Wilberforce: the remnant

Saturday, July 30, 2011
    Commemoration of William Wilberforce, Social Reformer, 1833
Meditation:
    My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
    —James 5:19-20 (NIV)
Quotation:
    [I boldly] avow my firm persuasion, that to the decline of Religion and Morality, our national difficulties must both directly and indirectly be chiefly ascribed; and that my only solid hopes for the well being of my country depend, not so much on her fleets and armies, not so much on the wisdom of her rulers, or the spirit of her people, as on the persuasion, that she still contains many who love and obey the Gospel of Christ; that their intercessions may yet prevail; that for the sake of these, heaven may still look upon us with an eye of favour.
    ... William Wilberforce (1759-1833), A Practical View, Boston: Crocker & Brewster, 1829, p. 316 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your people pray for their lands. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Baker: The King of love my Shepherd is

Friday, July 29, 2011
    Feast of Mary, Martha & Lazarus, Companions of Our Lord
Meditation:
    The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
    —Psalm 23:1 (KJV)
Quotation:
The King of love my Shepherd is,
    Whose goodness faileth never,
I nothing lack if I am His
    And He is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow
    My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And where the verdant pastures grow,
    With food celestial feedeth.

Perverse and foolish oft I strayed,
    But yet in love He sought me,
And on His shoulder gently laid,
    And home, rejoicing, brought me.

In death’s dark vale I fear no ill
    With Thee, dear Lord, beside me;
Thy rod and staff my comfort still,
    Thy cross before to guide me.

Thou spread’st a table in my sight;
    Thy unction grace bestoweth;
And O what transport of delight
    From Thy pure chalice floweth!

And so, through all the length of day,
    Thy goodness faileth never;
Good Shepherd, may I sing Thy praise
    Within Thy house forever.
    ... Henry W. Baker (1821-1877), included in Masterpieces of Religious Verse, James Dalton Morrison, ed., New York: Harper & Bros., 1948, p. 250 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, lead me.

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Stravinsky: must one believe?

Thursday, July 28, 2011
    Commemoration of Johann Sebastian Bach, musician, 1750
Meditation:
    That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.
    —1 John 1:1-2 (NIV)
Quotation:
    In a conversation:
R.C.: Must one be a believer to compose in these [church music] forms?
I.S.: Certainly, and not merely a believer in “symbolic figures,” but in the person of the Lord, the person of the devil, and the miracles of the Church.
    ... Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), Conversations with Igor Stravinsky [1958], Robert Craft, Garden City, N.Y. : Doubleday, 1959, p. 143 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your reality exceeds all my perceptions. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Westcott: the danger of understanding

Wednesday, July 27, 2011
    Commemoration of Brooke Foss Westcott, Bishop of Durham, Teacher, 1901
Meditation:
    ... They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved.
    —2 Thessalonians 2:10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The idea of “conviction” is complex. It involves the conceptions of authoritative examination, of unquestionable proof, of decisive judgment, of punitive power. Whatever the final issue may be, he who “convicts” another places the truth of the case in dispute in a clear light before him, so that it must be seen and acknowledged as truth. He who then rejects the conclusion which the exposition involves, rejects it with his eyes open and at his peril. Truth seen as truth carries with it condemnation to all who refuse to welcome it.
    ... Brooke Foss Westcott (1825-1901), The Gospel According to St. John, London: John Murray, 1882, p. 228 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, lead me to embrace truth. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Kuyper: having Christ

Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Meditation:
    It is because of [God] that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
    —1 Corinthians 1:30 (NIV)
Quotation:
    The redeemed soul possesses all things in Christ. He is a complete Savior. He lacks nothing. Having Him we are saved to the uttermost; without Him we are utterly lost and undone.
    ... Abraham Kuyper (1837-1920), The Work of the Holy Spirit, tr. Henri De Vries, New York: Funk & Wagnalls company, 1900, p. 452 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, help me to know that I need nothing but You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Manton: the beginning of glory

Monday, July 25, 2011
    Feast of James the Apostle
Meditation:
    And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
    —2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Grace is the beginning of glory, and glory is but grace perfected.
    ... Thomas Manton (1620-1677), The Complete Works of Thomas Manton, v. 13, London: James Nisbet & Co., 1873, p. 331 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, we are swallowed up in Your glory. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Gregory of Nyssa: His objective

Sunday, July 24, 2011
    Commemoration of Thomas à Kempis, priest, spiritual writer, 1471
Meditation:
    And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
    —John 1:14 (KJV)
Quotation:
    He who exists eternally did not submit to a bodily birth because He wanted to live, but in order to recall us from death to life.
    ... St. Gregory of Nyssa (331?-396?), oratio catechetica (magna) 32, quoted in The Later Christian Fathers, Henry Scowcroft Bettenson, London: Oxford University Press, 1970, p. 146 (see the book)
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, You have called us to a life like Yours. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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