August 4

He suffered no man to do them wrong; Yea, he reproved kings for their sakes. — 1 Chr 16:21

We look before and after,
And pine for what is not;
Our sincerest laughter
With some pain is fraught;
Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought.

Yet if we could scorn
Hate and pride and fear,
If we were things born
Not to shed a tear,
I know not how thy joy we ever could come near.
— Percy Bysshe Shelley.

It becomes no man to nurse despair,
But in the teeth of clenched antagonisms
To follow up the worthiest till he die.
— Alfred Tennyson.

Prayer

My Father, I bless thee for thy patience and forbearance. I pray that thou wilt forgive me for all the sorrow that I have made from rebellion and despair, and with thy forgiveness may I receive patience and cheerful courage. Amen.