the kingdom of god is within you_, saith the lord. _luke_ vii. convert thyself with thy whole heart to the lord: and quit this miserable world, and thy soul shall find rest. learn to despise exterior things, and give thyself to the interior, and thou shalt see the kingdom of god will come into thee. for the kingdom of god is peace and joy in the holy ghost, which is not given to the wicked. { } christ will come to thee, discovering to thee his consolation, if thou wilt prepare him a fit dwelling within thee. all his glory and beauty is in the interior, and there he pleaseth himself. many a visit doth he make to the _internal man_, sweet is his communication with him, delightful his consolation, much peace, and a familiarity exceedingly to be admired. . o faithful soul, prepare thy heart for this thy spouse, that he may vouchsafe to come to thee, and dwell in thee. for so he saith: _if any man love me, he will keep my word, and we will come to him, and we will make our abode with him_. john xiv. make room then for christ within thee, and deny entrance to all others. when thou hast christ, thou art rich, and he is sufficient for thee: he will provide for thee, and will be thy faithful _procurator_ in all things, so that thou needest not trust to men. for men quickly change, and presently fail: but christ remainis forever, and stands by us firmly to the end. { } . there is no great confidence to be put in a frail mortal man, though he be profitable and beloved: nor much grief to be taken, if sometimes he be against thee and cross thee. they that are with thee to-day, maybe against thee to-morrow: and on the other hand often change like the wind. place thy whole confidence in god, and let him be thy fear and thy love; he will answer for thee, and do for thee what is for the best. thou hast not here a lasting city: and wherever thou art, thou art a stranger and a pilgrim: nor wilt thou ever have rest, unless thou be interiorly united to christ. . why dost thou stand looking about thee here, since this is not thy resting place? thy dwelling must be in heaven: and all things of the earth are only to be looked upon as passing by. all things pass away, and thou along with them. { } see that thou cleave not to them, lest thou be ensnared and lost. let thy thought be with the most high, and thy prayer directed to christ without intermission. if thou knowest not how to meditate on high and heavenly things, rest on the passion of christ, and willingly dwell in his secret wounds. for if thou fly devoutly to the wounds and precious stigmas of jesus, thou shalt feel great comfort in tribulation; neither wilt thou much regard the being despised by men, but wilt easily bear up against detracting tongues. . christ was also in this world despised by men: and in his greatest necessity forsaken by his acquaintance and friends in the midst of reproaches. christ would suffer and be despised, and dost thou dare to complain of any one? christ had adversaries and backbiters, and wouldst thou have all to be thy friends and benefactors? { } whence shall thy patience be crowned, if thou meet with no adversity? if thou wilt suffer no opposition, how wilt thou be a friend of christ? suffer with christ and for christ, if thou desirest to reign with christ. . if thou hadst once perfectly entered into the interior of jesus, and experienced a little of his burning love, then wouldst thou not care at all for thy own convenience or inconvenience, but wouldst rather rejoice at reproach, because the love of jesus makes a man despise himself. a love of jesus and of _truth_, and a true internal man, that is free from inordinate affections, can freely turn himself to god, and in spirit elevate himself above himself, and rest in enjoyment. . he to whom all things relish as they are, _viz_. in god, who is the very truth, not as they are said or esteemed to be, he is wise indeed, and taught rather by god than men. he who knows how to walk internally, and to make little account of external things, is not at a loss for proper places or times for performing devout exercises. { } an internal man quickly recollects himself, because he never pours forth his whole self upon outward things. exterior labour is no prejudice to him, nor any employment which for a time is necessary; but as things fall out, he so accommodates himself to them. he that is well disposed and orderly in his interior, heeds not the strange and perverse carriages of men. as much as a man draws things to himself, so much is he hindered and distracted by them. . if thou hadst a right spirit within thee, and wert purified from earthly affections, all things would turn to thy good and to thy profit. for this reason do many things displease thee, and often trouble thee; because thou art not as yet perfectly dead to thyself, nor separated from all earthly things. nothing so defiles and entangles the heart of man, as impure love to created things. { } if thou reject exterior comfort, thou wilt be able to contemplate heavenly things, and frequently to feel excessive joy interiorly. chap. ii.--_of humble submission_. . make no great account who is for thee, or against thee; but let it be thy business and thy care, that god may be with thee in every thing thou dost. have a good conscience, and god will sufficiently defend thee. for he whom god will help, no man's malice can hurt. if thou canst but hold thy peace and suffer, thou shalt see without doubt that the lord will help thee. he knows the time and manner of delivering thee, and therefore thou must resign thyself to him. it belongs to god to help and to deliver us from all confusion. oftentimes it is very profitable for the keeping us in greater humility, that others know and reprehend our faults. { } . when a man humbles himself for his defects, he then easily appeases others, and quickly satisfies those that are angry with him. the humble man, god protects and delivers: the humble he loves and comforts: to the humble he inclines himself: to the humble he gives grace: and after he has been depressed, raises him to glory. to the humble he reveals his secrets, and sweetly draws and invites him to himself. the humble man having received reproach, maintains himself well enough in peace: because he is fixed in god, and not in the world. never think thou hast made any progress, till thou look upon thyself inferior to all. chap. iii.--_of a good peaceable man_. . keep thyself first in peace, and then thou wilt be able to bring others to peace. a peaceable man does more good, than one that is very learned. { } a passionate man turns every good into evil, and easily believes evil. a good peaceable man turns all things to good. he that is in perfect peace, suspects no man: but he that is discontented and disturbed, is tossed about with various suspicions: he is neither easy himself, nor does he suffer others to be easy. he often says that which he should not say: and omit that which would be better for him to do. he considers what others are obliged to do: and neglects that to which he himself is obliged. have therefore a zeal in the first place over thyself, and then thou mayest justly exercise thy zeal towards thy neighbour. . thou knowest well enough how to excuse and colour thy own doings, and thou wilt not take the excuses of others. it were more just that thou shouldst accuse thyself, and excuse thy brother. if thou wilt be borne withal, bear also with another. { } see how far thou art yet from true charity and humility, which knows not how to be angry with any one, or to have indignation against any one but one's self. it is no great thing to be able to converse with them that are good and meek: for this is naturally pleasing to all. and every one would willingly have peace, and love those best that agree with them. but to live peaceably with those that are harsh and perverse, or disorderly, or such as oppose us, is a great grace, and a highly commendable and manly exploit. . some there are that keep themselves in peace, and have peace also with others. and there are some that are neither at peace within themselves, nor suffer others to be in peace: they are troublesome to others, but always more troublesome to themselves. and some there are who keep themselves in peace, and study to restore peace to others. { } yet all our peace in this miserable life is rather to be placed in humble suffering, than in not feeling adversities. he who knows how to suffer, will enjoy much peace. such a one is conqueror of himself, and lord of the world, a friend of christ and heir of heaven. chap. iv.--_of a pure mind and simple intention_. . with two wings a man is lifted up above earthly things; that is, with _simplicity_ and _purity_. _simplicity_ must be in the intention, _purity_ in the affection. _simplicity_ aims at god, _purity_ takes hold of him, and tastes him. no good action will hinder thee, if thou be free from inordinate affection. if thou intendest and seekest nothing else but the will of god, and the profit of thy neighbour, thou shalt enjoy internal liberty. { } if thy heart were right, then every creature would be to thee a looking-glass of life, and a book of holy doctrine. there is no creature so little and contemptible as not to manifest the goodness of god. . if thou wert good and pure within, then wouldst thou discern all things without impediment, and understand them right. a pure heart penetrates heaven and hell. according as every one is interiorly, so he judgeth exteriorly. if there be joy in the world, certainly the man whose heart is pure enjoys it. and if there be any where tribulation and anguish, an evil conscience feels the most of it. as iron put into the fire loses the rust, and becomes all fire; so a man that turns himself wholly to god puts off his sluggishness, and is changed into a new man. . when a man begins to grow lukewarm, he is afraid of a little labour, and willingly takes external comfort. { } but when he begins perfectly to overcome himself, and to walk manfully in the way of god, then he makes less account of those things, which before he considered burthensome to him. chap. v.--_of the consideration of one's self_. . we cannot trust much to ourselves, because we often want grace and understanding. there is but little light in us, and this we quickly lose through negligence. many times also we perceive not that we are so blind interiorly. we often do ill, and do worse in excusing it. we are sometimes moved with passion, and we mistake it for zeal. we blame little things in others, and pass over great things in ourselves. we are quick enough at perceiving and weighing what we suffer from others: but we mind not what others suffer from us. { } he that would well and duly weigh his own deeds, would have no room to judge hard of others. . an internal man prefers the care of himself before all other cares: and he that diligently attends to himself is easily silent with regard to others. thou wilt never be internal and devout, unless thou pass over in silence other men's concerns, and particularly look to thyself. if thou attend wholly to thyself, and to god, thou wilt be little moved with what thou perceivest without thee. where art thou, when thou art not present to thyself? and when thou hast run over all things, what profit will it be to thee, if thou hast neglected thyself? if thou desirest to have peace and true union, thou must set all the rest aside, and turn thy eyes upon thyself alone. . thou wilt then make great progress, if thou keep thyself free from all temporal care. { } but if thou set a value upon any thing temporal, thou wilt fail exceedingly. let nothing be great in thy eyes, nothing high, nothing pleasant, nothing agreeable to thee, except it be purely god, or of god. look upon as vain, all the comfort which thou meetest with from any creature. a soul that loveth god despiseth all things that are less than god. none but god eternal and incomprehensible, who fills all things, is the comfort of the soul, and the true joy of the heart. chap. vi.--of the joy of a good conscience. . the glory of a good man, is the testimony of a good conscience. keep a good conscience, and thou shall always have joy. a good conscience can bear very much, and is very joyful in the midst of adversity. { } a bad conscience is always fearful and uneasy. sweetly wilt thou take thy rest, if thy heart reprehend thee not. never rejoice but when thou hast done well. the wicked never have true joy, neither do they feel internal peace; because, _there is no peace to the wicked_, saith the lord. _isaiah_ xlviii. and if they shall say, we are in peace, evils will not come upon us, and who shall dare to hurt us, believe them not; for the wrath of god shall rise on a sudden, and their deeds will be brought to nothing, and their projects shall perish. . to glory in tribulation is not hard to him that loves: for so to glory is to glory in the cross of our lord. that glory is short lived, which is given and taken by men. the glory of this world is always accompanied with sorrow. the glory of good men is in their own consciences, not in the mouths of others. the joy of the just is from god, and in god: and they rejoice in the _truth_. { } he that desires true and everlasting glory, values not that which is temporal. and he that seeks after temporal glory, or does not heartily despise it, shews himself to have little love for that which is heavenly. that man has great tranquillity of heart, who neither cares for praises nor dispraises. . he will easily be content, and in peace, whose conscience is clean. thou art not more holy, if thou art praised: nor any thing the worse, if thou art dispraised. what thou art, that thou art: nor canst thou be said to be greater than god sees thee to be. if thou considerest well what thou art within thyself, thou wilt not care what men say of thee. man beholds the face; but god looks upon the heart. man considers the actions; but god weighs the intentions. to do always well, and to hold one's self in small account, is a mark of an humble soul. { } to refuse a comfort from any created thing, is a sign of great purity and interior confidence. . he that seeks no outward testimony for himself, shews plainly, that he has committed himself wholly to god. _for not he that commendeth himself_, saith st. paul, _is approved, but he whom god commendeth_. corinthians x. to walk with god _within_, and not to be held by any affection _without_, is the state of an _internal_ man. chap. vii.--_of the love of jesus above all things_. . blessed is he who knows what it is to love jesus, and to despise himself for the sake of jesus. we must quit what we love for _this_ beloved, because jesus will be loved alone above all things. the love of things created is deceitful and inconstant: the love of jesus is faithful and perseverant. he that cleaveth to creatures shall fall with them. he that embraceth jesus shall stand firm for ever. { } love him, and keep him for thy friend; who, when all go away, will not leave thee, nor suffer thee to perish in the end. thou must at last be separated from all things else, whether thou wilt or not. . keep thyself with jesus both in life and death, and commit thyself to his trust who alone can help thee, when all others fail. thy beloved is of such a nature, that he will admit of no other: but will have thy heart to himself, and sit there like a king on his own throne. if thou couldst but purge thyself well from affection to creatures, jesus would willingly dwell with thee. thou wilt find all that in a manner loss, which thou hast placed in men out of jesus. do not trust nor rely upon a windy reed: _for all flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof shall fade like the flower of the grass_. isaiah xl. . thou wilt soon be deceived, if thou only regard the outward shew of men. for if thou seek thy comfort and thy gain in others, thou wilt often meet with loss. { } if in all thou seek jesus, doubtless thou wilt find jesus. but if thou seek thyself, thou wilt indeed find thyself, but to thy own ruin. for a man does himself more harm if he seek not jesus, than the whole world and all his enemies could do him. chap. viii.--_of familiar friendship with jesus._ . when jesus is present, all goes well, and nothing seems difficult: but when jesus is absent every thing is hard. when jesus speaks not within, our comfort is worth nothing: but if jesus speak but one word, we feel a great consolation. did not mary magdalen arise presently from the place where she wept, when martha said to her: _the master is here and calls for thee_. john xiii. happy hour, when jesus calls from tears, to joy of spirit! { } how dry and hard art thou without jesus! how foolish and vain if thou desire any thing out of jesus! is not this a greater damage than if thou wert to lose the whole world? . what can the world profit thee without jesus? to be without jesus is a grievous hell, and to be with jesus a sweet paradise. if jesus be with thee, no enemy can hurt thee. whoever finds jesus, finds a good treasure, yea good above all goods. and he that loseth jesus, loseth exceeding much, and more than if he lost the whole world. he is wretchedly poor, who lives without jesus: and he is exceedingly rich, who is well with jesus. . it is a great art to know how to converse with jesus: and to know how to keep jesus is great wisdom. be humble and peaceable, and jesus will be with thee. be devout and quiet, and jesus will stay with thee. { } thou mayest quickly drive away jesus and lose his grace, if thou decline after outward things. and if thou drive him from thee, and lose him, to whom wilt thou fly, and whom then wilt thou seek for thy friend? without a friend thou canst not well live; and if jesus be not thy friend above all, thou wilt be exceeding sad and desolate. thou actest then foolishly, if thou puttest thy trust or rejoiceth in any other. we ought rather to chuse to have the whole world against us, than to offend jesus. of all therefore that are dear to thee, let jesus always be thy special beloved. . let all be loved for jesus's sake, but jesus for himself. jesus christ alone is singularly to be loved, who alone is found good and faithful above all friends. for him, and in him, let both friends and enemies be dear to thee: and for all these must thou pray to him, that all may know and love him. { } neither desire to be singularly praised or beloved: for this belongs to god alone, who hath none like to himself. neither desire that any one's heart should be set on thee: nor do thou let thyself be taken up with the love of any one: but let jesus be in thee, and in every good man. . be pure and free interiorly, without being entangled by any creature. thou must be naked and carry a pure heart to god, if thou wilt attend at leisure, and see how sweet is the lord. and indeed thou wilt never attain to this, unless thou be prevented and drawn in by his grace: that so thou mayest all _alone_ be united to him _alone_, having cast out and dismissed all others. for when the grace of god comes to a man, then he is strong and powerful for all things: and when it departs, then he is poor and weak, left as it were only to stripes. { } in these he must not be dejected nor despair; but stand with an even mind, resigned to the will of god, and bear, for the glory of jesus christ, whatever shall befal him: because after winter, comes summer; after night the day returns; after a storm there follows a great calm. chap. ix.--_of the want of all comfort_. . it is not hard to despise all human comfort, when we have divine. but it is much, and very much, to be able to want all comfort, both human and divine: and to be willing to bear this interior banishment for god's honour, and to seek one's self in nothing, nor to think of one's own merit. what great thing is it, if thou be cheerful and devout when grace comes? this hour is desirable to all. he rides at ease, that is carried by the grace of god. and what wonder, if he feels no weight, who is carried by the almighty, and led on by the sovereign guide? . we willingly would have something to comfort us: and it is with difficulty that a man can put off himself. { } the holy martyr, lawrence, overcame the world, with his prelate; because he despised whatever seemed delightful in this world; and for the love of christ he also suffered the high priest of god, _sixtus_, whom he exceedingly loved, to be taken away from him. he overcame therefore the love of man by the love of the creator: and instead of the comfort he had in man, he made choice rather of god's pleasure. so do thou also learn to part with a necessary and beloved friend for the love of god. and take it not to heart when thou art forsaken by a friend: knowing that one time or other we must all part. . a man must go through a long and great conflict in himself, before he can learn fully to overcome himself, and to draw his whole affection towards god. when a man stands upon himself, he easily declines after human comforts. { } but a true lover of christ, and a diligent pursuer of virtues, does not hunt after comforts, nor seek such sensible sweetnesses: but is rather willing to bear strong trials and hard labours for christ. . therefore when god gives spiritual comfort, receive it with thanksgiving; but know that it is the bounty of god, not thy merit. be not puffed up, be not overjoyed, nor vainly presume: but rather be the more humble for this gift, and the more cautious and fearful in all thy actions: for this hour will pass away, and temptation will follow. when comfort shall be taken away from thee, do not presently despair; but wait with humility and patience for the heavenly visit: for god is able to restore thee a greater consolation. this is no new thing, nor strange to those who have experienced the ways of god: for in the great saints and ancient prophets there has often been this kind of variety. . hence one said: at the time when grace was with him: _i said in my abundance, i shall not be moved for ever_. psalms xxix. { } but when grace was retired, he immediately tells us what he experienced in himself: _thou hast turned away thy face from me, and i became troubled_. yet, in the mean time he despairs not, but more earnestly prays to our lord, and says: _to thee, o lord, will i cry, and i will pray to my god_. lastly, he receives the fruit of his prayer: and witnesses that he was heard, saying: _the lord hath heard me, and hath had mercy on me: the lord is become my helper_. but in what manner? _thou hast turned, says he, my mourning into joy to me, and thou hast encompassed me with gladness_. if it has been thus with great saints, we that are weak and poor must not be discouraged, if we are sometimes in fervour, sometimes cold: because the spirit comes and goes according to his own good pleasure. wherefore holy job says: _thou dost visit him early in the morning, and on a sudden thou triest him_. job vii. . wherein then can i hope, or in what must i put my trust, but in god's great mercy alone, and in the hope of heavenly grace! { } for whether i have with me good men, or devout brethren, or faithful friends, or holy books, or fine treatises, or sweet singing and hymns: all these help little, and give me but little relish, when i am forsaken by grace, and left in my own poverty. at such a time there is no better remedy than patience, and leaving myself to god's will. . i never found any one so religious and devout, as not to have sometimes a subtraction of grace, or feel a diminution of fervour. no saint was ever so highly wrapt and illuminated, as not to be tempted at first or at last. for he is not worthy of the high contemplation of god, who has not, for god's sake, been exercised with some tribulation. for temptation going before, is usually a sign of ensuing consolation. for heavenly comfort is promised to such has have been proved by temptations. { } _to him that shall overcome_, saith our lord, _i will give to eat of the tree of life_. apoc. ii. [usccb: revelation ii. ] . now divine consolation is given that a man may be better able to support adversities. and temptation follows, that he may not be proud of good. the devil never sleeps, neither is the flesh yet dead: therefore thou must not cease to prepare thyself for battle, for on the right hand, and on the left, are enemies that never rest. chap. x.--_of gratitude for the grace of god_. . why seekest thou rest, since thou art born to labour? dispose thyself to patience, rather than consolation: and to bear the cross, rather than to rejoice. for who is there amongst worldly people, that would not willingly receive comfort and spiritual joy, if he could always have it? { } for spiritual consolations exceed all the delight of the world, and pleasures of the flesh. for all worldly delights are either vain or filthy: but spiritual delights alone are pleasant and honest, springing from virtue, and infused by god into pure minds. but these divine consolations no man can always enjoy when he will: because the time of temptation is not long away. . but what very much opposes these heavenly visits, is a false liberty of mind, and a great confidence in one's self. god does well in giving the grace of consolation: but man does ill in not returning it all to god with thanksgiving. and this is the reason why the gifts of grace cannot flow in us: because we are ungrateful to the giver: nor do we return all to the fountain's head. for grace is ever due to him that duly returns thanks: and what is wont to be given to the humble, will be taken away from the proud. { } . i would not have any such consolation as should rob me of compunction: nor do i wish to have such contemplation as leads to pride. for all that is high, is not holy; nor all that is pleasant, good: nor every desire, pure; nor is every thing that is dear to us, pleasing to god. i willingly accept of that grace, which makes me always more humble and fearful, and more ready to forsake myself. he that has been taught by the gift of grace, and instructed by the scourge of the withdrawing of it, will not dare to attribute any thing of good to himself; but will rather confess himself to be poor and naked. give to god what is his, and take to thyself what is thine: that is, give thanks to god for his grace; but as to thyself be sensible that nothing is to be attributed to thee, but sin, and the punishment due to sin. . put thyself always in the lowest place, and the highest shall be given thee: for the highest stands not without the lowest. { } the saints that are highest in the sight of god, are the least in their own eyes: and the more glorious they are, the more humble they are in themselves. being full of the truth and heavenly glory, they are not desirous of vain glory. they that are grounded and established in god, can by no means be proud. and they that attribute to god all whatsoever good they have received, seek not glory from one another, but that glory which is from god alone: and desire above all things that god may be praised in themselves, and in all the saints, and to this same they always tend. . be grateful then for the least, and thou shalt be worthy to receive greater things. let the least be to thee as something very great, and the most contemptible as a special favour. { } if thou considerest the dignity of the giver, no gift will seem to thee little which is given by so great a god. yea, though he gives punishment and stripes, it ought to be acceptable: for whatever he suffers to befal us, he always does it for our salvation. he that desires to retain the grace of god, let him be thankful for grace when it is given, and patient when it is withdrawn. let him pray, that it may return: let him be cautious and humble, lest he lose it. chap. xi.--_of the small number of the lovers of the cross of jesus_. . jesus has now many lovers of his heavenly kingdom: but few that are willing to bear the cross. he has many that are desirous of comfort, but few of tribulation. he finds many companions of his table, but few of his abstinence. all desire to rejoice with him: few are willing to suffer for him. many follow jesus to the breaking of bread; but few to the drinking the chalice of his passion. { } many reverence his miracles; but few follow the ignominy of his cross. many love jesus as long as they meet with no adversity; many praise him and bless him as long as they receive consolations from him. but if jesus hide himself and leave them for a little while; they either fall into complaints, or excessive dejection. . but they that love jesus for jesus's sake, and not for any comfort of their own, bless him no less in tribulation and anguish of heart, than in the greatest consolation. and if he should never give them his comfort, yet would they always praise him, and always give him thanks. . o! how much is the pure love of jesus able to do, when it is not mixed with any self-interest or self-love! are not all those to be called hirelings, who are always seeking consolations! { } are they not convinced to be rather lovers of themselves than of christ, who are always thinking of their own profit and gain? where shall we find a man that is willing to serve god _gratis?_ . seldom do we find any one so spiritual, as to be stripped of all things. for who shall be able to find the man that is truly poor in spirit, and naked of all things created? his value is (as of things that is brought) _from afar and from the remotest coasts_, proverbs xxxi. if a man gives his whole substance, it is yet nothing. and if he do great penance, it is yet little. and if he attain to all knowledge, he is far off still. and if he have great virtue, and exceeding fervent devotion, there is still much wanting to him; to wit, one thing, which is chiefly necessary for him. { } and what is that? that having left all things else, he leave also himself and wholly get out of himself, and retain nothing of self-love. and when he shall have done all things which he knows should be done, let him think that he has done nothing. . let him not make great account of that which may appear much to be esteemed: but let him in _truth_ acknowledge himself to be an unprofitable servant: as truth itself has said, _when ye shall have done all that is commanded you, say, we are unprofitable servants_. luke xvii. then may he be truly poor and naked in spirit, and may say with the prophet, _i am all alone, and poor_. psalms xxiv. [usccb: psalms xxv, .] yet no one is indeed richer than such a man, none more powerful, none more free; who knows how to leave himself and all things, and place himself in the very lowest place. { } chap. xii.