Standard Jet DBnb` Ugr@?~1y0̝bǟFN牘X.D^(`T{6k߱wCϯ34ay[|*|OJl>`&_Љ$g'DeFx -{X`QB/ bSD5"      ۇ O8V#jKrvwlrV#jKV#jKV#jKV#jKrvwlrV#jKV#jKV#jKV#jKV#o    ۇ O8V#jKrvwlrV#jKV#jKV#jKV#jKrvwlrV#jKV#jKV#jKV#jKV#o    ۇ O8V#jKrvwlrV#jKV#jKV#jKV#jKrvwlrV#jKV#jKV#jKV#jKV#o       ۇ O8V#jKrvwlrV#jKKKD!RequiredAllowZeroLength Month  Day &Devotion  KKD!AllowZeroLengthRequVCS           2           Q          TIdParentIdNameType DateCreate DateUpdateOwnerFlagsDatabaseConnect ForeignName RmtInfoShort RmtInfoLongLvLvPropLvModuleLvExtraZ1 \7 Id ParentIdName        quVC1S     2  ObjectIdSIDACM FInheritable ObjectId                IdParentIdNameType DateCreate DateUpdateOwnerFlagsDatabaseConnect ForeignName RmtInfoShort RmtInfoLongLvLvPropLvModuleLvExtra  Id ParentIdName        VC?S      of  I  rs   a ObjectId AttributeOrderName1Name2 ExpressionFlagilnzjtz ObjectIdAttribute  VCS             szRelationshipgrbitccolumnicolumnszObjectszColumnszReferencedObjectszReferencedColumn   szObjectszReferencedObjectszRelationship {qg]SI?5<o{qg]SI?5o{@@ @d`w``bbfvvs`hfvd`w`a`vfvgruov ordxmfv ufm`wjrpvijsvufsruwv vbujswv v}vufm w`amfvdfw`jmvdfzrwjrpvov}v`bbfvvrakfbwvov}v`bfvov}vrakfbwvov}vtxfujfvov}vufm`wjrpvijsvov}vdao{@@ @d`w``bbfvvs`hfvd`w`a`vfvgruov ordxmfv ufm`wjrpvijsvufsruwv vbujswv v}vufm w`amfvdfw`jmvdfzrwjrpvov}v`bbfvvrakfbwvov}v`bfvov}vrakfbwvov}vtxfujfvov}vufm`wjrpvijsvov}vdao @ @      {qg]SI?5@ O @ @ @ @ @ @    *+,()-./0!"#$%&'  @ d`w`a`vfvufm`wjrpvijsvw`amfvov}v`bfvov}vrakfbwvov}vtxfujfvov}vda1,Q@1,Q@SysRel%%%%%%%%%%% 1,Q@1,Q@Scripts&&&&&&&&&&& 1,Q@1,Q@Reports&&&&&&&&&&& 1,Q@1,Q@Modules&&&&&&&&&&& 1,Q@1,Q@Forms$$$$$$$$$$$ 1,Q@1,Q@DataAccessPages........... ,Q@,Q@MSysRelationships22222222220 ,Q@,Q@MSysQueries,,,,,,,,,,* ,Q@,Q@MSysACEs))))))))))' ,Q@,Q@MSysObjects,,,,,,,,,,* ,Q@,Q@MSysDb''''''''''% ,Q@,Q@Relationships.........., ,Q@,Q@Databases**********( ,Q@,Q@Tables''''''''''% Q]m5<    ys      2                     IdParentIdNameType DateCreate DateUpdateOwnerFlagsDatabaseConnect ForeignName RmtInfoShort RmtInfoLongLvLvPropLvModuleLvExtra  Id ParentIdName        El[-@h̚l[-@MSysAccessObjects22222222220 U-@U-@Devotions}@666*******( @U-@U-@Details@444(((((((& @N_l[-@N_l[-@SysRel''''''''''% N_l[-@N_l[-@Scripts((((((((((& N_l[-@N_l[-@Reports((((((((((& N_l[-@N_l[-@Modules((((((((((& N_l[-@N_l[-@Forms&&&&&&&&&&$ N_l[-@N_l[-@DataAccessPages0000000000. U-@U-@MSysRelationships22222222220 U-@U-@MSysQueries,,,,,,,,,,* U-@U-@MSysACEs))))))))))' U-@U-@MSysObjects,,,,,,,,,,* U-@NUl[-@MSysDb@333'''''''% @U-@U-@Relationships.........., U-@U-@Databases**********( U-@U-@Tables''''''''''% VCN  2  2   Description AbbreviationComments2-Q@2-Q@SysRel%%%%%%%%%%% 2-Q@2-Q@Scripts&&&&&&&&&&& 2-Q@2-Q@Reports&&&&&&&&&&& 2-Q@2-Q@Modules&&&&&&&&&&& 2-Q@2-Q@Forms$$$$$$$$$$$ 2-Q@2-Q@DataAccessPages........... 2-Q@2-Q@MSysRelationships22222222220 2-Q@2-Q@MSysQueries,,,,,,,,,,* 2-Q@2-Q@MSysACEs))))))))))' 2-Q@2-Q@MSysObjects,,,,,,,,,,* 2-Q@2-Q@MSysDb''''''''''% 2-Q@2-Q@Relationships.........., 2-Q@2-Q@Databases**********( 2-Q@2-Q@Tables''''''''''% {q@@ @d`w``bbfvvs`hfvd`w`a`vfvgruov ordxmfv ufm`wjrpvijsvufsruwv vbujswv w`amfvov}v`bfvov}vrakfbwvov}vtxfujfvov}vufm`wjrpvijsvov}vda @@yLVAL@@ @ d`w``bbfvvs`hfvd`w`a`vfvgruov ordxmfv ufm`wjrpvijsvufsruwv vbujswv v}vufm w`amfvov}v`bfvov}vrakfbwvov}vtxfujfvov}vufm`wjrpvijsvov}vdaM-Q@M-Q@SysRel%%%%%%%%%%% M-Q@M-Q@Scripts&&&&&&&&&&& M-Q@M-Q@Reports&&&&&&&&&&& M-Q@M-Q@Modules&&&&&&&&&&& M-Q@M-Q@Forms$$$$$$$$$$$ M-Q@M-Q@DataAccessPages........... M-Q@M-Q@MSysRelationships22222222220 M-Q@M-Q@MSysQueries,,,,,,,,,,* M-Q@M-Q@MSysACEs))))))))))' M-Q@M-Q@MSysObjects,,,,,,,,,,* M-Q@M-Q@MSysDb''''''''''% M-Q@M-Q@Relationships......Mary W. Tileston - Daily Strength for Daily Needs 1884 WARNING: Cites Apocrypha\par \par formatted for e-Sword by David Cox# -"        !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>?      !"#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789:;<=>      !"#$%&'( ) * + , -./0123456789:;<=> !"#$%&'( ) * + , -./0123456789:;<=>? @!A"B#C$D%E&F'G(H)I*J+K,L-M.N/O0P1Q2R3S4T5U6V7W8X9Y:Z;[<\=]>^_`abcdefg h i j k lmnopqrstuvwxyz{|}~Mary W. Tileston - Daily Strength for Daily NeedsTileston-Daily{@L@2VC)nNnnnn     IDMonthDayDevotion ID PrimaryKey2-Q@2-Q@SysRel%%%%%%%%%%% 2-Q@2-Q@Scripts&&&&&&&&&&& 2-Q@2-Q@Reports&&&&&&&&&&& 2-Q@2-Q@Modules&&&&&&&&&&& 2-Q@2-Q@Forms$$$$$$$$$$$ 2-Q@2-Q@DataAccessPages........... 2-Q@2-Q@MSysRelationships22222222220 2-Q@2-Q@MSysQueries,,,,,,,,,,* 2-Q@2-Q@MSysACEs))))))))))' 2-Q@2-Q@MSysObjects,,,,,,,,,,* 2-Q@2-Q@MSysDb''''''''''% 2-Q@2-Q@Relationships.........., 2-Q@2-Q@Databases**********( 2-Q@2-Q@Tables''''''''''% {qg           2           Q          TIdParentIdNameType DateCreate DateUpdateOwnerFlagsDatabaseConnect ForeignName RmtInfoShort RmtInfoLongLvLvPropLvModuleLvExtraZ1 \7 Id ParentIdName        p?$LVAL04\i "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_89:1}\PAR\PAR We are surrounded with mercies; mercies for the body, and mercies for the soul. There are indeed times and seasons when all the mercies of God, both in providence and grace, seem hidden from our eyes, when, what with the workings of sin, rebellion, and unbelief, with a thorny path in the world, and a rough, trying road in the soul, we see little of the mercies of God, though surrounded by them. Like Elisha's servant, though the mountain is surrounded by the horses and chariots of fire, and the angels of God are round about us, yet our eyes are blinded, we cannot see them; and at the very moment when God is already showering mercies upon us, and preparing others in reserve, through some trying dispensation{\i"They go from strength to strength." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_84:7}.\PAR\PAR {\i"First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMar_4:28}.\PAR\PAR Build thee more stately mansions, O my soul, \PAR\PAR As the swift seasons roll!\PAR\PAR Leave thy low-vaulted past!\PAR\PAR Let each new temple, nobler than the last, \PAR\PAR Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast, \PAR\PAR Till thou at length art free, \PAR\PAR Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!\PAR\PAR O. W. HOLMES.\PAR\PAR High hearts are never long without hearing some new call, some distant clarion of God, even in their dreams; and soon they are observed to break up the camp of ease, and start on some fresh march of faithful service.\PAR\PAR And, looking higher still, we find those who never wait till their moral work accumulates, and who reward resolution with no rest; with whom, therefore, the alternation is instantaneous and constant; who do the good only to see the better, and see the better only to achieve it; who are too meek for transport, too faithful for remorse, too earnest for repose; whose worship is action, and whose action ceaseless aspiration.\PAR\PAR J. MARTINEAU.\PAR\PAR AoR5jM0eH+}`C& x[>!sV9nQ4ation enter into the ki@X R@W 1@V @U @T w@S L@R @Q @P @O @N @N @M @L @K @J @I U@H @G @F @E  @D  @C  @B  @A  9@@ @?  @> @= 1@< @; @: E@9 g@8 g@7  @6 @5 i@4 0@3 t@2 @1 @0 @/ @. @- z@, @+ @* @) @) $@( @'   ]@&   6@%   +@$   @#   @" @! X@  _@  @ t@ @ ]@ @ LVAL8\i "Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." \i0 {\cf11 \ulLuk_1:78-79}\PAR\PAR There is a way of peace, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. For he is \i "our peace," \i0 and \i "the way," \i0 and therefore the way of peace. He has made peace through the blood of his cross ({\cf11 \ulCol_1:20}), having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to those who were afar off, \i "sitting in darkness and the shadow of death," \i0 and to those who were near ({\cf11 \ulEph_2:16}; {\cf11 \ulEph_2:17}). The dayspring, then, breaking in upon the soul, shines upon the way of peace, and guides the feet into it. The light shines upon the way lined with blood, the way of salvation through the finished work, atoning blood, and meritorious sufferings{\i"The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_121:8}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place in all generations." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_90:1}.\PAR\PAR With grateful hearts the past we own; The future, all to us unknown, We to Thy guardian care commit, And peaceful leave before Thy feet.\PAR\PAR P. DODDRIDGE.\PAR\PAR We are like to Him with whom there is no past or future, with whom a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day, when we do our work in the great present, leaving both past and future to Him to whom they are ever present, and fearing nothing, because He is in our future as much as He is in our past, as much as, and far more than we can feel Him to be, in our present. Partakers thus of the divine nature, resting in that perfect All-in-all in whom our nature is eternal too, we walk without fear, full of hope and courage and strength to do His will, waiting for the endless good which He is always giving as fast as He can get us able to take it in.\PAR\PAR G. MACDONALD.\PAR\PAR LVAL"\i "Hold up my goings in your paths, that my footsteps slip not." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_17:5}\PAR\PAR Without scrupulously or superstitiously observing \i "days, and months, and times, and years," \i0 few of us altogether pass by so marked an epoch as the dawning of another year upon our path without some acknowledgment of it both to God and man. When we open our eyes on the first morning of the year, we almost instinctively say, \i "This is New-year's day." \i0 Nor is this, at least this should not be, all the notice we take, all the acknowledgment we make of that opening year of which we may not see the close. \PAR\PAR When we bend our knees before the throne of grace, we mingle with thankful acknowledgment for the mercies of the past year, both in providence and in grace, earnest petitions for similar mercies to be experienced and enjoyed through the present. Last evening witnessed our confessions of the many, many grievous sins, wanderings, backslidings, and departings from the living God during the year now gone; this morni{\i"As thy days, so shall thy strength be." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulDeu_33:25}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_6:34}.\PAR\PAR Oh, ask not thou, How shall I bear The burden of to-morrow?\PAR\PAR Sufficient for to-day, its care, Its evil and its sorrow; God imparteth by the way Strength sufficient for the day.\PAR\PAR J. E. SAXBY.\PAR\PAR He that hath so many causes of joy, and so great, is very much in love with sorrow and peevishness, who loses all these pleasures, and chooses to sit down upon his little handful of thorns. Enjoy the blessings of this day, if God sends them; and the evils of it bear patiently and sweetly: for this day only is ours, we are dead to yesterday, and we are not yet born to the morrow. But if we look abroad, and bring into one day's thoughts the evil of many, certain and uncertain, what will be and what will never be, our load will be as intolerable as it is unreasonable.\PAR\PAR JEREMY TAYLOR.\PAR\PAR LVALU '\T<`\u5U'\U`\`w'\V`\ue%ueueu`s'\W8`\eeeee%euPs'\X`\%%%ee%eep,'\Y`\eu%eue%%p '\Z4`\%uueeeee`a'\[`\eeeeu%%u` '\\܊`\eu%ueeee`a'\]0`\eeeeeeue p'{\i"If we sin, we are Thine, knowing Thy power: but-- we will not sin, knowing that we are counted Thine. For to know Thee is perfect righteousness: yea, to know Thy power is the root of immortality." \i0}-- WISDOM OF SOLOMON 15:2-3.\PAR\PAR Oh, empty us of self, the world, and sin, And then in all Thy fulness enter in; Take full possession, Lord, and let each thought Into obedience unto Thee be brought; Thine is the power, and Thine the will, that we Be wholly sanctified, O Lord, to Thee.\PAR\PAR C. E. J.\PAR\PAR Take steadily some one sin, which seems to stand out before thee, to root it out, by God's grace, and every fibre of it. Purpose strongly, by the grace and strength of God, wholly to sacrifice this sin or sinful inclination to the love of God, to spare it not, until thou leave of it none remaining, neither root nor branch.\PAR\PAR Fix, by God's help, not only to root out this sin, but to set thyself to gain, by that same help, the opposite grace. If thou art tempted to be angry, try hard, by God's grace, to be {\i"very" \i0}meek; if to be proud, seek to be {\i"very" \i0}humble.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR LVAL:\i "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_63:1}\PAR\PAR David here speaks of seeking God for what he is in himself as distinct from what he has to give. His gifts are one thing, himself is another. Therefore he says, O God, you are my God; early will I seek you;" \i0 you as distinct from your gifts. The bride may value her bridegroom's costly gifts; but what are his gifts apart from himself? So the Church highly prizes her royal Husband's gifts and blessings; but what are these compared to Him who, in her admiring eyes, is the chief among ten thousand and altogether lovely? Thus, as seen by the eye of faith, {\i"That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEph_5:27}.\PAR\PAR Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house. -- {\cf11 \ul1Pe_2:5}.\PAR\PAR One holy Church of God appears Through every age and race, Unwasted by the lapse of years, Unchanged by changing place.\PAR\PAR S. LONGFELLOW.\PAR\PAR A temple there has been upon earth, a spiritual Temple, made up of living stones; a Temple, as I may say, composed of souls; a Temple with God for its light, and Christ for the high priest; with wings of angels for its arches, with saints and teachers for its pillars, and with worshippers for its pavement. Wherever there is faith and love, this Temple is.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR To whatever worlds He carries our souls when they shall pass out of these imprisoning bodies, in those worlds these souls of ours shall find themselves part of the same great Temple; for it belongs not to this earth alone. There can be no end of the universe where God is, to which that growing Temple does not reach,-- the Temple of a creation to be wrought at last into a perfect utterance of God by a perfect obedience to God.\PAR\PAR PHILLIPS BROOKS.\PAR\PAR LVAL<\i "Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens." \i0 {\cf11 \ulLam_3:41}\PAR\PAR When the Lord lays judgment to the line, and righteousness to the plummet, when he makes the living man complain on account of deserved chastisement for his sins, and thus brings him to search and try his ways, he raises up an earnest cry in his soul. \i "Let us lift up our heart with our hands," \i0 and not the hands without the heart; not the mere bended knee; not the mere grave and solemn countenance, that easiest and most frequent cover of hypocrisy; not the mere form of prayer, that increasing idol of the day--but the lifting up of the heart w{\i"In all ages entering into holy souls, she [Wisdom] maketh them friends of God, and prophets." \i0}-- WISDOM OF SOLOMON 7:27.\PAR\PAR Meanwhile with every son and saint of Thine Along the glorious line, Sitting by turns beneath Thy sacred feet We 'll hold communion sweet, Know them by look and voice, and thank them all For helping us in thrall, For words of hope, and bright examples given To shew through moonless skies that there is light in heaven.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR If we cannot live at once and alone with Him, we may at least live with those who have lived with Him; and find, in our admiring love for their purity, their truth, their goodness, an intercession with His pity on our behalf. To study the lives, to meditate the sorrows, to commune with the thoughts, of the great and holy men and women of this rich world, is a sacred discipline, which deserves at least to rank as the forecourt of the temple of true worship, and may train the tastes, ere we pass the very gate, of heaven. We forfeit the chief source of dignity and sweetness in life, next to the direct communion with God, if we do not seek converse with the greater minds that have left their vestiges on the world.\PAR\PAR J. MARTINEAU.\PAR\PAR Do not think it wasted time to submit yourself to any influence which may bring upon you any noble feeling.\PAR\PAR J. RUSKIN.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "And I will ask the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees him not, neither knows him--but you know him; for he dwells with you, and shall be in you." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_14:16-17}\PAR\PAR The holy Comforter and most gracious Spirit does not take up a temporary abode in the heart of the Lord's people. Where he once takes up his dwelling, there he forever dwells and lives. \i "He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever." \i0 Oh, the blessing! Where once that holy Dove has lighted, there that Dove abides. He does not visit the soul with his grace, and then leave it to perish under the wrath of God, or allow his work to wither, droop, and die. But where he has once come into the soul with power, there he fixes his continual habitation, for he makes the bodies of {\i"The exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power." \i0}-- Eph_1:19.\PAR\PAR The lives which seem so poor, so low, The hearts which are so cramped and dull, The baffled hopes, the impulse slow, Thou takest, touchest all, and lo!\PAR\PAR They blossom to the beautiful.\PAR\PAR SUSAN COOLIDGE.\PAR\PAR A root set in the finest soil, in the best climate, and blessed with all that sun and air and rain can do for it, is not in so sure a way of its growth to perfection, as every man may be, whose spirit aspires after all that which God is ready and infinitely desirous to give him. For the sun meets not the springing bud that stretches towards him with half that certainty, as God, the source of all good, communicates Himself to the soul that longs to partake of Him.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR If we stand in the openings of the present moment, with all the length and breadth of our faculties unselfishly adjusted to what it reveals, we are in the best condition to receive what God is always ready to communicate.\PAR\PAR T. C. UPHAM.\PAR\PAR QLVAL]@\i "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man--but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Pe_1:20-21}\PAR\PAR The Bible is put into our hands as a revelation from God. As such we have received it from our fathers. As such, and as such only, does it claim our attention and our obedience. If it is not the word of God--we speak with reverence--it is an imposture. Now, if we can but firmly establish the necessity of a revelation from God, we have laid a strong foundation for a belief that the Bible is that revelation; for no other is worth a moment's examination. This argument from necessity, then, is very strong--stronger, perhaps, than it at first appears, and as extensive in application as firm {\i"As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men." \i0}-- Gal_6:10.\PAR\PAR {\i"Let brotherly love continue." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_13:1}.\PAR\PAR I Ask Thee for a thoughtful love, Through constant watching wise, To meet the glad with joyful smiles, And to wipe the weeping eyes, And a heart at leisure from itself, To soothe and sympathize.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR Surely none are so full of cares, or so poor in gifts, that to them also, waiting patiently and trustfully on God for His daily commands, He will not give direct ministry for Him, increasing according to their strength and their desire. There is so much to be set right in the world, there are so many to be led and helped and comforted, that we must continually come in contact with such in our daily life. Let us only take care, that, by the glance being turned inward, or strained onward, or lost in vacant reverie, we do not miss our turn of service, and pass by those to whom we might have been sent on an errand straight from God.\PAR\PAR ELIZABETH CHARLES.\PAR\PAR Look up and not down; look forward and not back; look out and not in; and lend a hand.\PAR\PAR EDWARD E. HALE.\PAR\PAR LVALoR5jM0eH+}`C& x[>!sV9nQ4poken unto him, and he      z    r   V  @~  | z x v  t 6r  p ( n  l )j Hh  f  d  P b  `  j^  \ V[  Y  W{\i"And in every work that be began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered." \i0}--{\cf11 \ul2Ch_31:21}.\PAR\PAR {\i"What, shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" \i0}-- JOHN 6:28.\PAR\PAR Give me within the work which calls to-day, To see Thy finger gently beckoning on; So struggle grows to freedom, work to play, And toils begun from Thee to Thee are done.\PAR\PAR J. F. CLARKE.\PAR\PAR God is a kind Father. He sets us all in the places where He wishes us to be employed; and that employment is truly {\i"our Father's business." \i0}He chooses work for every creature which will be delightful to them, if they do it simply and humbly. He gives us always strength enough, and sense enough, for what He wants us to do; if we either tire ourselves or puzzle ourselves, it is our own fault. And we may always be sure, whatever we are doing, that we cannot be pleasing Him, if we are not happy ourselves.\PAR\PAR J. RUSKIN.\PAR\PAR `LVALl\i "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Pe_3:18}\PAR\PAR Growth is the sure mark of life. We see this in vegetation, in the animal creation, in the growth of our own bodies, and of every other thing in which there is life. Where, then, there is the life of God in the soul, there will be a growth in that life. Paul says to the Thessalonian Church--"We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fit, because your faith grows exceedingly" \i0 ({\cf11 \ul2Th_1:3}); and Peter says, \i "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." \i0 There is \i "an increasing in the knowledge of God" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulCol_1:10}), and \i "a coming in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of th{\i"Because Thy loving-kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise Thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_43:3}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_17:33}.\PAR\PAR O Lord! my best desires fulfil, And help me to resign Life, health, and comfort, to Thy will, And make Thy pleasure mine.\PAR\PAR WM. COWPER.\PAR\PAR What do our heavy hearts prove but that other things are sweeter to us than His will, that we have not attained to the full mastery of our true freedom, the full perception of its power, that our sonship is yet but faintly realized, and its blessedness not yet proved and known? Our consent would turn all our trials into obedience. By consenting we make them our own, and offer them with ourselves again to Him.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR Nothing is intolerable that is necessary. Now God hath bound thy trouble upon thee, with a design to try thee, and with purposes to reward and crown thee. These cords thou canst not break; and therefore lie thou down gently, and suffer the hand of God to do what He please.\PAR\PAR JEREMY TAYLOR.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "I will sing of the mercies of the Lord forever." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_89:1}\PAR\PAR We are surrounded with mercies; mercies for the body, and mercies for the soul. There are indeed times and seasons when all the mercies of God, both in providence and grace, seem hidden from our eyes, when, what with the workings of sin, rebellion, and unbelief, with a thorny path in the world, and a rough, trying road in the soul, we see little of the mercies of God, though surrounded by them. Like Elisha's servant, though the mountain is surrounded by the horses and chariots of fire, and the angels of God are round about us, yet our eyes are blinded, we cannot see them; and at the very moment when God is already showering mercies upon us, and preparing others in reserve, through some trying dispensation, we are filled, perhaps, with murmuring and rebellion, and cry, \i "Is his mercy clean gone forever, will he be favorable no more?" \i0 \PAR\PAR This is our infirm{\i"I will be glad, and rejoice in Thy mercy: for Thou hast considered my trouble; Thou hast known my soul in adversities." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_31:7}.\PAR\PAR Nay, all by Thee is ordered, chosen, planned; Each drop that fills my daily cup Thy hand Prescribes, for ills none else can understand:\PAR\PAR All, all is known to Thee.\PAR\PAR A. L. NEWTON.\PAR\PAR God knows us through and through. Not the most secret thought, which we most hide from ourselves, is hidden from Him. As then we come to know ourselves through and through, we come to see ourselves more as God sees us, and then we catch some little glimpse of His designs with us, how each ordering of His Providence, each check to our desires, each failure of our hopes, is just fitted for us, and for something in our own spiritual state, which others know not of, and which, till then, we knew not. Until we come to this knowledge, we must take all in faith, believing, though we know not, the goodness of God towards us. As we know ourselves, we, thus far, know God.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR LVAL"\i "Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high has visited us, to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." \i0 {\cf11 \ulLuk_1:78-79}\PAR\PAR There is a way of peace, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. For he is \i "our peace," \i0 and \i "the way," \i0 and therefore the way of peace. He has made peace through the blood of his cross ({\cf11 \ulCol_1:20}), having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to those who were afar off, \i "sitting in darkness and the shadow of death," \i0 and to those who were near ({\cf11 \ulEph_2:16}; {\cf11 \ulEph_2:17}). The dayspring, then, breaki{\i"Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_19:14}.\PAR\PAR 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.\PAR\PAR T. H. GILL.\PAR\PAR 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.\PAR\PAR JEAN N. GROU.\PAR\PAR LVALB\i "Bless the Lord, O my soul--and all that is within me, bless his holy name." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_103:1}\PAR\PAR As the Son has glorified the Father and the Father has glorified the Son, so there is a people in whom both the Father and the Son will be glorified. He therefore said, \i "And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulJoh_17:22}); and again, \i "All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I am glorified in them." \i0 When, then, God's goodness and mercy in the face of Jesus Christ are manifested to this people whom he has formed for himself that they might show forth his praise, then they give him back his glory. But how is this done? By praising and blessing his holy name for the manifestation of his goodness and mercy to their soul. We thus see in what a blessed circle this glory runs. The Father glorifies the Son; the Son glorifies the Father; both unite in glorifying his chosen and redeemed people; and they glorify Father and Son by giving them the glory due to their name. We therefore read that \i "the Gentiles glorify God for his mercy." \i0 But how? \i "Rejoice, you Gentil{\i"Speak not evil one of another, brethren." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJas_4:11}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEph_4:31}.\PAR\PAR If aught good thou canst not say Of thy brother, foe, or friend, Take thou, then, the silent way, Lest in word thou shouldst offend.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR If there is any person to whom you feel dislike, that is the person of whom you ought never to speak.\PAR\PAR R. CECIL.\PAR\PAR To recognize with delight all high and generous and beautiful actions; to find a joy even in seeing the good qualities of your bitterest opponents, and to admire those qualities even in those with whom you have least sympathy, this is the only spirit which can heal the love of slander and of calumny.\PAR\PAR F. W. ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR ULVALa\i "To those who have been called, who are loved by God the Father and kept by Jesus Christ." \i0 Jude 1\PAR\PAR What a mercy it is for God's people that before they have a vital union with Christ, before they are grafted into him experimentally--they have{\i"Thy servants are ready to do whatsoever my lord the king shall appoint." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Sa_15:15}.\PAR\PAR I love to think that God appoints My portion day by day; Events of life are in His hand, And I would only say, Appoint them in Thine own good time, And in Thine own best way.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR If we are really, and always, and equally ready to do whatsoever the King appoints, all the trials and vexations arising from any change in His appointments, great or small, simply do not exist. If He appoints me to work there, shall I lament that I am not to work here? If He appoints me to wait in-doors to-day, am I to be annoyed because I am not to work out-of-doors? If I meant to write His messages this morning, shall I grumble because He sends interrupting visitors, rich or poor, to whom I am to speak them, or {\i"show kindness" \i0}for His sake, or at least obey His command, {\i"Be courteous?" \i0}If all my members are really at His disposal, why should I be put out if to-day's appointment is some simple work for my hands or errands for my feet, instead of some seemingly more important doing of head or tongue?\PAR\PAR F. R. HAVERGAL.\PAR\PAR LVAL{\i"For this is the will of God, even your sanctification." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Te_4:3}.\PAR\PAR Between us and Thyself remove Whatever hindrances may be, That so our inmost heart may prove A holy temple, meet for Thee.\PAR\PAR LATIN MSS. OF 15TH CENTURY.\PAR\PAR Bear, in the presence of God, to know thyself. Then seek to know for what God sent thee into the world; how thou hast fulfilled it; art thou yet what God willed thee to be; what yet lacketh unto thee; what is God's will for thee {\i"now_; what thing thou mayest {\i"now" \i0}do, by His grace, to obtain His favor, and approve thyself unto Him. Say to Him, {\i"Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God," \i0}and He will say unto thy soul, {\i"Fear not; I am thy salvation." \i0}He will speak peace unto thy soul; He will set thee in the way; He will bear thee above things of sense, and praise of man, and things which perish in thy grasp, and give thee, if but afar off, some glimpse of His own, unfading, unsetting, unperishing brightness and bliss and love.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR LVAL{\i"Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: but rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Pe_4:12-13}.\PAR\PAR We take with solemn thankfulness Our burden up, nor ask it less, And count it joy that even we May suffer, serve, or wait for Thee, Whose will be done!\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR Receive every inward and outward trouble, every disappointment, pain, uneasiness, temptation, darkness, and desolation, with both thy hands, as a true opportunity and blessed occasion of dying to self, and entering into a fuller fellowship with thy self-denying, suffering Saviour. Look at no inward or outward trouble in any other view; reject every other thought about it; and then every kind of trial and distress will become the blessed day of thy prosperity. That state is best, which exerciseth the highest faith in, and fullest resignation to God.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR {\i"Now our Lord Jesus Christ, Himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Th_2:16-17}.\PAR\PAR When sorrow all our heart would ask, We need not shun our daily task, And hide ourselves for calm; The herbs we seek to heal our woe Familiar by our pathway grow, Our common air is balm.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR Oh, when we turn away from some duty or some fellow-creature, saying that our hearts are too sick and sore with some great yearning of our own, we may often sever the line on which a divine message was coming to us. We shut out the man, and we shut out the angel who had sent him on to open the door. There is a plan working in our lives; and if we keep our hearts quiet and our eyes open, it all works together; and, if we don't, it all rights together, and goes on fighting till it comes right, somehow, somewhere.\PAR\PAR ANNIE KEARY.\PAR\PAR *LVAL6\i "For we are his workmanship."\i0 -- {\cf11 \ul Eph_2:{\i"Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given unto thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulDeu_26:11}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Rejoice evermore. In everything give thanks." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Th_5:16-18}.\PAR\PAR Grave on thy heart each past {\i"red-letter day"!\i0}\PAR\PAR Forget not all the sunshine of the way By which the Lord hath led thee; answered prayers, And joys unasked, strange blessings, lifted cares, Grand promise-echoes! Thus thy life shall be One record of His love and faithfulness to thee.\PAR\PAR F. R. HAVERGAL.\PAR\PAR Gratitude consists in a watchful, minute attention to the particulars of our state, and to the multitude of God's gifts, taken one by one. It fills us with a consciousness that God loves and cares for us, even to the least event and smallest need of life. It is a blessed thought, that from our childhood God has been laying His fatherly hands upon us, and always in benediction; that even the strokes of His hands are blessings, and among the chiefest we have ever received. When this feeling is awakened, the heart beats with a pulse of thankfulness. Every gift has its return of praise. It awakens an unceasing daily converse with our Father,-- He speaking to us by the descent of blessings, we to Him by the ascent of thanksgiving. And all our whole life is thereby drawn under the light of His countenance, and is filled with a gladness, serenity, and peace which only thankful hearts can know.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "For those who are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but those who are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit."\i0 -- {\cf11 \ul Rom_8:5}\PAR\PAR None but those who are partakers of a heavenly birth feel heavenly realities to be their choice element, holy things their sweetest meditation, and the solemn worship of God their supreme delight. Look at this mark as a touchstone of divine life; for to be spiritually-minded a man must be spiritual, and to be spiritual he must have received the Spirit and been made a partaker of that\i "kingdom of God which is righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit"\i0 ({\cf11 \ul Rom_14:17}).\PAR\PAR Have you never found in reading the Scriptures a sweet peace distill over your soul, as the glorious promises came forth one after another as the{\i"Let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_105:3}.\PAR\PAR {\i"The joy of the Lord is your strength." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulNeh_8:10}.\PAR\PAR Be Thou my Sun, my selfishness destroy, Thy atmosphere of Love be all my joy; Thy Presence be my sunshine ever bright, My soul the little mote that lives but in Thy light.\PAR\PAR GERHARD TERSTEEGEN.\PAR\PAR I do not know when I have had happier times in my soul, than when I have been sitting at work, with nothing before me but a candle and a white cloth, and hearing no sound but that of my own breath, with God in my soul and heaven in my eye... I rejoice in being exactly what I am,-- a creature capable of loving God, and who, as long as God lives, must be happy. I get up and look for a while out of the window, and gaze at the moon and stars, the work of an Almighty hand. I think of the grandeur of the universe, and then sit down, and think myself one of the happiest beings in it.\PAR\PAR A POOR METHODIST WOMAN, 18TH CENTURY.\PAR\PAR zLVAL\i "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord."\i0 -- {\cf11 \ul Hos_6:3}\PAR\PAR \i "To know the Lord"\i0 is to know experimentally and spiritually the power of Jesus' blood and righteousness; to know our eternal union with him; to know him so as to be led by the Spirit into soul communion with him, that we may talk with him as a man talks with his friend; to know him s{\i"The Lord taketh pleasure In His people: He will beautify the meek with salvation." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_149:4}.\PAR\PAR Long listening to Thy words, My voice shall catch Thy tone, And, locked in Thine, my hand shall grow All loving like Thy own.\PAR\PAR B. T.\PAR\PAR It is not in words explicable, with what divine lines and lights the exercise of godliness and charity will mould and gild the hardest and coldest countenance, neither to what darkness their departure will consign the loveliest. For there is not any virtue the exercise of which, even momentarily, will not impress a new fairness upon the features; neither on them only, but on the whole body the moral and intellectual faculties have operation, for all the movements and gestures, however slight, are different in their modes according to the mind that governs them-- and on the gentleness and decision of right feeling follows grace of actions, and, through continuance of this, grace of form.\PAR\PAR J. RUSKIN.\PAR\PAR There is no beautifier of complexion, or form, or behavior, like the wish to scatter joy and not pain around us.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR nLVALzI\i "The Lord keep you." \i0 {\cf11 \ulNum_6:24}\PAR\PAR How we need the Lord to keep us! We stand upon slippery places. Snares and traps are laid for us in every direction. Every employment, every profession in life, from the highest to the lowest, has its special temptations. Snares are spread for the feet of the most illiterate as well as the most highly cultivated minds; nor is there anyone, whatever his position in life may be, who has not a snare laid for him, and such a snare as will surely prove his downfall if God does not keep him. \PAR\PAR When Elisha sat upon the mountain and his servant was distressed lest his master should be taken away by violence, the prophet prayed the Lord to open his servant's eyes. What did he then see? Chariots and horses of fire all around about the mountain guarding the prophet. Perhaps if the Lord were to open our eyes a{\i"Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_40:30-31}.\PAR\PAR Lord, with what courage and delight I do each thing, When Thy least breath sustains my wing!\PAR\PAR I shine and move Like those above, And, with much gladness Quitting sadness, Make me fair days of every night.\PAR\PAR H. VAUGHAN.\PAR\PAR Man, by living wholly in submission to the Divine Influence, becomes surrounded with, and creates for himself, internal pleasures infinitely greater than any he can otherwise attain to-- a state of heavenly Beatitude.\PAR\PAR J. P. GREAVES.\PAR\PAR By persisting in a habit of self-denial, we shall, beyond what I can express, increase the inward powers of the mind, and shall produce that cheerfulness and greatness of spirit as will fit us for all good purposes; and shall not have lost pleasure, but {\i"changed" \i0}it; the soul being then filled with its own intrinsic pleasures.\PAR\PAR HENRY MORE.\PAR\PAR  LVAL,K\i "The Lord make his face shine upon you." \i0 {\cf11 \ulNum_6:25}\PAR\PAR The allusion here seems, to my mind, to be to the sun. Sometimes the natural sun has not risen; and the world must need be dark if the sun be still beneath the horizon. So with many gracious souls; it is darkness with them, midnight darkness, Egyptian darkness, darkness to be felt, because at present neither the Day-star has appeared, nor the Sun of righteousness risen upon them with healing in his wings. It will and must be dark with them until the Sun rises. \PAR\PAR But sometimes after the sun has risen we see not his face--clouds--deep, dark clouds, may obscure the face of that bright luminary throughout the whole day, and we may not get a single ray from him through the whole period that he is above the {\i"Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHos_6:3}.\PAR\PAR And, as the path of duty is made plain, May grace be given that I may walk therein, Not like the hireling, for his selfish gain, With backward glances and reluctant tread, Making a merit of his coward dread,-- \PAR\PAR But, cheerful, in the light around me thrown, Walking as one to pleasant service led; Doing God's will as if it were my own, Yet trusting not in mine, but in His strength alone!\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR It is by doing our duty that we learn to do it. So long as men dispute whether or no a thing is their duty, they get never the nearer. Let them set ever so weakly about doing it, and the face of things alters. They find in themselves strength which they knew not of. Difficulties which it seemed to them they could not get over, disappear. For He accompanies it with the influences of His blessed Spirit, and each performance opens our minds for larger influxes of His grace, and places them in communion with Him.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR That which is called considering what is our duty in a particular case, is very often nothing but endeavoring to explain it away.\PAR\PAR JOSEPH BUTLER.\PAR\PAR ;LVALGM\i "And be gracious unto you." \i0 {\cf11 \ulNum_6:25}\PAR\PAR How sweet the gospel is! But what makes the gospel sweet? That one word which sheds a perfume through the whole--grace. Take grace out of the gospel and you destroy the gospel; you nullify and overthrow it; it is the gospel no more. Grace pervades every part and every branch of the blessed gospel; it is the life of the gospel; in a word, it is the gospel itself. \i "Be gracious unto you." \i0 In what, then, is God gracious? In a broken law? What does that know of grace? In resolutions of amendment, creature performances, and human righteousness? Can the Lord, will the Lord show himself gracious in these? I have read of a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers. We might as well expect to make sunbeams out of cucumbers as to make grace out of the law; it is cold as cucumbers; there is no sun in it. \PAR\PAR Grace, to be grace, must come out of the gospel. It is in the gospel, and out of the gospel must it come; and it does come, excluding all creature righteousness, putting an extinguisher u{\i"If thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday; and the Lord shall guide thee continually." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_58:10-11}.\PAR\PAR If thou hast Yesterday thy duty done, And thereby cleared firm footing for To-day, Whatever clouds make dark To-morrow's sun, Thou shall not miss thy solitary way.\PAR\PAR J. W. VON GOETHE.\PAR\PAR O Lord, who art our Guide even unto death, grant us, I pray Thee, grace to follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. In little daily duties to which Thou callest us, bow down our wills to simple obedience, patience under pain or provocation, strict truthfulness of word and manner, humility, kindness; in great acts of duty or perfection, if Thou shouldest call us to them, uplift us to self-sacrifice, heroic courage, laying down of life for Thy truth's sake, or for a brother. Amen.\PAR\PAR C. G. ROSSETTI.\PAR\PAR gLVALs\i "Hold me up, and I shall be safe."\i0 -- {\cf11 \ul Psa_119:117}\PAR\PAR We are surrounded with snares; temptations lie spread every moment in our path. These snares and temptations are so suitable to the lusts of our flesh, that we shall infallibly fall into them, and be overcome by them but for the restraining providence or the preserving grace of God. The Christian sees this; the Christian feels this. He has had, it may be, a bitter experience of the past. H{\i"I will bless the Lord, who bath given me counsel." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_16:7}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord." \i0}-- ROM. xii.\PAR\PAR 11.\PAR\PAR Mine be the reverent, listening love That waits all day on Thee, With the service of a watchful heart Which no one else can see.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR Nothing is small or great in God's sight; whatever He wills becomes great to us, however seemingly trifling, and if once the voice of conscience tells us that He requires anything of us, we have no right to measure its importance. On the other hand, whatever He would not have us do, however important we may think it, is as nought to us.\PAR\PAR How do you know what you may lose by neglecting this duty, which you think so trifling, or the blessing which its faithful performance may bring? Be sure that if you do your very best in that which is laid upon you daily, you will not be left without sufficient help when some weightier occasion arises. Give yourself to Him, trust Him, fix your eye upon Him, listen to His voice, and then go on bravely and cheerfully.\PAR\PAR JEAN NICOLAS GROU.\PAR\PAR CLVALO,\i "Bless the Lord, O my soul--and all that is within me, bless his holy name." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_103:1}\PAR\PAR As the Son has glorified the Father and the Father has glorified the Son, so there is a people in whom both the Father and the Son will be glorified. He therefore said, \i "And the glory which you gave me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulJoh_17:22}); and again, \i "All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I am glorified in them." \i0 When, then, God's goodness and mercy in the face of Jesus Christ are manifested to this people whom he has formed for himself that they might show forth his praise, then they give him back his glory. But how is this done? By praising and blessing his holy name for the manifestation of his goodness and mercy to their soul. We thus see in what a blessed circle this glory runs. The Father glorifies the Son; the Son glorifies the Father; both unite in glorifying his chosen and redeemed people; and they glorify Father and Son by giving them the glory due to their name. We therefore read th{\i"If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJoh_13:17}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJas_4:17}.\PAR\PAR We cannot kindle when we will The fire that in the heart resides, The spirit bloweth and is still, In mystery our soul abides:\PAR\PAR But tasks in hours of insight willed Can be through hours of gloom fulfilled.\PAR\PAR MATTHEW ARNOLD.\PAR\PAR Hurt not your conscience with any known sin.\PAR\PAR S. RUTHERFORD.\PAR\PAR Deep-rooted customs, though wrong, are not easily altered; but it is the duty of all to be firm in that which they certainly know is right for them.\PAR\PAR JOHN WOOLMAN.\PAR\PAR He often acts unjustly who does not do a certain thing; not only he who does a certain thing.\PAR\PAR MARCUS ANTONINUS.\PAR\PAR Every duty we omit obscures some truth we should have known.\PAR\PAR JOHN RUSKIN.\PAR\PAR LVAL@. But at the time of Jesus' coming, the spirit of prophecy was again shed upon some holy people. We have read the prophecies of Elizabeth, and Mary, and Zacharias, in the first chapter of Luke, and we now read the prophecy of Simeon. God had informed him that he would not die until Christ came; and He had also let him know the precise moment when the parents had brought the divine infant into the temple. Simeon entered and found Joseph and Mary doing for their child after the custom of the law, that is, presenting him to the Lord before God's priest. At this interesting juncture, the a\i "To those who have been called, who are l{\i"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His-- ways past finding out!" \i0}-- ROM. xi.\PAR\PAR 33.\PAR\PAR {\i"It doth not yet appear what we shall be." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Jn_3:2}.\PAR\PAR No star is ever lost we once have seen, We always may be what we might have been.\PAR\PAR Since Good, though only thought, has life and breath, God's life-- can always be redeemed from death; And evil, in its nature, is decay, And any hour can blot it all away; The hopes that lost in some far distance seem, May be the truer life, and this the dream.\PAR\PAR A. A. PROCTER.\PAR\PAR St. Bernard has said: {\i"Man, if thou desirest a noble and holy life, and unceasingly prayest to God for it, if thou continue constant in this thy desire, it will be granted unto thee without fail, even if only in the day or hour of thy death; and if God should not give it to thee then, thou shalt find it in Him in eternity: of this be assured." \i0}Therefore do not relinquish your desire, though it be not fulfilled immediately, or though ye may swerve from your aspirations, or even forget them for a time.... The love and aspiration which once really existed live forever before God, and in Him ye shall find the fruit thereof; that is, to all eternity it shall be better for you than if you had never felt them.\PAR\PAR J. TAULER.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "And he taught them many things by parables."\i0 -- {\cf11 \ul Mar_4:2}\PAR\PAR The Scripture employs two beautiful figures to illustrate the reception of the divine testimony. One is the committing of the seed to the ground, as in the parable of the sower. The husbandman scatters the seed in the bosom of the earth, and the ground having been previously ploughed and reduced to a beautiful tillage, opens its bosom to receive the grain. After a little time the seed begins to germinate, to strike a root downward, and shoot a germ upward; as the Lord speaks,\i "First the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear."\i0 \PAR\PAR This emblem beautifully{\i"For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_57:15}.\PAR\PAR Without an end or bound Thy life lies all outspread in light; Our lives feel Thy life all around, Making our weakness strong, our darkness bright; Yet is it neither wilderness nor sea, But the calm gladness of a full eternity.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR O truth who art Eternity! And Love who art Truth! And Eternity who art Love! Thou art my God, to Thee do I sigh night and day. When I first knew Thee, Thou liftedst me up, that I might see there was somewhat for me to see, and that I was not yet such as to see. And Thou streaming forth Thy beams of light upon me most strongly, didst beat back the weakness of my sight, and I trembled with love and awe: and I perceived myself to be far off from Thee in the region of unlikeness.\PAR\PAR ST. AUGUSTINE.\PAR\PAR LVAL%ueu%`o'X\I<\%(eeee%e`f'X\J\eheee%e%`;'X\K\eheeueeu w'X\L8\eheeeu%e`f'X\M\uxe%euee0 'X\N\ eeeu%u`n'X\O4\ux(uueeeu` 'X\P\eh0%eeuee` 'X\Q\eh8e%ue%ep 'X\R0\ehe%euue`t'X\S{\i"O fear the Lord, ye His saints: for there is no want to them that fear Him"-\i0}- {\cf11 \ulPsa_34:9}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Thou openest Thine hand, and satisfies the desire of every living thing." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_145:16}.\PAR\PAR What Thou shalt to-day provide, Let me as a child receive; What to-morrow may betide, Calmly to Thy wisdom leave.\PAR\PAR 'Tis enough that Thou wilt care; Why should I the burden bear?\PAR\PAR J. NEWTON.\PAR\PAR Have we found that anxiety about possible consequences increased the clearness of our judgment, made us wiser and braver in meeting the present, and arming ourselves for the future? If we had prayed for this day's bread, and left the next to itself, if we had not huddled our days together, not allotting to each its appointed task, but ever deferring that to the future, and drawing upon the future for its own troubles, which must be met when they come whether we have anticipated them or not, we should have found a simplicity and honesty in our lives, a capacity for work, an enjoyment in it, to which we are now, for the most part, strangers.\PAR\PAR F. D. MAURICE.\PAR\PAR mLVALy3THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD \par \par All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: "What have you done?" Daniel 4:35 \par \par How blessed that elementary truth- "The Lord reigns!" To know that there is no chance or accident with God- that He decrees the fall of a sparrow- the destru\i "And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Chs were so framed as though the blessing were for each individual. Such are God's blessings--personal, individual. Gracious souls, sometimes, when they have heard the word with any particular sweetness or power, say, \i "It was all for me." \i0 Well, it was all for you; but are you the only \i "me" \i0 in the place? Might not someone sitting by your sid{\i"I the Lord will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa41:13}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Show Thy marvellous loving-kindness, O Thou that savest by Thy right hand them which put their trust in Thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_17:7}.\PAR\PAR Take Thy hand, and fears grow still; Behold Thy face, and doubts remove; Who would not yield his wavering will To perfect Truth and boundless Love?\PAR\PAR S. JOHNSON.\PAR\PAR Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He has kept you hitherto,-- do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms. Do not look forward to what may happen to-morrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you to-day, will take care of you to-morrow, and every day. Either he will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations.\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR LVAL5n spirit? It is to have faith in God's word, and to resist in God's stren\i "A wise man fears the Lord, and departs from evil -- but the fool rages, and is confident."\i0 -- {\cf11 \ul Pro_14:16}\PAR\PAR I believe no true Christian can be satisfied with a notional religion -- though a miserable backslider, and driven into the fields to feed swine, he cannot feed on their husks, but sighs after the bread of his Father's house. The eyes being enlightened to see the nature of sin, the justice and holiness of God, and the miserable filthiness of self, the quickened soul can find no rest in anything short of a precious discovery of the Lamb of God; and the more that the soul is exercised with trials, difficulties, temptations, do{\i"If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea: even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_139:9}; {\cf11 \ulPsa_139:10}.\PAR\PAR I cannot lose Thee! Still in Thee abiding, The end is clear, how wide soe'er I roam; The Hand that holds the worlds my steps is guiding, And I must rest at last in Thee, my home.\PAR\PAR E. SCUDDER.\PAR\PAR How can we come to perceive this direct leading of God? By a careful looking at home, and abiding; within the gates of thy own soul. Therefore, let a man be at home in his own heart, and cease from his restless chase of and search after outward things. If he is thus at home while on earth, he will surely come to see what there is to do at home,-- what God commands him inwardly without means, and also outwardly by the help of means; and then let him surrender himself, and follow God along whatever path his loving Lord thinks fit to lead him: whether it be to contemplation or action, to usefulness or enjoyment; whether in sorrow or in joy, let him follow on. And if God do not give him thus to feel His hand in all things, let him still simply yield himself up, and go without, for God's sake, out of love, and still press forward.\PAR\PAR J. TAULER.\PAR\PAR LVALjL.z\> lN0|^@"nP2~`B$reat wonder, that the Word was with God, and yet was God. We cannot understand how this could be. In this passage we read of another wonder, yet we are so much accustomed to hear it, that we almost forget to consider the greatness of the wonder, "The Word was made flesh." God became man; he "dwelt among us." \par\par When we look around us at this great world, and at the heavens spangled with stars, and think that He who made all thez  1  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  2  {\i"In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPro_3:6}.\PAR\PAR {\i"He leadeth me." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_23:2}.\PAR\PAR In {\i"pastures green"?\i0} Not always; sometimes He Who knoweth best, in kindness leadeth me In weary ways, where heavy shadows be.\PAR\PAR So, whether on the hill-tops high and fair I dwell, or in the sunless valleys, where The shadows lie, what matter? He is there.\PAR\PAR HENRY H. BARRY.\PAR\PAR The Shepherd knows what pastures are best for his sheep, and they must not question nor doubt, but trustingly follow Him. Perhaps He sees that the best pastures for some of us are to be found in the midst of opposition or of earthly trials. If He leads you there, you may be sure they are green for you, and you will grow and be made strong by feeding there. Perhaps He sees that the best waters for you to walk beside will be raging waves of trouble and sorrow. If this should be the case, He will make them still waters for you, and you must go and lie down beside them, and let them have all their blessed influences upon you.\PAR\PAR H. W. SMITH.\PAR\PAR LVAL                                                                                   enabled (when I speak thus, I know well, from soul experience, that it is only God who can do it in us and for us) to throw back the shutters, and look away from those things that so weigh down the mind! Look up, O sinking soul, and see the blessed Sun still shining in the skies of heaven! Why, the very power to do this, the very act of doing so, brings with it a felt blessedness.\PAR\PAR How good, also, to be enabled to make use of Christ as a SHIELD! Oh, how often we go to battle without this shield upon our arm! But depend u{\i"Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another, according to Christ Jesus." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_15:5}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Let patience have her perfect work." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJam_1:4}.\PAR\PAR Make me patient, kind, and gentle, Day by day; Teach me how to live more nearly As I pray.\PAR\PAR SHARPE'S MAGAZINE.\PAR\PAR The exercise of patience involves a continual practice of the presence of God; for we may be come upon at any moment for an almost heroic display of good temper, and it is a short road to unselfishness, for nothing is left to self; all that seems to belong most intimately to self, to be self's private property, such as time, home, and rest, are invaded by these continual trials of patience. The family is full of such opportunities.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR Only as we know what it is to cherish love when sore at some unkindness, to overmaster ourselves when under provocation, to preserve gentleness during trial and unmerited wrong,-- only then can we know in any degree the {\i"manner of spirit" \i0}that was in Christ.\PAR\PAR T. T. CARTER.\PAR\PAR LVALN \i "A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_91:7}\PAR\PAR When Noah was shut up in the ark, Noah and the favored few, you know how they were tossed about, the rains coming down from heaven, the waters rushing and dashing below. The windows of heaven were opened and the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and while they were thus dashed upon the waters, not a drop came in unto those who were within. \i "It shall not come near you." \i0 So you see the believer may be surrounded with troubles, and yet \i "it shall not come near him." \i0 \PAR\PAR And there is something more in the expression used in reference to the making of the ark--"And shall pitch it within and without with pitch" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulGen_6:14}). Now, it is a most remarkable fact that the word pitch in Hebrew signifies als{\i"Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men." \i0}--{\cf11 \ul1Th_5:14}\PAR\PAR The little worries which we meet each day May lie as stumbling-blocks across our way, Or we may make them stepping-stones to be Of grace, O Lord, to Thee.\PAR\PAR A. E. HAMILITON.\PAR\PAR We must be continually sacrificing our own wills, as opportunity serves, to the will of others; bearing, without notice, sights and sounds that annoy us; setting about this or that task, when we had far rather be doing something very different; persevering in it, often, when we are thoroughly tired of it; keeping company for duty's sake, when it would be a great joy to us to be by ourselves; besides all the trifling untoward accidents of life; bodily pain and weakness long continued, and perplexing us often when it does not amount to illness; losing what we value, missing what we desire; disappointment in other persons, wilfulness, unkindness, ingratitude, folly, in cases where we least expect it.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR hLVALt\i "Therefore brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if you do these things, you shall never fall."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 2Pe_1:10}\PAR\PAR Have you any testimony to your effectual calling? Has grace indeed laid hold of your heart? O that you might know more fully -- more powerfully -- what a blessed hnly begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." \i0 \i "No man has seen God at any time--the only begotten Son who is in the b{\i"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_1339:23-24}.\PAR\PAR Save us from the evil tongue, From the heart that thinketh wrong, From the sins, whate'er they be, That divide the soul from Thee.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR Such as are thy habitual thoughts, such also will be the character of thy mind; for the soul is dyed by the thoughts. Dye it then with a continuous series of such thoughts as these: for instance, that where a man can live, there he can also live well. But he must live in a palace: well, then, he can also live well in a palace.\PAR\PAR MARCUS ANTONINUS.\PAR\PAR Who is there that sets himself to the task of steadily watching his thoughts for the space of one hour, with the view of preserving his mind in a simple, humble, healthful condition, but will speedily discern in the multiform, self-reflecting, self-admiring emotions, which, like locusts, are ready to {\i"eat up every green thing in his land," \i0}a state as much opposed to simplicity and humility as night is to day?\PAR\PAR M. A. KELTY.\PAR\PAR `LVALlF such a widow both prays constantly, and does all kinds of good works. It is written in 1 Tim. 5:5, "She who is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusts in God, and continues in supplications and prayers night and day." It is also written that a widow should be "well reported of for good works-if she has brought up children, if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the believers' feet, if she has relieved the afflictenorth.\PAR\PAR \i "The Lord make his face shine upon you." \i0 Is the Lord, then, sovereign in these matters? Can we not lift up our hand and remove the cloud? We have as much power to stretch forth our hand and sweep away the mists that obscure the Sun of righteousness, as we have power with the same hand to sweep away a London fog. How this puts the creature into his right place! And the creature is only in his right place whe{\i"If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJas_3:2}\PAR\PAR {\i"Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_141:3}.\PAR\PAR What! never speak one evil word, Or rash, or idle, or unkind!\PAR\PAR Oh, how shall I, most gracious Lord, This mark of true perfection find?\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR When we remember our temptations to give quick indulgence to disappointment or irritation or unsympathizing weariness, and how hard a thing it is from day to day to meet our fellow-men, our neighbors, or even our own households, in all moods, in all discordances between the world without us and the frames within, in all states of health, of solicitude, of preoccupation, and show no signs of impatience, ungentleness, or unobservant self-absorption,-- with only kindly feeling finding expression, and ungenial feeling at least inwardly imprisoned;-- we shall be ready to acknowledge that the man who has thus attained is master of himself, and in the graciousness of his power is fashioned upon the style of a Perfect Man.\PAR\PAR J. H. THOM.\PAR\PAR LVALHMatthew 2:1-8. The wise men's arrival at Jerusalem. \par\par We find from Matthew's account, that our Savior returned to Bethlehem after he had been presented to the Lord in the temple. Perhaps his parents intended to bring him up in Bethpetition at his feet. Nothing will do it but this. \PAR\PAR But you feel and say often, \i "I am so unworthy." \i0 Will you ever be anything else? When do you hope to be worthy? When do you mean to be worthy? If you could be worthy tomorrow, where is your worthiness today? Is the old score yet paid? If you venture upon the ground of 'worthiness' you must have the old score rubbed off before you come to the new. Worthiness! where is it? In man? Never since{\i"Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_106_3}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear: because thou shalt forget thy misery, and remember it as waters that pass away." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJob_11:15-16}.\PAR\PAR In the bitter waves of woe, Beaten and tossed about By the sullen winds that blow From the desolate shores of doubt, Where the anchors that faith has cast Are dragging in the gale, I am quietly holding fast To the things that cannot fail.\PAR\PAR WASHINGTON GLADDEN.\PAR\PAR In the darkest hour through which a human soul can pass, whatever else is doubtful, this at least is certain. If there be no God and no future state, yet even then, it is better to be generous than selfish, better to be chaste than licentious, better to be true than false, better to be brave than to be a coward. Blessed beyond all earthly blessedness is the man who, in the tempestuous darkness of the soul, has dared to hold fast to these venerable landmarks. Thrice blessed is he, who, when all is drear and cheerless within and without, when his teachers terrify him, and his friends shrink from him, has obstinately clung to moral good. Thrice blessed, because {\i"his" \i0}night shall pass into clear, bright day.\PAR\PAR F. W. ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR iLVALu;Luke 2:8-14. The Angels' appearance to the Shepherds.\par\par In the circumstances of our Savior's birth, there was a great mixture of lowliness and glory. Jesus was laid in a feeding trough; yet angels announced his appearance. But to whom did angels announce it? not to princes, but to shepherds; thus showing that God had chosen the poor of this world. Through all our Savior's life, there was the same mixture of lowliness and glory-he lived with fishermen, yet was sometimes vis\i "Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Joh_1:17}\PAR\PAR The way to learn truth is to be much in prayer to the Lord Jesus Christ; aAR\PAR \i "And give you peace." \i0 Oh, what a blessing! As Deer says, \i "I'll lay me down and sweetly sleep, for I have peace with God." \i0 It is this that makes the pillow easy in life, and will alone make that pillow easy{\i"Whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPro_29:25}.