October 10
Thou wilt not hold in scorn the child who dares
Look up to Thee, the Father,—dares to ask
More than Thy wisdom answers. From Thy hand
The worlds were cast; yet every leaflet claims
From that same hand its little shining sphere
Of star-lit dew; thine image, the great sun,
Girt with his mantle of tempestuous flame,
Glares in mid-heaven; but to his noontide blaze
The slender violet lifts its lidless eye,
And from his splendor steals its fairest hue,
Its sweetest perfume from the scorching fire.
Oliver Wendell Holmes.
Thou great Spirit of life and power, we do not shrink in terror before Thee, but come to Thee in trust and love. Though we cannot fathom the mystery of Thy life nor measure the might of Thy power, yet we have learned to call Thee Father; and even as the violet lifts its face to the noonday sun to find the secret of its life, so we lift our faces to Thee, to find the secret of our lives. Thou answerest us with tenderness. Thou speakest to us in love. Fresh from sleep, we put our hands in Thine to be led forth to the duties of the day. May we go forth with that confidence and hope, which are born of trust in Thee, our Father. Amen.
October 11
Now believe me, God hides some ideal in every human soul. Some time in our life we feel a trembling, fearful longing to do some good thing. Life finds its noblest spring of excellence in this hidden impulse to do our best. There is a time when we are not content to be such merchants or doctors or lawyers as we see on the dead level or below it. The woman longs to glorify her womanhood as sister, wife or mother. Here is God,—God standing silently at the door all day long,—God whispering to the soul that to be pure and true is to succeed in life and that whatever we get short of that will burn up like stubble, though the whole world try to save it.
Robert Collyer.
God of all power and might, come into our lives with Thy might and Thy power. Awaken us from that slumber of death-in-life which easily and sweetly steals through the door, and, like some new Delilah, binds the strong will within. Come, come as the fresh morning sun, to drive away the mist of our sloth and indecision. Come, enter; and bring with Thee the upstirring power and the wide radiance of the life divine. Come, enter, and abide! When Thou art absent, though life be easy, it doth not satisfy us; but when Thou art present, though life be hard, it doth also content us. O God of all power and might, come Thou into our lives with Thy might and Thy power. Amen.