HOU art to know that thy soul is the centre, habitation, and kingdom of God. That, therefore, to the end the sovereign King may rest on that throne of thy soul, thou oughtest to take pains to keep it clean, quiet and peaceable-clean from guilt and defects; quiet from fears; and peaceable in temptations and tribulations. Thou oughtest always, then, to keep thine heart in peace, that thou mayest keep pure that temple of God; and with a right and pure intention thou art to work, pray, obey and suffer (without being in the least moved), whatever it pleases the Lord to send unto thee. M. MOLINOS.

By reflection, by restraint and control, a wise man can make himself an island which no floods can overwhelm.

WHERE is my God, my soul?

Is He within thy heart,

Or ruler of a distant realm

In which thou hast no part?

Where is thy God, my soul?

Only in stars and sun?

Or have the holy words of truth

His light in every one?

BUDDHISTIC.

XXX. Prayer of the Yearning Soul.

My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God! Psalms xlii. 2.

LESS me in this life but with peace of my conscience, command of my affections, the love of

Thyself and my dearest friends, and I shall be happy enough to pity Cæsar. These are, O Lord, the humble desires of my most reasonable ambition and all I dare call happiness on earth; wherein I set no rule or limit to Thy hand or providence; dispose of me according to the wisdom of Thy pleasure; Thy will be done, though in my own undoing. SIR THOMAS BROWN.

a

LL the world is by Thy counsel

Still sustained, Thou Root of all things.

All that is and all that has been,

All that shall be, all that can be,
Thou art Father, Thou art Mother;
Thou art Voice and Thou art Silence,
Thou art Nature's inmost Nature,
Thou art Lord, the Age of Ages.
If I dare to call upon Thee,

I would hail Thee, Root of Order!
Turn Thine ear to me in pity,
Beam on me Thy light of wisdom;
Shed on me the grace abundant
Of a life at peace from tumult.
O, defend my frame from sickness,
And the rush of restless passions,
So no earthly care may hinder
My blest soul from rising upwards.

BISHOP SYNESIUS.
IV. Century.

Festivals.

These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.— Leviticus xxiii. 4.

And Nehemiah and Ezra and the Levites who taught the people, said unto them: This day is holy

unto the Lord, your God; mourn not, nor weep.

Neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord

is your strength.—Nehemiah viii. 9, 10.

I. The message of the Month of Tishri.

For we are strangers before Thee, and sojourners

as were all our fathers; our days on the earth are as a shadow, and there is none abiding.-I. Chronicles xxix. 15.

THE first message of this month of sacred days is one

of sadness; it reminds us that we have no abiding

place on earth.

How long our stay shall last-none can

tell. It may be soon, it may be late when the sands of the glass are run out; yet, at last-we shall part with all our possessions and go to our graves, naked as we entered this world. Remember this, O mortal, in thine eager chase after pleasures and thy devotion to gold and silver and all good things of this world; yet not vainly lamenting as those who have no hope of a world which is the home of the spirit. Whilst living here,"build thee more stately mansions" for thy soul and seek thou delights that are not swallowed up in the grave.-Around that first message are gathered, like evening clouds, the sacred memories of our hearts, and the shadows of those gone before us who await our coming on the sunny border of the dark river. May their presence give still deeper tones to the prayer : "Teach us, O God, to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom."

G. G.