\PAR\PAR {\i"I will cry unto God most high; unto God, that performeth all things for me." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_57:2}.\PAR\PAR Only thy restless heart keep still, And wait in cheerful hope; content To take whate'er His gracious will, His all-discerning love hath sent; Nor doubt our inmost wants are known To Him who chose us for His own.\PAR\PAR G. NEUMARK.\PAR\PAR God has brought us into this time; He, and not ourselves or some dark demon. If we are not fit to cope with that which He has prepared for us, we should have been utterly unfit for any condition that we imagine for ourselves. In this time we are to live and wrestle, and in no other. Let us humbly, tremblingly, manfully look at it, and we shall not wish that the sun could go back its ten degrees, or that we could go back with it. If easy times are departed, it is that the difficult times may make us more in earnest; that they may teach us not to depend upon ourselves. If easy belief is impossible, it is that we may learn what belief is, and in whom it is to be placed.\PAR\PAR F. D. MAURICE.\PAR\PAR LVALjL.z\> lN0|^@"nP2~`B$reat wonder, that the Word was with God, and yet was God. We cannot understand how this could be. In this passage we read of another wonder, yet we are so much accustomed to hear it, that we almost forget to consider the greatness of the wonder, "The Word was made flesh." God became man; he "dwelt among us." \par\par When we look around us at this great world, and at the heavens spangled with stars, and think that He who made all thez  1  2  2  2  2  2 {\i"Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJer_7:23}.\PAR\PAR And oft, when in my heart was heard Thy timely mandate, I deferred The task, in smoother walks to stray; But thee I now would serve more strictly, if I may.\PAR\PAR W. WORDSWORTH.\PAR\PAR Pray Him to give you what Scripture calls {\i"an honest and good heart," \i0}or {\i"a perfect heart;" \i0}and, without waiting, begin at once to obey Him with the best heart you have. Any obedience is better than none. You have to seek His face; obedience is the only way of seeing Him. All your duties are obediences. To do what He bids is to obey Him, and to obey Him is to approach Him. Every act of obedience is an approach-- an approach to Him who is not far off, though He seems so, but close behind this visible screen of things which hides Him from us.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR As soon as we lay ourselves entirely at His feet, we have enough light given us to guide our own steps; as the foot-soldier, who hears nothing of the councils that determine the course of the great battle he is in, hears plainly enough the word of command which he must himself obey.\PAR\PAR GEORGE ELIOT.\PAR\PAR LVAL                                                                                   enabled (when I speak thus, I know well, from soul experience, that it is only God who can do it in us and for us) to throw back the shutters, and look away from those things that so weigh down the mind! Look up, O sinking soul, and see the blessed Sun still shining in the skies of heaven! Why, the very power to do this, the very act of doing so, brings with it a felt blessedness.\PAR\PAR How good, also, to be enabled to make use of Christ as a SHIELD! Oh, how often we go to battle without this shield upon our arm! But depend upon it, the Lord would not have provided such a shield for you unless he knew that your enemies we{\i"He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_23:2-3}.\PAR\PAR He leads me where the waters glide, The waters soft and still, And homeward He will gently guide My wandering heart and will.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR Out of obedience and devotion arises an habitual faith, which makes Him, though unseen, a part of all our life. He will guide us in a sure path, though it be a rough one: though shadows hang upon it, yet He will be with us. He will bring us home at last. Through much trial it may be, and weariness, in much fear and fainting of heart, in much sadness and loneliness, in griefs that the world never knows, and under burdens that the nearest never suspect. Yet He will suffice for all. By His eye or by His voice He will guide us, if we be docile and gentle; by His staff and by His rod, if we wander or are wilful: any how, and by all means, He will bring us to His rest.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR LVALN \i "A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_91:7}\PAR\PAR When Noah was shut up in the ark, Noah and the favored few, you know how they were tossed about, the rains coming down from heaven, the waters rushing and dashing below. The windows of heaven were opened and the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and while they were thus dashed upon the waters, not a drop came in unto those who were within. \i "It shall not come near you." \i0 So you see the believer may be surrounded with troubles, and yet \i "it shall not come near him." \i0 \PAR\PAR And there is something more in the expression used in reference to the making of the ark--"And shall pitch it within and without with pitch" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulGen_6:14}). Now, it is a most remarkable fact that the word pitch in Hebrew signifies also atonement.{\i"I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_25:25}.\PAR\PAR Time was, I shrank from what was right, From fear of what was wrong; I would not brave the sacred fight, Because the foe was strong.\PAR\PAR But now I cast that finer sense And sorer shame aside; Such dread of sin was indolence, Such aim at heaven was pride.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR If he falls into some error, he does not fret over it, but rising up with a humble spirit, he goes on his way anew rejoicing. Were he to fall a hundred times in the day, he would not despair,-- he would rather cry out lovingly to God, appealing to His tender pity. The really devout man has a horror of evil, but he has a still greater love of that which is good; he is more set on doing what is right, than avoiding what is wrong. Generous, large-hearted, he is not afraid of danger in serving God, and would rather run the risk of doing His will imperfectly than not strive to serve Him lest he fail in the attempt.\PAR\PAR JEAN NICOLAS GROU.\PAR\PAR ILVALU\i "Therefore brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if you do these things, you shall never fall."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 2Pe_1:10}\PAR\PAR Have you any testimony to your effectual calling? Has grace indeed laid hold of your heart? O that you might know more fully -- more powerfully -- what a blessed hnly begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." \i0 \i "No man has seen God at any time--the on{\i"We have waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_25:9}.\PAR\PAR Blest are the humble souls that wait With sweet submission to His will; Harmonious all their passions move, And in the midst of storms are still.\PAR\PAR P. DODDRIDGE.\PAR\PAR Do not be discouraged at your faults; bear with yourself in correcting them, as you would with your neighbor. Lay aside this ardor of mind, which exhausts your body, and leads you to commit errors. Accustom yourself gradually to carry prayer into all your daily occupations. Speak, move, work, in peace, as if you were in prayer, as indeed you ought to be. Do everything without excitement, by the spirit of grace. As soon as you perceive your natural impetuosity gliding in, retire quietly within, where is the kingdom of God. Listen to the leadings of grace, then say and do nothing but what the Holy Spirit shall put in your heart. You will find that you will become more tranquil, that your words will be fewer and more effectual, and that, with less effort, you will accomplish more good.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR LVALqUEUE%, '\E<P\UeUeee%e,0:'\FP\eue%E%%e,`e'\GP\ueue%eu%,@e'\H8P\u%EueEue,`v'\IP\ueeeueee,po'\JP\uuueee%e, d'\K4P\e%ee%%ee, H'\LP\eU%%%eE, \'\MܺP\%uueU%%,Pp'\N0P\uue%u%%e,`e'\OP\Ueu%%eU%,`l'ortion of tribulation. But {\i"I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJoh_17:4}.\PAR\PAR {\i"She hath done what she could." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMar_14:8}.\PAR\PAR He who God's will has borne and done, And his own restless longings stilled, What else he does, or has foregone, His mission he has well fulfilled.\PAR\PAR FROM THE GERMAN.\PAR\PAR Cheered by the presence of God, I will do at each moment, without anxiety, according to the strength which He shall give me, the work that His Providence assigns me. I will leave the rest without concern; it is not my affair. I ought to consider the duty to which I am called each day, as the work that God has given me to do, and to apply myself to it in a manner worthy of His glory, that is to say, with exactness and in peace. I must neglect nothing; I must be violent about nothing.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR It is thy duty oftentimes to do what thou wouldst not; thy duty, too, to leave undone what thou wouldst do.\PAR\PAR THOMAS A KEMPIS.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "That the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our body." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Co_4:10}\PAR\PAR It is in this earthen vessel, our poor mortal body, that both the death of Jesus and the life of Jesus are manifested. In the trouble, the perplexity, the being cast down, is the dying of Jesus. In not being distressed, in not being in despair, in not being forsaken, in not being destroyed, is the life of Jesus. Thus in the same body there is a dying Christ and a living Christ, Christ in his cross in his weakness--and Christ at the right hand of God in his power. To know these two things is to know the power of Christ's resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, those two divine blessings which the soul of Paul so longed to realize and experience. \PAR\PAR In the knowledge then, the experimental knowledge, I mean, for all other knowledge is of no avail, of Christ crucified and Christ risen, consists {\i"Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_68:19}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Ti_6:17}.\PAR\PAR Source of my life's refreshing springs, Whose presence in my heart sustains me, Thy love ordains me pleasant things, Thy mercy orders all that pains me.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR And to be true, and speak my soul, when I survey the occurrences of my life, and call into account the finger of God, I can perceive nothing but an abyss and mass of mercies, either in general to mankind, or in particular to myself; and whether out of the prejudice of my affection, or an inverting and partial conceit of His mercies, I know not; but those which others term crosses, afflictions, judgments, misfortunes, to me who inquire farther into them than their visible effects, they both appear, and in event have ever proved, the secret and dissembled favors of His affection.\PAR\PAR SIR T. BROWNE.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Luk_24:45}\PAR\PAR Blessed opening, when He that has the key of David puts in his hand by the hole of the door, and opens our heart to receive his own word. Then when we go to the Word of Truth, after it has come to us, our fingers drop with sweet-smelling myrrh upon the handles of the lock. It is said that\i "the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live."\i0 O, to hear the voice of the Son of G{\i"Let Him do to me as seemeth good unto Him." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Sa_15:26}.\PAR\PAR To have, each day, the thing I wish, Lord, that seems best to me; But not to have the thing I wish, Lord, that seems best to Thee.\PAR\PAR Most truly, then, Thy will is done, When mine, O Lord, is crossed; It is good to see my plans o'erthrown, My ways in Thine all lost.\PAR\PAR H. BONAR.\PAR\PAR O Lord, Thou knowest what is best for us; let this or that be done, as Thou shalt please. Give what Thou wilt, and how much Thou wilt, and when Thou wilt. Deal with me as Thou thinkest good. Set me where Thou wilt, and deal with me in all things just as Thou wilt. Behold, I am Thy servant, prepared for all things: for I desire not to live unto myself, but unto Thee; and oh, that I could do it worthily and perfectly!\PAR\PAR THOMAS A KEMPIS.\PAR\PAR Dare to look up to God, and say, {\i"Make use of me for the future as Thou wilt. I am of the same mind; I am one with Thee. I refuse nothing which seems good to Thee. Lead me whither Thou wilt, clothe me in whatever dress Thou wilt. Is it Thy will that I should be in a public or a private condition, dwell here, or be banished, be poor or rich? Under all these circumstances, I will testify unto Thee before men."\PAR\PAR EPICTETUS.\PAR\PAR BLVALN for, as the Apostle says, \i "all things are yours." \i0 It is \i "their food" \i0 then; that is, the food specially to the elect. Blood shed for their sins, and for their sins only; righteousness brought in for them, and for them only; love bestowed upon them, and upon them only; promises revealed for their comfort, and for their comfort only; an eternal inheritance, \i "incorruptible and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for them," \i0 and for them only. It is \i "their food," \i0 because it is theirs in Christ, being lodged in Christ for their benefit. \PAR\PAR But it is theirs in another sense; and that is, they are the only people who hunger after it, who have an appetite for it, who have a mouth to feed upon it, who have a stomach to digest it. They are the only people whose eyes are really open to see what \i "food" \i0 is. Others feed upon shadows; they know nothing of the savory food of the gospel. As the Lord said to his disciples, \i "I have food to eat which you {\i"I would have you without carefulness." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Co_7:32}.\PAR\PAR O Lord, how happy should we be If we could cast our care on Thee, If we from self could rest; And feel at heart that One above, In perfect wisdom, perfect love, Is working for the best.\PAR\PAR J. ANSTICE.\PAR\PAR Cast all thy care on God. See that all thy cares be such as thou canst cast on God, and then hold none back. Never brood over thyself; never stop short in thyself; but cast thy whole self, even this very care which distresseth thee, upon God. Be not anxious about little things, if thou wouldst learn to trust God with thine all. Act upon faith in little things; commit thy daily cares and anxieties to Him; and He will strengthen thy faith for any greater trials. Rather, give thy whole self into God's hands, and so trust Him to take care of thee in all lesser things, as being His, for His own sake, whose thou art.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR OLVAL[\i "But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 1Co_1:30}\PAR\PAR Consider what heavenly blessings there are for those who have a living union with the Son of God. Everything is provided for them, that shall be for their salvation and their sanctification -- not a single blessing has God withheld that shall be fo{\i"If ye fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJas_2:8}.\PAR\PAR Come, children, let us go!\PAR\PAR We travel hand in hand; Each in his brother finds his joy In this wild stranger land.\PAR\PAR The strong be quick to raise The weaker when they fall; Let love and peace and patience bloom In ready help for all.\PAR\PAR G. TERSTEEGEN.\PAR\PAR It is a sad weakness in us, after all, that the thought of a man's death hallows him anew to us; as if life were not sacred too,-- as if it were comparatively a light thing to fail in love and reverence to the brother who has to climb the whole toilsome steep with us, and all our tears and tenderness were due to the one who is spared that hard journey.\PAR\PAR GEORGE ELIOT.\PAR\PAR Would we codify the laws that should reign in households, and whose daily transgression annoys and mortifies us, and degrades our household life,-- we must learn to adorn every day with sacrifices. Good manners are made up of petty sacrifices. Temperance, courage, love, are made up of the same jewels. Listen to every prompting of honor.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR LVALd\i "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_12:1}\PAR\PAR None can run this race but the saints of God, for the ground itself is holy ground, of which we read that \i "no unclean beast is to be found therein." \i0 None but the redeemed walk there; and none have ever won the prize but those who have run this heavenly race--as redeemed by precious blood.\PAR\PAR Now no sooner do we see by faith the race set before us than we begin to run; and, like Christian in the \i "Pilgrim's Progress," \i0 we run from the City of Destruction, our steps being winged with fear and apprehension. All this, especially in the outset, implies energy, movement, activity, pressing forward; running, as it were, for our life; escaping, as Lot, to the mountain; fleeing, as the prophet speaks, \i "like as you fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulZec_14:5}); or as the manslayer fled to the city of refuge from the avenger o{\i"Serve Him with a perfect heart, and with a willing mind." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Ch_28:9}.\PAR\PAR And if some things I do not ask, In my cup of blessing be, I would have my spirit filled the more With grateful love to Thee,-- \PAR\PAR More careful,-- not to serve Thee much, But to please Thee perfectly.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR Little things come daily, hourly, within our reach, and they are not less calculated to set forward our growth in holiness, than are the greater occasions which occur but rarely. Moreover, fidelity in trifles, and an earnest seeking to please God in little matters, is a test of real devotion and love. Let your aim be to please our dear Lord perfectly in little things, and to attain a spirit of childlike simplicity and dependence. In proportion as self-love and self-confidence are weakened, and our will bowed to that of God, so will hindrances disappear, the internal troubles and contests which harassed the soul vanish, and it will be filled with peace and tranquillity.\PAR\PAR JEAN NICOLAS GROU.\PAR\PAR LVALf\i "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak; and he will show you things to come." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_16:13}\PAR\PAR \i "He shall not speak of himself." \i0 There is something peculiarly gracious in this feature of the Holy Spirit, that, if we may use the expression, he does not glorify himself by speaking of himself in the same direct, personal manner as the Father and the Son speak of themselves. Thus the Father speaks of himself all through the word; and the Son speaks of himself in Scripture after Scripture; but the Holy Spirit, tho{\i"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations [or {\i"trials"], knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJas_1:2-3}.\PAR\PAR For patience, when the rough winds blow!\PAR\PAR For patience, when our hopes are fading,-- \PAR\PAR When visible things all backward go, And nowhere seems the power of aiding!\PAR\PAR God still enfolds thee with His viewless hand, And leads thee surely to the Fatherland.\PAR\PAR N. L. FROTHINGHAM, {\i"from the German."\PAR\PAR We have need of patience with ourselves and with others; with those below, and those above us, and with our own equals; with those who love us and those who love us not; for the greatest things and for the least; against sudden inroads of trouble, and under our daily burdens; disappointments as to the weather, or the breaking of the heart; in the weariness of the body, or the wearing of the soul; in our own failure of duty, or others' failure toward us; in every-day wants, or in the aching of sickness or the decay of age; in disappointment, bereavement, losses, injuries, reproaches; in heaviness of the heart; or its sickness amid delayed hopes. In all these things, from childhood's little troubles to the martyr's sufferings, patience is the grace of God, whereby we endure evil for the love of God.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR ]LVALi\i "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRom_8:17}\PAR\PAR This is the especial blessedness of being a child of God- that death, which puts a final extinguisher on all the hopes and happiness of all the unregenerate, gives him the fulfillment of all his hopes and the consummation of all his happiness; for it places him in possession of \i "an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for those who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." \i0 \PAR\PAR In this present earthly life, we have sometimes sips and tastes of sonship, feeble indeed and interrupted, so that it is with us as Mr. Deer speaks- \i "Though you here receive but little, scarce enough for the proof of your proper title;"{\i"It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_119:71}.\PAR\PAR {\i"But though He cause grief yet will He have compassion, according to the multitude of His mercies." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLam_3:32}.\PAR\PAR And yet these days of dreariness are sent us from above; They do not come in anger, but in faithfulness and love; They come to teach us lessons which bright ones could not yield, And to leave us blest and thankful when their purpose is fulfilled.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR Heed not distressing thoughts when they rise ever so strongly in thee; nay, though they have entered thee, fear them not, but be still awhile, not believing in the power which thou feelest they have over thee, and it will fall on a sudden. It is good for thy spirit, and greatly to thy advantage, to be much and variously exercised by the Lord. Thou dost not know what the Lord hath already done, and what He is yet doing for thee therein.\PAR\PAR I. PENINGTON.\PAR\PAR Why should I start at the plough of my Lord, that maketh deep furrows on my soul? I know He is no idle husbandman, He purposeth a crop.\PAR\PAR S. RUTHERFORD.\PAR\PAR LVALVm any useless sorrow. Probably God wished to remind Mary by this circumstance, that her Son had come into this world to do a great work, and that she must expect to find him continually engaged in it. All parents ought to be ready to give up their children for God's service, and to part with them to a distance, even as missionaries in a foreign land, if it be God's will. When the mother of the famous Wesley \i "Let Israel hope in the Lord -- for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Psa_130:7}\PAR\PAR \i "Let Israel hope in the Lord."\i0 Has she ceased to hope in the creature? Does she despair of salvation from any other source or quarter but the blood of the Lamb? Is she crying, sighing, longin{\i"My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJoh_4:34}.\PAR\PAR I am glad to think I am not bound to make the world go right; But only to discover and to do, With cheerful heart, the work that God appoints.\PAR\PAR I will trust in Him, That He can hold His own; and I will take His will, above the work He sendeth me, To be my chiefest good.\PAR\PAR J. INGELOW.\PAR\PAR Don't object that your duties are so insignificant; they are to be reckoned of infinite significance, and alone important to you. Were it but the more perfect regulation of your apartments, the sorting-away of your clothes and trinkets, the arranging of your papers,-- {\i"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, {\i"do it" \i0}with all thy might," \i0}and all thy worth and constancy. Much more, if your duties are of evidently higher, wider scope; if you have brothers, sisters, a father, a mother, weigh earnestly what claim does lie upon you, on behalf of each, and consider it as the one thing needful, to pay {\i"them" \i0}more and more honestly and nobly what you owe. What matter how miserable one is, if one can do that? That is the sure and steady disconnection and extinction of whatsoever miseries one has in this world.\PAR\PAR T. CARLYLE.\PAR\PAR  LVALXMatthew 3:1-6. John preaches in the wilderness. \par\par We hear not\i "That the life of Jesus might be made manifest in our body." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Co_4:10}\PAR\PAR It is in this earthen vessel, our poor mortal body, that both the death of Jesus and the life of Jesus are manifested. In the trouble, the perplexity, the being cast down, is the dying of Jesus. In not being distressed, in not being in despair, in not being forsaken, in not being destroyed, is the life of Jesus. Thus in the same body there is a dying Christ and a living Christ, Christ in his cross in his weakness--and Christ at the right hand of God in his power. To know these two things is to know the power of Christ's resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, those two divine blessings w{\i"Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's way." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_14:13}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Them that were entering in, ye hindered." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_11:52}.\PAR\PAR My mind was ruffled with small cares to-day, And I said pettish words, and did not keep Long-suffering patience well, and now how deep My trouble for this sin! in vain I weep For foolish words I never can unsay.\PAR\PAR H. S. SUTTON.\PAR\PAR A vexation arises, and our expressions of impatience hinder others from taking it patiently. Disappointment, ailment, or even weather depresses us; and our look or tone of depression hinders others from maintaining a cheerful and thankful spirit. We say an unkind thing, and another is hindered in learning the holy lesson of charity that thinketh no evil. We say a provoking thing, and our sister or brother is hindered in that day's effort to be meek. How sadly, too, we may hinder without word or act! For wrong feeling is more infectious than wrong doing; especially the various phases of ill temper,-- gloominess, touchiness, discontent, irritability,-- do we not know how catching these are?\PAR\PAR F. R. HAVERGAL.\PAR\PAR LVALImans, who had conquered the Jews. Herod shed much blood during his reign, and caused his own wife and two of his sons to be slain. He was afraid lest some person should take the crown from him, and therefore he was much alarmed when he heard the wise men inquire for the King of the Jews. \par\par We may ask, "Why were the people in Jerusalem alarmed also, and why were they not rather glad at the thought of having another King?" Perhaps they were afraid of Herod's filling the city w\i "It is the Spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing -- the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Joh_6:63}\PAR\PAR It is through the word that the soul in the first instance is cle{\i"If ye then, being evil, know bow to give good gifts unto your children, bow much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good gifts to them that ask Him?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_7:11}.\PAR\PAR For His great love has compassed Our nature, and our need We know not; but He knoweth, And He will bless indeed.\PAR\PAR Therefore, O heavenly Father, Give what is best to me; And take the wants unanswered, As offerings made to Thee.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR Whatsoever we ask which is not for our good, He will keep it back from us.\PAR\PAR And surely in this there is no less of love than in the granting what we desire as we ought. Will not the same love which prompts you to give a good, prompt you to keep back an evil, thing? If, in our blindness, not knowing what to ask, we pray for things which would turn in our hands to sorrow and death, will not our Father, out of His very love, deny us?\PAR\PAR How awful would be our lot, if our wishes should straightway pass into realities; if we were endowed with a power to bring about all that we desire; if the inclinations of our will were followed by fulfilment of our hasty wishes, and sudden longings were always granted. One day we shall bless Him, not more for what He has granted than for what He has denied.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR  LVALKMatthew 2:9-11. The wise men's journey to Bethlehem. \par\par Herod h for, as the Apostle says, \i "all things are yours." \i0 It is \i "their food" \i0 then; that is, the food specially to the elect. Blood shed for their sins, and for their sins only; righteousness brought in for them, and for them only; love bestowed upon them, and upon them only; promises revealed for their comfort, and for their comfort only; an eternal inheritance, \i "incorruptible and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for them," \i0 and for them only. It is \i "their food," \i0 because it is theirs in Christ, being lodged in Christ for their benefit. \PAR\PAR But it is theirs in another sense; and that is, they are the only people who hunger after it, who have an {\i"Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPhp_4:6}.\PAR\PAR We tell Thee of our care, Of the sore burden, pressing day by day, And in the light and pity of Thy face, The burden melts away.\PAR\PAR We breathe our secret wish, The importunate longing which no man may see; We ask it humbly, or, more restful still, We leave it all to Thee.\PAR\PAR SUSAN COOLIDGE.\PAR\PAR That prayer which does not succeed in moderating our wish, in changing the passionate desire into still submission, the anxious, tumultuous expectation into silent surrender, is no true prayer, and proves that we have not the spirit of true prayer. That life is most holy in which there is least of petition and desire, and most of waiting upon God; that in which petition most often passes into thanksgiving. Pray till prayer makes you forget your own wish, and leave it or merge it in God's will. The Divine wisdom has given us prayer, not as a means whereby to obtain the good things of earth, but as a means whereby we learn to do without them; not as a means whereby we escape evil, but as a means whereby we become strong to meet it.\PAR\PAR F. W. ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR QLVAL_UEU% `u'\<`\u{\i"These things I have spoken unto you that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJoh_16:33}.\PAR\PAR O Thou, the primal fount of life and peace, Who shedd'st Thy breathing quiet all around, In me command that pain and conflict cease, And turn to music every jarring sound.\PAR\PAR J. STERLING.\PAR\PAR Accustom yourself to unreasonableness and injustice. Abide in peace in the presence of God, who sees all these evils more clearly than you do, and who permits them. Be content with doing with calmness the little which depends upon yourself, and let all else be to you as if it were not.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR It is rare when injustice, or slights patiently borne, do not leave the heart at the close of the day filled with marvellous joy and peace.\PAR\PAR GOLD DUST.\PAR\PAR {\i"Let the Lord do that which is good in His sight." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Ch_19:13}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Let Thy mercy O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in Thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_33:22}.\PAR\PAR I cannot feel That all is well, when darkening clouds conceal The shining sun; But then, I know He lives and loves; and say, since it is so, Thy will be done.\PAR\PAR S. G. BROWNING.\PAR\PAR No felt evil or defect becomes divine until it is inevitable; and only when resistence to it is exhausted and hope has fled, does surrender cease to be premature. The hardness of our task lies {\i"here_; that we have to strive against the grievous things of life, while hope remains, as if they were evil; and then, when the stroke has fallen, to accept them from the hand of God, and doubt not they are good. But to the loving, trusting heart, all things are possible; and even this instant change, from overstrained will to sorrowful repose, from fullest resistance to complete surrender is realized without convulsion.\PAR\PAR J. MARTINEAU.\PAR\PAR  LVAL\i "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 1Th_1:3}\PAR\PAR It is air and exercise that keep the body healthy. So it is spiritually. The graces of the Spirit need to be often exercised and well aired to keep them healthy -- aired with the pure breath of heaven, and exercised with the operations of the Holy Spirit drawing them forth into activity and{\i"But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_43:1}.\PAR\PAR Thou art as much His care as if beside Nor man nor angel lived in heaven or earth; Thus sunbeams pour alike their glorious tide, To light up worlds, or wake an insect's mirth.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR God beholds thee individually, whoever thou art. {\i"He calls thee by thy name." \i0}He sees thee, and understands thee. He knows what is in thee, all thy own peculiar feelings and thoughts, thy dispositions and likings, thy strength and thy weakness. He views thee in thy day of rejoicing and thy day of sorrow. He sympathizes in thy hopes and in thy temptations; He interests himself in all thy anxieties and thy remembrances, in all the risings and fallings of thy spirit. He compasses thee round, and bears thee in His arms; He takes thee up and sets thee down. Thou dost not love thyself better than He loves thee. Thou canst not shrink from pain more than He dislikes thy bearing it, and if He puts it on thee, it is as thou wilt put it on thyself, if thou art wise, for a greater good afterwards.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR ULVALa @ @ @ @ @ @ @ @./0123456789:;<=>      !"#$%&'()\i "Woe to those who are at ease in Zion." \i0 {\cf11 \ulAmo_6:1}\PAR\PAR Bunyan sa{\i"The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_145:18}.\PAR\PAR {\i"I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_34:4}.\PAR\PAR Be Thou, O Rock of Ages, nigh!\PAR\PAR So shall each murmuring thought be gone; And grief and fear and care shall fly, As clouds before the mid-day sun.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR Take courage, and turn your troubles, which are without remedy, into material for spiritual progress. Often turn to our Lord, who is watching you, poor frail little being as you are, amid your labors and distractions.\PAR\PAR He sends you help, and blesses your affliction. This thought should enable you to bear your troubles patiently and gently, for love of Him who only allows you to be tried for your own good. Raise your heart continually to God, seek His aid, and let the foundation stone of your consolation be your happiness in being His. All vexations and annoyances will be comparatively unimportant while you know that you have such a Friend, such a Stay, such a Refuge. May God be ever in your heart.\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR jLVALvn\i "And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night." \i0 {\cf11 \ulIsa_4:5}\PAR\PAR There is an allusion here to the cloudy pillar which rested upon the tabernacle. It was as a cloud by day, but as a pillar of fire by night. The reason of this is evident. By day, the cloud and the smoke were sufficiently visible; but not so in the night season. In the night, therefore, it was a pillar of fire, that the presence of the Lord might be distinctly seen. Spiritually viewed, this night may signify dark seasons in the soul; for there is night as well as day in the experience of God's saints. Now when they are in these dark seasons, they need clearer and brighter manifestations of the Lord's presence than when they are walking in the light of day. Thus th{\i"Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_37:3}.\PAR\PAR Build a little fence of trust Around to-day; Fill the space with loving work, And therein stay; Look not through the sheltering bars Upon to-morrow, God will help thee bear what comes, Of joy or sorrow.\PAR\PAR MARY FRANVES BUTTS.\PAR\PAR Let us bow our souls and say, {\i"Behold the handmaid of the Lord!" \i0}Let us lift up our hearts and ask, {\i"Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do?" \i0}Then light from the opened heaven shall stream on our daily task, revealing the grains of gold, where yesterday all seemed dust; a hand shall sustain us and our daily burden, so that, smiling at yesterday's fears, we shall say, {\i"_This is easy, this is light;_" \i0}every {\i"lion in the way," \i0}as we come up to it, shall be seen chained, and leave open the gates of the Palace Beautiful; and to us, even to us, feeble and fluctuating as we are, ministries shall be assigned, and through our hands blessings shall be conveyed in which the spirits of just men made perfect might delight.\PAR\PAR ELIZABETH CHARLES.\PAR\PAR LVALp\i "For upon all the glory shall be a defense." \i0 {\cf11 \ulIsa_4:5}\PAR\PAR The glory of the Lord is his presence in the soul, for that is represented by the cloud, as it was when his glory filled the house of God, which Solomon built. Now this glory of the Lord in the cloud and smoke by day, and in the shining of a flaming fire by night, is to be a defense, both upon every dwelling-place of mount Zion and upon her assemblies. A defense against what? Chiefly against four things.\PAR\PAR 1. First, it is a defense against ERROR. No person can embrace error who knows anything of the presence and power of God in his soul, or has ever seen anything of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ; for all error is opposed not only to God's truth, as revealed in the word, but to God's presence, as revealed in the heart. And this is true both as regards individuals and churches. God will never sanction error as held by ei{\i"Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Jn_4:7}.\PAR\PAR So to the calmly gathered thought The innermost of life is taught, The mystery dimly understood, That love of God is love of good; That to be saved is only this,-- \PAR\PAR Salvation from our selfishness.\PAR\PAR J. G. Whittler.\PAR\PAR The Spirit of Love, wherever it is, is its own blessing and happiness, because it is the truth and reality of God in the soul; and therefore is in the same joy of life, and is the same good to itself everywhere and on every occasion. Would you know the blessing of all blessings? It is this God of Love dwelling in your soul, and killing every root of bitterness, which is the pain and torment of every earthly, selfish love. For all wants are satisfied, all disorders of nature are removed, no life is any longer a burden, every day is a day of peace, everything you meet becomes a help to you, because everything you see or do is all done in the sweet, gentle element of Love.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR }LVAL\the dead; and they sneered at those people who believed all the wonderful things written in the Bible. They only professed to believe the first five books of the Bible, called the books of Moses. Are there any Sadducees now? Alas! there are too many who resemble them. Such people are called in\i "Remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 1Th_1:3}\PAR\PAR It is air and exercise that keep the body healthy. So it is spiritually. The graces of the Spirit need to be often exercised and well aired to keep them healthy -- aired with the pure breath of heaven, and exercised with the operations of the Holy Spirit drawing them forth into activity and energy. And just as in nature a man gains health and strength by using his limbs and working his muscles, so in {\i"Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_6:25}.\PAR\PAR One there lives whose guardian eye Guides our earthly destiny; One there lives, who, Lord of all, Keeps His children lest they fall; Pass we, then, in love and praise, Trusting Him through all our days, Free from doubt and faithless sorrow,-- \PAR\PAR God provideth for the morrow.\PAR\PAR R. HEBER.\PAR\PAR It has been well said that no man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when to-morrow's burden is added to the burden of to-day that the weight is more than a man can bear. Never load yourselves so, my friends. If you find yourselves so loaded, at least remember this: it is your own doing, not God's. He begs you to leave the future to Him, and mind the present.\PAR\PAR G. MACDONALD.\PAR\PAR {\i"Cast thy burdens upon the Lord_,-- hand it over, heave it upon Him,-- {\i"and He shall sustain thee_; shall bear both, if thou trust Him with both, both thee and thy burden: {\i"He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved."\PAR\PAR ROBERT LEIGHTON.\PAR\PAR ELVALQN\i "Let us run with patience the race that is set before us." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_12:1}\PAR\PAR None can run this race but the saints of God, for the ground itself is holy ground, of which we read that \i "no unclean beast is to be found therein." \i0 None but the redeemed walk there; and none have ever won the prize but those who have run this heavenly race--as redeemed by precious blood.\PAR\PAR Now no sooner do we see by faith the race set before us than we begin to run; and, like Christian in the \i "Pilgrim's Progress," \i0 we run from the City of Destruction, our steps being winged with fear and apprehension. All this, especially in the outset, implies energy, movement, activity, pressing forward; running, as it were, for our life; escaping, as Lot, to the mountain; fleeing, as the prophet speaks, \i "like as you fl{\i"But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_13:16}.\PAR\PAR {\i"For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Jn_3:11}.\PAR\PAR Be useful where thou livest, that they may Both want and wish thy pleasing presence still.\PAR\PAR ...Find out men's wants and will, And meet them there. All worldly joys go less To the one joy of doing kindnesses.\PAR\PAR G. HERBERT.\PAR\PAR Let the weakest, let the humblest remember, that in his daily course he can, if he will, shed around him almost a heaven. Kindly words, sympathizing attentions, watchfulness against wounding men's sensitiveness,-- these cost very little, but they are priceless in their value. Are they not almost the staple of our daily happiness? From hour to hour, from moment to moment, we are supported, blest, by small kindnesses.\PAR\PAR F. W. ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR Small kindnesses, small courtesies, small considerations, habitually practised in our social intercourse, give a greater charm to the character than the display of great talents and accomplishments.\PAR\PAR M. A. KELTY.\PAR\PAR  LVAL,Sd by Him. But no such guidance shall be grant\i "And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRom_8:17}\PAR\PAR This is the especial blessedness of being a child of God- that death, which puts a final extinguisher on all the hopes and happiness of all the unregenerate, gives him the fulfillment of all his hopes and the consummation of all his happiness; for it places him in possession of \i "an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, and that fades not away, reserved in heaven for those who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." \i0 \PAR\PAR In this present earthly life, we have sometimes sips and tastes of sonship, feeble indeed and interrupted, so that it is with us as Mr. Deer speaks- \i "Though you here receive but little, scarce enough for the proof of your proper title;" \i0 yet are they so far pledges of an inheritance to come. But this life is only an introduction to a better. In this life we are but children, heirs indeed, but heirs in their minority; but in {\i"I made haste, and delayed not to keep Thy commandments." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_119:60}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Ye know not what shall be on the morrow." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJas_4:14}.\PAR\PAR Never delay To do the duty which the hour brings, Whether it be in great or smaller things; For who doth know What he shall do the coming day?\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR It is quite impossible that an idle, floating spirit can ever look up with clear eye to God; spreading its miserable anarchy before the symmetry of the creative Mind; in the midst of a disorderly being, that has neither centre nor circumference, kneeling beneath the glorious sky, that everywhere has both; and for a life that is {\i"all" \i0}failure, turning to the Lord of the silent stars, of whose punctual thought it is, that {\i"not one faileth." \i0}The heavens, with their everlasting faithfulness, look down on no sadder contradiction, than the sluggard and the slattern in their prayers.\PAR\PAR J. MARTINEAU.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_17:19}\PAR\PAR Christ is made to his people sanctification ({\cf11 \ul1Co_1:30}). What am I? What are you? Are we not filthy, polluted, and defiled? Do not some of us, more or less, daily feel altogether as an unclean thing? Is not every thought of our heart altogether vile? Does any holiness, any spirituality, any heavenly-mindedness, any purity, any resemblance to the divine image dwell in our hearts by nature? Not a grain! No{\i"But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the unwise they seemed to die: and their departure is taken for misery, and their going from us to be utter destruction: but they are in peace." \i0}-- WISDOM OF SOLOMON 3:1-3.\PAR\PAR But souls that of His own good life partake, He loves as His own self; dear as His eye They are to Him: He 'll never them forsake:\PAR\PAR When they shall die, then God Himself shall die; They live, they live in blest eternity.\PAR\PAR HENRY MORE.\PAR\PAR Though every good man is not so logically subtile as to be able by fit mediums to demonstrate his own immortality, yet he sees it in a higher light: his soul, being purged and enlightened by true sanctity, is more capable of those divine irradiations, whereby it feels itself in conjunction with God. It knows that God will never forsake His own life which He hath quickened in it; He will never deny those ardent desires of a blissful fruition of Himself, which the lively sense of His own goodness hath excited within it: those breathings and gaspings after an eternal participation of Him are but the energy of His own breath within us; if He had had any mind to destroy it, He would never have shown it such things as He hath done.\PAR\PAR DR. JOHN SMITH.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Do not love the world or anything in the world."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 1Jo_2:15}\PAR\PAR This is a very wide sentence. It stretches forth a hand of vast grasp. It places us, as it were, upon a high mountain, such as the Lord stood upon when tempted of Satan, and it says to us,\i "Look around you -- now there is not one of these things which you must love."\i0 It takes us, again, to the streets of a crowded city; it shows us shop windows filled with objects of beauty and ornament; it points us to all the wealth and grandeur of the rich and noble, and everything that the human heart admires and loves. And having thus set before us, as Satan di{\i"And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Jn_3:3}.\PAR\PAR Now, Lord, what wait I for?\PAR\PAR On Thee alone My hope is all rested,-- \PAR\PAR Lord, seal me Thine own!\PAR\PAR Only Thine own to be, Only to live to Thee.\PAR\PAR Thine, with each day begun, Thine, with each set of sun, Thine, till my work is done.\PAR\PAR ANNA WARNER.\PAR\PAR Now, believe me, God hides some ideal in every human soul. At some time in our life we feel a trembling, fearful longing to do some good thing. Life finds its noblest spring of excellence in this hidden impulse to do our best. There is a time when we are not content to be such merchants or doctors or lawyers as we see on the dead level or below it. The woman longs to glorify her womanhood as sister, wife, or mother. Here is God,-- God standing silently at the door all day long,-- God whispering to the soul, that to be pure and true is to succeed in life, and whatever we get short of that will burn up like stubble, though the whole world try to save it.\PAR\PAR ROBERT COLLYER.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, and to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandme{\i"The shadow of a great rock in a weary land." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_32:2}.\PAR\PAR {\i"In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_30:15}.\PAR\PAR O Shadow in a sultry land!\PAR\PAR We gather to Thy breast, Whose love, enfolding like the night, Brings quietude and rest, Glimpse of the fairer life to be, In foretaste here possessed.\PAR\PAR C. M. PACKARD.\PAR\PAR Strive to see God in all things without exception, and-acquiesce in His will with absolute submission. Do everything for God, uniting yourself to Him by a mere upward glance, or by the overflowing of your heart towards Him. Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. Commend all to God, and then lie still and be at rest in His bosom. Whatever happens, abide steadfast in a determination to cling simply to God, trusting to His eternal love for you; and if you find that you have wandered forth from this shelter, recall your heart quietly and simply. Maintain a holy simplicity of mind, and do not smother yourself with a host of cares, wishes, or longings, under any pretext.\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "This is the true God, and eternal life."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 1Jo_5:20}\PAR\PAR O the blessedness, which eternity itself can never exhaust, of possessing eternal life! There is something to my mind so singularly blessed in the expression\i "eternal life,"\i0 that I cannot help dwelling upon it. How the th But darkness intervenes--the Lord withdraws himself, sin works, Satan tempts, trials perplex your mind, unbelief rises up and begins to question everything. Then there is {\i"There are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Co_12:6}.\PAR\PAR {\i"I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_45:7}.\PAR\PAR {\i"All is of God that is, and is to be; And God is good." \i0}Let this suffice us still, Resting in childlike trust upon His will, Who moves to His great ends, unthwarted by the ill.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR This, then, is of faith, that everything, the very least, or what seems to us great, every change of the seasons, everything which touches us in mind, body, or estate, whether brought about through this outward senseless nature, or by the will of man, good or bad, is overruled to each of us by the all-holy and all-loving will of God. Whatever befalls us, however it befalls us, we must receive as the will of God. If it befalls us through man's negligence, or ill-will, or anger, still it is, in every the least circumstance, to us the will of God. For if the least thing could happen to us without God's permission, it would be something out of God's control.\PAR\PAR God's providence or His love would not be what they are. Almighty God Himself would not be the same God; not the God whom we believe, adore, and love.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR AoR5jM0eH+}`C& x[>!sV9nQ4asting covenant that wi @  @ z@ C@ S@ s@ @ @ @ <@ @ @ '@ @ @ @ S@ @ (@ @ @ @ !@ @ @  @~ @}  @|  @|  @{  k@z  @y @x 0@w 2@v @u @t @s @r $@r @q @p @o @n @m N@l @k @j I@i `@h @g @g @f @e @d @c i@b @a  @`  >@_  @^  Q@]  @\ @[ @@Y LVAL \i "Do not love the world or anything in the world."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 1Jo_2:15}\PAR\PAR This is a very wide sentence. It stretches forth a hand of vast grasp. It places us, as it were, upon a high mountain, such as the Lord stood upon when tempted of Satan, and it says to us,\i "Look around you -- now there is not one of these things which you must love."\i0 It takes us, again, to the streets of a crowded city; it shows us shop windows filled with objects of beauty and ornament; i{\i"Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Ti_2:15}.\PAR\PAR {\i"And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulGal_6:9}.\PAR\PAR The task Thy wisdom hath assigned, Oh, let me cheerfully fulfil; In all my works Thy presence find, And prove Thine acceptable will.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR {\i"What is my next duty? What is the thing that lies nearest to me?" \i0}{\i"That belongs to your every-day history. No one can answer that question but yourself. Your next duty is just to determine what your next duty is. Is there nothing you neglect? Is there nothing you know you ought not to do?\PAR\PAR You would know your duty, if you thought in earnest about it, and were not ambitious of great things." \i0}{\i"Ah, then," \i0}responded she, {\i"I suppose it is something very commonplace, which will make life more dreary than ever.\PAR\PAR That cannot help me." \i0}{\i"It will, if it be as dreary as reading the newspapers to an old deaf aunt. It will soon lead you to something more.\PAR\PAR Your duty will begin to comfort you at once, but will at length open the unknown fountain of life in your heart."\PAR\PAR G. MACDONALD.\PAR\PAR 9LVALEoR5jM0eH+}`C& x[>!sV\i "For my people have committed two evils--they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJer_2:13}\PAR\PAR There is nothing so piercing as the remembrance of backsliding against a good and holy God. There is nothing so wounding to a tender conscience as having sinned against manifested mercy and revealed salvation. It seems almost like doing despite to the Spirit of grace; almost like trampling under foot the blood of the covenant whereby we were sanctified, and treating our best Friend worse than his very enemies treated him. And as these things are brought to mind, and laid upon the conscience with weight and power, they will sometimes sink us very low into despondency and gloom so as almost to take away our very hope.\PAR\PAR But the Lord is very merciful and compassionate to those who fear his name. He regards the prayer of the destitute, and will not despise their cry. He{\i"Thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulDeu_12:18}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Be ye thankful." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulCol_3:15}.\PAR\PAR Thou that hast given so much to me, Give one thing more, a grateful heart.\PAR\PAR Not thankful when it pleaseth me, As if thy blessings had spare days; But such a heart, whose pulse may be Thy praise.\PAR\PAR G. HERBERT.\PAR\PAR If any one would tell you the shortest, surest way to all happiness and all perfection, he must tell you to make it a rule to yourself to thank and praise God for everything that happens to you. For it is certain that whatever seeming calamity happens to you, if you thank and praise God for it, you turn it into a blessing. Could you, therefore, work miracles, you could not do more for yourself than by this thankful spirit; for it heals with a word speaking, and turns all that it touches into happiness.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR LVALculfill all righteousness." It was necessary that Jesus, when he was a man, should be baptized, for he came to do all God's commands, that by his obedience many might be made righteous. Whom did our Savior mean by us, when he said, "It becomes us to fulfill all righteousness?" Himself and John. It was necessary that John should do the will of God, and baptize him whose shoes he was not worthy to untie. True Christians feel their unworthiness to do anything for their \i "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Col_2:13}\PAR\PAR Christ's resurrecti{\i"When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_43:2}.\PAR\PAR {\i"I am with thee to deliver thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJer_1:8}.\PAR\PAR When through the deep waters I call thee to go, The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow; For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless, And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR Turn it as thou wilt, thou must give thyself to suffer what is appointed thee. But if we did that, God would bear us up at all times in all our sorrows and troubles, and God would lay His shoulder under our burdens, and help us to bear them. For if, with a cheerful courage, we submitted ourselves to God, no suffering would be unbearable.\PAR\PAR J. TAULER.\PAR\PAR Learn to be as the angel, who could descend among the miseries of Bethesda without losing his heavenly purity or his perfect happiness. Gain healing from troubled waters. Make up your mind to the prospect of sustaining a certain measure of pain and trouble in your passage through life. By the blessing of God this will prepare you for it; it will make you thoughtful and resigned without interfering with your cheerfulness.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR YLVALeeMatthew 4:1-7. The temptation of Christ. \par\par We have read of the great honor that Christ received at his baptism. Immediately afterwards, he was exposed to terrible sufferings and temptations. It is God's method often to prepare his people for great sufferings, by granting them great consolations beforehand. Jesus was "led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." He fasted forty days and forty nights. He was alone amid the wild beasts of the desert; as it is written in Mark 1:13, "he was with the wild beasts\i "And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God led you these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you, and to prove you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments, or not."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Deu_8:2}\PAR\PAR When you loomforted by error.\PAR\PAR 2. But t{\i"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_55:22}.\PAR\PAR Now our wants and burdens leaving To His care who cares for all, Cease we fearing, cease we grieving, At His touch our burdens fall.\PAR\PAR S. LONGFELLOW.\PAR\PAR The circumstances of her life she could not alter, but she took them to the Lord, and handed them over into His management; and then she believed that He took it, and she left all the responsibility and the worry and anxiety with Him. As often as the anxieties returned she took them back; and the result was that, although the circumstances remained unchanged, her soul was kept in perfect peace in the midst of them. And the secret she found so effectual in her outward affairs, she found to be still more effectual in her inward ones, which were in truth even more utterly unmanageable. She abandoned her whole self to the Lord, with all that she was and all that she had; and, believing that He took that which she had committed to Him, she ceased to fret and worry, and her life became all sunshine in the gladness of belonging to Him. H. W. SMITH.\PAR\PAR LVALc\i "I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHos_11:4}\PAR\PAR When God draws his people near unto himself, it is not done in a mechanical way. They are drawn, not with cords of iron, but with the cords of a man; the idea being of something feeling, human, tender, touching; not as if God laid an iron arm upon his people to drag them to himself, whether they wished to come or not. This would not be grace nor the work of the Spirit upon the heart. God does not so act in a way of mechanical force. We therefore read, \i "Your people shall be willing in the day of your power" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulPsa_110:3}). He touches their heart with his gracious finger, like th{\i"The Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make His face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulNum_6:24-26}.\PAR\PAR O Love, how cheering is Thy ray!\PAR\PAR All pain before Thy presence flies; Care, anguish, sorrow, melt away, Where'er Thy healing beams arise.\PAR\PAR O Father, nothing may I see, Nothing desire, or seek, but Thee.\PAR\PAR P. GERHARDT.\PAR\PAR There is a faith in God, and a clear perception of His will and designs, and providence, and glory, which gives to its possessor a confidence and patience and sweet composure, under every varied and troubling aspect of events, such as no man can realize who has not felt its influences in his own heart. There is a communion with God, in which the soul feels the presence of the unseen One, in the profound depths of its being, with a vivid distinctness and a holy reverence, such as no words can describe.\PAR\PAR There is a state of union with God, I do not say often reached, yet it has been attained in this world, in which all the past and present and future seem reconciled, and eternity is won and enjoyed; and God and man, earth and heaven, with all their mysteries, are apprehended in truth as they lie in the mind of the Infinite.\PAR\PAR SAMUEL D. ROBBINS.\PAR\PAR LVALg\i "Jesus answered and said unto her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give me to drink; you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_4:10}\PAR\PAR How blessed a thing is vital godliness! That is the thing I always wish to contend for. Not for forms and ceremonies, or doctrines floating in the brain, but for the life of God in the soul; the only thing worth knowing; the only thing to live by, and I am sure the only thing to die by. How different is vital godliness received into the heart and conscience, by the operation of God the Spirit, out of the fullness of Christ--how different is this fountain of living water from the stagnant, dead water of lip-service, formality, and hypocrisy! \PAR\PAR And sure I am, if our souls have ever been baptized into a spiritual knowledge of this heavenly secret; if ever we have tasted the sweetness, felt the power, and experienced a measure of the enjoyment of vital godliness in the hea{\i"He that abideth in me, and I in him, bringeth forth much fruit." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJoh_15:5}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_90:17}.\PAR\PAR As some rare perfume in a vase of clay Pervades it with a fragrance not its own, So, when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul, All Heaven's own sweetness seems around it thrown.\PAR\PAR H. B. STOWE.\PAR\PAR Some glances of real beauty may be seen in their faces, who dwell in true meekness. There is a harmony in the sound of that voice to which Divine love gives utterance, and some appearance of right order in their temper and conduct whose passions are regulated.\PAR\PAR JOHN WOOLMAN.\PAR\PAR I believe that no Divine truth can truly dwell in any heart, without an external testimony in manner, bearing, and appearance, that must reach the witness within the heart of the beholder, and bear an unmistakable, though silent, evidence to the eternal principle from which it emanates.\PAR\PAR M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.\PAR\PAR oLVAL{i\i "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now has come salvation." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRev_12:10}\PAR\PAR \i "Salvation." \i0 WHAT \i "salvation?" \i0 Salvation by grace, full and free; salvation without any intermixture of creature righteousness; salvation gushing from the bosom of God; salvation flowing wholly and solely through the blood of the Lamb. But salvation can never be tasted without a previous foretaste of condemnation. Heaven can never be looked up into before there has been a looking down into the gate of hell. There must have been an experience of guilt, before there can be the enjoyment of pardon. \PAR\PAR \i "Now has come salvation." \i0 FROM WHAT? From the accusations of Satan, the curses of the law, the fear of death, the terrors of hell, and sentence of damnation. \PAR\PAR And HOW does salvation come? While the battle is going on, while the {\i"I have called upon Thee, for Thou wilt hear me, O God: incline Thine ear unto me, and hear my speech." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_17:6}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Ye people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_67:8}.\PAR\PAR Whate'er the care which breaks thy rest, Whate'er the wish that swells thy breast; Spread before God that wish, that care, And change anxiety to prayer.\PAR\PAR JANE CREWDSON.\PAR\PAR Trouble and perplexity drive us to prayer, and prayer driveth away trouble and perplexity.\PAR\PAR P. MELANCTHON.\PAR\PAR Whatsoever it is that presses thee, go tell thy Father; put over the matter into His hand, and so thou shalt be freed from that dividing, perplexing care that the world is full of. When thou art either to do or suffer anything, when thou art about any purpose or business, go tell God of it, and acquaint Him with it; yea, burden Him with it, and thou hast done for matter of caring; no more care, but quiet, sweet diligence in thy duty, and dependence on Him for the carriage of thy matters. Roll thy cares, and thyself with them, as one burden, all on thy God.\PAR\PAR R. LEIGHTON.\PAR\PAR LVAL]\i "Look unto me, and be saved, all the ends of the earth--for I am God, and there is no other." \i0 {\cf11 \ulIsa_45:22}\PAR\PAR How often we seem not to have any real religion, or enjoy any solid comfort! How often are our evidences obscured and beclouded, and our minds covered with deep darkness! How often does the Lord hide himself, so that we cannot behold him, nor get near to him; and how often the ground on which we thought we stood is cut from under our feet, and we have no firm standing! What a painful path is this to walk in, but how profitable! \PAR\PAR When we are reduced to poverty and beggary, we learn to value Christ's glorious riches; the worse opinion we have of our own heart, and the more deceitful and desperately wicked that we find it, the more we put our trust in his faithfulness. The more black we are in our own esteem, the more beautiful and lovely does he appear in{\i"Hear me, O Lord. for Thy loving-kindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of Thy tender mercies." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_69:16}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Let, I pray Thee, Thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to Thy word unto Thy servant." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_119:76}.\PAR\PAR Love divine has seen and counted Every tear it caused to fall; And the storm which Love appointed Was its choicest gift of all.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR O that thou couldst dwell in the knowledge and sense of this! even, that the Lord beholds thy sufferings with an eye of pity; and is able, not only to uphold thee under them, but also to do thee good by them. Therefore, grieve not at thy lot, be not discontented, look not out at the hardness of thy condition; but, when the storm and matters of vexation are sharp, look up to Him who can give meekness and patience, can lift up thy head over all, and cause thy life to grow, and be a gainer by all. If the Lord God help thee proportionably to thy condition of affliction and distress, thou wilt have no cause to complain, but to bless His name.