December 26
The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.--PHIL. iv. 7.
Let the peace of God rule in your hearts.--COL. iii. 15.
Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.
J. G. WHITTIER.
"These things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." What is
fulness of joy but _peace_? Joy is tumultuous only when it is not full; but
peace is the privilege of those who are "filled with the knowledge of the
glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." "Thou wilt keep him in
perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusteth in Thee."
It is peace, springing from trust and innocence, and then overflowing in
love towards all around him.
J. H. NEWMAN.
THROUGH the spirit of Divine Love let the violent, obstinate powers of
thy nature be quieted, the hardness of thy affections softened, and thine
intractable self-will subdued; and as often as anything contrary stirs
within thee, immediately sink into the blessed Ocean of meekness and love.
G. TERSTEEGEN.