--_of the king's highway of the holy cross_. . to many this seems a hard saying: _deny thyself, take up thy cross and follow jesus_. matthew xvi. but it will be much harder to hear that last word: _depart from me you cursed into everlasting fire_. matthew xxv. for they that at present willingly hear and follow the word of the cross, shall not then be afraid of eternal condemnation. the sign of the cross will be in heaven, when the lord shall come to judge. then all the servants of the cross, who in their life time have conformed themselves to him that was crucified, shall come to christ their judge with great confidence. . why then art thou afraid to take up thy cross, which leads to a kingdom? in the cross is salvation: in the cross is life: in the cross is protection from thy enemies. { } in the cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness: in the cross is strength of mind: in the cross is joy of spirit. in the cross is the height of virtue: in the cross is the perfection of sanctity. there is no health of the soul, nor hope of eternal life, but in the cross. take up therefore thy cross and follow jesus, and thou shalt go into life everlasting. he is gone before thee, carrying his cross: and he died for thee upon the cross: that thou mayest also bear thy cross, and love to die on the cross. because, if thou die with him, thou shalt also live with him; and if thou art his companion in buffering, thou shalt also partake in his glory. . behold the cross is all, and in dying [to thyself] all consists: and there is no other way to life, and to true internal peace, but the way of the holy cross, and of daily mortification. go where thou wilt, seek what thou wilt, and thou shalt not find a higher way above, nor a safer way below, than the way of the holy cross. { } dispose and order all things according as thou wilt; and as seems best to thee; and thou shalt still find something to suffer, either willingly or unwillingly, and so thou shalt still find the cross. for either thou shalt feel pain in the body, or sustain in thy soul tribulation of spirit. . sometimes thou shalt be left by god, other times thou shalt be afflicted by thy neighbour: and what is more, thou shalt often be a trouble to thyself. neither canst thou be delivered or eased by any remedy or comfort, but as long as it shall please god, thou must bear it. for god would have thee learn to suffer tribulation without comfort, and wholly to submit thyself to him, and to become more humble by tribulation. no man hath so lively a feeling of the passion of christ, as he who hath happened to suffer such like things. the cross therefore is always ready, and every where waits for thee. { } thou canst not escape it, whithersoever thou runnest: for whithersoever thou goest, thou carriest thyself with thee, and shall always find thyself. turn thyself upwards, or turn thyself downwards: turn thyself without, or turn thyself within thee: and every where thou shalt find the cross. and every where thou must of necessity have patience if thou desirest inward peace, and wouldst merit an eternal crown. . if thou carry the cross willingly, it will carry thee, and bring thee to thy desired end; to wit, to that place where there will be an end of suffering, tho' here there will be none. if thou carry it unwillingly, thou makest it a burden to thee, and loadest thyself the more: and nevertheless thou must bear it. if thou fling away one cross, without doubt thou wilt find another, and perhaps a heavier. . dost thou think to escape that which no mortal could ever avoid? what saint was there ever in the world without his cross and affliction? { } our lord jesus christ himself was not one hour of his life without suffering: _it behoved_, saith he, _that christ should suffer, and rise from the dead, and so enter into his glory_. luke xxiv. and how dost thou pretend to seek another way than the royal way, which is the way of the holy cross. . the whole life of christ was a cross, and a martyrdom: and dost thou seek rest and joy? thou errest, thou errest, if thou seekest any other thing than to suffer tribulations: for this whole mortal life is full of miseries, and beset on all sides with crosses. and the higher a person is advanced in spirit, the heavier crosses shall he often meet with: because the pain of his banishment increases in proportion to his love. . yet this man, thus many ways afflicted, is not without some allay of comfort for his ease: because he is sensible of the great profit which he reaps by bearing the cross. for whilst he willingly resigns himself to it, all the burden of tribulation is converted into an assured hope of comfort from god. { } and the more the flesh is brought down by affliction, the more the spirit is strengthened by inward grace. and sometimes gains such force through affection to tribulation and adversity, by reason of loving to be conformable to the cross of christ, as not to be willing to be without suffering and affliction: because such a one believes himself by so much the more acceptable to god, as he shall be able to bear more and greater things for him. this is not man's power, but the grace of christ, which can and does effect such great things in frail flesh, that what it naturally abhors and flies, even this through fervour of spirit it now embraces and loves. . it is not according to man's natural inclination to bear the cross, to love the cross, to chastise the body, and bring it under subjection; to fly honours, to be willing to suffer reproaches, to despise one's self, and wish to be despised; to bear all adversities and losses, and to desire no prosperity in this world. { } if thou lookest upon thyself, thou canst do nothing of this of thyself. but if thou confidest in the lord, strength will be given thee from heaven, and the world and flesh shall be made subject to thee. neither shalt thou fear thine enemy the devil, if thou art armed with faith and signed with the cross of christ. . set thyself then like a good and faithful servant of christ to bear manfully the cross of thy lord, crucified for the love of thee. prepare thyself to suffer many adversities, and divers evils in this miserable life; for so it will be with thee, wherever thou art: and so indeed wilt thou find it, wheresoever thou hide thyself. it must be so, and there is no remedy against tribulation and sorrow, but to bear them patiently. drink of the chalice of the lord lovingly, if thou desirest to be his friend, and to have part with him. leave consolations to god, to do with them as best pleaseth him. { } but set thou thyself to bear tribulations, and account them the greatest consolations: for the sufferings of this life bear no proportion with the glory to come, although thou alone couldst suffer them all. . when thou shalt arrive thus far, that tribulation becomes sweet and savory to thee for the love of christ: then think that it is well with thee, for thou hast found a paradise upon earth. as long as suffering seems grievous to thee, and thou seekest to fly from if, so long will it be ill with thee, and the tribulation from which thou fliest will every where follow thee. . if thou set thyself to what thou oughtest; that is, to suffer and to die [to thyself], it will quickly be better with thee, and thou shalt find peace. although thou shouldst have been wrapped up to the third heaven with st. paul, thou art not thereby secured that thou shalt suffer no adversity. _i_ (said jesus) _will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name_. acts ix. to suffer, therefore, is what waits for thee, if thou wilt love jesus, and constantly serve him. { } . would to god thou wert worthy to suffer something for the name of jesus! how great a glory would be laid up for thee, how great joy would it be to all the saints of god, and how great edification to thy neighbour! all recommend patience; but, alas! how few are there that desire to suffer! with good reason oughtest thou willingly to suffer a little for christ, since many suffer greater things for the world. . know for certain that thou must lead a dying life; and the more a man dies to himself, the more he begins to live to god. no man is fit to comprehend heavenly things, who has not resigned himself to suffer adversities for christ. nothing is more acceptable to god, nothing more wholesome for thee in this world, than to suffer willingly for christ. and if thou wert to chuse, thou oughtest to wish rather to suffer adversities for christ, than to be delighted with many comforts: because thus wouldst thou be more like to christ, and more conformable to all the saints. { } for our merit and the advancement of our state, consists not in having many gusts and consolations: but rather in bearing great afflictions and tribulations. . if, indeed, there had been any thing better, and more beneficial to man's salvation, than suffering, christ certainly would have shewed it by word and example. for he manifestly exhorts both his disciples that followed him, and all that desire to follow him, to bear the cross, saying: _if any one will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me_. luke ix. so that when we have read and searched all, let this be the final conclusion, that _through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of god_. acts xix. [usccb: acts xiv. .] { } _the following of christ_ book iii. chap. i.--_of the internal speech of christ to a faithful soul_. . _i will hear what the lord god speaketh in me_. psalms lxxxiv. [usccb: psalms lxxxv. .] happy is that soul, which heareth the lord speaking within her: and from his mouth receiveth the word of comfort. happy ears, which receive the veins of the divine whisper, and take no notice of the whisperings of the world. happy ears indeed, which hearken to truth itself teaching within, and not to the voice which soundeth without. { } happy eyes, which are shut to outward things, and attentive to the interior. happy they who penetrate into internal things, and endeavour to prepare themselves more and more by daily exercises to the attaining to heavenly secrets. happy they who seek to be wholly intent on god, and who rid themselves of every worldly impediment. mind these things, o my soul, and shut the doors of thy sensuality, that thou mayest hear what the lord thy god speaks within thee. . thus saith thy beloved: _i am thy salvation_, thy peace, and thy life: keep thyself with me, and thou shalt find peace. let alone all transitory things, and seek things eternal. what are all temporal things, but deceit? and what will all things created avail thee, if thou be forsaken by the creator? cast off then all earthly things, and make thyself agreeable to thy creator, and faithful to him, that so thou mayest attain to true happiness. { } chap. ii--_that truth speaks within us without noise of words_. . _speak, lord, for thy servant heareth_. samuel iii.--_i am thy servant, give me understanding that i may know thy testimonies_. psalms cxviii. [usccb: psalms cxix. .] incline my heart to the words of thy mouth: let thy speech distil as the dew. heretofore the children of _israel_ said to _moses, speak thou to us, and we will hear: let not the lord speak to us, lest we die_. exodus xx. it is not thus, o lord, it is not thus i pray; but rather with the prophet _samuel_, i humbly and earnestly entreat thee, _speak, lord, for thy servant heareth_. let not _moses_, nor any of the prophets speak to me; but speak thou rather, o lord god, the inspirer and enlightener of all the prophets; for thou alone without them canst perfectly instruct me; but they without thee will avail me nothing. { } . they may indeed sound forth words, but they give not the spirit. they speak well; but if thou be silent, they do not set the heart on fire. they deliver the letter, but thou disclosest the sense. they publish mysteries, but thou unlockest the meaning of the things signified. they declare the commandments, but thou enablest to keep them. they shew the way, but thou givest strength to walk in it. they work only outwardly, but thou instructest and enlightenest the heart. they water exteriorly, but thou givest the increase. they cry out with words, but thou givest understanding to the hearing. . let not then _moses_ speak to me, but thou o lord my god, the eternal truth, lest i die and prove fruitless, if i be only outwardly admonished, and not enkindled within. { } lest the word which i have heard and not fulfilled, which i have known and not loved, which i have believed and not observed, rise up in judgment against me. _speak_, then, _o lord, for thy servant heareth; for thou hast the words of eternal life_. john vi. speak to me, that it may be for some comfort to my soul, and for the amendment of my whole life; and to thy praise and glory, and everlasting honour. chap. iii.--_that the words of god are to be heard with humility, and that many weigh them not_. . my son, hear my words, words most sweet, exceeding all the learning of philosophers, and of the wise men of this world. my words are _spirit_ and _life_, and not to be estimated by the sense of man. they are not to be drawn to a vain complacence, but are to be heard in silence, and to be received with all humility and great affection. { } . and i said, _blessed is the man, whom thou, o lord, shalt instruct, and shalt teach him thy law; that thou mayest give him ease from the evil days_, (psalms xciii.); and that he may not be desolate upon earth. [usccb: psalms xciv. - .] i (saith the lord) have taught the prophets from the beginning, and even till now i cease not to speak to all; but many are deaf to my voice, and hard. the greater number listen more willingly to the world, than to god; and follow sooner the desires of the flesh, than the good-will of god. the world promises things temporal and of small value, and is served with great eagerness: i promise things most excellent and everlasting, and men's hearts are not moved! who is there that serves and obeys me in all things, with that great care, with which the world and its lords are served? _be ashamed, o sidon_, saith the sea. and if thou ask why? hear the reason. for a small living, men run a great way; for eternal life many will scarce once move a foot from the ground. { } an inconsiderable gain is sought after; for one penny sometimes men shamefully quarrel; they are not afraid to toil day and night for a trifle, or some slight promise. . but, alas! for an unchangeable good, for an inestimable reward, for the highest honour and never-ending glory, they are unwilling to take the least pains. be ashamed then, thou slothful servant, that art so apt to complain, seeing that they are more ready to labour for death than thou for life. they rejoice more in running after _vanity_, than thou in the pursuit of _truth_. and indeed they are sometimes frustrated of their hopes; but my promise deceives no man, nor sends away empty him that trusts in me. what i have promised, i will give; what i have said, i will make good; provided a man continue to the end faithful in my love. { } i am the rewarder of all the good, and the strong trier of all the devout. . write my words in thy heart, and think diligently on them; for they will be very necessary in the time of temptation. what thou understandest not when thou readest, thou shalt know in the day of visitation. i am accustomed to visit my elect [in] two manner of ways, _viz._ by trial and by comfort. and i read them daily two lessons; one to rebuke their vices, the other to exhort them to the increase of virtues. he that has my words, and slights them, has that which shall condemn him at the last day. _a prayer_, to implore the grace of devotion. . _o lord my god, thou art all my good; and who am i that i should dare to speak to thee_. { } _i am thy most poor servant, and a wretched little worm, much more poor and contemptible than i conceive or dare express_. _yet remember, o lord, that i am nothing, i have nothing and can do nothing:_ _thou alone art good, just and holy; thou canst do all things; thou givest all things; thou fillest all things, leaving only the sinner empty_. _remember thy tender mercies, and fill my heart with thy grace, thou who wilt not have thy works to be empty_. _how can i support myself in this wretched life, unless thy mercy and grace strengthen me?_ _turn not away thy face from me; delay not thy visitation; withdraw not thy comfort; lest my soul become as earth without water to thee_. _o lord, teach me to do thy will, teach we to converse worthily and humbly in thy sight; for thou art my wisdom, who knowest me in truth, and didst know me before the world was made, and before i was born in the world_. { } chap. iv.--_that we ought to walk in truth and humility in god's presence_. . son, walk before me in _truth_, and always seek me in the simplicity of thy heart. he that walks before me in _truth_ shall be secured from evil occurrences, and _truth_ shall deliver him from deceivers, and from the detractions of the wicked. if _truth_ shall deliver thee, thou shalt be _truly_ free, and shalt make no account of the _vain_ words of men. lord, this is true: as thou sayest, so i beseech thee, let it be done with me. let thy _truth_ teach me, let thy _truth_ guard me, and keep me till i come to a happy end. let the same deliver me from all evil affections, and all inordinate love, and i shall walk with thee in great liberty of heart. . i will teach thee (saith _truth_) those things that are right and pleasing in my sight. { } think on thy sins with great compunction and sorrow; and never esteem thyself to be any thing for thy good works. thou art indeed a sinner, subject to and intangled with many passions. of thyself thou always tendest to nothing, thou quickly fallest, thou art quickly overcome, easily disturbed and dissolved. thou hast not any thing in which thou canst glory, but many things for which thou oughtest to vilify thyself; for thou art much weaker than thou art able to comprehend. . let nothing then seem much to thee of all thou doest: let nothing appear great, nothing valuable or admirable, nothing worthy of esteem: nothing high, nothing truly praise-worthy or desirable, but what is eternal. let the _eternal truth_ please thee above all things, and thy own exceeding great vileness ever displease thee. fear nothing so much, blame and abhor nothing so much as thy vices and sins, which ought to displease thee more than any losses whatsoever. { } some persons walk not sincerely before me; but being led with a certain curiosity and pride, desire to know my secrets, and to understand the high things of god, neglecting themselves and their own salvation. these often fall into great temptations and sins through their pride and curiosity, because i stand against them. . fear the judgments of god, dread the anger of the almighty; but pretend not to examine the works of the most high, but search into thy own iniquities, how many ways thou hast offended, and how much good thou hast neglected. some only carry their devotion in their books, some in pictures, and some in outward signs and figures. some have me in their mouth, but little in their heart. { } there are others, who being enlightened in their understanding, and purified in their affections, always breathe after things eternal, are unwilling to hear of earthly things, and grieve to be subject to the necessities of nature; and such as these perceive what the spirit of _truth_ speaks in them. for it teaches them to despise the things of the earth, and to love heavenly things; to neglect the world, and all the day and night to aspire after heaven. chap. v.--_of the wonderful effect of divine love_. . i bless thee, o heavenly father, father of my lord jesus christ; because thou hast vouchsafed to be mindful of so poor a wretch as i am. o father of mercies, and god of all comfort, i give thanks to thee, who sometimes art pleased to cherish with thy consolations, me that am unworthy of any comfort. i bless thee and glorify thee evermore, together with thy only begotten son, and the holy ghost the comforter, to all eternity. { } o lord god, my holy lover, when thou shalt come into my heart, all that is within me will be filled with joy. thou art my glory, and the joy of my heart: thou art my hope and my refuge in the day of my tribulation. . but because i am as yet weak in love, and imperfect in virtue; therefore do i stand in need to be strengthened and comforted by thee. for this reason visit me often, and instruct me in thy holy discipline. free me from evil passions, and heal my heart of all disorderly affections; that being healed and well purged in my interior, i may become fit to love, courageous to suffer, and constant to persevere. . love is an excellent thing, a great good indeed: which alone maketh light all that is burthensome, and equally bears all that is unequal: for it carries a burthen without being burthened, and makes all that which is bitter sweet and savoury. the love of jesus is noble and generous, it spurs us on to do great things, and excites to desire all that which is more perfect. { } love will tend upwards, and not be detained by things beneath. love will be at liberty, and free from all worldly affection, lest its interior sight be hindered, lest it suffer itself to be entangled with any temporal interest, or cast down by losses. nothing is sweeter than love, nothing stronger, nothing higher, nothing wider, nothing more pleasant, nothing fuller or better in heaven or earth: for love proceeds from god, and cannot rest but in god, above all things created. . the lover flies, runs, and rejoices; he is free, and is not held. he gives all for all, and has all in all; because he rests in one sovereign _good_ above all, from whom all good flows and proceeds. he looks not at the gifts, but turns himself to the giver, above all goods. love often knows no measure, but is fervent above all measure. { } love feels no burthen, values no labours, would willingly do more than it can; complains not of impossibility, because it conceives that it may and can do all things. it is able therefore to do any thing, and it performs and effects many things, where he that loves not faints and lies down. . love watches, and sleeping slumbers not. when weary, is not tired; when straitened, is not constrained; when frighted, is not disturbed; but like a lively flame, and a torch all on fire, mounts upwards, and securely passes through all opposition. whosoever loves knows the cry of this voice. a loud cry in the ears of god is the ardent affection of the soul, which saith; o my god, my love: thou art all mine, and i am all thine. . give increase to my love, that i may learn to taste with the interior mouth of the heart how sweet it is to love, and to swim, and to be melted in love. { } let me be possessed by love, going above myself through excess of fervour and amazement. let me sing the canticle of love, let me follow thee my beloved on high, let my soul lose herself in thy praises, rejoicing exceedingly in thy love. let me love thee more than myself, and myself only for thee: and all others in thee, who truly love thee, as the law of love commands, which shines forth from thee. . love is swift, sincere, pious, pleasant, and delightful; strong, patient, faithful, prudent, long-suffering, courageous, and never seeking itself; for where a man seeks himself, there he falls from love. love is circumspect, humble, upright, not soft, not light, nor intent upon vain things; is sober, chaste, stable, quiet, and keeps a guard over all the senses. love is submissive and obedient to superiors, in its own eyes mean and contemptible, devout and thankful to god, always trusting and hoping in him, even then when it tastes not the relish of god's sweetness; for there is no living in love without some pain or sorrow. { } . whosoever is not ready to suffer all things, and to stand resigned to the will of his beloved, is not worthy to be called a lover. he that loves must willingly embrace all that is hard and bitter for the sake of his beloved, and never suffer himself to be turned away from him by any contrary occurrences whatsoever. chap. vi.--_of the proof of a true lover_. . my son, thou art not as yet a valiant and prudent lover. why, o lord? because thou fallest off from what thou hast begun upon meeting a little adversity, and too greedily seekest after consolation. a valiant lover stands his ground in temptations, and gives no credit to the crafty persuasions of the enemy. as he is pleased with me in prosperity, so i displease him not when i send adversity. { } . a prudent lover considers not so much the gift of the lover, as the love of the giver. he looks more at the good-will than the value, and sets his beloved above all his gifts. a generous lover rests not in the gift, but in me above every gift. all is not lost, if sometimes thou hast not that feeling [of devotion] towards me or my saints, which thou wouldst have. that good and delightful affection, which thou sometimes perceivest, is the effect of present grace, and a certain foretaste of thy heavenly country. but thou must not rely too much upon it, because it goes and comes. but to fight against the evil motions of the mind which arise, and to despise the suggestions of the devil, is a sign of virtue and of great merit. . let not therefore strange fancies trouble thee of what subject soever they be that are suggested to thee. keep thy resolution firm, and thy intentions upright towards god. { } neither is it an illusion, that sometimes thou art rapt into an extasy, and presently returnest to the accustomed fooleries of thy heart. for these thou rather sufferest against thy will, than procurest: and as long as thou art displeased with them, and resistest them, it is merit and not loss. . know, that the old enemy strives by all means to hinder thy desire after good, and to divert thee from every devout exercise; namely, from the veneration of the saints, from the pious meditation of my passion: from the profitable remembrance of thy sins, from keeping a guard upon thy own heart, and from a firm purpose of advancing in virtue. he suggests to thee many evil thoughts, that he may tire thee out, and fright thee; that he may withdraw thee from prayer, and the reading of devout books. he is displeased with humble _confession:_ and, if he could, he would cause thee to let _communion_ alone. { } give no credit to him, value him not, although he often lay his deceitful snares in thy way. charge him with it, when he suggests wicked and unclean things: and say to him: be gone, unclean spirit; be ashamed miserable wretch; thou art very filthy indeed to suggest such things as these to me. depart from me, thou most wicked impostor; thou shalt have no share in me; but my jesus will be with me as a valiant warrior, and thou shalt stand confounded. i had rather die, and undergo any torment whatsoever, than consent to thee. be silent, i will hear no more of thee, although thou often strive to be troublesome to me. _the lord is my light, and my salvation: whom shall i fear?_ _if whole armies should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear. the lord is my helper, and my redeemer_. psalms cvi. { } . fight like a good soldier; and if sometimes thou fall through frailty, rise up again with greater strength than before, confiding in my more abundant grace. but take great care thou yield not to any vain complacence and pride. through this many are led into error, and sometimes fall into almost incurable blindness. let this fall of the proud, who foolishly presume of themselves, serve thee for a warning, and keep thee always humble. chap. vii.--_that grace is to be hid under the guardianship of humility_. my son, it is more and more safe for thee to hide the grace of devotion and not to be elevated with it, not to speak much of it, not to consider it much; but rather to despise thyself the more, and to be afraid of it as given to one unworthy. thou must not depend too much on this affection, which may be quickly changed into the contrary. { } when thou hast grace, think with thyself how miserable and poor thou art wont to be, when thou art without it. nor does the progress of a spiritual life consist so much in having the grace of consolation, as in bearing the want of it with humility, resignation, and patience; so as not to grow remiss in thy exercise of prayer at that time, nor to suffer thyself to omit any of thy accustomed good works. but that thou willingly do what lies in thee, according to the best of thy ability and understanding; and take care not wholly to neglect thyself through the dryness or anxiety of mind which thou feelest. . for there are many, who, when it succeeds not well with them, presently grow impatient or slothful. now _the way of man is not always in his own power;_ but it belongs to god to give, and to comfort when he will, and as much as he will, and whom he will, as it shall please him, and no more. { } some wanting discretion, have ruined themselves upon occasion of the grace of devotion; because they were for doing more than they could, not weighing well the measure of their own weakness, but following rather the inclination of the heart than the judgment of reason. and because they presumptuously undertook greater things than were pleasing to god, therefore they quickly lost his grace. they became needy, and were left in a wretched condition, who had built themselves a nest in heaven; to the end, that being thus humbled and impoverished, they may learn not to trust to their own wings, but to hide themselves under mine. those who are as yet but novices and unexperienced in the way of the lord, if they will not govern themselves by the counsel of the discreet, will easily be deceived and overthrown. . and if they will rather follow their own judgment than believe others that have more experience, they will be in danger of coming off ill if they continue to refuse to lay down their own conceits. { } they that are wise in their own eyes seldom humbly suffer themselves to be ruled by others. it is better to have little knowledge with humility, and a weak understanding, than greater treasures of learning with a vain self-complacence. it is better for thee to have less than much, which may puff thee up with pride. he is not so discreet as he ought, who gives himself up wholly to joy, forgetting his former poverty, and the chaste fear of god, which apprehends the losing of that grace which is offered. neither is he so virtuously wise, who in the time of adversity, or any tribulation whatsoever, carries himself in a desponding way, and conceives and feels less confidence in me than he ought. . he, who is too secure in the time of peace, will often be found too much dejected and fearful in the time of war. if thou couldst always continue humble and little in thy own eyes, and keep thy spirit in due order and subjection, thou wouldst not fall so easily into danger and offence. { } it is a good counsel, that when thou hast conceived the spirit of fervour, thou shouldst meditate how it will be with thee when that light shall leave thee. which when it shall happen remember that the light may return again, which for a caution to thee, and for my glory, i have withdrawn from thee for a time. . such a trial is oftentimes more profitable than if thou wert always to have prosperity according to thy will. for a man's merits are not to be estimated by his having many visions of consolations; or by his knowledge of scriptures, or by his being placed in a more elevated station: but by his being grounded in true humility, and replenished with divine charity: by his seeking always purely and entirety the honour of god; by his esteeming himself to be nothing, and sincerely despising himself; and being better pleased to be despised and humbled by others, than to be honoured by them. { } chap. viii.--_of the mean esteem of one's self in the sight of god_. . _i will speak to my lord, i that am but dust and ashes_. genesis xviii. if i think any thing better of myself, behold thou standest against me; and my sins bear witness to the truth, and i cannot contradict it. but if i vilify myself, and acknowledge my own nothing, and cast away all manner of esteem of myself; and, as i really am, account myself to be mere dust, thy grace will be favourable to me, and thy light will draw nigh to my heart, and all self esteem, how small soever, will be sunk in the depth of my own nothingness, and there lose itself for ever. it is there thou shewest me to myself, what i am, what i have been, and what i am come to: for i am nothing, and i knew it not. { } if i am left to myself, behold i am nothing, and all weakness; but if thou suddenly look upon me, i presently become strong, and am filled with a new joy. and it is very wonderful that i am so quickly raised up, and so graciously embraced by thee; i, who by my own weight am always sinking to the bottom. . it is thy love that effects this, freely preventing me, and assisting me in so many necessities; preserving me also from grievous dangers; and, as i may truly say, delivering me from innumerable evils. for by an evil loving of myself, i lost myself; and by seeking thee alone and purely loving thee, i found both myself and thee, and by this love have more profoundly annihilated myself. because thou, o most sweet lord, dost deal with me above all desert, and above all that i dare hope or ask for. . blessed be thou, o my god; for though i am unworthy of all good, yet thy generosity and infinite goodness never ceaseth to do good even to those that are ungrateful, and that are turned away from thee. { } o convert us to thee, that we may be thankful, humble, and devout; for thou art our salvation, our power and our strength. chap. ix.--_that all things are to be referred to god, as to our last end_. . my son, i must be thy chief and last end, if thou desirest to be truly happy. by this intention shall thy affections be purified, which too often are irregularly bent upon thyself, and things created. for if in any thing thou seek thyself, thou presently faintest away within thyself, and growest dry. refer therefore all things principally to me, for it is i that have given thee all. consider every thing as flowing from the sovereign good: and therefore they must all be returned to me as to their origin. . out of me both little and great, poor and rich, as out of a living fountain, draw living water; and they that freely and willingly serve me shall receive _grace for grace_. { } but he that would glory in any thing else besides me, or delight in any good as his own [not referred to me] shall not be established in true joy, nor enlarged in his heart, but in many kinds shall meet with hindrances and anguish: therefore thou must not ascribe any thing of good to thyself, nor attribute virtue to any man; but give all to god, without whom man has nothing. i have given all, i will have all returned to me again, and i very strictly require thanks for all that i give. . this is that _truth_, by which all _vain glory_ is put to flight: and if heavenly grace and true charity come in, there shall be no envy nor narrowness of heart, nor shall self-love keep its hold. for divine charity overcomes all, and dilates all the forces of the soul. if thou art truly wise, thou wilt rejoice in me alone, thou wilt hope in me alone: for _none is good but god alone_, (luke xviii.) who is to be praised above all, and to be blessed in all. { } chap. x.--_that it is meet to serve god, despising this world_. . now will i speak, o lord, and will not be silent; i will say in the hearing of my god, my lord, and my king that is on high. _o how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, o lord, which thou hast hidden for those that fear thee!_ psalms xxx. [usccb: psalms xxxi. .] but what art thou to those that love thee? what to those that serve thee with their whole heart? unspeakable indeed is the sweetness of thy contemplation, which thou bestowest on those that love thee. in this, most of all hast thou shewed me the sweetness of thy love, that when i had no being, thou hast made me; and when i strayed far from thee, thou hast brought me back again, that i might serve thee; and thou hast commanded me to _love_ thee. . o fountain of everlasting _love_, what shall i say of thee? { } how can i ever forget thee, who hast vouchsafed to remember me, even after that i was laid waste, and perished? thou hast beyond all hope shewed mercy to thy servant; and beyond all my desert bestowed thy grace and friendship on me. what return shall i make to thee for this grace? for it is a favour not granted to all, to forsake all things and renounce the world, and chuse a monastic life. can it be much to serve thee, whom the whole creation is bound to serve? it ought not to seem much to me to serve thee; but this seems great and wonderful to me, that thou vouchsafest to receive one so wretched and unworthy into thy service, and to associate him to thy beloved servants. . behold all things are thine, which i have, and with which i serve thee; though rather thou servest me, than i thee. lo! heaven and earth, which thou hast created for the service of man, are ready at thy beck, and daily do whatever thou hast commanded them. { } and this is yet but little, for thou hast also appointed the angels for the service of man. but, what is above all this is, that thou thyself hast vouchsafed to serve man, and hast promised that thou wilt give him thyself. . what shall i give thee for all these thousands of favours? oh that i could serve thee all the days of my life! oh that i were able, if it were but for one day, to serve thee worthily! indeed thou art worthy of all service, of all honour, and of eternal praise. thou art truly my lord, and i am thy poor servant, who am bound with all my strength to serve thee, and ought never to grow weary of praising thee. this is my will, this is my desire; and whatever is wanting to me, do thou vouchsafe to supply. . it is a great honour, a great glory to serve thee, and to despise all things for thee; { } for they who willingly subject themselves to thy most holy service shall have a great grace; they shall find the most sweet consolation of the holy ghost, who for the love of thee have cast away all carnal delight: they shall gain great freedom of mind, who for thy name enter upon the narrow way, and neglect all worldly care. . oh pleasant and delightful _service_ of god, which makes a man truly free and holy! o sacred state of religious bondage, which makes man equal to angels, pleasing to god, terrible to the devils, and commendable to all the faithful! oh service worthy to be embraced and always wished for, which leads to the supreme good, and procures a joy that will never end. { } chap. xi.