Precept and Practice – JULY 13 – An Invisible Touch

Our Lord’s eye is never off His pupils, and yet visible direction hardly ever appears;  He sways them by an insensible touch.   A great truth is brought to light by an incident of wonder, a pregnant word is let drop, a hard parable is delivered now and then;  but between whiles the disciples are left to dwell on their own thoughts, as their fishing boat sails along, or as they follow their Master among the northern hills.   Our Lord is ever bent on making men thoughtful and on calling out in each the inner life which is proper to the man, and for this, tranquillity, or at least frequent opportunity for quiet communing with their own thoughts, was absolutely required.

(The Reverend Henry Latham – Pastor Pastorum)

Christ sets His followers no tasks.   He appoints no hours.   He allots no sphere.   He Himself simply went about and did good.  He did not stop to do some special thing which should be called religious.   His life was His religion.   His pulpit was the hillside.   His congregation a woman at a well.   We never think of Him in connection with a church.   We cannot picture Him in the garb of a priest or belonging to any of the classes who specialise religion.   His service was of a universal human order.

(Professor Henry Drummond)

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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