May 31

Let all those that out their trust in Thee rejoice: . . . let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee.

-PS. v. 11.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." -PS, xxiii. 2.

May 30

"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." -2. MAC. vi. 31.

"Zebulum and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field." -JUDGES v. 18.

May 29

"Be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises."

-HEB. vi. 12.

May 28

"Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness." -COL. i. 11.

May 27

"He that is faithful in that which is least in that which is least is faithful also in much."

 -LUKE xvi. 10.

May 26

"The Lord heareth your murmurings, which ye murmur against Him." -EX. xvi. 8.

May 25

"O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt."-MATT. xxvi. 39.

May 24

"Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby." -HEB. xii. 11.

May 23

"Be content with such things as ye have." -HEB xiii. 5.

I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." -PHIL. iv. 11.

May 22

"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

-PS. xci. 1.

May 21

"The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by Him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long." 

-DEUT. xxxiii. 12.

WHATE'ER events betide,

Thy will they all perform;

Safe in Thy breast my head I hide,

Nor fear the coming storm.

-H. F. LYTE

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 quickly in the absence of all by faith, than I should do, I am persuaded, if I possessed them.

-ANONYMOUS

May 20

"To be spiritually minded is life and peace." -ROM. viii. 6.

May 19

"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him." -PS. xxxvii. 7.

"Trust in Him at all times." -PS. lxii. 8.

May 18

"We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren." -JOHN iii. 14.

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." -1 JOHN iv, 8.

May 17

"Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." -1 THESS v. 11.

"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." -MATT. xix. 19.

SO others shall

Take patience, labour, to their heart and hand,

From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer,

And God's grace fructify through thee to all.

The least flower with a brimming cup may stand,

And share its dewdrop with another near.

-E. B. BROWNING

WHAT is meant by our neighbour we cannot doubt; it is every one with whom we are brought into contact. First of all, he is literally our neighbour 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 neighbourhood, in our own town, in our parish, in our 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, who 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.

-A. P. STANLEY

May 16

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might." -EPH. vi. 10.

"No man can serve two matters." -MATT. vi. 24.

May 15

"My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest." -EX. xxxiii. 14.


"Thou wilt show me the pathh of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at hy right hand there are pleasures for evermmore." -PS. xvi. 11.

THY presence fills my mind with peace,

Brightenns the thoughts so dark erewhile,

Bids care and sad forebodings cease,

Makes aall things smile.

-CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT

HOW shall we rest in God? By giving ourselves whholly 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 witheld. Martyrs, confessors, and saints have tasted this rest, and 'counted themselves happy in that they eendured'. 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. All that God has been to them He is ready to be to you. The heart once fairly given to God, with aa clear consciencce, a fitting rule of life, and a steadfast purpose of obedience, you will find a wonderful sense of rest coming over you.

-JEAN NICOLAS GROU

May 14

"And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" -MICAH vi. 8.

"Put on therefore . . . kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering." -COL. iii. 12.

May 13

"I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world, but Thou shouldest keep them from the evil." -JOHN xvii. 15.

May 12

"Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: . . . ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, I will give thee a crown of life." -REV. ii. 10.

May 11

"Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" -JOB ii. 10.

"Thou hast dealt well with Thy servant, O Lord, according to Thy word." -PS. cxix. 65.

WHATSOE'ER our lot may be,

Calmly in this thought we'll rest,-

Could we see as Thou dost see,

We should choose it as the best.

-WM. GASKELL

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 watching.

-WM. VON HUMBOLDT

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.

T. CARLYLE

May 10

"The Lord redeemeth the soul of His servants; and none of them that trust in Him shall desolate.

-PS. xxxiv. 22.

"Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him." -JOB xiii. 15.

I PRAISE Thee while days go on;

I love Thee while days go on:

Through dark and dearth, through fire and frost,

With emptied arms and treasure lost,

I thank Thee while my days go on.

-E. B. BROWNING

THE sickness of the last week was fine medicine; pain disintegrated the spirit, or became spiritual. I rose,-I felt that I had given God more perhaps than an angel could,-had promised Him youth that to be a blot on this fair world, al 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.

-MARY MOODY EMERSON

May 9

"The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." -JOB. i. 21.

WHAT Thou  hast given, Thou canst take,

And when Thou wilt new gifts can make.

All flows from Thee alone;

When Thou didst give it, it was Thine;

When Thou retook'st it, 'twas not mine/

Thy will in all be done.

-JOHN AUSTIN

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 token of love, as life, health, joy, and the gifts of home: 'The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away'; on either side it  is He, and all is love alike; blessed be the name of the Lord', -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.

H. E. MANNINE

May 8

"This is the day which the Lord hath made, we will rejoice and be glad in it." -PS. cxviii. 24.


"Why stand ye here all the day idle? -MATT. xx. 6.

May 7

"He healed the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by their name." -PS. cxlvii. 3.4.

May 6

"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love." -ROM. xii. 10


"In her tongue is the law of the kindness." -PROV. xxxi. 26.

May 5

"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?" JER. xii. 5.

May 4

"Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, out of weakness were made strong." -HEB. xi. 33, 34.

May 3

"The Lord is good, a strong-hold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth them that trust in Him." 

-NAHUM i. 7.

May 2

"The ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in right of God of great price." -1 PETER iii. 4.

"To present you holy, and unblameable, and unreproveable in His right." -COL. i. 22.

May 1

"I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth." 

-PS. xxxiv. 1.

"I will praise Thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will show forth all Thy marvellous works." 

-PS. ix. 1.

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.

-M. J. COTTERILL

THAT which befits us, embosomed in beauty and wonder as we are, is cheerfulness, and courage, and the endeavour to realize our aspirations. 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?

R. W. EMERSON

I HAVE experienced that the habit of taking out the hand of our Lord every little blessings and brightness on our path, confirms us, in an especial manner, in communion with His love.

-M. A. SCHIMMELPENNINCK