Adams: Eternal Lord, how faint and small

Tuesday, May 19, 2026
    Feast of Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, 988
Meditation:
O LORD, you have searched me
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you know it completely, O LORD.
    —Psalm 139:1-4 (NIV)
Quotation:
Eternal Lord, how faint and small
Our greatest, strongest thoughts must seem
To Thee, who overseest all,
And leads us through Life’s shallow stream.

How tangled are our straightest ways;
How dimly flares our brightest star;
How earthbound is our highest praise
To Thee, who sees us as we are.

Our feet are slow where Thine are fast;
Thy kiss of grace meets lips of stone;
And we admit Thy love at last
To hearts that have none of their own.
    ... Robert MacColl Adams (1913-1985)
    See also Ps. 139:1-4; Matt. 22:36-37; Eph. 2:1-2; Rom. 5:5; 1 John 4:19
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, spread Your love within my heart.

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Barclay: seeing in God's light

Monday, May 18, 2026
Meditation:
    There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
    —Revelation 22:5 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Here is the great truth that, only when we see things in the light of God, do we see things as they are. It is only when we see things in the light of God that we see what things are really important, and what things are not. Things which seem vastly important, things like ambition, and prestige, and money and gain, lose all their value and importance when they are seen in the light of God. Pleasures and habits and social customs which seem permissible enough, are seen for the dangerous things they are when they are seen in the light of God. Things which seem evils, hardship, toil, discipline, unpopularity, even persecution, are seen in their glory when they are seen in the light of God.
    ... William Barclay (1907-1978), The Revelation of John, v. II, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1961, p. 276 (see the book)
    See also Rev. 22:5; Ps. 36:10; Isa. 60:19-20; Matt. 25:31-32; Rom. 5:17; 8:18-19; 1 Pet. 1:3-4; 1 John 3:2
Quiet time reflection:
    Thank You, Lord, for the Light of the world. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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