He giveth quietness. Job 34:29
The calm sea says more to the thoughtful soul than the same sea in a storm and tumult. But we need the understanding of eternal things, and the sentiment of the Infinite to be able to feel this. People of passionate temperament never understand this. Amiel's Journal.
"The lovely things are quiet things - soft falling snow,
And feathers dropped from flying wings make no sound as they go.
A petal loosened from a rose, quietly seeks the ground,
And love, if lovely, when it goes, goes without sound."
The silent seasons of life are imperative. The winter is the mother of spring; the night is the fountain of the physical forces of the day; the silent soil is the womb where vegetable life is born. The greatest things in our spiritual life come out of our waiting hours, when all activity is suspended, and the soul learns to be "silent unto God" while He shapes us for future activities and fruitful years.
The greatest forces in nature are quiet ones. The law of gravitation is silent, yet invincible. So, back of all our activities and actions the law of faith is the mightiest force of the spiritual world, and mightiest when quietest and least demonstrative. When the soul is anchored to the will of God and His exceeding great and precious promises, with the calm unwavering confidence that His power and love are behind us and can never fail us until all His will for us is accomplished, our life must be victorious. Springs in the Valley
In the center of the whirlpool, while the waters rush around,
There's a space of perfect stillness, though with turmoil it is bound:
All is calm, and all is quiet, scarcely e'en a sense of sound.
So with us--despite the conflict--when in Christ His peace is found."
N.J. Hiebert - 10141
November 29
O man greatly beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. Daniel 10:19
God reminded Daniel three times that he was "greatly beloved." This enabled him to overcome the many trials that he faced. So also with the Bride, in the days of separation from her Beloved. The thing that sustains her until she is forever with Him, is this knowledge, "I am my Beloved's and my Beloved, is mine." (Song of Solomon 6:3) He lives for us, and is coming back for us. Surely this quells the anxious fears that rise within our hearts, as we face the challenges of time. W.H. Burnett
Loved with everlasting love, drawn by grace, that love to know;
Spirit, breathing from above, who hast taught me it is so.
Oh, this full and perfect peace! Oh, this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease, I am His, and He is mine.
Heaven above is softer blue, earth around is sweeter green;
Something lives in every hue Christless eyes have never seen:
Birds with gladder songs o'erflow, flowers with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as now I know, I am His, and He is mine.
Things that once were wild alarms cannot now disturb my rest;
Closed in everlasting arms, pillowed on the loving breast.
Oh, to lie forever here, doubt and care and self resign,
While He whispers in my ear, I am His, and He is mine.
His forever, only His: who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss Christ can fill the loving heart.
Heaven and earth may fade and flee, firstborn light in gloom decline;
But, while God and I shall be, I am His, and He is mine. G. W.Robinson
N.J. Hiebert - 10142
November 30
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Psalm 23:5
The ordinary interpretation of Psalm 23 is that it brings before us a three-fold picture-- the Shepherd and His sheep in verse 1; the traveller and his Guide in verse 4; and the Host and His guest in verse 5. But, while that may be true by application, it is not the primary significance of this portion of scripture. From start to finish Psalm 23 sings of shepherd life.
"The valley of the shadow of death" of which it speaks refers to those places of deadly peril through which the flocks have sometimes to pass, and in which they are cast entirely on the guidance and protection of the shepherd. This symbolizes the darker and more difficult portions of the path over which the flock of God travels to the heavenly land.
Then, as regards the "preparing of a table before me in the presence of mine enemies", it has been said by one who is familiar with shepherd-life in oriental lands, that "There is no higher task of the shepherd in Eastern countries than to go from time to time to study places, and examine the grass, and find a good and safe feeding-place for his sheep. There are many poisonous plants in the grass, and the shepherd must find and avoid them."
Then there are viper's holes, and the reptiles bite the noses of the sheep if they are not driven away. And round the feeding place, which the shepherd thus prepares, in holes and caves in the hill-sides, there are jackals, wolves, hyenas and tigers; and the bravery and skill of the shepherd are at the highest point in closing up the dens with stones, or slaying the wild beasts with his long-bladed knife. Of nothing do you hear the shepherds boasting more proudly than of their achievements in this part of their care of their flocks.
The Pearl of Psalm - George Henderson.
N.J. Hiebert - 10143
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