--__that the desires of our heart are to be examined and moderated_._. . son, thou hast many things still to learn, which thou hast not yet well learned. what are these things, o lord? that thou conform in all things thy desire to my good pleasure, and that thou be not a lover of thyself, but earnestly zealous that my will may be done. desires often inflame thee, and violently hurry thee on; but consider whether it be for my honour, or thy own interest that thou art more moved. if thou hast no other view but me, thou wilt be well contented with whatever i shall ordain; but if there lurk in thee any thing of self-seeking, behold this is it that hinders thee, and troubles thee. { } . take care then not to rely too much upon any desire which thou hast conceived before thou hast consulted me, lest afterwards thou repent, or be displeased with that which before pleased thee, and which thou zealously desiredst as the best. for every affection [or inclination] which appears good, is not presently to be followed, nor every contrary affection at the first to be rejected. even in good desires and inclinations, it is expedient sometimes to use some restraint, lest by too much eagerness, thou incur distraction of mind; lest thou create scandal to others, by not keeping within discipline; or by the opposition which thou mayest meet with from others, thou be suddenly disturbed and fall. . yet in some cases we must use violence, and manfully resist the sensual appetite, and not regard what the flesh has a mind for, or what it would fly from; but rather labour that, whether it will or no, it may become subject to the spirit. and so long must it be chastised, and kept under servitude, till it readily obey in all things, and learn to be content with a little, and to be pleased with what is plain and ordinary, and not to murmur at any inconvenience. { } chap. xii.--_of learning patience, and of fighting against concupiscence_. . o lord god, patience, as i perceive, is very necessary for me; this life is exposed to many adversities: for howsoever i propose for my peace, my life cannot be without war and sorrow. . so it is, son; but i would not have thee seek for such a peace as to be without temptations, or to meet with no adversities. but even then to think thou hast found peace, when thou shalt be exercised with divers tribulations, and tried in many adversities. if thou shalt say, thou art not able to suffer so much, how then wilt thou endure the fire of purgatory? of two evils one ought always to choose the least. that thou mayest therefore escape the everlasting punishments to come, labour to endure present evils with patience for god's sake. { } dost thou think the men of the world suffer little or nothing? thou shalt not find it so, though thou seek out for the most delicate. . but, thou wilt say they have many delights, and follow their own wills; and therefore make small account of their tribulations. . suppose it to be so, that they have all they desire: how long dost thou think this will last? behold, they shall vanish away like smoke that abound in this world, and there shall be no remembrance of their past joys. nay, even whilst they are living, they rest not in them, without bitterness, irksomeness, and fear. for the very same thing, in which they conceive a delight, doth often bring upon them the punishment of sorrow. it is just it should be so with them, that since they inordinately seek and follow their pleasures, they should not satisfy them without confusion and uneasiness. { } oh! how short, how deceitful, how inordinate and filthy, are all these pleasures! yet through sottishness and blindness men understand this not; but like brute beasts, for a small pleasure in this mortal life, they incur the eternal death of their souls. but thou, my son, _go not after thy concupiscences, but turn away from thy own will_. ecclesiastes xviii. [usccb: sirach xviii. .] _delight in the lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart_. psalms xxxvi. [usccb: psalms xxxvii. .] . for if thou wilt be delighted in truth, and receive more abundant consolation from me, behold it is in the contempt of all worldly things: and the renouncing all those mean pleasures shall be thy blessing, and an exceeding great comfort to thy soul. and the more thou withdrawest thyself from all comfort from things created, the more sweet and the more powerful consolation shalt thou find in me. { } but thou shalt not at first attain to these without some sorrow and labor in the conflict. the old custom will stand in thy way, but by a better custom it shall be overcome. the flesh will complain, but by the fervour of the spirit it shall be kept under. the old serpent will tempt thee and give thee trouble; but by prayer he shall be put to flight: moreover, by keeping thyself always employed in some useful labour, his access to thee shall be in a great measure stopt up. chap. xiii.--_of the obedience of an humble subject after the example of jesus christ_. . son, he who strives to withdraw himself from obedience, withdraws himself from grace; and he that seeks to have things for his own particular, loses such as are common. if a man doth not freely and willingly submit himself to his superiors, it is a sign that his flesh is not as yet perfectly obedient to him; but oftentimes rebels and murmurs. { } learn then to submit thyself readily to thy superior, if thou desire to subdue thy own flesh; for the enemy without is sooner overcome, if the inward man be not laid waste. there is no more troublesome or worse enemy to the soul than thou art to thyself, not agreeing well with the spirit. thou must in good earnest conceive a true contempt of thyself, if thou wilt prevail over flesh and blood. because thou yet hast too inordinate a love for thyself, therefore art thou afraid to resign thyself wholly to the will of others. . but what great matter is it, if thou, who art but dust and a mere nothing, submittest thyself for god's sake to man; when i the _almighty_, and the _most high_, who created all things out of nothing, have for thy sake humbly subjected myself to man. i became the most humble and most abject of all men, that thou mightest overcome thy pride by my humility. { } learn, o dust, to obey, learn to humble thyself thou that art but dirt and mire, and to cast thyself down under the feet of all men. learn to break thy own will, and to yield thyself up to all subjection. . conceive an indignation against thyself, suffer not the swelling of pride to live in thee: but make thyself so submissive and little, that all may trample on thee, and tread thee under their feet, as the dirt of the streets. what hast thou, vain man, to complain of? what answer canst thou make, o filthy sinner, to those that reproach thee, thou that hast so often offended god, and many times deserved hell? but mine eye hath spared thee, because thy soul was precious in my sight, that thou mightest know my love, and mightest be always thankful for my favours, and that thou mightest give thyself continually to true subjection and humility; and bear with patience to be despised by all. { } chap. xiv.--_of considering the secret judgments of god, lest we be puffed up by our good works_. . thou thunderest forth over my head thy judgments, o lord, and thou shakest all my bones with fear and trembling, and my soul is terrified exceedingly. i stand astonished, and consider that the _heavens are not pure in thy sight_. if in the angels thou hast found sin, and hast not spared them, what will become of me? stars have fallen from heaven, and i that am but dust, how can i presume? they, whose works seemed praiseworthy, have fallen to the very lowest; and such as before fed upon the bread of angels, i have seen delighted with the husks of swine. . there is then no sanctity, if thou o lord, withdraw thy hand: no wisdom avails, if thou cease to govern us: { } no strength is of any help, if thou support us not: no chastity is secure without thy protection: no guard that we can keep upon ourselves profits us, if thy holy watchfulness be not with us: for it we are left to ourselves, we sink and we perish; but if thou visit us, we are raised up and we live. for we are unsettled, but by thee we are strengthened: we are tepid, but by thee we are inflamed. . o how humbly and lowly ought i to think of myself! how little ought i to esteem whatever good i may seem to have? oh! how low ought i to cast myself down under the bottomless depth of thy judgments, o lord, where i find myself to be _nothing_ else but _nothing_ and _nothing?_ oh! immense weight! oh! sea, that cannot be passed over, where i find nothing of myself but just nothing at all. where then can there be any lurking hole for glorying in myself? where any confidence in any conceit of my own virtue? { } all vain-glory is swallowed up in the depth of thy judgments over me. . what is all flesh in thy sight? shall the clay glory against him that formed it? how can he be puffed up with the vain talk of man, whose heart in _truth_ is subjected to god. all the world will not lift him up, whom _truth_ hath subjected to itself: neither will he be moved with the tongues of all that praise him, who hath settled his whole hope in god. for behold, they also that speak are all _nothing_, for they shall pass away with the sound of their words; but _the truth of the lord remaineth for ever_. psalms cxiv. chap. xv.--_how we are to be disposed, and what we are to say when we desire any thing_. . my son, say thus in every occasion; lord, if it be pleasing to thee, let this be done in this manner. { } lord, if it be to thy honour, let this be done in thy name. lord, if thou seest that this is expedient, and approvest it as profitable for me, then grant that i may use it to thy honour; but if thou knowest that it will be hurtful to me, and not expedient for the salvation of my soul, take away from me such a desire. for every desire is not from the holy ghost, though it seem to a man right and good. and it is hard to judge truly, whether it be a good or bad spirit that pushes thee on to desire this, or that, or whether thou art not moved to it by thy own spirit. many in the end have been deceived, who at first seemed to be led by a good spirit. . whatsoever therefore presents itself to thy mind as worthy to be desired; see that it is always with the fear of god, and the humility of heart that thou desire or ask for it; { } and above all, thou oughtest with a resignation of thyself to commit all to me, and to say, o lord, thou knowest what is best; let this or that be done as thou wilt. give what thou wilt, how much thou wilt, and at what time thou wilt. do with me as thou knowest, and as best pleaseth thee, and is most for thy honour. put me where thou wilt, and do with me in all things according to thy will. i am in thy hand, turn me round which way thou wilt. lo, i am thy servant, ready to obey thee in all things; for i dont desire to live for myself, but for thee: i wish it may be perfectly and worthily. _a prayer for the fulfilling of the will of god_. . grant me thy grace, most merciful jesus, that it may be with me, and may labour with me, and continue with me to the end. { } grant me always to will and desire that which is most acceptable to thee, and which pleaseth thee best. let thy will be mine, and let my will always follow thine, and agree perfectly with it. let me always will or not will the same with thee; and let me not be able to will or not will any otherwise than as thou willest or willest not. . grant that i may die to all things that are in the world; and for thy sake love to be despised, and not to be known in this world. grant that i may rest, in thee above all things desired, and that my heart may be at peace in thee. thou art the true peace of the heart, thou art its only rest; out of thee all things are hard and uneasy. _in_ this _peace, in the self same_ (that is, in thee, the one sovereign eternal good) _i will sleep and take my rest_. (psalms iv.) _amen_. { } chap. xvi.--_that true comfort is to be sought in god alone_. . whatsoever i can desire or imagine for my comfort, i look not for it in this life, but hereafter. for if i alone should have all the comforts of this world, and might enjoy all its delights, it is certain they could not last long. wherefore thou canst not, o my soul, be fully comforted, nor perfectly delighted, but in god, the comforter of the poor, and the support of the humble. expect a little while, my soul, wait for the divine promise, and thou shalt have plenty of all that is good in heaven. if thou desirest too inordinately these present things, thou wilt lose those that are heavenly and everlasting. let temporal things serve thy use, but the eternal be the object of thy desire. { } thou canst not be fully satisfied with any temporal good, because thou wast not created for the enjoyment of such things. . although thou shouldst have all created goods, yet this could not make thee happy and blessed: but in god, who created all things, all thy beatitude and happiness consists. not such a happiness as is seen or cried up by the foolish admirers of this world, but such as good christians look for, and of which they that are spiritual and clean of heart, whose conversation is in heaven, have sometimes a foretaste. all human comfort is vain and short. blessed and true is that comfort which is inwardly received from _truth_. a devout man always carrieth about with him jesus his comforter, and saith to him, be with me, o lord jesus, in all places, and at all times. let this be my consolation, to be willing to want all human comfort. and if thy comfort also be withdrawn, let thy will, and just appointment for my trial be to me as the greatest of comforts. { } for _thou wilt not always be angry, nor wilt thou threaten for ever_. psalms cii. chap. xvii.--_that we ought to cast all our care upon god_. . son, suffer me to do with thee what i will: i know what is best for thee: thou thinkest as man: thou judgest in many things as human affection suggests. lord, what thou sayest is true, thy care over me is greater than all the care i can take of myself. for he stands at too great a hazard that does not cast his whole care on thee. lord, provided that my will remain but firm towards thee, do with me whatsoever it shall please thee: for it cannot but be good whatever thou shalt do by me. . if thou wilt have me to be in darkness, be thou blessed; and if thou wilt have me to be in light, be thou again blessed. if thou vouchsafe to comfort me, be thou blessed: and if it be thy will that i should be afflicted, be thou always equally blessed. { } . son, it is in this manner thou must stand affected, if thou desire to walk with me. thou must be as ready to suffer as to rejoice; thou must be as willing to be poor and needy, as to be full and rich. . lord, i will suffer willingly for thee whatsoever thou art pleased should befal me. i will receive with indifference from thy hand good and evil, sweet and bitter, joyful and sorrowful; and will give thee thanks for all that happens to me. keep me only from all sin, and i will fear neither death nor hell. cast me not off for ever, nor blot me out of the book of life; and what tribulation soever befalleth me shall not hurt me. { } chap. xviii.--_that temporal miseries are to be borne with patience after the example of jesus christ_. . son, i came down from heaven for thy salvation, i took upon me thy miseries, not of necessity, but moved thereto by charity, that thou mightest learn patience, and mightest bear without repining the miseries of this life: for from the hour of my birth, till my expiring on the cross, i was never without suffering. i underwent a great want of temporal things; i frequently heard many complaints against me; i meekly bore with confusions and reproaches. for my benefits i received ingratitude; for my miracles, blasphemies; and for my heavenly doctrine, reproaches. . lord, because thou wast patient in thy life-time, in this chiefly fulfilling the commandment of thy father, it is fitting that i a wretched sinner should, according to thy will, take all with patience; and as long as thou pleasest, support the burden of this corruptible life, in order to my salvation. { } for though this present life he burthensome, yet it is become through thy grace, meritorious; and by the help of thy example, and the footsteps of thy saints, more supportable to the weak, and more lightsome. it is also much more comfortable, than it was formerly under the old law, when the gate of heaven remained shut; and the way to heaven seemed more obscure, when so few concerned themselves to seek the kingdom of heaven. neither could they who were then just, and to be saved, enter into thy heavenly kingdom, before thy passion, and the payment of our debt by thy sacred death. . oh! how great thanks am i obliged to return thee, for having vouchsafed to shew me and all the faithful, a right and good way to an everlasting kingdom! { } for thy life is our way; and by holy patience we walk on to thee, who art our crown. if thou hadst not gone before and instructed us, who would have cared to have followed? alas! how many would have staid afar off, and a great way behind, if they had not before their eyes thy excellent example? behold we are still tepid, notwithstanding all thy miracles and instructions which we have heard: what then would it have been, if we had not this great light to follow thee? chap. xix.--_of supporting injuries; and who is proved to be truly patient_. . what is it thou sayest, my son? cease to complain, considering my passion, and that of other saints: thou hast not yet resisted unto blood: what thou sufferedst is but little, in comparison of them who have suffered so much; who have been so strongly tempted, so grievously afflicted, so many ways tried and exercised. { } thou must then call to mind the heavy sufferings of others, that thou mayest the easier bear the little things thou sufferest. and if to thee they seemed not little, take heed lest this also proceed from thy impatience. but whether they be little or great, strive to bear them all with patience. . the better thou disposest thyself to sufferings, the more wisely dost thou act, and the more dost thou merit; and thou wilt bear it more easily, thy mind being well prepared for it, and accustomed to it. do not say, i cannot take these things from such a man, and things of this kind are not to be suffered by me, for he has done me a great injury, and he upbraids me with things i never thought on; but i will suffer willingly from another, and as far as i shall judge fitting for me to suffer. { } such a thought is foolish, which considers not the virtue of patience, nor by whom it shall be crowned; but rather weighs the persons, and the offences committed. . he is not a true patient man, who will suffer no more than he thinks good, and from whom he pleaseth. the true patient man minds not by whom it is he is exercised, whether by his superior, or by one of his equals, or by an inferior; whether by a good and holy man, or one that is perverse and unworthy. but how much soever, and how often soever any adversity happens to him from any thing created, he takes it all with equality of mind as from the hand of god, with thanksgiving, and esteems it a great gain. for nothing, how little soever, that is suffered for god's sake, can pass without merit in the sight of god. . be thou therefore ready prepared to fight, if thou desirest to gain the victory. without fighting thou cannot obtain the crown of patience. if thou wilt not suffer, thou refusest to be crowned; but if thou desirest to be crowned, fight manfully and endure patiently. { } without labour there is no coming to rest, nor without fighting can the victory be obtained. may thy grace, o lord, make that possible to me, which seems impossible to me by nature. thou knowest that i can bear but little, and that i am quickly cast down by a small adversity. let all exercises of tribulation become amiable and agreeable to me for thy name's sake; for to suffer and to be afflicted for thee is very healthful for my soul. chap. xx.--_of the confession of our infirmity, and of the miseries of this life._ . _i will confess against myself my injustice_. psalms xxxi. i will confess to thee, o lord, my infirmity. it is oftentimes a small thing which casts me down and troubles me. { } i make a resolution to behave myself valiantly; but when a small temptation comes, i am brought into great straits. it is sometimes a very trifling thing, from whence a grievous temptation proceeds. and when i think myself somewhat safe, i find myself sometimes, when i least apprehend it, almost overcome with a small blast. . behold, then, o lord, my abjection and frailty every way known to thee. have pity on me, and draw me out of the mire, that i stick not fast therein, that i may not be utterly cast down for ever. this it is which often drives me back, and confounds me in thy sight, to find that i am so subject to fall, and have so little strength to resist my passions. and although i do not altogether consent, yet their assaults are troublesome and grievous to me; and it is exceedingly irksome to live thus always in a conflict. { } from hence my infirmity is made known to me; because wicked thoughts do always much more easily rush in upon me, than they can be cast out again. . oh! that thou the most mighty god of _israel_, the zealous lover of faithful souls, wouldst behold the labour and sorrow of thy servant, and stand by me in all my undertakings. strengthen me with heavenly fortitude, lest the old man, the miserable flesh not yet fully subject to the spirit, prevail and get the upper hand; against which we must fight as long as we breathe in this most wretched life. alas! what kind of life is this, where afflictions and miseries are never wanting, where all things are full of snares and enemies. for when one tribulation or temptation is gone, another cometh; yea, and whilst the first conflict still lasts, many others come on, and those unexpected. . and how can a life be loved that hath so great bitterness, that is subject to so many calamities and miseries. { } and how can it be called life, since it begets so many deaths and plagues? and yet it is loved, and many seek their delight in it. many blame the world that it is deceitful and vain, and yet they are not willing to quit it, because the concupiscences of the flesh too much prevail. but there are some things that draw them to love the world, others to despise it. the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and pride of life draw to the love of the world; but the pains and miseries which justly follow these things breed a hatred and loathing of the world. . but alas! the pleasure of sin prevails over the worldly soul, and under these thorns she imagines there are delights; because she has neither seen nor tasted the sweetness of god, nor the internal pleasure of virtue. but they that perfectly despise the world, and study to live to god under holy discipline, experience the divine sweetness, that is promised to those who forsake all; and such clearly see how grievously the world is mistaken, and how many ways it is imposed upon. { } chap. xxi.--_that we are to rest in god above all goods and gifts_. . above all things, and in all things, do thou my soul rest always in the lord, for he is the eternal rest of the saints. give me, o most sweet and loving jesus, to repose in thee above all things created, above all health and beauty, above all glory and honour, above all power and dignity, above all knowledge and subtlety, above all riches and arts, above all joy and gladness, above all fame and praise, above all sweetness and consolation, above all hope and promise, above all merit and desire. above all gifts and presents that thou canst give and infuse, above all joy and jubilation that the mind can contain or feel; in line, above angels and archangels, and all the host of heaven; above all things visible and invisible, and above all that which thou, my god, art not. { } . for thou, o lord my god, art the best above all things: thou alone most high, thou alone most powerful; thou alone most sufficient, and most full; thou alone most sweet, and most comfortable: thou alone most beautiful, and most loving; thou alone most noble, and most glorious above all things; in whom all good things are found together in all their perfection, and always have been, and always will be. and therefore whatever thou bestowest upon me, that is not thyself, or whatever thou revealest to me concerning thyself, or promised, as long as i see thee not, nor fully enjoy thee, is too little and insufficient. because indeed my heart cannot truly rest, nor be entirely contented, till it rest in thee, and rise above all things created. { } . o my most beloved spouse, christ jesus, most pure lover, lord of the whole creation; who will give me the wings of true liberty, to fly and repose in thee? oh! when shall it be fully granted me to attend at leisure and see how sweet thou art, o lord my god. when shall i fully recollect myself in thee, that through the love of thee i may not feel myself, but thee alone, above all feeling and measure, in a manner not known to all? but now i often sigh, and bear my misfortune with grief; because i meet with many evils in this vale of miseries, which frequently disturb me, afflict me, and cast a cloud over me: often hinder me and distract me, allure and entangle me, that i cannot have free access to thee, nor enjoy thy sweet embraces, which are ever enjoyed by blessed spirits. let my sighs move thee, and this manifold desolation under which i labour upon earth. . o jesus, the brightness of eternal glory, the comfort of a soul in its pilgrimage; with thee is my mouth without voice, and my silence speaks to thee. { } how long doth my lord delay to come. let him come to me, his poor servant, and make me joyful: let him stretch forth his hand, and deliver me a wretch from all anguish. o come, o come; for without thee i can never have one joyful day nor hour, for thou art my joy; and without thee my table is empty. i am miserable, and in a manner imprisoned, and loaded with fetters, till thou comfort me with the light of thy presence, and restore me to liberty, and shew me a favourable countenance. . let others seek instead of thee whatever else they please; nothing else doth please me, or shall please me, but thou my god, my hope, my eternal salvation. i will not hold my peace, nor cease to pray till thy grace returns, and thou speak to me interiorly. { } . behold here i am; behold i come to thee, because thou hast called upon me. thy tears, and the desire of thy soul, thy humiliation and contrition of heart have inclined and brought me to thee. . and i said, o lord, i have called upon thee, and have desired to enjoy thee, and am ready to renounce all other things for thee. for thou didst first stir me up that i might seek thee. be thou therefore blessed, o lord, who hath shewed this goodness to thy servant, according to the multitude of thy mercies. what hath thy servant more to say in thy presence, but to humble himself exceedingly before thee; always remembering his own iniquity and vileness. for there is none like to thee, amongst all things that are wonderful in heaven or earth. thy works are exceedingly good, thy judgments are true, and by thy providence all things are ruled. { } praise therefore and glory be to thee, o wisdom of the father: let my tongue, my soul, and all things created join in praising thee, and blessing thee. chap. xxii.--_of the rememberance of the manifold benefits of god._ . open, o lord, my heart in thy law, and teach me to walk in thy commandments. give me grace to understand thy will, and to commemorate with great reverence and diligent consideration all thy benefits, as well in general as in particular, that so i may be able worthily to give thee thanks for them. but i know and confess that i am not able to return thee thanks, not even for the least point. i am less than any of thy benefits bestowed upon me; and when i consider thy excellency, my spirit loses itself in the greatness of thy majesty. . all that we have in soul and body, all that we possess outwardly or inwardly, by nature or grace, are thy benefits, and commend thy bounty, mercy and goodness, from whom we have received all good. { } and though one has received more, another less, yet all is thine, and without thee even the least cannot be had. he that has received greater things cannot glory of his own merit, nor extol himself above others, nor insult over the lesser; because he is indeed greater and better, who attributes less to himself, and is more humble and devout in returning thanks. and he who esteems himself the vilest of all men, and judges himself the most unworthy, is fittest to receive the greatest blessings. . but he that has received fewer must not be troubled, nor take it ill, nor envy him that is more enriched; but attend rather to thee, and very much praise thy goodness, for that thou bestowest thy gifts so plentifully, so freely and willingly without respect of persons. all things are from thee, and therefore thou art to be praised in all. { } thou knowest what is fit to be given to every one; and why this person hath less, and the other more, is not our business to decide, but thine, who keepest an exact account of the merits of each one. . wherefore, o lord god, i take it for a great benefit, not to have much which outwardly and according to men might appear praise-worthy and glorious. so that a person, considering his own poverty and meanness, ought not upon that account to be weighed down, or to be grieved and dejected, but rather to receive comfort and great pleasure. because thou, o god, hast chosen the poor and the humble, and those that are despised by this world, for thy familiar friends and domestics. witness thy apostles themselves, whom thou hast appointed rulers over all the earth. and yet they conversed in this world without complaint, so humble and simple, without any malice or guile, that they were even glad when they suffered affronts and reproaches for thy name; and what the world flies from, they embraced with great affection. { } . nothing therefore ought to give so great joy to him that loves thee, and knows thy benefits, and the accomplishment of thy will in himself, and the pleasure of thy eternal appointment. with which he ought to be so far contented and comforted, as to be willing to be the least, as any one would wish to be the greatest, and to enjoy as much peace and content in the lowest place, as in the highest; and to be as willing to be despicable and mean, and of no name and repute in the world, as to be preferred in honour, and greater than others: for thy will, and the love of thy honour, ought to be regarded above all, and to comfort and please him more than any benefits whatsoever which he hath received, or can receive. chap. xxiii.--_of four things which bring much peace_. . son, i will teach thee now the way of peace and true liberty. . do, lord; i beseech thee, as thou sayest, for i shall be very glad to hear it. { } . endeavour, my son, rather to do the will of another, than thy own. ever choose rather to have less, than more. always seek the lowest place, and to be inferior to every one. always wish and pray that the will of god may be entirely fulfilled in thee. behold, such a man as this enters upon the coast of peace and rest. . lord, this thy short speech contains much perfection. it is short in words, but full in sense, and plentiful in its fruit; for if it could be faithfully observed by me, i should not be so easily troubled. for as often as i find myself disquieted and disturbed, i am sensible it is because i have strayed from this doctrine. but thou, o lord, who canst do all things, and always lovest the progress of the soul, increase in me thy grace, that i may accomplish this thy word, and perfect my salvation. { } _a prayer against evil thoughts_. . o lord, my god, depart not far from me: o my god, have regard to help me, for divers evil thoughts have risen up against me, and great fears afflicting my soul. how shall i pass without hurt? how shall i break through them? . _i_ (saith he) _will go before thee, end will humble the great ones of the earth_. isaiah xxv. i will open the gates of the prison, and reveal to thee the hidden secrets. . do, lord, as thou sayest, and let all these wicked thoughts flee from before thy face. this is my hope and my only comfort, to fly to thee in all tribulations, to confide in thee, to call on thee from my heart, and patiently to look for thy consolation. { } _prayer for the enlightening the mind_. . enlighten me, o good jesus, with the brightness of the internal light; and cast out all darkness from the dwelling of my heart. restrain my many wandering thoughts, and suppress the temptations that violently assault me. fight strongly for me, and overcome those wicked beasts, i mean, these alluring concupiscences; that peace may be made in thy power, and the abundance of thy praise may resound in thy holy court, which is a clean conscience. command the winds and storms: say to the sea be thou still, and to the north wind, blow thou not; and a great calm shall ensue. . send forth thy light and thy truth, that they may shine upon the earth; for i am an earth that is empty and void, till thou enlightenest me. _genesis_ i. pour forth thy grace from above; water my heart with the dew of heaven; send down the waters of devotion, to wash the face of the earth, to bring forth good and perfect fruit. { } lift up my mind, oppressed with the load of sins, and raise my whole desire towards heavenly things; that having tasted the sweetness of the happiness above, i may have no pleasure in thinking of the things of the earth. . draw me away, and deliver me from all unstable comfort of creatures, for no created thing can fully quiet and satisfy my desire. join me to thyself with an inseparable bond of love; for thou alone canst satisfy the lover; and without thee all other things are frivolous. chap. xxiv.