\PAR\PAR I. PENINGTON.\PAR\PAR kLVALw_\i "For the word of God is quick and powerful." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_4:12}\PAR\PAR What is meant by the word of God being \i "quick?" \i0 That it moves with swiftness and velocity? It is certainly said of God's word ({\cf11 \ulPsa_147:15}) that \i "it runs very swiftly;" \i0 but that is not the meaning of the word \i "quick" \i0 in the text. It there means \i "living," \i0 and corresponds with the expression ({\cf11 \ulAct_7:38}) \i "living oracles." \i0 It is an old English word signifying \i "living;" \i0 as in the expression, \i "who shall judge the quick and the dead" \i0 ({\cf11 \ul1Ti_4:1}), that is, the living and the dead. So we read of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram \i "going down quick (that is, alive) into the pit" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulNum_16:30}). So the Lord is said to have \i "quickened (that is, made spiritually alive) those who were previously dead in tres{\i"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Co_10:31}.\PAR\PAR {\i"With good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not unto men." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEph_6:7}.\PAR\PAR A Servant, with this clause, Makes drudgery divine:\PAR\PAR Who sweeps a room, as for Thy laws, Makes that and th' action fine.\PAR\PAR G. HERBERT.\PAR\PAR Surely the truth must be, that whatsoever in our daily life is lawful and right for us to be engaged in, is in itself a part of our obedience to God; a part, that is, of our very religion. Whensoever we hear people complaining of obstructions and hindrances put by the duties of life in the way of devoting themselves to God, we may be sure they are under some false view or other. They do not look upon their daily work as the task God has set them, and as obedience due to Him. We may go farther; and say, not only that the duties of life, be they never so toilsome and distracting, are no obstructions to a life of any degree of inward holiness; but that they are even direct means, when rightly used, to promote our sanctification.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR LVALX\`0\@'X\a\0\H'X\b0\'X\c1\%(eue%ee \'X\dX1\eh%eueee`s'X\e1\ehueueeu`i'X\f2\58ueeeeepe'X\gT2\uxe%eEue r'X\h2\%(E%ueue`r'X\i2\ux%%5eee n'X\jP3\ehe%eeu5 i'X\k3\uxe%eue% PA'X\l3\ux {\i"Where hast thou gleaned to-day?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRth_2:19}.\PAR\PAR What have I learnt where'er I've been, From all I've heard, from all I've seen?\PAR\PAR What know I more that's worth the knowing?\PAR\PAR What have I done that's worth the doing?\PAR\PAR What have I sought that I should shun?\PAR\PAR What duties have I left undone?\PAR\PAR PYTHAGORAS.\PAR\PAR All of this world will soon have passed away. But God will remain, and thou, whatever thou hast become, good or bad. Thy deeds now are the seed-corn of eternity. Each single act, in each several day, good or bad, is a portion of that seed. Each day adds some line, making thee more or less like Him, more or less capable of His love.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR There is something very solemn in the thought that that part of our work which we have left undone may first be revealed to us at the end of a life filled up, as we had fondly hoped, with useful and necessary employments.\PAR\PAR SARAH W. STEPHEN.\PAR\PAR ILVALUa\i "Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect--but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPhp_3:12}\PAR\PAR The Apostle Paul, perhaps the greatest saint that ever lived upon earth, had to confess that even he had not attained. There was that in Christ more than he had ever seen, ever known, ever felt, ever tasted, ever handled, ever realized. There were heights in his glory, depths in his love, in his sufferings, in his bitter agonies in the garden and on the cross, which passed all apprehension and comprehension. Therefore he says, \i "Not as though I had already attained." \i0 I am a child still, a learner still, as weak as ever, as helpless as ever to obtain what I need. Though I follow on; though I forget the things which are be{\i"Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Pe_3:8}.\PAR\PAR Make us of one heart and mind; Courteous, pitiful, and kind; Lowly, meek, in thought and word, Altogether like our Lord.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR A little thought will show you how vastly your own happiness depends on the way other people bear themselves toward you. The looks and tones at your breakfast-table, the conduct of your fellow-workers or employers, the faithful or unreliable men you deal with, what people say to you on the street, the way your cook and housemaid do their work, the letters you get, the friends or foes you meet,-- these things make up very much of the pleasure or misery of your day. Turn the idea around, and remember that just so much are you adding to the pleasure or the misery of other people's days. And this is the half of the matter which you can control. Whether any particular day shall bring to you more of happiness or of suffering is largely beyond your power to determine. Whether each day of your life shall give happiness or suffering rests with yourself.\PAR\PAR GEORGE S. MERRIAM.\PAR\PAR LVAL(y\i "I drew them with cords of a man, with bands of love." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHos_11:4}\PAR\PAR When God draws his people near unto himself, it is not done in a mechanical way. They are drawn, not with cords of iron, but with the cords of a man; the idea being of something feeling, human, tender, touching; not as if God laid an iron arm upon his people to drag them to himself, whether they wished to come or not. This would not be grace nor the work of the Spirit upon the heart. God does not so act in a way of mechanical force. We therefore read, \i "Your people shall be willing in the day of your power" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulPsa_110:3}). He touches their heart with his gracious finger, like the band of men whom he thus inclined to follow Saul ({\cf11 \ul1Sa_10:26}); he communicates to their so{\i"Showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulTit_2:10}.\PAR\PAR If on our daily course our mind Be set to hallow all we find, New treasures still, of countless price, God will provide for sacrifice.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE If content and thankfulness, if the patient bearing of evil, be duties to God, they are the duties of every day, and in every circumstance of our life. If we are to follow Christ, it must be in our common way of spending every day.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR He who is faithful over a few things is a lord of cities. It does not matter whether you preach in Westminster Abbey, or teach a ragged class, so you be faithful. The faithfulness is all.\PAR\PAR G. MACDONALD.\PAR\PAR I would have you invoke God often through the day, asking Him to kindle a love for your vocation within you, and saying with St. Paul, {\i"'Lord, what wouldst Thou have me to do?' Wouldst Thou have me serve Thee in the lowest ministries of Thy house? too happy if I may but serve Thee anyhow." \i0}And when any special thing is repugnant to you, ask {\i"Wouldst Thou have me do it? Then, unworthy though I be, I will do it gladly."\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR <LVALJ\i "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from {\i"Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_6:32}.\PAR\PAR All as God wills, who wisely heeds To give or to withhold; And knoweth more of all my needs Than all my prayers have told.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of Thee; Thou only knowest what I need; Thou lovest me better than I know how to love myself. O Father! give to Thy child that which he himself knows not how to ask. I dare not ask either for crosses or consolations; I simply present myself before Thee; I open my heart to Thee. Behold my needs which I know not myself; see, and do according to Thy tender mercy. Smite, or heal; depress me, or raise me up; I adore all Thy purposes without knowing them; I am silent; I offer myself in sacrifice; I yield myself to Thee; I would have no other desire than to accomplish Thy will. Teach me to pray; pray Thyself in me.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR {\i"Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_4:10}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_119:2}.\PAR\PAR The comfort of a mind at rest From every care Thou hast not blest; A heart from all the world set free, To worship and to wait on Thee.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR Resign every forbidden joy; restrain every wish that is not referred to His will; banish all eager desires, all anxiety. Desire only the will of God; seek Him alone, and you will find peace.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR {\i"I've been a great deal happier since I have given up thinking about what is easy and pleasant, and being discontented because I couldn't have my own will. Our life is determined for us; and it makes the mind very free when we give up wishing, and only think of bearing what is laid upon us, and doing what is given us to do."\PAR\PAR GEORGE ELIOT.\PAR\PAR LVAL}\i "Jesus answered and said unto her, If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give me to drink; you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_4:10}\PAR\PAR How blessed a thing is vital godliness! That is the thing I always wish to contend for. Not for forms and ceremonies, or doctrines floating in the brain, but for the life of God in the soul; the only thing worth knowing; the only thing to live by, and I am sure the only thing to die by. How different is vital godliness received into the heart and conscience, by the operation of God the Spirit, out of the fullness of Christ--how different is this fountain of living water from the stagnant, dead water of lip-service, formality, and hypocrisy! \PAR\PAR And sure I am, if our souls have ever been baptized into a spiritual knowledge of this heavenly secret; if ever we have tasted the sw{\i"He that contemneth small things shall fall by little and little." \i0}-- ECCLESIASTICUS xix. I.\PAR\PAR One finger's-breadth at hand will mar A world of light in heaven afar, A mote eclipse a glorious star, An eyelid hide the sky.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR A single sin, however apparently trifling, however hidden in some obscure corner of our consciousness,-- a sin {\i"which we do not intend to renounce_,-- is enough to render real prayer impracticable. A course of action not wholly upright and honorable, feelings not entirely kind and loving, habits not spotlessly chaste and temperate,-- any of these are impassable obstacles. If we know of a kind act which we might, but do not intend to, perform,-- if we be aware that our moral health requires the abandonment of some pleasure which yet we do not intend to abandon, here is cause enough for the loss of all spiritual power.\PAR\PAR F. P. COBBE.\PAR\PAR It is astonishing how soon the whole conscience begins to unravel, if a single stitch drops; one little sin indulged makes a hole you could put your head through.\PAR\PAR CHARLES BUXTON.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now has come salvation." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRev_12:10}\PAR\PAR \i "Salvation." \i0 WHAT \i "salvation?" \i0 Salvation by grace, full and free; salvation without any intermixture of creature righteousness; salvation gushing from the bosom of God; salvation flowing wholly and solely through the blood of the Lamb. But salvation can never be tasted without a previous foretaste of condemnation. Heaven can never be looked up into before there has been a looking down into the gate of hell. There must have been an experience of guilt, before there can be the enjoyment of pardon. \PAR\PAR \i "Now has come salvation." \i0 FROM WHAT? From the accusations of Satan, the curses of the law, the fear of death, the terrors of hell, and sentence of damnation. \PAR\PAR And HOW does salvation come? While the battle is going on, while the issue is doubtful, while hand to hand, foot to foot, and sho{\i"Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul3Jo1:5}.\PAR\PAR {\i"And this also we wish, even your perfection." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Co_13:9}.\PAR\PAR In all the little things of life, Thyself, Lord, may I see; In little and in great alike Reveal Thy love to me.\PAR\PAR So shall my undivided life To Thee, my God, be given; And all this earthly course below Be one dear path to heaven.\PAR\PAR H. BONAR.\PAR\PAR In order to mould thee into entire conformity to His will, He must have thee pliable in His hands, and this pliability is more quickly reached by yielding in the little things than even by the greater. Thy one great desire is to follow Him fully; canst thou not say then a continual {\i"yes" \i0}to all His sweet commands, whether small or great, and trust Him to lead thee by the shortest road to thy fullest blessedness?\PAR\PAR H. W. SMITH.\PAR\PAR With meekness, humility, and diligence, apply yourself to the duties of your condition. They are the seemingly little things which make no noise that do the business.\PAR\PAR HENRY MORE.\PAR\PAR LVAL)\i "Show me your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_25:4} \PAR\PAR To lie with a broken heart and contrite spirit at the footstool of mercy beseeching God to teach us, is indeed a blessed spot to be in. It is the evidence of a childlike spirit, and shows such simplicity, reality, and genuineness that it bears stamped upon it the indubitable marks of true discipleship. Wherever we see such a coming out of SELF, with a renunciation of our own wisdom, strength, and righteousness, such a putting aside of all creature religion, and such a real spirit of humility before God, we must receive it as something beyond and above nature. Nothing but the power of God seems able to bring a soul so completely out of the shell and crust of self-righteousness, and so to lay open i{\i"I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_4:8}.\PAR\PAR {\i"He giveth His beloved sleep." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_127:2}.\PAR\PAR He guides our feet, He guards our way, His morning smiles bless all the day; He spreads the evening veil, and keeps The silent hours while Israel sleeps.\PAR\PAR I. WATTS.\PAR\PAR We sleep in peace in the arms of God, when we yield ourselves up to His providence, in a delightful consciousness of His tender mercies; no more restless uncertainties, no more anxious desires, no more impatience at the place we are in; for it is God who has put us there, and who holds us in His arms. Can we be unsafe where He has placed us?\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR One evening when Luther saw a little bird perched on a tree, to roost there for the night, he said, {\i"This little bird has had its supper, and now it is getting ready to go to sleep here, quite secure and content, never troubling itself what its food will be, or where its lodging on the morrow.\PAR\PAR Like David, it 'abides under the shadow of the Almighty.' It sits on its little twig content, and lets God take care."\PAR\PAR MARTIN LUTHER.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "And there I will meet with you, and I will commune with you from above the mercy seat." \i0 {\cf11 \ulExo_25:22}\PAR\PAR After a child of God has enjoyed something of the goodness and mercy of God revealed in the face of his dear Son, he may wander from his mercies, stray away from these choice gospel pastures, and get into a waste-howling wilderness, where there is neither food nor water; and yet, though half-starved for poverty, has in himself no power to return. But what has brought him for the most part into this state? Forgetfulness of the mercy seat; and as the Lord meets his people only there, a gradual estrangement from him. \PAR\PAR But in due time the Lord seeks out this wandering sheep, and the first place he brings him to is the mercy seat, confessing his sins and seeking mercy. Faithful to his own word, once more the Lord meets him there; and O what a meeting! A penitent backslider and a forgiving God! O what a meeting! A guilty wretch drowned in tears, and a loving Father falling upon his neck and kiss{\i"I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_85:8}.\PAR\PAR There is a voice, {\i"a still, small voice" \i0}of love, Heard from above; But not amidst the din of earthly sounds, Which here confounds; By those withdrawn apart it best is heard, And peace, sweet peace, breathes in each gentle word.\PAR\PAR ANONYMOUS.\PAR\PAR He speaketh, but it is with us to hearken or no. It is much, yea, it is everything, not to turn away the ear, to be willing to hearken, not to drown His voice. {\i"The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." \i0}It is a secret, hushed voice, a gentle intercourse of heart to heart, a still, small voice, whispering to the inner ear. How should we hear it, if we fill our ears and our hearts with the din of this world, its empty tumult, its excitement, its fretting vanities, or cares, or passions, or anxieties, or show, or rivalries, and its whirl of emptinesses?\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "But speaking the truth (margin, being sincere) in love." \i0 {\cf11 \ulEph_4:15}\PAR\PAR Sincerity lies at the root of all gracious profession. If a man is not sincere he is nothing. God makes a man sincere by planting his truth in his heart; and whenever God does make a man sincere, the truth which he has implanted will grow. Truth does not lie in a man's soul dead and motionless, like a stone in the street; it is a living, active, expansive principle. If the truth is in the soul, it will be ever pushing out error, because the two principles cannot exist together; and as Isaac thrust out Ishmael, and Jacob proved stronger than Esau, so will simplicity and godl{\i"Are they not all ministering spirits?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_1:14}.\PAR\PAR May I reach That purest heaven, be to other souls The cup of strength in some great agony, Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, Be the sweet presence of a good diffused, And in diffusion ever more intense!\PAR\PAR So shall I join the choir invisible Whose music is the gladness of the world.\PAR\PAR GEORGE ELIOT.\PAR\PAR Certainly, in our own little sphere it is not the most active people to whom we owe the most. Among the common people whom we know, it is not necessarily those who are busiest, not those who, meteor-like, are ever on the rush after some visible charge and work. It is the lives, like the stars, which simply pour down on us the calm light of their bright and faithful being, up to which we look and out of which we gather the deepest calm and courage. It seems to me that there is reassurance here for many of us who seem to have no chance for active usefulness. We can do nothing for our fellow-men. But still it is good to know that we can be something for them; to know (and this we may know surely) that no man or woman of the humblest sort can really be strong, gentle, pure, and good, without the world being better for it, without somebody being helped and comforted by the very existence of that goodness.\PAR\PAR PHILLIPS BROOKS.\PAR\PAR OLVAL[\i "You open your hand, and satisfy the desires of every living thing." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_145:16}\PAR\PAR That word has been sweet to me sometimes, \i "Every living thing." \i0 How comprehensive it is! And how low it descends! How it comes down to the weakest and lowest and least of God's family, if he is only \i "a thing," \i0 only \i "a living thing!" \i0 if he cannot see himself \i "a man in Christ;" \i0 no, nor see himself a child of God; no, nor see himself a new-born babe! If he cannot see in himself the features of a child even, yet to be \i "a living thing!" \i0 \PAR\PAR Now, perhaps, if you cannot trace the features of a grown-up man as stamped upon you, and are exercised with distressing doubts whether your experience even amounts to the new-born babe, you may yet come in here, as being \i "a living thing," \i0 a nondes{\i"If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Jn_4:12}.\PAR\PAR {\i"And he that keepeth His commandments dwelleth in Him, and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth in us, by the Spirit which He hath given us." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Jn_3:24}.\PAR\PAR Abide in me; o'ershadow by Thy love Each half-formed purpose and dark thought of sin; Quench, ere it rise, each selfish, low desire, And keep my soul as Thine, calm and divine.\PAR\PAR H. B. STOWE.\PAR\PAR The Spirit of Love must work the works, and speak the tones, of Love. It cannot exist and give no sign, or a false sign. It cannot be a spirit of Love, and mantle into irritable and selfish impatience. It cannot be a spirit of Love, and at the same time make self the prominent object. It cannot rejoice to lend itself to the happiness of others, and at the same time be seeking its own. It cannot be generous, and envious. It cannot be sympathizing, and unseemly; self-forgetful, and vain-glorious. It cannot delight in the rectitude and purity of other hearts, as the spiritual elements of their peace, and yet unnecessarily suspect them.\PAR\PAR J. H. THOM.\PAR\PAR LVAL \i "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Co_3:17}\PAR\PAR The gospel is \i "the perfect law of liberty," \i0 therefore the very perfection of liberty, and thus thoroughly and entirely free from the least taint of bondage, the slightest tincture of servitude. It is this perfect freedom which distinguishes it from the law which \i "works wrath" \i0 and \i "genders to bondage." \i0 It is, therefore, a freedom from sin; from its guilt, as having \i "the heart sprinkled from an evil conscience;" \i0 from its filth, by \i "the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit;" \i0 from its love, through \i "the love of God, shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit;" \i0 from its dominion, as \i "not being under the law b{\i"Giving thanks always for all things unto God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEph_5:20}.\PAR\PAR For blessings of the fruitful season, For work and rest, for friends and home, For the great gifts of thought and reason,-- \PAR\PAR To praise and bless Thee, Lord, we come.\PAR\PAR Yes, and for weeping and for wailing, For bitter hail and blighting frost, For high hopes on the low earth trailing, For sweet joys missed, for pure aims crossed.\PAR\PAR E. SCUDDER.\PAR\PAR Notwithstanding all that I have suffered, notwithstanding all the pain and weariness and anxiety and sorrow that necessarily enter into life, and the inward errings that are worse than all, I would end my record with a devout thanksgiving to the great Author of my being. For more and more am I unwilling to make my gratitude to Him what is commonly called {\i"a thanksgiving for mercies,"-\i0}- for any benefits or blessings that are peculiar to myself, or my friends, or indeed to any man. Instead of this, I would have it to be gratitude for {\i"all" \i0}that belongs to my life and being,-- for joy and sorrow, for health and sickness, for success and disappointment, for virtue and for temptation, for life and death; because I believe that all is meant for good.\PAR\PAR ORVILLE DEWEY.\PAR\PAR SLVAL_\i "I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal." \i0 {\cf11 \ulDeu_32:39}\PAR\PAR The work of grace in the soul, in its very beginnings, penetrates deeply into its inmost substance. It wounds and lays open the conscience to the eye of infinite Purity and Holiness. \i "The entrance of your word (that is, the very first entrance) gives light." \i0 \i "The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." \i0 \PAR\PAR All conviction to be true conviction must be thorough. The field must be ploughed, broken up, and furrowed, before the seed can find a home, a seed-bed for the seed to fall in so as to germinate and grow. There is much to be done in a sinner's heart{\i"There shall no evil befall thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_91:10}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Whoso hearkeneth unto Me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPro_1:33}.\PAR\PAR I ask not, {\i"Take away this weight of care;"\PAR\PAR No, for that love I pray that all can bear, And for the faith that whatsoe'er befall Must needs be good, and for my profit prove, Since from my Father's heart most rich in love, And from His bounteous hands it cometh all.\PAR\PAR C. J. P. SPITTA.\PAR\PAR Be like the promontory, against which the waves continually break; but it stands firm, and tames the fury of the water around it. Unhappy am I, because this has happened to me? Not so, but happy am I, though this has happened to me, because I continue free from pain, neither crushed by the present, nor fearing the future. Will then this which has happened prevent thee from being just, magnanimous, temperate, prudent, secure against inconsiderate opinions and falsehood? Remember, too, on every occasion which leads thee to vexation to apply this principle: that this is not a misfortune, but that to bear it nobly is good fortune.\PAR\PAR MARCUS ANTONINUS.\PAR\PAR ELVALQ\i "But when the Comforter has come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father--he shall testify of me." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_15:26}\PAR\PAR The special work and office of the Holy Spirit is to testify of Jesus, to glorify him, to take of the things that are his, and to show them to the soul; and therefore without these teachings and testimonies of the Holy Spirit we have no true, no saving knowledge of Christ, no living faith in him, no sweet communion with him, no tender and affectionate love toward him. And are not these the marks which peculiarly distinguish the living family of God from those dead in sin, and those dead in profession? \PAR\PAR A bare knowledge of the letter of truth--can communicate no such gracious affections as will warm, soften, melt, and anim{\i"Thou shall guide me with Thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_73:24}.\PAR\PAR {\i"There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_4:9}.\PAR\PAR Guide us through life; and when at last We enter into rest, Thy tender arms around us cast, And fold us to Thy breast.\PAR\PAR H. F. LYTE.\PAR\PAR Go forth to meet the solemnities and to conquer the trials of existence, believing in a Shepherd of your souls. Then faith in Him will support you in duty, and duty firmly done will strengthen faith; till at last, when all is over here, and the noise and strife of the earthly battle fades upon your dying ear, and you hear, instead thereof, the deep and musical sound of the ocean of eternity, and see the lights of heaven shining on its waters still and fair in their radiant rest, your faith will raise the song of conquest, and in its retrospect of the life which has ended, and its forward glance upon the life to come, take up the poetic inspiration of the Hebrew king, {\i"Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."\PAR\PAR STOPFORD A. BROOKE.\PAR\PAR DLVALP\i "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_2:14}\PAR\PAR By his sufferings, blood shedding and death, our gracious Lord not only made a complete atonement for sin, fulfilled every demand of the law, washed his people from all their iniquities in the fountain of his precious blood, and wrought out and brought in a perfect and everlasting righteousness for their justification, but \i "through death destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." \i0 It was by the death of the cross that the gracious Lord \i "spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it." \i0 It is a point little c{\i"Thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field, and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee. And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJob_5:23}; {\cf11 \ulJob_5:24}.\PAR\PAR Love had he found in huts where poor men lie; His daily teachers had been woods and rills, The silence that is in the starry sky, The sleep that is among the lonely hills.\PAR\PAR W. Wordsworth.\PAR\PAR That spirit which suffices quiet hearts, which seems to come forth to such from every dry knoll of sere grass, from every pine-stump, and half-embedded stone, on which the dull March sun shines, comes forth to the poor and hungry, and to such as are of simple taste. If thou fill thy brain with Boston and New York, with fashion and covetousness, and wilt stimulate thy jaded senses with wine and French coffee, thou shall find no radiance of wisdom in the lonely waste of the pine-woods.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR As a countenance is made beautiful by the soul's shining through it, so the world is beautiful by the shining through it of a God.\PAR\PAR FRIEDRICH HEINRICH JACOBI.\PAR\PAR Reformatted for e-Sword by David Cox\par dcox@davidcox.com.mxLVAL$\i "Show me your way{\i"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Co_3:16}.\PAR\PAR Father! replenish with Thy grace This longing heart of mine; Make it Thy quiet dwelling-place, Thy sacred inmost shrine!\PAR\PAR JOHANN SCHEFFLER.\PAR\PAR Not man's manifold labors, but his manifold cares, hinder the presence of God. Whatsoever thou doest, hush thyself to thine own feverish vanities, and busy thoughts, and cares; in silence seek thy Father's face, and the light of His countenance will stream down upon thee. He will make a secret cell in thine heart, and when thou enterest there, there shalt thou find Him. And if thou hast found Him there, all around shall reflect Him, all shall speak to Him, and He will speak through all. Outwardly thou mayest be doing the work of thy calling; inwardly if thou commend thy work to God, thou mayest be with Him in the third Heaven.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR {\i"For Thou Invest all the things that are, and abhorrest nothing which Thou hast made: for never wouldest Thou have made any thing, if Thou hadst hated it. But Thou sparest all: for they are Thine, O Lord, Thou lover of souls." \i0}-- WISDOM OF SOLOMON 11:24, 26.\PAR\PAR He prayeth well who loveth well Both man and bird and beast; He prayeth best who loveth best All things both great and small; For the dear God who loveth us, He made and loveth all.\PAR\PAR S. T. COLERIDGE.\PAR\PAR To know that Love alone was the beginning of nature and creature, that nothing but Love encompasses the whole universe of things, that the governing Hand that overrules all, the watchful Eye that sees through all, is nothing but omnipotent and omniscient Love, using an infinity of wisdom, to save every misguided creature from the miserable works of its own hands, and make happiness and glory the perpetual inheritance of all the creation, is a reflection that must be quite ravishing to every intelligent creature that is sensible of it.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR LVALm\i "And there I will meet with you, and I will commune with you from above the mercy seat." \i0 {\cf11 \ulExo_25:22}\PAR\PAR After a child of God has enjoyed something of the goodness and mercy of God revealed in the face of his dear Son, he may wander from his mercies, stray away from these choice gospel pastures, and get into a waste-howling wilderness, where there is neither food nor water; and yet, though half-starved for poverty, has in himself no power to return. But what has brought him for the most part into this state? Forgetfulness of the mercy seat; and as the Lord meets his people only there, a gradual estrangement from him. \PAR\PAR But in due time the Lord seeks out this wandering sheep, and the first plac{\i"As for thee, the Lord thy God hath not suffered thee so to do." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulDeu_18:14}.\PAR\PAR Lord, for the erring thought Not into evil wrought; Lord, for the wicked will Betrayed and baffled still; For the heart from itself kept, Our Thanksgiving accept.\PAR\PAR W. D. HOWELLS.\PAR\PAR What an amazing, what a blessed disproportion between the evil we do, and the evil we are capable of doing, and seem sometimes on the very verge of doing! If my soul has grown tares, when it was full of the seeds of nightshade, how happy ought I to be! And that the tares have not wholly strangled the wheat, what a wonder it is! We ought to thank God daily for the sins we have not committed.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR We give thanks often with a tearful, doubtful voice, for our spiritual mercies {\i"positive_; but what an almost infinite field there is for mercies negative! We cannot even imagine all that God has suffered us {\i"not" \i0}to do, {\i"not" \i0}to be.\PAR\PAR F. R. HAVERGAL.\PAR\PAR You are surprised at your imperfections-- why? I should infer from that, that your self-knowledge is small. Surely, you might rather be astonished that you do not fall into more frequent and more grievous faults, and thank God for His upholding grace.\PAR\PAR JEAN NICOLAS GROU.\PAR\PAR 7LVALCo\i "But speaking the truth (margin, being sincere) in love." \i0 {\cf11 \ulEph_4:15}\PAR\PAR Sincerity lies at the root of all gracious profession. If a man is not sincere he is nothing. God makes a man sincere by planting his truth in his heart; and whenever God does make a man sincere, the truth which he has implanted will grow. Truth does not lie in a man's soul dead and motionless, like a stone in the street; it is a living, active, expansive principle. If the truth is in the soul, it will be ever pushing out error, because the two principles cannot exist together; and as Isaac thrust out Ishmael, and Jacob proved stronger than Esau, so will simplicity and godly sincerity be ever mightier than craft and deception. \PAR\PAR The truth of God in the heart will not wither and die, but will be shined upon b{\i"Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_25:23}.\PAR\PAR O father! help us to resign Our hearts, our strength, our wills to Thee; Then even lowliest work of Thine Most noble, blest, and sweet will be.\PAR\PAR H. M. KIMBALL.\PAR\PAR Nothing is too little to be ordered by our Father; nothing too little in which to see His hand; nothing, which touches our souls, too little to accept from Him; nothing too little to be done to Him.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR A soul occupied with great ideas best performs small duties; the divinest views of life penetrate most clearly into the meanest emergencies; so far from petty principles being best proportioned to petty trials, a heavenly spirit taking up its abode with us can alone sustain well the daily toils, and tranquilly pass the humiliations of our condition.\PAR\PAR J. MARTINEAU.\PAR\PAR Whoso neglects a thing which he suspects he ought to do, because it seems to him too small a thing, is deceiving himself; it is not too little, but too great for him, that he doeth it not.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR DLVALPq\i "You open your hand, and satisfy the desires of every living thing." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_145:16}\PAR\PAR That word has been sweet to me sometimes, \i "Every living thing." \i0 How comprehensive it is! And how low it descends! How it comes down to the weakest and lowest and least of God's family, if he is only \i "a thing," \i0 only \i "a living thing!" \i0 if he cannot see himself \i "a man in Christ;" \i0 no, nor see himself a child of God; no, nor see himself a new-born babe! If he cannot see in himself the features of a child even, yet to be \i "a living thing!" \i0 \PAR\PAR Now, perhaps, if you cannot trace the features of a grown-up man as stamped upon you, and are exercised with distressing doubts whether your experience even amounts to the new-born babe, you may yet come in here, as being \i "a living thing," \{\i"Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Ki_19:18}.\PAR\PAR He went down to the great school with a glimmering of another lesson in his heart,-- the lesson that he who has conquered his own coward spirit has conquered the whole outward world; and that other one which the old prophet learnt in the cave in Mount Horeb, when he hid his face, and the still small voice asked, {\i"What doest thou here, Elijah?" \i0}that however we may fancy ourselves alone on the side of good, the King and Lord of men is nowhere without His witnesses; for in every society, however seemingly corrupt and godless, there are those who have not bowed the knee to Baal.\PAR\PAR THOMAS HUGHES.\PAR\PAR So, then, Elijah's life had been no failure, after all. Seven thousand at least in Israel had been braced and encouraged by his example, and silently blessed him, perhaps, for the courage which they felt. In God's world, for those who are in earnest there is no failure. No work truly done, no word earnestly spoken, no sacrifice freely made, was ever made in vain.\PAR\PAR F. W. ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Thus says the Lord; I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals, when you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJer_2:2}\PAR\PAR Salvation is a gift, the choicest and richest gift which the hands of a Triune God, whose name is Love, can bestow. It is a portion, an inheritance, an estate, a treasure, an eternal reality. The full possession, the entire enjoyment, the complete acquisition of this predestinated weight of glory, is indeed reserved until a future state; but the pledges, the firstfruits, the early ripe clusters, the first dew-drops of this eternal inheritance, are given to the elect while upon earth. \PAR\PAR The{\i"In the multitude of my thoughts within me Thy comforts delight my soul." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_94:19}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Perplexed, but not in despair; cast down, but not destroyed." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Co_4:8-9}.\PAR\PAR Discouraged in the work of life, Disheartened by its load, Shamed by its failures or its fears, I sink beside the road;-- \PAR\PAR But let me only think of Thee, And then new heart springs up in me.\PAR\PAR S. LONGFELLOW.\PAR\PAR Discouragement is an inclination to give up all attempts after the devout life, in consequence of the difficulties by which it is beset, and our already numerous failures in it. We lose heart; and partly in ill-temper, partly in real doubt of our own ability to persevere, we first grow querulous and peevish with God, and then relax in our efforts to mortify ourselves and to please Him. It is a sort of shadow of despair, and will lead us into numberless venial sins the first half-hour we give way to it.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR Never let us be discouraged with ourselves; it is not when we are conscious of our faults that we are the most wicked; on the contrary, we are less so.\PAR\PAR We see by a brighter light; and let us remember, for our consolation, that we never perceive our sins till we begin to cure them.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "It is a faithful saying--For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him--if we suffer, we shall also reign with him." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Ti_2:11}; {\cf11 \ul1Ti_2:12}\PAR\PAR To be partakers of Christ's crown, we must be partakers of Christ's cross. Union with him in suffering must precede union with him in glory. This is the express testimony of the Holy Spirit--"If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." \i0 The flesh and the world are to be crucified to us, and we to them; and this can only be by virtue of a living union with a crucified Lord. This made the Apostle say, \i "I am crucified with Christ--nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives i{\i"That ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_12:2}.\PAR\PAR Thou knowest what is best; And who but Thee, O God, hath power to know?\PAR\PAR In Thy great will my trusting heart shall rest; Beneath that will my humble head shall bow.\PAR\PAR T. C. UPHAM.\PAR\PAR To those who are His, all things are not only easy to be borne, but even to be gladly chosen. Their will is united to that will which moves heaven and earth, which gives laws to angels, and rules the courses of the world. It is a wonderful gift of God to man, of which we that know so little must needs speak little. To be at the centre of that motion, where is everlasting rest; to be sheltered in the peace of God; even now to dwell in heaven, where all hearts are stayed, and all hopes fulfilled. {\i"Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee."\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR Study to follow His will in all, to have no will but His. This is thy duty, and thy wisdom. Nothing is gained by spurning and struggling but to hurt and vex thyself; but by complying all is gained-- sweet peace. It is the very secret, the mystery of solid peace within, to resign all to His will, to be disposed of at His pleasure, without the least contrary thought.\PAR\PAR R. LEIGHTON.\PAR\PAR LVAL*\i "If you were of the world, the world would love his own; but because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Joh_15:19}\PAR\PAR If you walk in the fear of God, and follow in the footsteps of a persecuted and despised Jesus, the world will hate and despise you as it hated and despised him, as he hi\i "The dead are raised up." \i0 {\cf11 \ulMat_11:5}\PAR\PAR \i "The dead are raised up." \i0 The \i "dead" \i0 are those who by nature are dead in sin. These dead are raised up when life from God visits their souls. They are raised up to faith in Jesus, raised up to hope in his name, raised up to a sense of his dying love to their souls, raised up from doubt and fear, raised up from the depths of despondency, to look unto h{\i"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_23:1}.\PAR\PAR {\i"They that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_34:10}.\PAR\PAR God, who the universe doth hold In his fold, Is my shepherd kind and heedful, Is my shepherd, and doth keep Me, his sheep, Still supplied with all things needful.\PAR\PAR F. Davison.\PAR\PAR {\i"Who" \i0}is it that is your shepherd? The Lord! Oh, my friends, what a wonderful announcement! The Lord God of heaven and earth, the almighty Creator of all things, He who holds the universe in His hand as though it were a very little thing,-- HE is your shepherd, and has charged Himself with the care and keeping of you, as a shepherd is charged with the care and keeping of his sheep. If your hearts could really take in this thought, you would never have a fear or a care again; for with such a shepherd, how could it be possible for you ever to want any good thing?\PAR\PAR H. W. Smith.\PAR\PAR ALVALM\i "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Hab_3:18}\PAR\PAR If ever, as we pass through this wilderness, we feel o{\i"Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_26:41}.\PAR\PAR I want a sober mind, A self-renouncing will, That tramples down and casts behind The baits of pleasing ill; A spirit still prepared, And armed with jealous care, Forever standing on its guard, And watching unto prayer.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR When you say, {\i"Lead us not into temptation," \i0}you must in good earnest mean to avoid in your daily conduct those temptations which you have already suffered from. When you say, {\i"Deliver us from evil," \i0}you must mean to struggle against that evil in your hearts, which you are conscious of, and which you pray to be forgiven. To watch and pray are surely in our power, and by these means we are certain of getting strength. You feel your weakness; you fear to be overcome by temptation; then keep out of the way of it. This is watching. Avoid society which is likely to mislead you; flee from the very shadow of evil; you cannot be too careful; better be a little too strict than a little too easy,-- it is the safer side. Abstain from reading books which are dangerous to you. Turn from bad thoughts when they arise.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR LVALs\i "Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Co_3:17}\PAR\PAR The gospel is \i "the perfect law of liberty," \i0 therefore the very perfection of liberty, and thus thoroughly and entirely free from the least taint of bondage, the slightest tincture of servitude. It is this perfect freedom which distinguishes it from the law which \i "works wrath" \i0 and \i "genders to bondage." \i0 It is, therefore, a freedom from sin; from its guilt, as having \i "the heart sprinkled from an evil conscience;" \i0 from its filth, by \i "the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit;" \i0 from its love, through \i "the love of God, shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit;" \i0 from its dominion, as \i "not being under the law but under grace;" \i0 and from its practice, by becoming \i "servants to God, so as to have our fruit unto holiness, and the end everlast{\i"Not with eye-service, as men-pleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God. Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulCol_3:22-23}.\PAR\PAR Teach me, my God and King, In all things Thee to see, And what I do in anything, To do it as for Thee.\PAR\PAR G. HERBERT.\PAR\PAR There is no action so slight nor so mean but it may be done to a great purpose, and ennobled thereby; nor is any purpose so great but that slight actions may help it, and may be so done as to help it much, most especially, that chief of all purposes-- the pleasing of God.\PAR\PAR J. RUSKIN.\PAR\PAR Every duty, even the least duty, involves the whole principle of obedience.\PAR\PAR And little duties make the will {\i"dutiful_, that is, supple and prompt to obey. Little obediences lead into great. The daily round of duty is full of probation and of discipline; it trains the will, heart, and conscience.\PAR\PAR We need not to be prophets or apostles. The commonest life may be full of perfection. The duties of home are a discipline for the ministries of heaven.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR LVALu\i "I kill, and I make alive; I wound, and I heal." \i0 {\cf11 \ulDeu_32:39}\PAR\PAR The work of grace in the soul, in its very beginnings, penetrates deeply into its inmost substance. It wounds and lays open the conscience to the eye of infinite Purity and Holiness. \i "The entrance of your word (that is, the very first entrance) gives light." \i0 \i "The word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." \i0 \PAR\PAR All conviction to be true conviction must be thorough. The field must be ploughed, broken up, and furrowed, before the seed can find a home, a seed-bed for the seed to fall in so as to germinate and grow. There is much to be done in a sinner's heart before Christ can dwell in him by faith, or be formed in him the hope of glory. The heart is naturally very hard; thorns, thistles, and briars overspread its sur{\i"Wherefore, beloved... be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless_,-- {\cf11 \ul2Pe_3:14}.\PAR\PAR His conscience knows no secret stings, While grace and joy combine To form a life whose holy springs Are hidden and divine.\PAR\PAR I. WATTS Even the smallest discontent of conscience may render turbid the whole temper of the mind; but only produce the effort that restores its peace, and over the whole atmosphere a breath of unexpected purity is spread; doubt and irritability pass as clouds away; the withered sympathies of earth and home open their leaves and live; and through the clearest blue the deep is seen of the heaven where God resides.\PAR\PAR J. MARTINEAU.\PAR\PAR The state of mind which is described as meekness, or quietness of spirit, is characterized in a high degree by inward harmony. There is not, as formerly, that inward jarring of thought contending with thought, and conscience asserting rights which it could not maintain.\PAR\PAR T. C. UPHAM.\PAR\PAR LVAL+\i "But when the Comforter {\i"In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_8:37}.\PAR\PAR Thus my soul before her God Lieth still, nor speaketh more, Conqueror thus o'er pain and wrong, That once smote her to the core; Like a silent ocean, bright With her God's great praise and light.\PAR\PAR J. J. WINCKLER.\PAR\PAR My mind is forever closed against embarrassment and perplexity, against uncertainty, doubt, and anxiety; my heart against grief and desire. Calm and unmoved, I look down on all things, for I know that I cannot explain a single event, nor comprehend its connection with that which alone concerns me. In His world all things prosper; this satisfies me, and in this belief I stand fast as a rock. My breast is steeled against annoyance on account of personal offences and vexations, or exultation in personal merit; for my whole personality has disappeared in the contemplation of the purpose of my being.\PAR\PAR J. G. FICHTE.\PAR\PAR {\i"Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Co_13:11}.\PAR\PAR {\i"He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Jn_4:20}.\PAR\PAR Lord! subdue our selfish will; Each to each our tempers suit, By Thy modulating skill, Heart to heart, as lute to lute.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR It requires far more of the constraining love of Christ to love our cousins and neighbors as members of the heavenly family, than to feel the heart warm to our suffering brethren in Tuscany or Madeira. To love the whole Church is one thing; to love-- that is, to delight in the graces and veil the defects-- of the person who misunderstood me and opposed my plans yesterday, whose peculiar infirmities grate on my most sensitive feelings, or whose natural faults are precisely those from which my natural character most revolts, is quite another.\PAR\PAR ELIZABETH CHARLES.\PAR\PAR LVALy\i "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_2:14}\PAR\PAR By his sufferings, blood shedding and death, our gracious Lord not only made a complete atonement for sin, fulfilled every demand of the law, washed his people from all their iniquities in the fountain of his precious blood, and wrought out and brought in a perfect and everlasting righteousness for their justification, but \i "through death destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." \i0 It was by the death of the cross that the gracious Lord \i "spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly, triump{\i"All thing are yours; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; and ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Co_3:21-23}.\PAR\PAR {\i"As having nothing, and yet possessing all things",-- {\cf11 \ul2Co_6:10}.\PAR\PAR Old friends, old scenes, will lovelier be, As more of heaven in each we see:\PAR\PAR Some softening gleam of love and prayer Shall dawn on every cross and care.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR Out of love and hatred, out of earnings, and borrowings, and lendings, and losses; out of sickness and pain, out of wooing and worshipping; out of travelling, and voting, and watching, and caring; out of disgrace and contempt, comes our tuition in the serene and beautiful laws. Let him not slur his lesson; let him learn it by heart. Let him endeavor exactly, bravely, and cheerfully, to solve the problem of that life which is set before {\i"him." \i0}And this, by punctual action, and not by promises or dreams.\PAR\PAR Believing, as in God, in the presence and favor of the grandest influences, let him deserve that favor, and learn how to receive and use it, by fidelity also to the lower observances.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR LVAL{\i "Thus says the Lord; I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals, when you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJer_2:2}\PAR\PAR Salvation is a gift, the choicest and richest gift which the hands of a Triune God, whose name is Love, can bestow. It is a portion, an inheritance, an estate, a treasure, an eternal reality. The full possession, the entire enjoyment, the complete acquisition of this predestinated weight of glory, is indeed reserved until a future state; but the pledges, the firstfruits, the early ripe clusters, the first dew-drops of this eternal inheritance, are given to the elect while upon earth. \PAR\PAR The everlasting enjoy{\i"We know that all things work together for good to them that love God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_8:28}.\PAR\PAR {\i"As for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulGen_1:20}.\PAR\PAR Ill that He blesses is our good, And unblest good is ill; And all is right that seems most wrong, If it be His sweet Will.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR To those who know themselves, all things work together for good, and all things seem to be, as they are to them, good. The goods which God gives seem {\i"very good," \i0}and God Himself in them, because they know that they deserve them not. The evils which God allows and overrules seem also {\i"very good," \i0}because they see in them His loving hand, put forth to heal them of what shuts out God from the soul. They love God intensely, in that He is so good to them in each, and every, the least good, because it is more than they deserve: how much more in the greatest! They love God for every, and each, the very greatest of what seem evils, knowing them to be, from His love, real goods. For He by whom {\i"all the hairs of our head are numbered," and who {\i"knoweth whereof we are made," \i0}directs everything which befalls us in life, in perfect wisdom and love, to the well-being of our souls.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR QLVAL]}\i "It is a faithful saying--For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him--if we suffer, we shall also reign with him." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Ti_2:11}; {\cf11 \ul1Ti_2:12}\PAR\PAR To be partakers of Christ's crown, we must be partakers of Christ's cross. Union with him in suffering must precede union with him in glory. This is the express testimony of the Holy Spirit--"If so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together." \i0 The flesh and the world are to be crucified to us, and we to them; and this can only be by virtue of a living union with a crucified Lord. This made the Apostle say, \i "I am crucified with Christ--nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me--and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." \i0 And again{\i"The very God of peace sanctify you wholly, and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless. Faithful is He that calleth you, who also will do it." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Th_5:23-24}.\PAR\PAR Be still, my soul!-- the Lord is on thy side; Bear patiently the cross of grief and pain; Leave to thy God to order and provide,-- \PAR\PAR In every change He faithful will remain.\PAR\PAR HYMNS FROM THE LAND OF LUTHER.\PAR\PAR It was no relief from temporal evils that the Apostle promised. No; the mercy of God might send them to the stake, or the lions; it was still His mercy, if it but kept them {\i"unspotted from the world." \i0}It might expose them to insult, calumny, and wrong; they received it still as mercy, if it {\i"established them in every good word and work." \i0}O brethren! how many of {\i"you" \i0}are content with {\i"such" \i0}faithfulness as this on the part of your heavenly Father? Is this, indeed, the tone and tenor of your prayers?\PAR\PAR WM. ARCHER BUTLER.\PAR\PAR The highest pinnacle of the spiritual life is not happy joy in unbroken sunshine, but absolute and undoubting trust in the love of God.\PAR\PAR A. W. THOROLD.\PAR\PAR XLVALd\i "Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 1Ti_2:3}\PAR\PAR We often get into states and frames of mind, where we need something else besides consolation. A child would not grow, if it were alway\i "The dead are raised up." \i0 {\cf11 \ulMat_11:5}\PAR\PAR \i "The dead are raised up." \i0 The \i "dead" \i0 are those who by nature are dead in sin. These dead are raised up when life from God visits their souls. They are rais{\i"Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_40:4}.\PAR\PAR {\i"That we may lead a quiet and peaceable life." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Ti_2:2}.\PAR\PAR Just to let thy Father do What He will; Just to know that He is true, And be still; Just to trust Him, this is all!\PAR\PAR Then the day will surely be Peaceful, whatsoe'er befall, Bright and blessed, calm and free.\PAR\PAR F. R. HAVERGAL.\PAR\PAR Every morning compose your soul for a tranquil day, and all through it be careful often to recall your resolution, and bring yourself back to it, so to say. If something discomposes you, do not be upset, or troubled; but having discovered the fact, humble yourself gently before God, and try to bring your mind into a quiet attitude. Say to yourself, {\i"Well, I have made a false step; now I must go more carefully and watchfully." \i0}Do this each time, however frequently you fall. When you are at peace use it profitably, making constant acts of meekness, and seeking to be calm even in the most trifling things. Above all, do not be discouraged; be patient; wait; strive to attain a calm, gentle spirit.\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR LVAL\`\ue%%eeee0 '\\`\E%u%%eee ?'\`\%%uuue%upu'\`\u%ue%uee`i'\X`\eu%uE%ue`s'\`\eueeuuee a'\`\e%uueeue`t'\T`\eueuuee%`r'\`\E%eeeee{\i"What doth the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulDeu_10:12}.\PAR\PAR What asks our Father of His children save Justice and mercy and humility, A reasonable service of good deeds, Pure living, tenderness to human needs, Reverence, and trust, and prayer for light to see The Master's footprints in our daily ways?\PAR\PAR No knotted scourge, nor sacrificial knife, But the calm beauty of an ordered life Whose every breathing is unworded praise.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR Give up yourself to God without reserve; in singleness of heart meeting everything that every day brings forth, as something that comes from God, and is to be received and gone through by you, in such an heavenly use of it, as you would suppose the holy Jesus would have done in such occurrences. This is an attainable degree of perfection.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR We ought to measure our actual lot, and to fulfil it; to be with all our strength that which our lot requires and allows. What is beyond it, is no calling of ours. How much peace, quiet, confidence, and strength, would people attain, if they would go by this plain rule.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR XLVALd\i "And enlarge my coast." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Ch_4:10}\PAR\PAR A coast means a boundary line such as divides one territory from another, or terminates a country, as the sea coast is the boundary of our island. Every quickened soul has a coast; that is, a territory of inward experience, which is limited and bounded by the line that the Holy Spirit has drawn in his conscience. As the Lord divided the tribes, to cast their inheritance by line ({\cf11 \ulPsa_78:55}), so has he cast the lot for every vessel of mercy, and his hand has divided it unto them by line ({\cf11 \ulIsa_34:17}). This is as it were the tether which fastens down every quickened soul to his own appointed portion of inward experience. Within this tether he may walk, feed, and lie down. It is \i "the food convenient for him," \i0 the strip of pasture allotted him. He cannot, he d{\i"The hand of our God is upon all them for good that seek Him." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEzr_8:22}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Into Thy hand I commit my spirit." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_31:5}.\PAR\PAR Thou layest Thy hand on the fluttering heart, And sayest, {\i"Be still!"\PAR\PAR The silence and shadow are only a part Of Thy sweet will; Thy presence is with me, and where Thou art I fear no ill.\PAR\PAR F. R. HAVERGAL.\PAR\PAR Be still and cool in thy own mind and spirit from thy own thoughts, and then thou wilt feel the principle of God, to turn thy mind to the Lord God, from whom life comes; whereby thou mayest receive His strength, and power to allay all blustering storms and tempests. That is it which works up into patience, into innocency, into soberness, into stillness, into stayedness, into quietness, up to God with His power. Therefore be still awhile from thy own thoughts, searching, seeking, desires, and imaginations, and be stayed in the principle of God in thee, that it may raise thy mind up to God, and stay it upon God; and thou wilt find strength from Him, and find Him to be a God at hand, a present help in the time of trouble and need.\PAR\PAR GEORGE FOX.\PAR\PAR ILVALU\i "The church of God, which he has purchased with his own blood." \i0 {\cf11 \ulAct_20:28}\PAR\PAR Atonement for sin stands or falls with the Deity of Christ. If we deny his Deity, we must deny the atonement, for what value or merit can there be in the blood of a mere man that God, for its sake, should pardon millions of sins? This the Socinians clearly see, and therefore deny the atonement altogether. But if there be no atonement, no sacrifice, no atoning sacrifice for sin, where can we look for pardon and peace? Whichever way we turn our eyes there is despair.\PAR\PAR But when by the eye of faith we see the Son of God obeying the law, rendering, by doing and dying, acting and suffering, a satisfaction to the violated justice of the Most High and offering a sacrifice for sin, then we see such a glory and such a value brea{\i"I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_40:1}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope,"-\i0}- {\cf11 \ulRom_5:3}; {\cf11 \ulRom_5:4}.\PAR\PAR Lord, we have wandered forth through doubt and sorrow, And Thou hast made each step an onward one; And we will ever trust each unknown morrow,-- \PAR\PAR Thou wilt sustain us till its work is done.\PAR\PAR S. JOHNSON.\PAR\PAR It is possible, when the future is dim, when our depressed faculties can form no bright ideas of the perfection and happiness of a better world,-- it is possible still to cling to the conviction of God's merciful purpose towards His creatures, of His parental goodness even in suffering; still to feel that the path of duty, though trodden with a heavy heart, leads to peace; still to be true to conscience; still to do our work, to resist temptation, to be useful, though with diminished energy, to give up our wills when we cannot rejoice under God's mysterious providence. In this patient, though uncheered obedience, we become prepared for light. The soul gathers force.\PAR\PAR WM. E. CHANNING.\PAR\PAR LVAL!\i "There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the Lord, that shall stand." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPro_19:21}\PAR\PAR A man in his fleshly mind is generally devising some method or other whereby he may escape a practical subjection to the gospel; some way or other whereby he may escape walking in the path of self-denial and mortification of the flesh, and the crucifixion of \i "the old man with the affections and lusts." \i0 He is generally seeking some way or other to indulge the flesh, and yet, at the same time, to stand in gospel liberty--to have everything that can gratify his carnal mind, and, at the same time, have a well-grounded hope of eternal life. \PAR\PAR But the Lord says, \i "No, these two things are not compatible; he that shall live with Ch{\i"Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_5:48}.\PAR\PAR {\i"As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with Thy likeness." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_17:15}.\PAR\PAR The righteousness he marks in Thee His will to right doth win; Delighting in Thy purity, He deeply drinks it in.\PAR\PAR T. H. GILL.\PAR\PAR To love God is to love His character. For instance, God is Purity. And to be pure in thought and look, to turn away from unhallowed books and conversation, to abhor the moments in which we have not been pure, is to love God. God is Love; and to love men till private attachments have expanded into a philanthropy which embraces all,-- at last even the evil and enemies with compassion,-- that is to love God. God is Truth. To be true, to hate every form of falsehood, to live a brave, true, real life,-- that is to love God. God is Infinite; and to love the boundless, reaching on from grace to grace, adding charity to faith, and rising upwards ever to see the Ideal still above us, and to die with it unattained, aiming insatiably to be perfect even as the Father is perfect,-- that is to love God.\PAR\PAR F. W. ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "For we who live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Co_4:11}\PAR\PAR What is meant by the expression, \i "our mortal flesh?" \i0 It does not mean the carnal mind, but our earthly tabernacle; and the expression is similar to another in this chapter, \i "We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." \i0 It is, then, in this poor body, compassed with infirmities, that the life of Jesus is made manifest. This divine life will often spring up in fervent breathings after God, in the actings of living faith, in the sweet communion the people of Go{\i"Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Pe_1:8}.\PAR\PAR If our love were but more simple, We should take Him at His word; And our lives would be all sunshine In the sweetness of our Lord.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR What would it be to love absolutely a Being absolutely lovely,-- to be able to give our whole existence, every thought, every act, every desire, to that adored One,-- to know that He accepts it all, and loves us in return as God alone can love? This happiness grows forever. The larger our natures become, the wider our scope of thought, the stronger our will, the more fervent our affections, the deeper must be the rapture of such God-granted prayer. Every sacrifice {\i"resolved on" \i0}opens wide the gate; every sacrifice {\i"accomplished" \i0}is a step towards the paradise within. Soon it will be no transitory glimpse, no rapture of a day, to be followed by clouds and coldness. Let us but labor, and pray, and wait, and the intervals of human frailty shall grow shorter and less dark, the days of our delight in God longer and brighter, till at last life shall be nought but His love, our eyes shall never grow dim, His smile never turn away.\PAR\PAR F. B. COBBE.