Daily Thoughts | Page 5

the sea swallows all of them which it can take--of
calm beyond, which this world cannot give and cannot take away.
And therefore let us say in utter faith, Come as Thou seest best--but in
whatsoever way Thou comest, Even so come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Last Sermon. MS. 1874.

SAINTS' DAYS, FASTS, & FESTIVALS.
Since we gave up at the Reformation the superstitious practice of
praying to the saints, Saints' Days have sunk--and, indeed, sunk too
much--into neglect. We forget too often still, that though praying to any
saint or angel, or other created being, is contrary both to reason and
Scripture, yet it is according to reason and to Scripture to
commemorate them. That is, to remember them, to study their
characters, and to thank God for them,--both for the virtues He
bestowed on them, and the example which He has given us in them.
MS. Sermon.
JANUARY 6. The Epiphany, Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.
On this day the Lord Jesus was first shown to the Gentiles. The word
Epiphany means "showing." The Wise Men were worshippers of the
true God, though in a dim confused way; and they had learnt enough of
what true faith, true greatness was, not to be staggered and fall into
unbelief when they saw the King of the Jews laid, not in a palace, but
in a manger, tended by a poor village maiden. And therefore God
bestowed on them the great honour that they first of
all--Gentiles--should see the glory and the love of God in the face of
Jesus Christ. God grant that they may not rise up against us in the Day
of Judgment and condemn us! They had but a small spark, a dim ray, of
the Light which lighteth every man who cometh into the world; but
they were more faithful to that little than many of us, who live in the
full sunshine of the Gospel, with Christ's Spirit, Christ's Sacraments,
Christ's Churches,--means of grace and hopes of glory of which they
never dreamed.
Town and Country Sermons.
JANUARY 25. Conversion of St. Paul, Apostle and Martyr.

How did St. Paul look on his past life? There is no sentimental
melancholy in him. He is saved, and he knows it. He is an Apostle, and
he stands boldly on his dignity. He is cheerful, hopeful, joyful. And yet,
when he speaks of the past, it is with noble shame and sorrow that he
calls himself the chief of sinners, not worthy to be called an Apostle,
because he persecuted the Church of Christ. What he is, he will not
deny; what he was, he will not forget; lest he should forget that in him,
that is, in his flesh--his natural character--dwelleth no good thing; lest
he should forget that the good which he does, he does not, but Christ
which dwelleth in him; lest he should grow careless, puffed up,
self-indulgent; lest he should neglect to subdue his evil passions; and so,
after preaching to others, himself become a castaway.
Town and Country Sermons.

February.
. . . Every winter, When the great sun has turned his face away, The
earth goes down into the vale of grief, And fasts, and weeps, and
shrouds herself in sables, Leaving her wedding garments to decay;
Then leaps in spring to his returning kisses.
Saint's Tragedy, Act iii. Scene i.
Out of the morning land, Over the snow-drifts, Beautiful Freya came,
Tripping to Scoring. White were the moorlands, And frozen before her;
Green were the moorlands, And blooming behind her. Out of her gold
locks Shaking the spring flowers, Out of her garments Shaking the
south wind, Around in the birches Awaking the throstles, Love and
love-giving, Came she to Scoring. . . . . .
The Longbeard's Saga. 1852.

Virtue. February 1.

The first and last business of every human being, whatever his station,
party, creed, capacities, tastes, duties, is morality; virtue, virtue, always
virtue. Nothing that man will ever invent will absolve him from the
universal necessity of being good as God is good, righteous as God is
righteous, holy as God is holy.
Sermons on David. 1866.

Happiness. February 2.
God has not only made things beautiful; He has made things happy;
whatever misery there is in the world there is no denying that. Misery is
the exception; happiness is the rule. No rational man ever heard a bird
sing without feeling that the bird was happy, and that if God made that
bird He made it to be happy, and He takes pleasure in its happiness,
though no human ear should ever hear its song, no human heart should
ever share in its joy.
All Saints' Day Sermons. 1871.

A Dream of the Future. February 3.
God grant that the day may