August 15

God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. — 2 Tim 1:7

We cast behind fear, sin, and death;
With Thee we seek the things above;
Our inmost souls Thy spirit breathe,
Of power, of calmness, and of love.
—HYMNS OF THE SPIRIT.

I must conclude with a more delightful subject,—my most dear and blessed sister. I never saw a more perfect instance of the spirit of power and of love, and of a sound mind; intense love, almost to the annihilation of selfishness—a daily martyrdom for twenty years, during which she adhered to her early-formed resolution of never talking about herself; thoughtful about the very pins and ribands of my wife’s dress, about the making of a doll’s cap for a child,—but of herself, save only as regarded her ripening in all goodness, wholly thoughtless; enjoying everything lovely, graceful, beautiful, high-minded, whether in God’s works or man’s, with the keenest relish; inheriting the earth to the very fulness of the promise, though never leaving her crib, nor changing her posture; and preserved through the very valley of the shadow of death, from all fear or impatience, or from every cloud of impaired reason, which might mar the beauty of Christ’s spirit’s glorious work.
—THOMAS ARNOLD.