\PAR\PAR  LVALHZ'H\Z'HZ'HZ'HXZ'HZ'HZ'HTZ'HZ#'HZ{\i"These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges:\PAR\PAR there they dwelt with the king for his work." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Ch_4:23}.\PAR\PAR A lowlier task on them is laid, With love to make the labor light; And there their beauty they must shed On quiet homes, and lost to sight.\PAR\PAR Changed are their visions high and fair, Yet, calm and still, they labor there.\PAR\PAR HYMNS OF THE AGES.\PAR\PAR Anywhere and everywhere we may dwell {\i"with the King for His work." \i0}We may be in a very unlikely or unfavorable place for this; it may be in a literal country life, with little enough to be seen of the {\i"goings" \i0}of the King around us; it may be among hedges of all sorts, hindrances in all directions; it may be, furthermore, with our hands full of all manner of pottery for our daily task. No matter! The King who placed us {\i"there" \i0}will come and dwell there with us; the hedges are all right, or He would soon do away with them; and it does not follow that what seems to hinder our way may not be for its very protection; and as for the pottery, why, that is just exactly what He has seen fit to put into our hands, and therefore it is, for the present, {\i"His work."\PAR\PAR F. R. HAVERGAL.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 1Co_15:20-22}\PAR\PAR Christ risen is the firstfruits of that mighty crop of buried dead whose remains still sleep in the silent dust, and who will be joined by successive ranks of those who die in him, until all are together wakened up in the resurrection morn. The figure is that of the sheaf of the firstfruits which was waved before the Lord before the harvest was allowed to be reaped ({\cf11 \ul Lev_23:10}; {\cf11 \ul Lev_23:11}). This offering of the wave sheaf was{\i"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulGal_6:2}.\PAR\PAR Is thy cruse of comfort wasting?\PAR\PAR Rise and share it with another, And through all the years of famine, It shall serve thee and thy brother.\PAR\PAR Is thy burden hard and heavy?\PAR\PAR Do thy steps drag heavily?\PAR\PAR Help to bear thy brother's burden; God will bear both it and thee.\PAR\PAR ELIZABETH CHARLES.\PAR\PAR However perplexed you may at any hour become about some question of truth, one refuge and resource is always at hand: you can do something for some one besides yourself. When your own burden is heaviest, you can always lighten a little some other burden. At the times when you cannot see God, there is still open to you this sacred possibility, to {\i"show" \i0}God; for it is the love and kindness of human hearts through which the divine reality comes home to men, whether they name it or not. Let this thought, then, stay with you: there may be times when you cannot find help, but there is no time when you cannot give help.\PAR\PAR GEORGE S. MERRIAM.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Heb_13:8}\PAR\PAR The eye of our faith must be ever fixed on Jesus, for the Person of Christ is the grand object of faith, and to lose sight of him is to lose si{\i"Surely, I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_131:2}.\PAR\PAR Quiet, Lord, my froward heart, Make me teachable and mild, Upright, simple, free from art, Make me as a weaned child; From distrust and envy free, Pleased with all that pleaseth Thee.\PAR\PAR J. NEWTON.\PAR\PAR Oh! look not after great things: small breathings, small desires after the Lord, if true and pure, are sweet beginnings of life. Take heed of despising {\i"the day of small things," \i0}by looking after some great visitation, proportionable to thy distress, according to thy eye. Nay, thou must become a child; thou must lose thy own will quite by degrees. Thou must wait for life to be measured out by the Father, and be content with what proportion, and at what time, He shall please to measure.\PAR\PAR I. PENINGTON.\PAR\PAR {\i"When Israel was a child, then I loved him" \i0}({\cf11 \ulHos_11:1}). Aim to be ever this little child, contented with what the Father gives of pleasure or of play; and when restrained from pleasure or from play, and led for a season into the chamber of sorrow, rest quiet on His bosom, and be patient, and smile, as one who is nestled in a sweet and secure asylum.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR LVAL \i "But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord -- he is their strength in the time of trouble."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Psa_37:39}\PAR\PAR Times of trouble try the saint of God, and they are meant to do so; that is the very purpose why they are sent, for\i "the Lord tries the righteous."\i0 Still the promise holds good --\i "he is their strength in the time of trouble."\i0 When he breaks up the fountains of the great deep of sin and iniquity, he strengthens his people that they may not be carried away by the flood. When he hides his face, he strengthens them to say,\i "Though he slays me, yet will I trust in him."\i0 When temptation besets them seve have had \i "a form of godliness, while we inwardly or outwardly denied the power thereof." \i0 \PAR\PAR And therefore it is our mercy that the devices of our he{\i"If we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_8:25}.\PAR\PAR {\i"One day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Pe_3:8}.\PAR\PAR Lord! who Thy thousand years dost wait To work the thousandth part Of Thy vast plan, for us create With zeal a patient heart.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR I believe that if we could only see beforehand what it is that our heavenly Father means us to be,-- the {\i"soul" \i0}beauty and perfection and glory, the glorious and lovely spiritual body that this soul is to dwell in through all eternity,-- if we could have a glimpse of {\i"this_, we should not grudge all the trouble and pains He is taking with us now, to bring us up to that ideal, which is His thought of us. We know that it is God's way to work slowly, so we must not be surprised if He takes a great many years of discipline to turn a mortal being into an immortal, glorious angel.\PAR\PAR ANNIE KEARY.\PAR\PAR kLVALw\i "And has put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Eph_1:22}; {\cf11 \ul Eph_1:23}\PAR\PAR In the mind of God, and as chosen in Christ, the Church is a perfect body. It is, therefore, the fullness of Christ. Just as our head and members, in their union with each other, form one perfect harmonio{\i"Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor_,-- {\cf11 \ulZec_8:16}.\PAR\PAR {\i"For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity... we have had our conversation in the world." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Co_1:12}.\PAR\PAR Appear I always what I am?\PAR\PAR And am I what I am pretending?\PAR\PAR Know I what way my course is bending?\PAR\PAR And sound my word and thought the same?\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR Am I acting in simplicity, from a germ of the Divine life within, or am I shaping my path to obtain some immediate result of expediency? Am I endeavoring to compass effects, amidst a tangled web of foreign influences I cannot calculate; or am I seeking simply to do what is right, and leaving the consequences to the good providence of God?\PAR\PAR M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.\PAR\PAR Let it not be in any man's power to say truly of thee that thou art not simple, or that thou art not good; but let him be a liar whoever shall think anything of this kind about thee; and this is altogether in thy power. For who is he that shall hinder thee from being good and simple?\PAR\PAR MARCUS ANTONINUS.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "The entrance of your words gives light; it gives understanding unto the simple."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Psa_119:130}\PAR\PAR The word\i "simple"\i0 means literally something which is not folded or twisted together. But owing to the treacherous and desperately deceitful heart of man, all, without exception, in a state of nature are the reverse of this. All their plots and contrivances for worldly profit or fleshly pleasure are tangled and complicated; and they are continually twisting together some thread or other of carnal policy.\PAR\PAR But when God the Holy Spirit begins the work of grace upon the souls of the elect, he proceeds (if I may use the expression) to untwist them. He tak{\i"The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_121:}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Great peace have they which love Thy law: and nothing shall offend them." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_119:165}.\PAR\PAR I rest beneath the Almighty's shade, My griefs expire, my troubles cease; Thou, Lord, on whom my soul is stayed, Wilt keep me still in perfect peace.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR One great sign of the practical recognition of the {\i"divine moment," \i0}and of our finding God's habitation in it, is constant calmness and peace of mind.\PAR\PAR Events and things come with the moment; but God comes with them too. So that if He comes in the sunshine, we find rest and joy; and if He comes in the storm, we know He is King of the storms, and our hearts are not troubled. God Himself, though possessing a heart filled with the tenderest feelings, is, nevertheless, an everlasting tranquillity; and when we enter into His holy tabernacle, our souls necessarily enter into the tabernacle of rest.\PAR\PAR T. C. UPHAM.\PAR\PAR My soul was not only brought into harmony with itself and with God, but with God's providences. In the exercise of faith and love, I endured and performed whatever came in God's providence, in submission, in thankfulness, and silence.\PAR\PAR MADAME GUYON.\PAR\PAR +LVAL9{\i"Speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulExo_14:15}.\PAR\PAR {\i"No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_9:62}.\PAR\PAR Be trustful, be steadfast, whatever betide thee, Only one thing do thou ask of the Lord,-- \PAR\PAR Grace to go forward wherever He guide thee, Simply believing the truth of His word.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR The soul ceases to weary itself with planning and foreseeing, giving itself up to God's Holy Spirit within, and to the teachings of His providence without. He is not forever fretting as to his progress, or looking back to see how far he is getting on; rather he goes steadily and quietly on, and makes all the more progress because it is unconscious. So he never gets troubled and discouraged; if he falls he humbles himself, but gets up at once, and goes on with renewed earnestness.\PAR\PAR JEAN NICOLAS GROU.\PAR\PAR {\i"I will arise and go to my Father." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_15:18}.\PAR\PAR O my God, my Father! hear, And help me to believe; Weak and weary I draw near; Thy child, O God, receive.\PAR\PAR I so oft have gone astray; To the perfect Guide I flee; Thou wilt turn me not away, Thy love is pledged to me.\PAR\PAR HYMNS OF THE SPIRIT.\PAR\PAR O child, hast thou fallen? arise, and go, with childlike trust, to thy Father, like the prodigal son, and humbly say, with heart and mouth, {\i"Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before Thee, and am no more worthy to be called Thy son; make me as one of Thy hired servants." \i0}And what will thy heavenly Father do but what that father did in the parable?\PAR\PAR Assuredly He will not change His essence, which is love, for the sake of thy misdoings. Is it not His own precious treasure, and a small thing with Him to forgive thee thy trespasses, if thou believe in Him? for His hand is not shortened that it cannot make thee fit to be saved.\PAR\PAR JOHN TAULER.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "You have set our iniquities before you -- our secret sins in the light of your countenance."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Psa_90:8}\PAR\PAR Thus Moses the man of God testified, and so Job found it --\i "For you write bitter things against me, and make me to possess the iniquities of my youth"\i0 ({\cf11 \ul Job_13:26}). But though the Lord sets his people's sins in the light of his countenance, and brings them to bear with weight and power upon their conscience, and thus for a time at least lets them sink and fall into {\i"I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_34:1}.\PAR\PAR {\i"I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Thy marvellous works." \i0}-- {Psa 9:1}.\PAR\PAR Thrice blest will all our blessings be, When we can look through them to Thee; When each glad heart its tribute pays Of love and gratitude and praise.\PAR\PAR JANE COTTERILL.\PAR\PAR That which befits us, embosomed in beauty and wonder as we are, is cheerfulness, and courage, and the endeavor to realize our aspirations.\PAR\PAR Shall not the heart which has received so much, trust the Power by which it lives? May it not quit other leadings, and listen to the Soul that has guided it so gently, and taught it so much, secure that the future will be worthy of the past?\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR I have experienced that the habit of taking out of the hand of our Lord every little blessing and brightness on our path, confirms us, in an especial manner, in communion with His love.\PAR\PAR M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "My soul follows hard after you."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Psa_63:8}\PAR\PAR The Lord (we speak with reverence) does not allow himself at first to be overtaken. The more the soul follows after him, the more he seems to withdraw himself, and thus he draws it more earnestly on the pursuit. He means to be overtaken in the end -- it is his own blessed work in the conscience to kindle earnest desires and longings after himself; and therefore he puts strength into the soul, and\i "makes the feet like hinds' feet"\i0 to run and continue the chase. But in order to whet the ardent desire, to kindle to greater intensity th{\i"The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Pe_3:4}.\PAR\PAR {\i"To present you holy, and unblameable, and unreproveable in His sight." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulCol_1:22}.\PAR\PAR Thy sinless mind in us reveal, Thy spirit's plenitude impart!\PAR\PAR Till all my spotless life shall tell The abundance of a loving heart.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR Holiness appeared to me to be of a sweet, pleasant, charming, serene, calm nature. It seemed to me, it brought an inexpressible purity, brightness, peacefulness, and ravishment to the soul; and that it made the soul like a field or garden of God, with all manner of pleasant flowers, that is all pleasant, delightful, and undisturbed; enjoying a sweet calm, and the gently vivifying beams of the sun. The soul of a true Christian appeared like such a little white flower, as we see in the spring of the year, low and humble on the ground, opening its bosom to receive the pleasant beams of the sun's glory; rejoicing, as it were, in a calm rapture; diffusing around a sweet fragrancy; standing peacefully and lovingly in the midst of other flowers round about, all in like manner opening their bosoms to drink in the light of the sun.\PAR\PAR JONATHAN EDWARDS.\PAR\PAR OLVAL[\i "But God be thanked, that you were the servants of sin, but you have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRom_6:17}\PAR\PAR What reason have we to bless God that he so instructed his Apostle to set forth how a sinner is justified! For how could we have attained to the knowledge of this mystery without divine revelation? How could we know in what way God could be just, and yet the justifier of the ungodly? How could we see all the perfections of God harmonizing in the Person and work of Jesus? his law maintained in all its rigid purity and strictest justice, and yet mercy, grace, and love to have full play in a sinner's salvation? But the Spirit of God led Paul deeply into this blessed subject; and especially in the Epistle to the Romans does he trace out this grand foundation truth{\i"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulNah_1:7}.\PAR\PAR Leave God to order all thy ways, And hope in Him, whate'er betide; Thou 'It find Him in the evil days Thy all-sufficient strength and guide; Who trusts in God's unchanging love, Builds on the rock that nought can move.\PAR\PAR G. NEUMARK.\PAR\PAR Our whole trouble in our lot in this world rises from the disagreement of our mind therewith. Let the mind be brought to the lot, and the whole tumult is instantly hushed; let it be kept in that disposition, and the man shall stand at ease, in his affliction, like a rock unmoved with waters beating upon it.\PAR\PAR T. BOSTON.\PAR\PAR How does our will become sanctified? By conforming itself unreservedly to that of God. We will all that He wills, and will nothing that He does not will; we attach our feeble will to that all-powerful will which performs everything. Thus, nothing can ever come to pass against our will; for nothing can happen save that which God wills, and we find in His good pleasure an inexhaustible source of peace and consolation.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR ILVALU\i "Lord, give to me your mercies, the salvation that you promised me. Then I will have an answer for those who taunt me, for I trust in your word." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_119:41-42}\PAR\PAR A living soul wants to return an answer to the one who reproaches him. But he cannot do it of himself, for he has not a word to speak in self-justification; that is utterly cut off; and therefore he needs to have that which shall furnish him with an answer to these reproaches. And what alone can furnish him with an answer? The mercies of God in his soul. \i "Lord, give to me your mercies, the salvation that you promised me. Then I will have an answer for those who taunt me, for I trust in your word." \i0 The coming in of \i "mercies" \i0 into the soul, and the manifestation of \i "salvation" \i0 to the heart afford an answer \i "for those who{\i"Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, out of weakness were made strong." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_11:33-34}.\PAR\PAR She met the hosts of Sorrow with a look That altered not beneath the frown they wore, And soon the lowering brood were tamed, and took, Meekly, her gentle rule, and frowned no more.\PAR\PAR Her soft hand put aside the assaults of wrath, And calmly broke in twain The fiery shafts of pain, And rent the nets of passion from her path.\PAR\PAR By that victorious hand despair was slain; With love she vanquished hate, and overcame Evil with good, in her great Master's name.\PAR\PAR W. C. BRYANT.\PAR\PAR As to what may befall us outwardly, in this confused state of things, shall we not trust our tender Father, and rest satisfied in His will? Shall anything hurt us? Can tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, or sword, come between the love of the Father to the child, or the child's rest, content, and delight in His love? And doth not the love, the rest, the peace, the joy felt, swallow up all the bitterness and sorrow of the outward condition?\PAR\PAR I. PENINGTON.\PAR\PAR LVALterious providences to come across the sky, and dangers to threaten you for a season. And He has had the wisest reasons for so doing. He knew how prone His children ever are to forget or undervalue their most precious \i "That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Rom_8:4}\PAR\PAR A person may be\i "in the flesh,"\i0 as indeed we all are, and yet not\i "walk after it."\i0 To walk after it implies, a setting it up as a pattern, and walking in accordance with it. But a person may be dragged after another, as we see sometimes a child is dragged unwillingly along by its mother, who does not willingly walk with her. The child is not walking after its mother, nor hand in hand with her, nor side by side; but is compelled against its will to go a road which it hates, as to go to school when it glad{\i"If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? and if in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJer_12:5}.\PAR\PAR How couldst thou hang upon the cross, To whom a weary hour is loss?\PAR\PAR Or how the thorns and scourging brook, Who shrinkest from a scornful look?\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR A heart unloving among kindred has no love towards God's saints and angels.\PAR\PAR If we have a cold heart towards a servant or a friend, why should we wonder if we have no fervor towards God? If we are cold in our private prayers, we should be earthly and dull in the most devout religious order; if we cannot bear the vexations of a companion, how should we bear the contradiction of sinners? if a little pain overcomes us, how could we endure a cross? if we have no tender, cheerful, affectionate love to those with whom our daily hours are spent, how should we feel the pulse and ardor of love to the unknown and the evil, the ungrateful and repulsive?\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR LVALr\par "Plunged in a gulf of deep despair, \par\par We wretched sinners lay, \par\par Without one beam of cheerful hope,\par\par Or \i "My soul follows hard after you."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Psa_63:8}\PAR\PAR The Lord (we speak with reverence) does not allow himself at first to be overtaken. The more the soul follows after him, the more he seems to withdraw himself, and thus he draws it more earnestly on the pursuit. He means to be overtaken in the end -- it is his own blessed work in the conscience to kindle earnest desires and longings after himself; and therefore he puts strength into the soul, and\i "makes the feet like hinds' feet"\i0 to run and continue the chase. But in order to whet the ardent desire, to kindle to greater intensity the rising eagerness, the Lord will not allow himself to be overtaken until after a long and arduous pursuit.\PAR\PAR This is sweetly set forth in the Song of Solomon, 5:2-8{\i"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_12:10}.\PAR\PAR {\i"In her tongue is the law of kindness." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPro_31:26}.\PAR\PAR Since trifles make the sum of human things, And half our misery from our foibles springs; Since life's best joys consist in peace and ease, And though but few can serve, yet all can please; Oh, let the ungentle spirit learn from hence, A small unkindness is a great offence.\PAR\PAR HANNAH MORE.\PAR\PAR All usefulness and all comfort may be prevented by an unkind, a sour, crabbed temper of mind,-- a mind that can bear with no difference of opinion or temperament. A spirit of fault-finding; an unsatisfied temper; a constant irritability; little inequalities in the look, the temper, or the manner; a brow cloudy and dissatisfied-- your husband or your wife cannot tell why-- will more than neutralize all the good you can do, and render life anything but a blessing.\PAR\PAR ALBERT BARNES.\PAR\PAR You have not fulfilled every duty, unless you have fulfilled that of being pleasant.\PAR\PAR CHARLES BUXTON.\PAR\PAR LVALMatthew 4:18-22. Christ calls Peter, Andrew, James, and John. \par\par Was it not a high honor to follow the Lord Jesus from place to plac\i "Why should any living man complain when punished for his sins? Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Lam_3:39}; {\cf11 \ul Lam_3:40}\PAR\PAR I believe in my conscience there are thousands of professors who have never known in the whole course of their religious profession what it is to have\i "examined and tested their ways;"\i0 to have been put into the balances and weighed in the scales of divine justice; or to have stood cast down and condemned in their own feelings before God as the heart-searching Jehovah. From such a trying test, from such an unerring touchstone they have ever shrunk. And why? Because they have an inward consciousness that their religion will not bear a strict and scrutinizing examination.\PAR\PAR Like the de{\i"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their names." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_147:3-4}.\PAR\PAR Teach me your mood, O patient stars!\PAR\PAR Who climb each night the ancient sky, Leaving on space no shade, no scars, No trace of age, no fear to die.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR I looked up to the heavens once more, and the quietness of the stars seemed to reproach me. {\i"We are safe up here," \i0}they seemed to say; {\i"we shine, fearless and confident, for the God who gave the primrose its rough leaves to hide it from the blast of uneven spring, hangs us in the awful hollows of space. We cannot fall out of His safety. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold! Who hath created these things-- that bringeth out their host by number? He calleth them all by names. By the greatness of His might, for that He is strong in power, not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob! and speakest, O Israel! my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my God?"\PAR\PAR G. MACDONALD.\PAR\PAR zLVALX\P\eh`ee%euu` 'X\\P\%(he%eueuCph'X\P\ehpeUeeuu t'X\Q\%(xe%ueeu`h'X\XQ\ehe%e%u% 'X\Q\ehueee%u h'X\R\ux%eeuu%`d'X\TR\58U5ee{\i"This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_118:24}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Why stand ye here all the day idle?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_20:6}.\PAR\PAR So here hath been dawning another blue day; Think, wilt thou let it slip useless away?\PAR\PAR Out of eternity this new day is born; Into eternity at night will return.\PAR\PAR T. CARLYLE.\PAR\PAR Small cares, some deficiencies in the mere arrangement and ordering of our lives, daily fret our hearts, and cross the clearness of our faculties; and these entanglements hang around us, and leave us no free soul able to give itself up, in power and gladness, to the true work of life. The severest training and self-denial,-- a superiority to the servitude of indulgence,-- are the indispensable conditions even of genial spirits, of unclouded energies, of tempers free from morbidness,-- much more of the practised and vigorous mind, ready at every call, and thoroughly furnished unto all good works.\PAR\PAR J. H. THOM.\PAR\PAR True, we can never be at peace till we have performed the highest duty of all,-- till we have arisen, and gone to our Father; but the performance of smaller duties, yes, even of the smallest, will do more to give us temporary repose, will act more as healthful anodynes, than the greatest joys that can come to us from any other quarter.\PAR\PAR G. MACDONALD.\PAR\PAR LVAL Mark 1:21-28. Christ casts out a devil in the synagogue. \par\par Though the Lord was continually working miracles, yet the miracle here related seems to have caused unusual amazement. And it might well do so, for in it Christ's power over the devil was displayed. One of the most mysterious subjects in the Bible is the manner in which devils possessed men in former times. It is so mysterious, that some have chosen not to believe it; but if we were to believe nothing that we could not clearly understand, how\i "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Luk_11:9}\PAR\PAR Wherever there is true prayer, there is importunity. Wherever the Lord brings trials upon t{\i"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJob_1:21}.\PAR\PAR What Thou hast given, Thou canst take, And when Thou wilt new gifts can make.\PAR\PAR All flows from Thee alone; When Thou didst give it, it was Thine; When Thou retook'st it, 't was not mine.\PAR\PAR Thy will in all be done.\PAR\PAR JOHN AUSTIN.\PAR\PAR We are ready to praise when all shines fair; but when life is overcast, when all things seem to be against us, when we are in fear for some cherished happiness, or in the depths of sorrow, or in the solitude of a life which has no visible support, or in a season of sickness, and with the shadow of death approaching,-- then to praise God; then to say, This fear, loneliness, affliction, pain, and trembling awe are as sure tokens of love, as life, health, joy, and the gifts of home: {\i"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;" \i0}on either side it is He, and all is love alike; {\i"blessed be the name of the Lord,"-\i0}- this is the true sacrifice of praise. What can come amiss to a soul which is so in accord with God? What can make so much as one jarring tone in all its harmony? In all the changes of this fitful life, it ever dwells in praise.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR LVAL $Matthew 4:23-25. Mar{\i"Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJob_2:10}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_119:65}.\PAR\PAR Whatsoe'er our lot may be, Calmly in this thought we'll rest,-- \PAR\PAR Could we see as Thou dost see, We should choose it as the best.\PAR\PAR WM. GASKELL.\PAR\PAR It is a proverbial saying, that every one makes his own destiny; and this is usually interpreted, that every one, by his wise or unwise conduct, prepares good or evil for himself: but we may also understand it, that whatever it be that he receives from the hand of Providence, he may so accommodate himself to it, that he will find his lot good for him, however much may seem to others to be wanting.\PAR\PAR WM. VON HUMBOLDT.\PAR\PAR Evil, once manfully fronted, ceases to be evil; there is generous battle-hope in place of dead, passive misery; the evil itself has become a kind of good.\PAR\PAR T. CARLYLE.\PAR\PAR {\i"The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants; and none of them that trust in Him shall be desolate." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_34:22}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJob_13:15}.\PAR\PAR I praise Thee while my days go on; I love Thee while my days go on:\PAR\PAR Through dark and dearth, through fire and frost, With emptied arms and treasure lost, I thank Thee while my days go on.\PAR\PAR E. B. BROWNING.\PAR\PAR The sickness of the last week was fine medicine; pain disintegrated the spirit, or became spiritual. I rose,-- I felt that I had given to God more perhaps than an angel could,-- had promised Him in youth that to be a blot on this fair world, at His command, would be acceptable. Constantly offer myself to continue the obscurest 'and loneliest thing ever heard of, with one proviso,-- His agency. Yes, love Thee, and all Thou dost, while Thou sheddest frost and darkness on every path of mine.\PAR\PAR MARY MOODY EMERSON.\PAR\PAR AoR5jM0eH+}`C& x[>!sV9nQ4s delivered you." \i0 {#8@ " q@ ! @   @  z@  @ @ @ t@ "@ @ @ \@ @ @ @ @ K@ @ @ @ i@  t@  @  x@  @  @ @ @ @ R@  @  @  @  @  Q@ @ @ /@ @ h@ @ @ D@ @ @ @ @ a@ l@ @ @ ,@ ) @ @ @ @ R@ @ @ \@  @  +@  @ LVAL\i "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ--for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRom_1:16}\PAR\PAR What is meant by the word \i "power?" \i0 It is a term much used in the New Testament. \i "The kingdom of God," \i0 it is declared, \i "is not in word, but in power;" \i0 and true faith is said to \i "stand not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." \i0 What, then, is power? It is a divine operation that God himself puts forth in the soul. It cannot be described by words, nor explained so as to be understood by our mental capacity. It must be felt to be known; and must be realized in a man's own soul before he can have any spiritual conception of it. \i "Your people," \i0 we read, \i "shall be made willing in the day of your power." \i0 \PAR\PAR And when the gospel does come to the soul by the application of the blessed Spirit, and a divine power accompanies it, though the power itself canno{\i"Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer:... ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRev_2:10}.\PAR\PAR Then, O my soul, be ne'er afraid, On Him who thee and all things made Do thou all calmly rest; Whate'er may come, where'er we go, Our Father in the heavens must know In all things what is best.\PAR\PAR PAUL FLEMMING.\PAR\PAR Guide me, O Lord, in all the changes and varieties of the world; that in all things that shall happen, I may have an evenness and tranquillity of spirit; that my soul may be wholly resigned to Thy divinest will and pleasure, never murmuring at Thy gentle chastisements and fatherly correction. Amen.\PAR\PAR JEREMY TAYLOR.\PAR\PAR Thou art never at any time nearer to God than when under tribulation; which He permits for the purification and beautifying of thy soul.\PAR\PAR M. DE MOLINOS.\PAR\PAR Prize inward exercises, griefs, and troubles; and let faith and patience have their perfect work in them.\PAR\PAR I. PENINGTON.\PAR\PAR iLVALu\i "The Lord has appeared of old unto me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love -- therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Jer_31:3}\PAR\PAR There can be no new thought in the mind of GOD. New thoughts, new feelings, new plans, new resolutions continually occur to OUR mind; for ours is but a poor, fallen, fickle, changeable nature. But God has no new thoughts, feelings, plans or resolutions; f{\i"I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJoh_17:15}.\PAR\PAR In busy mart and crowded street, No less than in the still retreat, Thou, Lord, art near, our souls to bless, With all a Father's tenderness.\PAR\PAR I. WILLIAMS.\PAR\PAR Only the individual conscience, and He who is greater than the conscience, can tell where worldliness prevails. Each heart must answer for itself, and at its own risk. That our souls are committed to our own keeping, at our own peril, in a world so mixed as this, is the last reason we should slumber over the charge, or betray the trust. If only that outlet to the Infinite is kept open, the inner bond with eternal life preserved, while not one movement of this world's business is interfered with, nor one pulse-beat of its happiness repressed, with all natural associations dear and cherished, with all human sympathies fresh and warm, we shall yet be near to the kingdom of heaven, within the order of the Kosmos of God-- in the world, but not of the world-- not taken out of it, but kept from its evil.\PAR\PAR J. H. THOM.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "You gave also your good Spirit to instruct them, and withheld not your manna from their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Neh_9:20}\PAR\PAR When we are thoroughly emptied of ourselves -- when our knowledge{\i"And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMic_6:8}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Put on therefore... kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulCol_3:12}.\PAR\PAR Plant in us an humble mind, Patient, pitiful, and kind; Meek and lowly let us be, Full of goodness, full of Thee.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR There is no true and constant gentleness without humility; while we are so fond of ourselves, we are easily offended with others. Let us be persuaded that nothing is due to us, and then nothing will disturb us. Let us often think of our own infirmities, and we shall become indulgent towards those of others.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR Endeavor to be patient in bearing with the defects and infirmities of others, of what sort soever they be; for that thyself also hast many failings which must be borne with by others. If thou canst not make thyself such an one as thou wouldest, how canst thou expect to have another in all things to thy liking?\PAR\PAR THOMAS A KEMPIS.\PAR\PAR NLVALZ\i "I will not let you go, except you bless me."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Gen_32:26}\PAR\PAR It is encouraging to the Lord's people as they are from time to time placed in similar circumstances of trial, exercise, perplexity, sorrow or distress with Jacob, to see the blessed result of his wrestling with the angel. He crosses the ford of Jabbok all weakness; he re-crosses it all strength. He leaves his family, and wrestles alone, a fainting Jacob;{\i"My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulExo_33:14}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Thou wilt show me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_16:11}.\PAR\PAR Thy presence fills my mind with peace, Brightens the thoughts so dark erewhile, Bids cares and sad forebodings cease, Makes all things smile.\PAR\PAR CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT.\PAR\PAR How shall we rest in God? By giving ourselves wholly to Him. If you give yourself by halves, you cannot find full rest; there will ever be a lurking disquiet in that half which is withheld. Martyrs, confessors, and saints have tasted this rest, and {\i"counted themselves happy in that they endured."\PAR\PAR A countless host of God's faithful servants have drunk deeply of it under the daily burden of a weary life,-- dull, commonplace, painful, or desolate.\PAR\PAR All that God has been to them He is ready to be to you. The heart once fairly given to God, with a clear conscience, a fitting rule of life, and a steadfast purpose of obedience, you will find a wonderful sense of rest coming over you.\PAR\PAR JEAN NICOLAS GROU.\PAR\PAR <LVALH\i "Say unto my soul, I am your salvation."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Psa_35:3}\PAR\PAR To keep water fresh, it must be perpetually running. And to keep the life of God up in the soul, ther{\i"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEph_6:10}.\PAR\PAR {\i"No man can serve two masters." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_6:24}.\PAR\PAR Oh, there are heavenly heights to reach In many a fearful place, Where the poor timid heir of God Lies blindly on his face; Lies languishing for grace divine That he shall never see Till he go forward at Thy sign, And trust himself to Thee.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR Reservations lie latent in the mind concerning some unhallowed sentiments or habits in the present, some possibly impending temptations in the future; and thus do we cheat ourselves of inward and outward joys together.\PAR\PAR We give up many an indulgence for conscience' sake, but stop short at that point of entire faithfulness wherein conscience could reward us. If we would but give ourselves wholly to God,-- give up, for the present and the future, every act, and, above all, every thought and every feeling, to be all purified to the uttermost, and rendered the best, noblest, holiest we can conceive,-- then would sacrifice bear with it a peace rendering itself, I truly believe, far easier than before.\PAR\PAR F. P. COBBE.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Lord, give to me your mercies, the salvation that you promised me. Then I will have an answer for those who taunt me, for I trust in your word." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_119:41-42}\PAR\PAR A living soul wants to return an answer to the one who reproaches him. But he cannot do it of himself, for he has not a word to speak in self-justification; that is utterly cut off; and therefore he needs to have that which shall furnish him with an answer to these reproaches. And what alone can furnish him with an answer? The mercies of God in his soul. \i "Lord, give to me your mercies, the salvation that you promised me. Then I will have an answer for those who taunt me, for {\i"Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Th_5:11}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_19:19}.\PAR\PAR So others shall Take patience, labor, to their heart and hand, From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer, And God's grace fructify through thee to all.\PAR\PAR The least flower with a brimming cup may stand, And share its dewdrop with another near.\PAR\PAR E. B. BROWNING.\PAR\PAR What is meant by our neighbor we cannot doubt; it is every one with whom we are brought into contact. First of all, he is literally our neighbor who is next to us in our own family and household; husband to wife, wife to husband, parent to child, brother to sister, master to servant, servant to master. Then it is he who is close to us in our own neighborhood, in our own town, in our own parish, in our own street. With these all true charity begins. To love and be kind to these is the very beginning of all true religion. But, besides these, as our Lord teaches, it is every one who is thrown across our path by the changes and chances of life; he or she, whosoever it be, whom we have any means of helping,-- the unfortunate stranger whom we may meet in travelling, the deserted friend whom no one else cares to look after.\PAR\PAR A. P. STANLEY.\PAR\PAR 1LVAL=\i "Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God." \i0 {\cf11 \ulEph_2:19}\PAR\PAR If grace has touched your heart; if the love of God has come into your soul, it has placed you among the saints of the Most High, and given you every privilege which God ever did or could give to them. And what are their privileges? To be washed in the atoning blood of the suffering Son of God, to be clothed in the justifying righteousness of his perfect and meritorious obedience, to be consecrated by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to have the love of God as their enduring portion, peace in believing, supplies of grace as needed, support{\i"We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Jn_3:14}.\PAR\PAR {\i"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Jn_4:8}.\PAR\PAR Mutual love the token be, Lord, that we belong to Thee; Love, Thine image, love impart; Stamp it on our face and heart; Only love to us be given; Lord, we ask no other heaven.\PAR\PAR C WESLEY.\PAR\PAR Oh, how many times we can most of us remember when we would gladly have made any compromise with our consciences, would gladly have made the most costly sacrifices to God, if He would only have excused us from this duty of loving, of which our nature seemed utterly incapable. It is far easier to feel kindly, to act kindly, toward those with whom we are seldom brought into contact, whose tempers and prejudices do not rub against ours, whose interests do not clash with ours, than to keep up an habitual, steady, self-sacrificing love towards those whose weaknesses and faults are always forcing themselves upon us, and are stirring up our own. A man may pass good muster as a philanthropist who makes but a poor master to his servants, or father to his children.\PAR\PAR F. D. MAURICE.\PAR\PAR 1LVAL=\i "The Lord has appeared of old unto me, saying, Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love -- therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn you."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Jer_31:3}\PAR\PAR There can be no new thought in the mind of GOD. New thoughts, new feelings, new plans, new resolutions continually occur to OUR mind; for ours is but a poor, fallen, fickle, changeable nature. But Go{\i"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_37:7}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Trust in Him at all times." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_42:8}.\PAR\PAR Dost thou ask when comes His hour?\PAR\PAR Then, when it shall aid thee best.\PAR\PAR Trust His faithfulness and power, Trust in Him, and quiet rest.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR I had found [communion with God] to consist, not only in the silencing of the outward man, but in the silencing also of every thought, and in the concentration of the soul and all its powers into a simple, quiet watching and waiting for the food which its heavenly Father might see fit either to give or to withhold. In no case could it be sent empty away; for, if comfort, light, or joy were withheld, the act of humble waiting at the gate of heavenly wisdom could not but work patience in it, and thus render it, by humility and obedience, more {\i"meet to be a partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light," \i0}and also more blessed in itself.\PAR\PAR M. A. KELTY.\PAR\PAR {\i"REST IN THE LORD; WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM." \i0}In Hebrew, {\i"be silent to God, and let Him mould thee." \i0}Keep still, and He will mould thee to the right shape.\PAR\PAR MARTIN LUTHER.\PAR\PAR 1LVAL?{\i"The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulDeu_33:12}.\PAR\PAR Whate'er events betide, Thy will they all perform; Safe in Thy breast my head I hide, Nor fear the coming storm.\PAR\PAR H. F. LYTE.\PAR\PAR I have seemed to see a need of everything God gives me, and want nothing that He denies me. There is no dispensation, though afflictive, but either in it, or after it, I find that I could not be without it. Whether it be taken from or not given me, sooner or later God quiets me in Himself without it. I cast all my concerns on the Lord, and live securely on the care and wisdom of my heavenly Father. My ways, you know, are, in a sense, hedged up with thorns, and grow darker and darker daily; but yet I distrust not my good God in the least, and live more quietly in the absence of all by faith, than I should do, I am persuaded, if I possessed them.\PAR\PAR JOSEPH ELIOT, 1664.\PAR\PAR {\i"To be spiritually minded is life and peace." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_8:6}.\PAR\PAR Stilled now be every anxious care; See God's great goodness everywhere; Leave all to Him in perfect rest:\PAR\PAR He will do all things for the best.\PAR\PAR FROM THE GERMAN.\PAR\PAR We should all endeavor and labor for a calmer spirit, that we may the better serve God in praying to Him and praising Him; and serve one another in love, that we may be fitted to do and receive good; that we may make our passage to heaven more easy and cheerful, without drooping and hanging the wing. So much as we are quiet and cheerful upon good ground, so much we live, and are, as it were, in heaven.\PAR\PAR R. SIBBES.\PAR\PAR Possess yourself as much as you possibly can in peace; not by any effort, but by letting all things fall to the ground which trouble or excite you.\PAR\PAR This is no work, but is, as it were, a setting down a fluid to settle that has become turbid through agitation.\PAR\PAR MADAME GUYON.\PAR\PAR LVAL {\i"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_91:1}.\PAR\PAR They who on the Lord rely, Safely dwell though danger's nigh; Lo! His sheltering wings are spread O'er each faithful servant's head.\PAR\PAR When they wake, or when they sleep, Angel guards their vigils keep; Death and danger may be near, Faith and love have nought to fear.\PAR\PAR HARRIET AUBER.\PAR\PAR {\i"There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling," \i0}is a promise to the fullest extent verified in the case of all {\i"who dwell in the secret place of the Most High." \i0}To them sorrows are not {\i"evils," \i0}sicknesses are not {\i"plagues;" \i0}the shadow of the Almighty extending far around those who abide under it, alters the character of all things which come within its influence.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR It is faith's work to claim and challenge loving-kindness out of all the roughest strokes of God.\PAR\PAR S. RUTHERFORD.\PAR\PAR MAY 23\PAR\PAR {\i"Be content with such things as ye have." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_13:5}.\PAR\PAR {\i"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content." \i0}-- PHIL.\PAR\PAR iv. 11 ( R. V.).\PAR\PAR No longer forward nor behind I look in hope or fear; But, grateful, take the good I find, The best of now and here.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR If we wished to gain contentment, we might try such rules as these:-- \PAR\PAR 1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even of the weather.\PAR\PAR 2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any circumstances in which thou art not.\PAR\PAR 3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.\PAR\PAR 4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than thou dost thyself.\PAR\PAR 5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's, not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. {\LVAL\i "O satisfy us early with your mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Psa_90:14}\PAR\PAR Many of the dear children of God are tossed up and down on a sea of great uncertainty, doubt and fear, because they have not had sensible manifestations of Christ to their soul. He has not come into them in the power of his love; still they often say,\i "When will you come unto me? O visit me with your salvation; speak a word to my soul; it is yourself, and yourself alone, I want to hear, to see, and to know!"\i0 \PAR\PAR Now these are drawings of the gracious Lord, the secret beginnings of his coming, the heralds of his approach, the dawning of the day before the morning star arises and the sun follows upon his track. But when the Lord does come in any sweet manifestation of his presence or of his power, then he will abide where he has come, for he never leaves or forsakes a soul which he has once visited. He may seem to do so; he may withdraw himself; and then who can behold him? But he never really leaves the temple which he has once adorneed to its utmost capacity of holiness and happiness, able to see him as he is without dying under the sight, and to be re-united to its once suffering but now equally glorified companion, an immortal soul, expanded to its fullest powers of joy and bliss--i"The Lord will provide."\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "I and my Father are one." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_10:30}\PAR\PAR There is a great deal of caviling in some men's minds about the expression, \i "the blood of God." \i0 \i "How," \i0 say they, \i "could the Godhead bleed? How could the Godhead suffer?" \i0 But if it is not the blood of Him who was God, I might just as well rely for salvation on the blood of one of the thieves that were crucified with him. What is Christ's human nature? That is the rock on which many gallant ships have struck. It is not a person, having a distinct existence apart from the Deity of Christ; but it is a nature--what the Holy Spirit calls a \i "Holy Thing" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulLuk_1:35}); \i "a body that God had prepared for him" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulHeb_10:5}), taken into intimate, mysterious, and inexplicable union with the Person of the Son of God. So that, whatever that human nature did and suffered, from its intimacy and union with the Son of God, the Son of God did and suffered. {\i"Be content with such things as ye have"\i0}.-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_8:5}\PAR \PAR {\i"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therein to be content"\i0}. -- {\cf11 \ulPhi_4:11} ( R. V.).\PAR \PAR No longer forward nor behind\PAR I look in hope or fear;\PAR But, grateful, take the good I find,\PAR The best of now and here.\PAR \PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR \PAR If we wished to gain contentment, we might try such rules as these:--\PAR \PAR 1. Allow thyself to complain of nothing, not even of the weather.\PAR \PAR 2. Never picture thyself to thyself under any circumstances in which thou art not.\PAR \PAR 3. Never compare thine own lot with that of another.\PAR \PAR 4. Never allow thyself to dwell on the wish that this or that had been, or were, otherwise than it was, or is. God Almighty loves thee better and more wisely than thou dost thyself.\PAR \PAR 5. Never dwell on the morrow. Remember that it is God's, not thine. The heaviest part of sorrow often is to look forward to it. "The Lord will provide."\PAR \PAR E. B. PUSEY. LVAL%John 5:10-16. Christ's interview with the restored paralytic. \par\par We have in this history an instance of the bitter hatred of men to the truth. Why did the Jews accuse Jesus of having broken the Sabbath? Was it because they reverenced that day? By no means. We may judge of their respect for the Sabbath by their regard for the temple; and we know that they made it a den of thieves, and filled it with sheep, and oxen, and money-changers. They did not care in their hearts for the service of God. And had Jesus caused the paralytic to break the Sabbath?\i "I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Jer_32:40}\PAR\PAR As the fear of God springs up in a believing soul, and is maintained and kept alive by the influences which come out of Christ as a covenant Head, it produces, as its effects, an abiding in him. We cannot depart from him, because the fear of God is in our heart. It is therefore called\i "a fountain of life to depart from the snares of death."\i0 If a fountain of life, {\i"Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous:\PAR\PAR nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_12:11}.\PAR\PAR I cannot say, Beneath the pressure of life's cares to-day, I joy in these; But I can say That I had rather walk this rugged way, If Him it please.\PAR\PAR S. G. BROWNING.\PAR\PAR The particular annoyance which befell you this morning; the vexatious words which met your ear and {\i"grieved" \i0}your spirit; the disappointment which was His appointment for to-day; the slight but hindering ailment; the presence of some one who is {\i"a grief of mind" \i0}to you,-- whatever this day seemeth not joyous, but grievous, is linked in {\i"the good pleasure of His goodness" \i0}with a corresponding afterward of {\i"peaceable fruit," \i0}the very seed from which, if you only do not choke it, this shall spring and ripen.\PAR\PAR F. R. HAVERGAL.\PAR\PAR  LVALJohn 5:17-30. Christ's defense of himself before the Sanhedrin. \par\par This is part of our Lord's defense of himself against the Jews. We know not in what place he made this defense. Some think he made it before the great council of seventy people, called the Sanhedrin; and others think He made it in the temple. But all must allow that he made it publicly to the great and learned Jews, who were his deadly enemies\i "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Col_3:16}\PAR\PAR This surely means something more than merely reading the word in a careless, formal manner. It is\i "to dwell in us,"\i0 that is, take up its firm and lasting abode in our heart, and that\i "richly;"\i0 not poorly and niggardly, but copiously and abundantly{\i"O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_26:39}.\PAR\PAR O Lord my God, do Thou Thy holy will,-- \PAR\PAR I will lie still.\PAR\PAR I will not stir, lest I forsake Thine arm, And break the charm Which lulls me, clinging to my Father's breast, In perfect rest.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR Resignation to the will of God is the whole of piety; it includes in it all that is good; and is a source of the most settled quiet and composure of mind. Our resignation to the will of God may be said to be perfect, when our will is lost and resolved up into His; when we rest in His will as our end, as being itself most just, and right, and good. And where is the impossibility of such an affection to what is just and right and good, such a loyalty of heart to the Governor of the universe, as shall prevail over all sinister indirect desires of our own?\PAR\PAR JOSEPH BUTLER.\PAR\PAR There are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of God.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR Lord, Thy will be done in father, mother, child, in everything and everywhere; without a reserve, without a BUT, an IF, or a limit.\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_3:6}\PAR\PAR There is no promise made that we shall be set free in this life from the indwelling and the inworking of sin. Many think that they are to become progressively holier and holier, that sin after sin is to be removed gradually out of the heart, until at last they are almost made perfect in th{\i"The Lord beareth your murmurings, which ye murmur against Him." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulExo_16:8}.\PAR\PAR Without murmur, uncomplaining In His hand, Leave whatever things thou canst not Understand.\PAR\PAR K. R. HAGENBACH.\PAR\PAR One great characteristic of holiness is never to be exacting-- never to complain. Each complaint drags us down a degree, in our upward course.\PAR\PAR If you would discern in whom God's spirit dwells, watch that person, and notice whether you ever hear him murmur.\PAR\PAR GOLD DUST.\PAR\PAR When we wish things to be otherwise than they are, we lose sight of the great practical parts of the life of godliness. We wish, and wish-- when, if we have done all that lies on us, we should fall quietly into the hands of God. Such wishing cuts the very sinews of our privileges and consolations.\PAR\PAR You are leaving me for a time; and you say that you wish you could leave me better, or leave me with some assistance: but, if it is right for you to go, it is right for me to meet what lies on me, without a wish that I had less to meet, or were better able to meet it.\PAR\PAR R. CECIL.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRom_8:29}\PAR\PAR The risen body of Christ is the type to which the risen bodies of the saints are to be conformed, for \i "as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." \i0 This is that glorious image to which the saints are to be all conformed. But though fully retaining all the essential characteristics of humanity, for otherwise it would cease to be manhood in conjunction with Godhead, yet so unspeakably glorious is this risen body of the blessed Lord, to the image of which the risen saints will be conformed, that in this time-state we can not only form no conception of its surpassing glory, but not even of that inferior degree of glory which will clothe the bodies of the saints at the resur{\i"He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_16:10}.\PAR\PAR {\i"The Lord preserveth the faithful." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_31:23}\PAR\PAR The trivial round, the common task, Would furnish all we ought to ask; Room to deny ourselves; a road To bring us, daily, nearer God.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR Exactness in little duties is a wonderful source of cheerfulness.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR The unremitting retention of simple and high sentiments in obscure duties is hardening the character to that temper which will work with honor, if need be, in the tumult or on the scaffold.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR We are too fond of our own will. We want to be doing what we fancy mighty things; but the great point is, to do small things, when called to them, in a right spirit.\PAR\PAR R. CECIL.\PAR\PAR It is not on great occasions only that we are required to be faithful to the will of God; occasions constantly occur, and we should be surprised to perceive how much our spiritual advancement depends on small obediences.\PAR\PAR MADAME SWETCHINE.\PAR\PAR =LVALI\i "The light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Co_4:4}\PAR\PAR Oh! what beauty and blessedness shine forth in the gospel, when we view it connected with the Person and work of the Son of God! Take the doctrines of grace isolated from the Person of Christ; they are scattered limbs; there is no beauty in them; but view the truths of the gospel, in connection with the Person and work of the Son of God, what a heavenly light, what a divine glory is cast upon every truth connected with his sacred Person, atoning blood, finished work, and dying love! This is the way to receive the gospel--not as a thing of shreds and patches, a mere collection or scheme of certain doctrines floating up and down God's word, as waifs and strays from a stranded ship; but as one harmonious gospel, full of grace, mercy, and truth, impregnated with divine blessedness, and all connected with, all springing out of, the Person of the God-man. \PAR\PAR How it seems to lift us up for a time, while the feeling lasts, above sin, misery, and wretchedness, to{\i"Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulCol_1:11}.\PAR\PAR God doth not need Either man's works or His own gifts; who best Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best; His state Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed, And post o'er land and ocean without rest; They also serve who only stand and wait.\PAR\PAR J. MILTON.\PAR\PAR We cannot always be doing a great work, but we can always be doing something that belongs to our condition. To be silent, to suffer, to pray when we cannot act, is acceptable to God. A disappointment, a contradiction, a harsh word, an annoyance, a wrong received and endured as in His presence, is worth more than a long prayer; and we do not lose time if we bear its loss with gentleness and patience, provided the loss was inevitable, and was not caused by our own fault.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR aLVALmu%uue)` '\<`\eu%%euEe)`h'\`\%eeeu%e%)`n'\`\ueee%%eE)po'\8`\eeeueuee)p '\`\ueu%e%%u3`s'\`\eee%eue%=p\'\4`\ueeeueue=ph'\`\ee%%eee%=`a'\ܺ`\e%u%uee%= s'\0`\ueeeu%e%{\i"Be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_6:12}.\PAR\PAR Where now with pain thou treadest, trod The whitest of the saints of God!\PAR\PAR To show thee where their feet were set, The light which led them shineth yet.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR LET us learn from this communion of saints to live in hope. Those who are now at rest were once like ourselves. They were once weak, faulty, sinful; they had their burdens and hindrances, their slumbering and weariness, their failures and their falls. But now they have overcome. Their life was once homely and common-place. Their day ran out as ours. Morning and noon and night came and went to them as to us. Their life, too, was as lonely and sad as yours. Little fretful circumstances and frequent disturbing changes wasted away their hours as yours. There is nothing in your life that was not in theirs; there was nothing in theirs but may be also in your own. They have overcome, each one, and one by one; each in his turn, when the day came, and God called him to the trial. And so shall you likewise.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR ,LVAL8\i "The light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Co_4:4}\PAR\PAR Oh! what beauty and blessedness shine forth in the gospel, when we view it connected with the Person and work of the Son of God! Take the doctrines of grace isolated from the Person of Christ; they are scattered limbs; there is no beauty in them; but view the truths of the gospel, in connection with the Person and work of the Son of God, what a heavenly light, what a divine glory is cast upon every truth connected with his sacred Person, atoning blood, finished work, and dying love! This is the way to receive the gospel--not as a thing of shreds and patches, a mere collection or scheme of certain doctrines floating up and down God's word, as waifs and strays from a stranded ship; but as one ha{\i"And thus this man died, leaving his death for an example of a noble courage, and a memorial of virtue, not only unto young men, but unto all his nation." \i0}-- 2 MAC. 6:31.\PAR\PAR {\i"Zebulon and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJdg_5:18}.\PAR\PAR Though Love repine, and Reason chafe, There came a voice without reply,-- \PAR\PAR 'Tis man's perdition to be safe, When for the truth he ought to die.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR Some say that the age of chivalry is past. The age of chivalry is never past, so long as there is a wrong left unredressed on earth, or a man or woman left to say, {\i"I will redress that wrong, or spend my life in the attempt." \i0}The age of chivalry is never past, so long as we have faith enough to say, {\i"God will help me to redress that wrong; or, if not me, He will help those that come after me, for His eternal Will is to overcome evil with good."\PAR\PAR C. KINGSLEY.\PAR\PAR Thus man is made equal to every event. He can face danger for the right. A poor, tender, painful body, he can run into flame or bullets or pestilence, with duty for his guide.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR fLVALr\i "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Pe_1:2}\PAR\PAR Foreknowledge of the persons of the elect in the divine economy precedes election. \i "Whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate;" \i0 and this foreknowledge was not any eternal foreview of their faith or love in time, as if that were the ground of God's choice of them; but it implies, first, that thorough knowledge which God had of them, and of all that should concern them, of all the depths of sin and rebellion, disobedience and ungodliness, of which they might be guilty before called by grace, and of all {\i"Let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: ... let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_5:11}.\PAR\PAR {\i"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_23:2}.\PAR\PAR I can hear these violets chorus To the sky's benediction above; And we all are together lying On the bosom of Infinite Love.\PAR\PAR Oh, the peace at the heart of Nature!\PAR\PAR Oh, the light that is not of day!\PAR\PAR Why seek it afar forever, When it cannot be lifted away?\PAR\PAR W. C. GANNETT.\PAR\PAR What inexpressible joy for me, to look up through the apple-blossoms and the fluttering leaves, and to see God's love there; to listen to the thrush that has built his nest among them, and to feel God's love, who cares for the birds, in every note that swells his little throat; to look beyond to the bright blue depths of the sky, and feel they are a canopy of blessing,-- the roof of the house of my Father; that if clouds pass over it, it is the unchangeable light they veil; that, even when the day itself passes, I shall see that the night itself only unveils new worlds of light; and to know that if I could unwrap fold after fold of God's universe, I should only unfold more and more blessing, and see deeper and deeper into the love which is at the heart of all.\PAR\PAR ELIZABETH CHARLES.\PAR\PAR Reformatted for e-Sword by David Cox\par dcox@davidcox.com.mxLVAL\i "The Lord will give grace and glory." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_84:11}\PAR\PAR Wherever the Lord gives grace, he in and with that grace gives glory. We, therefore, read, \i "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified." \i0 Thus he has already made them, even while on earth, partakers of his glory; and this by making them partakers of his grace; for as in the bud is the bloom, and in the bloom the fruit, so in budding grace is blooming glory--grace being but glory begun, and glory being but grace finished.\PAR\PAR But what is \i "glory?" \i0 Viewed as future, in its full consummation, it is to be with Jesus in realms of eternal bliss, where tears are wiped from off all faces; it is to see him as he is; to be conformed to his glorious likeness; to be delivered from all sin and sorrow; to be perfectly free from all temptations, tri{\i"One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_27:4}.\PAR\PAR Thy beauty, O my Father! All is Thine; But there is beauty in Thyself, from whence The beauty Thou hast made doth ever flow In streams of never-failing affluence.