Precept and Practice – JUNE 28 – Quiet Resting-places

There is always peace in the heart that is conscious of God’s presence.   ‘It is because we do not know that He is with us,’ some one has said, ‘and more than half doubt that He is anywhere, that we become nervous, irritable, uneasy and unhappy.’

It is possible to reach such a height of faith as to find perfect freedom from the petty perplexities and daily cares and small worries which produce mental restlessness and physical disease.

From these rare altitudes a man looks down on the troubles of life with calm indifference, and looks up to God with serene trust.

The experiences of life cannot seriously disturb a soul to whom the infinite seems close by.   Heaven has already begun in such a heart.   Our Divine Lord’s ‘Peace be still’ has been uttered over all the billows that threaten to toss the bark.   It has inward rest whatever be the outward commotion.

Environment is a small matter to him who contemplates the Almighty.

Not easy of attainment this point of vantage from which to survey the world, the perfect poise of complete faith, but it is well worth what it costs.

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From the Introduction to Precept and Practice

The kindly welcome given to my other little books, ‘Being and Doing’ and ‘Character and Conduct,’ must be my excuse for adding another collection of extracts to the number now in circulation.

The quotations are gathered from the books of many earnest thinkers, and deal with Life in all its length and breadth, with ourselves, our characters, our plain unvarnished faults and weaknesses, our often untoward circumstances, and with all that drags us down;-  with our purposes, our religion, our love and friendships, and with all that uplifts us;-  with our relation to others, our influence and responsibilities, and finally with those stages of our journey which bring us to the Road’s Last Turn and to the Silent Land.

CONSTANCE  M. WHISHAW