--_that we are not to be curious in enquiring into the life of others_. . son, be not curious, and give not way to useless cares. what is this or that to thee? do thou follow me. { } for what is it to thee whether this man be such, or such; or that man do or say this, or the other? thou art not to answer for others, but must give an account for thyself; why therefore dost thou meddle with them? behold, i know every one, and see all things that are done under the sun; and i know how it is with every one, what he thinks, what he would have, and at what his intention aims. all things therefore are to be committed to me; but as for thy part, keep thyself in good peace, and let the busybody be as busy as he will. whatsoever he shall do or say, will come upon himself, because he cannot deceive me. . be not solicitous for the shadow of a great name, neither seek to be familiarly acquainted with many, nor to be particularly loved by men. for these things beget distractions and great darkness in the heart. i would willingly speak my word to thee, and reveal my secrets to thee; if thou wouldst diligently observe my coming, and open to me the door of thy heart. { } be careful and watch in prayers, and humble thyself in all things. chap. xxv.--_in what things the firm peace of the heart and true progress doth consist._ . son, i have said, _peace i leave to you, my peace i give to you: not as the world giveth, do i give to you_. john xiv. _peace_ is what all desire; but all care not for those things which appertain to true _peace_. my _peace_ is with the humble and meek of heart: thy peace shall be in much patience. if thou wilt hear me, and follow my voice, thou mayest enjoy much _peace_. . what then shall i do. lord? . in every thing attend to thyself, what thou art doing, and what thou art saying; and direct thy whole intention to this, that thou mayest please me alone, and neither desire nor seek any thing out of me. { } and as for the sayings or doings of others, judge of nothing rashly; neither busy thyself with things not committed to thy care; and thus may it be brought about that thou shalt be little or seldom disturbed. but never to feel any trouble at all, nor to suffer a grief of heart or body, is not the state of this present life, but of everlasting rest. think not therefore that thou hast found true peace, if thou feelest no burden; nor that then all is well, if thou have no adversary; nor that thou hast attained to perfection, if all things be done according to thy inclination. neither do thou then conceive a great notion of thyself, or imagine thyself especially beloved, if thou be in great devotion and sweetness: for it is not in such things as these that a true lover of virtue is known; nor doth the progress and perfection of a man consist in these things. . in what then, o lord? . in offering thyself with thy whole heart to the will of god; not seeking the things that are thine either in little or great, either in time or eternity. { } so that with the same equal countenance thou continue giving thanks both in prosperity and adversity, weighing all things in an equal balance. if thou come to be so valiant, and long suffering in hope, that when interior comfort is withdrawn, thou canst prepare thy heart to suffer still more; and dost not justify thyself, as if thou oughtest not to suffer such great things; but acknowledgest my justice in all my appointments, and praisest my holy name; then it is that thou walkest in the true and right way of peace, and mayest hope without any question to see my face again with great joy. and if thou arrive at an entire contempt of thyself, know that then thou shalt enjoy an abundance of peace, as much as is possible in this state of banishment. { } chap. xxvi.--_of the eminence of a free mind, which humble prayer better procures than reading_. . lord, this is the work of a perfect man, never to let one's mind slacken from attending to heavenly things, and to pass through many cares, as it were without care; not after the manner of an indolent person, but by a certain prerogative of a free mind, which doth not cleave by an inordinate affection to any thing created. . preserve me, i beseech thee, o my most merciful god, from the cares of this life, that i be not too much entangled by them; from the many necessities of the body, that i may not be ensnared by pleasure; and from all hinderances of the soul, lest being overcome by troubles i be cast down. i do not say from those things which worldly vanity covets with so much eagerness; but from these miseries, which by the general curse of our mortality, as punishments, weigh down and keep back the soul of thy servant from being able, when it will, to enter into liberty of spirit. { } . o my god, who art unspeakable sweetness, turn into bitterness to me all carnal comfort, which withdraws me from the love of things eternal, and wickedly allures me to itself, by setting before me a certain present delightful good. o my god, let not flesh and blood prevail over me, let it not overcome me: let not the world and its transitory glory deceive me: let not the devil supplant me by his craft. give me fortitude, that i may stand my ground, patience that i may endure, and constancy that i may persevere. give me, in lieu of all the comforts of this world, the most delightful unction of thy spirit; and instead of carnal love, infuse into me the love of thy name. . behold! eating, drinking, cloathing, and other necessaries appertaining to the support of the body are burthensome to a fervent spirit. { } grant that i may use such things with moderation, and not be entangled with an inordinate affection to them. it is not lawful to cast them all away, for nature must be supported; but to require superfluities, and such things as are more delightful, thy holy law forbids; for otherwise the flesh would grow insolent against the spirit. in all this, i beseech thee, let thy hand govern and direct me, that i may no way exceed. chap. xxvii.--_that self-love chiefly keeps a person back from the sovereign good._ . my son, thou must give all for all, and be nothing of thy own. know that the love of thyself is more hurtful to thee than any thing in the world. every thing, according to the love and inclination which thou hast to it, cleaveth to thee more or less. if thy love be pure, simple, and well ordered, thou shalt not be a captive to any thing. { } covet not that which thou mayest not have. seek not to have that which may hinder thee and rob thee of inward liberty. it is wonderful that thou wilt not from the very bottom of thy heart commit thyself wholly to me, with all things that thou canst desire to have. . why dost thou pine away with vain grief? why tirest thou thyself with useless cares? stand resigned to my good pleasure, and thou shalt suffer no loss. if thou seekest this, or that, or wouldst be here or there, for the sake of thy own interest, or the pleasing thy own will, thou shall never be at rest, nor free from solicitude; for in every thing thou shalt find some defect, and in every place there will be some one that will cross thee. . it is not therefore the obtaining or multiplying things exteriorly that avails thee, but rather the despising of them, and cutting them up by the root out of thy heart; which i would not have thee to understand only with regard to money and riches, and also with regard to ambition and honour, and the desire of empty praise: all which things pass away with the world. { } the place avails little, if the spirit of fervour be wanting; neither shall that peace stand long which is sought from abroad, if the state of thy heart want the true foundation, that is, if thou stand not in me: thou mayest change, but not better thyself. for when occasion happens, thou shalt find that which thou didst fly from, and more. _a prayer_ _for the cleansing of the heart, and the obtaining heavenly wisdom._ . confirm me, o god, by the grace of thy holy spirit. give me power to be strengthened in the inward man, and to cast out of my heart all unprofitable care and trouble; let me not be drawn away with various desires of any thing whatsoever, whether it be of little or great value; but may i look upon all things as passing away, and upon my self as passing along with them. { } for nothing is lasting under the sun, where all is vanity and affliction of spirit. o how wise is he who considers things in this manner! . give me, o lord, heavenly wisdom, that i may learn above all things to seek thee, and to find thee; above all things to relish thee, and to love thee, and to understand all other things, as they are, according to the order of thy wisdom. grant that i may prudently decline him that flatters me, and patiently bear with him that contradicts me. for this is great wisdom, not to be moved with every wind of words, nor to give ear to the wicked flattering siren; for thus shall we go on securely in the way we have begun. chap. xxviii.--_against the tongues of detractors_. . son, take it not to heart if some people think ill of thee, and say of thee what thou art not willing to hear. { } thou oughtest to think worse of thyself, and to believe that no one is weaker than thyself. if thou walkest _interiorly_, thou wilt make small account of flying words. it is no small prudence to be silent in the evil time, and to turn within to me, and not to be disturbed with the judgment of man. . let not thy peace be in the tongues of men; for whether they put a good or bad construction on what thou doest, thou art still what thou art. where is true peace, and true glory? is it not in me? and he who covets not to please men, nor fears their displeasure, shall enjoy much peace. all disquiet of heart, and distraction of our senses, arises from inordinate love, and vain fear. chap. xxix.--_how in the time of tribulation god is to be invoked and blessed_. . blessed, o lord, be thy name for ever, who has been pleased that this trial and tribulation should come upon me. { } i cannot fly from it, but must of necessity fly to thee; that thou mayest help me, and turn it to my good. lord i am now in tribulation, and my heart is not at ease; but i am much afflicted with my present suffering. and now, dear father, what shall i say? i am taken, lord, in these straits: o save me from this hour. but for this reason i came into this hour, that thou mightest be glorified, when i shall be exceedingly humbled, and delivered by thee. may it please thee, o lord, to deliver me; for, poor wretch that i am! what can i do, and whither shall i go without thee? give me patience, o lord, this time also. help me, o my god, and i will not fear how much soever i may be oppressed. . and now in the midst of these things, what shall i say? lord, thy will be done: i have well deserved to be afflicted and troubled. { } i must needs bear it; and would to god, it may be with patience, till the storm pass over, and it be better. but thy almighty hand is able to take away from me this temptation also, and to moderate its violence, lest i quite sink under it; as thou hast often done heretofore for me; _o my god, my mercy!_ and how much more difficult this is to me, so much easier to thee is _this change of the right hand of the most high._ psalms lxxvi. chap. xxx.--_of asking the divine assistance, and of confidence of recovering grace._ . son, i am the lord, who give strength in the day of tribulation. come to me when it is not well with thee. this is that which most of all hinders heavenly comfort, that thou art slow in turning thyself to prayer. for before thou earnestly prayest to me, thou seekest in the mean time many comforts, and delightest thyself in outward things. { } and hence it comes to pass, that all things avail thee little, till thou take notice that i am he who deliver those that trust in me: nor is there out of me any powerful help, nor profitable counsel, nor lasting remedy. but now having recovered spirit after the storm, grow thou strong again in the light of my tender mercies; for i am at hand, saith the lord, to repair all, not only to the full, but even with abundance, and above measure. . is any thing difficult to me? or shall i be like one that promises and does not perform? where is thy faith? stand firmly, and with perseverance. have patience, and be of good courage; comfort will come to thee in its proper season. wait for me, wait, i will come and cure thee. it is a temptation that troubles thee, and a vain fear that frights thee. what does the solicitude about future accidents bring thee but only sorrow upon sorrow? _sufficient for the day is the evil thereof._ matthew vi. { } it is a vain and unprofitable thing, to conceive either grief or joy for future things, which perhaps will never happen. . but it is incident to man to be deluded with such vain imaginations; and a sign of a soul that is yet weak to be so easily drawn away by the suggestion of the enemy. for he cares not whether it be with things true or false, that he abuses and deceives thee; whether he overthrows thee with the love of things present, or the fear of things to come. let not therefore thy heart be troubled, and let it not fear. believe in me, and trust in my mercy. when thou thinkest i am far from thee, i am often nearest to thee. when thou judgest that almost all is lost, then oftentimes it is that thou art in the way of the greatest gain of merit. all is not lost, when any thing falls out otherwise than thou wouldst have it. { } thou must not judge according to the present feeling, nor give thyself up in such manner to any trouble from whencesoever it comes, nor take it so, as if all hope was gone of being delivered out of it. . think not thyself wholly forsaken, although for a time i have sent thee some tribulation, or withdrawn from thee the comfort which thou desirest; for this is the way to the kingdom of heaven. and without all doubt it is more expedient for thee, and for the rest of my servants, that you be exercised by adversities, than that you should have all things according to your inclination. i know thy secret thoughts, i know that it is very expedient for thy soul that thou shouldest sometimes be left without gust, lest thou shouldst be puffed up with good success, and shouldst take a complaisance in thyself, imagining thyself to be what thou art not. { } what i have given i can justly take away, and restore it again when i please. . when i give it, it is still mine; when i take it away again, i take not any thing that is thine; for _every good gift and every perfect gift is mine,_ james i. if i send thee affliction, or any adversity, repine not, neither let thy heart be cast down. i can quickly raise thee up again, and turn all thy burden into joy. nevertheless, i am just, and greatly to be praised, when i deal thus with thee. . if thou thinkest rightly, and considerest things in truth, thou oughtest never to be so much dejected and troubled for any adversity; but rather to rejoice and give thanks: yea, to account this a special subject of joy, that i do not spare thee, afflicting thee with sorrows. _as my father hath loved me, i also have loved you_, said i to my beloved disciples, (john xv.) whom certainly i did not send to temporal joys, but to great conflicts; not to honours, but to contempt; not to idleness, but to labours; not to rest, but to bring forth much fruit in patience. remember these words, o my son. { } chap. xxxi.--_of disregarding all things created, that so we may find the creator_. . lord, i stand much in need of a grace yet greater, if i must arrive so far, that it may not be in the power of any man, nor any thing created, to hinder me; for as long as any thing holds me, i cannot freely fly to thee. he was desirous to fly freely to thee, who said, _who will give me wings like a dove, and i will fly and be at rest_. psalms liv. [usccb: psalms lv. .] what can be more at rest than a simple eye [that aims at nothing but god]? and what can be more free, than he that desires nothing upon earth? a man ought therefore to pass and ascend above every thing created, and perfectly to forsake himself, and in ecstasy of mind to stand and see that thou, the maker of all things, hast no similitude with thy creatures. { } and unless a man be at liberty from all things created, he cannot attend to things divine. and this is the reason why there are found so few _contemplative_ persons, because there are few that wholly sequester themselves from transitory and created things. . for this a great grace is required, which may elevate the soul, and carry her up above herself. and unless a man be elevated in spirit, and set at liberty from all creatures, and wholly united to god; whatever he knows, and whatever he has, is of no great weight. long shall he be little, and lie grovelling beneath, who esteems any thing great but only the _one, immense, eternal good._ and whatsoever is not god is _nothing_, and ought to be accounted as _nothing_. { } there is a great difference between the wisdom of an illuminated devout man, and the knowledge of a learned studious scholar. far more noble is that learning which flows from above, from the divine influence, than that which with labour is acquired by the wit of man. . many are found to desire contemplation; but care not to practise those things which are required thereunto. it is a great impediment that we stand in signs and sensible things, and have but little of perfect mortification. i know not what it is, by what spirit we are led, or what we pretend to, who seem to be called _spiritual_ persons; that we take so much pains, and have a greater solicitude for transitory and mean things; and scarce ever have our senses fully recollected to think of our own interior. . alas! after a slight recollection, we presently get out of ourselves again; neither do we weigh well our works by a strict examination. { } we take no notice where our affections lie; nor do we lament the great want of purity in all we do. _for all flesh had corrupted its way_, and therefore the great flood ensued. _genesis_ vi. _and_ vii. as therefore our interior affection is much corrupted, it must needs be that the action which follows should be corrupted also; a testimony of the want of inward vigour. from a pure heart proceeds the fruit of a good life. . we are apt to enquire how much a man has done; but with how much virtue he has done it, is not so diligently considered. we ask whether he be strong, rich, beautiful, ingenious, a good writer, a good singer, or a good workman; but how poor he is in spirit, how patient and meek, how devout and internal, is what few speak of. nature looks upon the outward thing of a man, but grace turns herself to the interior. { } nature is often deceived, but grace hath her trust in god, that she may not be deceived. chap. xxxii.--_of the denying ourselves, and renouncing all cupidity_. . son, thou canst not possess perfect liberty, unless thou wholly deny thyself. all self-seekers and self-lovers are bound in fetters, full of desires, full of cares, unsettled, and seeking always their own ease, and not the things of jesus christ, but oftentimes devising and framing that which shall not stand; for all shall come to nothing that proceeds not from god. take this short and perfect word, _forsake all and thou shall find all, leave thy desires and thou shall find rest._ consider this well, and when thou shalt put it in practice thou shalt understand all things. . lord, this is not the work of one day, nor children's sport; yea, in this short sentence is included the whole perfection of the religious. { } son, thou must not be turned back, nor presently cast down, when thou hearest what the way of the perfect is, but rather be incited thereby to undertake great things, or at least to sigh after them with an earnest desire. i would it were so with thee, and that thou wert come so far that thou wert no longer a lover of thyself, but didst stand wholly at my beck, and at his whom i have appointed father over thee; then wouldst thou exceedingly please me, and all thy life would pass in joy and peace. thou hast yet many things to forsake, which unless thou give up to me without reserve, thou shalt not attain to that which thou demandest. _i counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest become rich_. apoc. iii. that is heavenly wisdom, which treads under foot all things below. set aside the wisdom of the earth, _i.e._ seeking to please the world and thyself. { } . i have said that thou shouldst give the things that are high and of great esteem with men, to purchase those which are esteemed contemptible; for true heavenly wisdom seems very mean and contemptible, and is scarce thought of by men; that wisdom which teaches to think meanly of one's self, and not to seek to become great upon earth, which many praise; in words, but in their life they are far from it; yet this same is that _precious, pearl_, which is hidden from many. _matthew_ xiii. chap. xxxiii.--_of the inconstancy of our heart, and of directing our final intention to god_. . son, trust not to thy present affection, it will quickly be changed into another. { } as long as thou livest thou art subject to change, even against thy will; so as to be sometimes joyful, other times sad; now easy, anon troubled; at one time devout, at another dry; sometimes fervent, other times sluggish; one day heavy, another lighter. but he that is wise and well instructed in _spirit_ stands above all these changes; not minding what he feels in himself, nor on what side the wind of mutability blows; but that the whole bent of his soul may advance towards its due and wished-for end; for so he may continue one and the self-same without being shaken, by directing without ceasing, through all this variety of events, the single eye of his intention towards me. . and by how much the purer the eye of the intention is, by so much the more constantly may one pass these diverse storms. but in many the eye of pure intention is dark, for we quickly look towards something delightful which comes in our way; and it is rare to find one wholly free from all blemish of self-seeking. so the jews heretofore came into bethania to martha and mary, not for jesus only, but that they might see lazarus also. _john_ xi. { } the eye of the intention therefore must be purified, that it may be single and right; and must be directed unto me, beyond all the various objects that interpose themselves. chap. xxxiv.--_that he that loves god relishes him above all things, and in all things_. . behold _my_ god, _and my all_, what would i have more, and what can i desire more happy? o savoury and sweet word! but to him that loves _the word_, not the world, nor the things that are in the world. my god, _and all!_ enough is said to him that understands; and it is delightful to him that loves to repeat it often. for when thou art present all things yield delight; but when thou art absent, all things are loathsome. thou givest tranquillity to the heart, and great peace, and pleasant joy. { } thou makest to think well of all, and praise thee in all things; nor can any thing without thee afford any lasting pleasure: but to make it agreeable and relishing, thy grace must be present; and it must be seasoned with the seasoning of thy wisdom. . he that has a relish of thee will find all things savoury. and to him that relishes thee not, what can ever yield any true delight? but the wise of this world, and the admirers of the flesh, are far from the relish of thy wisdom; because in the world is much vanity, and the following of the flesh leads to death. but they that follow thee, by despising the things of this world, and mortifying the flesh, are found to be wise indeed: for they are translated from vanity to truth, from the flesh to the spirit. such as these have a relish of god; and what good soever is found in creatures, they refer it all to the praise of their maker. { } but great, yea very great, is the difference between the relish of the creator and the creature; of eternity and of time; of light increated, and of light enlightened. . o light eternal, transcending all created lights, dart forth thy lightning from above, which may penetrate all the most inward parts of my heart. cleanse, cherish, enlighten, and enliven my spirit with its powers, that it may be absorpt in thee with ecstasies of joy. oh! when will this blessed and desirable hour come, that thou shalt fill me with thy presence, and become to me _all in all?_ as long as this is not granted me, my joy will not be full. alas! the old man is still living in me; he is not wholly crucified; he is not perfectly dead: he still lusts strongly against the spirit; he wages war within me, and suffers not the kingdom of my soul to be quiet. { } . but, o lord, who _rulest over the power of the sea, and assuagest the motion of its waves_, (psalms lxxxviii.) arise and help me. [usccb: psalms lxxxix. .] _dissipate the people that desire war_. psalms lxvii. crush them by thy power. shew forth, i beseech thee, thy wonderful works; and let thy right-hand be glorified: for there is no other help nor refuge for me, but in thee, o lord, my god. chap. xxxv.--_that there is no being secure from temptation in this life_. . son, thou art never secure in this life; but as long as thou livest thou hast always need of spiritual arms. thou art in the midst of enemies, and art assaulted on all sides. if then thou dost not make use of the buckler of patience, thou wilt not be long without wounds. { } moreover, if thou dost not fix thy heart on me, with a sincere will of suffering all things for my sake, thou canst not support the heat of this warfare, nor attain to the victory of the saints. it behoveth thee therefore to go through all manfully, and to use a strong hand against all things that oppose thee. for _to him that overcomes is given manna_, (apoc. ii.) and to the sluggard is left much misery. . if thou seekest rest in this life, how then wilt thou come to rest everlasting? set not thy self to seek for much rest, but for much patience. seek true peace, not upon earth, but in heaven; not in men, nor in other things created, but in god alone. thou must be willing, for the love of god, to suffer all things, _viz._ labours and sorrows, temptations and vexations, anxieties, necessities, sicknesses, injuries, detractions, reprehensions, humiliations, confusions, corrections, and contempts. these things help to obtain virtue: these try a novice of christ: these procure a heavenly crown. { } i will give an everlasting reward for this short labour, and glory without end for transitory confusion. . dost thou think to have always spiritual consolations when thou pleasest? my saints had not so; but met with many troubles, and various temptations and great desolations. but they bore all with patience, and confided more in god than in themselves; knowing that the sufferings of this life are not of equal proportion to the merit of the glory to come. wouldst thou have that immediately, which others after many tears and great labours have hardly obtained? expect the lord, do manfully, and be of good heart. do not despond, do not fall off; but constantly offer both soul and body for the glory of god. i will reward thee most abundantly, and will be with thee in all thy tribulations. { } chap. xxxvi.--_against the vain judgments of men_. . son, cast thy heart firmly on the lord, and fear not the judgement of man, when thy conscience gives testimony of thy piety and innocence. it is good and happy to suffer in this manner, neither will this be grievous to an humble heart, nor to him that trusts in god more than in himself. many say many things, and therefore little credit is to be given to them. neither is it possible to satisfy all; though paul endeavoured to please all in the lord, and made himself all unto all: yet at the same time he made little account of his being judged by man's day. _corinthians_ iv. _and_ ix. . he labours for the edification and salvation of others, as much as he could, and as lay in him; but he could not prevent his being sometimes judged or despised by others. { } therefore he committed all to god, who knows all; and defended himself by patience and humility against the tongues of those that spoke evil, or thought and gave out at pleasure vain and faulty things of him. however, he answered them sometimes, lest his silence might give occasion of scandal to the weak. . who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a mortal man? to-day he is, and to-morrow he appears no more. fear god, and thou shalt have no need of being afraid of man. what can any one do against thee, by his words or injuries? he rather hurts himself than thee; nor can he escape the judgment of god whoever he be. see thou have god before thine eyes; and do not contend with complaining words. and if at present thou seem to be overcome, and to suffer a confusion which thou hast not deserved; do not repine at this, and do not lessen thy crown by impatience. { } but rather look up to me in heaven, who am able to deliver thee from all confusion and wrong, and to repay every one according to his works. chap. xxxvii.--_of a pure and full resignation of ourselves, for the obtaining freedom of heart_. . son, leave thyself, and thou shalt find me. stand without choice, or any self-seeking; and thou shalt always gain. for the greater grace shall always be added to thee, when thou hast perfectly given up thyself, without resuming thyself again. . lord, how often shall i resign myself; and in what things shall i leave myself? . always, and at all times; as in little, so also in great: i make no exception, but will have thee to be found in all things stript of thyself. { } otherwise how canst thou be mine, and i thine; unless thou be both within and without freed from all self-will? the sooner thou effectest this, the better will it be for thee; and the more fully and sincerely thou dost it, the more shalt thou please me, and the more shalt thou gain. . some there are that resign themselves, but it is with some exception; for they do not trust wholly to god, and therefore are busy to provide for themselves. some also at the first offer all; but afterwards, being assaulted by temptation, return again to what they left; and therefore they make no progress in virtue. these shall not attain to the true liberty of a pure heart, nor to the grace of a delightful familiarity with me; unless they first entirely resign themselves up, and offer themselves a daily sacrifice to me; for without this, divine union neither is nor will be obtained. . i have often said to thee, and i repeat it now again, forsake thyself, resign thyself, and thou shalt enjoy a great inward peace. { } give all for all, seek nothing, call for nothing back, stand purely, and with a full confidence in me, and thou shalt have me. thou shalt be at liberty within thy own heart, and darkness shall not overwhelm thee. aim only at this, pray for this, desire this, that thou mayest be stript of self-seeking, and thus naked follow thy naked jesus; that thou mayest die to thyself, and live eternally to me. then all vain imaginations shall vanish, all evil disturbances, and superfluous cares. then also immoderate fear shall leave thee, and inordinate love shall die. chap. xxxviii.--_of the good government of ourselves in outward things, and of having recourse to god in dangers_. . son, thou must diligently make it thy aim, that in every place, and in every action or outward employment, thou be inwardly free, and master of thyself; and that all things be under thee, and not thou under them. { } that thou mayest be lord and ruler of thy actions, and not a slave or bondsman: but rather a freeman, and a true hebrew transferred to the lot and to the liberty of the children of god; who stand above the things present, and contemplate those that are eternal; who look upon transitory things with the left eye, and with the right the things of heaven. who suffer not themselves to be drawn away by temporal things to cleave to them; but they rather draw these things to themselves, to make them serviceable to that end, for which they were ordained by god, and appointed by that sovereign artist, who has left nothing in all his works but regular and orderly. . if likewise, in all events, thou rulest not thyself by the outward appearance; nor lookest on the things which thou seest or hearest, with a carnal eye; but presently, on every occasion, doth enter like moses into the tabernacle to consult the lord; thou shalt sometimes hear the divine answer, and come out instructed in many things present and to come. { } for moses always had recourse to the tabernacle, for the deciding all doubts and questions; and fled to the help of prayer, against the dangers and wickedness of men: so must thou in like manner fly to the closet of thy heart, and there most earnestly implore the divine assistance: for joshua and the children of israel, as we read, (_joshua_ ix.) were therefore deceived by the gabaonites; because they did not first consult the lord, but too easily giving credit to fair words, were deluded with counterfeit piety. chap. xxxix.--_that a man must not be over eager in his affairs._ . son, always commit thy cause to me; i will dispose well of it in due season. wait for my disposal, and thou shalt find it will be for thy advantage. { } . lord, i willingly commit all things to thee; for my care can profit little. i wish i was not too much set upon future events; but offered myself with all readiness to thy divine pleasure. . my son, oftentimes a man eagerly sets about a thing which he desires; but when he has obtained it, he begins to be of another mind: for our inclinations are not wont to continue long upon the same thing, but rather pass from one thing to another. it is therefore a thing not of the least importance, to forsake one's self even in the least things. . a man's true progress consists in denying himself; and the man that has renounced himself is very much at liberty, and very safe. but the old enemy, who opposes all that is good, fails not to tempt; but day and night lays his dangerous plots to withdraw the unwary into his deceitful snare. _watch and pray_, saith the lord, _that ye enter not into temptation_. matthew xxvi. { } chap. xl.