_There was a merchant once, who on the way Meeting one fatherless and lamed, did stay To draw the thorn which p.r.i.c.ked his foot, and pa.s.sed; And "twas forgot; and the man died at last.
But in a dream the Prince of Khojand spies That man again, walking in Paradise.
Walking and talking in that blessed land, And what he said the prince could understand; For he said this, plucking the heavenly posies; "Wonderful! One thorn made me many roses!"_
EDWIN ARNOLD.
Dear Father in Heaven, with our life refreshed and renewed by sleep, we would face the duties of the day with strong hope and a ready courage.
Forbid that these shall in any degree be diminished by any difficulty or perplexity that may arise. We pray for wisdom and love. Grant us that interest in others that shall impel us to help those who are in need.
And may our desire to minister move us not only to dress the wounds of those whom the thorns have injured, but to clear the paths, along which men must pa.s.s, of those conditions and influences which inevitably maim and blight. May we serve Thee faithfully and with gladness this day!
Amen.
HARRY L. CANFIELD.
February 7
_Quicksand years that whirl me I know not whither, Your schemes, politics fail, lines give way, substances mock and elude me, Only the theme I sing, the great and strong-possess"d soul, eludes not, One"s self must never give way--that is the final substance--that out of all is sure, Out of politics, triumphs, battles, life, what at last finally remains?
When shows break up what but One"s self is sure?_
WALT WHITMAN.
O Thou, who beholdest all the souls of men, in our vision of another new day, help us to see as Thou seest; to be conscious not of our own need and desert alone, but also of the deserts and needs of all those with whom we have to do; shaping our prayer and directing the effort that follows after all true prayer in accordance with this wider outlook. O Thou, who fashionest the hearts of all, who observest all their works, we would strengthen and purify our hearts that they may be fitted to be fashioned by Thee to n.o.ble ends, and set to some good service; and we would do our daily work as in the sight of one who knows and loves all honest, thorough workers, great or humble, wise or simple. Amen.
AUGUSTUS MENDON LORD.
February 8
_Truth should be the first lesson of the child and the last aspiration of Manhood; for it has been well said that the inquiry of truth, which is the love-making of it, the knowledge of truth, which is the presence of it, and the belief of truth, which is the enjoying of it, is the sovereign good of human nature._
_We search the world for truth; we cull The good, the pure, the beautiful, From graven stone and written scroll, From all old flower-fields of the soul._
JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.
Our Heavenly Father, we acknowledge Thee as the Author and Giver of all truth. We bless Thee that Thou hast attuned our souls to its music, and that when with conscious life we touch its strings covering the universe we feel harmony with the Divine. We thank Thee for the truths of our sonship in Thee and for the a.s.surances of Thy Fatherhood. We bless Thee for Jesus who was the truth made life, and who is our daily guide to its blessings. We thank Thee for the truth of immortality, with its encouragement to eager life today and its a.s.surances of endless joyful tomorrows. Make us seekers of truth, lovers of truth and examples of truth as it is in Jesus our Savior. Amen.
FRED A. DILLINGHAM.
February 9
_All things are engaged in writing their history. The planet, the pebble, goes attended by its shadow. The rolling rock leaves its scratches on the mountain; the river, its channel in the soil; the animal, its bones in the stratum; the fern and leaf, their modest epitaph in the coal. The falling drop makes its sculpture in the sand or the stone. Not a foot steps into the snow or along the ground, but prints, in characters more or less lasting, a map of its march. Every act of the man inscribes itself in the memory of his fellows, and in his own manners and face. The air is full of sounds, the sky of tokens, the ground is all memoranda and signatures, and every object covered over with hints which speak to the intelligent._
_Ralph Waldo Emerson._
Our Father, who art in Heaven and in every manifestation of living nature, we turn our thoughts to Thee with the rising of each new sun. We hear Thy voice in the singing of every summer bird. We realize Thy presence in the shifting shadows of the clouds. In the arching blue above us we realize something of the depth and breadth of the love that arches over the horizon of our life and stretches like the radiant bow of promise from the green hills of childhood to the sombre mountains of old age. We beseech Thee to give us thoughts so beautiful and enn.o.bling that even amid the sods and clods of life"s daily drudgery we can always face the morning light of some new hope which comes like the old song sung in the new land. Amen.
JOHN KIMBALL.
