Within Thy circling arms we lie, O G.o.d! in Thy infinity: Our souls in quiet shall abide, Beset with love on every side.

ANON.

"The Everlasting Arms." 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; _holding_ us, always! No thought of G.o.d 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.

A. D. T. WHITNEY.

September 22

_The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it_.--DEUT. x.x.x. 14.

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 G.o.d's most intimate presence in the soul, And His most perfect image in the world.

W. WORDSWORTH.

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 "fulness of joy" which attends the being joined by "one spirit to the Lord."

J. P. GREAVES.

I rejoice that G.o.d 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 G.o.d, to which we ought to respond with great faithfulness. G.o.d invites us to His fellowship of love, and wishes to prepare our spirit to be His own abode and temple.

GERHARD TERSTEEGEN.

September 23

_Show me Thy ways, O Lord; teach me Thy paths_--PS. xxv. 4.

When we cannot see our way, Let us trust and still obey; He who bids us forward go, Cannot fail the way to show.

Though the sea be deep and wide, Though a pa.s.sage seem denied; Fearless let us still proceed, Since the Lord vouchsafes to lead.

ANON.

That which is often asked of G.o.d, is not so much His will and way, as His approval of our way.

S. F. SMILEY.

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.

Deliberation is often only dishonesty. G.o.d's guidance is plain, when we are true.

F. W, ROBERTSON.

September 24

_When I awake, I am still with Thee_.--PS. cx.x.xix. 18.

Let the glow of love destroy Cold obedience faintly given; Wake our hearts to strength and joy With the flushing eastern heaven.

C. K. VON ROSENROTH.

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.

G. S. MERRIAM.

September 25

_Ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy G.o.d hath blessed thee_.--DEUT. xii. 7.

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.

J. KEBLE.

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 G.o.d.

ELIZABETH CHARLES.

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.

JEAN PAUL RICHTER.

September 26

_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_.--PS.

xxiii. 4.

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.

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.

GERHARD TERSTEEGEN.

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 G.o.d, and exercising faith, and trust, and resignation to Him. The pious soul, that eyes only G.o.d, that means nothing but being His alone, can have no stop put to its progress; light and darkness equally a.s.sist him: in the light he looks up to G.o.d, in the darkness he lays hold on G.o.d, and so they both do him the same good.

WM. LAW.