Step by Step

It must be admitted that [union with God] is not reached at once. At least this is not the general method of God's operation. God works gradatim, step by step; by the gradualism of continually developed law, and not by the impromptus and ejaculations of blind effort, without any wise and permanent principles as the foundation of effort. It is a great thing to begin to return; it is a much greater to complete the return. It is a great thing even to look towards God with feelings of humility and faith.  It is a much greater to find him, encouraged as it were by these solicitations of humble faith, approaching nearer and nearer, in the mild radiance of a reconciled divinity; — melting away and removing, at every step of his approach, some envelopment of selfishness, until, the doors of every faculty being open, he enters his own purified temple, and becomes its everlasting center.

— edited from A Treatise on Divine Union (1851), Part 1, Chapter 1.

Deliverance in Christ

Long did the clouds and darkness roll
Around my troubled breast;
No starlight shone upon my soul,
My footsteps found no rest.

To human help I looked around,
But vainly sought relief;
No balm of Gilead I found,
No healing for my grief.

Then to the Savior's help I cried;
He listening heard my prayer;
I saw his wounded hands and side,
And felt that hope was there.

He guides me in the better way;
He makes my footsteps strong;
The gloomy night is changed to day,
And sadness changed to song.

— American Cottage Life (1850).

The Light is Rising O'er the Sky.

The light is rising o'er the sky:
The dews are fading from the hill;­
But where's the joyous light to dry
The tears, that from my heart distil?

Tears, deep and hidden in their spring;
And well may those who weep despair,
If there's no sun or star to bring
Some ray of hope and comfort there.

E'en when thou speakest, see the light,
Oh sinner, brighter than the day;
And let the beam that cheers thy sight,
Its gladness to thy heart convey.

When angels sung "good will to men,"
Its splendor shone o'er Bethlehem's plain;
And shining now as bright as then,
It cheers the mourning soul again.

— American Cottage Life (1850).

Be Faithful in Little Things

Always make it a rule to do every thing, which it is proper and a duty to do, in the best manner and to the best of your ability. An imperfect execution of a thing, where we might have done better, is not only unprofitable but it is a vicious execution or in other words is morally wrong. He, who aims at perfection in great things, but is willing to be imperfect in little things, will find himself essentially an imperfect man. The perfection of the greater will be no compensation, and no excuse for the imperfection of the less. Such a person wants the essential principle of universal obedience. Consider well, therefore, what God in his Providence would have you perform; and if you feel the spirit of those directions, which require us to do all things as unto God rather than unto men, you will not do them with a false heart or a feeble hand. And thus in small things, as well as in great, in those which are unseen  as well as in those which attract notice, it shall be said of you, "Well done, good and faithful servant."

— Religious Maxims (1846) XXVI.

O God, We are Thine; For Ever Thine

No man ever arrived at Christian perfection, no man ever  can arrive at that ennobling state, who  walks by sight, rather than by faith, and of whom it cannot be said, as of the father of the faithful, "he went out, not knowing whither he went." Perhaps we may say, it is the highest attainment of the soul, (certainly it is the foundation of the highest or perfect state in all other Christian attainments,) that of entire and unwavering confidence in God. O God, we are thine; for ever thine. We will not let Thee go, until Thou bless us. And when Thou dost bless us, still we will not let Thee go. For without Thee, even blessing would be turned into cursing. Therefore we will ever trust in Thee.

— Religious Maxims (1846) XXV.

Faith, Even Without Consolation

We may be deprived of outward consolations; and still have consolations of heart. But this is not all. We may be deprived in the sovereignty of God, and for wise purposes, of inward consolations also; and may be left for a time in a state of mental barrenness and desolation. And yet faith, precious faith, discouraging as this state of things may seem, may still remain; and not feebly merely, but in the strength and fulness of its exercise. It is still our delightful privilege to say of God, that He is our God, our Father, our Friend and portion. "Blessed is the man, that trusteth in the Lord."

— Religious Maxims (1846) XXIV.

On Censuring Others

It  is one among the pious and valuable maxims, which are ascribed to Francis de Sales: "A judicious silence is always better than truth spoken without charity." The very undertaking to instruct or censure others, implies an assumption of intellectual or moral superiority. It cannot be expected, therefore, that the attempt will be well received, unless it is tempered with a heavenly spirit. "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not CHARITY, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal."

— Religious Maxims (1846) XXIII.