--_that man hath no good of himself, and that he cannot glory in any thing_. . _lord, what is man that thou art mindful of him; or the son of man that thou vouchsafest to visit him?_ psalms vi. what hath man deserved, that thou shouldst give him thy grace? lord what cause have i to complain if thou forsake me? or what can i justly alledge, if thou refuse to grant my petition? this, indeed, i may truly think and say: lord, _i am nothing, i can do nothing, i have nothing of myself that is good;_ but i fail and am defective in all things, and ever tend to _nothing;_ and unless i am supported and interiorly instructed by thee, i become quite tepid and dissolute. . but thou, o lord, art always the same, and endureth for ever; always good, just and holy; doing all things well, justly, and holily; and disposing them in wisdom. { } but i, who am more inclined to go back than to go forward, continue not always in one state; for seven different seasons are changed over me. yet it quickly becomes better when it pleaseth thee, and thou stretchest out thy helping hand: for thou alone, without man's aid, canst assist me, and so strengthen me, that my countenance shall be no more changed, but my heart shall be converted, and take its rest in thee alone. . wherefore if i did but well know how to cast away from me all human comfort, either for the sake of devotion, or through the necessity of seeking thee, because there is no man that can comfort me. then might i justly depend on thy grace, and rejoice in the gift of new consolation. . thanks be to thee, from whom all proceeds as often as it goes well with me. but, for my part, i am but mere vanity, and nothing in thy sight; an unconstant and weak man. what have i then to glory in? or why do i desire to be esteemed? { } is it not for nothing? and this is most vain. truly, vain-glory is an evil plague, a very great vanity; because it draws us away from true glory, and robs us of heavenly grace. for whilst a man takes a complacence in himself, he displeaseth thee; whilst he gapes after the praises of men, he is deprived of true virtues. . but true glory and holy joy is to glory in thee, and not in one's self; to rejoice in thy name, and not to be delighted in one's own virtue, nor in any creature, save only for thy sake. let thy name be praised, not mine: let thy work be extolled, not mine: let thy holy name be blessed, but to me let nothing be attributed of the praises of men. thou art my glory, thou art the joy of my heart: in thee will i glory and rejoice all the day; but _for myself i will glory in nothing but in my infirmities_. . let the jews seek the glory which one man receives from another: i will seek that which is from god alone. { } all human glory, all temporal honour, all worldly grandeur, compared to thy eternal glory, is but vanity and foolishness. o my truth, and my mercy, my god, o blessed trinity, to thee alone be all praise, honour, power, and glory, for endless ages of ages. chap. xli.--_of the contempt of all temporal honour._ . my son, take it not to heart, if thou seest others honoured and advanced, and thyself despised and debased. lift up thy heart to me in heaven, and thou wilt not be concerned at thy being contemned by men upon earth. . lord, we are in blindness, and are quickly seduced by vanity. if i look well into myself, never was any injury done me by any creature; and therefore i cannot justly complain of thee. for, because i have often and grievously sinned against thee, all creatures have reason to take up arms against me. { } to me therefore confusion and contempt is justly due, but to thee praise, honour, and glory. and unless i put myself in this disposition, to be willing to be despised and forsaken of all creatures, and to be esteemed nothing at all, i cannot arrive at inward peace and strength, nor be spiritually enlightened, nor fully united to thee. chap. xlii.--_that our peace is not to be placed in men._ . son, if thou placest thy peace with any person, for the sake of thy contentment in his company, thou shall be unsettled and entangled: but if thou hast recourse to the everliving and subsisting truth, thou shalt not be grieved when a friend departs or dies. in _me_ the love of thy friend must stand; and for _me_ is he to be loved, whoever he be, who appears to thee good, and is very dear to thee in this life. { } without _me_ no friendship is of any strength, nor will be durable; nor is that love true and pure of which i am not the author. thou oughtest to be so far mortified to such affections of persons beloved, as to wish (for as much as appertains to thee) to be without any company of man. by so much the more does a man draw nigh to god, by how much the farther he withdraws himself from all earthly comfort. so much the higher he ascends into god, by how much the lower he descends into himself, and by how much the meaner he esteems himself. . but he that attributes any thing of good to himself, stops the grace of god from coming into him; for the grace of the holy ghost ever seeks an humble heart. if thou couldst perfectly annihilate thyself, and cast out from thyself all created love, then should i flow into thee with abundance of grace. when thou lookest towards creatures, the sight of the creator is withdrawn from thee. { } learn for the creator's sake, to overcome thyself in all things; and then thou shalt be able to attain to the knowledge of god. how little soever it be, if a thing be inordinately loved and regarded, it keeps us back from the sovereign good, and corrupts the soul. chap. xliii.--_against vain and worldly learning_. . son, be not moved with the fine and quaint sayings of men: _for the kingdom of god consists not in talk, but in virtue_. attend to my words, which inflame the heart, and enlighten the mind: which excite to compunction, and afford manifold consolations. never read any thing that thou may appear more learned or more wise. study therefore to mortify thy vices, for this will avail thee more than the knowledge of many hard questions. . when thou shalt have read, and shalt know many things, thou must always return to one beginning. { } i am he that teacheth man knowledge, and i give a more clear understanding to little ones than can be taught by man. he to whom i speak will quickly be wise, and will make great progress in spirit. wo to them that enquire of men after many curious things, and are little curious of the way to serve me. the time will come, when christ, the master of masters, the lord of angels, shall appeal, to hear the lessons of all men; that is, to examine the consciences of every one. and then he will search jerusalem with candles, and the hidden things of darkness shall be brought to light, and the arguments of tongues shall be silent. . i am he that in an instant elevates an humble mind, to comprehend more reasons of the _eternal truth_ than could be got by ten years study in the schools. { } i teach without noise of words, without confusion of opinions, without ambition of honour, without contention of arguments. i teach to despise all earthly things, to loathe things present, to seek things eternal, to relish things eternal, to fly honours, to endure scandals, to repose all hope in me, to desire nothing out of me, and above all things ardently to love me. . for a certain person, by loving me, entirely learned divine things, and spoke wonders. he profited more by forsaking all things, than by studying subtleties. but to some i speak things common, to others things more particular; to some i sweetly appear in signs and figures; to others in great light i reveal mysteries. the voice of the books is the same, but it teacheth not all men alike; because i within am the teacher of truth, the searcher of hearts, the understander of thoughts, the promoter of actions; distributing to every one as i judge fitting. { } chap. xliv.--_of not drawing to ourselves exterior things_. . son, in many things it behoveth thee to be ignorant and to esteem thyself as one dead upon earth, and as one to whom the whole world is crucified. many things also must you pass by with a deaf ear, and think rather of those things that appertain to thy peace. it is more profitable to turn away thy eyes from such things as displease thee, and to leave to every one his own way of thinking, than to give way to contentious discourses. if thou standeth well with god, and lookest at his judgment, thou wilt more easily bear to see thyself overcome. . o lord, to what are we come? behold a temporal loss is greatly bewailed, for a small gain men labour and toil; but the loss of the soul is little thought on, and hardly ever returns to mind. { } that which is of little or no profit takes up our thoughts; and that which is above all things necessary is negligently passed over: for the whole man sinks down into outward things; and unless he quickly recovers himself, he willingly continues immersed in them. chap. xlv.--_that credit is not to be given to all men; and that men are prone to offend in words_. . _grant me help, o lord, in my tribulation, for vain is the aid of man_. psalms lix. [usccb: psalms lx. .] how often have i not found faith there, where i thought i might depend upon it? and how often have i found it where i did not expect it? vain therefore is all hope in men; but the safety of the just is in thee, o lord. blessed be thou, o lord my god, in all things that befal us. we are weak and unsettled, we are quickly deceived and changed. { } . who is the man that is able to keep himself so warily, and with so much circumspection in all things, as not to fall sometimes into some deceit or perplexity? but he that trusts in thee, o lord, and seeks thee with a simple heart, does not so easily fall; and if he lights into some tribulation, in what manner soever he may be entangled therewith, he will quickly be rescued or comforted by thee; for thou wilt not forsake forever him that trusts in thee. a trusty friend is rarely to be found, that continues faithful in all the distresses of his friend. thou, o lord, thou alone art most faithful in all things, and besides thee there is no other such. . oh! how wise was that holy soul that said, _my mind is strongly settled and grounded upon christ_. st. agatha. if it were so with me, the fear of man would not so easily give me trouble, nor flying words move me. who can foresee all things, or who is able to provide against all future evils? { } if things foreseen do yet often hurt us, how can things unlooked for fail of wounding us grievously? but why did i not provide better for myself, miserable wretch as i am? why also have i so easily given credit to others? but we are men, and are but frail men, though by many we are reputed and called angels. to whom shall i give credit, o lord? to whom but thee? thou art the truth, which neither canst deceive nor be deceived. and on the other side, _every man is a liar_, (psalms cxi.) infirm, unstable, and subject to fail, especially in words; so that we ought not readily to believe even that which in appearance seems to sound well. . how wisely didst thou forewarn us to take heed of men, (_matthew_. x. .) and that man's enemies are those of his own household. (_matthew_. x. .) and that we are not to believe, if any one should say, _behold here, or behold there_. matthew xxiv. { } i have been taught to my cost, and i wish it may serve to make me more cautious, and not to increase my folly. be wary, saith one, be wary, keep in thyself what i tell thee: and whilst i hold my peace, and believe the matter to be secret, he himself cannot keep the secret which he desired me to keep, but presently discovers both me and himself, and goes his way. from such tales and such unwary people defend me, o lord, that i may not fall into their hands, nor ever commit the like. give to my mouth truth and constancy in my words, and remove far from me a crafty tongue. what i am not willing to suffer, i ought by all means to shun. . o how good a thing and how peaceable it is to be silent of others, nor to believe all that is said, nor easily to report what one has heard; to lay one's self open to few; always to seek thee the beholder of the heart; and not to be carried about with every wind of words; but to wish that all things both within and without us may go according to the pleasure of thy will! { } how secure it is for the keeping of heavenly grace, to fly the sight of men, and not to seek those things that seem to cause admiration abroad; but with all diligence to follow that which brings amendment of life and fervour! to how many hath it been hurtful to have their virtue known, and over-hastily praised? how profitable indeed hath grace been kept with silence in this frail life, which is all but a temptation and a warfare? chap. xlvi.--_of having confidence in god, when words arise against us_. . son, stand firm, and trust in me; for what are words but words? they fly through the air, but hurt not a stone. if thou art guilty, think that thou wilt willingly amend thyself. if thy conscience accuse thee not, think that thou wilt willingly suffer this for god's sake. { } it is a small matter that thou shouldst sometimes bear with words, if thou hast not as yet the courage to endure hard stripes. and why do such small things go to thy heart; but because thou art yet carnal, and regardest man more than thou oughtest? for because thou art afraid of being despised, thou art not willing to be reprehended for thy faults, and seekest to shelter thyself in excuses. . but look better into thyself, and thou shalt find that the world is still living in thee, and a vain desire of pleasing men: for when thou art unwilling to be humbled and confounded for thy defects, it is plain indeed that thou art not truly humble, nor truly dead to the world, nor the world crucified to thee. but give ear to my word, and thou shalt not value ten thousand words of men. behold, if all should be said against thee, which the malice of men can invent, what hurt could it do thee, if thou wouldst let it pass, and make no reckoning of it? could it even so much as pluck one hair away from thee? { } . but he who has not his heart _within_, nor god before his eyes, is easily moved with a word of dispraise: whereas he that trusts in me, and desires not to stand by his own judgment, will be free from the fear of men. for i am the judge and discerner of all secrets; i know how the matter passed; i know both him that offers the injury, and him that suffers it. from me this word went forth; by my permission it happened, _that out of many hearts thoughts may be revealed_. luke ii. i shall judge the guilty and the innocent; but by a secret judgment i would beforehand try them both. . the testimony of men oftentimes deceives: my judgment is true, it shall stand and not be overthrown. it is hidden for the most part, and to few laid open in every thing; yet it never errs, nor can it err, though to the eyes of fools it seems not right. { } to me therefore must thou run in every judgment, and not depend upon thy own will. _for the just man will not be troubled whatever happens to him from god_. proverbs xii. and if any thing be wrongfully pronounced against him, he will not much care; neither will he vainly rejoice, if by others he be reasonably excused; for he considers that _i am he that searcheth the heart and the reins_, (apoc. ii.) who judge not according to the face, nor according to human appearance; [usccb: revelation : , "...i am the searcher of hearts and _minds_...".] for oftentimes that is found blameworthy in my eyes, which in the judgment of men is esteemed commendable. . o lord god, the best judge, strong and patient, who knowest the frailty and perverseness of men, be thou my strength, and all my confidence, for my own conscience sufficeth me not. thou knowest that which i know not; and therefore in every reprehension i ought to humble myself, and bear it with meekness. { } pardon me, i beseech thee in thy mercy, as often as i have not done thus, and give me again the grace to suffer still more. for better to me is thy great mercy, for the obtaining of pardon, than the justice which i imagine in myself for the defence of my hidden conscience. although my conscience accuse me not, yet i cannot hereby justify myself; for setting thy mercy aside, _no man living shall be justified in thy sight_. psalms cxlii. [usccb: psalms cxliii.] chap. xlvii.--_that all grievious things are to be endured for life everlasting._ . son, be not dismayed with the labours which thou hast undertaken for me; neither let the tribulations which befal thee quite cast thee down; but let my promise strengthen thee, and comfort thee in all events. i am sufficient to reward thee beyond all measure. { } thou shalt not labour here long, nor shalt thou be always oppressed with sorrows. wait a little while, and thou shalt see a speedy end of all thy evils. the hour will come when labour and trouble shall be no more. all is little and short which passeth away with time. . mind what thou art about; labour faithfully in my vineyard; i will be thy reward. write, read, sing, sigh, keep silence, pray, bear thy crosses manfully: eternal life is worthy of all these, and greater combats. _peace_ shall come in one day, which is known to the lord: and it shall not be day, nor night, _viz_. such as is at present, but everlasting light, infinite brightness, steadfast peace, and secure rest. thou shalt not then say, _who shall deliver me from the body of this death_, (romans vii.) nor shalt thou cry out, _wo to me for that my sojourning is prolonged_. (psalms cxix.) for death shall be no more; but never failing health, no anxiety, but blessed delight, and a society sweet and lovely. [usccb: psalms cxx. . "too long did i live among those who hated peace."] { } . oh! if thou hadst seen the everlasting crowns of the saints in heaven, and in how great glory they now triumph, who appeared contemptible heretofore to this world, and in a manner unworthy even of life, doubtless thou wouldst immediately cast thyself down to the very earth, and wouldst rather seek to be under the feet of all, than to have command so much as over one. neither wouldst thou covet the pleasant days of this life, but wouldst rather be glad to suffer tribulation for god's sake, and esteem it thy greatest gain to be reputed as nothing amongst men. . ah! if thou didst but relish these things, and didst suffer them to penetrate deeply thy heart, how wouldst thou dare so much as once to complain! are not all painful labours to be endured for everlasting life? it is no small matter to lose or to gain the kingdom of god. { } lift up therefore thy face to heaven. behold i, and all my saints with me, who in this world have had a great conflict, do now rejoice, are comforted now, are now secure, are now at rest, and for all eternity shall abide with me in the kingdom of my father. chap. xlviii.--_of the day of eternity, and of the miseries of this life_. . o most happy mansion of the city above! o most bright day of eternity, which knows no night, but is always enlightened by the sovereign truth; a day always joyful, always secure, and never changing its state for the contrary! oh! that this day would shine upon us, and all these temporal things would come to an end! it shines indeed upon the saints, resplendant with everlasting brightness; but to us pilgrims upon earth it is seen only as afar off, and through a glass. { } . the citizens of heaven know how joyful that day is; but the banished children of eve lament that this our day is bitter and tedious. the days of this life are short and evil, full of sorrows and miseries: where man is defiled with many sins, is ensnared with many passions, attacked with many fears, disquieted with many cares, distracted with many curiosities, entangled with many vanities, encompassed with many errors, broken with many labours, troubled with temptations, weakened with delights, tormented with want. . oh! when will there be an end of these evils? when shall i be set at liberty from the wretched slavery of sin? when, o lord, shall i be so happy as to think of thee alone? when shall i to the full rejoice in thee? when shall i be without any impediment in true liberty, without any trouble of mind or body? when shall i enjoy a solid peace, a peace never to be disturbed and always secure, a peace both within and without, a peace every where firm? { } o good jesu, when shall i stand to behold thee? when shall i contemplate the glory of thy kingdom? when wilt thou be _all in all_ to me? o when shall i be with thee in thy kingdom, which thou hast prepared for thy beloved from all eternity? i am left a poor and banished man, in an enemy's country, where there are wars every day, and very great misfortunes. . comfort me in my banishment, assuage my sorrows; for all my desire is after thee: and all that this world offers for my comfort is burthensome to me. i long to enjoy thee intimately, but cannot attain to it. i desire to cleave to heavenly things, but the things of this life and my unmortified passions bear me down. i am willing in _mind_ to be above all things, but by the flesh am obliged against my will to be subject to them. thus, unhappy man that i am, i fight with myself, and am become burthensome to myself, whilst the spirit seeks to tend upwards, and the flesh downwards. { } . oh! what do i suffer interiorly, whilst in my mind i consider heavenly things, and presently a crowd of carnal thoughts offers to interrupt my prayer? _o my god, remove not thyself far from me, and depart not in thy wrath from thy servant_. _dart forth thy lightning, and disperse them: shoot thy arrows_, and let all the phantoms of the enemy be put to flight. gather my senses together to thee; make me forget all worldly things; give me the grace speedily to cast away and to despise all wicked imaginations. come to my aid, o eternal _truth_, that no vanity may move me. come, heavenly sweetness, and let all impurity fly before thy face. pardon me also, and mercifully forgive me the times that i have thought of any thing else in prayer besides thee. for i confess truly, that i am accustomed to be very much distracted: { } for oftentimes i am not there, where i am bodily standing or sitting, but am rather there where my thoughts carry me. there i am, where my thought is: and there oftentimes is my thought, where that is which i love. that thing most readily comes to my mind, which naturally delights me, or which through custom is pleasing to me. . for this reason thou, who art the _truth_, hast plainly said, _where thy treasure is, there also is thy heart_. matthew vi. if i love heaven, i willingly think of heavenly things. if i love the world, i rejoice in the prosperity of the world, and am troubled at its adversity. if i love the flesh, my imagination is often taken up with the things of the flesh. if i love the spirit, i delight to think of spiritual things. for whatsoever things i love, of the same i willingly speak and hear, and carry home with me the images of them. { } but blessed is the man, who for thee, o lord, lets go all things created: who offers violence to his nature; and through fervour of spirit crucifies the lusts of the flesh: that so his conscience being cleared up, he may offer to thee _pure_ prayer, and may be worthy to be admitted, among the choirs of angels, having shut out all things of the earth both from without and within. chap. xlix.--_of the desire of eternal life: and how great things are promised to them that fight_. . son, when thou perceivest a longing after eternal bliss to be infused into thee from above, and that thou desirest to go out of the dwelling of this body, that thou mayest contemplate my brightness, without any shadow of change; dilate thy heart, and with all thy affection embrace this holy inspiration. { } return very great thanks to the divine bounty, which deals so favourably with thee, which mercifully delivers thee, ardently excites thee, and powerfully raises thee up, lest by thy own weight thou fall down to the things of the earth. for it is not by thy own thought or endeavours that thou attainest to this; but only by the favour of heavenly grace and the divine visit: that so thou mayest advance in virtues, and greater humility, and prepare thyself for future conflicts, and labour with the whole affection of thy heart to stick close to me, and serve me with a fervent will. . son, the fire often burns, but the flame ascends not without smoke: so also some people's desires are on fire after heavenly things, and yet they are not free from temptation of fleshly affection: and therefore it is not altogether purely for god's honour that they do what they so earnestly request of him. { } such also is oftentimes thy desire, which thou hast signified to be so strong. for that is not pure and perfect, which is infected with self-interest. . ask not what is delightful and commodious for thee, but what is pleasing and honourable to me: for if thou judgest rightly, thou oughtest to follow my appointment rather than thy own desire, and to prefer it before all that thou desirest. i know thy desire, and i have often heard thy sighs. thou wouldst be glad to be at present in the liberty of the glory of the children of god: thou wouldst be pleased to be now at thy eternal home, and in thy heavenly country abounding with joy: but that hour is not yet come; for there is yet another time, _viz_. a time of war, a time of labour and trial. thou wishest to be replenished with the sovereign good, but thou canst not at present attain to it. i am [that sovereign good] wait for me, saith the lord, till the kingdom of god comes. { } . thou must yet be tried upon earth, and exercised in many things. consolation shall sometimes be given thee; but to be fully satisfied shall not be granted thee. take courage therefore, and be valiant as well in doing as in suffering things repugnant to nature. thou must put on the new man, and be changed into another man. thou must oftentimes do that which is against thy inclination, and let alone that which thou art inclined to: that which is pleasing to others shall go forward, that which thou wouldst have shall not succeed: that which others say, shall be hearkened to; what thou sayest shall not be regarded: others shall ask, and shall receive; thou shalt ask, and not obtain. . others shall be great in the esteem of men; but of thee no notice shall be taken. to others this or that shall be committed; but thou shalt be accounted fit for nothing. at this nature will sometimes repine, and it will be no small matter if thou bear it with silence. { } in these and many such like things, the faithful servant of the lord is used to be tried, how far he can renounce himself, and break himself in all things. there is scarce any one thing in which thou standest so much in need of mortifying thyself, as in seeing and suffering the things that are repugnant to thy will; and especially when that is commanded which seems to thee incongruous and to little purpose. and because being under authority thou darest not resist the higher power, therefore thou art apt to think it hard to walk at the beck of another, and wholly to give up thy own sentiment. . but consider, son, the fruit of these labours, how quickly they will end, and their exceeding great reward; and thou wilt not be troubled at them, but strongly comforted in thy sufferings. { } for in regard of the little of thy will, which thou now willingly forsakest, thou shalt for ever have thy will in heaven. for there thou shalt find all that thou willest, all that thou canst desire. there thou shalt enjoy all good without fear of ever losing it. there thy will being always one with mine, shall desire nothing foreign or private. there no one shall resist thee, no man shall complain of thee, no man shall hinder thee, nothing shall stand in thy way: but all that thou desirest shall be there together present, and shall replenish thy whole affection, and shall satiate it to the full. there i will give thee glory for the affronts which thou hast suffered; a garment of praise for thy sorrow; and for thy having been seated here in the lowest place, a royal throne for all eternity. there will the fruit of obedience appear, there will the labour of penance rejoice, and humble subjection shall be gloriously crowned. { } . bow down thyself then humbly at present under the hands of all; and heed not who it was that has said or commanded this; but let it be thy great care, that whether thy superior or inferior, or equal, desire any thing of thee, or hint at any thing, thou take all in good part, and labour with a sincere will to perform it. let one man seek this, another that; let this man glory in this thing, another in that, and be praised a thousand thousand times: but thou, for thy part, rejoice neither in this nor in that, but in the contempt of thyself, and in my good pleasure and honour alone. this is what thou oughtest to wish, that whether in life, or in death, god may be always glorified in thee. chap. l.--_how a desolate person ought to offer himself into the hands of god_. . o lord god, o holy father, be thou now and for ever blessed, for as thou wilt, so it has happened; and what thou dost is always good. { } let thy servant rejoice in thee, not in himself, nor in any other; for thou alone art true joy, thou my hope, and my crown; thou my gladness, and my honour, o lord. what hath thy servant but what he hath received from thee, and this without any merit on his side? all things are thine which thou hast given, and which thou hast made. _i am poor, and in my labours from my youth;_ and my soul is grieved even unto tears sometimes; and sometimes is disturbed within herself by reason of the passions which encompass her. . i long for the joy of peace, i beg for the peace of thy children, who are fed by thee in the light of thy consolation. if thou givest peace, if thou infusest holy joy, the soul of thy servant shall be full of melody, and devout in thy praise. { } but if thou withdraw thyself, as thou art very often accustomed to do, he will not be able to run in the way of thy commandments; but rather must bow down his knees, and knock his breast, because it is not with him, as it was yesterday and the day before, when thy lamp shined over his head, and he was covered under the shadow of thy wings from temptation rushing in upon him. . o just father, holy, and always to be praised, the hour is come for thy servant to be tried. o father, worthy of all love, it is fitting that thy servant should at this hour suffer something for thee. o father, always to be honoured, the hour is come, when thou didst foresee from all eternity, that thy servant for the short time should be oppressed _without_, but always live _within_ to thee; that he should be a little slighted, and humbled, and should fall in the sight of men; that he should be severely afflicted with sufferings and diseases; that so he may rise again with thee in the dawning of a new light, and be glorified in heaven. { } o holy father, thou hast so appointed, and such is thy will; and that has come to pass which thou hast ordered. . for this is a favour to thy friend, that he should suffer and be afflicted in this world for the love of thee; how often soever, and by whomsoever thou permittest it to fall upon him. without thy counsel and providence, and without cause nothing is done upon earth. _it is good for me, o lord, that thou hast humbled me, that i may learn thy justifications_, (psalms cxviii.) and cast away from me all pride of heart and presumption. [usccb: psalms cxix. . "it was good for me to be afflicted, in order to learn your laws."] it is advantageous for me that shame has covered my face, that i may rather seek my comfort from thee, than from men. i have also learned hereby to fear thy impenetrable judgment, who afflicting the just together with the wicked, but not without equity and justice. { } . thanks be to thee, that thou hast not spared me in my evils, but hast bruised me with bitter stripes, inflicting pains, and sending distress both within and without. and of all things under heaven, there is none can comfort me but thou, o lord my god, the heavenly physician of souls, _who woundest and healest, bringest down to hell, and leadest back again_. thy discipline is on me, and thy rod shall instruct me. . behold, dear father, i am in thy hands, i bow myself down under the rod of thy correction. strike thou my back and my neck, that i may bend my crookedness to thy will: make me a pious and humble disciple of thine, as thou art wont well to do, that i may walk at thy beck at all times. to thee i commit myself and all that is mine, to be corrected by thee: it is better to be chastised here than hereafter. thou knowest all and every thing, and there is nothing in man's conscience hidden from thee. { } thou knowest things to come, before they are done; and thou hast no need to be taught or admonished by any one of these things that pass upon earth. thou knowest what is expedient for my progress, and how serviceable tribulation is to rub away the rust of sin. do with me according to thy good pleasure, it is what i desire, and despise not my sinful life, to no one better or more clearly known than to thyself alone. . grant, o lord, that i may know what i ought to know; that i may love what i ought to love; that i may praise that which is most pleasing to thee; that i may esteem that which is valuable in thy sight; that i may despise that which is despicable in thy eyes. suffer me not to judge according to the sight of the outward eye, nor to give sentence according to the hearing of the ears of men that know not what they are about: but to determine both of visible and spiritual matters with _true_ judgment, and above all things ever to seek thy good-will and pleasure. { } . the sentiments of men are often wrong in their judgments; and the lovers of this world are deceived in loving visible things alone; what is a man the better for being reputed greater by man? one deceitful man deceives another; the vain deceives the vain, the blind deceives the blind, the weak the weak, whilst he extols him; and in truth doth rather confound him whilst he vainly praiseth him: for how much each one is in thy eyes, so much is he, and no more, saith the humble st. francis. chap. li.