MAY 25.

"For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."-Rom. viii. 38, 39.

The voice of Christ is: "My son, give me thy heart;" and to him who obeys He will say: "Go in peace!-go into the grave!-go to judgment !—go to eternity!-Go in peace!" Cecil's Remains.

MAY 26.

"All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come."-Job, xiv. 14.

So strange, so sweet, that change will come,
With wond'ring joy our spirits rise,
In glory to the much-loved home

We oft have sought with weeping eyes.
'Tis Christ's bless'd voice shall bid us rise,
When death's dark shade hath o'er us past;

It is not life, but death, that dies,

When the thick shroud is o'er us cast.

Though mortals weep a creature dead,
Yet angels hail a brother born ;
The body sinks to night's dark bed,
The spirit hails an endless morn!

MAY 27.

"The gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord."-Rom. vi. 23.

O grandest gift of the Creator-O largess worthy of

a God!

Who shall grasp that thrilling thought-life and joy for ever? Proverbial Philosophy.

MAY 28.

"I am thine, save me, for I have sought Thy precepts."-Ps. lxix. 24.

To thee my heart would tell its griefs, O Lord!
My burning tears into thy bosom flow,
For Thou hast promised in thy faithful word,

That Thou wilt bear the weight of all my woe.

And I am thine! O, that my life were spent
In doing only all thy righteous will;
That I might walk, on holiness intent,

And every hour delight to love Thee still.

Yes, I with joy from every sin would flee,

Nor for a moment should my heart delay; But speak the word, and that one word from Thee, I would with willingness at once obey.

When shall the hour of my deliverance be?
When shall the law of death no more remain ?
When, my dear Saviour, shall I joyful see
Thy love alone within my bosom reign?

Till that blest day, thy aid would I entreat;
Inspire me as the conflict I renew;
My safety is in Thee-thy work complete-
Thou art my Rock, and my Redeemer too!

Hymns and Meditations.

MAY 29.

"Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore."- --Ps. xvi. 11.

Oh, glorious vision ! fraught

With hope beyond compare ;
Only to child-like spirits brought,
To nourish them with heav'nly thought,
And wean from earthly care.

Oh, kind decree, that gave

This life so brief a date!

Through his dear blood who died to save,
Troubles are blessings, and the grave
Elysium's outer gate!

66

MAY 30.

The works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein."-Ps. cxi. 2.

O Thou, my God, permit me not to place
My soul's affection on the things of earth;
But, conscious of the treasures of thy grace,
To let them in my inmost heart give birth
To gratitude proportioned to their worth.
Teach me to feel that all that Thou hast made
Upon this mighty globe's gigantic girth,
Though meant with filial love to be survey'd,
Is nothing to Thyself-the shadow of a shade!

If Thou hast given me more than unto some,
A feeling sense of Nature's beauties fair,
Which sometimes renders admiration dumb,
From consciousness that words cannot declare
The beauty thou hast scattered everywhere—
O grant that this may lead me still through all
Thy works, to Thee! not prove a treacherous snare,
Adapted those affections to enthral,

Which should be thine alone, and waken at thy call.
I would not merely dream my life away,
In fancied rapture or imagined joy;

Nor that a perfumed flower-a dew-gemm'd spray,
A murmuring brook, or any prouder toy,

Should, for its own sake, thought or song employ. So far alone as Nature's charms can lead

To Thee, who framed them all, and canst destroy ; Or innocent enjoyment serve to feed,—

Grant me to gaze and love, and thus thy works to read.

But while from one extreme thy power may keep
My erring frailty, oh ! preserve me still

From dulness; nor let cold indifference steep
My senses in oblivion ;-if the thrill

Of early bliss must sober, as it will,—

And should, when earthly things to heavenly yield,—
I would have feelings left time cannot chill;
That while I yet can walk through grove or field,
I may be conscious there of charms by Thee revealed.

BERNARD BARTON.