H, let my trembling soul be still, And wait Thy wise and holy will, Yet all is well since ruled by Thee. XV. God Quiets Me In Himself. For in the time of trouble, He will hide me in His pavilion, in the secret of His tabernacle He will .-Psalm xxvii. 5. cover me. 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 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 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 if I possessed them. O, trusting in Thy love, I tread The narrow path of duty on. What though some cherished joys are fled; What though some flattering dreams are gone; Yet purer nobler joys remain, And peace is won through conquered pain. ANON. XVI. Joy in the Everpresent. Thou wilt show me the path of life; in Thy presence is fullness of joy, at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.-Psalm xvi. 11. HERE is a virtue that may find employment for those retired hours in which we are left altogether to ourselves and destitute of company and conversation. I mean that intercourse and communication which every reasonable creature ought to maintain with the great author of its being. The man who lives under an habitual sense of the Divine presence keeps up a perpetual cheerfulness of temper, and enjoys every moment the satisfaction of thinking himself in company with his dearest and best of friends. The time never lies heavy on him; it is impossible for him to be alone. He no sooner steps out of the world, but his heart burns with devotion, swells with hope, and triumphs in the consciousness of that presence which everywhere surrounds him; or, on the contrary, pours out its fears, its sorrows, its apprehensions to the great supporter of its existence. ADDISON. XVII. The Godly Sorrow. I commune with mine own heart, and my spirit made diligent search. . . . And I said, this is mine infirmity.-Psalm lxxvii. 6, 10. If My people which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.-II. Chronicles vii. 14. HE completion and sum of repentance is a change. of life. That sorrow which dictates no caution, that fear which does not quicken our escape, that austerity which fails to rectify our affections, are vain and unavailing. But sorrow and terror must naturally precede reformation, for what other cause can produce it? He, therefore, that feels himself alarmed by his conscience, anxious for the attainment of a better state, and afflicted by the memory of his past faults, may justly conclude that the great work of repentance is begun; he may hope, by retirement and prayer, the natural and religious means of strengthening his convictions, to impress upon his mind such a sense of the Divine presence as may overpower the blandishments of secular delights, and enable him to advance from one degree of holiness to another, till death shall set him free from doubt and contest, misery and temptation, BSERVE a pious fear, be whole again, He speaks: My child, yea, I will send thee aid; No nearer friend than I am hast thou made; XVIII. ME The Schooling of Life. What man is he that feareth the Lord? Him shall He teach the way he shall choose.—Psalm XXV. 12. Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Thy commandments.—Psalm cxix. 67. E should not be overcome by the evil day, nor enslaved by the happy one; but should make both subservient to the higher purpose of our being— this is the great lesson which life should teach us. Life is a school in which we are exercised to deserve and use wisely our good fortune, and to bear misfortune and trial with fortitude and resignation, and thus to gather from both the precious fruit of our spiritual and moral freedom. Self-controlled in prosperity, self-possessed in adversity-in this lies the moral value of all our vicissitudes. And He is our Educator, and He submits us to His discipline, in whose hand rests the whole earth, and who so ordaineth all things for us that we may be practised in the use of our freedom. Man can by the use of that acquirement rule over nature; he can resist the allurements of bodily gratifications, and, whenever we succeed in this, we advance our lasting welfare. We then develop more and more the image of God within us. We approach His own freedom. We are no longer His creatures only, but are changed into His children. And we learn to worship Him not only as our Creator, but our Father, our Educator and Teacher for the coming of a more perfect life than the present. SAMUEL HIRSCH. ASSIONS proud and fierce have ruled me, Fancies light and vain have fooled me, But Thy training stern hath schooled me; Now, Lord, Take me for Thy child, O Lord! Shine in my heart, and bring me joy and light, And all the many gloomy folds lay bare XIX. The Punishment of Anger. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath for it was cruel.-Genesis xlix. 7. 'HE dying patriarch's reproof is regarded by the Rabbis as a general condemnation of anger; and they maintain that when a wise man gives way to it, his wis |