--_that we must practise ourselves in humble works, when we cannot attain to high things_. . son, thou must not always continue in the most fervent desire of virtues, nor stand in the highest degree of contemplation; but it must needs be that thou sometimes descend to lower things, by reason of original corruption; and that thou bear the burden of this corruptible life, even against thy will, and with irksomeness. { } as long as thou carriest about with thee thy mortal body, thou shalt feel trouble and heaviness of heart. thou oughtest therefore, as long as thou art in the flesh, oftentimes to bewail the burden of the flesh; for that thou canst not without intermission be employed in spiritual exercises and divine contemplation. . at these times it is expedient for thee to fly to humble and exterior works, and to recreate thyself in good actions; to look for my coming and heavenly visitation with an assured hope; to bear with patience thy banishment, and the aridity of thy mind, till thou be visited again by me, and delivered from all anguish. for i will make thee forget thy pains, and enjoy eternal rest. i will lay open before thee the pleasant fields of the scriptures, that thy heart being dilated, thou mayest begin to run the way of my commandments. { } and that thou shalt say, _the sufferings of this time have no proportion with the future glory, which shall be revealed in us_. romans viii. chap. lii.--_that a man ought not to esteem himself worthy of consolation; but rather guilty of stripes._ . lord, i am not worthy of thy consolation, or any spiritual visitation; and therefore thou dealest justly with me, when thou leavest me poor and desolate. for if i could shed tears like a sea, yet should i not be worthy of thy comfort; since i have deserved nothing but stripes and punishments, because i have grievously and often offended thee, and in very many things sinned against thee. therefore according to all just reason i have not deserved the least of thy comforts. { } but thou, who art a good and merciful god, who wilt not have thy works perish, to shew the riches of thy goodness towards the vessels of mercy, vouchsafest beyond all his deserts to comfort thy servant above human measure; for thy consolations are not like the consolations of men. . what have i done, o lord, that thou shouldst impart any heavenly comfort to me? i can remember nothing of good that ever i have done; but that i was always prone to vice, and sluggish to amendment. it is the truth, and i cannot deny it. if i should say otherwise, thou wouldst stand against me, and there would be none to defend me. what have i deserved for my sins but hell and everlasting fire? in truth, i confess i am worthy of all scorn and contempt; neither is it fitting that i should be named among thy devout servants. and though it goes against me to hear this, yet for truth's sake i will condemn my sins against myself, that so i may the easier obtain thy mercy. { } . what shall i say, who am guilty, and full of all confusion? i have not the face to say any thing but this one word, i have sinned, o lord, i have sinned; have mercy on me, and pardon me. _suffer me a little, that i may mourn out my grief, before i go to the darksome land that is covered with the dismal shade of death_. job x. what dost thou chiefly require of a guilty and wretched sinner, but that he should heartily repent, and humble himself for his sins. in true contrition and humility of heart is brought forth hope of forgiveness; a troubled conscience is reconciled; grace that was lost is recovered; a man is secured from the wrath to come, and god meets the penitent soul in the holy kiss of peace. . humble contrition for sins is an acceptable sacrifice to thee, o lord; of far sweeter odour in thy sight than the burning of frankincense. { } this is also that pleasing ointment which thou wouldst have to be poured upon thy sacred feet: _for thou never yet hast despised a contrite and humble heart_. psalms l. [usccb: psalms li. . "...god, do not spurn a broken, humbled heart." ] here is a sure place of refuge from the face of the wrath of the enemy: here whatever has been elsewhere contracted of uncleanness is amended and washed away. chap. liii.--_that the grace of god is not communicated to the earthly minded_. . son, my grace is precious; it suffers not itself to be mingled with external things, or earthly consolations. thou must therefore cast away all impediments of grace, if thou desire to have it infused into thee. choose a secret place to thyself; love to dwell with thyself alone; seek not to be talking with any one; but rather pour forth devout prayers to god, that thou mayest keep thy mind in compunction, and thy conscience clean. { } esteem the whole world as nothing: prefer the attendance on god before all external things: for thou canst not both attend to me, and at the same time delight thyself in transitory things. thou must be sequestered from thy acquaintance, and from those that are dear to thee, and keep thy mind disengaged from all temporal comfort. so the blessed apostle peter beseeches the faithful of christ to keep themselves _as strangers and pilgrims in this world_. peter ii. . oh! how great confidence shall he have at the hour of his death, who is not detained by an affection to any thing in the world? but an infirm soul is not yet capable of having a heart thus perfectly disengaged from all things; neither doth the sensual man understand the liberty of an internal man. but if he will be _spiritual_ indeed, he must renounce as well those that are near him, as those that are afar off; and beware of none more than of himself. { } if thou perfectly overcome thyself, thou shalt with more ease subdue all things else. the perfect victory is to triumph over one's self. for he that keeps himself in subjection, so that his sensuality is ever subject to reason, and reason in all things obedient to me, he is indeed a conqueror of himself, and lord of all the world. . if thou desire to mount thus high, thou must begin manfully, and set the axe to the root, that thou mayest root out and destroy thy secret inordinate inclination to thyself, and to all selfish and earthly goods. this vice, by which a man inordinately loves himself, is at the bottom of all that which is to be rooted out and overcome in us; which evil being once conquered and brought under, a great peace and tranquillity will presently ensue. but because there are few that labour to die perfectly to themselves, and that fully tend beyond themselves; therefore do they remain entangled in themselves, nor can they be elevated in spirit above themselves. { } but he that desires to walk freely with me, must mortify all his wicked and irregular affections, and must not cleave to any thing created with any concupiscence or private love. chap. liv.--_of the different motions of nature and grace_. . son, observe diligently the motions of _nature_ and _grace_; for they move very opposite ways, and very subtilly; and can hardly be distinguished but by a spiritual man, and one that is internally illuminated. all men indeed aim at _good_, and pretend to something of good in what they do and say; therefore, under the appearance of good many are deceived. . _nature_ is crafty, and draws away many, ensnares them and deceives them, and always intends herself for her end: { } but _grace_ walks with simplicity, declines from all shew of evil, offers no deceits, and does all things purely for god, in whom also she rests, as in her last end. . _nature_ is not willing to be mortified, or to be restrained, or to be overcome, or to be subject; neither will she of her own accord be brought under: but _grace_ studies the mortification of her own self, resists sensuality, seeks to be subject, covets to be overcome, aims not at following her own liberty, loves to be kept under discipline, and desires not to have the command over any one; but under god ever to live, stand, and be; and for god's sake is ever ready humbly to bow down herself under all human creatures. . _nature_ labours for her own interest, and considers what gain she may reap from another: but _grace_ considers not what may be advantageous and profitable to herself; but rather what may be profitable to many. . _nature_ willingly receives honour and respect: { } but _grace_ faithfully attributes all honour and glory to god. . _nature_ is afraid of being put to shame and despised: but _grace_ is glad to suffer reproach for the name of jesus. . _nature_ loves idleness and bodily rest: but _grace_ cannot be idle, and willingly embraces labour. . _nature_ seeks to have things that are curious and fine, and does not care for things that are cheap and coarse: but _grace_ is pleased with that which is plain and humble, rejects not coarse things, nor refuses to be clad in old clothes. . _nature_ has regard to temporal things, rejoices at earthly gain, is troubled at losses, and is provoked at every slight injurious word: but _grace_ attends to things eternal, and cleaves not to those which pass with time; neither is she disturbed at the loss of things, nor exasperated with hard words; for she places her treasure and her joy in heaven, where nothing is lost. { } . _nature_ is covetous, and is more willing to take than to give; and loves to have things to herself: but _grace_ is bountiful and open-hearted, avoids selfishness, is contented with little, and judges it _more happy to give than to receive_. acts xx. . _nature_ inclines to creatures, to her own flesh, to vanities, and to gadding abroad: but _grace_ draws to god, and virtues; renounces creatures, flies the world, hates the desires of the flesh, restrains wandering about, and is ashamed to appear in public. . _nature_ willingly receives exterior comfort: in which she may be sensibly delighted: but _grace_ seeks to be comforted in god alone, and beyond all things visible to be delighted in the sovereign good. . _nature_ doth all for her own lucre and interest; she can do nothing _gratis_, but hopes to gain sometime equal, or better, or praise or favour for her good deeds; and covets to have her actions and gifts much valued: { } but _grace_ seeks nothing temporal; nor requires any other recompence but god alone for her reward; nor desires any more of the necessaries of this life than may be serviceable for the obtaining of a happy eternity. . _nature_ rejoices in a multitude of friends and kindred; she glories in the nobility of her stock and descent; she fawns on them that are in power, flatters the rich, and applauds such as are like herself: but _grace_ loves even her enemies, and is not puffed up with having a great many friends, nor has any value for family or birth, unless when joined with greater virtue; she rather favours the poor than the rich; she has more compassion for the innocent than the powerful; she rejoices with him that loves the truth, and not with the deceitful; she ever exhorts the good to be zealous for better gifts, and to become like to the son of god by the exercise of virtues. { } . _nature_ easily complains of want, and of trouble: but _grace_ bears poverty with constancy. . _nature_ turns all things to herself, and for herself she labours and disputes: but _grace_ refers all things to god, from whom all originally proceed; she attributes no good to herself, nor does she arrogantly presume of herself; she does not contend, nor prefer her own opinion to others; but in every sense and understanding she submits herself to the eternal wisdom, and to the divine examination. . _nature_ covets to know secrets, and to hear news; is willing to appear abroad, and to have the experience of many things by the senses; desires to be taken notice of, and to do such things as may procure praise and admiration: but _grace_ cares not for the hearing of news or curious things, because all this springs from the old corruption, since nothing is new or lasting upon earth: { } she teaches therefore to restrain the senses, to avoid vain complacence and ostentation, humbly to hide those things which are worthy of praise and admiration; and from every thing, and in every knowledge, to seek the fruit of spiritual profit, and the praise and honour of god: she desires not to have herself, or what belongs to her, extolled; but wishes that god may be blessed in his gifts, who bestows all out of mere love. . this _grace_ is a supernatural light, and a certain special gift of god, and the proper mark of the elect, and pledge of eternal salvation, which elevates a man from the things of the earth to the love of heavenly things, and of carnal makes him spiritual: by how much therefore the more _nature_ is kept down and subdued, with so much the greater abundance _grace_ is infused; and the inward man, by new visitations, is daily more reformed according to the image of god. { } chap. lv.--_of the corruption of nature, and of the efficacy of divine grace._ . o lord, my god, who hast created me to thy own image and likeness, grant me this _grace_, which thou hast declared to be so great, and so necessary to salvation; that i may overcome my wicked _nature_, which draws to sin and perdition: for i perceive in my flesh the law of sin contradicting the law of my mind, and leading me captive to obey sensuality in many things; neither can i resist the passions thereof, unless thy most holy _grace_ assist me, infused ardently into my heart. . i stand in need of thy _grace_, and of a great _grace_ to overcome _nature_, which is always prone to evil from her youth; { } for she having fallen in adam, the first man, and having been corrupted by sin, the penalty of this stain has descended upon all mankind: so that _nature_ itself, which by thee was created good and right, is now put for the vice and infirmity of corrupt nature; because the motion thereof, left to itself, draws to evil, and to things below; for the little strength which remains, is but like a spark hidden in the ashes. this is our _natural reason_, which is surrounded with a great mist, having yet the judgment of good and evil, and of the distance of truth and falsehood; though it be unable to fulfil all that it approves; neither does it now enjoy the full light of truth, nor the former integrity of its affections. . hence it is, o my god, that according to the inward man i am delighted with thy law, knowing thy command to be good, just, and holy, and reproving all evil and sin, as what ought to be shunned: { } and yet in the flesh i serve the law of sin, whilst i rather obey sensuality than reason. hence it is, that _to will good is present with me, but how to accomplish it i do not find_. romans vii. hence i often make many good purposes; but because i want grace to help my weakness, through a slight resistance, i recoil and fall off. hence it comes to pass, that i know the way to perfection, and see clearly enough what it is i ought to do; but being pressed down with the weight of my own corruption, i rise not to those things which are more perfect. . o how exceedingly necessary is thy _grace_ for me, o lord, to begin that which is good, to go forward with it, and to accomplish it? for without it i can do nothing: but i can do all things in thee, when thy grace strengthens me. o truly heavenly grace, without which we have no merits of our own, neither are any of the gifts of nature to be valued! { } no arts, no riches, no beauty or strength, no wit or eloquence, are of any worth with thee, o lord, without grace; for the gifts of nature are common to the good and bad: but grace or divine love is the proper gift of the elect, which they that are adorned with are esteemed worthy of eternal life. this grace is so excellent, that neither the gift of prophecy, nor the working of miracles, nor any speculation, how sublime soever, is of any value without it. nor even faith, nor hope, nor any other virtues, are acceptable to thee, without charity and grace. . o most blessed grace, which makest the poor in spirit rich in virtues, and renderest him that is rich in many good things humble of heart; come, descend upon me, replenish me betimes with consolation, lest my soul faint through weariness and dryness of mind. i beg of thee, o lord, that i may find _grace_ in thy sight; for thy _grace_ is enough for me, though i obtain none of those things which nature desires. { } if i be tempted and afflicted with many tribulations, i will fear no evil, whilst thy _grace_ is with me; she is my strength; she gives counsel and help; she is more mighty than all my enemies, and wiser than all the wise. . she is the mistress of truth, the teacher of discipline, the light of the heart, the comfort in affliction, the banisher of sorrow, the expeller of fear, the nurse of devotion, the producer of tears. what am i without her but a piece of dry wood, and an unprofitable stock, fit for nothing but to be cast away! let thy grace therefore, o lord, always both go before me and follow me, and make me ever intent upon good works, through jesus christ, thy son. _amen_. { } chap. lvi.--_that we ought to deny ourselves, and to imitate christ by the cross_. . son, as much as thou canst go out of thyself, so much wilt thou be able to enter into me. as the desiring of nothing abroad brings peace at home, so the relinquishing ourselves interiorly joins us to god. i will have thee learn the perfect renouncing of thyself in my will, without contradiction or complaint. follow me, _i am the way, the truth and the life_. john xiv. without the _way_ there is no going; without the _truth_ there is no knowing; without the _life_ there is no living. i am _the way_ which thou must follow; _the truth_, which thou must believe; _the life_, which thou must hope for. i am _the way_ inviolable, _the truth_ infallible, and _the life_ that has no end. { } i am the straitest _way_, the sovereign _truth_, the true _life_, a blessed _life_, an uncreated _life_. if thou abide in my _way_, thou shalt know the _truth_, and the _truth_ shall deliver thee, and thou shalt attain to _life_ everlasting. . _if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments_. luke ix. [usccb: matthew xix. . "if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."] if thou wilt know the _truth_, believe me: _if thou wilt be perfect, sell all:_ it thou wilt be my disciple, deny thyself: if thou wilt possess a blessed life, despise this present life: if thou wilt be exalted in heaven, humble thyself in this world: if thou wilt reign with me, bear the cross with me: for none but the servants of the cross find the way of bliss and of true light. . lord jesus, forasmuch as thy way is narrow, and despised by the world; grant that i may follow thee, and be despised by the world: { } for the servant is not greater than his lord, neither is the disciple above his master. _matthew_ vi. [usccb: matthew x. . "no disciple is above his teacher, no slave above his master." ] let thy servant meditate on thy life, for there is my salvation and true holiness: whatever i read, or hear besides, does not recreate nor fully delight me. . son, thou knowest these things, and hast read them all, happy shalt thou be if thou fulfil them. _he that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and i will love him, and i will manifest myself unto him,_ (john xiv.); _and i will make him to sit with me in the kingdom of my father_. apoc. iii. . lord jesus, as thou hast said and hast promised, so may it be indeed; and may it be my lot to merit it: i have received the cross, i have received it from thy hand; and i will bear it, and bear it till death, as thou hast laid it upon me. indeed the life of a good religious man is a cross, but it is a cross that conducts him to paradise: { } we have now begun, it is not lawful to go back, nor may we leave off. . take courage, my brethren, let us go forward together, jesus will be with us: for jesus's sake we took up this cross; for jesus's sake let us persevere in it. he will be our helper, who is our captain and our leader. behold our king marches before us, who will fight for us. let us follow him like men of courage; let no one shrink through fear; let us be ready valiantly to die in battle, and not to suffer our glory to be blemished by flying from the standard of the cross. chap. lvii.--_that a man should not be too much dejected when he falls into some defects_. . son, patience and humility in adversity are more pleasing to me, than much consolation and devotion in prosperity. { } why art thou disturbed at a little thing said against thee? if it had been more, thou oughtest not to be moved. but now let it pass, it is not the first, or any thing new, nor will it be the last, if thou live long. thou art valiant enough, as long as no adversary or opposition comes in thy way: thou canst also give good advice, and encourage others with thy words: but when any unexpected trouble comes to knock at thy door, then thy counsel and thy courage fails thee. consider thy great frailty, which thou often experiencest in small difficulties. yet it is done for thy good, as often as these or such like things befal thee. . put it out of thy heart the best thou canst; and if it had touched thee, yet let it not cast thee down, nor keep thee a long time entangled. at least bear it patiently, if thou canst not receive it with joy. { } and though thou be not willing to hear it, and perceivest an indignation arising within thyself, yet repress thyself, and suffer no inordinate word to come out of thy mouth which may scandalize the weak. the commotion which is stirred up in thee will quickly be allayed, and thy inward pain will be sweetened by the return of grace. i am still living, saith the lord, ready to help thee, and comfort thee more than before, if thou put thy trust in me, and devoutly call upon me. . keep thy mind calm and even, and prepare thyself for bearing still more. all is not lost, if thou feel thyself often afflicted or grievously tempted: thou art man and not god, thou art flesh and not an angel. how canst thou look to continue ever in the same state of virtue, when this was not found in the angels in heaven, nor in the first man in paradise? i am he that raises up, and saves them that mourn; and them that know their own infirmity i advance to my divinity. { } . o lord, blessed be this thy word, it is more sweet to my mouth than honey, and the honey-comb. what shall i do in my so great tribulations and anguishes, didst thou not encourage me with thy holy words? what matter is it how much or what i suffer, so i come but at length to the haven of salvation. grant me a good end, grant me a happy passage out of this world: be ever mindful of me, o my god, and direct me by this strait road to thy kingdom. _amen_. chap. lviii.--_of not searching into high matters, nor into the secret judgments of god_. . son, see thou dispute not of high matters, nor of the hidden judgments of god; why this man is left thus, and this other is raised to so great grace; or why this person is so much afflicted, and that other so highly exalted. { } these things are above the reach of man, neither can any reason or discourse be able to penetrate into the judgments of god. when therefore the enemy suggests to thee such things as these, or thou hearest curious men inquiring into them, answer that of the prophet, _thou art just, o lord, and thy judgment is right_. psalms cxviii. [usccb: psalms cxix. . "you are righteous, lord, and just are your edicts."] and again: _the judgments of the lord are true, justified in themselves._ psalms xviii. [usccb: psalms xix. , . "the law of the lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. the decree of the lord is trustworthy, giving wisdom to the simple. the precepts of the lord are right, rejoicing the heart. the command of the lord is clear, enlightening the eye."] my judgments are to be feared, not to be searched into, for they are incomprehensible to human understanding. . in like manner do not inquire nor dispute of the merits of the saints, which of them is more holy than the other, or which greater in the kingdom of heaven. these things oftentimes breed strife and unprofitable contentions, and nourish pride and vain-glory; from whence arise envy and dissensions, whilst this man proudly seeks to prefer this saint, and another man is for preferring another. { } now to desire to know and to search into such things as these, is of no profit, but rather displeaseth the saints; for _i am not the god of dissensions, but of peace_ ( corinthians xiv.), which peace consists more in true humility than in exalting one's self. . some are carried by a zeal of love towards these, or those, with greater affection; but this affection is rather human than divine. i am he who made all the saints; i gave them grace, i have brought them to glory. i know the merits of every one of them, i prevented them by the blessings of my sweetness. i foreknew my beloved ones before the creation: i chose them out of the world, they were not before-hand with me to chuse me; i called them by my grace, and drew them to me by my mercy. i led them safe through many temptations, i imparted to them extraordinary comforts, i gave them perseverance, i have crowned their patience. { } . i know the first and the last, i embrace them all with an inestimable love. i am to be praised in all my saints, i am to be blessed above all things, and to be honoured in every one of them whom i have thus gloriously magnified, and eternally chosen without any foregoing merits of their own. he therefore that despises one of the least of my saints, honours not the greatest, for both little and great i have made: and he that derogates from any one of the saints, derogates also from me, and from all the rest of them in the kingdom of heaven. they are all one through the band of love; they have the same sentiment, the same will, and all mutually love one another. . and yet (which is much higher) they all love me more than themselves and their own merit. for being elevated above themselves, and drawn out of the love of themselves, they are wholly absorpt in the love of me, in whom also they rest by an eternal enjoyment. { } nor is there any thing which can divert them from me, or depress them; for being full of the eternal truth, they burn with the fire of a charity that cannot be extinguished. therefore let carnal and sensual men (who know not how to affect any thing but their private satisfactions) forbear to dispute of the state of the saints: they add and take away according to their own inclination, and not according to what is pleasing to the everlasting truth. . in many there is ignorance, especially in such as being but little enlightened seldom know how to love any one with a perfect spiritual love. they are as yet much inclined to such or such by a natural affection and human friendship; and as they are affected with regard to things below, they conceive the like imaginations of the things of heaven. { } but there is an incomparable distance between what the imperfect imagine, and what enlightened men contemplate by revelation from above. . take heed, therefore, my son, that thou treat not curiously of those things which exceed thy knowledge, but rather make it thy business and thy aim, that thou mayest be found, though it were the least, in the kingdom of god. and if any one should know who were more holy or greater in the kingdom of heaven, what would the knowledge profit him, unless he would take occasion from knowing this to humble himself in my sight, and to praise my name with greater fervour? it is much more acceptable to god for a man to think of the greatness of his own sins, and how little he is in virtues, and at how great a distance he is from the perfection of the saints, than to dispute which of them is greater or less. it is better to invocate the saints with devout prayers and tears, and to implore their glorious suffrages with an humble mind, than by a vain inquiry to search into their secrets. { } . they are well and perfectly contented, if men would be but contented, and refrain from their vain discourses. they glory not of their own merits, for they ascribe nothing of goodness to themselves, but all to me; because i bestowed all upon them out of my infinite charity. they are filled with so great a love of the deity, and such overflowing joy, that there is nothing wanting to their glory, nor can any happiness be wanting to them. all the saints by how much they are the higher in glory, by so much are they the more humble in themselves, and nearer to me, and better beloved by me. and therefore thou hast it written, that _they cast down their crowns before god, and fell upon their faces before the lamb, and adored him that lives for ever and ever._ apoc. iv. . many examine who is greatest in the kingdom of god, who know not whether they shall be worthy to be numbered amongst the least. { } it is a great matter to be even the least in heaven, where all are great; because all shall be called the children of god: the least shall be as a thousand, and a sinner of an hundred years shall die. for when the disciples asked, _who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?_ (matthew xviii.) they received this answer: _unless you be converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little one, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven._ . woe to them who disdain to humble themselves willingly with little children; for the low gate of the heavenly kingdom will not suffer them to enter thither. woe also to the rich who have their comforts here, for when the poor shall go into the kingdom of god, they stand lamenting without. { } rejoice you humble, and be glad you that are poor, for yours is the kingdom of god; yet so, if you walk in the truth. chap. lix.--_that all hope and confidence is to be fixed in god alone_. . lord, what is my confidence which i have in this life? or what is my greatest comfort amongst all things that appear under heaven? is it not thou, my lord god, whose mercies are without number? where was it ever well with me without thee? or when could it be ill with me when thou wast present? i had rather be poor for thee, than rich without thee. i chuse rather to sojourn on earth with thee, than to possess heaven without thee. where thou art, there is heaven: and there is death and hell, where thou art not. after thee i have a longing desire, and therefore i must needs sigh after thee, and cry and pray. { } in fine, i cannot fully trust in any one to bring me seasonable help in my necessities, save only in thee, my god. thou art my hope, thou art my confidence, thou art my comforter, and most faithful above all. . all seek their own interest; thou aimest only at my salvation and profit, and turnest all things to my good. and although thou expose me to various temptations and adversities, yet all this thou ordainest for my good, who art wont to prove thy beloved servants a thousand ways: under which proofs, thou oughtest no less to be loved and praised, than if thou wert to fill me with heavenly comforts. . in thee, therefore, o lord god, i put all my hope and refuge; in thee i place all my tribulation and anguish; for i find all to be infirm and unstable whatever i behold out of thee. for neither will a multitude of friends be of any service to me, nor can strong auxiliaries bring me any succours, nor wise counsellors give me a profitable answer, nor the books of the learned comfort me, nor any wealth deliver me, nor any secret and pleasant place secure me, if thou thyself do not assist; help, strengthen, comfort, instruct and defend me. { } . for all things which seem to be for our peace and for our happiness, when thou art absent, are nothing, and in truth contribute nothing to our felicity. thou therefore art the fountain of all good, and the height of life, and the depth of wisdom; and to trust in thee above all things is the strongest comfort of thy servants. to thee i lift up mine eyes; in thee, o my god; the father of mercies, i put my trust: bless and sanctify my soul with thy heavenly blessing, that it may be made thy holy habitation, and the seat of thy eternal glory; and let nothing be found in the temple of thy dignity that may offend the eyes of thy majesty. according to the greatness of thy goodness, and the multitude of thy tender mercies, look down upon me, and give ear to the prayer of thy poor servant, who is in banishment afar off from thee in the region of the shade of death. { } protect and defend the soul of thy servant amidst so many of this corruptible life; and direct him in the company of thy grace, through the way of peace to the country of everlasting light. _amen_. end of book iii. { } the _following of christ._ book iv. of the sacrament. the voice of christ. _come to me all you that labour, and are heavy burthened, and i will refresh you,_ saith the lord. matthew xi. _the bread which i will give, is my flesh, for the life of the world._ john vi. _take and eat, this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: do this in remembrance of me._ corinthians xi. _he that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, abideth in me, and i in him._ john vi. _the words which i have spoken to you are spirit and life._ john vi. { } chap. i.