=August 6th.=
_Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. Col. iii. 2._
_Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might. Eccles. ix. 10._
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 7th.=
_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. 1, 2._
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 8th.=
_They took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. Acts iv. 13._
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 9th.=
_Ye call me Teacher, and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. John xiii. 13. (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 10th.=
_The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John iv. 14._
It is a sweet thought that Jesus Christ did not come forth without His Father"s permission, authority, consent, and a.s.sistance. 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 G.o.d 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 G.o.d.--_Spurgeon._
=August 11th.=
_They that wait upon the Lord shall change their strength. Isa. xl. 31. (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 12th.=
_As for thee, the Lord thy G.o.d hath not suffered thee so to do. Deut. xviii. 14._
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 G.o.d has suffered us _not_ to do, _not_ to be.--_Frances Ridley Havergal._
=August 13th.=
_Jesus went forth, and saw a great mult.i.tude, and was moved with compa.s.sion toward them, and He healed their sick. . . . And when He had sent the mult.i.tudes away, He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come He was there alone. Matt. xiv. 14, 23._
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 G.o.d? 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 14th.=
_Leaving you an example, that ye should follow His steps. 1 Pet. ii. 21. (R. V.)_
I have long since ceased to pray, "Lord Jesus, have compa.s.sion 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 compa.s.sion upon a lost world, and now it is for you to have compa.s.sion."--_A. J. Gordon._
=August 15th.=
_Thou shalt have no other G.o.ds before me. Ex. xx. 3._
If you find yourself beginning to love any pleasure better than your prayers, any book better than your Bible, any house better than G.o.d"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 16th.=
_Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. 1 Cor. xi. 1._
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 G.o.d 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 17th.=
_Serving the Lord with all humility of mind. Acts xx.
19._