Restraining the Imagination
January 12.
Let the words of my mouth,
and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in Thy sight,
O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
PSALM 19, verse 14.
The thoughts that in our hearts keep place,
Lord, make a holy, heavenly throng,
And steep in innocence and grace
The issue of each guarded tongue.
T. H. GILL.
There is another kind of silence to be cultivated,
besides that of the tongue as regards others.
I mean silence as regards one's self,--restraining
the imagination, not permitting it to dwell overmuch
on what we have heard or said, not indulging in
the phantasmagoria of picture-thoughts, whether
of the past or future. Be sure that you have made
no small progress in the spiritual life, when you
can control your imagination, so as to fix it on
the duty and occupation actually existing, to the
exclusion of the crowd of thoughts which are
perpetually sweeping across the mind. No doubt,
you cannot prevent those thoughts from arising,
but you can prevent yourself from dwelling on
them; you can put them aside, you can check the
self-complacency, or irritation, or earthly
longings which feed them, and by the practice
of such control of your thoughts you will attain
that spirit of inward silence which draws
the soul into a close intercourse with God.
JEAN N. GROU.
Let the words of my mouth,
and the meditation of my heart,
be acceptable in Thy sight,
O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
PSALM 19, verse 14.
The thoughts that in our hearts keep place,
Lord, make a holy, heavenly throng,
And steep in innocence and grace
The issue of each guarded tongue.
T. H. GILL.
There is another kind of silence to be cultivated,
besides that of the tongue as regards others.
I mean silence as regards one's self,--restraining
the imagination, not permitting it to dwell overmuch
on what we have heard or said, not indulging in
the phantasmagoria of picture-thoughts, whether
of the past or future. Be sure that you have made
no small progress in the spiritual life, when you
can control your imagination, so as to fix it on
the duty and occupation actually existing, to the
exclusion of the crowd of thoughts which are
perpetually sweeping across the mind. No doubt,
you cannot prevent those thoughts from arising,
but you can prevent yourself from dwelling on
them; you can put them aside, you can check the
self-complacency, or irritation, or earthly
longings which feed them, and by the practice
of such control of your thoughts you will attain
that spirit of inward silence which draws
the soul into a close intercourse with God.
JEAN N. GROU.