--_with how great reverence christ is to be received_. the voice of the disciple. . these are thy words, o christ, the eternal truth, though not all delivered at one time, nor written in one place. since therefore they are thy words, and they are true, they are all to be received by me with thanks, and with faith. they are thine, and thou hast spoken them; and they are also mine, because thou hast delivered them for my salvation. i willingly receive them from thy mouth, that they may be more inseparably ingrafted in my heart. these words of so great tenderness, full of sweetness and love, encourage me; but my own sins terrify me, and my unclean conscience keeps me back from approaching to so great mysteries. { } the sweetness of thy words invites me, but the multitude of my offence weighs me down. . thou commandest me to approach to thee with confidence, if i would have part with thee, and to receive the food of immortality, if i desire to obtain life, and glory everlasting. _come_, sayest thou, _to me all you that labour, and are heavy burthened, and i will refresh you_. matthew xi. o sweet and amiable word in the ear of a sinner, that thou, o lord my god, shouldst invite the poor and needy to the communion of thy most sacred body! but who am i, o lord, that i should presume to come to thee? behold, the heavens of heavens cannot contain thee; and thou sayest, _come you all unto me_. . what means this most loving condescension, and so friendly an invitation? how shall i dare to approach, who am conscious to myself of no good, on which i can presume? { } how shall i introduce thee into my house, who have oftentimes offended thy most gracious countenance? the angels and archangels stand with a reverential awe, the saints and the just are afraid; and thou sayest, _come you all unto me_. unless thou, o lord, didst say it, who could believe it to be true? and unless thou didst command it, who would dare attempt to approach? . behold noah, a just man, laboured a hundred years in building of the ark, that he with a few might be preserved; and how shall i be able in the space of one hour to prepare myself to receive with reverence the maker of the world? moses, thy servant, thy great and special friend, made an ark of incorruptible wood, which he also covered with most pure gold, that he might reposite therein the tables of the law; and shall i, a rotten creature, presume so easily to receive thee the maker of the law, and giver of life? { } solomon, the wisest of the kings of israel, employed seven years in building a magnificent temple for the praise of thy name; and for eight days together he celebrated the feast of the dedication thereof: he offered a thousand pacific victims, and brought in the ark of the covenant in a solemn manner, into the place prepared for it, with the sound of trumpet and jubilee: and i, a wretch, and the vilest of men, how shall i bring thee into my house, who can hardly spend one half hour devoutly? and would to god i had ever once spent one half hour as i ought! . o, my god, how much did they endeavour to do to please thee? alas! how little it is that i do! how short a time do i spend when i prepare myself to communicate? seldom am i wholly recollected, very seldom free from all distraction; and yet surely, in the life-giving presence of thy deity, no unbecoming thought should occur, nor any thing created take up my mind; for it is not an angel, but the lord of angels, that i am to entertain. { } . and yet there is a very great difference between the ark of the covenant with its relics, and thy most pure body with its unspeakable virtues; between those sacrifices of the law, which were figures of things to come, and the true sacrifice of thy body, which is the accomplishing of all those ancient sacrifices. . why then am i not more inflamed, considering thy venerable presence? why do i not prepare myself with greater care to receive thy sacred gifts, seeing that these ancient holy patriarchs and prophets, yea kings also and princes, with the whole people, have shewn so great affection of devotion towards the divine worship? { } . the most devout king david danced before the ark of god with all his force, commemorating the benefits bestowed in times past on the fathers. he made musical instruments of sundry kinds; he published psalms, and appointed them to be sung with joy; he himself likewise often sung them playing upon his harp, inspired with the grace of the holy ghost: he taught the people of israel to praise god with their whole heart, and to join their voices in blessing and magnifying him every day. if so great devotion was then used, and such remembrance of the praise of god before the ark of the covenant; how great ought to be the reverence and devotion which i, and all christian people, should have in the presence of this sacrament, in the receiving the most excellent body of christ? . many run to sundry places to visit the relics of the saints, and are astonished to hear their wonderful works; they behold the noble buildings of their churches, and kiss their sacred bones wrapt up in silk and gold; and, behold, i have thee here present on the altar, my god, the saint of saints, the creator of men, and the lord of angels. { } oftentimes in seeing those things men are moved with curiosity, and the novelty of the sight, and but little fruit of amendment is reaped thereby; especially when persons lightly run hither and thither, without true contrition for their sins: but here, in the sacrament of the altar, thou art wholly present, my god and man, christ jesus; where also the fruit of eternal salvation is plentifully reaped, as often as thou art worthily and devoutly received. and to this we are not drawn by any levity, curiosity, or sensuality; but by a firm faith, a devout hope, and sincere charity. . o god, the invisible maker of the world, how wonderfully dost thou deal with us? how sweetly and graciously dost thou order all things in favour of thy elect, to whom thou offerest thyself to be received in the sacrament? for this exceeds all understanding of man; this, in a particular manner, engages the hearts of the devout, and enkindles their love. { } for thy true faithful, who dispose their whole life to amendment, by this most worthy sacrament, frequently receive a great grace of devotion and love of virtue. . oh! the wonderful and hidden grace of this sacrament, which the faithful of christ only know; but unbelievers, and such as are slaves to sin, cannot experience. in this sacrament is conferred spiritual grace, and virtue lost is repaired in the soul; and beauty disfigured by sin returns again. and so great sometimes is this grace, that from the abundance of the devotion that is bestowed, not only the mind but the frail body also feels a great increase of strength. . yet it is much to be lamented and pitied, that we should be so lukewarm and negligent, as not to be drawn with greater affection to the receiving of christ, in whom consists all the hope and merit of those that shall be saved: { } for he is our sanctification, and our redemption; he is our comfort in our pilgrimage, and the saints' eternal enjoyment. it is therefore much to be lamented that many take so little notice of this saving mystery, which rejoices heaven, and conserves the whole world. oh! the blindness and hardness of the heart of man, that doth not more consider so unspeakable a gift, and from the daily use of it falls into a disregard for it. . for if this most holy sacrament were only celebrated in one place, and consecrated by one only priest in the world, with how great desire dost thou think would men be affected to that place, and to such a priest of god, that they might see the divine mysteries celebrated? but now there are made many priests, and christ is offered up in many places, that the grace and love of god to man may appear by so much the greater, by how much this sacred communion is more spread throughout the world. { } thanks be to thee, o good jesus, our eternal shepherd, who hast vouchsafed to feed us poor exiles with thy precious body and blood, and to invite us to the receiving of these mysteries with the words of thy own mouth, saying; _come to me all you that labour, and are burthened, and i will refresh you._ matthew xi. chap. ii.--_that the great goodness and charity of god is shewed to man in this sacrament._ the voice of the disciple. . o lord, trusting in thy goodness and in thy great mercy, i come sick to my saviour, hungry and thirsty to the fountain of life, needy to the king of heaven, a servant to his lord, a creature to his creator, and one in desolation to his loving comforter. but whence is this to me, that thou shouldst come to me? who am i, that thou shouldst give me thyself? how dare such a sinner appear before thee? and how dost thou vouchsafe to come to a sinner? thou knowest thy servant, and thou knowest that he has nothing of good in him which can entitle him to this favour. { } i confess therefore my unworthiness, i acknowledge thy bounty, i praise thy goodness, and i give thee thanks for thy excessive charity: for it is for thy own sake thou doest this, not for my merits, that thy goodness may be better known to me; that greater charity may be imparted, and humility more perfectly recommended. since therefore this is what pleaseth thee, and thou hast commanded it should be so, thy merciful condescension pleaseth me also; and i wish that my iniquity may be no obstacle. . oh! most sweet and most bountiful jesus, how great reverence and thanks, with perpetual praise, are due to thee for the receiving of thy sacred body, whose dignity no man can sufficiently express? but what shall i think of in this communion, when i am approaching to my lord, whom i can never reverence so much as i ought, and yet would gladly receive with devotion? { } what can i think of better or more wholesome to my soul, than to humble myself entirely in thy presence, and extol thy infinite goodness above me? i praise thee, o my god, and i extol thee for ever: i despise myself, and subject myself to thee, casting myself down to the depth of my unworthiness. . behold, thou art the saint of saints, and i am the scum of sinners: behold, thou bowest thyself down to me, who am not worthy to look up to thee. behold, thou comest to me; thou art willing to be with me. thou invitest me to thy banquet, where thou wilt give me thy heavenly food, and the bread of angels to eat; no other, verily, than thyself, the living bread, who didst come down from heaven, and who givest life to the world. . behold, whence love proceeds, what a bounty shines forth! how great thanks and praises are due to thee for these things! { } oh! how wholesome and profitable was thy device in this institution! how sweet and delightful this banquet in which thou givest thyself to be our food! oh! how admirable is thy work, o lord! how powerful thy virtue! how infallible thy truth! for thou hast spoken the word, and all things were made; and that has been done which thou hast commanded. . a wonderful thing it is, and worthy of faith, and exceeding all human understanding; that thou, o lord, my god, true god, and true man, art contained whole and entire, under a small form of bread and wine, and without being consumed art eaten by the receiver. thou, the lord of all things, who standest in need of no one, hast been pleased by this sacrament to dwell in us; preserve my heart and body without stain, that with a joyful and clean conscience i may be able often to celebrate thy sacred mysteries, and to receive for my eternal salvation what thou hast principally ordained and instituted for thy honour and perpetual remembrance. { } . rejoice, o my soul, and give thanks to thy god for so noble a gift, and so singular a comfort, left to thee in this vale of tears. for as often as thou repeatest this mystery, and receivest the body of christ, so often dost thou celebrate the work of thy redemption, and art made partaker of all the merits of christ; for the charity of christ is never diminished, and the greatness of his propitiation is never exhausted. therefore oughtest thou to dispose thyself for this, by perpetually renewing the vigour of thy mind, and to weigh with attentive consideration this great mystery of thy salvation. and as often as thou sayest or hearest mass, it ought to seem to thee as great, new, and delightful, as if christ that same day, first descending into the virgin's womb, had been made man; or hanging on the cross was suffering and dying for the salvation of mankind. { } chap. iii.--_that it is profitable to communicate often._ the voice of the disciple. . behold, i come to thee, o lord, that it may be well with me by thy gift, and that i may be delighted in thy holy banquet, which thou, o god, in thy sweetness, hast prepared for the poor. behold, in thee is all whatsoever i can or ought to desire: thou art my salvation and redemption, my hope and my strength, my honour and my glory. make therefore the soul of thy servant joyful this day, because, o lord jesus, i have lifted up my soul to thee. i desire at this time to receive thee devoutly and reverently; i would gladly bring thee into my house, that, like zaccheus, i may receive thy blessing, and be numbered among the children of abraham. _luke_ xix. my soul longs after thy body; my heart aspires to be united with thee. { } . give thyself to me, and it is enough; for besides thee no comfort is available. without thee i cannot subsist; and without thy visitation i cannot live; and therefore i must come often to thee, and receive for the remedy of my soul's health; lest perhaps i faint in the way, if i be deprived of this heavenly food. for so, o most merciful jesus, thou wert pleased once to say, when thou hadst been preaching to the people, and curing sundry diseases, _i will not send them home fasting, lest they faint by the way_. matthew xv. deal now in like manner with me, who hast left thyself in the sacrament for the comfort of thy faithful. for thou art the most sweet refection of the soul, and he that shall eat thee worthily, shall be partaker and heir of everlasting glory. it is indeed necessary for me (who am so often falling and committing sin, and so quickly grow slack and faint) by frequent prayers and confessions, and by the holy communion of thy body, to repair my strength, to cleanse and inflame myself, lest perhaps by abstaining for a longer time i fall away from my holy purpose. { } . for the senses of man are prone to evil from his youth; and unless thy divine medicine succour him, man quickly falls to worse. the holy communion therefore withdraws him from evil, and strengthens him in good. for if i am so often negligent and lukewarm now, when i communicate or celebrate, what would it be if i did not take this remedy, and should not seek so great a help? and although i am not every day fit, nor well disposed to celebrate, yet i will endeavour at proper times to receive the divine mysteries, and to make myself partaker of so great a grace. for this is the one principal comfort of a faithful soul, as long as she sojourns afar off from thee in this mortal body; being mindful often of her god, to receive her beloved with a devout mind. { } . o wonderful condescension of thy tender love towards us, that thou, o lord god, the creator and enlivener of all spirits, shouldst vouchsafe to come to a poor soul, and with thy whole divinity and humanity satisfy her hunger; o happy mind, and blessed soul, which deserves to receive thee her lord god devoutly; and in receiving thee to be filled with spiritual joy! oh! how great a lord does she entertain! how beloved a guest does she bring into her house! how sweet a companion does she receive! how faithful a friend does she accept of! how beautiful and how noble a spouse does she embrace, who deserves to be beloved above all her beloved, and beyond all that she can desire! let heaven and earth, with all their attire, be silent in thy presence, o my dearest beloved; for whatever praise or beauty they have, is all the gift of thy bounty; nor can they come up to the beauty of thy name, of whose wisdom there is no number. { } chap. iv.--_that many benefits are bestowed on them who communicate devoutly_. the voice of the disciple. . o lord, my god, prevent thy servant in the blessings of thy sweetness, that i may approach worthily and devoutly to thy magnificent sacrament. raise up my heart towards thee, and deliver me from this heavy sluggishness; visit me with thy grace, that i may taste in spirit thy sweetness, which plentifully lies hid in this sacrament as in its fountain; illuminate also my eyes to behold so great a mystery, and strengthen me to believe it with an undoubting faith: for it is thy work, not the power of man; thy sacred institution, not man's invention: { } for no man can be found able of himself to comprehend and understand these things, which surpass eventh subtlety of angels. what shall i therefore, an unworthy sinner, who am but dust and ashes, be able to search into, or conceive of so high and sacred a mystery? . o lord, in the simplicity of my heart, with a good and firm faith, and in obedience to thy command, i come to thee with hope and reverence; and i do verily believe, that thou art here present in the sacrament, god and man. it is then thy will that i should receive thee, and through love unite myself to thee. wherefore i implore thy mercy; and i beg of thee to give me for this a special grace, that i may be wholly melted away in thee, and overflow with thy love, and seek no more any comfort from any thing else: for this most high and most excellent sacrament is the health of soul and body, the remedy of all spiritual diseases, by which my vices are cured, my passions are restrained, temptations are overcome or lessened, a greater grace is infused, virtue receives an increase, _faith_ is confirmed, _hope_ strengthened, _charity_ enflamed and enlarged. { } . for thou hast bestowed, and still oftentimes dost bestow, many good things in this sacrament to thy beloved who communicate devoutly, o my god, the support of my soul, who art the repairer of human infirmity, and the giver of all interior comfort: for thou impartest unto them much consolation, to support them in their many troubles; and thou liftest them up from the depth of their own dejection to the hope of thy protection; and thou dost recreate and enlighten them interiorly with a certain new grace; in such sort, that they who before communion were anxious and felt no affection in them, afterwards being fed with this heavenly meat and drink, find themselves changed for the better. { } and thou art better pleased to deal thus with thy elect, to the end that they may truly acknowledge, and plainly experience, how great is their infirmity, when left to themselves, and how much they receive from thy bounty and grace: for of themselves they are cold, dry, and indevout; but by thee they are made fervent, cheerful, and devout. for who is he that approaching humbly to the fountain of sweetness, does not carry away with him some little sweetness? or who, standing by a great fire, does not receive from it some little heat? now, thou art a fountain always full, and overflowing; thou art a fire always burning, and never decaying. . wherefore, if i cannot draw out of the fulness of the fountain, nor drink my fill, i will at least set my mouth to the orifice of this heavenly pipe; that so i may draw from thence some small drops to refresh my thirst, to the end that i may not be wholly dried up: { } and if i cannot as yet be all heavenly, and all on fire like the cherubim and seraphim, i will, however, endeavour to apply myself to devotion, and to prepare my heart for the acquiring some small flame of divine fire, by the humble receiving of this life-giving sacrament. and whatever is wanting to me, o good jesus, most blessed saviour, do thou in thy bounty and goodness supply for me, who hast vouchsafed to call all unto thee, saying, _come to me all you that labour, and are burthened, and i will refresh you_. matthew xi. . i _labour_ indeed in the sweat of my brow, i am tormented with grief of heart, i am _burthened_ with sins, i am troubled with temptations, and am entangled and oppressed with many evil passions; and there is no one to help me, no one to deliver and save me, but thou, o lord god, my saviour, to whom i commit myself, and all that is mine, that thou mayest keep me and bring me to everlasting life. receive me for the praise and glory of thy name, who hast prepared thy body and blood for my meat and drink. grant, o lord god, my saviour, that with the frequenting this thy mystery the affection of my devotion may increase. { } chap. v.--_of the dignity of the sacrament, and of the priestly state_. the voice of the beloved. . if thou hast the purity of an angel, and the sanctity of st. john the baptist, thou wouldst not be worthy to receive or handle this sacrament: for this is not due to any merits of men, that a man should consecrate and handle the sacrament of christ, and receive for his food the bread of angels. great is this mystery, and great the dignity of priests, to whom that is given which is not granted to angels: for priests alone, rightly ordained in the church, have power to celebrate and consecrate the body of christ. the priest indeed is the minister of god, using the word of god, and by the command and institution of god: but god himself is there the principal author and invisible worker, to whom is subject all that he wills, and to whom obeys all that he commands. { } . thou must therefore give more credit to an omnipotent god, in this most excellent sacrament, than to thy own sense, or any visible sign: and therefore thou art to approach to this work with fear and reverence. take heed to thyself, and see what kind of ministry has been delivered to thee by the imposition of the bishop's hands. lo! thou art made a priest, and art consecrated to say mass: see now that in due time thou faithfully and devoutly offer up sacrifice to god, and that thou behave thyself in such manner as to be without reproof: thou hast not lightened thy burthen, but art now bound with a stricter band of discipline, and art obliged to a greater perfection of sanctity. a priest ought to be adorned with all virtues, and to give example of a good life to others; { } his conversation should not be with the vulgar and common ways of men, but with the angels in heaven, or with perfect men upon earth. . a priest, clad in his sacred vestments, is christ's vicegerent, to pray to god for himself, and for all the people, in a suppliant and humble manner: he has before and behind him the sign of the cross of the lord, that he may always remember the passion of christ: he bears the cross before him in his vestment, that he may diligently behold the footsteps of christ, and fervently endeavour to follow them: he is marked with the cross behind, that he may mildly suffer, for god's sake, whatsoever adversities shall befal him from others: he wears the cross before him, that he may bewail his own sins; and behind him, that, through compassion, he may lament the sins of others, and know that he is placed, as it were, a mediator betwixt god and the sinner: { } neither ought he to cease from prayer and oblation, till he be favoured with the grace and mercy which he implores. when a priest celebrates, he honours god, he rejoices the angels, he edifies the church, he helps the living, he obtains rest for the dead, and makes himself partaker of all that is good. chap. vi.--_a petition concerning the exercise proper before communion_. the voice of the disciple. . when i consider thy greatness, o lord, and my own vileness, i tremble very much, and am confounded in myself: for if i come not to thee, i fly from life; and if i intrude myself unworthily, i incur thy displeasure. what then shall i do, o my god, my helper, my counsellor in necessities? . do thou teach me the right way: appoint me some short exercise proper for the holy communion: { } for it is necessary to know in what manner i should reverently and devoutly prepare my heart to thee, for the profitable receiving of thy sacrament, or for celebrating also so great and divine a sacrifice. chap. vii.--_of the discussion of one's own conscience, and of a resolution of amendment_. the voice of the beloved. . above all things it behoves the priest of god to come to the celebrating, handling, and receiving this sacrament, with great humility of heart, and lowly reverence; with an entire faith, and with a pious intention of the honour of god. diligently examine thy conscience, and to the best of thy power cleanse and purify it by true contrition and humble confession; so that there be nothing weighty to give thee remorse, and hinder thy free access. repent thee of all thy sins in general, and in particular lament and grieve all thy daily offences; { } and if thou hast time, confess to god, in the secret of thy heart, all the miseries of thy passions. . sigh and grieve that thou art yet so carnal and worldly; so unmortified in thy passions. so full of the motions of concupiscence; so unguarded in thy outward senses; so often entangled with many vain imaginations; so much inclined to exterior things, so negligent as to the interior; so easy to laughter and dissolution; so hard to tears and compunction. so prone to relaxation, and to the pleasures of the flesh; so sluggish to austerity and fervour; so curious to hear news, and to see fine sights; so remiss to embrace things humble and abject; so covetous to possess much; so sparing in giving; so close in retaining; so inconsiderate in speech; so little able to hold thy peace; so disorderly in thy carriage; so over eager in thy actions; so greedy at meat; so deaf to the word of god; { } so hasty for rest; so slow to labour; so wakeful to hear idle tales; so drowsy to watch in the service of god; so hasty to make an end of thy prayer; so wandering as to attention. so negligent in saying thy office; so tepid in celebrating; so dry at the time of receiving; so quickly distracted; so seldom quite recollected within thyself; so easily moved to anger; so apt to take offence at others; so prone to judge; so severe in reprehending; so joyful in prosperity; so weak in adversity. so often proposing many good things, and effecting little. . having confessed and bewailed these, and other thy defects, with sorrow and great dislike of thy own weakness, make a strong resolution always to amend thy life, and to advance in virtue. then with a full resignation, and with thy whole will, offer thyself up to the honour of my name, on the altar of thy heart, as a perpetual holocaust, by committing faithfully to me both thy soul and body; { } that so thou mayest be able to approach to offer up sacrifice to god, and to receive for thy salvation the sacrament of my body. . for there is no oblation more worthy, nor satisfaction greater, for the washing away of sins, than to offer up one's self purely and entirely to god, together with the oblation of the body of christ, in the mass and in the communion. if a man does what lies in him, and is truly penitent; as often as he shall come to me for pardon and grace; _as i live, saith the lord, who will not the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be converted and live; i will no longer remember his sins_, but all shall be forgiven him. ezekiel xviii. { } chap. viii.--_of the oblation of christ on the cross, and of the resignation of ourselves_. the voice of the beloved. . as i willingly offered myself to god, my father, for thy sins, with my hands stretched out upon the cross, and my body naked, so that nothing remained in me which was not turned into a sacrifice, for to appease the divine wrath; even so must thou willingly offer thyself to me daily in the mass, for a pure and holy oblation, together with all thy powers and affections, as heartily as thou art able. what do i require more of thee, than that thou endeavour to resign thyself entirely to me? whatsoever thou givest besides thyself, i regard not; for i seek not thy gift, but thyself. . as it would not suffice thee, if thou hadst all things but me; so neither can it please me, whatever thou givest, as long as thou offerest not thyself. { } offer thyself to me, and give thy whole self for god, and thy offering will be accepted. behold, i offered my whole self to the father for thee, and have given my whole body and blood for thy food, that i might be all thine, and thou mightest be always mine: but if thou wilt stand upon thy own bottom, and wilt not offer thyself freely to my will, thy offering is not perfect, nor will there be an entire union betwixt us. therefore, before all thy works, thou must make a free oblation of thyself into the hands of god, if thou desire to obtain liberty and grace: for the reason why so few become illuminated and internally free, is because they do not wholly renounce themselves. my sentence stands firm. _unless a man renounce all, he cannot be my disciple_. luke xiv. if therefore thou desirest to be my disciple, offer up thyself to me with all thy affections. { } chap. ix.--_that we must offer ourselves, and all that is ours, to god, and pray for all._ the voice of the disciple. . lord, all things are thine that are in heaven and earth. i desire to offer up myself to thee as a voluntary oblation, and to remain for ever thine. lord, in the sincerity of my heart, i offer myself to thee this day, to be thy servant evermore, to serve thee, and to become a sacrifice of perpetual praise to thee. receive me with this sacred oblation of thy precious body, which i offer to thee this day in the presence of thy angels invisibly standing by, that it may be for mine and all the people's salvation. . lord, i offer to thee all my sins and offences, which i have committed in thy sight and that of thy holy angels, from the day that i was first capable of sin until this hour, upon thy propitiatory altar, that thou mayest burn and consume them all with the fire of thy charity, and mayest remove all the stains of my sins, and cleanse my conscience from all offences, and restore to me thy grace, which i have lost by sin, by fully pardoning me all, and mercifully receiving me to the kiss of peace. { } . what can i do for my sins, but humbly confess them, and lament them, and incessantly implore thy mercy for them? hear me, i beseech thee, in thy mercy, where i stand before thee, o my god: all my sins displease me exceedingly; i will never commit them any more: i am sorry for them, and will be sorry for them as long as i live; i am willing to do penance for them, and to make satisfaction to the utmost of my power. forgive, o my god, forgive me my sins, for thy holy name's sake: save my soul, which thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood. behold i commit myself to thy mercy, i resign myself into thy hands. { } deal with me according to thy goodness, not according to my wickedness and iniquity. . i offer also to thee all the good i have, though very little and imperfect: that thou mayest make it better and sanctify it; that thou mayest be pleased with it, and make it acceptable to thee, and perfect it more and more; and mayest, moreover, bring me, who am a slothful and unprofitable wretch, to a good and happy end. i offer also to thee all the godly desires of thy devout servants; the necessities of my parents, friends, brethren, sisters, and of all those that are dear to me; and of all such, as for the love of thee have been benefactors to me or others; or who have desired and begged of me to offer up prayers and masses for themselves and all that belonged to them; whether they live as yet in the flesh, or whether they are now departed out of this world; that they all may be sensible of the assistance of thy grace, of the benefit of thy comfort, of thy protection from all dangers, and of a deliverance from their pains; and that being freed from all evils, they may with joy give worthy thanks to thee. { } . i offer up also to thee my prayers, and this sacrifice of propitiation for them in particular, who have in any thing wronged me, grieved me or abused me, or have done me any damage or displeasure; and for all those likewise whom i have at any time grieved, troubled, injured, or scandalized, by word or deed, knowingly or unknowingly; that it may please thee to forgive us all our sins and offences one against another. take, o lord, from our hearts all jealousy, indignation, wrath and contention, and whatsoever may hurt charity, and lessen brotherly love. have mercy, o lord, have mercy on those that crave thy mercy; give grace to them that stand in need thereof; and grant that we may be worthy to enjoy thy grace, and that we may attain to life everlasting. _amen_. { } chap. x.