ELLA WHEELER WILc.o.x.
O Eternal Goodness, help us now, as another morning dawns, to readjust ourselves to Thy purpose of blessing. We believe that the most certain, significant and permanent fact of the universe is that Thou art our Father. Thus we are the heirs of Thy sufficient grace. There is no curse of ancestry for him who knows Thee as His parent. There is no weakness of the flesh for him who, through touch with Thee, becomes strong in the spirit. Help us all through this day to deny the chain of every earthly folly and sin, to stand erect and free as becometh children of the Infinite. So, finding and using the wisdom of our Master, who, most of all men, gained success, may we overcome the world. Amen.
GEORGE E. HUNTLEY.
November 19
_All things seem rushing straight into the dark-- But the dark still is G.o.d._
GEORGE MACDONALD.
_Love is and was my king and lord, And will be, tho" as yet I keep Within the court on earth, and sleep Encompa.s.s"d by his faithful guard,_
_And here at times a sentinel Who moves about from place to place, And whispers to the worlds of s.p.a.ce, In the deep night, that all is well._
ALFRED TENNYSON.
O G.o.d, our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that Thou hast led us into this new day. We thank Thee also, that, though its experiences are untried and its issues involved in uncertainty, we are unafraid, full indeed of glad expectation, because we know Thee as our King and Lord.
Help us in obedience and love to keep close to Thee, so that, if ever quick darkness shall come upon us, we may still be undisturbed because of Thy presence, to whom the darkness and the light are both alike. This we ask in the name of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Amen.
CHARLES R. TENNEY.
November 20
_Let thy day be to thy night A letter of good tidings. Let thy praise Go up as birds go up, that when they wake Shake off the dew and soar; so take joy home And make a place in thy heart for her, And give her time to grow and cherish her; Then will she come and oft will sing to thee When thou art working in the furrows; ay, Or weeding in the sacred hour of dawn.
It is a comely fashion to be glad-- Joy is the grace we say to G.o.d._
JEAN INGELOW.
Our Father, we thank Thee for the blessings of night. In this new morning hour, we pray for stout hearts and strong to meet the day"s work. May we go forth with a song on our lips and the joy of renewed youth in our souls. Amid the tumults of the day enable us to hear Thy becalming voice. Then, though in dreariest labor, we shall have glad hearts, though pressed by dullest cares, we shall keep uncrushed hopes, though distracted by earth"s din, we shall hear heaven"s music. Abide with us, Benign Spirit. Inspire us to do our duty, and to learn that therein, alone, may true joy be found. Amen.
GEORGE RUNYON LONGBRAKE.
November 21
_The weather-prophet tells us of an approaching storm. It comes according to the programme. We admire the accuracy of the prediction, and congratulate ourselves that we have such a good meteorological service. But when, perchance, a bright crystalline piece of weather arrives instead of the foretold tempest, do we not feel a secret sense of pleasure which goes beyond our mere comfort in the sunshine? The whole affair is not as easy as a sum in simple addition, after all,--at least not with our present knowledge. It is a good joke on the Weather Bureau. "Aha, Old Probabilities!" we say, "You don"t know it all yet; there are still some chances to be taken!"_
HENRY VAN d.y.k.e.
Our Heavenly Father, Thou hast covered us with the darkness and we have slept under the shadow of Thy care. Thou hast opened for us again the gates of the morning, and refreshed, we rise to praise Thee. The memory of mercies past inspires our hope for today. Reveal Thyself to us by Thy spirit and through Thy word; make nature to minister to us in the heavens above and the fields below; let every experience lead us toward Thyself. Help us to see Thy face in those about us, and honor Thee in loving, helpful ministry to them. Bring to us today a fresh and larger sense of Thy presence, forgiveness, and care, and so the a.s.surance that all things are working together for our good. In the name of Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amen.
SAMUEL H. GREENE.
November 22
"_I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills._"
PSALM cxxi. 1.
