offer all their time, and strength, and powers to Him, asking Him each morning to show them, hour by hour, what He would have them to do; and asking Him to help them ever to remember that with each portion of work and of suffering, will come also the needful portion of strength, because "He is not a hard master, reaping where He has not sown, gathering where He has not strawed."" In the morning let them consider quietly what seems to lie before them during the day, and commit each thing separately to God, asking Him to teach and guide, and quiet and strengthen them. It may be done in but few words-in broken words and sentences, if there is no more power. Let them ask Him to teach them His will; to guide and direct all circumstances; to give wisdom in intercourse with each member of the family, servants, children, or whatever there may be. Ask, that you may receive whatever tidings letters may bring you, or whatever annoyances they may cause you, calmly, and as the will of your heavenly Father. Ask, that whatever letters you write, He may guide and direct you. Ask, that whatever unexpected circumstances may arise, He will help you to remember that they are from Him. Ask for wisdom and sincerity in all your intercourse with your fellowcreatures-those of your own household; any persons that you expect to see; or any who may come unexpectedly. Ask, that if you are particularly 2 Matt. xxv. 24. weak or weary when they come, you may not betray it, or even utter exclamations of impatience to the servant who announces their coming. Ask, that you may go patiently and meekly and quietly through all the fatigues as well as the events of the day, and in them all, offer up your will to God. That Collect, which in the Prayer Book begins, "Almighty God, unto whom all hearts be open," used to be, "unto whom every will speaks." Let your will speak to Him; He will hear it, and accept it, and judge you, not according to what you cannot, but what you can do. Having done so, remember all the day that He is very near to you, and at every fresh need let your will speak to Him. Do not yield to the temptation of looking at everything at once, as if everything would happen at once, and all the events of the day be crowded into an hour. Do not thus forecast, but take each thing as it comes to you, and look upon it as the present expression of the will of God concerning you; then regard the next in the same way, and thus receive your day piece by piece from Him who will remember always when he gives you work to do, that you need strength to do it. You will find it a very great blessing to you, as much as possible, to do everything at stated hours; to do each thing at the same hour every day or, if it is a thing of but weekly occurrence, to do it on the same day of the week, and at the same hour: it makes things come naturally and easily, and with far less effort; you know what you have to do, and can arrange accordingly; moreover, habit makes all things so much easier and less burdensome; and prevents the considering what you have to do, and what you ought to do next. Often, when you have almost fainted in spirit, the thought comes, "If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, what shalt thou do with the horsemen ?"3 Put it from you, it is a faithless thought; if you need more strength you will have it be sure of that; or the call to greater exertion may never come to you. Your business is with the present; leave the future in His hands who will be sure to do the best, the very best for you. XIII Disappointments and Discouragements O not expect to be wholly freed from sickly thoughts whilst the sickly body is pressing you down, and causing you "to groan, being burdened. "4 Friends may tell you that your state is surely very wrong, for that it should be, that as "the outward man decays, the inward is renewed day by day."5 They repeat true words, but they are mistaken in their application of them; for "except a 3 Jer. xii 5. 4 2 Cor. v. 4. 5 2 Cor. iv. 16. corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit. "6 "That which thou sowest is not quickened except it die; and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or some other grain: but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him.” "It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power."s "My substance was not hid from Thee when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect; and in Thy Book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there was none of them. "9 So it is with the spiritual body-how it is moulded and fashioned is hidden from our sight. We cannot see how this severe frost, which seems for the present only to harden the ground, and even prevent it from receiving the dews of heaven, can be of any benefit; but wait a little, and the spring time will come, and when "the flowers appear on the earth" again, and "the time of the singing of birds is come,' "1 then we shall see how needful the frost has been, and how it preserved the precious seed. Doubtless "the inward man is renewed," but "the secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him. He knows it, and knows how it is. Do not be out of heart when your friends offer 6 John xii. 24. 112 9 Ps. cxxxix. 15, 16. 1 Cant. ii. 11. me. "Though He Do not after you these deep and harrowing discouragements; say only, "Have pity upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand of God hath touched "I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." slay me yet will I trust in Him."5 wards revolve the question until it ends with your saying, "There is no hope."6 Just simply tell it all to "Our Father," or rather say that you cannot tell Him, but that He knows your trouble. Ask Him, if it please Him, to help you to "let your light shine before men, that they, seeing your good works, may glorify your Father which is in heaven;"7 but if it must be otherwise, then to help you to say, "Thy will be done. "8 Friends will say also that you have so much leisure time, that they envy you your leisure; that they sometimes long to be ill that they may have more uninterrupted time to serve God; and that they think that illness is such a time for communion with God, and for growing in grace. Do not be discouraged by this. Do not fancy that because you find it otherwise, therefore you are wholly in a wrong state; and that all the past has been but delusion. It is "afterward that it yieldeth the peaceable fruits of righteousness to them who are exercised thereby."9 Leave it all to His righteous judgment 3 Job xix. 21. 6 Jer. ii. 25. Heb. xii. 11. 4 Ps. xlii. 11. G 5 Job xiii. 15. |