February 12Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing — Jas. 1:4.
Not one step of progress can be gained without the exercise of this grace of patience; and not one of the graces more beautifully adorns the Christian character, or wins the approval of the world's conscience, or glorifies the God of all grace whose Truth inspires it. It is long-suffering meekness earnestly striving to stem the tide of human imperfection and weakness, and endeavoring with painstaking care to regain the Divine likeness; it is slow to wrath and plenteous in mercy; it is quick to perceive the paths of truth and righteousness, and prompt to walk in them; it is mindful of its own imperfections and sympathetic with the imperfections and shortcomings of others—Z '93, 295 (R3090). Patience is that quality of heart and mind that, meeting obstacles in a cheerful spirit, perseveres unto the end in the course it is following. This quality is absolutely essential to the attainment of a perfect character, under the conditions of obstacles connected with the Christian life; and such a quality will permeate and perfect every other quality required in the Christian; therefore it is one of the universal graces—P '36, 14. Parallel passages: Psa. 37:7-9; Eccles. 7:8; Lam. 3:24-27; Luke 8:15; 21:19; Rom. 2:7; 5:3; 8:25; 12:12; 15:4, 5; 2 Cor. 12:12; Gal. 6:9; Col. 1:10, 11; 1 Thes. 1:3; Heb. 6:12, 15; 10:36; 12:1. Hymns: 1, 130, 11, 44, 125, 136, 183. Poems of Dawn, 288: He Leads Us On. Tower Reading: Z '15, 83 (R 5650). Questions: What experiences of the week were along the line of patience? How did I meet them? How did they affect my character? What proved helpful therein? |
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HE LEADS US ON
HE leads us on, by paths we did not know,
Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow,
Though oft we faint and falter on the way,
Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day,
Yet when the clouds are gone
We know He leads us on.
He leads us on through all the trialsome years;
Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts, and fears
He guides our steps. Through all the tangled maze
Of sin, of sorrow, and o'erclouded days
We know His will is done;
And still He leads us on.
And then, at last, after the weary strife,
After the restless fever we call life,
After the dreariness, the aching pain,
The wayward struggles which have proved in vain,
After our toils are past—
He'll give us rest at last.
HE leads us on, by paths we did not know,
Upward He leads us, though our steps be slow,
Though oft we faint and falter on the way,
Though storms and darkness oft obscure the day,
Yet when the clouds are gone
We know He leads us on.
He leads us on through all the trialsome years;
Past all our dreamland hopes, and doubts, and fears
He guides our steps. Through all the tangled maze
Of sin, of sorrow, and o'erclouded days
We know His will is done;
And still He leads us on.
And then, at last, after the weary strife,
After the restless fever we call life,
After the dreariness, the aching pain,
The wayward struggles which have proved in vain,
After our toils are past—
He'll give us rest at last.
