Daily Strength for Daily Needs | Page 8

I trembled with love and awe: and I perceived myself to be far
off from Thee in the region of unlikeness.
ST. AUGUSTINE.

January 28
_O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him_--PS. xxxiv. 9.
_Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing_.--PS. cxlv. 16.
What Thou shalt to-day provide, Let me as a child receive; What to-morrow may betide,
Calmly to Thy wisdom leave. 'Tis enough that Thou wilt care; Why should I the burden
bear?
J. NEWTON.
Have we found that anxiety about possible consequences increased the clearness of our
judgment, made us wiser and braver in meeting the present, and arming ourselves for the

future? If we had prayed for this day's bread, and left the next to itself, if we had not
huddled our days together, not allotting to each its appointed task, but ever deferring that
to the future, and drawing upon the future for its own troubles, which must be met when
they come whether we have anticipated them or not, we should have found a simplicity
and honesty in our lives, a capacity for work, an enjoyment in it, to which we are now,
for the most part, strangers.
F. D. MAURICE.

January 29
_I the Lord will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee_.--ISA.
xli. 13.
_Show Thy marvellous loving-kindness, O Thou that savest by Thy right hand them
which put their trust in Thee_.--PS. xvii. 7.
Take Thy hand, and fears grow still; Behold Thy face, and doubts remove; Who would
not yield his wavering will To perfect Truth and boundless Love?
S. JOHNSON.
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.
ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.

January 30
_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_.--PS. cxxxix. 9, 10.
I cannot lose Thee! Still in Thee abiding, The end is clear, how wide soe'er I roam; The
Hand that holds the worlds my steps is guiding, And I must rest at last in Thee, my home.
E. SCUDDER.
How can we come to perceive this direct leading of God? By a careful looking at home,
and abiding; within the gates of thy own soul. Therefore, let a man be at home in his own

heart, and cease from his restless chase of and search after outward things. If he is thus at
home while on earth, he will surely come to see what there is to do at home,--what God
commands him inwardly without means, and also outwardly by the help of means; and
then let him surrender himself, and follow God along whatever path his loving Lord
thinks fit to lead him: whether it be to contemplation or action, to usefulness or
enjoyment; whether in sorrow or in joy, let him follow on. And if God do not give him
thus to feel His hand in all things, let him still simply yield himself up, and go without,
for God's sake, out of love, and still press forward.
J. TAULER.

January 31
In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.--PROV. iii. 6.
He leadeth me.--PS. xxiii. 2.
In "pastures green"? Not always; sometimes He Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth
me In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.
So, whether on the hill-tops high and fair I dwell, or in the sunless valleys, where The
shadows lie, what matter? He is there.
HENRY H. BARRY.
The Shepherd knows what pastures are best for his sheep, and they must not question nor
doubt, but trustingly follow Him. Perhaps He sees that the best pastures for some of us
are to be found in the midst of opposition or of earthly trials. If He leads you there, you
may be sure they are green for you, and you will grow and be made strong by feeding
there. Perhaps He sees that the best waters for you to