OCTOBER 21. "Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."-St. John, xiv. 23. Thou on my head in early youth didst smile, I need Thy presence every passing hour; I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless; Reveal Thyself before my closing eyes, Shine through all gloom, and point me to the skies. Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee, In life, in death, Thou wilt abide with me! H. F. LYTE. OCTOBER 22. "He that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast."-Prov. xv. 15. Christian cheerfulness opens, like spring, all the blossoms of the inmost soul. Try, for a single day to preserve yourself in an easy and cheerful frame of mind. Compare the day in which, by thoughts of God, you have rooted out the weeds of dissatisfaction, with that, on which you have allowed them to grow up; and you will find your heart opened to every good motive, your life strengthened, and your bosom armed with a panoply against every trial of faith. Truly, you will wonder at your own improvement. Adapted from "Thoughts of Many Minds." OCTOBER 23. "Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."-St. John, xvi. 24. One prayer! what mercy taught us prayer! As dews On drooping herbs-as sleep tired life renews; Is given ! New Timon. OCTOBER 24. "Godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Tim. vi. 6. The Lord alone knows what is best for us in this present life. And if every Christian would cheerfully consider his own capacity, he would find cause to acknowledge that his Heavenly Father deals most liberally with him. He who possesses a contented spirit will always find that there is enough within his reach to cheer and to gladden his path through life. REV. J. STEVENSON. OCTOBER 25. "Cast thy burthen upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee."-Ps. v. 22. Hast thou a care, whose pressure dread To thy Redeemer take that care Hast thou a hope, with which thy heart Or give thee strength to lay it down. Hast thou a friend, whose image dear Whate'er the care that breaks thy rest, MRS. A. JULIUS. OCTOBER 26. "I shall not die, but live; and declare the works of the Lord."-Ps. cxviii. 17. What do they say, those forest trees? Thousands and thousands, by the breeze, And yet there is a sunny hue, Their summer freshness never knew, That now they show. And the bright sun-he soon will sink, Yet see, while hovering on the brink, And never in his noontide hour, Beams forth such radiant, glorious power, They tell me —those proud trees of earth— That sun of heaven This is not death: another birth "Tis therefore they exulting glow, They tell me, as I gaze, to know But O! how nobler, higher far, To rise where light and glory are,— Then never, never look upon To sigh o'er dreams of pleasures gone, But think of the eternal morrow That breaks upon the night of sorrow |