"The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." Prov. xvi. 31.

TH

HESE hairs of age are messengers
That bid me fast, repent, and pray;
They be of death the harbingers
That both prepare and dress the way.
Wherefore I joy that you may see
Upon my head such hairs to be.
God grant to those that white hairs have,
No worse them take than I have meant:
That after they be laid in grave,

Their souls may joy their lives well spent.
God grant likewise that you may see

Upon your head such hairs to be.

October 5.

W. Hunis.

"Their strength is to sit still."

Isa. xxx. 7.

CALMLY trusting in the Lord,

Submissive to His will,

Resting on His faithful word,
My strength is to sit still.
Body, spirit, soul, resign'd,

And sweetly passive at His feet,
Wat, till Jesus' loving mind
Within me is complete.
Calmly trusting in the Lord,

And fill'd with joy and peace,
I, His faithfulness record,

His truth and righteousness;
With my latest breath proclaim,
Conqueror through His blood I am.

"The joy of the Lord is your strength."

Neh. viii. 10.

OY is a fruit that will not grow

In Nature's barren soil;

All we can boast, till Christ we know,
Is vanity and toil.

But where the Lord has planted grace,
And made His glories known,

There fruits of heavenly joy and peace
Are found, and there alone.

No more, believers, mourn your lot;
But if you are the Lord's,

Resign to them who know Him not
Such joys as earth affords.

J. Newton.

October 7.

"The judgments of the Lord are true."

Ps. xix. 9.

HOW blest to all Thy followers, Lord, the

road

By which Thou lead'st them on, yet oft how strange!

But Thou in all dost seek our highest good

For Truth were true no longer, couldst Thou change.

Though crooked seem the paths, yet are they straight

By which Thou draw'st Thy children up to Thee,

And passing wonders by the way they see, And learn at last to own Thee wise and great.

Gottfried Arnold.

"The just shall live by faith."

Habak. ii. 4.

To earth's deep bosom, not in vain,

We lend our treasures; o'er the land The patient sower casts the grain,

In hope that heaven, with bounteous hand,
Will perfect what his toil hath plann'd :
A costlier seed, a holier trust,

Weeping, on earth's cold breast we lay:
Hoping that from the silent dust,
When grief and tears shall pass away,
The flower may bloom in endless day.
Schiller-Trans. by Lady F. Hastings.

"The labour of the righteous tendeth to life."

Prov. x. 16.

DREAM not, my soul, of cloudless days,

If thou would'st follow in the ways
Which thy dear Saviour trod ;
Straight is the gate, the pathway steep,
Hard to be found, and hard to keep,
Which leads us up to God.

Would we His faithful followers be,
We must in this true warning see
Of future grief and care;

And feel that love were little worth,
Which shrinks from any cross on earth,
We may for Jesus bear.

Monsell.