_Peace is the message of the hills, A peace that broods Upon their mighty heads, and fills Their forest solitudes; The leaping mountain waterfalls, As each unto the other calls, Blend in a murmuring noise Whose silver rushing music stills The pretty play of human moods, And bids the calmed soul rejoice In the deep secrets of the woods, The majesty of Nature"s voice._
PRISCILLA LEONARD.
Dear G.o.d and Father of us all, Who maketh Thy sun to rise out of the sea and tintest the hills with the rosy promise of the day, we look up when we awake and seeing the light upon the mountains know that the day is coming to fill the world with beauty and glory. With thankful hearts we praise Thee, and pray that to us may be granted that loftiness of nature, that stability of character, that repose of mind and heart and life that is prefigured to us in the natural world. Grant that we may each become mediums of Thy love and hope to all who may chance to look up to us for guidance along the sh.o.r.es of life"s tempestuous ocean. May the spirit of the Eternal find such expression in us and through us, this day, that all who come within the radiance of our joy may come into the consciousness of the joy of the Eternal. Amen.
THOMAS J. HORNER.
November 23
_And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent, and when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy G.o.d, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.... Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a man and he strengthened me and said, O man, greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong._
BOOK OF DANIEL.
Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that Thou art not far from us at any time. We have only to look up reverently and to our imagination Thou art standing near. We have only to wait in the darkness of the night to feel Thy presence with us. We have only to listen at any time to hear Thy voice. Thou deignest to stop and speak to us when we are in trouble, to guide our footsteps when we have lost our way, to renew our courage when we have become disheartened. O Lord, speak to us this day, saying to us, as unto him of old, "Peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong."
Amen.
George L. Perin.
November 24
_Let star-wheels and angel-wings, with their holy winnowings, Keep beside you all the way: Lest in pa.s.sion you should dash, with a blind and heavy crash.
Up against the thick-bossed shield of G.o.d"s judgment in the field._
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.
_Be diligent and faithful, patient and hopeful, one and all of you; and may we all know, at all times, that verily the Eternal rules above us, and that nothing finally wrong has happened or can happen._
THOMAS CARLYLE.
Almighty G.o.d, our Father in heaven, the giver of every good and perfect gift, teach us, we pray Thee, how to do Thy will on earth as it is done in heaven, as the goal of our lives. Send down exceeding, abundantly above all that we can ask or think, the blessed influences of Thy Holy Spirit, to transform each heart and all the world into the kingdom of heaven. Give us the Morning Star of Hope. Feed us from the Tree of Life.
Teach us Thy redeeming love. Grant that we may have some part with Thee in the redemption of the world, and be permitted to join with the whole glad earth in the chorus, "Blessing and honor and glory and power be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Amen.
F. N. PELOUBET.
November 25
_What is the crown of the whole of life lived faithfully here? It is not a crown of gold or gems in another life; it is simply more life; a broader use of power, a healthier capacity, a larger usefulness. You are faithful unto death, through the misapprehensions and imperfections and absence of appreciation or grat.i.tude in this preparatory world, and then there is offered to you inevitably and legitimately the crown of a larger, more serviceable, more effective life._
FRANCIS G. PEABODY.
To Thee, O Author of our lives, we speak thanksgiving and grat.i.tude for Thy gifts of love and trust. Help us to bring them into full exercise this day. By them may we know the experience of burdens made light and yokes made easy. With them, let us realize that we are effective workers with Thee. Because of them, show us how all our tasks are transformed to divine endeavors. Through them, set free all other of our highest impulses. So, O G.o.d, shall we know the fulness of life, we and all our loved ones. So shall we see doubt change to faith and blindness to vision. So shall our influence through word and work be the ministry of hope and of joy to any disconsolate, and to any who are a weak guide to the source of strength. For newness of life, for all the fruits of the spirit, whereby the heart is ever young and in joyous companionship with the Christ, for all this we pray now and ever. Amen.