\PAR\PAR Thou art the Temple! and though I am lame,-- \PAR\PAR Lame from my birth, and shall be till I die,-- \PAR\PAR I enter through the Gate called Beautiful, And am alone with Thee, O Thou Most High!\PAR\PAR J. W. CHADWICK.\PAR\PAR Consider that all which appears beautiful outwardly, is solely derived from the invisible Spirit which is the source of that external beauty, and say joyfully, {\i"Behold, these are streamlets from the uncreated Fountain; behold, these are drops from the infinite Ocean of all good! Oh! how does my inmost heart rejoice at the thought of that eternal, infinite Beauty, which is the source and origin of all created beauty!"\PAR\PAR L. SCUPOLI.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "And he led them forth by the right way, that they might go to a city of habitation." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_107:7}\PAR\PAR When the Lord leads, we can follow. The path may be rough, but if the Lord upholds, we can walk in it without stumbling. Whatever the Lord bids, we can do if we have but his presence; whatever he calls upon us to suffer, we can bear if we have but the approbation of a good conscience and his approving smile. Oh, the wonders of sovereign grace! The cross is no cross if the Lord gives strength to bear it; affliction is no affliction if the Lord supports under it; trial is no trial if sweetened by his smile, and sorrow no grief if lightened by his love. It is our fretfulness, unbelief, carnal reasoning, rebellion, and self-pity which make {\i"We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Co_3:18}.\PAR\PAR Then every tempting form of sin, Shamed in Thy presence, disappears, And all the glowing, raptured soul The likeness it contemplates wears.\PAR\PAR P. DODDRIDGE.\PAR\PAR Then does a good man become the tabernacle of God, wherein the divine Shechinah does rest, and which the divine glory fills, when the frame of his mind and life is wholly according to that idea and pattern which he receives from the mount. We best glorify Him when we grow most like to Him: and we then act most for His glory, when a true spirit of sanctity, justice, and meekness, runs through all our actions; when we so live in the world as becomes those that converse with the great Mind and Wisdom of the whole world, with that Almighty Spirit that made, supports, and governs all things, with that Being from whence all good flows, and in which there is no spot, stain, or shadow of evil; and so being captivated and overcome by the sense of the Divine loveliness and goodness, endeavor to be like Him, and conform ourselves, as much as may be, to Him.\PAR\PAR DR. JOHN SMITH.\PAR\PAR VLVALb\i "Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and fears unto him that was able to save him from death." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_5:7}\PAR\PAR The Apostle says that Christ was \i "crucified through weakness" \i0 ({\cf11 \ul2Co_13:4}). We must remember, however, that weakness was not imperfection in him, though it is imperfection in us; for when we speak of the weakness of Christ's human nature, we mean its weakness as compared with the strength and power of his divine nature. Our Lord felt the weakness of his humanity, for though in union with his eternal Deity, though most blessedly upheld and supported by the power and strength and consolation of the Holy Spirit, yet it was inherently weak, and an experience of its weakness was a part of the sufferings that he endured. \PAR\PAR Having, t{\i"The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in Him." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_64:10}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPro_16:20}.\PAR\PAR The heart that trusts forever sings, And feels as light as it had wings, A well of peace within it springs,-- \PAR\PAR Come good or ill, Whatever to-day, to-morrow brings, It is His will.\PAR\PAR I. WILLIAMS.\PAR\PAR He will weave no longer a spotted life of shreds and patches, but he will live with a divine unity. He will cease from what is base and frivolous in his life, and be content with all places, and with any service he can render. He will calmly front the morrow, in the negligency of that trust which carries God with it, and so hath already the whole future in the bottom of the heart.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR He who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great heart. {\i"For He giveth His beloved, as in sleep." \i0}They must work and watch, yet never be careful or anxious, but commit all to Him, and live in serene tranquillity; with a quiet heart, as one who sleeps safely and quietly.\PAR\PAR MARTIN LUTHER.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "And was heard in that he feared." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_5:7}\PAR\PAR There is something in my mind extremely mysterious and yet divinely blessed in the expression, \i "in that he feared," \i0 and it is right to mention that there is some little difficulty as to the right rendering of the expression. The word means in the original not so much fear, as indicating dread or apprehension, as a holy reverence and tender cautiousness. It means literally the great care with which we handle brittle vessels, and, as used in the New Testament, signifies a reverential fear of God. It is used, for instance, of Noah, where he is said to be \i "moved with fear" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulHeb_11:7}), and is translated \i "godly fear" \i0 in those words, \i "whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulHeb_12:28}). \PAR\PAR It does not, therefore, mean fear in any such sense of the{\i"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Co_15:58}.\PAR\PAR Say not, 'Twas all in vain, The anguish and the darkness and the strife; Love thrown upon the waters comes again In quenchless yearnings for a nobler life.\PAR\PAR ANNA SHIPTON.\PAR\PAR Did you ever hear of a man who had striven all his life faithfully and singly toward an object and in no measure obtained it? If a man constantly aspires, is he not elevated? Did ever a man try heroism, magnanimity, truth, sincerity, and find that there was no advantage in them,-- that it was a vain endeavor?\PAR\PAR H. D. THOREAU.\PAR\PAR Do right, and God's recompense to you will be the power of doing more right. Give, and God's reward to you will be the spirit of giving more:\PAR\PAR a blessed spirit, for it is the Spirit of God himself, whose Life is the blessedness of giving. Love, and God will pay you with the capacity of more love; for love is Heaven-- love is God within you.\PAR\PAR F. W. ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR HLVALT\i "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" \i0 {\cf11 \ulGen_18:14}\PAR\PAR The Lord will make us feel that though his arm is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear, yet he is to be enquired of. He is indeed a God that works wonders; apparent impossibilities are nothing with him; he has but to speak and it is done. But he will make us know his power by making us feel our weakness. He will often keep at a great distance, and for a long time, in order to make us value his presence. He will make us sink very low that he may lift us very high. He will make us taste the bitterness of the gall and wormwood of sin that we may know the sweetness of manifested pardon. He will teach us to abhor ourselves in our own sight, and loathe ourselves for our abominations, before we shall see and know ourselves {\i"Speak, Lord; for Thy servant heareth." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Sa_3:9}.\PAR\PAR Though heralded with nought of fear, Or outward sign or show:\PAR\PAR Though only to the inward ear It whispers soft and low; Though dropping, as the manna fell, Unseen, yet from above, Noiseless as dew-fall, heed it well,-- \PAR\PAR Thy Father's call of love.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR This is one result of the attitude into which we are put by humility, by disinterestedness, by purity, by calmness, that we have the opportunity, the disengagement, the silence, in which we may watch what is the will of God concerning us. If we think no more of ourselves than we ought to think, if we seek not our own but others' welfare, if we are prepared to take all things as God's dealings with us, then we may have a chance of catching from time to time what God has to tell us. In the Mussulman devotions, one constant gesture is to put the hands to the ears, as if to listen for the messages from the other world. This is the attitude, the posture which our minds assume, if we have a standing-place above and beyond the stir and confusion and dissipation of this mortal world.\PAR\PAR A. P. STANLEY.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 1Jo_1:9}\PAR\PAR Has the Lord made sin your burden? Has he ever made you feel guilty before him? Has he{\i"Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRev_3:12}.\PAR\PAR {\i"In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEph_2:22}.\PAR\PAR None the place ordained refuseth, They are one, and they are all, Living stones, the Builder chooseth For the courses of His wall.\PAR\PAR JEAN INGELOW.\PAR\PAR Slowly, through all the universe, that temple of God is being built.\PAR\PAR Wherever, in any world, a soul, by free-willed obedience, catches the fire of God's likeness, it is set into the growing walls, a living stone.\PAR\PAR When, in your hard fight, in your tiresome drudgery, or in your terrible temptation, you catch the purpose of your being, and give yourself to God, and so give Him the chance to give Himself to you, your life, a living stone, is taken up and set into that growing wall. Wherever souls are being tried and ripened, in whatever commonplace and homely ways;-- there God is hewing out the pillars for His temple. Oh, if the stone can only have some vision of the temple of which it is to be a part forever, what patience must fill it as it feels the blows of the hammer, and knows that success for it is simply to let itself be wrought into what shape the Master wills.\PAR\PAR PHILLIPS BROOKS.\PAR\PAR VLVALb\i "For you will not leave my soul in hell; neither will you allow your Holy One to see corruption." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_16:10}\PAR\PAR When the adorable Lord by a voluntary act laid down his life, the last words that he spoke were, \i "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." \i0 By his \i "spirit" \i0 we are to understand his human soul which at once went into paradise, into the immediate presence of God, as he intimated in the words, \i "And now come I to you" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulJoh_17:13}). Nor did he go there that day alone. A trophy was soon to follow him; the soul of that repenting, believing malefactor, who, a partner with him in suffering, had become by his sovereign grace a partner with him in glory.\PAR\PAR There was, then, an actual separation of the Redeemer's body and soul; but this did not destroy or affect the union of hi{\i"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Th_5:5}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_97:11}.\PAR\PAR Serene will be our days and bright, And happy will our nature be, When love is an unerring light, And joy its own security.\PAR\PAR W. WORDSWORTH.\PAR\PAR Nothing can produce so great a serenity of life, as a mind free from guilt, and kept untainted, not only from actions, but purposes that are wicked.\PAR\PAR By this means the soul will be not only unpolluted, but not disturbed; the fountain will run clear and unsullied, and the streams that flow from it will be just and honest deeds, ecstasies of satisfaction, a brisk energy of spirit, which makes a man an enthusiast in his joy, and a tenacious memory, sweeter than hope. For as shrubs which are cut down with the morning dew upon them do for a long time after retain their fragrancy, so the good actions of a wise man perfume his mind, and leave a rich scent behind them.\PAR\PAR So that joy is, as it were, watered with these essences, and owes its flourishing to them.\PAR\PAR PLUTARCH.\PAR\PAR aLVALm\i "The light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Co_4:4}\PAR\PAR Oh! what beauty and blessedness shine forth in the gospel, when we view it connected with the Person and work of the Son of God! Take the doctrines of grace isolated from the Person of Christ; they are scattered limbs; there is no beauty in them; but view the truths of the gospel, in connection with the Person and work of the Son of God, what a heavenly light, what a divine glory is cast upon every truth connected with his sacred Person, atoning blood, finished work, and dying love! This is the way to receive the gospel--not as a thing of shreds and patches, a mere collection or scheme of certain doctrines floating up and down God's word, as waifs and strays from a stranded ship; but as one harmonious gospel, full of grace, mercy, and truth, imp{\i"Who hath despised the day of small things?" \i0}{\cf11 \ulZec_4:10}.\PAR\PAR Little things On little wings Bear little souls to heaven.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR An occasional effort even of an ordinary holiness may accomplish great acts of sacrifice, or bear severe pressure of unwonted trial, specially if it be the subject of observation. But constant discipline in unnoticed ways, and the spirit's silent unselfishness, becoming the hidden habit of the life, give to it its true saintly beauty, and this is the result of care and lowly love in little things. Perfection is attained most readily by this constancy of religious faithfulness in all minor details of life, consecrating the daily efforts of self-forgetting love.\PAR\PAR T. T. CARTER.\PAR\PAR Love's secret is to be always doing things for God, and not to mind because they are such very little ones.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR There may be living and habitual conversation in heaven, under the aspect of the most simple, ordinary life. Let us always remember that holiness does not consist in doing uncommon things, but in doing everything with purity of heart.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Pe_1:2}\PAR\PAR Foreknowledge of the persons of the elect in the divine economy precedes election. \i "Whom he did foreknow he also did predestinate;" \i0 and this foreknowledge was not any eternal foreview of their faith or love in time, as if that were the ground of God's choice of them; but it implies, first, that thorough knowledge which God had of them, and of all that should concern them, of all the depths of sin and rebellion, disobedience and ungodliness, of which they might be guilty before called by grace, and of all their grievous backslidings, slips, and falls, with all the base returns that they should make for his goodness and mercy toward them after he had touched their hearts by his finger. \PAR\PAR And secondly and chiefly, it signifies the good will and pleasure, with that everlasting love of God the Father, whereby he {\i"He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPro_16:32}.\PAR\PAR Purge from our hearts the stains so deep and foul, Of wrath and pride and care; Send Thine own holy calm upon the soul, And bid it settle there!\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR Let this truth be present to thee in the excitement of anger,-- that to be moved by passion is not manly, but that mildness and gentleness, as they are more agreeable to human nature, so also are they more manly. For in the same degree in which a man's mind is nearer to freedom from all passion, in the same degree also is it nearer to strength.\PAR\PAR MARCUS ANTONINUS.\PAR\PAR It is no great matter to associate with the good and gentle, for this is naturally pleasing to all, and every one willingly enjoyeth peace, and loveth those best that agree with him. But to be able to live peaceably with hard and perverse persons, or with the disorderly, or with such as go contrary to us, is a great grace, and a most commendable and manly thing.\PAR\PAR THOMAS A KEMPIS.\PAR\PAR  LVAL\i "The Lord will give grace and glory." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_84:11}\PAR\PAR Wherever the Lord gives grace, he in and with that grace gives glory. We, therefore, read, \i "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified." \i0 Thus he has already made them, even while on earth, partakers of his glory; and this by making them partakers of his grace; for as in the bud is the bloom, and in the bloom the fruit, so in budding grace is blooming glory--grace being but glory begun, and glory being but grace finished.\PAR\PAR But what is \i "glory?" \i0 Viewed as future, in its full consummation, it is to be with Jesus in realms of eternal bliss, where tears are wiped from off all {\i"Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of His servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_1:10}.\PAR\PAR {\i"The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_18:28}.\PAR\PAR When we in darkness walk, Nor feel the heavenly flame, Then is the time to trust our God, And rest upon His name.\PAR\PAR A. M. TOPLADY.\PAR\PAR He has an especial tenderness of love towards thee for that thou art in the dark and hast no light, and His heart is glad when thou dost arise and say, {\i"I will go to my Father." \i0}For He sees thee through all the gloom through which thou canst not see Him. Say to Him, {\i"My God, I am very dull and low and hard; but Thou art wise and high and tender, and Thou art my God. I am Thy child. Forsake me not." \i0}Then fold the arms of thy faith, and wait in quietness until light goes up in the darkness. Fold the arms of thy Faith, I say, but not of thy Action: bethink thee of something that thou oughtest to do, and go and do it, if it be but the sweeping of a room, or the preparing of a meal, or a visit to a friend; heed not thy feelings: do thy work.\PAR\PAR G. MACDONALD.\PAR\PAR ULVALa\i "For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_10:14}\PAR\PAR To be \i "sanctified" \i0 is to be made a partaker of that holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord; to be made a new creature; to \i "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness;" \i0 in a word, to be \i "made a partaker of the divine nature," \i0 and thus have the holiness of God breathed into and communicated to the soul. Without this inward sanctification, none can enter the gates of heaven. To be made fit, therefore, for the heavenly inheritance, you must have a heavenly heart and a praising, adoring, loving spirit; you must delight yourself in the Lord as being so holy and yet so gracious, so pure and yet so loving, so bright and glorious and yet so condescending and sympathizi{\i"In the day when I cried Thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_138:3}.\PAR\PAR It is not that I feel less weak, but Thou Wilt be my strength; it is not that I see Less sin; but more of pardoning love with Thee, And all-sufficient grace. Enough! And now All fluttering thought is stilled; I only rest, And feel that Thou art near, and know that I am blest.\PAR\PAR F. R. HAVERGAL.\PAR\PAR Yea, though thou canst not believe, yet be not dismayed thereat; only do thou sink into, or at least pant after the hidden measure of life, which is not in that which distresseth, disturbeth, and filleth thee with thoughts, fears, troubles, anguish, darknesses, terrors, and the like; no, no! but in that which inclines to the patience, to the stillness, to the hope, to the waiting, to the silence before the Father.\PAR\PAR I. PENINGTON.\PAR\PAR We have only to be patient, to pray, and to do His will, according to our present light and strength, and the growth of the soul will go on. The plant grows in the mist and under clouds as truly as under sunshine. So does the heavenly principle within.\PAR\PAR W. E. CHANNING.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "That I may glory with your inheritance."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Psa_106:5}\PAR\PAR The Church is Christ's inheritance. He purchased it by his own blood. He went into captivity for it, and he redeemed it by pouring out his precious blood for it. Now this inheritance glories --\i "That I may glory with your inheritance."\i0 \PAR\PAR And in whom does the church glory? It glories in its covenant Head. It does not glory in itself -- in its pious self, righteous self, strong self, religious self;\i "let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches, but let him that glories, glory in this, that he understands and knows me."\i0 "He that glories, let him glory in the{\i"Then answered he me, and said, This is the condition of the battle which man that is born upon the earth shall fight; that, if he be overcome, he shall suffer as thou hast said: but if he get the victory, he shall receive the thing that I say." \i0}-- 2 Esdras 7:57-58.\PAR\PAR One holy Church, one army strong, One steadfast high intent, One working band, one harvest-song, One King omnipotent.\PAR\PAR S. JOHNSON.\PAR\PAR We listened to a man whom we felt to be, with all his heart and soul and strength, striving against whatever was mean and unmanly and unrighteous in our little world. It was not the cold clear voice of one giving advice and warning from serene heights to those who were struggling and sinning below, but the warm living voice of one who was fighting for us and by our sides, and calling on us to help him and ourselves and one another. And so, wearily and little by little, but surely and steadily on the whole, was brought home to the young boy, for the first time, the meaning of his life; that it was no fool's or sluggard's paradise into which he had wandered by chance, but a battle-field ordained from of old, where there are no spectators, but the youngest must take his side, and the stakes are life and death.\PAR\PAR THOMAS HUGHES.\PAR\PAR !LVAL-\i "Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Psa_81:10}\PAR\PAR When the Lord favors your soul with sweet access at a throne of grace, make the most of it. What would we think of the master of a vessel coming up the river, if, when the wind was favorable and the tide served, he would not heave her anchor, or hoisted but her fore-sail to the breeze, and would not take full advantage of wind and tide? Now it is so sometimes with our souls; a gale blows, a gale of grace on the soul, and the tide of {\i"If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Jo_1:7}.\PAR\PAR {\i"God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love, which ye have showed toward His name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do minister." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_6:10}.\PAR\PAR Wherever in the world I am, In whatsoe'er estate, I have a fellowship with hearts, To keep and cultivate, And a work of lowly love to do For the Lord on whom I wait.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR We do not always perceive that even the writing of a note of congratulation, the fabrication of something intended as an offering of affection, our necessary intercourse with characters which have no congeniality with our own, or hours apparently trifled away in the domestic circle, may be made by us the performance of a most sacred and blessed work; even the carrying out, after our feeble measure, of the design of God for-the increase of happiness.\PAR\PAR SARAH W. STEPHEN.\PAR\PAR Definite work is not always that which is cut and squared for us, but that which comes as a claim upon the conscience, whether it's nursing in a hospital, or hemming a handkerchief.\PAR\PAR ELIZABETH M. SEWELL.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "O Israel, you have destroyed yourself; but in me is your help." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHos_13:9}\PAR\PAR God is all-wise, and therefore takes no rash, precipitate steps. As the original plan of salvation was devised by infinite wisdom, so all the successive steps of the execution of that plan are directed by the same boundless wisdom also. \i "Wherein he has abounded towards us," \i0 says Paul ({\cf11 \ulEph_1:8}), \i "in all wisdom and prudence." \i0 Thus, in his dealings with his people, God does not put them at once into possession of all the blessings which he has laid up for them.\PAR\PAR He has pardoned, for instance, their sins; but he does not immediately, when he calls them by his grace, put them into possession of this blessing. He has first to teach them their need of it. He has to prepare their heart for the right reception of it. It is no common gift, and he has to teach them how to value it. They are s{\i"The Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_14:3}.\PAR\PAR To-day, beneath Thy chastening eye, I crave alone for peace and rest; Submissive in Thy hand to lie, And feel that it is best.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR O Lord, who art as the Shadow of a great Rock in a weary land, who beholdest Thy weak creatures weary of labor, weary of pleasure, weary of hope deferred, weary of self; in Thine abundant compassion, and unutterable tenderness, bring us, I pray Thee, unto Thy rest. Amen.\PAR\PAR CHRISTINA G. ROSSETTI.\PAR\PAR Grant to me above all things that can be desired, to rest in Thee, and in Thee to have my heart at peace. Thou art the true peace of the heart, Thou its only rest; out of Thee all things are hard and restless. In this very peace, that is, in Thee, the One Chiefest Eternal Good, I will sleep and rest. Amen.\PAR\PAR THOMAS A KEMPIS.\PAR\PAR Thou hast made us for Thyself, O Lord; and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee.\PAR\PAR ST. AUGUSTINE.\PAR\PAR YLVALe\i "That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Co_2:5}\PAR\PAR True faith I may call the grand tidal wave of the soul. I will endeavor to explain the expression. We see the river Thames day by day ebbing and flowing. What causes this change? You answer, \i "It is produced by the sea in the Channel alternately coming up and retiring." \i0 It is a true explanation. But what makes the sea of the Channel alternately come up and retire? There is what is called \i "a grand tidal wave" \i0 that comes across the Atlantic Ocean, which, as it ebbs and flows, affects all the minor tides of the neighboring seas; and thus the tide of the Channel, and that of the river Thames, ebb and flow in unison with this huge Atlantic wave. \PAR\PAR In the same way faith is the tidal wave of the soul; and all the{\i"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_46:1-2}.\PAR\PAR Though waves and storms go o'er my head, Though strength and health and friends be gone, Though joys be withered all, and dead, Though every comfort be withdrawn, On this my steadfast soul relies,-- \PAR\PAR Father! Thy mercy never dies.\PAR\PAR JOHANN A. ROTHE.\PAR\PAR Your external circumstances may change, toil may take the place of rest, sickness of health, trials may thicken within and without. Externally, you are the prey of such circumstances; but if your heart is stayed on God, no changes or chances can touch it, and all that may befall you will but draw you closer to Him. Whatever the present moment may bring, your knowledge that it is His will, and that your future heavenly life will be influenced by it, will make all not only tolerable, but welcome to you, while no vicissitudes can affect you greatly, knowing that He who holds you in His powerful hand cannot change, but abideth forever.\PAR\PAR JEAN NICOLAS GROU.\PAR\PAR LVAL)\i "And was heard in that he feared." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_5:7}\PAR\PAR There is something in my mind extremely mysterious and yet divinely blessed in the expression, \i "in that he feared," \i0 and it is right to mention that there is some little difficulty as to the right rendering of the expression. The word means in the original not so much fear, as indicating dread or apprehension, as a holy reverence and tender cautiousness. It means literally the great care with which we handle brittle vessels, and, as used in the New Testament, signifies a reverential fear of God. It is used, for instance, of Noah, where he is said to be \i "moved with fear" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulHeb_11:7}), and is translated \i "godly fear" \i0 in those words, \i "whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulHeb_12:28}). \PAR\PAR It does not, therefore, mean fear in any such sense of the word as would imply a servile dread. It does not mean that our gracious Lord was possessed with that servile dread of the Almighty which reproba{\i"Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.\PAR\PAR Amen." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEph_3:20-21}.\PAR\PAR We would not meagre gifts down-call When Thou dost yearn to yield us all; But for this life, this little hour, Ask all Thy love and care and power.\PAR\PAR J. INGELOW.\PAR\PAR God so loveth us that He would make all things channels to us and messengers of His love. Do for His sake deeds of love, and He will give thee His love. Still thyself, thy own cares, thy own thoughts for Him, and He will speak to thy heart. Ask for Himself, and He will give thee Himself.\PAR\PAR Truly, a secret hidden thing is the love of God, known only to them who seek it, and to them also secret, for what man can have of it here is how slight a foretaste of that endless ocean of His love!\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Is anything too hard for the Lord?" \i0 {\cf11 \ulGen_18:14}\PAR\PAR The Lord will make us feel that though his arm is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear, yet he is to be enquired of. He is indeed a God that works wonders; apparent impossibilities are nothing with him; he has but to speak and it is done. But he will make us know his power by making us feel our weakness. He will often keep at a great distance, and for a long time, in order to make us value his presence. He will make us sink very low that he may lift us very high. He will make us taste the bitterness of the gall and wormwood of sin that we may know the sweetness of manifested pardon. He will teach us to abhor ourselves {\i"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_6:28}.\PAR\PAR They do not toil:\PAR\PAR Content with their allotted task They do but grow; they do not ask A richer lot, a higher sphere, But in their loveliness appear, And grow, and smile, and do their best, And unto God they leave the rest.\PAR\PAR MARIANNE FARNINGHAM.\PAR\PAR Interpose no barrier to His mighty life-giving power, working in you all the good pleasure of His will. Yield yourself up utterly to His sweet control. Put your growing into His hands as completely as you have put all your other affairs. Suffer Him to manage it as He will. Do not concern yourself about it, nor even think of it. Trust Him absolutely and always.\PAR\PAR Accept each moment's dispensation as it comes to you from His dear hands, as being the needed sunshine or dew for that moment's growth. Say a continual {\i"yes" \i0}to your Father's will.\PAR\PAR H. W. SMITH.\PAR\PAR Thine own self-will and anxiety, thy hurry and labor, disturb thy peace, and prevent Me from working in thee. Look at the little flowers, in the serene summer days; they quietly open their petals, and the sun shines into them with his gentle influences. So will I do for thee, if thou wilt yield thyself to Me.\PAR\PAR G. TERSTEEGEN,\PAR\PAR uLVAL\i "For you will not leave my soul in hell; neither will you allow your Holy One to see corruption." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_16:10}\PAR\PAR When the adorable Lord by a voluntary act laid down his life, the last words that he spoke were, \i "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit." \i0 By his \i "spirit" \i0 we are to understand his human soul which at once went into paradise, into the immediate presence of God, as he intimated in the words, \i "And now come I to you" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulJoh_17:13}). Nor did he go there that day alone. A trophy was soon to follow him; the soul of that repenting, believing malefactor, who, a partner with him in suffering, had become by his sovereign grace a partner with him in glory.\PAR\PAR There was, then, an actual separation of the Redeemer's body and soul; but this did not destroy or affect the union of his Deity with his humanity. That{\i"Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_6:30}.\PAR\PAR {\i"I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever"-\i0}- {\cf11 \ulPsa_52:8}.\PAR\PAR Calmly we look behind us, on joys and sorrows past, We know that all is mercy now, and shall be well at last; Calmly we look before us,-- we fear no future ill, Enough for safety and for peace, if Thou art with us still.\PAR\PAR JANE BORTHWICK.\PAR\PAR Neither go back in fear and misgiving to the past, nor in anxiety and forecasting to the future; but lie quiet under His hand, having no will but His.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR I saw a delicate flower had grown up two feet high, between the horses'\PAR\PAR path and the wheel-track. An inch more to right or left had sealed its fate, or an inch higher; and yet it lived to flourish as much as if it had a thousand acres of untrodden space around it, and never knew the danger it incurred. It did not borrow trouble, nor invite an evil fate by apprehending it.\PAR\PAR HENRY D. THOREAU.\PAR\PAR mLVALy\i "For by one offering he has perfected forever those who are sanctified." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_10:14}\PAR\PAR To be \i "sanctified" \i0 is to be made a partaker of that holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord; to be made a new creature; to \i "put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness;" \i0 in a word, to be \i "made a partaker of the divine nature," \i0 and thus have the holiness of God breathed into and communicated to the soul. Without this inward sanctification, none can enter the gates of heaven. To be made fit, therefore, for the heavenly inheritance, you must have a heavenly heart and a praising, adoring, loving spirit; you must delight yourself in the Lord as being so holy and yet so gracious, so pure and yet so loving, so bright and glorious and yet so condescending and sympathizing. \PAR\PAR Now this f{\i"The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_121:7}.\PAR\PAR Under Thy wings, my God, I rest, Under Thy shadow safely lie; By Thy own strength in peace possessed, While dreaded evils pass me by.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR A heart rejoicing in God delights in all His will, and is surely provided with the most firm joy in all estates; for if nothing can come to pass beside or against His will, then cannot that soul be vexed which delights in Him and hath no will but His, but follows Him in all times, in all estates; not only when He shines bright on them, but when they are clouded.\PAR\PAR That flower which follows the sun doth so even in dark and cloudy days:\PAR\PAR when it doth not shine forth, yet it follows the hidden course and motion of it. So the soul that moves after God keeps that course when He hides His face; is content, yea, even glad at His will in all estates or conditions or events.\PAR\PAR R. LEIGHTON.\PAR\PAR Let God do with me what He will, anything He will; whatever it be, it will be either heaven itself or some beginning of it.\PAR\PAR WM. MOUNTFORD.\PAR\PAR |LVAL\i "In the house of the righteous is much treasure--but in the revenues of the wicked is trouble." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPro_15:6}\PAR\PAR How different is the estimate that faith makes of riches, honors, and comforts from that made by the world and the flesh! The world has no idea of riches but such as consist in gold and silver, in houses, lands, or other tangible property; no thought of honor, but such as man has to bestow; and no notion of comfort, except in \i "fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind." \i0 But the soul that is anointed by an \i "unction from the Holy One," \i0 takes a different estimate of these matters, and feels that the only true riches are those of God's grace in the heart, that the only real honor is that which comes from God, and that the only solid comfort is that which is imparted by the Holy Spirit to a broken and contrite spirit. Now, just{\i"Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me; for my soul trusteth in Thee: yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPSa_57:1}.\PAR\PAR My God! in whom are all the springs Of boundless love and grace unknown, Hide me beneath Thy spreading wings, Till the dark cloud is overblown.\PAR\PAR I. WATTS.\PAR\PAR In time of trouble go not out of yourself to seek for aid; for the whole benefit of trial consists in silence, patience, rest, and resignation. In this condition divine strength is found for the hard warfare, because God Himself fights for the soul.\PAR\PAR M. DE MOLINOS.\PAR\PAR In vain will you let your mind run out after help in times of trouble; it is like putting to sea in a storm. Sit still, and feel after your principles; and, if you find none that furnish you with somewhat of a stay and prop, and which point you to quietness and silent submission, depend upon it you have never yet learned Truth from the Spirit of Truth, whatever notions thereof you may have picked up from this and the other description of it.\PAR\PAR M. A. KELTY.\PAR\PAR OLVAL[\i "But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_2:9}\PAR\PAR How wondrous that he who, as the Son of God, made the angels, should be made inferior to them, and even need and receive their ministering aid and support. O the depths of humiliation to which the blessed Redeemer stooped, carrying down into their lowest point that pure, spotless, holy humanity which he had assumed into union with his divine Person as the Son of God! And let us ever bear carefully in mind that humiliation is not degradation. Our blessed Lord \i "humbled himself" \i0 by a voluntary act of surpassing grace; and it was no more in the power of men or circumstances to debase him of his glory than of lying witnesses to strip him of his innocency. The spotless purity of his sacred humanity, as in union with his divine nature, and as filled with and upheld by the Holy Spirit, preserved it from degradation in its lowest humiliation. The crown of thorns and the{\i"Thou calledst in trouble, and. I delivered thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_81:7}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Be strong, and of good courage; dread not, nor be dismayed." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Ch_12:13}.\PAR\PAR Thou canst calm the troubled mind, Thou its dread canst still; Teach me to be all resigned To my Father's will.\PAR\PAR HEINRICH PUCHTA.\PAR\PAR Though this patient, meek resignation is to be exercised with regard to all outward things and occurrences of life, yet it chiefly respects our own inward state, the troubles, perplexities, weaknesses, and disorders of our own souls. And to stand turned to a patient, meek, humble resignation to God, when your own impatience, wrath, pride, and irresignation attack yourself, is a higher and more beneficial performance of this duty, than when you stand turned to meekness and patience, when attacked by the pride, or wrath, or disorderly passions of other people.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Behold, he prays," \i0 was the word of the Lord to Ananias to convince him that that dreaded persecutor, Saul of Tarsus, had been quickened by the Spirit. And what a mercy it is for the quickened soul that the blessed Spirit thus helps his sinking, trembling spirit, puts life and energy into his cries and sighs, holds him up and keeps him steadfast at the throne, and thus enables him to persevere with his earnest suings for mercy, mingles faith with his petitions, and himself most graciously and kindly intercedes within him and for him with groanings which cannot be uttered. This is \i "praying with the spirit" \i0 ({\cf11 \ul1Co_14:15}) and \i "in the Holy Spirit" \i0 (Jude 20). This is pouring out the heart before God ({\cf11 \ulPsa_62:8}), pouring out the soul before the Lord ({\cf11 \ul1Sa_1:15}); and by this free discharge of the contents of an almost bursting heart, sen{\i"There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Co_10:13-14}.\PAR\PAR Not so, not so, no load of woe Need bring despairing frown; For while we bear it, we can bear, Past that, we lay it down.\PAR\PAR SARAH WILLIAMS.\PAR\PAR Everything which happens, either happens in such wise that them art formed by nature to bear it, or that thou art not formed by nature to bear it. If then, it happens to thee in such way that thou art formed by nature to bear it, do not complain, but bear it as thou art formed by nature to bear it.\PAR\PAR But, if it happens in such wise that thou art not able to bear it, do not complain; for it will perish after it has consumed thee. Remember, however, that thou art formed by nature to bear everything, with respect to which it depends on thy own opinion to make it endurable and tolerable, by thinking that it is either thy interest or thy duty to do this.\PAR\PAR MARCUS ANTONINUS.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "The eternal God is your refuge." \i0 {\cf11 \ulDeu_33:27}\PAR\PAR Who is this eternal God? He is the great and glorious Jehovah, eternal in his Trinity of Persons and in the Unity of his Essence. And what a depth of blessedness there is in this God being an eternal God; and that in and of this eternity, each Person of the Godhead has an equal share. Look at the LOVE of the eternal God. How eternal was that--not a thing of time, not fixed upon us when first brought into being, not issuing out of his bosom first when we were quickened into divine life; but a love from all eternity, as being the love of an eternal God. \i "I have loved y{\i"Why art than cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_42:11}.\PAR\PAR Ah! why by passing clouds oppressed, Should vexing thoughts distract thy breast?\PAR\PAR Turn thou to Him in every pain, Whom never suppliant sought in vain; Thy strength in joy's ecstatic day, Thy hope, when joy has passed away.\PAR\PAR H. F. LYTE.\PAR\PAR Beware of letting your care degenerate into anxiety and unrest; tossed as you are amid the winds and waves of sundry troubles, keep your eyes fixed on the Lord, and say, {\i"Oh, my God, I look to Thee alone; be Thou my guide, my pilot;" \i0}and then be comforted. When the shore is gained, who will heed the toil and the storm? And we shall steer safely through every storm, so long as our heart is right, our intention fervent, our courage steadfast, and our trust fixed on God. If at times we are somewhat stunned by the tempest, never fear; let us take breath, and go on afresh. Do not be disconcerted by the fits of vexation and uneasiness which are sometimes produced by the multiplicity of your domestic worries. No indeed, dearest child, all these are but opportunities of strengthening yourself in the loving, forbearing graces which our dear Lord sets before us.\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR LVAL Matthew 6:9-13. The Lord's Prayer. \par\par This prayer is so familiar to us, that we are in great danger of not considering its weighty\i "Work out\i "Yet does he devise means that his banished be not expelled from him." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Sa_14:14}\PAR\PAR The promise runs, \i "I will bring again that which was driven away" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulEze_34:16}). Guilt, temptation, Satan, doubts, and fears had driven them away from the shelter of the tabernacle. Yet the Lord has respect unto these also. He says, \i "I will bring again." \i0 But how? By nothing but a sense of mercy. It is not by frowns, but by smiles. \i "I drew them," \i0 says the Lord, \i "with cords of a man" \i0 (that is, the tender feelings that are bound up in the human heart), \i "with{\i"Even so, Father; for so it seemed good in Thy sight." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_11:26}.\PAR\PAR Let nothing make thee sad or fretful, Or too regretful; Be still; What God hath ordered must be right, Then find in it thine own delight, My will.\PAR\PAR P. FLEMMING.\PAR\PAR If we listen to our self-love, we shall estimate our lot less by what it is, than by what it is not; shall dwell on its hindrances, and be blind to its possibilities; and, comparing it only with imaginary lives, shall indulge in flattering dreams of what we should do, if we had but power; and give, if we had but wealth; and be, if we had no temptations. We shall be forever querulously pleading our difficulties and privations as excuses for our unloving temper and unfruitful life; and fancying ourselves injured beings, virtually frowning at the dear Providence that loves us, and chafing with a self-torture which invites no pity. If we yield ourselves unto God, and sincerely accept our lot as assigned by Him, we shall count up its contents, and disregard its omissions; and be it as feeble as a cripple's, and as narrow as a child's, shall find in it resources of good surpassing our best economy, and sacred claims that may keep awake our highest will.\PAR\PAR J. MARTINEAU.\PAR\PAR pLVAL|jL.z\> lN0|^@"nP2~`B$pQ3 1  1  \i"For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Php_2:13}\PAR\PAR When God has worked in a man\i "to will,"\i0 and not only worked in him\i "to will,"\i0 but also worked in him\i "to do;"\i0 when he has made him willing to flee from the wrath to come; willing to be saved by the atoning blood and justifying righteousness of Jesus; willing to be saved by sovereign grace as a sinner undone without hope, and glad to be saved in whatever way God is pleased to save him; willing to pass through the fire, to undergo affliction, and to walk in the strait and narrow path; willing to take up the cross and follow J{\i"My times are in Thy hand." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_31:15}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Every purpose of the Lord shall be performed." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJer_51:29}.\PAR\PAR I am so glad! It is such rest to know That Thou hast ordered and appointed all, And wilt yet order and appoint my lot.\PAR\PAR For though so much I cannot understand, And would not choose, has been, and yet may be, Thou choosest, Thou performest, THOU, my Lord.\PAR\PAR This is enough for me.\PAR\PAR F. R. HAVERGAL.\PAR\PAR {\i"We mustn't be in a hurry to fix and choose our own lot; we must wait to be guided. We are led on, like the little children, by a way that we know not.\PAR\PAR It is a vain thought to flee from the work that God appoints us, for the sake of finding a greater blessing to our own souls; as if we could choose for ourselves where we shall find the fulness of the Divine Presence, instead of seeking it where alone it is to be found, in loving obedience."\PAR\PAR GEORGE ELIOT.\PAR\PAR Everywhere and at all times it is in thy power piously to acquiesce in thy present condition, and to behave justly to those who are about thee.\PAR\PAR MARCUS ANTONINUS.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Co_3:18}\PAR\PAR A view of Christ's glory, and a foretaste of the bliss and blessedness it communicates, has a transforming effect upon the soul. We are naturally proud, covetous, and worldly, often led aside by, and grievously entangled in various lusts and passions, prone to evil, averse to good, easily elated by prosperity, soon dejected by adversity, peevish under trials, rebellious under heavy strokes, unthankful for daily mercies of food and clothing, and in other ways ever manifesting our vile origin. To be brought from under the power of the{\i"And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMar_11:25-26}.\PAR\PAR 'Tis not enough to weep my sins, 'Tis but one step to heaven:-- \PAR\PAR When I am kind to others,-- then I know myself forgiven.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR Every relation to mankind, of hate or scorn or neglect, is full of vexation and torment. There is nothing to do with men but to love them; to contemplate their virtues with admiration, their faults with pity and forbearance, and their injuries with forgiveness. Task all the ingenuity of your mind to devise some other thing, but you never can find it. To hate your adversary will not help you; to kill him will not help you; nothing within the compass of the universe can help you, but to love him. But let that love flow out upon all around you, and what could harm you? How many a knot of mystery and misunderstanding would be untied by one word spoken in simple and confiding truth of heart! How many a solitary place would be made glad if love were there; and how many a dark dwelling would be filled with light!\PAR\PAR ORVILLE DEWEY.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." \i0 {\cf11 \ulEph_6:18}\PAR\PAR If we do not continually \i "pray in the Spirit," \i0 our limbs will, so to speak, shrink, and our armor drop off. The knights of old exercised every day in their full armor, or they could not have borne it, nor used their weapons with dexterity and strength. So must the Christian warrior, by prayer and supplication, \i "exercise himself unto godliness." \i0 To this must be added, \i "watching thereunto." \i0 To watch for the answer; to wait for the appearing of the Lord \i "more than those w{\i"The kingdom of God is within you." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_17:21}.\PAR\PAR Oh, take this heart that I would give Forever to be all Thine own; I to myself no more would live,-- \PAR\PAR Come, Lord, be Thou my King alone.\PAR\PAR G. TERSTEEGEN.\PAR\PAR Herein is the work assigned to the individual soul, to have life in itself, to make our sphere, whatever it is, sufficient for a reign of God within ourselves, for a true and full reign of our Father's abounding spirit,-- thankful, unutterably thankful, if with the place and the companionship assigned to us we are permitted to build an earthly tabernacle of grace and goodness and holy love, a home like a temple; but, should this be denied us, resolved for our own souls that God shall reign there, for ourselves at least that we will not, by sin or disobedience or impious distrust, break with our own wills, our filial connection with our Father,-- that whether joyful or sorrowing, struggling with the perplexity and foulness of circumstance, or in an atmosphere of peace, whether in dear fellowship or alone, our desire and prayer shall be that God may have in us a realm where His will is law, and where obedience and submission spring, not from calculating prudence or ungodly fear, but from communion of spirit, ever humble aspiration, and ever loving trust.\PAR\PAR J. H. THOM.\PAR\PAR _LVALk\i "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." \i0 {\cf11 \ulMat_5:16}\PAR\PAR To glorify God is the highest ambition of angels. The brightest seraph before the throne has no higher aim, no greater happiness, than to bring glory to his name. And yet a poor sinner on earth may glorify God as much, and in some way more, than the brightest angel in the courts of eternal bliss. What different views the eyes of God and the eyes of men take of events passing on the earth. What glory is brought to God by all the victories gained by one country over another? I have thought sometimes that a poor old man, or feeble, decrepit woman, lying on a workhouse pallet, fighting with sin, self and Satan, yet enabled amid all to look to the Lord Jesus, and by a word from his lips overcoming death and hell, though when dead thrust into an cheap coffin, to rot in a pauper's grave, brings more glory to God than all the exploits of Nelson or Wellington, and that such victories are more glorious than those of Waterloo or Trafalgar. \PAR\PAR It is tru{\i"The Lord preserveth the simple." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPSa116:6}.\PAR\PAR Thy home is with the humble, Lord!\PAR\PAR The simple are Thy rest; Thy lodging is in childlike hearts; Thou makest there Thy nest.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR This deliverance of the soul from all useless and selfish and unquiet cares, brings to it an unspeakable peace and freedom; this is true simplicity. This state of entire resignation and perpetual acquiescence produces true liberty; and this liberty brings perfect simplicity. The soul which knows no self-seeking, no interested ends, is thoroughly candid; it goes straight forward without hindrance; its path opens daily more and more to {\i"perfect day," \i0}in proportion as its self-renunciation and its self-forgetfulness increase; and its peace, amid whatever troubles beset it, will be as boundless as the depths of the sea.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR 6LVALB\i "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_10:1}\PAR\PAR Here are three marks whereby you may know whether you have entered by faith into the sheepfold. First, have you any evidence of being saved in the Lord Jesus Christ with an everlasting salvation? Secondly, have you felt any blessed and holy freedom and liberty of going in and coming out of the heavenly sheepfold? Thirdly, have you found pasture? Sometimes finding pasture in the ordinances of God's house; sometimes in the sacred truths of the gospel, as you read or hear the word of truth; and especially in partaking by faith of the flesh and blood of the Lamb.\PAR\PAR But there may be those who are in this spot. They see plai{\i"Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Ki_20:11}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Put on the whole armor of God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEph_6:11}.\PAR\PAR Was I not girded for the battle-field?\PAR\PAR Bore I not helm of pride and glittering sword?\PAR\PAR Behold the fragments of my broken shield, And lend to me Thy heavenly armor, Lord!\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR Oh, be at least able to say in that day,-- Lord, I am no hero. I have been careless, cowardly, sometimes all but mutinous. Punishment I have deserved, I deny it not. But a traitor I have never been; a deserter I have never been. I have tried to fight on Thy side in Thy battle against evil. I have tried to do the duty which lay nearest me; and to leave whatever Thou didst commit to my charge a little better than I found it. I have not been good, but I have at least tried to be good. Take the will for the deed, good Lord. Strike not my unworthy name off the roll-call of the noble and victorious army, which is the blessed company of all faithful people; and let me, too, be found written in the Book of Life; even though I stand the lowest and last upon its list. Amen.\PAR\PAR C. KINGSLEY.\PAR\PAR ~LVALeEe55e=`n'X\<\uxueueue={\i"In the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulExo_16:7}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_12:11-12}.\PAR\PAR Every day is a fresh beginning, Every morn is the world made new.\PAR\PAR You who are weary of sorrow and sinning, Here is a beautiful hope for you; A hope for me and a hope for you.\PAR\PAR SUSAN COOLIDGE.\PAR\PAR Be patient with every one, but above all with yourself. I mean, do not be disturbed because of your imperfections, and always rise up bravely from a fall. I am glad that you make a daily new beginning; there is no better means of progress in the spiritual life than to be continually beginning afresh, and never to think that we have done enough.\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR Because perseverance is so difficult, even when supported by the grace of God, thence is the value of new beginnings. For new beginnings are the life of perseverance.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR {\i"And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_32:17}.\PAR\PAR The heart that ministers for Thee In Thy own work will rest; And the subject spirit of a child Can serve Thy children best.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR It matters not where or what we are, so we be His servants. They are happy who have a wide field and great strength to fulfil His missions of compassion; and they, too, are blessed who, in sheltered homes and narrow ways of duty, wait upon Him in lowly services of love. Wise or simple, gifted or slender in knowledge, in the world's gaze or in hidden paths, high or low, encompassed by affections and joys of home, or lonely and content in God alone, what matters, so that they bear the seal of the living God? Blessed company, unknown to each other, unknowing even themselves!\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR LVALq\i "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 1Pe_1:3}\PAR\PAR The resurrection of Jesus Christ was God's grand attestation to the truth of his divine mission and Sonship, for by it he was\i "declared to be the Son of God with power."\i0 It therefore set a divine stamp upon his sacrifice, blood shedding, and death; showed God's acceptance of his offering; and that sin was thus forever put away. Now, just t{\i"Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulAct_24:16}.\PAR\PAR {\i"I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_32:8}.\PAR\PAR Oh, keep thy conscience sensitive; No inward token miss; And go where grace entices thee;-- \PAR\PAR Perfection lies in this.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR We need only obey. There is guidance for each of us, and by lowly listening we shall hear the right word.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR The heights of Christian perfection can only be reached by faithfully each moment following the Guide who is to lead you there, and He reveals your way to you one step at a time, in the little things of your daily lives, asking only on your part that you yield yourselves up to His guidance. If then, in anything you feel doubtful or troubled, be sure that it is the voice of your Lord, and surrender it at once to His bidding, rejoicing with a great joy that He has begun thus to lead and guide you.\PAR\PAR H. W. SMITH.\PAR\PAR  LVAL,,N,,   DataID]] AOIndex\i "Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Joh_20:17}\PAR\PAR Why your Father? Because my Father. Why your God? Because my God. As his only-begotten Son from all eternity, God was the God of our Lord Jesus Christ; as the Father's messenger and servant, doing his will upon earth, even in his lowest humiliation, God was his God; and now that he has risen from the dead and gone u{\i"He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_130:8}.\PAR\PAR Be it according to Thy word; Redeem me from all sin; My heart would now receive Thee, Lord, Come in, my Lord, come in!\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR When you wake, or as soon as you are dressed, offer up your whole self to God, soul and body, thoughts and purposes and desires, to be for that day what He wills. Think of the occasions of the sin likely to befall you, and go, as a child, to your Father which is in heaven, and tell Him in childlike, simple words, your trials-- in some such simple words as these-- {\i"Thou knowest, good Lord, that I am tempted to-- [_then name the temptations to it, and the ways in which you sin, as well as you know them_]. But, good Lord, for love of Thee, I would this day keep wholly from all [_naming the sin_] and be very [naming the opposite grace]. I will not, by Thy grace, do one [N.] act, or speak one [N.] word, or give one [N.]\PAR\PAR look, or harbor one [N.] thought in my soul. If Thou allow any of these temptations to come upon me this day, I desire to think, speak, and do only what Thou willest. Lord, without Thee I can do nothing; with Thee I can do all."\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR qLVAL} mind! God alone, by his Holy Spirit, can enlighten this darkness. Jesus came to give sight to the blind. Has he given it to us? Our actions show whether he has or n\i "The just shall live by faith."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Rom_1:17}\PAR\PAR A life of faith in Christ is as necessary to our present and experimental salvation, as his death upon the cross was to our past and actual salvation. If you are alive to what you are as a poor fallen sinner, you see yourself surrounded by enemies, temptations, sins, and snares; and you feel yourself utterly defenseless, as weak as water, without any strength to stand against them. Pressed down by the weight of unbelief, you see a mountain of difficulty before your eyes, sometimes in providence and sometimes in grace. You find, also, that your heart is a cage of unclean birds, and that in you, that is, in your flesh, there dwells{\i"Look at the generations of old, and see; did ever any trust in the Lord, and was confounded? or did any abide in His fear, and was forsaken? or whom did He ever despise, that called upon Him?" \i0}-- ECCLESIASTICUS 2:10.\PAR\PAR {\i"Remember, O Lord, Thy tender mercies, and Thy loving-kindnesses; for they have been ever of old." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_25:6}.\PAR\PAR My Father! see I trust the faithfulness displayed of old, I trust the love that never can grow cold-- \PAR\PAR I trust in Thee.\PAR\PAR CHRISTIAN INTELLIGENCER.\PAR\PAR Be not so much discouraged in the sight of what is yet to be done, as comforted in His good-will towards thee. 'Tis true, He hath chastened thee with rods and sore afflictions; but did He ever take away His loving-kindness from thee? or did His faithfulness ever fail in the sorest, blackest, thickest, darkest night that ever befell thee?\PAR\PAR I. PENINGTON.\PAR\PAR WE call Him the {\i"_God of our fathers_;" \i0}and we feel that there is some stability at centre, while we can tell our cares to One listening at our right hand, by whom theirs are remembered and removed.\PAR\PAR J. MARTINEAU.\PAR\PAR LVALMatthew 6:24 to end. Christ forbids worldly anxiety. \par\par Our Savior had charged his disciples not to lay up treasures upon earth. In this passage He gives them another command that appears much more difficult to obey, that is, He forbids them to be anxiouather's house, seeks to derive some pleasure from the things of time and sense, erects some idol, and falls down to worship it. \PAR\PAR But notwithstanding all this, \i "the son abides forever." \i0 The Father of all his people in Christ does not disinherit his dear children; and though earthly parents may disinherit theirs, God's family are never cast out of the inheritance. The true-born Israelite who had waxed poor and sold himself unto the stranger was to obtain his freedom in the year of jubilee ({\cf11 \ulLev_25:47}; {\cf11 \ulLev_25:54}), and to return to his own house and his own estate. So the son who has departed from his Father's house, and sold himself under sin, and become a slave to t{\i"He stayeth His rough wind in the day of the east wind." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_27:8}.\PAR\PAR {\i"A bruised reed shall He not break." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulISa_42:3}.\PAR\PAR All my life I still have found, And I will forget it never; Every sorrow hath its bound, And no cross endures forever.\PAR\PAR All things else have but their day, God's love only lasts for aye.\PAR\PAR P. GERHARDT.\PAR\PAR We never have more than we can bear. The present hour we are always able to endure. As our day, so is our strength. If the trials of many years were gathered into one, they would overwhelm us; therefore, in pity to our little strength, He sends first one, then another, then removes both, and lays on a third, heavier, perhaps, than either; but all is so wisely measured to our strength that the bruised reed is never broken. We do not enough look at our trials in this continuous and successive view. Each one is sent to teach us something, and altogether they have a lesson which is beyond the power of any to teach alone.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." \i0 {\cf11 \ulIsa_7:14}\PAR\PAR The Deity of the Son of God shines all through the sacred page. It is the grand cardinal point, on which all the doctrines of grace turn; and he that is unsound there, is unsound everywhere. The Godhead of Christ does not rest upon a few texts of Scripture, but it shines all through the Scripture; it is the light of the Scripture, and it is the life of the Scripture. Take away the Deity of Jesus out of the Scripture, and you would do the same thing spiritually as though you blotted the sun out of the sky naturally; the sacred page would be one black darkness. But the Person of Jesus is not Deity only. No man can see God and live; we could not bear to look upon pure Deity. And therefore the Son of God has taken into union with himself our nature; he has \i "take{\i"I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulISa_42:6}.\PAR\PAR {\i"O keep my soul, and deliver me: for I put my trust in Thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_25:20}.\PAR\PAR I do not ask my cross to understand, My way to see; Better in darkness just to feel Thy hand, And follow Thee.\PAR\PAR ADELAIDE A. PROCTER.\PAR\PAR O Lord, if only my will may remain right and firm towards Thee, do with me whatsoever it shall please Thee. For it cannot be anything but good, whatsoever Thou shalt do with me. If it be Thy will I should be in darkness, be Thou blessed; and, if it be Thy will I should be in light, be Thou again blessed. If Thou vouchsafe to comfort me, be Thou blessed; and, if Thou wilt have me afflicted, be Thou equally blessed. O Lord! for Thy sake I will cheerfully suffer whatever shall come on me with Thy permission.\PAR\PAR THOMAS A KEMPIS.\PAR\PAR My soul could not incline itself on the one side or the other, since another will had taken the place of its own; but only nourished itself with the daily providences of God.\PAR\PAR MADAME GUYON.\PAR\PAR 8LVALD\i "As the truth is in Jesus." \i0 {\cf11 \ulEph_4:21}\PAR\PAR Without truth there is no regeneration; for it is by \i "the word of truth" \i0 that we are begotten and born again ({\cf11 \ulJas_1:18}; {\cf11 \ul1Pe_1:23}). Without truth there is no justification; for we are justified by faith, which faith consists in crediting God's truth, and so gives peace with God. Without the truth there is no sanctification; for the Lord himself says, \i "Sanctify them through your truth--your word is truth." \i0 And without the truth there is no salvation; for \i "God has chosen us to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." \i0 \PAR\PAR And as the truth is the instrumental cause of all these blessings, the divinely-appointed means whereby they become manifested mercies, so truth enters{\i"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_27:1}.\PAR\PAR Thou hidden Source of calm repose, Thou all-sufficient Love divine, My Help and Refuge from my foes, Secure I am while Thou art mine:\PAR\PAR And lo! from sin, and grief, and shame, I hide me, Father, in Thy name.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR Whatever troubles come on you, of mind, body, or estate, from within or from without, from chance or from intent, from friends or foes-- whatever your trouble be, though you be lonely, O children of a heavenly Father, be not afraid!