Michelangelo: Eternal Lord! eased of a cumbrous load

Sunday, April 6, 2025
    Commemoration of Albrecht Dürer, artist, 1528, and Michelangelo Buonarrotti, artist, spiritual writer, 1564
Meditation:
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High
    shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress:
    my God; in him will I trust.
    —Psalm 91:1-2 (KJV)
Quotation:
Eternal Lord! eased of a cumbrous load,
And loosened from the world, I turn to Thee;
Shun, like a shattered bark, the storm, and flee
To thy protection for a safe abode.
The crowns of thorns, hands pierced upon the tree,
The meek, benign, and lacerated face,
To a sincere repentance promised grace,
To the sad soul give hope of pardon free.
With justice mark not Thou, O Light divine,
My fault, nor hear it with thy sacred ear;
Neither put forth that way thy arm severe;
Wash with thy blood my sins; thereto incline
More readily the more my years require
Help, and forgiveness speedy and entire.
    ... Michelangelo Buonarrotti (1475-1564), translated by William Wordsworth in The Complete Poetical Works of William Wordsworth, William Wordsworth, Philadelphia: Troutman & Hayes, 1851, p. 326 (see the book)
    See also Ps. 91:1-2; 46:1; 51:2-3,10,17; 62:7-8; Matt. 27:28-29; Eph. 1:7-8; Heb. 6:18; 1 John 2:12
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your word makes me secure. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Brent: exclusive sin

Saturday, April 5, 2025
Meditation:
    There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
    —Galatians 3:28 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Exclusiveness and temperamental dislike are responsible for a great many sins against brotherly love, and must be fought down by every true follower of our Lord. When men are left to themselves, they gravitate into mutually exclusive groups composed of congenial classes or of congenial types. But Christianity steps in and breaks up these little sets, in order to blend them into one varied and splendid whole.
    ... Charles H. Brent (1862-1929), With God in the World [1899], London: Longmans Green, 1914, p. 71 (see the book)
    See also Gal. 3:28; 1 Cor. 7:21-22; 12:13; Eph. 6:5-9; Jas. 2:2-5; Rev. 7:9
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, break up our cliques and clubs according to Your will. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Watson: no more sin

Friday, April 4, 2025
Meditation:
Who is a God like you,
    who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
    of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
    but delight to show mercy.
You will again have compassion on us;
    you will tread our sins underfoot
    and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
    —Micah 7:18-19 (NIV)
Quotation:
    God having forgiven sin, he will call it no more into remembrance. The Lord will make an act of indemnity, he will not upbraid us with former unkindnesses, nor sue us with a cancelled bond. ‘He will cast our sins into the depth of the sea.’ Sin shall not be cast in as a cork which riseth up again, but as lead which sinks to the bottom. How should we all labour for this covenant-blessing?
    ... Thomas Watson (c.1620-1686), Discourses on Important and Interesting Subjects, Blackie, Fullarton, 1829, p. 385 (see the book)
    See also Mic. 7:18-19; Ps. 103:12; Jer. 31:34; Eze. 11:19-20; 36:25-27; Rom. 6:17-18; 8:1-2
Quiet time reflection:
    Praise to You, Lord, for our sins are gone forever. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Wesley: Scripture interprets Scripture

Thursday, April 3, 2025
Meditation:
    Then [Jesus] opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
    —Luke 24:45 (NIV)
Quotation:
    In all cases, the Church is to be judged by the Scripture, not the Scripture by the Church. And Scripture is the best expounder of Scripture. The best way, therefore, to understand it is carefully to compare Scripture with Scripture, and thereby learn the true meaning of it.
    ... John Wesley (1703-1791), The Works of the Rev. John Wesley, v. X, New York: J. & J. Harper, 1827, p. 52 (see the book)
    See also Luke 24:45; Ps. 119:18; Rom. 15:4; 2 Cor. 3:14-18; 4:4-6; Eph. 5:13-14; 2 Tim. 3:16
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, Your word is truth. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Bounds: connected

Wednesday, April 2, 2025
Meditation:
    The LORD is far from the wicked but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
    —Proverbs 15:29 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Prayer and a holy life are one. They mutually act and react. Neither can survive alone... We are in danger of substituting churchly work and a ceaseless round of showy activities for prayer and holy living. A holy life does not live in the closet, but it cannot live without the closet. If, by any chance, a prayer chamber should be established without a holy life, it would be a chamber without the presence of God in it.
    ... E. M. Bounds (1835-1913), Purpose in Prayer, New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1920, p. 49 (see the book)
    See also Pr. 15:29; 2 Kings 4:32-33; Ps. 17:1; Matt. 6:6; 14:23; Acts 10:9; Eph. 3:14-15; Jas. 5:16; 1 Pet. 3:12; 1 John 1:7
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, visit me at prayer. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Maurice: called to unity

Tuesday, April 1, 2025
    Commemoration of Frederick Denison Maurice, Priest, teacher, 1872
Meditation:
    Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God.
    —Philippians 1:27-28 (NIV)
Quotation:
    Unless we look upon ourselves as called to unity, we shall never be united. If God does not will that we should be united, what can our devices for producing it avail? Whereas, if we believe that it is His will, and that we are fighting against His will by our divisions, we have a right confidently to hope that He will at last bring us to repentance, or, if we do not repent, will accomplish His purposes in spite of us.
    ... Frederick Denison Maurice (1805-1872), Hope for Mankind, Macmillan, 1868, p. 27 (see the book)
    See also Phil. 1:27-28; Ps. 133:1; Matt. 23:8; John 17:20-21; Acts 4:32; Rom. 12:16; 15:5-7; Eph. 4:3; Phil. 2:1-2; Heb. 3:1; 1 Pet. 3:8; 2 Pet. 1:10-11
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, may Your Spirit unite Your people. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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Donne: God's good greater

Monday, March 31, 2025
    Commemoration of John Donne, Priest, Poet, 1631
Meditation:
    We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
    —2 Corinthians 4:8-10 (NIV)
Quotation:
    It is not in the power of the devil to do so much harm, as God can do good; nay, we may be bold to say, it is not in the will, not in the desire of the devil to do so much harm, as God would do good.
    ... John Donne (1573-1631), Works of John Donne, vol. III, London: John W. Parker, 1839, Sermon LXII, p. 93 (see the book)
    See also 2 Cor. 4:8-10; John 13:2-3; 14:18; Rom. 5:3-5; 1 Cor. 10:13; 2 Cor. 4:16-17; Eph. 6:11-12; Jas. 1:17; 1 Pet. 5:8-10
Quiet time reflection:
    Lord, all good comes from You. CQOD    Blog    email    RSS
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