February 10
_First, when I feel that I am become cold and indisposed to prayer, by reason of other business and thoughts, I take my psalter and run into my chamber, or, if day and season serve, into the church to the mult.i.tude, and begin to repeat to myself--just as children used--the ten commandments, the creed, and, according as I have time, some sayings of Christ or of Paul, or some Psalms. Therefore it is well to let prayer be the first employment in the early morning, and the last in the evening. Avoid diligently those false and deceptive thoughts which say, Wait a little, I will pray an hour hence; I must first perform this or that. For with such thoughts a man quits prayer for business that lays hold of and entangles him, so that he comes not to pray the whole day long._
MARTIN LUTHER.
O Lord, our Heavenly Father, who keepest covenant and loving kindness with Thy servants, who walk humbly with Thee, and who hast been attentive to the prayers of our fathers when they lifted up their hearts and their hands to Thee, teach us to pray, and to love to pray. Visit us in the night season and before the morning watch. Touch our spirits with the flame of Thy Spirit, before the day"s business lays hold upon us and entangles us, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
REUBEN KIDNER.
February 11
_In one of Dean Stanley"s sermons to children, preached at Westminster Abbey, he told the following story: "There was a little girl living with her grandfather. She was a good child, but he was not a very good man; and one day, when the little child came back from school, he had put in writing over the bed, "G.o.d is nowhere,"
for he did not believe in the good G.o.d, and he tried to make the little child believe the same. What did the little girl do? She had no eyes to see, no ears to hear, what her grandfather tried to teach her. She was very small. She could only read words of one syllable at a time; she rose above the bad meaning which he tried to put in her mind; she rose, as we all ought to rise, above the temptation of our time; she rose into a higher and better world; she rose because her little mind could not do otherwise, and she read the words, not "G.o.d is nowhere," but "G.o.d is now here." That is what we all should strive to do. Out of words which have no sense or which have bad sense, our eyes, our minds, ought to be able to read a better sense."_
WILLIAM MOODIE.
O Thou, Invisible Presence, there can be no place where Thou art not.
Thou, our Father, art in heaven and on earth and everywhere. Thou art in the order of the rock, the beauty of the flower, the light of the sun and stars, and goodness in the human soul. Teach us to be conscious of Thy nearness to us, and so may we never be afraid. In the light of Thy countenance, may we see duty and truth, and recognize more easily the good in one another. Amen.
ALVA ROY SCOTT.
February 12
ABRAHAM LINCOLN BORN 1809
_Chosen for large designs, he had the art Of winning with his humour, and he went Straight to his mark, which was the human heart; Wise, too, for what he could not break he bent._
_Upon his back a more than Atlas-load-- The burden of the Commonwealth was laid; He stooped, and rose up to it, though the road Shot suddenly downwards, not a whit dismayed._
_Hold, warriors, counsellors, kings! all now give place To this dear benefactor of the race._
RICHARD H. STODDARD.
Almighty Father, we thank Thee today for the gracious memory of Thy servant who lived and died for the sake of a free and united nation. We thank Thee more that we have his life inwrought into the very fabric of the life of the nation. We had in him "a hiding place from the wind and a covert from the tempest, a river of water in a dry place and the shadow of a great rock in a weary land." We gratefully join in praise with the thousands who found help and cheer in the shadow of his strength. And now we humbly beseech Thee, help us in some small way this day to be a helper to the helpless, a friend to the needy, sunshine to those whose day will be gray and gloomy, the shadow of a great rock to those who are buffeted by the world"s storms. Thus shall we prove our grat.i.tude to Thee for the gift of Thy servant whom we honor today, and thus shall we honor Thee. We ask and offer all in the name of Thy Son Jesus Christ. Amen.
AVERY A. SHAW.
February 13
_Let us learn to be content with what we have. Let us get rid of our false estimates, set up all the higher ideals--a quiet home; vines of our own planting; a few books full of the inspiration of a genius; a few friends worthy of being loved, and able to love us in return; a hundred innocent pleasures that bring no pain or remorse; a devotion to the right that will never swerve; a simple religion empty of all bigotry, full of trust and hope and love--and to such a philosophy this world will give up all the empty joy it has._
DAVID SWING.
Thou gracious Spirit of Life, our Father, at the beginning of this new day we wait for a moment before Thee with uncovered heads and with reverent spirits; Thou knowest us through and through, whatever man may think of us Thou knowest just what we are. In Thy sight we need not pretend; we need not make believe, we need only be simple and genuine and brave and earnest. We need be glad in the possession of what we have. Help us this day to rightly value that which is good and honest.
Let us for this day at least, put away all vanity and give ourselves unreservedly to Thy service and the love of our fellow men. To this high end, may we have the sweet companionship of Jesus. Amen.