\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR Whatsoever befalleth thee, receive it not from the hand of any creature, but from Him alone, and render back all to Him, seeking in all things His pleasure and honor, the purifying and subduing of thyself. What can harm thee, when all must first touch God, within whom thou hast enclosed thyself?\PAR\PAR R. LEIGHTON.\PAR\PAR How God rejoices over a soul, which, surrounded on all sides by suffering and misery, does that upon earth which the angels do in heaven; namely, loves, adores, and praises God!\PAR\PAR G. TERSTEEGEN.\PAR\PAR gLVALs\i "Fools die for lack of wisdom." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPro_10:21}\PAR\PAR There is such a connection between true wisdom, which is \i "a knowledge of the holy" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulPro_30:3}), and the fear of the Lord; and such a connection between ignorance of the Lord and sin, that saved saints are called \i "wise," \i0 and lost sinners are called \i "fools," \i0 not only in the Old Testament, as continually in the Proverbs, but in the New. Many of the Lord's people look with suspicion upon knowledge, from not seeing clearly the vast distinction between the spiritual, experimental knowledge for which we are now contending, and what is called \i "head knowledge." \i0 They see that a man may have a well-furnished head and a graceless heart, that he may understand \i "all mysteries and all knowledge," \i0 and yet be \i "nothing" \i0 ({\cf11 \ul1Co_13:2}); and as some{\i"Be ye kind one to another." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEph_4:32}.\PAR\PAR She doeth little kindnesses Which most leave undone or despise; For nought which sets one heart at ease, And giveth happiness or peace, Is low-esteemed in her eyes.\PAR\PAR J. R. LOWELL.\PAR\PAR What was the secret of such a one's power? What had she done? Absolutely nothing; but radiant smiles, beaming good-humor, the tact of divining what every one felt and every one wanted, told that she had got out of self and learned to think of others; so that at one time it showed itself in deprecating the quarrel, which lowering brows and raised tones already showed to be impending, by sweet words; at another, by smoothing an invalid's pillow; at another, by soothing a sobbing child; at another, by humoring and softening a father who had returned weary and ill-tempered from the irritating cares of business. None but she saw those things. None but a loving heart {\i"could" \i0}see them. That was the secret of her heavenly power. The one who will be found in trial capable of great acts of love, is ever the one who is always doing considerate small ones.\PAR\PAR F. W. ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR [LVALg\i "Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_15:3} \PAR\PAR What God does, he does by the word of his grace and the influences which accompany that word; forever bear in mind that God does nothing but by his word. The sanctifying, cleansing effects therefore which attend the word of his grace under the operations of the Spirit are spoken of as \i "the washing of water by the word" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulEph_5:26}). \i "The word" \i0 is the written Scripture; the \i "water" \i0 is the power of the Holy Spirit; the \i "washing" \i0 is the cleansing effect of the application of the word. Let me ask you this question, if you doubt my words, How are we to get the burden and gui{\i"Love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Jn_4:7}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel (or {\i"complaint") against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulCol_3:13}.\PAR\PAR Oh, might we all our lineage prove, Give and forgive, do good and love; By soft endearments, in kind strife, Lightening the load of daily life.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR We may, if we choose, make the worst of one another. Every one has his weak points; every one has his faults: we may make the worst of these; we may fix our attention constantly upon these. But we may also make the best of one another. We may forgive, even as we hope to be forgiven. We may put ourselves in the place of others, and ask what we should wish to be done to us, and thought of us, were we in their place. By loving whatever is lovable in those around us, love will flow back from them to us, and life will become a pleasure instead of a pain; and earth will become like heaven; and we shall become not unworthy followers of Him whose name is Love.\PAR\PAR A. P. STANLEY.\PAR\PAR zLVALMatthew 7:1-6. Christ forbids hypocritical judgment. \par\par The Lord Jesus had been warning his disciples against many of the evil practices of the Pharisees. There was no sin to which they were more addicted than to "judging." They did not judge righteous judgmen\i "O Lord, correct me, but with judgment; not in your anger, lest you bring me to nothing."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul Jer_10:24}\PAR\PAR \i "Fury is not in me,"\i0 says the Lord. No; there is no wrath in the bosom of God against his people. They are forever\i "accepted in the Beloved,"\i0 and stand in him before the throne of God without spot or wrinkle. But there is displeasure against their sins; and this displeasure their kind and gracious Father makes them feel when he withdraws from them the light of his countenance, and sends his keen reproofs and sharp rebukes into their conscience. But these very\i "judgments"\i{\i"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever: forsake not the-- works of Thine own hands." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_138:8}.\PAR\PAR As God leads me, will I go,-- \PAR\PAR Nor choose my way; Let Him choose the joy or woe Of every day:\PAR\PAR They cannot hurt my soul, Because in His control:\PAR\PAR I leave to Him the whole,-- \PAR\PAR His children may.\PAR\PAR L. GEDICKE.\PAR\PAR Why is it that we are so busy with the future? It is not {\i"our" \i0}province; and is there not a criminal interference with Him to whom it belongs, in our feverish, anxious attempts to dispose of it, and in filling it up with shadows of good and evil shaped by our own wild imaginations? To do God's will as fast as it is made known to us, to inquire hourly-- I had almost said each moment-- what He requires of us, and to leave ourselves, our friends, and every interest at His control, with a cheerful trust that the path which He marks out leads to our perfection and to Himself,-- this is at once our duty and happiness; and why will we not walk in the plain, simple way?\PAR\PAR WILLIAM E. CHANNING.\PAR\PAR LVAL$Matthew 7:7-11. Christ promises that prayer shall be answered. \par\par This is one of the most encouraging passages \i "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and his word was in my tongue."\i0 - {\cf11 \ul 2Sa_23:2}\PAR\PAR We read that\i "no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation;"\i0 that is to say, it is the public property of the whole family of Jehovah; and\i "holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit;"\i0 the Holy Spirit so influencing and working upon their minds as to make them bring forth out of their hearts that which should be suitable to the whole family of God. For instance, we read in Psalm 51, David's confession of sin; but David's confession of sin applies to every soul tha eye-strings are breaking in death, what c{\i"When He giveth quietness, who then can make trouble?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJob_34:29}.\PAR\PAR {\i"None of these things move me." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulAct_20:24}.\PAR\PAR I've many a cross to take up now, And many left behind; But present troubles move me not, Nor shake my quiet mind.\PAR\PAR And what may be to-morrow's cross I never seek to find; My Father says, {\i"Leave that to me, And keep a quiet mind."\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR Let us then think only of the present, and not even permit our minds to wander with curiosity into the future. This future is not yet ours; perhaps it never will be. It is exposing ourselves to temptation to wish to anticipate God, and to prepare ourselves for things which He may not destine for us. If such things should come to pass, He will give us light and strength according to the need. Why should we desire to meet difficulties prematurely, when we have neither strength nor light as yet provided for them? Let us give heed to the present, whose duties are pressing; it is fidelity to the present which prepares us for fidelity in the future.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR Every hour comes with some little fagot of God's will fastened upon its back.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR 9LVALEMatthew 7:12-14. Christ describes the wrong and the right way. \par\par Who can hear our Savior's golden rule without approving it! And who can hear it without condemning himself! "Do for others what you would like them to do for you." He who has kept the same is a perfect man, and has done all the law and prophets taught. We must confess with sorrow that we have broken it a\i "My grace is sufficient for you -- for my strength is made perfect in weakness."\i0 {\cf11 \ul 2Co_12:9}\PAR\PAR How mysterious are God's dealings! That such a highly-favored man as Paul should come down from the\i "third heaven"\i0 to the very gates of hell (that is not too strong an expression, for\i "the messenger of Satan"\i0 came from hell), that he should sink in soul-feeling to the very gates of hell, there to be buffeted by\i {\i"Be strong, and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid ... for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulDeu_31:6}.\PAR\PAR The timid it concerns to ask their way, And fear what foe in caves and swamps can stray, To make no step until the event is known, And ills to come as evils past bemoan.\PAR\PAR Not so the wise; no coward watch he keeps To spy what danger on his pathway creeps; Go where he will, the wise man is at home, His hearth the earth,-- his hall the azure dome; Where his clear spirit leads him, there's his road, By God's own light illumined and foreshowed.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR Though I sympathize, I do not share in the least the feeling of being disheartened and cast down. It is not things of this sort that depress me, or ever will. The contrary things, praise, openings, the feeling of the greatness of my work, and my inability in relation to it, these things oppress and cast me down; but little hindrances, and closing up of accustomed or expected avenues, and the presence of difficulties to be overcome,-- I'm not going to be cast down by trifles such as these.\PAR\PAR JAMES HINTON.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Draw me; we will run after you! Let the king bring me into his chambers."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Son_1:4}\PAR\PAR How many of us can take the words of the bride into our lips, or have ever been able at any one time of our life to use such an expression? We must he great God that inhabits eternity, before whom the highest angels and brightest seraphs bow with holy adoration! \PAR\PAR Well may we say, \i "What are all the glorious exploits that men are so proud of, compared with the tribute of glory rendered to God by his suffering saints?" \i0 You may feel yourself one of the poorest, vilest, neediest worms of earth; and yet if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with a living faith, hope in his mercy, love his dear name, and in your vocation adorn his doctrine by a godly, consistent life, you are privileged above princes and nobles, yes, even above crowned hea{\i"And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_58:11}.\PAR\PAR Wherever He may guide me, No want shall turn me back; My Shepherd is beside me, And nothing can I lack.\PAR\PAR His wisdom ever waketh, His sight is never dim,-- \PAR\PAR He knows the way He taketh, And I will walk with Him.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR Abandon yourself to His care and guidance, as a sheep in the care of a shepherd, and trust Him utterly. No matter though you may seem to yourself to be in the very midst of a desert, with nothing green about you, inwardly or outwardly, and may think you will have to make a long journey before you can get into the green pastures. Our Shepherd will turn that very place where you are into green pastures, for He has power to make the desert rejoice and blossom as a rose.\PAR\PAR H. W. SMITH.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "But we see Jesus."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Heb_2:9}\PAR\PAR Did your eyes ever see him? Do look into conscience -- did your eyes ever see Jesus? I do not mean your natural, your bodily eyes; but the eye of faith, the eye of the soul. I will tell you what you have felt, if you ever saw Jesus. Your heart was softened and melted, your affections drawn heavenward, your soul penetrated with thankfulness and praise, your conscience sprinkled with atoning blood, your min{\i"Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_12:2}.\PAR\PAR Father, let our faithful mind Rest, on Thee alone inclined; Every anxious thought repress, Keep our souls in perfect peace.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR Retirement from anxieties of every kind; entering into no disputes; avoiding all frivolous talk; and simplifying everything we engage in, whether in a way of doing or suffering; denying the, imagination its false activities, and the intellect its false searchings after what it cannot obtain,-- these seem to be some of the steps that lead to obedience to the holy precept in our text.\PAR\PAR JAMES P. GREAVES.\PAR\PAR Retire inwardly; wait to feel somewhat of God's Spirit, discovering and drawing away from that which is contrary to His holy nature, and leading into that which is acceptable to Him. As the mind is joined to this, some true light and life is received.\PAR\PAR I. PENINGTON.\PAR\PAR Act up faithfully to your convictions; and when you have been unfaithful, bear with yourself, and resume always with calm simplicity your little task. Suppress, as much as you possibly can, all recurrence to yourself, and you will suppress much vanity. Accustom yourself to much calmness and an indifference to events.\PAR\PAR MADAME GUYON.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Heb_5:8}\PAR\PAR Our gracious Lord had to learn obedience to the will of God by a personal experience of suffering, and especially by an implicit submission to his heavenly Father's will. And what was this will? That he should take upon himself the huge debt which his bride had incurred by original{\i"Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_24:9}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Ye are the temple of the living God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Co_6:16}.\PAR\PAR Fling wide the portals of your heart, Make it a temple set apart From earthly use for Heaven's employ, Adorned with prayer, and love, and joy.\PAR\PAR So shall your Sovereign enter in, And new and nobler life begin.\PAR\PAR G. WEISSEL.\PAR\PAR Thou art to know that thy soul is the centre, habitation, and kingdom of God. That, therefore, to the end the sovereign King may rest on that throne of thy soul, thou oughtest to take pains to keep it clean, quiet, and peaceable,-- clean from guilt and defects; quiet from fears; and peaceable in temptations and tribulations. Thou oughtest always, then, to keep thine heart in peace, that thou mayest keep pure that temple of God; and with a right and pure intention thou art to work, pray, obey, and suffer (without being in the least moved), whatever it pleases the Lord to send unto thee.\PAR\PAR M. DE MOLINOS AoR5jM0eH+}`C& x[>!sV9nQ4it is in Jesus? First od @ c q@ b +@ a @ ` @ _ @ ^ @ ] @ \ E@  [ @  Z @  Y @  X @  W @ V @ U C@ T @ S@ RD@ Q'@ P=@ O>@ N@ M!@ L@ K@ J@ I@ HF@ GR@ FN@ Ey@ D3@ C6@ B@ A f@ @ @ ? @ > @ = @ <;@ ;J@ :7@ 9@ 8L@ 7@ 6@ 5@ 4X@ 3N@ 2@ 1B@ 0k@ /@ .@ -S@ ,s@ +~@ *@ )V@ (}@ '~@ &@ %@ $H@ HLVALT\i "Of his own will he begat us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJas_1:18}\PAR\PAR If we look at the work of the Spirit on the heart, we shall see how, in all his sacred dealings and gracious movements, he invariably employs truth as his grand instrument. Does he pierce and wound? It is by the truth; for the \i "sword of the Spirit is the word of God," \i0 and that we know is \i "the word of truth." \i0 If he mercifully heals, if he kindly blesses, it is still by means of truth; for the promise is, \i "Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth." \i0 And when he thus comes, it is as a Comforter, according to those gracious words, \i "But when the Comforter has come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit{\i"Oh how great is Thy goodness, which Thou hast laid up for them that fear Thee; which Thou hast wrought for them that trust in Thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_31:19}.\PAR\PAR {\i"I will sing unto the Lord, because He hath dealt bountifully with me." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_13:6}.\PAR\PAR Thy calmness bends serene above My restlessness to still; Around me flows Thy quickening life, To nerve my faltering will; Thy presence fills my solitude; Thy providence turns all to good.\PAR\PAR S. LONGFELLOW.\PAR\PAR With a heart devoted to God and full of God, no longer seek Him in the heavens above or the earth beneath, or in the things under the earth, but recognize Him as the great fact of the universe, separate from no place or part, but revealed in all places and in all things and events, {\i"moment by moment." \i0}And as eternity alone will exhaust this momentary revelation, which has sometimes been called the ETERNAL Now, thou shalt thus find God ever present and ever new; and thy soul shall adore Him and feed upon Him in the things and events which each new moment brings; and thou shalt never be absent from Him, and He shall never be absent from thee.\PAR\PAR T. C. UPHAM.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_10:1}\PAR\PAR Here are three marks whereby you may know whether you have entered by faith into the sheepfold. First, have you any evidence of being saved in the Lord Jesus Christ with an everlasting salvation? Secondly, have you felt any blessed and holy freedom and liberty of going in and coming out of the heavenly sheepfold? Thirdly, have you found pasture? Sometimes finding pasture in the ordinances of God's house; sometimes in the sacred truths of the gospel, as you read or hear the word of truth; and especially in partaking by faith of the flesh and blood of the Lamb.\PAR\PAR But there may be those who are in this spot. They see plainly that Christ is the door, and are fully convinced there is no other way of entrance into the fold but by him; and yet they do not seem to have entered personally and e{\i"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_8:18}.\PAR\PAR {\i"The power of an endless life." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_7:16}.\PAR\PAR Believ'st thou in eternal things?\PAR\PAR Thou knowest, in thy inmost heart, Thou art not clay; thy soul hath wings, And what thou seest is but part.\PAR\PAR Make this thy med'cine for the smart Of every day's distress; be dumb, In each new loss thou truly art Tasting the power of things that come.\PAR\PAR T. W. Parsons.\PAR\PAR Every contradiction of our will, every little ailment, every petty disappointment, will, if we take it patiently, become a blessing. So, walking on earth, we may be in heaven; the ill-tempers of others, the slights and rudenesses of the world, ill-health, the daily accidents with which God has mercifully strewed our paths, instead of ruffling or disturbing our peace, may cause His peace to be shed abroad in our hearts abundantly.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR vLVAL\i "Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." \i0 {\cf11 \ulIsa_7:14}\PAR\PAR The Deity of the Son of God shines all through the sacred page. It is the grand cardinal point, on which all the doctrines of grace turn; and he that is unsound there, is unsound everywhere. The Godhead of Christ does not rest upon a few texts of Scripture, but it shines all through the Scripture; it is the light of the Scripture, and it is the life of the Scripture. Take away the Deity of Jesus out of the Scripture, and you would do the same thing spiritually as though you blotted the sun out of the sky naturally; the sacred page would be one black darkness. But the Person of Jesus is not Deity only. No man can see God and live; we could not bear to look upon pure Deity. And therefore the Son of God has taken into union with himself our nature; he ha{\i"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJoh_13:34}.\PAR\PAR {\i"And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love, one toward another, and toward all men." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Th_3:12}.\PAR\PAR Let love through all my conduct shine, An image fair, though faint, of Thine; Thus let me His disciple prove, Who came to manifest Thy love.\PAR\PAR Simon Browne.\PAR\PAR We should arrive at a fulness of love extending to the whole creation, a desire to impart, to pour out in full and copious streams the love and goodness we bear to all around us.\PAR\PAR J. P. GREAVES.\PAR\PAR Goodness and love mould the form into their own image, and cause the joy and beauty of love to shine forth from every part of the face. When this form of love is seen, it appears ineffably beautiful, and affects with delight the inmost life of the soul.\PAR\PAR E. SWEDENBORG.\PAR\PAR The soul within had so often lighted up her countenance with its own full happiness and joy, that something of a permanent radiance remained upon it.\PAR\PAR SARAH W. STEPHEN.\PAR\PAR wLVAL\i "As the truth is in Jesus." \i0 {\cf11 \ulEph_4:21}\PAR\PAR Without truth there is no regeneration; for it is by \i "the word of truth" \i0 that we are begotten and born again ({\cf11 \ulJas_1:18}; {\cf11 \ul1Pe_1:23}). Without truth there is no justification; for we are justified by faith, which faith consists in crediting God's truth, and so gives peace with God. Without the truth there is no sanctification; for the Lord himself says, \i "Sanctify them through your truth--your word is truth." \i0 And without the truth there is no salvation; for \i "God has chosen us to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." \i0 \PAR\PAR And as the truth is the instrumental cause of all these blessings, the divinely-appointed means whereby they become manifested mercies, so truth enters into and is received by all the graces of the Spirit as they c{\i"The Lord is good to all: and His tender mercies are over all His works." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_145:9}.\PAR\PAR {\i"For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_1:10}.\PAR\PAR Maker of earth and sea and sky, Creation's sovereign Lord and King, Who hung the starry worlds on high, And formed alike the sparrow's wing; Bless the dumb creatures of Thy care, And listen to their voiceless prayer.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR I believe where the love of God is verily perfected, and the true spirit of government watchfully attended to, a tenderness towards all creatures made subject to us will be experienced; and a care felt in us, that we do not lessen that sweetness of life in the animal creation, which the great Creator intends for them under our government. To say we love God as unseen, and at the same time exercise cruelty toward the least creature moving by His life, or by life derived from Him, was a contradiction in itself.\PAR\PAR JOHN WOOLMAN.\PAR\PAR I would give nothing for that man's religion whose very dog and cat are not the better for it.\PAR\PAR ROWLAND HILL.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Fools die for lack of wisdom." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPro_10:21}\PAR\PAR There is such a connection between true wisdom, which is \i "a knowledge of the holy" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulPro_30:3}), and the fear of the Lord; and such a connection between ignorance of the Lord and sin, that saved saints are called \i "wise," \i0 and lost sinners are called \i "fools," \i0 not only in the Old Testament, as continually in the Proverbs, but in the New. Many of the Lord's people look with suspicion upon knowledge, from not seeing clearly the vast distinction between the spiritual, experimental knowledge for which we are now contending, and what is called \i "head knowledge." \i0 {\i"Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for naught, and in vain." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_49:4}.\PAR\PAR Because I spent the strength Thou gavest me In struggle which Thou never didst ordain, And have but dregs of life to offer Thee-- \PAR\PAR O Lord, I do repent.\PAR\PAR SARAH WILLIAMS.\PAR\PAR Mind, it is our best work that He wants, not the dregs of our exhaustion. I think He must prefer quality to quantity.\PAR\PAR GEORGE MACDONALD.\PAR\PAR If the people about you are carrying on their business or their benevolence at a pace which drains the life out of you, resolutely take a slower pace; be called a laggard, make less money, accomplish less work than they, but be what you were meant to be and can be. You have your natural limit of power as much as an engine,-- ten-horse power, or twenty, or a hundred. You are fit to do certain kinds of work, and you need a certain kind and amount of fuel, and a certain kind of handling.\PAR\PAR GEORGE S. MERRIAM.\PAR\PAR In your occupations, try to possess your soul in peace. It is not a good plan to be in haste to perform any action that it may be the sooner over.\PAR\PAR On the contrary, you should accustom yourself to do whatever you have to do with tranquillity, in order that you may retain the possession of yourself and of settled peace.\PAR\PAR MADAME GUYON.\PAR\PAR SLVAL_ \i "For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he has gained, when God takes away his soul? Will God hear his cry when trouble come\i "Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_15:3} \PAR\PAR What God does, he does by the word of his grace and the influences which accompany that word; forever bear in mind that God does nothing but by his word. The sanctifying, cleansing effects therefore which attend the word of his grace under the operations of the Spirit are spoken of as \i "the washing of water by the word" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulEph_5:26}). \i "The word" \i0 is the written Scripture; the \i "water" \i0 is the power of the Holy Spirit; the \i "washing" \i0 is the cleansing effect of the application of the word. Let me ask you this question, if you doubt my words, How are we to get the burden{\i"For which cause we faint not; but, though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Co_4:16}.\PAR\PAR Let my soul beneath her load Faint not through the o'erwearied flesh; Let me hourly drink afresh Love and peace from Thee, my God!\PAR\PAR C. F. RICHTER.\PAR\PAR In my attempts to promote the comfort of my family, the quiet of my spirit has been disturbed. Some of this is doubtless owing to physical weakness; but, with every temptation, there is a way of escape; there is {\i"never" \i0}any {\i"need" \i0}to sin. Another thing I have suffered loss from,-- entering into the business of the day without seeking to have my spirit quieted and directed.\PAR\PAR So many things press upon me, this is sometimes neglected; shame to me that it should be so.\PAR\PAR This is of great importance, to watch carefully,-- now I am so weak-- not to over-fatigue myself, because then I cannot contribute to the pleasure of others; and a placid face and a gentle tone will make my family more happy than anything else I can do for them. Our own will gets sadly into the performance of our duties sometimes.\PAR\PAR ELIZABETH T. KING.\PAR\PAR vLVAL\`\e%ueeeee=pa'\\`\e%%%eeee=`h'\`\eeeueuE%=0}'\`\ueee%ueu=po'\X`\eueueeeu=` ' \`\%ueeueee=`d'\ \`\ueeu%eu%=`c' \T`\uu%ueEee=p '!\`\%%ueue5e=` 'X!\`\ue%e%e%u=`g'!\P`\uE%ee%{\i"Whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even they shall understand the loving-kindness of the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_112:43}.\PAR\PAR What channel needs our faith, except the eyes?\PAR\PAR God leaves no spot of earth unglorified; Profuse and wasteful, lovelinesses rise; New beauties dawn before the old have died.\PAR\PAR Trust thou thy joys in keeping of the Power Who holds these changing shadows in His hand; Believe and live, and know that hour by hour Will ripple newer beauty to thy strand.\PAR\PAR T. W. HIGGINSON.\PAR\PAR I wondered over again for the hundredth time what could be the principle which, in the wildest, most lawless, fantastically chaotic, apparently capricious work of nature, always kept it beautiful. The beauty of holiness must be at the heart of it somehow, I thought. Because our God is so free from stain, so loving, so unselfish, so good, so altogether what He wants us to be, so holy, therefore all His works declare Him in beauty; His fingers can touch nothing but to mould it into loveliness; and even the play of His elements is in grace and tenderness of form.\PAR\PAR G. MACDONALD.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "I have poured out my soul before the Lord." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Sa_1:15}\PAR\PAR How much there is in that expression pouring out the soul before the Lord! Shall I use a familiar figure to illustrate it, as sometimes familiar figures are best adapted to that purpose? Look at a sack of corn; you know, when the mouth of the sack is tied up, there is no pouring out its contents; but let the sack be opened and thrown down, and then its contents are immediately poured out, and the rich grain falls upon the floor. Our hearts are sometimes like the sack with the mouth tied; there are desires, pantings, and longings; there are needs, and{\i"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_10:27}.\PAR\PAR O God, what offering shall I give To Thee, the Lord of earth and skies?\PAR\PAR My spirit, soul, and flesh receive, A holy, living sacrifice.\PAR\PAR J. LANGE.\PAR\PAR To love God {\i"with all our heart," \i0}is to know the spiritual passion of measureless gratitude for loving-kindness, and self-devotedness to goodness; to love Him {\i"with all our mind," \i0}is to know the passion for Truth that is the enthusiasm of Science, the passion for Beauty that inspires the poet and the artist, when all truth and beauty are regarded as the self-revealings of God; to love Him {\i"with all our soul," \i0}is to know the saint's rapture of devotion and gaze of penitential awe into the face of the All-holy, the saint's abhorrence of sin, and agony of desire to save a sinner's soul; and to love Him {\i"with all our strength," \i0}is the supreme spiritual passion that tests the rest; the passion for reality, for worship in spirit and in truth, for being what we adore, for doing what we know to be God's word; the loyalty that exacts the living sacrifice, the whole burnt-offering that is our reasonable service, and in our coldest hours keeps steadfast to what seemed good when we were aglow.\PAR\PAR J. H. THOM.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "What man is he that fears the Lord? him shall he teach in the way that he shall choose."\i0 {\cf11 \\i "O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you."{\cf11 \ul2Ch_20:12}\PAR\PAR Jehoshaphat did not know what to do; he was altogether at his wit's end; and yet he took the wisest course a man could take. This is the beauty of it; that when we are fools, then we are wise; when we are weak, then we are strong; when we know not what to do, then we do the only right thing. O had Jehoshaphat taken any other course; had he collected an army, sent through Judah, raised troops and forged swords and spears he would certainly have been defeated! But not knowing what to do, he did the very thing he should do. \i "Our eyes are upon you." \i0 \i "You must fight our battles; y{\i"Walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto His kingdom and glory." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Th_2:12}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulGen_28:16}.\PAR\PAR Thou earnest not to thy place by accident, It is the very place God meant for thee; And shouldst thou there small scope for action see, Do not for this give room to discontent.\PAR\PAR R. C. TRENCH.\PAR\PAR Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR Adapt thyself to the things with which thy lot has been cast; and love the men with whom it is thy portion to live, and that with a sincere affection.\PAR\PAR No longer be either dissatisfied with thy present lot, or shrink from the future.\PAR\PAR MARCUS ANTONINUS.\PAR\PAR I love best to have each thing in its season, doing without it at all other times. I have never got over my surprise that I should have been born into the most estimable place in all the world, and in the very nick of time too.\PAR\PAR H. D. THOREAU.\PAR\PAR :LVALF\i "Behold, I will lay your stones with fair colors."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Isa_54:11}\PAR\PAR By these\i "stones,"\i0 which the Lord has promised to\i "lay with fair colors,"\i0 I think we may understand the blessed truths of the gospel which are laid into the soul by the hand of God. The fair colors are deeply ingrained and {\i"He knoweth the way that I take." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJob_23:10}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPro_20:24}.\PAR\PAR Be quiet, why this anxious heed About thy tangled ways?\PAR\PAR God knows them all, He giveth speed, And He allows delays.\PAR\PAR E. W.\PAR\PAR We complain of the slow, dull life we are forced to lead, of our humble sphere of action, of our low position in the scale of society, of our having no room to make ourselves known, of our wasted energies, of our years of patience. So do we say that we have no Father who is directing our life; so do we say that God has forgotten us; so do we boldly judge what life is best for us, and so by our complaining do we lose the use and profit of the quiet years. O men of little faith! Because you are not sent out yet into your labor, do you think God has ceased to remember you?\PAR\PAR Because you are forced to be outwardly inactive, do you think you, also, may not be, in your years of quiet, {\i"about your Father's business"?\i0} It is a period given to us in which to mature ourselves for the work which God will give us to do.\PAR\PAR STOPFORD A. BROOKE.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "And I will make your windows of agates, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your walls of pleasant stones."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Isa_54:12}\PAR\PAR Upon Zion in her time-state\i "the Sun of righteousness"\i0 does not shine in all his brightness; the\i "windows of agate,"\i0 while she is in the flesh, temper his rays. Her prospects, also, are not fully bright and clear; as the Apostle speaks,\i "We see through"\i0 (or in)\i "a glass darkly;"\i0 we have not those clear views which the saints have in glory, where they see Jesus face to face. We have prospects sometimes, I hope, in our souls, of God, and Christ, and heavenly glory; but still these views are but semi-transparent, streaked and clouded like a window of agate, not bright and clear as a pane of plate glass. But as Daniel opened his windows toward Jerusalem, that he might see by faith what he could not see by sight more go down, for the Lord shall be their everlasting light;" \i0 that they shall have \i "{\i"They that trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even for ever." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_125:1-2}.\PAR\PAR How on a rock they stand, Who watch His eye, and hold His guiding hand!\PAR\PAR Not half so fixed amid her vassal hills, Rises the holy pile that Kedron's valley fills.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR That is the way to be immovable in the midst of troubles, as a rock amidst the waves. When God is in the midst of a kingdom or city, He makes it firm as Mount Sion, that cannot be removed. When He is in the midst of a soul, though calamities throng about it on all hands, and roar like the billows of the sea, yet there is a constant calm within, such a peace as the world can neither give nor take away. What is it but want of lodging God in the soul, and that in His stead the world is in men's hearts, that makes them shake like leaves at every blast of danger?\PAR\PAR R. LEIGHTON.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Behold, I will lay your stones with fair colors."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Isa_54:11}\PAR\PAR By these\i "stones,"\i0 which the Lord has promised to\i "lay with fair colors,"\i0 I think we may understand the blessed truths of the gospel which are laid into the soul by the hand of God. The fair colors are deeply ingrained and embedded in the very substance of the stone, not artificially laid on. They are{\i"He that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_13:23}.\PAR\PAR Then bless thy secret growth, nor catch At noise, but thrive unseen and dumb; Keep clean, bear fruit, earn life, and watch Till the white-winged reapers come.\PAR\PAR H. VAUGHAN.\PAR\PAR He does not need to transplant us into a different field, but right where we are, with just the circumstances that surround us, He makes His sun to shine and His dew to fall upon us, and transforms the very things that were before our greatest hindrances, into the chiefest and most blessed means of our growth. No difficulties in your case can baffle Him. No dwarfing of your growth in years that are past, no apparent dryness of your inward springs of life, no crookedness or deformity in any of your past development, can in the least mar the perfect work that He will accomplish, if you will only put yourselves absolutely into His hands, and let Him have His own way with you.\PAR\PAR H. W. SMITH.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "I will lay your foundations with sapphires."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Isa_54:11}\PAR\PAR Before we can stand firmly in the things of God we must have a good foundation, something solid for our faith, our hope, our lov{\i"But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Th_4:13}.\PAR\PAR Yet Love will dream, and Faith will trust (Since He who knows our need is just), That somehow, somewhere, meet we must.\PAR\PAR Alas for him who never sees The stars shine through his cypress trees; Who hath not learned in hours of faith, The truth to flesh and sense unknown, That life is ever Lord of Death, And Love can never lose its own.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR While we poor wayfarers still toil, with hot and bleeding feet, along the highway and the dust of life, our companions have but mounted the divergent path, to explore the more sacred streams, and visit the diviner vales, and wander amid the everlasting Alps, of God's upper province of creation. And so we keep up the courage of our hearts, and refresh ourselves with the memories of love, and travel forward in the ways of duty, with less weary step, feeling ever for the hand of God, and listening for the domestic voices of the immortals whose happy welcome waits us. Death, in short, under the Christian aspect, is but God's method of colonization; the transition from this mother-country of our race to the fairer and newer world of our emigration.\PAR\PAR J. MARTINEAU.\PAR\PAR  LVAL,\i "And I will make your windows of agates, and your gates of carbuncles, and all your walls of pleasant stones."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Isa_54:12}\PAR\PAR Upon Zion in her time-state\i "the Sun of righteousness"\i0 does not shine in all his brightness; the\i "windows of agate,"\i0 while she is in the flesh, temper his rays. Her prospects, also, are not fully bright and clear; as the Apostle speaks,\i "We see through"\i0 (or in)\i "a glass darkly;"\i0 we have not those clear views which the saints have in glory, where they see Jesus face to face. We have prospects sometimes, I hope, in our souls, of God, and Christ, and heavenly glory; but still these views are but semi-transparent, streaked and clouded like a window of agate, not bright and clear as a pane of plate glass. But as Daniel opene{\i"But this I say, brethren, the time is short." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Co_7:29}.\PAR\PAR I sometimes feel the thread of life is slender, And soon with me the labor will be wrought; Then grows my heart to other hearts more tender.\PAR\PAR The time is short.\PAR\PAR D. M. CRAIK.\PAR\PAR Oh, my dear friends, you who are letting miserable misunderstandings run on from year to year, meaning to clear them up some day; you who are keeping wretched quarrels alive because you cannot quite make up your mind that now is the day to sacrifice your pride and kill them; you who are passing men sullenly upon the street, not speaking to them out of some silly spite, and yet knowing that it would fill you with shame and remorse if you heard that one of those men were dead tomorrow morning; you who are letting your neighbor starve, till you hear that he is dying of starvation; or letting your friend's heart ache for a word of appreciation or sympathy, which you mean to give him some day,-- if you only could know and see and feel, all of a sudden, that {\i"the time is short," \i0}how it would break the spell! How you would go instantly and do the thing which you might never have another chance to do.\PAR\PAR PHILLIPS BROOKS.\PAR\PAR LVALThey sought to kill a pious nobleman, because he would not believe the errors which they taught. At last they obtained their heart's desire; for Lord Cobham was sentenced by the English parliament to be hung in chains and roasted over a slow fire!\par\par Christ has told us how we are to detect false teachers when disguised in a fleece-by their fruits. The fruits of the Spirit are love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodn ourselves, to make our prayers acceptable to God. Perish the thought! It is nothing but the spawn of self-righteousness. The\i "gates of carbuncle,"\i0 the open wounds of the Lamb, through these{\i"Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to Thy mercy remember Thou me for Thy goodness' sake, O Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_25:7}.\PAR\PAR When on my aching, burdened heart My sins lie heavily, My pardon speak, new peace impart, In love remember me.\PAR\PAR T. HAWEIS.\PAR\PAR We need to know that our sins are forgiven. And how shall we know this? By feeling that we have peace with God,-- by feeling that we are able so to trust in the divine compassion and infinite tenderness of our Father, as to arise and go to Him, whenever we commit sin, and say at once to Him, {\i"Father, I have sinned; forgive me." \i0}To know that we are forgiven, it is only necessary to look at our Father's love till it sinks into our heart, to open our soul to Him till He shall pour His love into it; to wait on Him till we find peace, till our conscience no longer torments us, till the weight of responsibility ceases to be an oppressive burden to us, till we can feel that our sins, great as they are, cannot keep us away from our Heavenly Father.\PAR\PAR J. F. CLARKE.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Eph_1:17}\PAR\PAR Revelation means literally an uncovering or unveiling of a concealed or covered-up object. It is used, therefore, sometimes in the sense of manifesting, making known, or bringing to light, what had before been hidden in darkness and obscurity. This revelation is, therefore, either outward in the word, or inward in the soul, and the two strictly correspond to and are counterparts of each other. Immediately when, by the power of divine grace, a poor Gentile sinner turns to the Lord, the Spirit of revelation removes {\i"I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto Me; for I have redeemed thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_44:22}.\PAR\PAR {\i"He will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMic_7:19}.\PAR\PAR If my shut eyes should dare their lids to part, I know how they must quail beneath the blaze Of Thy Love's greatness. No; I dare not raise One prayer, to look aloft, lest it should gaze On such forgiveness as would break my heart.\PAR\PAR H. S. SUTTON.\PAR\PAR O Lord God gracious and merciful, give us, I entreat Thee, a humble trust in Thy mercy, and suffer not our heart to fail us. Though our sins be seven, though our sins be seventy times seven, though our sins be more in number than the hairs of our head, yet give us grace in loving penitence to cast ourselves down into the depth of Thy compassion. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord. Amen.\PAR\PAR C. G. ROSSETTI.\PAR\PAR Reformatted for e-Sword by David Cox\par dcox@davidcox.com.mxLVAL({\i"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also is become my salvation." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_12:2}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMar_4:40}.\PAR\PAR Still heavy is thy heart?\PAR\PAR Still sink thy spirits down?\PAR\PAR Cast off the weight, let fear depart, And every care be gone.\PAR\PAR P. GERHARDT.\PAR\PAR Go on in all simplicity; do not be so anxious to win a quiet mind, and it will be all the quieter. Do not examine so closely into the progress of your soul. Do not crave so much to be perfect, but let your spiritual life be formed by your duties, and by the actions which are called forth by circumstances. Do not take overmuch thought for to-morrow. God, who has led you safely on so far, will lead you on to the end. Be altogether at rest in the loving holy confidence which you ought to have in His heavenly Providence.\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR {\i"Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry: for anger resteth in the bosom of fools." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEcc_7:9}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Let not the sun go down upon your wrath"-\i0}- {\cf11 \ulEph_4:26}.\PAR\PAR Quench thou the fires of hate and strife, The wasting fever of the heart; From perils guard our feeble life, And to our souls Thy peace impart.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN, {\i"Tr. from Latin."\PAR\PAR When thou art offended or annoyed by others, suffer not thy thoughts to dwell thereon, or on anything relating to them. For example, {\i"that they ought not so to have treated thee; who they are, or whom they think themselves to be;" \i0}or the like; for all this is fuel and kindling of wrath, anger, and hatred.\PAR\PAR L. SCUPOLI.\PAR\PAR Struggle diligently against your impatience, and strive to be amiable and gentle, in season and out of season, towards every one, however much they may vex and annoy you, and be sure God will bless your efforts.\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them; I will say, It is my people -- and they shall say, The Lord is my God."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Zec_13:9}\PAR\PAR It is a mercy to be in the furnace, and it is a mercy to be brought through it. The Lord's promise to the third part is, that he will bring them through the fire. They must therefore, acc{\i"Thou hast made him exceeding glad with Thy countenance." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_21:6}.\PAR\PAR MY heart for gladness springs, It cannot more be sad, For very joy it laughs and sings, Sees nought but sunshine glad.\PAR\PAR P. GERHARDT.\PAR\PAR A new day rose upon me. It was as if another sun had risen into the sky; the heavens were indescribably brighter, and the earth fairer; and that day has gone on brightening to the present hour. I have known the other joys of life, I suppose, as much as most men; I have known art and beauty, music and gladness; I have known friendship and love and family ties; but it is certain that till we see GOD in the world-- GOD in the bright and boundless universe-- we never know the highest joy. It is far more than if one were translated to a world a thousand times fairer than this; for that supreme and central Light of Infinite Love and Wisdom, shining over this world and all worlds, alone can show us how noble and beautiful, how fair and glorious they are.\PAR\PAR ORVILLE DEWEY.\PAR\PAR When I look like this into the blue sky, it seems so deep, so peaceful, so full of a mysterious tenderness, that I could lie for centuries and wait for the dawning of the face of God out of the awful loving-kindness.\PAR\PAR G. MACDONALD.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man who is my fellow, says the Lord of hosts."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Zec_13:7}\PAR\PAR Would we see, feel, and realize the exceeding sinfulness of sin, it is not by viewing the lightnings and hearing the thunders of Sinai's fiery top, but in seeing the agony and bloody sweat, and hearing the groans and cries of the suffering Son of God, as made sin for us, in the garden and upon the cross. To look upon him whom we have pierced will fill heart and eyes with godly sorrow for sin, and a holy mourning for and over a martyred, injured Lord. To see, by the eye of faith, as revealed to the soul by the power of God, the darling Son of God bound, scourged, buffeted, spit upon, mocked, and then, as the climax of cruel scorn and infernal cruelty, crucified between two thieves -- this believing sight of the suffe{\i"He satisfieth the longing soul, and the hungry soul He filleth with good." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_112:9} (R. V.).\PAR\PAR {\i"That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEph_3:19}.\PAR\PAR Enough that He who made can fill the soul Here and hereafter till its deeps o'erflow; Enough that love and tenderness control Our fate where'er in joy or doubt we go.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR O God, the Life of the Faithful, the Bliss of the righteous, mercifully receive the prayers of Thy suppliants, that the souls which thirst for Thy promises may evermore be filled from Thy abundance. Amen.\PAR\PAR GELASIAN SACRAMENTARY, A. D. 490.\PAR\PAR God makes every common thing serve, if thou wilt, to enlarge that capacity of bliss in His love. Not a prayer, not an act of faithfulness in your calling, not a self-denying or kind word or deed, done out of love for Himself; not a weariness or painfulness endured patiently; not a duty performed; not a temptation resisted; but it enlarges the whole soul for the endless capacity of the love of God.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "But of him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption--that, according as it is written, He that glories, let him glory in the Lord." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Co_1:30}; {\cf11 \ul1Co_1:31}\PAR\PAR Wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. God has made Christ all these to his people. He has set him up as their eternal Head, made him the Bridegroom of their souls, that out of his fullness they may all receive. Then, just in proportion as they learn these two lessons--what they are, and what he is--they receive him into their hearts actually what he is to them in the purpose of God. \PAR\PAR Am I a fool? Do I feel it and know it? Have I had painful experience of it, so that all my creature wisd{\i"O receive the gift that is given you, and be glad, giving thanks unto Him that hath called you to the heavenly kingdom." \i0}-- 2 {\cf11 \ulEzr_2:37}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Co_9:15}.\PAR\PAR O Giver of each perfect gift!\PAR\PAR This day our daily bread supply; While from the Spirit's tranquil depths We drink unfailing draughts of joy.\PAR\PAR LYRA CATHOLICA.\PAR\PAR The best way for a man rightly to enjoy himself, is to maintain a universal, ready, and cheerful compliance with the divine and uncreated Will in all things; as knowing that nothing can issue and flow forth from the fountain of goodness but that which is good; and therefore a good man is never offended with any piece of divine dispensation, nor hath he any reluctancy against that Will that dictates and determines all things by an eternal rule of goodness; as knowing that there is an unbounded and almighty Love that, without any disdain or envy, freely communicates itself to everything He made; that always enfolds those in His everlasting arms who are made partakers of His own image, perpetually nourishing and cherishing them with the fresh and vital influences of His grace.\PAR\PAR DR. JOHN SMITH.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be--but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Jo_3:2}\PAR\PAR What Christ is to the Church, what the Church is to Christ, can never be really known until time gives place to eternity, faith to sight, and hope to enjoyment. Nor even then, however beyond all present conception the powers and faculties of the glorified souls and bodies of the saints may be expanded, however conformed to the glorious image of Christ, or however ravished with the discoveries of his glory and the sight of him as he is in one unclouded day--no, not even then, will {\i"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_103:2}.\PAR\PAR Wiser it were to welcome and make ours Whate'er of good, though small, the Present brings,-- \PAR\PAR Kind greetings, sunshine, song of birds, and flowers, With a child's pure delight in little things.\PAR\PAR R. C. TRENCH.\PAR\PAR Into all our lives, in many simple, familiar, homely ways, God infuses this element of joy from the surprises of life, which unexpectedly brighten our days, and fill our eyes with light. He drops this added sweetness into His children's cup, and makes it to run over. The success we were not counting on, the blessing we were not trying after, the strain of music, in the midst of drudgery, the beautiful morning picture or sunset glory thrown in as we pass to or from our daily business, the unsought word of encouragement or expression of sympathy, the sentence that meant for us more than the writer or speaker thought,-- these and a hundred others that every one's experience can supply are instances of what I mean. You may call it accident or chance-- it often is; you may call it human goodness-- it often is; but always, always call it God's love, for that is always in it.\PAR\PAR These are the overflowing riches of His grace, these are His free gifts.\PAR\PAR S. LONGFELLOW.\PAR\PAR LVAL \i "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_6:18}\PAR\PAR It is utterly impossible for God to lie. The earth may be dissolved, and all creation reduced to chaos before God could lie. He would cease to be God if the faintest breath of a change, or the shadow of a turn should pass over the glorious Godhead. But it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore this holds out strong consolation for those that have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before them.\PAR\PAR And what is the ground of this strong consolation? This is the ground, that God has eternally determined and sworn by himself--that he will save and bless those that have \i "fled for refuge to the hope set before them in the gospel." \i0 This is the foundation of their consolation, this is the ground of{\i"If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMar_9:23}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Nothing shall be impossible unto you." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_17:20}.\PAR\PAR So nigh is grandeur to our dust, So near is God to man, When Duty whispers low, {\i"Thou must_, The youth replies, {\i"I can."\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR Know that {\i"impossible," \i0}where truth and mercy and the everlasting voice of nature order, has no place in the brave man's dictionary. That when all men have said {\i"Impossible," \i0}and tumbled noisily elsewhither, and thou alone art left, then first thy time and possibility have come. It is for thee now: do thou that, and ask no man's counsel, but thy own only and God's. Brother, thou hast possibility in thee for much: the possibility of writing on the eternal skies the record of a heroic life.\PAR\PAR T. CARLYLE.\PAR\PAR In the moral world there is nothing impossible, if we bring a thorough will to it. Man can do everything with himself; but he must not attempt to do too much with others.\PAR\PAR WM. VON HUMBOLDT.\PAR\PAR LVAL$ Then Gideon said to God,\i "Please don't be angry with me, but let me make one more request. This time let the fleece remain dry while the ground around it is wet with dew."\i0 So that night God did as Gideon asked. The fleece was dry in the m\i "The God of all grace." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Pe_5:10}\PAR\PAR All we have and are, everything we know and feel, comes from \i "the God of all grace." \i0 We have nothing spiritually good in ourselves; all therefore that we have is the free gift of his hand, and comes from the ever-flowing Fountain of mercy and truth. It will be our mercy, then, as the Lord may enable us, to be ever looking to him, not looking to books, not looking to ministers; these are only instruments, and in themselves but poor instruments. The soul must look through all and above all to \i "the God of all grace." \i0 The Lord enable you to examine every truth as it is brought before you by the light of God's Spirit in your{\i"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulGal_5:1}.\PAR\PAR {\i"I believed, and therefore have I spoken." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Co_4:13}.\PAR\PAR They are slaves who fear to speak For the fallen and the weak; They are slaves who will not choose Hatred, scoffing, and abuse, Rather than in silence shrink From the truth they needs must think; They are slaves who dare not be In the right with two or three.\PAR\PAR J. R. LOWELL.\PAR\PAR The real corrupters of society may be, not the corrupt, but those who have held back the righteous leaven, the salt that has lost its savor, the innocent who have not even the moral courage to show what they think of the effrontery of impurity,-- the serious, who yet timidly succumb before some loud-voiced scoffer,-- the heart trembling all over with religious sensibilities that yet suffers itself through false shame to be beaten down into outward and practical acquiescence by some rude and worldly nature.\PAR\PAR J. H. THOM.\PAR\PAR LVAL'(\i "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Rom_8:2}\PAR\PAR We by nature and practice are slaves to sin and Satan. We are the sport of the prince of the power of the air, who takes us captive at his will. We are held down also by many hurtful lusts; or, if free from gross sin, are slaves to pride, covetousness, or self-righteousness. Perhaps some idol is set up in the chambers of imagery which defiles all the inner man; or some snare of Satan entangles our feet, and we are slaves, without power to liberate ourselves from this cruel slavery. We groan under it, as the children of Israel under their burdens, but, like them, cannot deliver ourselves.\PAR\PAR But sooner or later the truth comes to our aid; th{\i"The things which are impossible with men are possible with God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_18:27}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Unless the Lord had been my help, my soul had almost dwelt in silence." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_94:17}.\PAR\PAR When obstacles and trials seem Like prison-walls to be, I do the little I can do, And leave the rest to Thee.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR The mind never puts forth greater power over itself than when, in great trials, it yields up calmly its desires, affections, interests to God.\PAR\PAR There are seasons when to be {\i"still" \i0}demands immeasurably higher strength than to act. Composure is often the highest result of power. Think you it demands no power to calm the stormy elements of passion, to moderate the vehemence of desire, to throw off the load of dejection, to suppress every repining thought, when the dearest hopes are withered, and to turn the wounded spirit from dangerous reveries and wasting grief, to the quiet discharge of ordinary duties? Is there no power put forth, when a man, stripped of his property, of the fruits of a life's labors, quells discontent and gloomy forebodings, and serenely and patiently returns to the tasks which Providence assigns?\PAR\PAR WM. E. CHANNING.\PAR\PAR LVAL \i "A friend lov{\i"The Lord thy God shall bless thee in all thy works, and in all that thou puttest thine hand unto." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulDeu_15:10}.\PAR\PAR My place of lowly service, too, Beneath Thy sheltering wings I see; For all the work I have to do Is done through strengthening rest in Thee.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR I think I find most help in trying to look on all interruptions and hindrances to work that one has planned out for oneself as discipline, trials sent by God to help one against getting selfish over one's work. Then one can feel that perhaps one's true work-- one's work for God-- consists in doing some trifling haphazard thing that has been thrown into one's day. It is not waste of time, as one is tempted to think, it is the most important part of the work of the day,-- the part one can best offer to God. After such a hindrance, do not rush after the planned work; trust that the time to finish it will be given sometime, and keep a quiet heart about it.\PAR\PAR ANNIE KEARY.\PAR\PAR {\i"The cup which my Father has given me, shall I not drink it?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJoh_18:11}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Whatsoever is brought upon thee, take cheerfully." \i0}-- ECCLESIASTICUS 2:4.\PAR\PAR Every sorrow, every smart, That the Eternal Father's heart Hath appointed me of yore, Or hath yet for me in store, As my life flows on, I 'll take Calmly, gladly, for His sake, No more faithless murmurs make P. GERHARDT.\PAR\PAR The very least and the very greatest sorrows that God ever suffers to befall thee, proceed from the depths of His unspeakable love; and such great love were better for thee than the highest and best gifts besides that He has given thee, or ever could give thee, if thou couldst but see it in this light. So that if your little finger only aches, if you are cold, if you are hungry or thirsty, if others vex you by their words or deeds, or whatever happens to you that causes you distress or pain, it will all help to fit you for a noble and blessed state.\PAR\PAR J. TAULER.\PAR\PAR LVAL%\i "Yet a little while, and the world sees me no more; but you see me--because I live, you shall live also." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_14:19}\PAR\PAR Communion with Christ rests on three things--seeing him by faith, living upon his life, and experiencing his manifested presence. But all these three things depend on his resurrection and a knowledge of its power. As risen from the dead, the saints see him; as risen from the dead, they live a life of faith upon him; as risen from the dead, he manifests himself unto them; and as life and feeling spring up in their souls from sweet communion with him, the power of his resurrection becomes manifest in them.\PAR\PAR This communion, therefore, with the Lord Jesus as a risen Head all the reconciled and justified saints of God are pressing forward after, according to the measure of their grace and the life and power of God in their soul. It is indeed often sadly interrupted and grievously broken through, by the sin that dwells in us. But the principle is there, for that principle is life; and li{\i"Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_10:25}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEcc_9:10}.\PAR\PAR {\i"What shall I do to gain eternal life?"\PAR\PAR {\i"Discharge aright The simple dues with which each day is rife, Yea, with thy might."\PAR\PAR F. VON SCHILLER.\PAR\PAR A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work, and done his best; but what he has said or done otherwise, shall give him no peace.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR Be diligent, after thy power, to do deeds of love. Think nothing too little, nothing too low, to do lovingly for the sake of God. Bear with infirmities, ungentle tempers, contradictions; visit, if thou mayest, the sick; relieve the poor; forego thyself and thine own ways for love; and He whom in them thou lovest, to whom in them thou ministerest, will own thy love, and will pour His own love into thee.\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips--for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." \i0 {\cf11 \ulIsa_6:5}\PAR\PAR God has described his Zion as \i "full of wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." \i0 When the Church of God fell in Adam, she fell with a crash which broke every bone and bruised her flesh with wounds which are ulcerated from top to toe. Her understanding, her conscience, and her affections were all fearfully maimed. Her understanding was blinded; her conscience stupified, and her affections alienated. Every mental faculty thus became perverted and distorted. \PAR\PAR As in a ship-wrecked vessel the water runs in through every leak, so when Adam fell upon the lee-shore of sin and temptation, and made shipwreck of the image of God in which he was created, sin rushed into ev{\i"In your patience possess ye your souls." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_21:19}.\PAR\PAR What though thy way be dark, and earth With ceaseless care do cark, till mirth To thee no sweet strain singeth; Still hide thy life above, and still Believe that God is love; fulfil Whatever lot He bringeth.\PAR\PAR ALBERT E. EVANS.\PAR\PAR The soul loses command of itself when it is impatient. Whereas, when it submits without a murmur it possesses itself in peace, and possesses God.\PAR\PAR To be impatient, is to desire what we have not, or not to desire what we have. When we acquiesce in an evil, it is no longer such. Why make a real calamity of it by resistance? Peace does not dwell in outward things, but within the soul. We may preserve it in the midst of the bitterest pain, if our will remains firm and submissive. Peace in this life springs from acquiescence even in disagreeable things, not in an exemption from bearing them.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR The chief pang of most trials is not so much the actual suffering itself, as our own spirit of resistance to it.\PAR\PAR JEAN NICOLAS GROU.