Part 42 (1/2)

JEAN NICOLAS GROU.

August 14

_I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help_.--PS.

cxxi. 1.

_My grace is sufficient for thee_.--2 COR. xii. 9.

I look to Thee in every need, And never look in vain; I feel Thy touch, Eternal Love, And all is well again: The thought of Thee is mightier far Than sin and pain and sorrow are.

S. LONGFELLOW.

How can you live sweetly amid the vexatious things, the irritating things, the mult.i.tude of little worries and frets, which lie all along your way, and which you cannot evade? You cannot at present change your surroundings.

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.

Others may have other circ.u.mstances surrounding them, but here are yours.

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 circ.u.mstances.

J. R. MILLER.

Strive to realize a state of inward happiness, independent of circ.u.mstances.

J. P. GREAVES.

August 15

_G.o.d hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind_.--2 TIM. i. 7.

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

HYMNS OF THE SPIRIT.

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

THOMAS ARNOLD.

August 16

_Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap_.--GAL. vi. 7.

The life above, when this is past, Is the ripe fruit of life below.