--_that the holy communion is not lightly to be forborne_. the voice of the beloved. . thou oughtest often to have recourse to the fountain of grace, and of divine mercy; to the fountain of all goodness and purity; that thou mayest be healed of thy passions and vices, and be made more strong and vigilant against all the temptations and deceits of the devil. the enemy, knowing the very great advantage and remedy which is in the holy communion, strives by all means and occasions, as much as he is able, to withdraw and hinder faithful and devout persons from it. . for when some are preparing themselves for the sacred communion, they suffer the greater assault of satan. this wicked spirit, as it is written in job, cometh among the sons of god to trouble them with his accustomed malice, or to make them ever fearful and perplexed, that so he may diminish their devotion, or by his assaults take away their faith: it haply they may altogether forbear the communion, or at least approach to it with tepidity. { } but there is no heed to be taken of his wiles, and suggestions, be they never so filthy and abominable; but all his attempts art to be turned back upon his own head. the wretch is to be contemned and scorned, nor is the holy communion to be omitted for his assaults, and the commotions which he causeth. . oftentimes also a person is hindered by too great solicitude for obtaining devotion, and a certain anxiety about making his confession. follow herein the counsel of the wise, and put away all anxiety and scruple; for it hindereth the grace of god, and destroyeth devotion. leave not the holy communion for every small trouble or vexation, but go quickly to confession, and willingly forgive others their offences against thee. { } and if thou hast offended any one, humbly crave pardon, and god will readily forgive thee. . what doth it avail to delay thy confession for a long time, or to put off the holy communion? purge thyself with speed, spit out the venom presently, make haste to take this _remedy_, and thou shalt find it to be better with thee, than if thou hadst deferred it for a long time. if thou lettest it alone to-day for this cause, perhaps to-morrow a greater will fall out, and so thou mayest be hindered a long time from communion, and become more unfit: with all possible speed shake off this heaviness and sloth, for it is to no purpose to continue long in disquiet, to pass a long time in trouble, and for these daily impediments to withdraw thyself from the _divine mysteries_. yea, it is very hurtful to defer the communion long; for this usually causeth a great lukewarmness and numbness. { } alas! some tepid and dissolute people are willing to put off their confession, and desire that their communion should be deferred, lest they should be obliged thereby to keep a stricter watch over themselves. ah! how little is their love of god, how weak is their devotion who so easily put by the sacred communion? how happy is he, and acceptable to god, who so liveth, and keepeth his conscience in such purity, as to be ready and well disposed to communicate every day, if it were permitted, and he might do it without note. if sometimes a person abstains out of humility, or by reason of some lawful impediment, he is to be commended for his reverence. but if sloth steal upon him, he must stir up himself, and do what lieth in him; and god will assist his desire, for his good will, which he chiefly regards. . and when he is lawfully hindered, he must yet always have a good will and a pious intention to communicate, and so he shall not lose the fruit of the sacrament. { } for every devout man may every day and hour receive christ spiritually without any prohibition, and with profit to his soul. and yet on certain days, and at the time appointed, he ought to receive sacramentally with an affectionate reverence the body of his redeemer, and rather aim at the honour of god, than seek his own comfort. for he communicates mystically, and is invisibly fed, as often as he devoutly calleth to mind the mystery of the incarnation of christ, and his passion; and is inflamed with the love of him. . he that prepareth not himself, but when a festival draweth near, or when custom compelleth him thereunto, shall often be unprepared. blessed is he that offereth himself up as an holocaust to the lord, as often as he celebrates or communicates. be neither too long, nor too hasty in celebrating, but observe the good common manner of those with whom thou livest. { } thou oughtest not to be tedious and troublesome to others, but to keep the common way, according to the appointment of superiors; and rather suit thyself to the profit of others, than to thine own devotion or affection. chap. xi.--_that the body of christ and the holy scripture are most necessary to a faithful soul_. the voice of the disciple. . o sweetest lord jesus, how great sweetness hath a devout soul that feasteth with thee in thy banquet; where there is no other meat set before her to be eaten but thyself her only beloved, and most to be desired above all the desires of her heart! and to me indeed it would be delightful to pour out tears in thy presence, with the whole affection of my heart, and like the devout magdalen to wash thy feet with my tears. but where is this devotion? where is this so plentiful shedding of holy tears? { } surely in the sight of thee, and of thy holy angels, my whole heart ought to be inflamed, and to weep for joy. for i have thee in the sacrament truly present, though hidden under another form. . for to behold thee in thine own divine brightness, is what my eyes would not be able to endure, neither could the whole world subsist in the splendour of the glory of thy majesty. in this therefore thou condescendest to my weakness, that thou hidest thyself under the sacrament. i truly have and adore him whom the angels adore in heaven; but i as yet in _faith_, they by _sight_ and without a veil. i must be content with the light of _true faith_, and walk therein till the day of eternal brightness break forth, and the shades of figures pass away. but when that which is perfect shall come, the use of the sacraments shall cease: for the blessed in heavenly glory stand not in need of the remedy of the sacraments. { } for they rejoice without end in the presence of god, beholding his glory face to face; and being transformed from glory into the glory of the incomprehensible deity, they taste the _word of god made flesh_, as he was from the beginning, and as he remaineth for ever. . when i call to mind these wonders, even every spiritual comfort becomes grievously tedious to me; because as long as i behold not my lord openly in his glory, i make no account of whatsoever i see and hear in the world. thou art my witness, o god, that not one thing can comfort me, nor any thing created give me rest, but only thou, my god, whom i desire for ever to contemplate. but this is not possible whilst i remain in this mortal life. and therefore i must frame myself to much patience, and submit myself to thee in all my desires. for thy saints also, o lord, who now rejoice with thee in the kingdom of heaven, whilst they were living, expected in faith and great patience the coming of thy glory. what they believed, i believe; what they hoped for, i hope for; and whether they are come, i trust that i also through thy grace shall come. { } in the mean time i will walk in faith, strengthened by the example of thy saints. i shall have moreover for my comfort, and the direction of my life, thy holy books; and above all these things, thy most holy body for a singular remedy and refuge. . for in this life i find there are two things especially necessary for me, without which this miserable life would be insupportable. whilst i am kept in the prison of this body, i acknowledge myself to need two things, to wit, _food_ and _light_. thou hast therefore given to me, weak as i am, thy sacred body for the nourishment of my soul and body, and thou hast set _thy word as a light to my feet_. psalms cxviii. without these two i could not well live, for the word of god is the light of my soul, and thy sacrament is _the bread of life_. { } these also may be called the two tables set on the one side, and on the other, in the store house of the _holy church_. one is the table of the _holy altar_, having the _holy bread_, that is the precious _body of christ_. the other is that of the _divine law_, containing _holy doctrine_, teaching the _right faith_, and firmly leading even within the _veil_, where are the _holies of holies_: thanks be to thee, o lord jesus, light of eternal light, for the table of _holy doctrine_ which thou hast afforded us by the ministry of thy servants, the prophets and apostles, and other teachers. . thanks be to thee, o thou creator and redeemer of men, who, to manifest thy love to the whole world, hast prepared a great supper, wherein thou hast set before us to be eaten, not the typical lamb, but thy most sacred body and blood: rejoicing all the faithful with thy holy banquet, and replenishing them with the cup of salvation, in which are all the delights of paradise; and the holy angels do feast with us, but with a more happy sweetness. { } . o how great and honourable is the office of priests, to whom it is given to consecrate with sacred words the lord of majesty; to bless _him_ with their lips, to hold _him_ with their hands, to receive _him_ with their own mouth, and to administer _him_ to others! oh! how clean ought those hands to be, how pure that mouth, how holy that body, how unspotted the heart of a _priest_, into whom thou the author of purity so often enters! from the mouth of a _priest_ nothing but what is _holy_, no word but what is _good_ and _profitable_ ought to proceed, who so often receives the sacrament of christ. . his eyes ought to be _simple_, and _chaste_, which are used to behold the _body of christ;_ his hands _pure_ and lifted up to heaven, which use to handle the creator of heaven and earth. { } unto the priest especially it is said in the law, _be you holy, for i the lord your god am holy_. leviticus xix. . . let thy grace, o almighty god, assist us, that we, who have undertaken the office of priesthood, may serve thee worthily and devoutly in all purity and good conscience. and if we cannot live in so great innocency as we ought, grant us at least duly to bewail the sins which we have committed; and in the spirit of humility, and the resolution of a good-will, to serve thee more fervently for the time to come. chap. xii.--_that he who is to communicate ought to prepare himself for christ with great diligence_. the voice of the beloved. . i am the lover of purity, and the giver of all holiness. i seek a pure heart, and there is the place of my _rest_. { } make ready for me _a large upper room furnished, and i will make the pasch with thee, together with my disciples._ mark xiv. luke xxii. if thou wilt have me come to thee, and remain with thee; purge out the old leaven, and make clean the habitation of thy heart; shut out the whole world, and all the tumult of vices; sit like a sparrow solitary on the house top, and think of thy excesses in the bitterness of thy soul. for every lover prepareth the best and fairest room for his dearly beloved; and hereby is known the affection of him that entertaineth his beloved. . know nevertheless, that thou canst not sufficiently prepare thyself by the merit of any action of thine, although thou shouldst prepare thyself a whole year together, and think of nothing else. but it is of my mere goodness and grace that thou art suffered to come to my table; as if a beggar should be invited to dinner by a rich man, who hath nothing else to return him for his benefit, but to humble himself, and to give him thanks. { } do what lieth in thee, and do it diligently; not for custom, nor for necessity; but with fear, and reverence, and affection, receive the body of thy beloved lord, thy god, who vouchsafeth to come to thee. i am he that have invited thee, i have commanded it to be done, i will supply what is wanting in thee, come and receive me. . when i bestow the grace of devotion give thanks to thy god, not for that thou art worthy, but because i have had mercy on thee. if thou hast it not, but rather findest thyself dry, continue in prayer, sigh and knock, and give not over, till thou receivest some crum or drop of saving grace. thou hast need of me, not i of thee. neither dost thou come to sanctify me, but i come to sanctify and make thee better; thou comest that thou mayest be sanctified by me, and united to me; that thou mayest receive new grace, and be inflamed anew to amendment. { } neglect not this grace, but prepare thy heart with all diligence, and bring thy beloved into thee. . but thou oughtest not only to prepare thyself to devotion before communion, but carefully also to keep thyself therein after receiving the sacrament; neither is the carefully guarding of thyself afterwards less required than the devoutly preparing thyself before: for a good guard afterwards is the best preparation again for the obtaining of greater grace. for what renders a man very much indisposed is, if he presently pour himself out upon exterior comforts. beware of much talk, remain in secret, and enjoy thy god; for thou hast him whom all the world cannot take from thee. i am he to whom thou oughtest to give thy whole self; so that thou mayest henceforward live, without all solicitude, not in thyself, but in me. { } chap. xiii.--_that a devout soul ought to desire with her whole heart to be united to christ in the sacrament_. the voice of the disciple. . who will give me, o lord, to find thee alone, that i may open my whole heart to thee, and enjoy thee as my soul desireth; and that no one may now despise me, nor any thing created move me or regard me; but thou alone mayest speak to me, and i to thee; as the _beloved_ is wont to speak to his _beloved_, and a friend to banquet with his friend. this i pray for, this i desire, that i may be wholly united to thee, and may withdraw my heart from all created things; and by the holy communion, and often celebrating, may more and more learn to relish heavenly and eternal things. ah! lord god, when shall i be wholly united to thee, and absorpt in thee, and altogether forgetful of myself: thou in me, and i in thee; and so grant us both to continue in one. { } . verily thou art my _beloved_, the choicest amongst thousands, in whom my soul is well pleased to dwell all the days of her life: verily, thou art my _peace-maker_, in whom is sovereign _peace_ and true _rest;_ out of whom is _labour_ and _sorrow_, and endless _misery:_ thou art in truth, a hidden god, and thy counsel is not with the wicked; but thy conversation is with the humble and the simple. oh! how sweet is thy spirit, o lord, who, to shew thy sweetness towards thy children, vouchsafest to feed them with the most delicious bread which cometh down from heaven! surely, there is no other nation so great, that hath their god so nigh to them, as thou our god art present to all thy faithful; to whom, for their daily comfort, and for the raising up their hearts to heaven, thou gavest thyself to be eaten and enjoyed. . for what other nation is there so honoured as the christian people! { } or what creature under heaven so beloved as a devout soul, into whom god cometh, that he may feed her with his glorious flesh? oh! unspeakable grace! oh! wonderful condescension! oh! infinite love, singularly bestowed upon man! but what return shall i make to the lord for this grace, and for so extraordinary a charity? there is nothing that i can give him that will please him better, than if i give up my heart entirely to god, and unite it closely to him. then all that is within me shall rejoice exceedingly, when my soul shall be perfectly united to my god: then will he say to me, if thou wilt be with me, i will be with thee; and i will answer him: vouchsafe, o lord, to remain with me, and i will willingly be with thee. this is my whole desire, that my heart may be united to thee. { } chap. xiv.--_of the ardent desire of some devout persons to receive the body of christ_. the voice of the disciple. . _oh! how great is the abundance of thy sweetness, o lord, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee._ psalms xxx. when i remember some devout persons, who come to thy sacrament with the greatest devotion and affection, i am often confounded and ashamed within myself, that i approach so tepidly and coldly to thy altar, and to the table of the holy communion; that i remain so dry, and without affection of heart; that i am not wholly set on fire in thy presence, o my god; nor so earnestly drawn and affected, as many devout persons have been, who, out of a vehement desire of communion, and a sensible love in their hearts, could not contain themselves from weeping; { } but with their whole souls eagerly thirsted to approach, both with the mouth of their heart and of their body, to thee, o god, the living fountain; being in no wise able to moderate or satisfy their hunger, but by receiving thy body with all joy and spiritual greediness. . oh! _true ardent faith_ of these persons, being a probable argument of thy sacred presence! for they truly know their lord in the breaking of bread, whose heart burneth so mightily within them, from jesus his walking with them. _luke_ xxiv. such affection and devotion as this, so vehement a love and burning, is often far from me. be thou merciful to me, o good jesus, sweet and gracious lord; and grant me, thy poor beggar, to feel, sometimes at least, in the sacred communion, some little of the cordial affection of thy love, that my _faith_ may be more strengthened, my _hope_ in thy goodness increased, and that my _charity_, being once perfectly enkindled, and having tasted the _manna_ of heaven, may never decay. { } . moreover, thy mercy is able to give me the grace i desire, and to visit me in thy great clemency with the spirit of fervour, when it shall please thee: for though i burn not at present with so great a desire as those that are so singularly devoted to thee; yet, by thy grace, i desire to have this same great inflamed desire; praying and wishing that i may be made partaker with all such thy fervent lovers, and be numbered in their holy company. chap. xv.--_that the grace of devotion is obtained by humility and self-denial._ . thou oughtest to seek the grace of devotion earnestly, to ask it fervently, to wait for it patiently and confidently, to receive it thankfully, to keep it humbly, to work with it diligently, and to commit to god the time and manner of this heavenly visitation, until it shall please him to come unto thee. { } thou oughtest chiefly to humble thyself, when thou feelest inwardly little or no devotion; and yet not to be too much dejected, nor to grieve inordinately. god often giveth, in one short moment, what he hath a long time denied: he giveth sometimes in the end, that which in the beginning of prayer he deferred to grant. . if grace were always presently given, and ever at hand with a wish, it would be more than man's infirmity could well bear: therefore the _grace of devotion_ is to be expected with a good hope and humble patience. yet impute it to thyself, and to thy sins, when it is not given to thee, or when it is secretly taken away. it is sometimes a little thing that hinders or hides grace from us; if that may be called _little_, and not rather _great_, which hindereth so great a good: { } but if thou remove this same, be it small or great, and perfectly overcome it, thou shalt have thy desire. . for as soon as ever thou hast delivered thyself up to god with thy whole heart, and neither seekest this nor that for thine own pleasure or will, but wholly placest thyself in him, thou shalt find thyself united and at peace; for nothing will relish so well, and please thee so much, as the good pleasure of the divine will. whosoever therefore with a single heart shall direct his attention upwards to god, and purge himself of all inordinate love or dislike of any created thing, he shall be the most fit to receive grace, and worthy of the gift of devotion: for the lord bestows his blessing there where he finds the vessels empty. and the more perfectly one forsakes these things below, and the more he dies to himself by the contempt of himself, the more speedily grace cometh, entereth in more plentifully, and the higher it elevateth the free heart. { } . _then shall he see and abound, he shall admire, and his heart shall be enlarged_ within him, because the hand of the lord is with him, and he has put himself wholly into his _hand_ for ever. behold, thus shall the man be blessed that seeketh god with his whole heart, and taketh not his soul in vain. such a one as this, in receiving the holy eucharist, obtains a great grace of _divine union;_ because he looks not towards his own devotion and comfort, but, above all devotion and comfort, regards the honour and glory of god. chap. xvi.--_that we ought to lay open our necessities to christ, and crave his grace._ the voice of the disciple. . o most sweet and loving lord, whom i now desire to receive with all devotion, thou knowest my weakness, and the necessity which i endure; in how great evils and vices i am immersed; now often i am oppressed, tempted, troubled, and defiled; { } to thee i come for remedy; i pray to thee for comfort and succour. i speak to him that knows all things, to whom all that is within me is manifest, and who alone can perfectly comfort and help me. thou knowest what good i stand most inn need of, and how poor i am in virtues. . behold, i stand before thee poor and naked, begging thy grace, and imploring thy mercy: feed thy hungry beggar; inflame my coldness with the fire of thy love; enlighten my blindness with the brightness of thy presence; turn all earthly things to me into bitterness; all things grievous and cross into patience; all things below and created, into contempt and oblivion: lift up my heart to thee in heaven, and suffer me not to wander upon earth: { } be thou only sweet to me from henceforth for evermore; for thou only art my meat and my drink, my love and my joy, my sweetness and all my good. . oh! that with thy presence thou wouldst inflame, burn, and transform me into thyself, that i may be made one spirit with thee, by the grace of internal union, and by the melting of ardent love! suffer me not to go from thee hungry and dry; but deal with me in thy mercy, as thou hast dealt wonderfully with thy saints. what marvel if i should be wholly set on fire by thee, and should die to myself; since thou art a _fire_ always burning, and never decaying; a _love_ purifying the heart, and enlightening the understanding. { } chap. xvii.--_of fervent love and vehement desire to receive christ_. the voice of the disciple. . with the greatest devotion and burning love, with all the affection and fervour of my heart, i desire to receive thee, o lord; as many saints and devout persons, who were most pleasing to thee in holiness of life, and most fervent in devotion, have desired thee when they have communicated. o my god, my eternal love, my whole good, and never-ending happiness, i would gladly receive thee with the most vehement desire, and most worthy reverence, that any of the saints ever had or could feel. . and though i be unworthy to have all those feelings of devotion, yet i offer to thee the whole affection of my heart, as if i alone had all those highly pleasing inflamed desires; { } yea, and whatsoever a godly mind can conceive and desire, all this, with the greatest reverence and most inward affection, i offer and present to thee: i desire to reserve nothing to myself, but freely and most willingly to sacrifice myself, and all that is mine, to thee. o lord, my god, my creator and redeemer, i desire to receive thee this day with such _affection, reverence, praise_, and _honour;_ with such _gratitude, worthiness,_ and _love;_ with such _faith, hope,_ and _purity,_ as thy most holy mother, the glorious virgin mary, received and desired thee, when she humbly and devoutly answered the angel, who declared to her the mystery of the incarnation; _behold the handmaid of the lord, let it be done unto me according to thy word_. luke i. . and as thy blessed forerunner, the most excellent among the saints, john the baptist, in thy presence leaped for joy through the holy ghost, whilst he was as yet shut up in his mother's womb; and afterwards seeing jesus walking amongst men, humbling himself exceedingly, said with devout affection, _the friend of the bridegroom that standeth and heareth him, and rejoiceth with joy for the voice of the bridegroom._ john iii. so i also wish to be inflamed with great and holy desires, and to present myself to thee with my whole heart: { } wherefore i here offer and present myself to thee the excessive joys of all devout hearts, their ardent affections, their extasies and supernatural illuminations, and heavenly visions; together with all the virtues and praises which are or shall be celebrated by all creatures in heaven and earth; for myself and all such as are recommended to my prayers, that by all thou mayest be worthily praised and glorified for ever. . receive my wishes, o lord, my god, and my desire of giving thee infinite praise and immense blessing, which, according to the multitude of thy unspeakable greatness, are most justly due to thee. { } these i render, and desire to render to thee every day and every moment: and i invite and entreat all the heavenly spirits, and all thy faithful, with my prayers and affections, to join with me in giving thee praises and thanks. . let all people, tribes, and tongues praise thee, and magnify thy holy and sweet name, with the highest jubilation and ardent devotion. and let all who reverently and devoutly celebrate thy most high sacrament, and receive it with full faith, find grace and mercy at thy hands, and humbly pray for me, a sinful creature. and when they shall have obtained their desired devotion and joyful union, and shall depart from thy sacred heavenly table, well comforted, and wonderfully nourished, let them vouchsafe to remember my poor soul. { } chap. xviii.--_that a man be not a curious searcher into this sacrament, but a follower of christ, submitting his sense to holy faith._ the voice of the beloved. . thou must, beware of curious and unprofitable searching into this most profound sacrament, if thou wilt not sink into the depth of doubt. _he that is a searcher of majesty shall be oppressed by glory._ proverbs xxv. god is able to work more than man can understand. a pious and humble inquiry after _truth_ is tolerable, which is always ready to be taught, and studies to walk in the sound doctrine of the _fathers_. . blessed is that simplicity that leaveth the difficult ways of disputes, and goeth on in the plain and sure path of god's commandments. many have lost devotion, whilst they would search into high things. { } it is _faith_ that is required of thee, and a _sincere life;_ not the height of understanding, not diving deep into the mysteries of god. if thou dost not understand nor comprehend those things that are under thee, how shouldst thou comprehend those things that are above thee? submit thyself to god, and humble thy _sense_ to _faith_, and the light of knowledge shall be given thee, as far as shall be profitable and necessary for thee. . some are grievously tempted about faith and the sacrament; but this is not to be imputed to them, but rather to the enemy. be not thou anxious, stand not to dispute with thy thoughts, nor to answer the doubts which the devil suggests, but believe the words of god, believe his saints and prophets, and the wicked enemy will fly from thee. it is often very profitable to the servant of god to suffer such things; { } for the devil tempteth not unbelievers and sinners, whom he already securely possesseth; but the faithful and devout he many ways tempteth and molesteth. . go forward therefore with a sincere and undoubted faith, and with an humble reverence approach to this sacrament; and whatsoever thou art not able to understand, commit securely to god, who is _omnipotent_. god never deceiveth, but he is deceived that trusts too much to himself: god walketh with the simple, and revealeth himself to the humble; he giveth understanding to little ones, openeth the gate of knowledge to pure minds, and hideth his grace from the curious and proud. human _reason_ is weak and may be deceived; but true _faith_ cannot be deceived. . all reason and natural search ought to follow faith, and not to go before it, nor oppose it; for _faith_ and _love_ are here predominant, and work by hidden ways in this most holy and super-excellent sacrament. { } god, who is eternal and incomprehensible, and of infinite power, doth great and inscrutable things in heaven and earth, and there is no searching out his wonderful works. if the works of god were such as might be easily comprehended by human reason, they could not be called wonderful and unspeakable. the end. erratum, page , line , for likely read lightly. [transcriber's note: this correction has been applied.] { } contents. chap. book i. page. i. of following christ and despising all the vanities of the world ii. of having an humble sentiment of one's self iii. of the doctrine of truth iv. of prudence in our doings v. of the reading the holy scriptures vi. of inordinate affections vii. of flying vain hope and pride viii. of shunning too much familiarity ix. of obedience and subjection x. of avoiding superfluity of words xi. of acquiring peace and zeal of spiritual progress xii. of the advantage of adversity xiii. of resisting temptation xiv. of avoiding rash judgment { } xv. of works done out of charity xvi. of bearing the defects of others xvii. of a monastic life xviii. of the examples of the holy fathers xix. of the exercises of a good religious man xx. of the love of solitude and silence xxi. of compunction of heart xxii. of the consideration of the misery of man xxiii. of the thoughts of death xxiv. of judgment and the punishment of sins xxv. of the fervent amendment of our whole life book ii. i. of interior conversation ii. of humble submission iii. of a good peaceable man iv. of a pure mind and simple intention v. of the consideration of one's self vi. of the joy of a good conscience { } vii. of the love of jesus above all things. viii. of familiar friendship with jesus ix. of the want of all comfort x. of gratitude for the grace of god xi. of the small number of the lovers of the cross of jesus xii. of the king's highway of the holy cross book iii. i. of the internal speech of christ to a faithful soul ii. that truth speaks within us without noise of words iii. that the words of god are to be heard with humility, and that many weigh them not a prayer to implore the grace of devotion iv. that we ought to walk in truth and humility in god's presence v. of the wonderful effect of divine love vi. of the proof of a true lover { } vii. that grace is to be hid under the guardianship of humility viii. of the mean esteem of one's self in the sight of god ix. that all things are to be referred to god, as to our last end x. that it is sweet to serve god, despising this world xi. that the desires of the heart are to be examined and moderated xii. of learning patience, and of fighting against concupiscence xiii. of the obedience of an humble subject after the example of jesus christ xiv. of considering the secret judgments of god, lest we be puffed up by our good works xv. how we are to be disposed, and what we are to say when we desire any thing a prayer for the fulfilling of the will of god { } xvi. that true comfort is to be sought in god alone xvii. that we ought to cast all our care upon god xviii. that temporal miseries are to be borne with patience after the example of jesus christ xix. of supporting injuries, and who is proved to be truly patient xx. of the confession of our own infirmity, and of the miseries of this life xxi. that we are to rest in god above all goods and gifts xxii. of the remembrance of the manifold benefits of god xxiii. of four things which bring much peace a prayer against evil thoughts a prayer for the enlightening of the mind xxiv. that we are not to be curious in enquiring into the life of others xxv. in what things the firm peace of the heart and true progress doth consist { } xxvi. of the eminence of a free mind, which humble prayer better procures than reading xxvii. that self love chiefly keeps a person back from the sovereign good a prayer for the cleansing of the heart and the obtaining of heavenly wisdom xxviii. against the tongues of detracters xxix. how in the time of tribulation god is to be invoked and blessed xxx. of asking the divine assistance, and of confidence of recovering grace xxxi. of disregarding all things created, that so we may find the creator xxxii. of the denying ourselves, and renouncing all cupidity xxxiii. of the inconstancy of our heart, and of directing our final intention to god xxxiv. that he that loves god relishes him above all things, and in all things { } xxxv. that there is no being secure from temptation in this life xxxvi. against the vain judgments of men xxxvii. of a pure and full resignation of ourselves, for the obtaining freedom of heart xxxviii. of the good government of ourselves in outward things, and of having recourse to god in dangers xxxix. that a man must not be over eager in his affairs xl. that man hath no good of himself, and that he cannot glory in any thing xli. of the contempt of all temporal honour xlii. that our peace is not to be placed in men xliii. against vain and worldly learning xliv. of not drawing to ourselves exterior things xlv. that credit is not to be given to all men; and that men are prone to offend in words { } xlvi. of having confidence in god when words arise against us xlvii. that all grievous things are to be endured for life everlasting xlviii. of the day of eternity, and of the miseries of this life xlix. of the desire of eternal life, and how great things are promised to them that fight l. how a desolate person ought to offer himself into the hands of god li. that we must practise ourselves in humble works, when we cannot attain to high things lii. that a man ought not to esteem himself worthy of consolation, but rather guilty of stripes liii. that the grace of god is not communicated to the earthly-minded liv. of the different motions of nature and grace iv. of the corruption of nature, and of the efficacy of divine grace { } lvi. that we ought to deny ourselves, and to imitate christ by the cross lvii. that a man should not be too much dejected when he falls into some defects lviii. of not searching into high matters, nor into the secret judgments of god lix. that all hope and confidence is to be fixed in god alone book iv. of the blessed sacrament. i. with how great reverence christ is to be received ii. that the great goodness and charity of god is shewed to man in this sacrament iii. that it is profitable to communicate often iv. that many benefits are bestowed on them who communicate devoutly { } v. of the dignity of the sacrament, and of the priestly state vi. a petition concerning the exercise proper before communion vii. of the discussion of one's own conscience, and of a resolution of amendment viii. of the oblation of christ on the cross, and of the resignation of ourselves ix. that we must offer ourselves, and all that is ours, to god, and pray for all x. that the holy communion is not lightly to be forborne xi. that the body of christ and the holy scriptures are most necessary to a faithful soul xii. that he who is to communicate ought to prepare himself for christ with great diligence xiii. that a devout soul ought to desire with her whole heart to be united to christ in this sacrament { } xiv. of the ardent desire of some devout persons to receive the body of christ xv. that the grace of devotion is obtained by humility and self-denial xvi. that we ought to lay open our necessities to christ, and crave his grace xvii. of fervent love and vehement desire to receive christ xviii. that a man be not a curious searcher into this sacrament; but an humble follower of christ, submitting his sense to holy faith ----------------------------------- keating, brown and co. printers, , duke-street, grosvenor-sq. london.