\PAR\PAR  LVAL,\i "We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Co_4:13}\PAR\PAR There is a distinction to be made between faith and the spirit of faith. The spirit of faith is faith in exercise. Faith sometimes is like a day in which there is no wind blowing. It is so calm, that there scarcely appears to be any air stirring to move a leaf. But after a time a gentle breeze comes and blows over the earth. Thus it is with faith and the spirit of faith. Faith in repose is like the calm air of a summer's day, when there is nothing moving or stirring; faith acting, faith in exercise, is like the same air in the gentle breeze which makes itself sensibly felt. If God has given me faith, that fa{\i"I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_121:1}.\PAR\PAR {\i"My grace is sufficient for thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Co_12:9}.\PAR\PAR I look to Thee in every need, And never look in vain; I feel Thy touch, Eternal Love, And all is well again:\PAR\PAR The thought of Thee is mightier far Than sin and pain and sorrow are.\PAR\PAR S. LONGFELLOW.\PAR\PAR How can you live sweetly amid the vexatious things, the irritating things, the multitude of little worries and frets, which lie all along your way, and which you cannot evade? You cannot at present change your surroundings.\PAR\PAR Whatever kind of life you are to live, must be lived amid precisely the experiences in which you are now moving. Here you must win your victories or suffer your defeats. No restlessness or discontent can change your lot.\PAR\PAR Others may have other circumstances surrounding them, but here are yours.\PAR\PAR You had better make up your mind to accept what you cannot alter. You can live a beautiful life in the midst of your present circumstances.\PAR\PAR J. R. MILLER.\PAR\PAR Strive to realize a state of inward happiness, independent of circumstances.\PAR\PAR J. P. GREAVES.\PAR\PAR LVALX\\='X\\\='X\\='X\\='X\X\='X\\='X\\='X\T\='X\\`{\i"God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Ti_1:7}.\PAR\PAR 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.\PAR\PAR HYMNS OF THE SPIRIT.\PAR\PAR 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.\PAR\PAR THOMAS ARNOLD.\PAR\PAR LVALThou Wilt Revive Me\par\par "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me" (Ps. 138:7).\par\par The Hebrew rendering\i "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit--and these three are one." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Jo_5:7}\PAR\PAR All God's people are led into a knowledge of the Trinity; not indeed by metaphysical reasoning or subtle arguments addressed to the understanding. The Spirit teaches them, not by reasoning addressed to the head, but by the power and dew of divine truth resting upon the heart. All God's people learn the doctrine of the Trinity in their souls. They learn, under divine teaching, the authority, justice, majesty, holiness, and in due time feel the love of God the FATHER. They learn the Godhead of CHRIST in their souls, by seeing and feeling the power of his blood, as the blood of God ({\cf11 \ulAct_20:28}), and his righteousness as the \i "righteousness of God." \i{\i"Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulGal_6:7}.\PAR\PAR The life above, when this is past, Is the ripe fruit of life below.\PAR\PAR Sow love, and taste its fruitage pure; Sow peace, and reap its harvest bright; Sow sunbeams on the rock and moor, And find a harvest-home of light.\PAR\PAR H. BONAR.\PAR\PAR The dispositions, affections, inclinations of soul, which shall issue hereafter in perfection, must be trained and nurtured in us throughout the whole course of this earthly life. When shall we bear in mind this plain truth, that the future perfection of the saints is not a translation from one state or disposition of soul into another, diverse from the former; but the carrying out, and, as it were, the blossom and the fruitage of one and the same principle of spiritual life, which, through their whole career on earth, has been growing with an even strength, putting itself forth in the beginnings and promise of perfection, reaching upward with steadfast aspirations after perfect holiness?\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR {LVAL\i "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life."\i0 {\cf11 \ul 1Ti_6:12}\PAR\PAR It is through faith that the power whereby God keeps his people, acts and is made known, and it is very instructive and encouraging to be able to trace in our own hearts the connection between the power of God and the actings of faith. We are not carried to heaven as passengers are carried by the express train, so that if once in the carriage they may go to sleep, look out of the window, or read the newspaper without fear of losing their way, or not reaching their destination. Though kept by the power of God, we have to fight every step of the way.\PAR\PAR It is this living, fighting, struggling, and yet eventually conquering faith, which sets the tried and exercised child of God at such a distance t endures it, is not drawn out of the path {\i"O turn unto me, and have mercy upon me; give Thy strength unto Thy servant, and save the son of Thy handmaid." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_86:16}.\PAR\PAR Thou art my King-- \PAR\PAR My King henceforth alone; And I, Thy servant, Lord, am all Thine own.\PAR\PAR Give me Thy strength; oh! let Thy dwelling be In this poor heart that pants, my Lord, for Thee!\PAR\PAR G. TERSTEEGEN.\PAR\PAR When it is the one ruling, never-ceasing desire of our hearts, that God may be the beginning and end, the reason and motive, the rule and measure, of our doing or not doing, from morning to night; then everywhere, whether speaking or silent, whether inwardly or outwardly employed, we are equally offered up to the eternal Spirit, have our life in Him and from Him, and are united to Him by that Spirit of Prayer which is the comfort, the support, the strength and security of the soul, travelling, by the help of God, through the vanity of time into the riches of eternity. Let us have no thought or care, but how to be wholly His devoted instruments; everywhere, and in everything, His adoring, joyful, and thankful servants.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR LVAL{\i"Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God"-\i0}- {\cf11 \ul1Jn_3:21}.\PAR\PAR O Lord, how happy is the time When in Thy love I rest:\PAR\PAR When from my weariness I climb E'en to Thy tender breast.\PAR\PAR The night of sorrow endeth there, Thy rays outshine the sun; And in Thy pardon and Thy care The heaven of heavens is won.\PAR\PAR W. C. DESSLER.\PAR\PAR Nothing doth so much establish the mind amidst the rollings and turbulency of present things, as both a look above them, and a look beyond them; above them to the good and steady Hand by which they are ruled, and beyond them to the sweet and beautiful end to which, by that Hand, they shall be brought. Study pure and holy walking, if you would have your confidence firm, and have boldness and joy in God. You will find that a little sin will shake your trust and disturb your peace more than the greatest sufferings: yea, in those sufferings, your assurance and joy in God will grow and abound most if sin be kept out. So much sin as gets in, so much peace will go out.\PAR\PAR R. LEIGHTON.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Psa_57:3}\PAR\PAR And where is God's mercy revealed? Outwardly in the word of God; inwardly in the heart. And it is by sending his mercy into the conscience, shedding abroad his love in the soul, manifesting his pardoning favor within, that God\i "saves from the reproach of him {\i"Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_27:11}.\PAR\PAR Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom, Lead Thou me on; The night is dark, and I am far from home, Lead Thou me on.\PAR\PAR Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see The distant scene; one step enough for me.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR God only is holy; He alone knows how to lead His children in the paths of holiness. He knows every aspect of your soul, every thought of your heart, every secret of your character, its difficulties and hindrances; He knows how to mould you to His will, and lead you onwards to perfect sanctification; He knows exactly how each event, each trial, each temptation, will tell upon you, and He disposes all things accordingly. The consequences of this belief, if fully grasped, will influence your whole life. You will seek to give yourself up to God more and more unreservedly, asking nothing, refusing nothing, wishing nothing, but what He wills; not seeking to bring things about for yourself, taking all He sends joyfully, and believing the {\i"one step" \i0}set before you to be enough for you. You will be satisfied that even though there are clouds around, and your way seems dark, He is directing all, and that what seems a hindrance will prove a blessing, since He wills it.\PAR\PAR JEAN NICOLAS GROU.\PAR\PAR LVAL{\i"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart:\PAR\PAR wait, I say, on the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_27:14}.\PAR\PAR {\i"He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might He increaseth strength." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_40:29}.\PAR\PAR Leaning on Him, make with reverent meekness His own thy will, And with strength from Him shall thy utter weakness Life's task fulfil.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR Should we feel at times disheartened and discouraged, a confiding thought, a simple movement of heart towards God will renew our powers. Whatever He may demand of us, He will give us at the moment the strength and the courage that we need.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR We require a certain firmness in all circumstances of life, even the happiest, and perhaps contradictions come in order to prove and exercise this; and, if we can only determine so to use them, the very effort brings back tranquillity to the soul, which always enjoys having exercised its strength in conformity to duty.\PAR\PAR WM. VON HUMBOLDT.\PAR\PAR 2LVAL>th of the fish, was a type of his bursting the barriers of the tomb. \par\par It may surprise us to know that Jesus would be three days and three nights in his grave, seeing he only lay there from Friday evening to Sunday morning. But the Jews had a peculiar way of reckoning time-they considered a day and night as one period, and they counted a part of this period, as if it were the whole. Therefore, as Jesus was part of three days in the grave, he was there three days and three nights, according to the Jewish mode of speaking. \par\par The Savior well knew that the Pharisees would not acknowledge him to be the Son of God, even when he rose from the dead; and so it proved; for when he did rise, and when the history of his resurrection was repeated to the chief priests and elders, how did they act? The{\i"We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_15:1}.\PAR\PAR {\i"The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary."\PAR\PAR If there be some weaker one, Give me strength to help him on; If a blinder soul there be, Let me guide him nearer Thee.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR Ask Him to increase your powers of sympathy: to give you more quickness and depth of sympathy, in little things as well as great. Opportunities of doing a kindness are often lost from mere want of thought. Half a dozen lines of kindness may bring sunshine into the whole day of some sick person. Think of the pleasure you might give to some one who is much shut up, and who has fewer pleasures than you have, by sharing with her some little comfort or enjoyment that you have learnt to look upon as a necessary of life,-- the pleasant drive, the new book, flowers from the country, etc. Try to put yourself in another's place. Ask {\i"What should I like myself, if I were hard-worked, or sick, or lonely?" \i0}Cultivate the {\i"habit" \i0}of sympathy.\PAR\PAR G. H. WILKINSON.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "For I was alive without the law once--but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRom_7:9}\PAR\PAR The Apostle describes in his own case how men are affected toward the law before it enters as a condemning sentence into their heart. \i "I was alive without the law once." \i0 The law was hanging over him as a condemning sentence, as a minister of death, as a messenger of wrath, as a consuming fire, but he felt it not. As with a thunderstorm in the remote distance, he might hear the low mutterings of the thunder which once rolled over Sinai's fiery mount, or might see from far the play of those lightnings which scorched its top. But at present the storm was in the distance. He went about without thinking, or feeling, or fearing, or caring whether the law was his friend or enemy. In fact he rather viewed it as his friend, for he was using it as a friendly help to build up his own righteousness. He had gone to it, but it had not come to him; he kn{\i"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_12:1}.\PAR\PAR Thou hast my flesh, Thy hallowed shrine, Devoted solely to Thy will; Here let Thy light forever shine, This house still let Thy presence fill; O Source of Life, live, dwell, and move In me, till all my life be love!\PAR\PAR JOACHIM LANCE.\PAR\PAR May it not be a comfort to those of us who feel we have not the mental or spiritual power that others have, to notice that the living sacrifice mentioned in {\cf11 \ulRom_12:1}, is our {\i"bodies"?\i0} Of course, that includes the mental power, but does it not also include the loving, sympathizing glance, the kind, encouraging word, {\i"the ready errand for another_, the work of our hands, opportunities for all of which come oftener in the day than for the mental power we are often tempted to envy? May we be enabled to offer willingly that which we have.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Therefore in all things it behooved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_2:17}\PAR\PAR God gave the persons of the elect into the hands of his dear Son, as Jacob committed Benjamin into the hands of Judah; and as Judah accepted Benjamin, so Christ accepted the Church and undertook to bring it unto God, or he himself would bear the blame forever. But how this faithfulness was tried! Men tried it; devils tried it; God tried it; but it came gloriously through all. Yet what loads were laid upon it! How the very knees of Jesus, so to speak, staggered beneath it! How, as Deer says, he had- \i "Strength enough, and none to spare!" \i0 \PAR\PAR How he had to sustain the curse of the law and the load of imputed sin! How he had to drink up a very hell of inward torment! How he had to be agonized in body, and more than agonized in{\i"Seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJer_45:5}.\PAR\PAR I would not have the restless will That hurries to and fro, Seeking for some great thing to do, Or secret thing to know; I would be treated as a child, And guided where I go.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR Oh! be little, be little; and then thou wilt be content with little; and if thou feel, now and then, a check or a secret smiting,-- in {\i"that" \i0}is the Father's love; be not over-wise, nor over-eager, in thy own willing, running, and desiring, and thou mayest feel it so; and by degrees come to the knowledge of thy Guide, who will lead thee, step by step, in the path of life, and teach thee to follow. Be still, and wait for light and strength.\PAR\PAR I. PENINGTON.\PAR\PAR Sink into the sweet and blessed littleness, where thou livest by grace alone. Contemplate with delight the holiness and goodness in God, which thou dost not find in thyself. How lovely it is to be nothing when God is all!\PAR\PAR G. TERSTEEGEN.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "For to be carnally-minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRom_8:6}\PAR\PAR One of the most blessed marks of regenerating grace and the sure fruit of the love of God shed abroad in the heart, is that spiritual-mindedness of which Paul declares, it is \i "life and peace." \i0 \i "To be spiritually-minded," \i0 to live and walk under the blessed power and influence of the Holy Spirit, to have the heart and affections drawn up from this poor, vain scene, to where Jesus sits at the right hand of God, this is \i "life," \i0 the life of God in the soul, with all its present blessedness and all its future glory, and \i "peace," \i0 for peace and rest are alone to be found in this path of union and communion with a glorified Redeemer. \PAR\PAR In this sweet spirituality of mind, in these heavenly affections, and in this communion with the Lord at his own throne of grace, the life and power of godliness much consist. We trust we kn{\i"And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares, and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_8:14}.\PAR\PAR Preserve me from my calling's snare, And hide my simple heart above, Above the thorns of choking care, The gilded baits of worldly love.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR Anything allowed in the heart which is contrary to the will of God, let it seem ever so insignificant, or be ever so deeply hidden, will cause us to fall before our enemies. Any root of bitterness cherished towards another, any self-seeking, any harsh judgments indulged in, any slackness in obeying the voice of the Lord, any doubtful habits or surroundings, any one of these things will effectually cripple and paralyze our spiritual life. I believe our blessed Guide, the indwelling Holy Spirit, is always secretly discovering these things to us by continual little twinges and pangs of conscience, so that we are left without excuse, H. W. SMITH.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "For we have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_4:15}\PAR\PAR Our gracious Lord experienced temptation in every shape and form, for the word of truth declares that \i "in all points he was tempted like as we are, yet without sin." \i0 I wish to speak very cautiously upon this subject, for upon a point so difficult and so mysterious there is great risk of speaking amiss. So long as we keep strictly within the language of the Scripture we are safe, but the moment that we draw inferences from the word without special guidance by the Spirit of truth, we may greatly err. You may think then, sometimes, that your temptations are such as our gracious Lord never could have been tempted by; but that word of the Apostle decides the question, \i "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." \i0 \PAR\PAR It is a solemn mystery which I c{\i"See that ye refuse not Him that speaketh." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_12:25}.\PAR\PAR From the world of sin and noise And hurry I withdraw; For the small and inward voice I wait with humble awe; Silent am I now and still, Dare not in Thy presence move; To my waiting soul reveal The secret of Thy love.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR When therefore the smallest instinct or desire of thy heart calleth thee towards God, and a newness of life, give it time and leave to speak; and take care thou refuse not Him that speaketh. Be retired, silent, passive, and humbly attentive to this new risen light within thee.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR It is hardly to be wondered at that he should lose the finer consciousness of higher powers and deeper feelings, not from any behavior in itself wrong, but from the hurry, noise, and tumult in the streets of life, that, penetrating too deep into the house of life, dazed and stupefied the silent and lonely watcher in the chamber of conscience, far apart. He had no time to think or feel.\PAR\PAR G. MACDONALD.\PAR\PAR LLVALX\i "And they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." \i0 {\cf11 \ulMat_1:23}\PAR\PAR We must never, even in thought, separate the human nature of our adorable Redeemer from his divine. Even when his sacred body lay in the grave, and was thus for a small space of time severed from his pure and holy soul by death and the tomb, there was no separation of the two natures, for his human soul, after he had once become incarnate in the womb of the Virgin, never was parted from his Deity, but went into paradise in indissoluble union with it. It is a fundamental article of our most holy faith that t{\i"Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulZec_2:13}.\PAR\PAR Be earth, with all her scenes, withdrawn; Let noise and vanity be gone:\PAR\PAR In secret silence of the mind, My heaven, and there my God, I find.\PAR\PAR I. WATTS.\PAR\PAR It is only with the pious affection of the will that we can be spiritually attentive to God. As long as the noisy restlessness of the thoughts goes on, the gentle and holy desires of the new nature are overpowered and inactive.\PAR\PAR J. P. GREAVES.\PAR\PAR There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to us wellnigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always whispering to us, only we do not always hear, because of the noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as it rushes on.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR The prayer of faith is a sincere, sweet, and quiet view of divine, eternal truth. The soul rests quiet, perceiving and loving God; sweetly rejecting all the imaginations that present themselves, calming the mind in the Divine presence, and fixing it only on God.\PAR\PAR M. DE MOLINOS.\PAR\PAR LVAL8\i "My soul faints for your salvation -- but I hope in your word."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Psa_119:81}\PAR\PAR How difficult, for the most part, it is, and we may add, how rare to be able to realize for ourselves, with any degree of abiding permanency, a sweet experimental sense of, and an assured interest in, those spiritua\i "Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be my disciples." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_15:8}\PAR\PAR When the Lord Jesus Christ was upon earth he was in a suffering state; and to this suffering image must all his people be conformed. In that suffering state he brought glory to God; and is now exalted to the right hand of the Father. So those who {\i"Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPhi_1:6}.\PAR\PAR {\i"He that endureth to the end shall be saved." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_10:22}.\PAR\PAR Fill with inviolable peace; Stablish and keep my settled heart; In Thee may all my wanderings cease, From Thee no more may I depart:\PAR\PAR Thy utmost goodness called to prove, Loved with an everlasting love!\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR If any sincere Christian cast himself with his whole will upon the Divine Presence which dwells within him, he shall be kept safe unto the end. What is it that makes us unable to persevere? Is it want of strength? By no means. We have with us the strength of the Holy Spirit. When did we ever set ourselves sincerely to any work according to the will of God, and fail for want of strength? It was not that strength failed the will, but that the will failed first. If we could but embrace the Divine will with the whole love of ours; cleaving to it, and holding fast by it, we should be borne along as upon {\i"the river of the water of life." \i0}We open only certain chambers of our will to the influence of the Divine will. We are afraid of being wholly absorbed into it. And yet, if we would have peace, we must be altogether united to Him.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation." \i0 {\cf11 \ulMat_26:41}\PAR\PAR The entering into temptation is a different thing from temptation itself. \i "Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation." \i0 A temptation presents itself, draws near to us, or we draw near to it. If conscience sounds an alarm, and we keep, so to speak, to the windward of temptation, we are for the present safe. Temptation is a lee shore on which the wind fiercely blows; it is a coast strewed with a thousand wrecks, and with the bleached bones of innumerable drowned mariners. Keep the ship's head to windward, and she may weather the point; neglect sail and helm, and she will go ashore.\PAR\PAR David and Joseph were exposed to a similar temptation. David entered into it, and fell; Joseph was kept from entering into it, and stood. In the country you often see a footpath across a field; if we keep in it we are safe. But we may be tempted{\i"They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee: for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_9:10}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Yea, the Lord shall give that which is good." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_85:12}.\PAR\PAR In Thee I place my trust, On Thee I calmly rest; I know Thee good, I know Thee just, And count Thy choice the best.\PAR\PAR H. F. LYTE.\PAR\PAR The souls that would really be richer in duty in some new position, are precisely those who borrow no excuses from the old one; who even esteem it full of privileges, plenteous in occasions of good, frequent in divine appeals, which they chide their graceless and unloving temper for not heeding more. Wretched and barren is the discontent that quarrels with its tools instead of with its skill; and, by criticising Providence, manages to keep up complacency with self. How gentle should we be, if we were not provoked; how pious, if we were not busy; the sick would be patient, only he is not in health; the obscure would do great things, only he is not conspicuous!\PAR\PAR J. MARTINEAU.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "In that day shall the Branch of the Lord be beautiful and glorious." \i0 {\cf11 \ulIsa_4:2}\PAR\PAR Where in heaven or on earth can there be found such a lovely Object as the Son of God? \i "What is your beloved more than another beloved?" \i0 ask the companions of the Bride. But she answers, \i "My beloved is white and ruddy, the chief among ten thousand." \i0 If, then, you have never seen any beauty in Jesus, you have never seen Jesus; he has never revealed himself to you; you never had a glimpse of his lovely face, nor a sense of his presence, nor a word from his lips, nor a touch from his hand. But if you have seen him by the eye of faith, and he has revealed himself to you even in a small measure, you have seen a beauty in him beyond all other beauties, for it is a holy beauty, a divine beauty, the beauty of his heavenly grace, the beauty of his uncreated and eternal glory, such as no earthly countenance can wear, nor man or woman, no, not Adam,{\i"Am I my brother's keeper?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulGen_4:9}.\PAR\PAR Because I held upon my selfish, road, And left my brother wounded by the way, And called ambition duty, and pressed on-- \PAR\PAR O Lord, I do repent.\PAR\PAR SARAH WILLIAMS.\PAR\PAR How many are the sufferers who have fallen amongst misfortunes along the wayside of life! {\i"By {\i"chance_" \i0}we come that way; chance, accident, Providence, has thrown them in our way; we see them from a distance, like the Priest, or we come upon them suddenly, like the Levite; our business, our pleasure, is interrupted by the sight, is troubled by the delay; what are our feelings, what our actions towards them? {\i"Who is thy neighbor?" \i0}It is the sufferer, wherever, whoever, whatsoever he be. Wherever thou hearest the cry of distress, wherever thou seest any one brought across thy path by the chances and changes of life (that is, by the Providence of God), whom it is in thy power to help,-- he, stranger or enemy though he be,-- {\i"he" \i0}is thy neighbor.\PAR\PAR A. P. STANLEY.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "And the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and lovely for those who are escaped of Israel." \i0 {\cf11 \ulIsa_4:2}\PAR\PAR By \i "the fruit of the earth" \i0 we may understand that gracious and holy fruit which grew upon the Branch--and it seems to be called \i "the fruit of the earth," \i0 because it appeared on earth when our Lord was there. Thus not only all his words, works, and ways, all the parables, doctrines, precepts, and promises uttered by the mouth of the Son of God in the days of his flesh, but all the benefits and blessings that spring in the way of redemption out of his complex Person, and grow as it were a holy fruit out of him as the Branch, such as h{\i"Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEph_4:1-2}.\PAR\PAR Help us, O Lord, with patient love to bear Each other's faults, to suffer with true meekness; Help us each other's joys and griefs to share, But let us turn to Thee alone in weakness.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR You should make a special point of asking God every morning to give you, before all else, that true spirit of meekness which He would have His children possess. You must also make a firm resolution to practise yourself in this virtue, especially in your intercourse with those persons to whom you chiefly owe it. You must make it your main object to conquer yourself in this matter; call it to mind a hundred times during the day, commending your efforts to God. It seems to me that no more than this is needed in order to subject your soul entirely to His will, and then you will become more gentle day by day, trusting wholly in His goodness. You will be very happy, my dearest child, if you can do this, for God will dwell in your heart; and where He reigns all is peace. But if you should fail, and commit some of your old faults, do not be disheartened, but rise up and go on again, as though you had not fallen.\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR BLVALP\i "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord." \i0 {{\i"Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to Him in welldoing, as unto a faithful Creator." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Pe4:19}.\PAR\PAR {\i"The Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJas_5:11}.\PAR\PAR On Thy compassion I repose In weakness and distress:\PAR\PAR I will not ask for greater ease, Lest I should love Thee less; Oh, 'tis a blessed thing for me To need Thy tenderness.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR Oh, look not at thy pain or sorrow, how great soever; but look from them, look off them, look beyond them, to the Deliverer! whose power is over them, and whose loving, wise, and tender spirit is able to do thee good by them. The Lord lead thee, day by day, in the right way, and keep thy mind stayed upon Him, in whatever befalls thee; that the belief of His love and hope in His mercy, when thou art at the lowest ebb, may keep up thy head above the billows.\PAR\PAR ISAAC PENINGTON {\i"Now therefore keep thy sorrow to thyself, and bear with a good courage that which hath befallen thee." \i0}-- 2 {\cf11 \ulEzr_10:15}.\PAR\PAR Go, bury thy sorrow, The world hath its share; Go, bury it deeply, Go, hide it with care.\PAR\PAR Go, bury thy sorrow, Let others be blest; Go, give them the sunshine, And tell God the rest.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR Our veiled and terrible guest [Trouble] brings for us, if we will accept it, the boon of fortitude, patience, self-control, wisdom, sympathy, faith.\PAR\PAR If we reject that, then we find in our hands the other gift,-- cowardice, weakness, isolation, despair. If your trouble seems to have in it no other possibility of good, at least set yourself to bear it like a man. Let none of its weight come on other shoulders. Try to carry it so that no one shall even see it. Though your heart be sad within, let cheer go out from you to others. Meet them with a kindly presence, considerate words, helpful acts.\PAR\PAR G. S. MERRIAM.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "For to be carnally-minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRom_8:6}\PAR\PAR One of the most blessed marks of regenerating grace and the sure fruit of the love of God shed abroad in the heart, is that spiritual-mindedness of which Paul declares, it is \i "life and peace." \i0 \i "To be spiritually-minded," \i0 to live and walk under the blessed power and influence of the Holy Spirit, to have the heart and affections drawn up from this poor, vain scene, to where Jesus sits at the right hand of God, this is \i "life," \i0 the life of God in the soul, with all its present blessedness and all its future glory, and \i "peace," \i0 for pea{\i"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_5:6}.\PAR\PAR Grant us Thy peace, down from Thy presence falling, As on the thirsty earth cool night-dews sweet; Grant us Thy peace, to Thy pure paths recalling, From devious ways, our worn and wandering feet.\PAR\PAR E. SCUDDER.\PAR\PAR O God, who art Peace everlasting, whose chosen reward is the gift of peace, and who hast taught us that the peacemakers are Thy children, pour Thy sweet peace into our souls, that everything discordant may utterly vanish, and all that makes for peace be sweet to us forever. Amen.\PAR\PAR GELASIAN SACRAMENTARY, A. D. 492.\PAR\PAR Have you ever thought seriously of the meaning of that blessing given to the peacemakers? People are always expecting to get peace in heaven; but you know whatever peace they get there will be ready-made. Whatever making of peace {\i"they" \i0}can be blest for, must be on the earth here: not the taking of arms against, but the building of nests amidst, its {\i"sea of troubles"\PAR\PAR [like the halcyons]. Difficult enough, you think? Perhaps so, but I do not see that any of us try. We complain of the want of many things-- we want votes, we want liberty, we want amusement, we want money. Which of us feels or knows that he wants peace?\PAR\PAR J. RUSKIN.\PAR\PAR ZLVALf"\i "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, just as my Father has appointed unto me." \i0 {\cf11 \ulLuk_22:29}\PAR\PAR For whom is this kingdom appointed? For the presumptuous, the proud, the hypocritical, and the self-righteous? No; not for these. \i "I appoint unto you," \i0 you that \i "have continued with me in my temptations;" \i0 you that are tempted and exercised; you that walk in the paths of tribulation; you that follow in the print of the footsteps of a suffering Jesus; you that know the painful exercises of temptation, and yet are strengthened with strength in your inner man, to \i "resist even unto blood, striving against sin," \i0 so as not to be carried away or overwhelmed by it. What kingdom is this? It is the same kingdom that the Father has given to Jesus. \i "I appoint unto you a kingdom, just as my Father has appointed unto me."{\i"The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their meat in due season." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_145:15}.\PAR\PAR {\i"What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_56:3}.\PAR\PAR Late on me, weeping, did this whisper fall:\PAR\PAR {\i"Dear child, there is no need to weep at all!\PAR\PAR Why go about to grieve and to despair?\PAR\PAR Why weep now through thy Future's eyes, and bear In vain to-day to-morrow's load of care?"\PAR\PAR H. S. SUTTON.\PAR\PAR The crosses of the present moment always bring their own special grace and consequent comfort with them; we see the hand of God in them when it is laid upon us. But the crosses of anxious foreboding are seen out of the dispensation of God; we see them without grace to bear them; we see them indeed through a faithless spirit which banishes grace. So, everything in them is bitter and unendurable; all seems dark and helpless. Let us throw self aside; no more self-interest, and then God's will, unfolding every moment in everything, will console us also every moment for all that He shall do around us, or within us, for our discipline.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR ELVALQ$\i "Lord, lift up the light of your countenance upon us." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_4:6}\PAR\PAR The cry of the Church has always been, \i "Lord, lift up the light of your countenance upon us." \i0 You may often feel as if immersed in the very shadow of death, and say with Heman, \i "I am counted with those who go down into the pit; I am as a man that has no strength" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulPsa_88:4}); but the very feelings of death, the chill at your heart, and the cold sweat upon your brow, make you long for the appearance of him who is the Resurrection and the Life; and who can in one moment whisper, \i "Fear not; I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death." \i0 You may be pressed down at times with the power of unbelief, and think and say there never was a heart like yours, so unable to believe, so doubting at e{\i"His delight is in the law of the Lord. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_1:2-3}.\PAR\PAR The wind that blows can never kill The tree God plants; It bloweth east; it bloweth west; The tender leaves have little rest, But any wind that blows is best.\PAR\PAR The tree God plants Strikes deeper root, grows higher still, Spreads wider boughs, for God's good-will Meets all its wants.\PAR\PAR LILLIE E. BARR.\PAR\PAR It is a fatal mistake to suppose that we cannot be holy except on the condition of a situation and circumstances in life such as shall suit ourselves. It is one of the first principles of holiness to leave our times and our places, our going out and our coming; in, our wasted and our goodly heritage entirely with the Lord. Here, O Lord, hast Thou placed us, and we will glorify Thee here!\PAR\PAR T. C. UPHAM.\PAR\PAR It is not by change of circumstances, but by fitting our spirits to the circumstances in which God has placed us, that we can be reconciled to life and duty.\PAR\PAR F. W. ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR fLVALr&\i "And also I have withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest--and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city--one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered." \i0 {\cf11 \ulAmo_4:7}\PAR\PAR How powerless we are as regards the rain that falls from the sky! Who can go forth when the sun is shining in its brightness and bid the rain to fall? Or when rain is falling, who can go forth and restrain the bottles of heaven? He who gives us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness, also turns a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of those who dwell therein. \PAR\PAR Equally sovereign is the blessing that God gives to the preached gospel. He holds the blessing in his own hand; it is his to give, and his to withhold. If he blesses, it is because he has promised it; but when, where, and to whom it shall come, is at his own sovereign disposal. Yet what do we naturally desire when the earth is parched up for lack of rain? Knowing that there is rain stored up in the clou{\i"O Lord, I am oppressed, undertake for me." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_38:14}.\PAR\PAR Being perplexed, I say, Lord, make it right!\PAR\PAR Night is as day to Thee, Darkness is light.\PAR\PAR I am afraid to touch Things that involve so much;-- \PAR\PAR My trembling hand may shake, My skill-less hand may break:\PAR\PAR Thine can make no mistake.\PAR\PAR ANNA B. WARNER.\PAR\PAR The many troubles in your household will tend to your edification, if you strive to bear them all in gentleness, patience, and kindness. Keep this ever before you, and remember constantly that God's loving eyes are upon you amid all these little worries and vexations, watching whether you take them as He would desire. Offer up all such occasions to Him, and if sometimes you are put out, and give way to impatience, do not be discouraged, but make haste to regain your lost composure.\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR pLVAL|(\i "In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto a holy temple in the Lord." \i0 {\cf11 \ulEph_2:21}\PAR\PAR The body of Christ is at present scattered, and, if I may so speak--fragmentary. Of the members of his mystical body some are now before the throne, \i "spirits of just men made perfect." \i0 Others are still in the wilderness; others are yet in the world, dead in trespasses and sins, uncalled by grace, destitute of the Spirit; others at present are unborn, still hidden in the womb of time. But earth is the stage whereon ALL the members are from time to time brought into a vital, manifestive union with their living Head.\PAR\PAR When I was a boy at school, in London, Waterloo Bridge was building; and I and my playmates used to go sometimes to what was then called \i "The Stone Field," \i0 on the other side of the water, where the stones that {\i"If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_9:23}.\PAR\PAR There lies thy cross; beneath it meekly bow; It fits thy stature now; Who scornful pass it with averted eye, 'Twill crush them by and by.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR To take up the cross of Christ is no great action done once for all; it consists in the continual practice of small duties which are distasteful to us.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR On one occasion an intimate friend of his was fretting somewhat at not being able to put a cross on the grave of a relation, because the rest of the family disliked it. {\i"Don't you see," \i0}he said to her, {\i"that by giving up your own way, you will be virtually putting a cross on the grave? You 'll have it in its effect. The one is but a stone cross, the other is a true spiritual cross."\PAR\PAR LIFE OF JAMES HINTON.\PAR\PAR I would have you, one by one, ask yourselves, Wherein do I take up the cross daily?\PAR\PAR E. B. PUSEY.\PAR\PAR Every morning, receive thine own special cross from the hands of thy heavenly Father.\PAR\PAR L. SCUPOLI.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "For we have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_4:15}\PAR\PAR Our gracious Lord experienced temptation in every shape and form, for the word of truth declares that \i "in all points he was tempted like as we are, yet without sin." \i0 I wish to speak very cautiously upon this subject, for upon a point so difficult and so mysterious there is great risk of speaking amiss. So long as we keep strictly within the language of the Scripture we are safe, but the moment that we draw inferences from the word without special guidance by the Spirit of truth, we may greatly err. You may think then, sometimes, that your temptations are such as our gracious Lord never could have been tempted by; but that word of the Apostle decides the question, \i "in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." \i0 \PAR\PAR It is a solemn mystery which I cannot e{\i"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJas_1:27}.\PAR\PAR Not to ease and aimless quiet Doth that inward answer tend, But to works of love and duty As our being's end.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR It is surprising how practical duty enriches the fancy and the heart, and action clears and deepens the affections. Indeed, no one can have a true idea of right, until he does it; any genuine reverence for it, till he has done it often and with cost; any peace ineffable in it, till he does it always and with alacrity. Does any one complain, that the best affections are transient visitors with him, and the heavenly spirit a stranger to his heart? Oh, let him not go forth, on any strained wing of thought, in distant quest of them; but rather stay at home, and set his house in the true order of conscience; and of their own accord the divinest guests will enter.\PAR\PAR J. MARTINEAU.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come."\i0 {\cf11 \ul 1Ti_4:8}\PAR\PAR True religion lies deep; it is not a balloon hovering over us miles up in the air. It is like trut\i "And they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." \i0 {\cf11 \ulMat_1:23}\PAR\PAR We must never, even in thought, separate the human nature of our adorable Redeemer from his divine. Even when his sacred body lay in the grave, and was thus for a small space of time severed from his pure and holy soul by death and the tomb, there was no separation of the two natures, for his human soul, after he had once become incarnate in the womb of the Virgin, never was parted from his Deity, but went into paradise {\i"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulCol_4:2}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Co_16:13}.\PAR\PAR We kneel how weak, we rise how full of power.\PAR\PAR Why therefore should we do ourselves this wrong, Or others-- that we are not always strong, That we are ever overborne with care, That we should ever weak or heartless be, Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer, And joy and strength and courage are with Thee?\PAR\PAR R. C. TRENCH.\PAR\PAR It is impossible for us to make the duties of our lot minister to our sanctification without a habit of devout fellowship with God. This is the spring of all our life, and the strength of it. It is prayer, meditation, and converse with God, that refreshes, restores, and renews the temper of our minds, at all times, under all trials, after all conflicts with the world. By this contact with the world unseen we receive continual accesses of strength. As our day, so is our strength. Without this healing and refreshing of spirit, duties grow to be burdens, the events of life chafe our temper, employments lower the tone of our minds, and we become fretful, irritable, and impatient.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR LVALThe Friend of God\par\par "Abraham stood yet before the L\i "That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay ho\i "Herein is my Father glorified, that you bear much fruit; so shall you be my disciples." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_15:8}\PAR\PAR When the Lord Jesus Christ was upon earth he was in a suffering state; and to this suffering image must all his people be conformed. In that suffering state he brought glory to God; and is now exalted to the right hand of the Father. So tho{\i"This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulTit_3:8}.\PAR\PAR Faith's meanest deed more favor bears Where hearts and wills are weighed, Than brightest transports, choicest prayers, Which bloom their hour and fade.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR One secret act of self-denial, one sacrifice of inclination to duty, is worth all the mere good thoughts, warm feelings, passionate prayers, in which idle people indulge themselves.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR It is impossible for us to live in fellowship with God without holiness in all the duties of life. These things act and react on each other. Without a diligent and faithful obedience to the calls and claims of others upon us, our religious profession is simply dead. To disobey conscience when it points to relative duties irritates the whole temper, and quenches the first beginnings of devotion. We cannot go from strife, breaches, and angry words, to God. Selfishness, an imperious will, want of sympathy with the sufferings and sorrows of other men, neglect of charitable offices, suspicions, hard censures of those with whom our lot is cast, will miserably darken our own hearts, and hide the face of God from us.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR LVAL \i "You are those who have continued with me in my temptations." \i0 {\cf11 \ulLuk_22:28}\PAR\PAR Satan brought all his artillery to bear upon the Son of God. He was permitted to try him to the utmost. It was the purpose of God, that his well-beloved Son should be tempted like as we are; and if you are God's, not a single temptation has beset you which did not beset the Lord of life and glory. Are we tempted sometimes to doubt a God of providence? The Lord Jesus was similarly tempted, when Satan said to him, \i "Command these stones to be made bread." \i0 Are we tempted to vain confidence and presumption? The Lord of life and glory was similarly tempted, when the prince of darkness said to him, \i "If you be the Son of{\i"Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJoh_13:9}.\PAR\PAR Take my hands, and let them move At the impulse of Thy love.\PAR\PAR Take my feet, and let them be Swift and {\i"beautiful" \i0}for Thee.\PAR\PAR Take my intellect, and use Every power as Thou shall choose.\PAR\PAR F. R. HAVERGAL.\PAR\PAR If a man may attain thereunto, to be unto God as his hand is to a man, let him be therewith content, and not seek further. That is to say, let him strive and wrestle with all his might to obey God and His commandments so thoroughly at all times, and in all things, that in him there be nothing, spiritual or natural, which opposeth God; and that his whole soul and body, with all their members, may stand ready and willing for that to which God hath created them; as ready and willing as his hand is to a man, which is so wholly in his power, that in the twinkling of an eye, he moveth and turneth it whither he will. And when we find it otherwise with us, we must give our whole diligence to amend our state.\PAR\PAR THEOLOGIA GERMANICA.\PAR\PAR When the mind thinks nothing, when the soul covets nothing, and the body acteth nothing that is contrary to the will of God, this is perfect sanctification.\PAR\PAR ANONYMOUS, {\i"in an old Bible_, 1599.\PAR\PAR  LVALG'\D<8`\G'P\E8`\uu%%%ee%G`e'\F8`\uE5UUeeG`k'\G89`\euueueeeGpe'L\H9`\eeeuu%%eGp '\I9`\Eueueee%Gpm'\J4:`\%e%euue5G`n'H\K:`\ueeuueeuG` '\L:`\eu%uueeeG i'\M0;`\U%eUE5%eG`n'D\N;`\ueeeueeeG`e'\O;`\u%UUEuuu{\i"Thy kingdom come." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_6:10}.\PAR\PAR The kingdom of established peace, Which can no more remove; The perfect powers of godliness, The omnipotence of love.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR My child, thou mayest not measure out thine offering unto me by what others have done or left undone; but be it thine to seek out, even to the last moment of thine earthly life, what is the utmost height of pure devotion to which I have called {\i"thine own self." \i0}Remember that, if thou fall short of this, each time thou utterest in prayer the words, {\i"Hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come," \i0}thou dost most fearfully condemn thyself, for is it not a mockery to ask for that thou wilt not seek to promote even unto the uttermost, within the narrow compass of thine own heart and spirit?\PAR\PAR THE DIVINE MASTER.\PAR\PAR If you do not wish for His kingdom, don't pray for it. But if you do, you must do more than pray for it; you must work for it.\PAR\PAR J. RUSKIN.\PAR\PAR  LVAL,*\i "The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart--the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_19:8}\PAR\PAR As without a revelation of the doctrine of salvation we would not know how a sinner could be saved, and thus could not glorify God by our faith; so without a revelation of the precept we would not know how to serve God, and thus could not glorify him by our obedience. Look at this point, believing child of God. You long to glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are his ({\cf11 \ul1Co_6:20}). You desire, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, to do all to the glory of God ({\cf11 \ul1Co_10:31}). There are times and seasons with you when you sigh and mourn over your barren, unprofitable heart and life, and earnestly {\i"She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not In the Lord; she drew not near to her God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulZep_3:2}.\PAR\PAR Oh! let us not this thought allow; The heat, the dust upon our brow, Signs of the contest, we may wear; Yet thus we shall appear more fair In our Almighty Master's eye, Than if in fear to lose the bloom, Or ruffle the soul's lightest plume, We from the strife should fly.\PAR\PAR R. C. TRENCH.\PAR\PAR If God requires anything of us, we have no right to draw back under the pretext that we are liable to commit some fault in obeying. It is better to obey imperfectly than not at all. Perhaps you ought to rebuke some one dependent on you, but you are silent for fear of giving way to vehemence;-- or you avoid the society of certain persons, because they make you cross and impatient. How are you to attain self-control, if you shun all occasions of practising it? Is not such self-choosing a greater fault than those into which you fear to fall? Aim at a steady mind to do right, go wherever duty calls you, and believe firmly that God will forgive the faults that take our weakness by surprise in spite of our sincere desire to please Him.\PAR\PAR JEAN NICOLAS GROU.\PAR\PAR LVAL,\i "Hereby we know that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Jo_4:13}\PAR\PAR A right knowledge and living experience of the Person, graces and operations of the Holy Spirit upon the soul, is a very essential thing. Man is so deeply sunk, so utterly fallen, so unable to bring himself back, that he needs this holy Teacher to lead him into a saving, experimental knowledge of the truth of God; for we know nothing but by his teaching, have nothing but by his giving, and are nothing but by his making. The more clearly, then, that we are led to see, and the more deeply we are taught to feel what we are as fallen sons and daughters of Adam, the more shall we feel our need of, and the more shall we value when realized, his blessed operations upon the heart and conscience. \PAR\PAR Now, in the case of Aaron, (viewed not only as a type of Christ, but as personally ministering at the altar of the tabernacle, and thus consecrat{\i"It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLam_3:26}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh my salvation." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_62:1}.\PAR\PAR Not so in haste, my heart; Have faith in God, and wait; Although He linger long, He never comes too late.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR The true use to be made of all the imperfections of which you are conscious is neither to justify, nor to condemn them, but to present them before God, conforming your will to His, and remaining in peace; for peace is the divine order, in whatever state we may be.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR You will find it less easy to uproot faults, than to choke them by gaining virtues. Do not think of your faults; still less of others' faults; in every person who comes near you look for what is good and strong: honor that; rejoice in it; and, as you can, try to imitate it; and your faults will drop off, like dead leaves, when their time comes.\PAR\PAR J. RUSKIN.\PAR\PAR LVAL.\i "And I will betroth you unto me forever; yes, I will betroth you unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHos_2:19}\PAR\PAR Communion with Christ begins below, in our time state. It is here that the mystery of the marriage union is first made known; here the espousals entered into; here the first kiss of betrothed love given. The 'celebration of the marriage' is to come; but the original betrothal in heaven and the spiritual espousals on earth make Christ and the Church eternally one. As then the husband, when he becomes united to his wife in marriage ties, engages thereby to love her, cherish her, feed her, clothe her, count her interests his interests, her honor his honor, {\i"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJer_33:3}.\PAR\PAR {\i"And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Ki_3:13}.\PAR\PAR No voice of prayer to Thee can rise, But swift as light Thy Love replies; Not always what we ask, indeed, But, O most Kind! what most we need.\PAR\PAR H. M. KIMBALL.\PAR\PAR If you have any trial which seems intolerable, pray,-- pray that it be relieved or changed. There is no harm in that. We may pray for anything, not wrong in itself, with perfect freedom, if we do not pray selfishly.\PAR\PAR One disabled from duty by sickness may pray for health, that he may do his work; or one hemmed in by internal impediments may pray for utterance, that he may serve better the truth and the right. Or, if we have a besetting sin, we may pray to be delivered from it, in order to serve God and man, and not be ourselves Satans to mislead and destroy. But the answer to the prayer may be, as it was to Paul, not the removal of the thorn, but, instead, a growing insight into its meaning and value. The voice of God in our soul may show us, as we look up to Him, that His strength is enough to enable us to bear it.\PAR\PAR J. F. CLARKE.\PAR\PAR LVAL0\i "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." \i0 {\cf11 \ul2Co_4:6}\PAR\PAR When a man is walking in the darkness and death of unregeneracy, he has no true light. He may indeed have a false light, as the light of presumption, delusion, or vain-confidence; but all such borrowed light is worse than darkness; as the Lord says, \i "If the light that is in you be darkness, how great is that darkness!" \i0 \PAR\PAR The only saving light is the light of God shining into the soul, giving us to see and know \i "the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent." \i0 A man may h{\i"Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMar_10:38}.\PAR\PAR Whate'er my God ordains is right; Though I the cup must drink That bitter seems to my faint heart, I will not fear nor shrink.\PAR\PAR S. RODIGAST.\PAR\PAR The worst part of martyrdom is not the last agonizing moment; it is the wearing, daily steadfastness. Men who can make up their minds to hold out against the torture of an hour have sunk under the weariness and the harass of small prolonged vexations. And there are many Christians who have the weight of some deep, incommunicable grief pressing, cold as ice, upon their hearts. To bear that cheerfully and manfully is to be a martyr. There is many a Christian bereaved and stricken in the best hopes of life. For such a one to say quietly, {\i"Father, not as I will, but as Thou wilt," \i0}is to be a martyr. There is many a Christian who feels the irksomeness of the duties of life, and feels his spirit revolting from them. To get up every morning with the firm resolve to find pleasure in those duties, and do them well, and finish the work which God has given us to do, that is to drink Christ's cup. The humblest occupation has in it materials of discipline for the highest heaven.\PAR\PAR F. W. ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR LVAL \i "And I appoint unto you a kingdom, just as my Father has appointed unto me." \i0 {\cf11 \ulLuk_22:29}\PAR\PAR For whom is this kingdom appointed? For the presumptuous, the proud, the hypocritical, and the self-righteous? No; not for these. \i "I appoint unto you," \i0 you that \i "have continued with me in my temptations;" \i0 you that are tempted and exercised; you that walk in the paths of tribulation; you that follow in the print of the footsteps of a suffering Jesus; you that know the painful exercises of temptation, and yet are strengthened with strength in your inner man, to \i "resist even unto blood, striving against si{\i"For the whole world before thee is as a little grain of the balance, yea, as a drop of the morning dew that falleth down upon the earth. But Thou hast mercy upon all. For Thou lovest all the things that are." \i0}-- WISDOM OF SOLOMON 11:22-24.\PAR\PAR Oh! Source divine, and Life of all, The Fount of Being's fearful sea, Thy depth would every heart appal, That saw not love supreme in Thee.\PAR\PAR J. STERLING.\PAR\PAR He showed a little thing, the quantity of a hazel-nut, lying in the palm of my hand, as meseemed, and it was as round as a ball. I looked thereon with the eye of my understanding, and thought, {\i"What may this be?" \i0}and it was answered generally thus, {\i"It is all that is made." \i0}I marvelled how it might last; for methought it might suddenly have fallen to naught for littleness.\PAR\PAR And I was answered in my understanding, {\i"It lasteth, and ever shall: For God loveth it. And so hath all thing being by the Love of God." \i0}In this little thing I saw three properties. The first is, that God made it. The second is, that God loveth it. The third is, that God keepeth it. For this is the cause which we be not all in ease of heart and soul: for we seek here rest in this thing which is so little, where no rest is in: and we know not our God that is all Mighty, all Wise, and all Good, for He is very rest.\PAR\PAR MOTHER JULIANA, 1373.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Lord, lift up the light of your countenance upon us." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPsa_4:6}\PAR\PAR The cry of the Church has always been, \i "Lord, lift up the light of your countenance upon us." \i0 You may often feel as if immersed in the very shadow of death, and say with Heman, \i "I am counted with those who go down into the pit; I am as a man that has no strength" \i0 ({\cf11 \ulPsa_88:4}); but the very feelings of death, the chill at your heart, and the cold sweat upon your brow, make you long for the appearance of him who is the Resurrection and the Life; and who can in one moment whisper, \i "Fear not; I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of hell and of death." \i0 You may be pressed down at times with the power of unbe{\i"Whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMar_10:43-45}.\PAR\PAR A child's kiss Set on thy sighing lips, shall make thee glad; A poor man served by thee, shall make thee rich; A sick man helped by thee, shall make thee strong; Thou shalt be served thyself by every sense Of service which thou renderest.\PAR\PAR E. B. BROWNING.\PAR\PAR Let every man lovingly cast all his thoughts and cares, and his sins too, as it were, on the Will of God. Moreover, if a man, while busy in this lofty inward work, were called by some duty in the Providence of God to cease therefrom, and cook a broth for some sick person, or any other such service, he should do so willingly and with great joy. If I had to forsake such work, and go out to preach or aught else, I should go cheerfully, believing not only that God would be with me, but that he would vouchsafe me it may be even greater grace and blessing in that external work undertaken out of true love in the service of my neighbor, than I should perhaps receive in my season of loftiest contemplation.\PAR\PAR JOHN TAULER.\PAR\PAR 4LVAL@\i "And also I have withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest--and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city--one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered." \i0 {\cf11 \ulAmo_4:7}\PAR\PAR How powerless we are as regards the rain that falls from the sky! Who can go forth when the sun is shining in its brightness and bid the rain to fall? Or when rain is falling, who can go forth and restrain the bottles of heaven? He who gives us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness, also turns a fruitful land into barrenness for the wickedness of those who dwell therein. \PAR\PAR Equally sovereign is the blessing that God gives to the preached gospel. He holds the blessing in his own hand; it is his to give, and his to withhold. If he blesses, it is because he has promised it; but when, where, and to whom it shall come, is at his own sovereign disposal. Yet what do we naturally desire when the earth is parched up for lack of rain{\i"All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_25:10}.\PAR\PAR Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth, Speak peace to my anxious soul, And help me to feel that all my ways Are under Thy wise control; That He who cares for the lily, And heeds the sparrows' fall, Shall tenderly lead His loving child:\PAR\PAR For He made and loveth all.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR It is not by seeking more fertile regions where toil is lighter-- happier circumstances free from difficult complications and troublesome people-- but by bringing the high courage of a devout soul, clear in principle and aim, to bear upon what is given to us, that we brighten our inward light, lead something of a true life, and introduce the kingdom of heaven into the midst of our earthly day. If we cannot work out the will of God where God has placed us, then why has He placed us there?\PAR\PAR J. H. THOM.\PAR\PAR AoR5jM0eH+}`C& x[>!sV9nQ4 G@V  j@U  +@T  @S  @R  0@Q  @P  y@O  @N  `@M  T@L  s@K  p@J  _@I  @H  %@G  _@F  \@E  x@D  R@C  n@B  @A  @@  !@?  @>  @=  @<  @;  T@:  @9  V@8  @7  @6  @5  @4  @3  @2  u@1  @0 ~ @/ } h@. | @- { @, z L@+ y @* x @) w E@( v @' u I@& t @% s &@$ r @# q @" p @! o Q@  n @ m @ l @ k @ j @ i j@ h @ g @ f }@ e @ wLVALL\i "If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise."\i0 {\cf11 \ul 1Co_3:18}\PAR\PAR The fruit and effect of divine teaching is, to cut in pieces, and root up all our fleshly wisdom, strength, and righteousness. God never means to patch a new piece upon an old garment; he never intends to let our wisdom, our strength, our righteousness have any union with his; it must all be torn to pieces, it must all be plucked up by the roots, that a new wisdom, a new strength, and a new righteousness may arise upon its ruins. But until the Lord is pleased to teach us, we never can part with our own righteousness, never give up our own wisdom, never abandon our own strength. These things are a part and parcel of ourselves, so ingrained within us, so innate in us, so growing with our growth, that we cannot willingly part with an atom o{\i"Pray for us unto the Lord thy God... that the Lord thy God may show us the way wherein we may walk, and the thing that we may do." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJer_42:2-3}.\PAR\PAR {\i"That which I see not, teach Thou me." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJob_34:32}.\PAR\PAR O father, hear!\PAR\PAR The way is dark, and I would fain discern What steps to take, into which path to turn; Oh! make it clear.\PAR\PAR CHRISTIAN INTELLIGENCER.\PAR\PAR {\i"We can't choose happiness either for ourselves or for another; we can't tell where that will lie. We can only choose whether we will indulge ourselves in the present moment, or whether we will renounce that, for the sake of obeying the Divine voice within us,-- for the sake of being true to all the motives that sanctify our lives. I know this belief is hard; it has slipped away from me again and again; but I have felt that if I let it go forever, I should have no light through the darkness of this life."\PAR\PAR GEORGE ELIOT.\PAR\PAR There was a care on my mind so to pass my time, that nothing might hinder me from the most steady attention to the voice of the true Shepherd.\PAR\PAR JOHN WOOLMAN.\PAR\PAR LVAL5"{\i"How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_36:7}.\PAR\PAR {\i"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulDeu_33:27}.\PAR\PAR Within Thy circling arms we lie, O God! in Thy infinity:\PAR\PAR Our souls in quiet shall abide, Beset with love on every side.