Page:Three Thousand Selected Quotations from Brilliant Writers.djvu/598

590 Trust yourselves, my brethren, to the immortal love and perfect work of the Divine Saviour, and by His dear might your days will advance by peaceful stages, whereof each gathers up and carries forward the blessings of all that went before, to a death which shall be a birth. —.

We cannot come before the sinless and holy Lord with a stainless and holy life. We can at best bring Him the partial offerings of years. Yes, the holiest saint shall only at the last say, "Not for my righteousness." But if we can say with honest hearts: "I have striven to serve Thee, I have followed in Thy path, and clung to Thy cross, and pressed forward through the many falls and many repentings—I bring Thee a heart which asks nothing save Thy grace, claims nothing save Thy Divine love;" then He will say, "Bring the best robe and put it on him." "Welcome to the joy of thy Lord." —.

We are only asking you to give to Christ that which you give to others, to transfer the old emotions, the blessed emotions, the exercise of which makes gladness in the life here below, to transfer them to Him, and to rest safe in the Lord. Faith is trust. —.

We must not close with Christ because we feel Him, but because God has said it, and we must take God's word even in the dark. —.