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JUNE 7.

"He doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men."-Lam. iii. 33.

"But for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness."--Heb. xii. 10.

Father and lover of our souls!

Though darkly round thine anger rolls,
Thy sunshine smiles beneath the gloom;
Thou seek'st to warn us, not confound;
Thy showers would pierce the hardest ground,
And win it to give out its brightness and perfume.

Thou smil'st on us in wrath, and we,
Even in remorse, would smile on Thee;
The tears that bathe our offer'd hearts,
We would not have them stain'd and dim,
But dropp'd from wings of seraphim,

All glowing with the light accepted love imparts.

Christian Year.

JUNE 8.

"For our conversation is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ."-Phil. iii. 20.

I have not slept out of my house, or been further than my garden, for more than eighteen months; yet I enjoy liberty. I soar to heaven, and mix in the society of cherubim and seraphim, and all the ransomed of the Lord.-From the French of "Notices sur la Vie de Gonthier."

JUNE 9.

"He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth."-Hosea, vi. 3.

Since in a land-not barren still,
Because Thou dost thy grace distil,—
My lot is fall'n, blest be thy will!

And since these biting frosts but kill
Some tares in me which choke or spill
That seed Thou sow'st, blest be thy skill!

Blest be thy dew, and blest thy frost,
And happy I to be so crost,

And cured by crosses at thy cost.

The dew doth cheer what is distrest,
The frosts ill weeds nip and molest,
In both-Thou work'st unto the best.

Thus, while thy sev'ral mercies plot,
And work in me, now cold now hot,
The work goes on, and slacketh not;
For as thy hand the weather steers,
So thrive I best, 'twixt joys and tears,
And all the year have some green ears.
HENRY VAUGHAN,

JUNE 10.

"Thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance."-Ps. xxi. 6.

He loved to see Religion dressed in smiles; and felt it to be his duty to encourage cheerfulness; because he thought in this way to promote peace and virtue, and would not discourage youth and gaiety by an appearance of moroseness. He strove therefore, to be agreeable as well as instructive; and men were pleased to see that his graver sentiments did not render him repulsive, or disqualify him for social enjoyment. Yet, he never countenanced frivolity; and in his most sportive moods it was evident, that his pleasantry was as innocent as it was graceful, and was the relaxation of a religious mind.

Life of Bishop Sandford.

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JUNE 11.

Charity suffereth long, and is kind."-1 Cor. xiii. 4.

Charity walketh with a high step, and stumbleth not at a trifle;

Charity hath keen eyes, but the lashes half conceal them;

Charity is prais'd of all, and fear not thou that

praise,

God will not love thee less, because men love thee Proverbial Philosophy.

more.

JUNE 12.

"We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification."-Rom. xv. 1, 2.

Persons professing to act in opposition to the ordinary rules and maxims of the world, should take up the tone of conciliation, not of defiance of explanation, not of mystery. The consciousness of being above the world ought to increase, not lessen, our love and charity to those that are in it.

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JUNE 13.

By their fruits ye shall know them."-St. Matt. vii. 20.

Devoted love, and gentle thought,

Are meetest for the saints on earth.
Good deeds are infinite in worth!-
The tokens of that better birth
By God's good Spirit in us wrought.
And if they fail to do their part,

On others their own charm impressing,
Surely they come back to the heart

That gave them, with a double blessing.

JUNE 14.

"Let all those that seek thee rejoice, and be glad in thee."-Ps. xl. 16.

It's ever my thought that the most God-fearing man should be the most blythe man.

MRS. M. MAITLAND, of SUNNYSIDE.

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