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR {\i"The Everlasting Arms." \i0}I think of that whenever rest is sweet. How the whole earth and the strength of it, that is almightiness, is beneath every tired creature to give it rest; {\i"holding" \i0}us, always! No thought of God is closer than that. No human tenderness of patience is greater than that which gathers in its arms a little child, and holds it, heedless of weariness. And He fills the great earth, and all upon it, with this unseen force of His love, that never forgets or exhausts itself, so that everywhere we may lie down in His bosom, and be comforted.\PAR\PAR A. D. T. WHITNEY.\PAR\PAR {\i"Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence from the pride of man: Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_31:20}.\PAR\PAR The praying spirit breathe, The watching power impart, From all entanglements beneath Call off my anxious heart.\PAR\PAR My feeble mind sustain, By worldly thoughts oppressed; Appear, and bid me turn again To my eternal rest.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR As soon as we are with God in faith and in love, we are in prayer.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR If you could once make up your mind in the fear of God never to undertake more work of any sort than you can carry on calmly, quietly, without hurry or flurry, and the instant you feel yourself growing nervous and like one out of breath, would stop and take breath, you would find this simple common-sense rule doing for you what no prayers or tears could ever accomplish.\PAR\PAR ELIZABETH PRENTISS.\PAR\PAR LVALP\i "He sent his word, and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Psa_107:20}\PAR\PAR What an effect a word from God can produce! Be it in reading; in hearing; on the knees; or in secret meditation; when a word drops from the Lord's mouth with any divine power into the soul, what a change it produces! And nothing but this divine power can ever bring a poor sinner out of his miserable condition. When this comes, it does the work in a moment; it heals all the wounds which sin has made, and repairs all the breaches in the conscience that folly has produced. One word from God heals them all. The Lord does not come as it were with plasters to heal first one sore and then another. He heals now as in the days of his flesh. When he healed then, he healed fully, at once, completely.\PAR\PAR The earthly doctor heals by degrees; he puts a plaster on one sore, and a {\i"The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulDeu_30:14}.\PAR\PAR But, above all, the victory is most sure For him, who, seeking faith by virtue, strives To yield entire obedience to the Law Of Conscience; Conscience reverenced and obeyed, As God's most intimate presence in the soul, And His most perfect image in the world.\PAR\PAR W. WORDSWORTH.\PAR\PAR What we call Conscience is the voice of Divine love in the deep of our being, desiring union with our will; and which, by attracting the affections inward, invites them to enter into the harmonious contentment, and {\i"fulness of joy" \i0}which attends the being joined by {\i"one spirit to the Lord."\PAR\PAR J. P. GREAVES.\PAR\PAR I rejoice that God has bestowed upon you a relish and inclination for the inner life. To be called to this precious and lofty life is a great and undeserved grace of God, to which we ought to respond with great faithfulness. God invites us to His fellowship of love, and wishes to prepare our spirit to be His own abode and temple.\PAR\PAR GERHARD TERSTEEGEN.\PAR\PAR  LVAL,\i "And establish you in every good word and work."\i0 {\cf11 \ul 2Th_2:17}\PAR\PAR The living family of God need to be established in the truth, so as not ever to be\i "children tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine."\i0 It is not sufficient for a building to be raised -- it must be established before we can know whether it will stand. The most anxious moment of the builder is to see how it will settle; how the walls will bear the roof, and every part stand firm and good without bulging or slipping. When the scaffolding is taken away from a newly-built arch, how the architect looks to see whether it will settle well and the extent of the drop, if there be any.\PAR\PAR So in grace. It is not merely making a profession that will serve. Many a building stands well as long as the scaffolding remains; many an arch looks firm while the scaffolding supports it. So many seem to stand well in early days, when upheld b{\i"Show me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths"-\i0}- {\cf11 \ulPsa_25:4}.\PAR\PAR When we cannot see our way, Let us trust and still obey; He who bids us forward go, Cannot fail the way to show.\PAR\PAR Though the sea be deep and wide, Though a passage seem denied; Fearless let us still proceed, Since the Lord vouchsafes to lead.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR That which is often asked of God, is not so much His will and way, as His approval of our way.\PAR\PAR S. F. SMILEY.\PAR\PAR There is nothing like the first glance we get at duty, before there has been any special pleading of our affections or inclinations. Duty is never uncertain at first. It is only after we have got involved in the mazes and sophistries of wishing that things were otherwise than they are, that it seems indistinct. Considering a duty is often only explaining it away.\PAR\PAR Deliberation is often only dishonesty. God's guidance is plain, when we are true.\PAR\PAR F. W, ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "I will meet with you there and talk to you from above the atonement cover between the gold cherubim that hover over the Ark of the Covenant."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Exo_25:22}\PAR\PAR What heart can conceive or tongue describe the blessedness of this heavenly truth that at all times, under all circumstances, and in all places there is provided a mercy seat, a throne of grace, at which the God of all grace and a sensible sinner may freely meet without hindrance, if indeed there be any spirit of prayer in the petitioner's breast? As no place, so no circumstance is too dark for his eye not to see; as no covering is too thick, so no circumstance is too obscure for his sight not to pierce through --\i "Can any hide himself in secret pl{\i"When I awake, I am still with Thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_139:18}.\PAR\PAR Let the glow of love destroy Cold obedience faintly given; Wake our hearts to strength and joy With the flushing eastern heaven.\PAR\PAR C. K. VON ROSENROTH.\PAR\PAR With his first waking consciousness, he can set himself to take a serious, manly view of the day before him. He ought to know pretty well on what lines his difficulty is likely to come, whether in being irritable, or domineering, or sharp in his bargains, or self-absorbed, or whatever it be; and now, in this quiet hour, he can take a good, full look at his enemy, and make up his mind to beat him. It is a good time, too, for giving his thoughts a range quite beyond himself,-- beyond even his own moral struggles,-- a good time, there in the stillness, for going into the realm of other lives. His wife,-- what needs has she for help, for sympathy, that he can meet? His children,-- how can he make the day sweeter to them? This acquaintance, who is having a hard time; this friend, who dropped a word to you yesterday that you hardly noticed in your hurry, but that comes up to you now, revealing in him some finer trait, some deeper hunger, than you had guessed before,-- now you can think these things over.\PAR\PAR G. S. MERRIAM.\PAR\PAR 7LVALC!e save them? By healing their spiritual diseases; therefore he is called the Physician of souls. Would we obtain his notice, we must come and spread our sins before him. A g\i "O Lord, by these things men live; and in all these things is the life of my spirit."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Isa_38:16}\PAR\PAR When Hezekiah said,\i "By these things men live,"\i0 he meant that by these trials and deliverances, by these sinkings and risings, strippings and clothings, emptyings and fillings,\i "by these things men,"\i0 that is, spiritual men,\i "live."\i0 It is a mystery, but a great truth, that just in proportion as we die to the world, to self, to sense, to nature, and to false religion, the more the life of God is strengthened in our conscience. The Lord, perhaps, has taught some of you this truth through great afflict{\i"Ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulDeu_12:7}.\PAR\PAR Sweet is the smile of home; the mutual look When hearts are of each other sure; Sweet all the joys that crowd the household nook, The haunt of all affections pure.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR Is there any tie which absence has loosened, or which the wear and tear of every-day intercourse, little uncongenialities, unconfessed misunderstandings, have fretted into the heart, until it bears something of the nature of a fetter? Any cup at our home-table whose sweetness we have not fully tasted, although it might yet make of our daily bread a continual feast? Let us reckon up these treasures while they are still ours, in thankfulness to God.\PAR\PAR ELIZABETH CHARLES.\PAR\PAR We ought daily or weekly to dedicate a little time to the reckoning up of the virtues of our belongings,-- wife, children, friends,-- contemplating them then in a beautiful collection. And we should do so now, that we may not pardon and love in vain and too late, after the beloved one has been taken away from us to a better world.\PAR\PAR JEAN PAUL RICHTER.\PAR\PAR LVAL*{\i"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_23:4}.\PAR\PAR O will, that wiliest good alone, Lead Thou the way, Thou guides! best; A silent child, I follow on, And trusting lean upon Thy breast.\PAR\PAR And if in gloom I see Thee not, I lean upon Thy love unknown; In me Thy blessed will is wrought, If I will nothing of my own.\PAR\PAR GERHARD TERSTEEGEN.\PAR\PAR The devout soul is always safe in every state, if it makes everything an occasion either of rising up, or falling down into the hands of God, and exercising faith, and trust, and resignation to Him. The pious soul, that eyes only God, that means nothing but being His alone, can have no stop put to its progress; light and darkness equally assist him: in the light he looks up to God, in the darkness he lays hold on God, and so they both do him the same good.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR ]LVALiAs obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written:\i "Be holy, because I am holy."\i0 {\cf11 \ul 1Pe_1:14-16}\PAR\PAR Grace lays us under the greatest of all obligations to its free and bountiful Giver, and especially to render a believing obedience to his revealed will and word. It is his free, sovereign, and distinguishing grace alone which makes and manifests us to be his children, and therefore it demands of us, as a feeble and most insufficient tribute of grateful praise, that we should walk worthy of the vocation with which we are called, a{\i"When I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto me." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMic_7:8}.\PAR\PAR {\i"There be many that say, Who will show us any good? Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_4:6}.\PAR\PAR How oft a gleam of glory sent Straight through the deepest, darkest night, Has filled the soul with heavenly light, With holy peace and sweet content.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR Suppose you are bewildered and know not what is right nor what is true. Can you not cease to regard whether you do or not, whether you be bewildered, whether you be happy? Cannot you utterly and perfectly love, and rejoice to be in the dark, and gloom-beset, because that very thing is the fact of God's Infinite Being as it is to you? Cannot you take this trial also into your own heart, and be ignorant, not because you are obliged, but because that being God's will, it is yours also? Do you not see that a person who truly loves is one with the Infinite Being-- cannot be uncomfortable or unhappy? It is that which is that he wills and desires and holds best of all to be. To know God is utterly to sacrifice self.\PAR\PAR JAMES HINTON.\PAR\PAR LVAL\i "Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord."\i0 {\cf11 \ul 2Ki_22:19}\PAR\PAR This tenderness of heart was a mark in Josiah, on which the Lord, so to speak, put his finger; it was a special token for good which God selected from all the rest, as a testimony in his favor. The heart is always tender which God has touched with his finger; this tenderness being the fruit of the impression of the Lord's hand upon the conscience. You may know the difference between a natural conscience and a heart tender in God's fear by this -- that the natural conscience is always superstiti{\i"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed, and in truth." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Jn_3:18}.\PAR\PAR {\i"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJas_1:22}.\PAR\PAR Thrice blest whose lives are faithful prayers, Whose loves in higher love endure; What souls possess themselves so pure, Or is there blessedness like theirs?\PAR\PAR A. TENNYSON.\PAR\PAR Let every creature have your love. Love, with its fruits of meekness, patience, and humility, is all that we can wish for to ourselves, and our fellow-creatures; for this is to live in God, united to Him, both for time and eternity. To desire to communicate good to every creature, in the degree we can, and it is capable of receiving from us, is a divine temper; for thus God stands unchangeably disposed towards the whole creation.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR What shall be our reward for loving our neighbor as ourselves in this life?\PAR\PAR That, when we become angels, we shall be enabled to love him better than ourselves.\PAR\PAR E. SWEDENBORG.\PAR\PAR kLVALw\i "Bow down your ear, O Lord, hear me -- for I am poor and needy."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Psa_86:1}\PAR\PAR Whatever deliverance a man may have experienced, let him have been delivered from the lowest hell, and have had his feet placed upon a rock, yet all his life long he will have this experience wrought in him by the Holy Spirit -- to be\i "poor and needy."\i0 And only so far as he is poor and needy, will he want to know anything experimentally of the riches of Jesus Christ, or to taste the consolations which the Spirit of God alone can communicate to the parched a{\i"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_5:8}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_12:14}.\PAR\PAR Since Thou Thyself dost still display Unto the pure in heart, Oh, make us children of the day To know Thee as Thou art.\PAR\PAR For Thou art light and life and love; And Thy redeemed below May see Thee as Thy saints above, And know Thee as they know.\PAR\PAR J. MONTGOMERY.\PAR\PAR Doubt, gloom, impatience, have been expelled; joy has taken their place, the hope of heaven and the harmony of a pure heart, the triumph of self-mastery, sober thoughts, and a contented mind. How can charity towards all men fail to follow, being the mere affectionateness of innocence and peace? Thus the Spirit of God creates in us the simplicity and warmth of heart which children have, nay, rather the perfections of His heavenly hosts, high and low being joined together in His mysterious work; for what are implicit trust, ardent love, abiding purity, but the mind both of little children and of the adoring seraphim!\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR FLVALR-Character with Age\par\par "Like a shock of corn fully ripe" (Job 5:26).\par\par A gentleman, writing about the breaking up of old ships, recently said that it is not the age alone which improves the quality of the fiber in the wood of an old vessel, but the straining and wrenchi\i "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that says to you, Give me to drink; you would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Joh_4:10}\PAR\PAR We cannot know the nature, though we may know the necessity, of the gift of God, until we experience its power as revealed and shed abroad in our soul. Then we know some measure of the gift of God when we feel eternal life flowing through our spiritual veins. How do I know I live naturally? Is not my participation of natural life known to me by an internal consciousness that I possess it? I know I live, because I feel that I live. And so, if we have spiritual life, there will be, at times and seasons, an internal consciousness that we have it; we shall feel the spiritual heart beat, and the spiritual lungs breat{\i"Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?\PAR\PAR He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_15:1}; {\cf11 \ulPsa_15:2}.\PAR\PAR How happy is he born or taught, That serveth not another's will, Whose armor is his honest thought, And simple truth his utmost skill.\PAR\PAR H. WOTTON.\PAR\PAR If thou workest at that which is before thee, following right reason, seriously, vigorously, calmly, without allowing anything else to distract thee, but keeping thy divine part pure as if thou shouldest be bound to give it back immediately,-- if thou boldest to this, expecting nothing, fearing nothing, but satisfied with thy present activity according to nature, and with heroic truth in every word and sound which thou utterest, thou wilt live happy. And there is no man who is able to prevent this.\PAR\PAR MARCUS ANTONINUS.\PAR\PAR LVAL#\i "If any man among you seems to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise."\i0 {\cf11 \ul 1Co_3:18}\PAR\PAR The fruit and effect of divine teaching is, to cut in pieces, and root up all our fleshly wisdom, strength, and righteousness. God never means to patch a new piece upon an old garment; he never intends to let our wisdom, our strength, our righteousness have any union with his; it must all be torn to pieces, it must all be plucked up by the roots, that a new wisdom, a new strength, and a new righteousness may arise upon its ruins. But until the Lord is pleased to teach us, we never can part with our own righteousness, never give up our own wisdom, never abandon our own strength. These things are a part and parcel of ourselves, so ingrained with{\i"Be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you, saith the Lord of hosts." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHag_2:4}, Yet the world is Thy field, Thy garden; On earth art Thou still at home.\PAR\PAR When Thou bendest hither Thy hallowing eye, My narrow work-room seems vast and high, Its dingy ceiling a rainbow-dome,-- \PAR\PAR Stand ever thus at my wide-swung door, And toil will be toil no more.\PAR\PAR L. LARCOM.\PAR\PAR The situation that has not its duty, its ideal, was never yet occupied by man. Yes, here, in this poor, miserable, hampered, despicable Actual, wherein thou even now standest, here or nowhere is thy Ideal: work it out therefrom; and working, believe, live, be free. Fool! the Ideal is in thyself, the impediment too is in thyself: thy condition is but the stuff thou art to shape that same Ideal out of: what matters whether such stuff be of this sort or that, so the form thou givest it be heroic, be poetic. O thou that pinest in the imprisonment of the Actual, and criest bitterly to the gods for a kingdom wherein to rule and create, know this of a truth:\PAR\PAR the thing thou seekest is already with thee, {\i"here or nowhere," \i0}couldst thou only see!\PAR\PAR T. CARLYLE.\PAR\PAR LVALJ\ `\eheeeeeePp'J\!\`\ehee%%e% w'0K\"`\%(eeeuee c'K\#`\uxeuu%eupe'K\$X`\ehe%ueuep ',L\%`\eh%uee%e`e'L\&`\ux eu%e%any solemn feelings whereby your soul is exercised upon his perfections? Then there is reason to believe there is some testimony of God in your conscience, an{\i"I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_17:3}.\PAR\PAR {\i"In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPro_10:19}.\PAR\PAR Prune thou thy words; the thoughts control That o'er thee swell and throng; They will condense within thy soul, And change to purpose strong.\PAR\PAR J. H. NEWMAN.\PAR\PAR Few men suspect how much mere talk fritters away spiritual energy,-- that which should be spent in action, spends itself in words. Hence he who restrains that love of talk, lays up a fund of spiritual strength.\PAR\PAR F. W. ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR Do not flatter yourself that your thoughts are under due control, your desires properly regulated, or your dispositions subject as they should be to Christian principle, if your intercourse with others consists mainly of frivolous gossip, impertinent anecdotes, speculations on the character and affairs of your neighbors, the repetition of former conversations, or a discussion of the current petty scandal of society; much less, if you allow yourself in careless exaggeration on all these points, and that grievous inattention to exact truth, which is apt to attend the statements of those whose conversation is made up of these materials.\PAR\PAR H. WARE, JR.\PAR\PAR  LVALJX\ \='JX\!\\eh%u%eee=Pi'0KX\"\%(%eeuue=pi'KX\#\%(euueeeGpc'KX\$X\eh %eue%%G` ',LX\%\eh(uuU%euG l'LX\&\eh0%%eeeeG`e'LX\'T\eh8%eeeeeG`s'(MX\(\%(@eeuueeG`s'|MX\)\{\i"Judge not, that ye be not judged." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_7:1}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Why beboldest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_6:41}.\PAR\PAR Judge not; the workings of his brain And of his heart thou canst not see; What looks to thy dim eyes a stain, In God's pure light may only be A scar, brought from some well-won field, Where thou wouldst only faint and yield.\PAR\PAR ADELAIDE A. PROCTER.\PAR\PAR When you behold an aspect for whose constant gloom and frown you cannot account, whose unvarying cloud exasperates you by its apparent causelessness, be sure that there is a canker somewhere, and a canker not the less deeply corroding because concealed.\PAR\PAR CHARLOTTE BRONTE.\PAR\PAR While we are coldly discussing a man's career, sneering at his mistakes, blaming his rashness, and labelling his opinions-- {\i"Evangelical and narrow,"\PAR\PAR or {\i"Latitudinarian and Pantheistic," \i0}or {\i"Anglican and supercilious"-\i0}- that man, in his solitude, is perhaps shedding hot tears because his sacrifice is a hard one, because strength and patience are failing him to speak the difficult word, and do the difficult deed.\PAR\PAR GEORGE ELIOT.\PAR\PAR LVALY\i "Exercise yourself unto godliness."\i0 {\cf11 \ul 1Ti_4:7}\PAR\PAR \i "The Lord tries the righteous"\i0 ({\cf11 \ul Psa_11:5}). In fact, a righteous life is for the most part a tried life. There is not a child of God, whose graces are lively and active, that is not tried in his soul. I have no more belief that the soul can live without exercise than that the body can. The more the soul is exercised, the healthier it will be. Trial is one main source of exercise. If you are tried as to your standing; tried as to your state; tried as to the reality of the work of grace upon your soul; tried as to your experience; tried as to your manifestations, deliverances, and evidences; tried by your sins; tried by Satan; tried by professors; tried by profane; and above all tried by your own heart, and that continually -- it will keep your soul in exercise. And this is\i "exercise unto godliness."\i0 \PAR\PAR If these exercises ar{\i"Be strong, and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed:\PAR\PAR for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJos_1:9}.\PAR\PAR By Thine unerring Spirit led, We shall not in the desert stray; We shall not full direction need, Nor miss our providential way; As far from danger as from fear, While love, almighty love, is near.\PAR\PAR CHARLES WESLEY.\PAR\PAR Watch your way then, as a cautious traveller; and don't be gazing at that mountain or river in the distance, and saying, {\i"How shall I ever get over them?" \i0}but keep to the present {\i"little inch" \i0}that is before you, and accomplish {\i"that" \i0}in the little moment that belongs to it. The mountain and the river can only be passed in the same way; and, when you come to them, you will come to the light and strength that belong to them.\PAR\PAR M. A. KELTY.\PAR\PAR Let not future things disturb thee, for thou wilt come to them, if it shall be necessary, having with thee the same reason which thou now usest for present things.\PAR\PAR MARCUS ANTONINUS.\PAR\PAR BLVALN[\i "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."\i0 Philemon 25\PAR\PAR It is the regenerating breath of the Lord Jesus Christ which makes the soul alive unto himself. This is manifest from his own language --\i "It is the Spirit who quickens; the flesh profits nothing -- the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life"\i0 ({\cf11 \ul Joh_6:63}). Then for the first time\i "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with our spirit."\i0 For you will observe that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is not with our carnal mind -- that ever remains the same, a body of sin and death, flesh -- corrupt flesh,\i "in which dwells no good thing,"\i0 and therefore not the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.\PAR\PAR His grace is with our spirit, that\i "new man"\i0 of which we read that\i "it is after the image of God"\i0 created in righteousness and true holiness."\i0 This is called our\i "spirit,"\i0 because it is born of the Spirit, as the Lord himself unfolded the solemn mystery to Nicodemus --\i "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which{\i"Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_35:4}.\PAR\PAR Why shouldst them fill to-day with sorrow About to-morrow, My heart?\PAR\PAR One watches all with care most true, Doubt not that He will give thee too Thy part.\PAR\PAR PAUL FLEMMING.\PAR\PAR The crosses which we make for ourselves by a restless anxiety as to the future, are not crosses which come from God. We show want of faith in Him by our false wisdom, wishing to forestall His arrangements, and struggling to supplement His Providence by our own providence. The future is not yet ours; perhaps it never will be. If it comes, it may come wholly different from what we have foreseen. Let us shut our eyes, then, to that which God hides from us, and keeps in reserve in the treasures of His deep counsels.\PAR\PAR Let us worship without seeing; let us be silent; let us abide in peace.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR LVAL*\i "That he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." \i0 {\cf11 \ulEph_5:27}\PAR\PAR We do not now see what the Church one day will be, and what she ever was in the eyes of Jesus. He could look through all this time-state, through all the sins and sorrows of this intermediate period, and fix his eye upon the bridal day, the day when before assembled angels, in the courts of heaven, in the realms of eternal bliss, he should present her to himself a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but holy, and without blemish. \PAR\PAR O what a day will that be, when the Son of God shall openly wed his espoused bride; when there shall be heard in heaven, \i "as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia--for the Lord God omnipotent reigns! Let us be glad and rejoice, and{\i"I had fainted, unless I bad believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living"-\i0}- {\cf11 \ulPsa_27:13}.\PAR\PAR {\i"I will surely do thee good." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulGen_32:12}.\PAR\PAR Thou know'st not what is good for thee, But God doth know,-- \PAR\PAR Let Him thy strong reliance be, And rest thee so.\PAR\PAR C. F. GELLERT.\PAR\PAR Let us be very careful of thinking, on the one hand, that we have no work assigned us to do, or, on the other hand, that what we have assigned to us is not the right thing for us. If ever we can say in our hearts to God, in reference to any daily duty, {\i"This is not my place; I would choose something dearer; I am capable of something higher;" \i0}we are guilty not only of rebellion, but of blasphemy. It is equivalent to saying, not only, {\i"My heart revolts against Thy commands," \i0}but {\i"Thy commands are unwise; Thine Almighty guidance is unskilful; Thine omniscient eye has mistaken the capacities of Thy creature; Thine infinite love is indifferent to the welfare of Thy child."\PAR\PAR ELIZABETH CHARLES.\PAR\PAR  LVAL,\i "Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck." \i0 {\cf11 \ul1Ti_1:19}\PAR\PAR We find that, in the Apostle's time, there were people who held faith, or rather what they called faith, and put away \i "good conscience." \i0 He mentions by name, \i "Hymeneus and Alexander, whom he had delivered unto Satan," \i0 that is, excommunicated them out of the Church, as heretics and blasphemers. But if to have put good conscience away, stamps a man as unfit for the visible Church of God, it behooves us to search whether we have this weapon at our side, and in our hand. \PAR\PAR What does the Apostle, then, mean by \i "a good conscience?" \i0 I believe he means a conscience alive in God's fear, a spiritual conscience, a tender conscience, what he calls, in another part, \i "a pure conscience;" \i0 \i "holding faith in a pure conscience," \i0 that is, purified from ignorance, from guilt, from the power of sin, \i "a conscience void of offence toward God and men." \i0 {\i"And because ye are sons, God hath sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulGal_4:6}.\PAR\PAR O Lord, forgive my sin, And deign to put within A calm, obedient heart, a patient mind; That I may murmur not, Though bitter seem my lot; For hearts unthankful can no blessing find.\PAR\PAR M. RUTILIUS, 1604.\PAR\PAR Resignation to the Divine Will signifies a cheerful approbation and thankful acceptance of everything that comes from God. It is not enough patiently to submit, but we must thankfully receive and fully approve of everything that, by the order of God's providence, happens to us. For there is no reason why we should be patient, but what is as good and as strong a reason why we should be thankful. Whenever, therefore, you find yourself disposed to uneasiness or murmuring at any thing that is the effect of God's providence over you, you must look upon yourself as denying either the wisdom or goodness of God.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR LVAL E\i "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh--and these are contrary the one to the other--so that you cannot do the things that you would." \i0 {\cf11 \ulGal_5:17}\PAR\PAR The Holy Spirit is especially tender of his own work upon the soul. He originally formed it--it is his own spiritual offspring; and as a mother watches over her babe, so the blessed Spirit watches over the spirit of his own creating. It is the counterpart of himself,\i "But my God shall supply all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." \i0 {\cf11 \ulPhp_4:19}\PAR\PAR Oh! if there were no Christ Jesus, there could be no \i "supply." \i0 Howling in hell would our miserable souls be, unless there were a Mediator at the right hand{\i"Ye shall not go out in haste, for the Lord will go before you; and the God of Israel will be your rearward." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_52:12}. (R. V.).\PAR\PAR {\i"He that believeth shall not make haste." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_28:16}.\PAR\PAR Holy Spirit, Peace divine!\PAR\PAR Still this restless heart of mine; Speak to calm this tossing sea, Stayed in Thy tranquillity.\PAR\PAR S. LONGFELLOW.\PAR\PAR In whatever you are called upon to do, endeavor to maintain a calm, collected, and prayerful state of mind. Self-recollection is of great importance. {\i"It is good for a man to quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." \i0}He who is in what may be called a spiritual hurry, or rather who runs without having evidence of being spiritually sent, makes haste to no purpose.\PAR\PAR T. C. UPHAM.\PAR\PAR There is great fret and worry in always running after work; it is not good intellectually or spiritually.\PAR\PAR ANNIE KEARY.\PAR\PAR Whenever we are outwardly excited we should cease to act; but whenever we have a message from the spirit within, we should execute it with calmness.\PAR\PAR A fine day may excite one to act, but it is much better that we act from the calm spirit in any day, be the outward what it may.\PAR\PAR J. P. GREAVES.\PAR\PAR LVALG\i "Who is he that condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRom_8:34}\PAR\PAR As the soul is led and taught by the Spirit, it follows the Lord through all the various acts and sufferings of his life. The first spot to which the Holy Spirit takes the poor sinner is the cross of Jesus. That is the first real saving view we get of the Lord of life and glory; the Holy Spirit taking the poor guilty sinner, laden with the weight of a thousand sins, to the foot of the cross, and opening his eyes to see the Son of God bleeding there as an atoning sacrifice for sin{\i"As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJos_24:15}.\PAR\PAR O happy house I and happy servitude!\PAR\PAR Where all alike one Master own; Where daily duty, in Thy strength pursued, Is never hard or toilsome known; Where each one serves Thee, meek and lowly, Whatever Thine appointment be, Till common tasks seem great and holy, When they are done as unto Thee.\PAR\PAR C. J. P. SPITTA.\PAR\PAR At Dudson there was no rushing after anything, either worldly or intellectual. It was a home of constant activity, issuing from, and retiring to, a centre of deep repose. There was an earnest application of excellent sense to the daily duties of life, to the minutest courtesy and kindness, as well as to the real interests of others. Everything great and everything little seemed done in the same spirit, and with the same degree of fidelity, because it was the will of God; and that which could not be traced to His will was not undertaken at all. Nothing at Dudson was esteemed too little to be cared for, and nothing too great to be undertaken at the command of God; and for this they daily exercised their mental and bodily powers on the things around them; knowing that our Lord thoroughly furnishes each of His soldiers for his work, and places before each the task he has to do.\PAR\PAR M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK.\PAR\PAR  LVALed us; and if we seek communion with him, it is because he will manifest himself to us as he does not unto the world.\PAR\PAR Would we see what the Holy Spirit has revealed of the nature of this communion, we shall find it most clearly and experimentally unfolded in the Song of Solomon. From the first verse of that book, \i "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth," \i0 to the last expressed desire of the loving bride, \i "Make haste, my beloved, and be like to a ro{\i"Now the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always by all means." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Th_3:16}.\PAR\PAR {\i"The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_29:11}.\PAR\PAR In the heart's depths a peace serene and holy Abides, and when pain seems to have its will, Or we despair,-- oh, may that peace rise slowly, Stronger than agony, and we be still.\PAR\PAR S. JOHNSON.\PAR\PAR But if a man ought and is willing to lie still under God's hand, he must and ought also to lie still under all things, whether they come from God, himself, or the creatures, nothing excepted. And he who would be obedient, resigned, and submissive to God, must and ought to be also resigned, obedient, and submissive to all things, in a spirit of yielding, and not of resistance; and take them in silence, resting on the hidden foundations of his soul, and having a secret inward patience, that enableth him to take all chances or crosses willingly; and, whatever befalleth, neither to call for nor desire any redress, or deliverance, or resistance, or revenge, but always in a loving, sincere humility to cry, {\i"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!"\PAR\PAR THEOLOGIA GERMANICA.\PAR\PAR )LVAL5(Mark 5:35 to end. He raises Jairus' daughter. \par\par With what eagerness the ruler must have watche\i "Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I have spoken against this place and its people, that they would become accursed and laid waste, and because you tore your robes and wept in my presence, I have heard you, declares the Lord."\i0 {\cf11 \ul 2Ki_22:19}\PAR\PAR This tenderness of heart was a mark in Josiah, on which the Lord, so to speak, put his finger; it was a special token for good which God selected from all the rest, as a testimony in his favor. The heart is always tender which God has touched with his finger; this tenderness being the fruit of the impression of the Lord's hand upon the conscience. You may know the difference between a natural conscience and a heart tender in God's fear by this -- that the natural conscience is always superstitious and uncertain; as the Lord says, it\i "strains out a gnat, and swallows a camel."\i0 It is exceedingly observant of self-inflicted{\i"And when the people complained, it displeased the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulNum_11:1}.\PAR\PAR When thou hast thanked thy God For every blessing sent, What time will then remain For murmurs or lament?\PAR\PAR R. C. TRENCH.\PAR\PAR Let him, with a cheerful and thankful spirit, yield himself up to suffer whatever God shall appoint unto him, and to fulfil, according to his power, by the grace of God, all His holy will to the utmost that he can discern it, and never complain of his distresses but to God alone, with entire and humble resignation, praying that he may be strong to endure all his sufferings according to the will of God.\PAR\PAR JOHN TAULER.\PAR\PAR He who complains, or thinks he has a right to complain, because he is called in God's Providence to suffer, has something within him which needs to be taken away. A soul whose will is lost in God's will, can never do this. Sorrow may exist; but complaint never.\PAR\PAR CATHERINE ADORNA.\PAR\PAR LVAL*Matthew 9:27-34. Christ gives sight to two blind men, and speech to a mute man. \par\par It appears that the Lord Jesus put the faith of the two blind men to a short trial; for he did not cure them as soon as they asked him; he waited until he was come into the house before he granted their petition. \i "Bow down your ear, O Lord, hear me -- for I am poor and needy."\i0 {\cf11 \ul Psa_86:1}\PAR\PAR Whatever deliverance a man may have experienced, let him have been delivered from the lowest hell, and have had his feet placed upon a rock, yet all his life long he will have this experience wrought in him by the Holy Spirit -- to be\i "poor and needy."\i0 And only so far as he is poor and needy, will he want to know anything experimentally of the riches of Jesus Christ, or to taste the consolations which the Spirit of God alone can communicate to the parched and thirsty soul. How many we find{\i"Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulEph_5:19}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Pe_3:15}.\PAR\PAR There are in this loud stunning tide Of human care and crime, With whom the melodies abide Of th' everlasting chime; Who carry music in their heart Through dusky lane and wrangling mart, Plying their daily task with busier feet, Because their secret souls a holy strain repeat.\PAR\PAR J. KEBLE.\PAR\PAR Strive to carry thyself with a total resignation to the Divine Will, that God may do with thee and all thine according to His heavenly pleasure, relying on Him as on a kind and loving Father. Never recall that intention, and though thou be taken up about the affairs of the condition wherein God hath placed thee, yet thou wilt still be in prayer, in the presence of God, and in perpetual acts of resignation. {\i"A just man leaves not off to pray unless he leaves off to be just." \i0}He always prays who always does well.\PAR\PAR The good desire is prayer, and if the desire be continued so also is the prayer.\PAR\PAR M. DE MOLINOS.\PAR\PAR LVAL"d of power coming into your heart, of the blood of Christ being applied, and the love of God shed abroad in your heart by the {\i"We desire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulHeb_6:11}.\PAR\PAR {\i"The Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil." \i0}-- 2\PAR\PAR T{\cf11 \ulAct_3:3}.\PAR\PAR Long though my task may be, Cometh the end.\PAR\PAR God't is that helpeth me, His is the work, and He New strength will lend.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR Set yourself steadfastly to those duties which have the least attractive exterior; it matters not whether God's holy will be fulfilled in great or small matters. Be patient with yourself and your own failings; never be in a hurry, and do not yield to longings after that which is impossible to you. My dear sister, go on steadily and quietly; if our dear Lord means you to run, He will {\i"strengthen your heart."\PAR\PAR ST. FRANCIS DE SALES.\PAR\PAR Always begin by doing that which costs me most, unless the easier duty is a pressing one. Examine, classify, and determine at night the work of the morrow; arrange things in the order of their importance, and act accordingly. Dread, above all things, bitterness and irritation. Never say, or indirectly recall anything to my advantage.\PAR\PAR MADAME SWET CHINE,\PAR\PAR LVAL{\i"He that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate Me love death." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPro_8:36}.\PAR\PAR {\i"But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_6:22-23}.\PAR\PAR O Sovereign Love, to Thee I cry!\PAR\PAR Give me Thyself, or else I die!\PAR\PAR Save me from death; from hell set free!\PAR\PAR Death, hell, are but the want of Thee.\PAR\PAR Quickened by Thy imparted flame, Saved when possessed of Thee, I am:\PAR\PAR My life, my only heaven Thou art; O might I feel Thee in my heart!\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR Sin itself is hell, and death, and misery to the soul, as being a departure from goodness and holiness itself; I mean from God, in conjunction with whom the happiness, and blessedness, and heaven of a soul doth consist.\PAR\PAR Avoid it, therefore, as you would avoid being miserable.\PAR\PAR SAMUEL SHAW.\PAR\PAR {\i"I could n't live in peace if I put the shadow of a wilful sin between myself and God."\PAR\PAR GEORGE ELIOT.\PAR\PAR Unholy tempers are always unhappy tempers.\PAR\PAR JOHN WESLEY.\PAR\PAR LVALE\i "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh--and these are contrary the one to the other--so that you cannot do the things that you would." \i0 {\cf11 \ulGal_5:17}\PAR\PAR The Holy Spirit is especially tender of his own work upon the soul. He originally formed it--it is his own spiritual offspring; and as a mother watches over her babe, so the blessed Spirit watches over the spirit of his own creating. It is the counterpart of himself, for it is the spirit that he has raised up in the soul by his own almighty power. He, therefore, acts upon it, breathes into it fresh life and power, and communicates grace out of the inexhaustible fullness of the Son of God, thus enabling the spirit to breathe and act, struggle and fight against the flesh, so that the latter cannot have all its own way, but must submit and yield. For the spirit can fight as well {\i"Mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help me." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_40:12- 13}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Sin shall not have dominion over you." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_6:14}.\PAR\PAR O Thou, to whose all-searching sight The darkness shineth as the light!\PAR\PAR Search, prove my heart; it pants for Thee; Oh, burst these bonds, and set it free!\PAR\PAR G. TERSTEEGEN.\PAR\PAR Yes, this sin which has sent me weary-hearted to bed and desperate in heart to morning work, that has made my plans miscarry until I am a coward, that cuts me off from prayer, that robs the sky of blueness and the earth of springtime, and the air of freshness, and human faces of friendliness,-- this blasting sin which perhaps has made my bed in hell for me so long,-- this can be conquered. I do not say annihilated, but, better than that, conquered, captured and transfigured into a friend: so that I at last shall say, {\i"My temptation has become my strength! for to the very fight with it I owe my force."\PAR\PAR W. C. GANNETT.\PAR\PAR LVALG\i "Who is he that condemns? It is Christ who died, yes rather, who is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRom_8:34}\PAR\PAR As the soul is led and taught by the Spirit, it follows the Lord through all the various acts and sufferings of his life. The first spot to which the Holy Spirit takes the poor sinner is the cross of Jesus. That is the first real saving view we get of the Lord of life and glory; the Holy Spirit taking the poor guilty sinner, laden with the weight of a thousand sins, to the foot of the cross, and opening his eyes to see the Son of God bleeding there as an atoning sacrifice for sin. To be brought there by the power of the Holy Spirit, and receive that blessed{\i"I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which Thou hast showed unto Thy servant." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulGen_32:10}.\PAR\PAR Some murmur if their sky is clear, And wholly bright to view, If one small speck of dark appear In their great heaven of blue:\PAR\PAR And some with thankful love are filled, If but one streak of light, One ray of God's good mercy, gild The darkness of their night.\PAR\PAR R. C. TRENCH.\PAR\PAR Habitual sufferers are precisely those who least frequently doubt the Divine benevolence, and whose faith and love rise to the serenest cheerfulness. Possessed by no idea of a prescriptive right to be happy, their blessings are not benumbed by anticipation, but come to them fresh and brilliant as the first day's morning and evening light to the dwellers in Paradise. With the happy it is their constant peace that seems to come by nature, and to be blunted by its commonness,-- and their griefs to come from God, sharpened by their sacred origin; with the sufferer, it is his pain that appears to be a thing of course, and to require no explanation, while his relief is reverently welcomed as a divine interposition, and, as a breath of Heaven, caresses the heart into melodies of praise.\PAR\PAR J. MARTINEAU.\PAR\PAR FLVALRI\i "All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will never out." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_6:37}\PAR\PAR Now, poor sinner, upon whose head the beams of a fiery law are darting; now, poor sinner, distressed in your mind, guilty in your conscience, plagued with a thousand temptations, beset by innumerable doubts and fears, can you not look up a little out of your gloom and sadness, and see that the eternal God is your refuge? Do you not cleave to him with the utmost of your power, as being beaten out of every other refuge? Have you not taken hold of his strength that you may make peace with him? Are you not looking to him? And does he not say, \i "Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth?" \i0 He bids you look at him as Moses bade the Israelites look to the bronze serpent. Poor sinner, groa{\i"Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul1Sa_15:22}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will show to you to-day"-\i0}- {\cf11 \ulExo_14:13}.\PAR\PAR The folded hands seem idle:\PAR\PAR If folded at His word, 'Tis a holy service, trust me, In obedience to the Lord.\PAR\PAR ANNA SHIPTON.\PAR\PAR It is not the multitude of hard duties, it is not constraint and contention that advance us in our Christian course. On the contrary, it is the yielding of our wills without restriction and without choice, to tread cheerfully every day in the path in which Providence leads us, to seek nothing, to be discouraged by nothing, to see our duty in the present moment, to trust all else without reserve to the will and power of God.\PAR\PAR FRANCOIS DE LA MOTHE FENELON.\PAR\PAR Godliness is the devotion of the soul to God, as to a living person whose will is to be its law, whose love is to be its life. It is the habit of living before the face of God, and not the simply doing certain things.\PAR\PAR J. B. BROWN.\PAR\PAR JLVALVK\i "In whom also after you believed, you were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." \i0 {\cf11 \ulEph_1:13}\PAR\PAR Sealing is subsequent to believing--"In whom after you believed, you were sealed." \i0 In legal documents the writing always precedes the sealing. That is the last act, and follows even the signing, putting an attesting stamp on the whole document, from the first word to the last signature. So in grace. The Spirit begins the work. He writes the first lines of divine truth on the soul; he makes the first impression on the heart of stone, which under his operation becomes a heart of flesh; he writes every truth that he thus makes known on the fleshy tables of the heart. He thus gives faith and hope, and then he comes with his special inward witness, and seals the truth and reality of his own work, so as not on{\i"Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulMat_5:20}.\PAR\PAR The freedom from all wilful sin, The Christian's daily task,-- \PAR\PAR Oh these are graces far below What longing love would ask!\PAR\PAR Dole not thy duties out to God.\PAR\PAR F. W. FABER.\PAR\PAR You perhaps will say that all people fall short of the perfection of the Gospel, and therefore you are content with your failings. But this is saying nothing to the purpose: for the question is not whether Gospel perfection can be fully attained, but whether you come as near it as a sincere intention and careful diligence can carry you. Whether you are not in a much lower state than you might be if you sincerely intended and carefully labored to advance yourself in all Christian virtues.\PAR\PAR WM. LAW.\PAR\PAR We know not exactly how low the least degree of obedience is, which will bring a man to heaven; but this we are quite sure of, that he who aims no higher will be sure to fall short even of that, and that he who goes farthest beyond it will be most blessed.\PAR\PAR JOHN KEBLE.\PAR\PAR 3LVAL?M\i "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." \i0 {\cf11 \ulRom_3:23}\PAR\PAR What is it to \i "come short of the glory of God?" \i0 It is to act without a view to his glory. Now everything that we have ever done, which has not been done with a single eye to God's glory, has the brand of sin stamped on it. But who in an unregenerate state, who, as the fallen son of a fallen parent, ever had an eye to the glory of God? Did such a thing ever enter into man's natural heart as to speak to God's glory, act to his glory, consult his glory, and live to his glory? Before ever such a thought, such a desire can cross our breast, we must have seen Him who is invisible; we must have had a view by faith of the glory of the Three-One God; we must have had a single eye given us by the Holy Spirit to se{\i"Thus saith the Lord, thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel; I am the Lord thy God which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulIsa_48:17}.\PAR\PAR I seek Thy aid, I ask direction, Teach me to do what pleaseth Thee; I can bear toil, endure affliction, Only Thy leadings let me see.\PAR\PAR ANON.\PAR\PAR Of all paths a man could strike into, there is, at any given moment, a {\i"best path" \i0}for every man; a thing which, here and now, it were of all things {\i"wisest" \i0}for him to do; which could he but be led or driven to do, he were then doing {\i"like a man," \i0}as we phrase it. His success, in such case, were complete, his felicity a maximum. This path, to find this path, and walk in it, is the one thing needful for him.\PAR\PAR T. CARLYLE.\PAR\PAR Every man has his own vocation. There is one direction in which all space is open to him. He has faculties silently inviting him thither to endless exertion. He is like a ship in a river; he runs against obstructions on every side but one; on that side all obstruction is taken away, and he sweeps serenely over a deepening channel into an infinite sea.\PAR\PAR R. W. EMERSON.\PAR\PAR LVAL O\i "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHeb_10:19}\PAR\PAR Nothing will satisfy a living soul but coming \i "into the holiest." \i0 He wants to have communion with God, the holy, holy, holy Lord God of hosts. He is not dealing with a God distant and afar off--an idol, a God in whom he has neither faith, nor hope, nor love; who can neither see, nor hear, nor save; a God of his own conception or of some indistinct, traditional opinion; but he feels in his very conscience that he is carrying on a sacred and holy communion with the God of heaven and earth, the God who has made himself in some measure known to his soul as the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. With him he has to do; to him he must come; and with him he must hold holy communion. Before his heart-searching eyes he feels he stands; into his ever-open ears he pours his petition; to his mercy and pity he appeals; his compassion he craves; his love he seeks; his salvation he longs for; and his pres{\i"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_12:21}.\PAR\PAR Come, in this accepted hour; Bring Thy heavenly kingdom in; Fill us with Thy glorious power, Rooting out the seeds of sin.\PAR\PAR C. WESLEY.\PAR\PAR If we wish to overcome evil, we must overcome it by good. There are doubtless many ways of overcoming the evil in our own hearts, but the simplest, easiest, most universal, is to overcome it by active occupation in some good word or work. The best antidote against evil of all kinds, against the evil thoughts which haunt the soul, against the needless perplexities which distract the conscience, is to keep hold of the good we have. Impure thoughts will not stand against pure words, and prayers, and deeds. Little doubts will not avail against great certainties. Fix your affections on things above, and then you will be less and less troubled by the cares, the temptations, the troubles of things on earth.\PAR\PAR A. P. STANLEY.\PAR\PAR cLVALoQ\i "Thus says the Lord; I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals, when you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJer_2:2}\PAR\PAR If we look at salvation, we shall see that it consists of three parts; salvation past, salvation present, and salvation future. Salvation past consists in having our names written in the Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world. Salvation present consists in the manifestation of Jesus to the soul, whereby he betroths it to himself. And salvation future consists in the eternal enjoyment of Christ, when the elect shall sit down to the marriage-supper of the Lamb, and be forever with the Lord. Now, as none will ever enjoy salvation future who have no saving interest in salvation past; in other words, as none will ever be with Christ in eternal {\i"I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulGen_12:1}.\PAR\PAR {\i"Consecrate yourselves to-day to the Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulExo_32:29}.\PAR\PAR Take my life, and let it be Consecrated, Lord, to Thee.\PAR\PAR Take my moments and my days; Let them flow in ceaseless praise.\PAR\PAR F. R. HAVERGAL.\PAR\PAR I have noticed that wherever there has been a faithful following of the Lord in a consecrated soul, several things have inevitably followed, sooner or later. Meekness and quietness of spirit become in time the characteristics of the daily life. A submissive acceptance of the will of God as it comes in the hourly events of each day; pliability in the hands of God to do or to suffer all the good pleasure of His will; sweetness under provocation; calmness in the midst of turmoil and bustle; yieldingness to the wishes of others, and an insensibility to slights and affronts; absence of worry or anxiety; deliverance from care and fear;-- all these, and many similar graces, are invariably found to be the natural outward development of that inward life which is hid with Christ in God.\PAR\PAR H. W. SMITH.\PAR\PAR LVALS\i "Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you, and your fellows that sit before you--for they are men wondered at." \i0 {\cf11 \ulZec_3:8}\PAR\PAR A saved sinner is a spectacle for angels to contemplate. As the Apostle says, \i "We are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels and to men." \i0 The ancients used to say that \i "a good man struggling with difficulties was a sight for the gods to look at." \i0 We may say, with all Christian truth, that the mysteries of redemption are \i "things the angels desire to look into;" \i0 and among the mysteries of redemption, what greater than a redeemed sinner? That a man who deserves, by sin original and sin actual, nothing but the eternal wrath of God, should be lifted out of perdition justly merited into salvation to which he can have no claim, must indeed ever be a holy wonder. And that you or I should ever have been fixed on in the electing love of God, ever {\i"Father, if Thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but Thine, be done." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulLuk_22:42}.\PAR\PAR Just as Thou wilt is just what I would will; Give me but this, the heart to be content, And, if my wish is thwarted, to lie still, Waiting till puzzle and till pain are spent, And the sweet thing made plain which the Lord meant.\PAR\PAR SUSAN COOLIDGE.\PAR\PAR Let your will be one with His will, and be glad to be disposed of by Him.\PAR\PAR He will order all things for you. What can cross your will, when it is one with His will, on which all creation hangs, round which all things revolve?\PAR\PAR Keep your hearts clear of evil thoughts; for as evil choices estrange the will from His will, so evil thoughts cloud the soul, and hide Him from us. Whatever sets us in opposition to Him makes our will an intolerable torment. So long as we will one thing and He another, we go on piercing ourselves through and through with a perpetual wound; and His will advances moving on in sanctity and majesty, crushing ours into the dust.\PAR\PAR H. E. MANNING.\PAR\PAR @LVALL\i "I am God and not a mere mortal." \i0 {\cf11 \ulHos_11:9}\PAR\PAR We speak sometimes of the attributes of God, and we use the words to help our conception. But God, strictly speaking, has no attributes. His attributes are himself. We speak, for instance, of the love of God, but God is love; of the justice of God, but God is just; of the holiness of God, but God is holy; of the purity of God, but God is pure. As he is all love, so he is all justice, all purity, all holiness. Love, then, is infinite, because God is infinite; his very name, his very character, his very nature, his very essence is infinite love. He would cease to be God if he did not love, and if that love were not as large as himself, as infinite as his own self-existent, incomprehensible essence. \PAR\PAR The lov{\i"Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_143:10}.\PAR\PAR The battle of our life is won, And heaven begun, When we can say, {\i"Thy will be done!"\PAR\PAR But, Lord, until These restless hearts in Thy deep love are still, We pray Thee, {\i"Teach us how to do Thy will!"\PAR\PAR LUCY LARCOM.\PAR\PAR {\i"You are seeking your own will, my daughter. You are seeking some good other than the law you are bound to obey. But how will you find good? It is not a thing of choice; it is a river that flows from the foot of the Invisible Throne, and flows by the path of obedience. I say again, man cannot choose his duties. You may choose to forsake your duties, and choose not to have the sorrow they bring. But you will go forth, and what will you find, my daughter? Sorrow without duty-- bitter herbs, and no bread with them."\PAR\PAR GEORGE ELIOT.\PAR\PAR However dark and profitless, however painful and weary, existence may have become, life is not done, and our Christian character is not won, so long as God has anything left for us to suffer, or anything left for us to do.\PAR\PAR F. W. ROBERTSON.\PAR\PAR LVAL{\i"The Lord is my strength, and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise Him." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulPsa_28:7}.\PAR\PAR Well may Thy happy children cease From restless wishes, prone to sin, And, in Thy own exceeding peace, Yield to Thy daily discipline.\PAR\PAR A. L. WARING.\PAR\PAR Talk of hair-cloth shirts, and scourgings, and sleeping on ashes, as means of saintship! There is no need of them in our country. Let a woman once look at her domestic trials as her hair-cloth, her ashes, her scourges,-- accept them,-- rejoice in them,-- smile and be quiet, silent, patient, and loving under them,-- and the convent can teach her no more; she is a victorious saint.\PAR\PAR H. B. STOWE.\PAR\PAR Perhaps it is a greater energy of Divine Providence, which keeps the Christian from day to day, from year to year-- praying, hoping, running, believing-- against all hindrances-- which maintains him as a {\i"living martyr_, than that which bears him up for an hour in sacrificing himself at the stake.\PAR\PAR R. CECIL.\PAR\PAR LVAL3\i "All that the Father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will never out." \i0 {\cf11 \ulJoh_6:37}\PAR\PAR Now, poor sinner, upon whose head the beams of a fiery law are darting; now, poor sinner, distressed in your mind, guilty in your conscience, plagued with a thousand temptations, beset by innumerable doubts and fears, can you not look up a little out of your gloom and sadness, and see that the eternal God is your refuge? Do you not cleave to him with the utmost of your power, as being beaten out of every other refuge? Have you not taken hold of his strength that you may make peace with him? Are you not looking to him? And does he not say, \i "Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth?" \i0 He bids you look at him as Moses bade the Israelites look to the bronze serpent. Poor sinner, groaning under the weight of your transgression, he bids you look to him. Has the blessed Lord, he into whose lips grace was poured, not said, \i "Him that comes to me I w{\i"For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulRom_8:38-39}.\PAR\PAR I know not what the future hath Of marvel or surprise, Assured alone that life and death His mercy underlies.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR Be of good faith, my dear Friends, look not out at any thing; fear none of those things ye may be exposed to suffer, either outwardly or inwardly; but trust the Lord over all, and your life will spring, and grow, and refresh you, and ye will learn obedience and faithfulness daily more and more, even by your exercises and sufferings; yea, the Lord will teach you the very mystery of faith and obedience; the wisdom, power, love, and goodness of the Lord ordering {\i"every" \i0}thing for you, and ordering {\i"your" \i0}hearts in every thing.\PAR\PAR I. PENINGTON.\PAR\PAR LVAL5\i "In whom also after you believed, you were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise." \i0 {\cf11 \ulEph_1:13}\PAR\PAR Sealing is subsequent to believing--"In whom after you believed, you were sealed." \i0 In legal documents the writing always precedes the sealing. That is the last act, and follows even the signing, putting an attesting stamp on the whole document, from the first word to the last signature. So in grace. The Spirit begins the work. He writes the first lines of divine truth on the soul; he makes the first impression on the heart of stone, which under his operation becomes a heart of flesh; he writes every truth that he thus makes known on the fleshy tables of the heart. He thus gives faith and hope, and then he comes with h{\i"Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulZec_9:12}.\PAR\PAR O power to do; O baffled will!\PAR\PAR O prayer and action! ye are one.\PAR\PAR Who may not strive, may yet fulfil The harder task of standing still, And good but wished with God is done.\PAR\PAR J. G. WHITTIER.\PAR\PAR That God has circumscribed our life may add a peculiar element of trial, but often it defines our way and cuts off many tempting possibilities that perplex the free and the strong; whilst it leaves intact the whole body of spiritual reality, with the Beatitude thereon, {\i"that if we know these things, happy are we if we do them." \i0}We know that God orders the lot; and to meet it with the energies it requires and permits, neither more nor less,-- to fill it at every available point with the light and action of an earnest and spiritually inventive mind, though its scene be no wider than a sick chamber, and its action narrowed to patient suffering, and gentle, cheerful words, and all the light it can emit the thankful quiet of a trustful eye,-- without chafing as though God had misjudged our sphere, and placed us wrong, and did not know where we could best serve Him,-- this is what, in that condition, we {\i"have to do."\PAR\PAR J. H. THOM.\PAR\PAR 7LVALC{\i"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ul2Co_12:10}.\PAR\PAR Whatever God does is well!\PAR\PAR In patience let us wait; He doth Himself our burdens bear, He doth for us take care, And He, our God, knows all our weary days.\PAR\PAR Come, give Him praise.\PAR\PAR B. SCHMOLCK.\PAR\PAR Nothing else but this seeing God in everything will make us loving and patient with those who annoy and trouble us. They will be to us then only the instruments for accomplishing His tender and wise purposes towards us, and we shall even find ourselves at last inwardly thanking them for the blessings they bring us. Nothing else will completely put an end to all murmuring or rebelling thoughts.\PAR\PAR H. W. SMITH.\PAR\PAR The subjection of the will is accomplished by calmly resigning thyself in everything that internally or externally vexes thee; for it is thus only that the soul is prepared for the reception of divine influences. Prepare the, heart like clean paper, and the Divine Wisdom will imprint on it characters to His own liking.\PAR\PAR M. DE MOLINOS.\PAR\PAR 1LVAL={\i"I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end." \i0}-- {\cf11 \ulJer_29:11}.\PAR\PAR Thy thoughts are good, and Thou art kind, E'en when we think it not; How many an anxious, faithless mind Sits grieving o'er its lot, And frets, and pines by day and night, As God had lost it out of sight, And all its wants forgot.\PAR\PAR P. GERHARDT.\PAR\PAR You are never to complain of your birth, your training, your employments, your hardships; never to fancy that you could be something if only you had a different lot and sphere assigned you. God understands His own plan, and He knows what you want a great deal better than you do. The very things that you most deprecate, as fatal limitations or obstructions, are probably what you most want. What you call hindrances, obstacles, discouragements, are probably God's opportunities. Bring down your soul, or, rather, bring it up to receive God's will and do His work, in your lot, in your sphere, under your cloud of obscurity, against your temptations, and then you shall find that your condition is never opposed to your good, but really consistent with it.\PAR\PAR H. BUSHNELL.\PAR\PAR LVALQ'\z