{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_39129/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_39129","id":"gutenberg_39129","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/39129","summary":null,"tags":["Calendars","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Quotations, English"],"text":"E-text prepared by Larry B. Harrison, Julia Neufeld, and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images\ngenerously made available by the Google Books Library Project\n(http://books.google.com)\n\n\n\nNote: Images of the original pages are available through\n      Internet Archive. See\n      http://books.google.com/books?id=VsgVAAAAYAAJ&oe=UTF-8\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE OPTIMIST'S GOOD MORNING\n\nCompiled by\n\nFLORENCE HOBART PERIN\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBoston\nLittle, Brown, and Company\n1911\n\nCopyright, 1907,\nBy Little, Brown, and Company.\n\nAll rights reserved\n\nPrinters\nS. J. Parkhill & Co., Boston, U. S. A.\n\n\n\n\n  TO\n  My Mother and father\n\n\n\n\nAcknowledgments\n\n\nThe compiler desires to make her grateful acknowledgments to the\npublishers and authors who have so generously given their permission to\nuse selections from their copyrighted publications. She is especially\nindebted to Dodd, Mead & Co., Houghton, Mifflin & Co., The Century Co.,\nThe Outlook Co., Small, Maynard & Co., McClure, Phillips & Co., for\nextracts from \"The Simple Life\" by Charles Wagner and from \"The Angelus\"\nby Edwin Markham; G. P. Putnam's Sons for selections from \"Christus\nVictor\" by Henry Nehemiah Dodge; to Doubleday, Page & Co. for extracts\nfrom \"The Story of My Life\" by Helen Keller, copyright 1902, 1903; also\nfor selections from \"Afterwhiles,\" copyright 1887, \"Riley Farm Rhymes,\"\ncopyright 1885, \"Riley Songs o' Cheer,\" copyright 1883, \"Pipes o' Pan,\"\ncopyright 1888, used by special permission of the publishers, The\nBobbs-Merrill Co., to Charles Scribner's Sons for selections from\n\"Fisherman's Luck,\" \"The Lost Word,\" \"Little Rivers,\" \"The Story of the\nPsalms,\" \"The Toiling of Felix and Other Poems,\" by Henry Van Dyke, and\na selection from \"El Dorado\" by Robert Louis Stevenson.\n\n\n\n\nPreface\n\n\nOnce family devotions were general, now they are rare. There are reasons\nfor the change. One reason is that the simplicity of the old family life\nis gone. It is not easy to get all the members of the family together at\nany one time in the day. A part of this is due to less leisure now than\nformerly. Men must catch trains in the morning. In the evening they are\ndistracted by manifold social engagements.\n\nYet the need of spiritual adjustment is ever the same. Rapid transit,\nthe telephone, the telegraph, do not take the place of God. Indeed the\nmore rapid pace involved in these modern pace-makers, renders the more\nnecessary some pause in the day for prayer, some upward look, when for a\nmoment the soul may find an open way between itself and God. But how and\nwhen? Why not the breakfast table? Surely one or two minutes may be\nspared. Thirty seconds of silence, then the reading of a noble sentiment\nfrom some one who has been thinking for us,--another pause,--and a few\nwords of prayer, framed by some one with more leisure than we have, but\nwho puts us in the mood of prayer and so starts us right upon the duties\nof the day,--this will bring the needed readjustment.\n\nSuch is the plan and purpose of this little book. It is made for busy\nmen and women, who _need_ to begin the day with God. The quotations for\neach day are brief, but they are gleaned from the great Masters of\nthought. The prayers are from devout men of all the denominations.\n\nAs the title will have suggested, both quotations and prayers are\ngenerally in the spirit of a truly optimistic faith. However life may\nlook in the middle of the night, it is a good thing to start out to do\nthe work of the day with hope and courage. I shall be glad if I can feel\nthat this little book has helped some busy people to begin the day in\nthis spirit. I shall be particularly glad if I can feel that it has\nhelped a little to keep the candles lighted on the family altar.\n\n                                              FLORENCE HOBART PERIN.\n\n\n\n\nList of Authors of Selections\n\n\n  Abbott, Lyman, 234, 296.\n\n  Albee, John, 348.\n\n  Alden, Marion, 263.\n\n  Ambrosius, Johanna, 254.\n\n  Ames, Charles G., 51, 68.\n\n  Amiel, Henri-Frederic, 305, 340, 350.\n\n  Anonymous, 16, 33, 52, 91, 93, 129, 181, 198, 213, 268, 354.\n\n  Arnold, Edwin, 39.\n\n  Arnold, George, 249.\n\n  Aughey, 315.\n\n  Aurelius, Marcus, 216.\n\n\n  Babcock, Maltbie Davenport, 279.\n\n  Baldwin, Mary, 72.\n\n  Banks, G. L., 135.\n\n  Bashford, H. H., 9.\n\n  Beecher, Henry Ward, 120, 141, 144, 192, 317, 333.\n\n  Bisbee, Frederick A., 248.\n\n  Bolton, Sarah Knowles, 211.\n\n  Boyd, A. H. K., 78.\n\n  Bridges, Madeline S., 304.\n\n  Brooke, Stopford A., 27, 115, 289.\n\n  Brooks, Phillips, 17, 24, 36, 75, 137, 212, 235, 240, 264, 271,\n        288, 362.\n\n  Brown, Alice, 218.\n\n  Brown, Anna Robertson, 51.\n\n  Browning, Elizabeth Barrett, 29, 104, 148, 232, 331.\n\n  Browning, Robert, 28, 64, 69, 79, 90, 109, 130, 179, 201, 221, 243.\n\n  Bryant, William Cullen, 249, 338.\n\n  Bulkeley, Benjamin R., 347.\n\n  Burton, Richard, 59.\n\n\n  Carlisle, J. H., 220.\n\n  Carlyle, Thomas, 37, 61, 85, 107, 164, 183, 209, 219, 269, 331.\n\n  Carman, Bliss, 156.\n\n  Carpenter, Edward, 147.\n\n  Carruth, William H., 252.\n\n  Cary, Alice, 123, 138, 366.\n\n  Chadwick, John White, 134.\n\n  Child, Lydia Maria, 364.\n\n  Clarke, James Freeman, 267.\n\n  Cleaves, Charles P., 214.\n\n  Coates, Florence E., 189.\n\n  Coleridge, Hartley, 245.\n\n  Coleridge, Samuel Taylor, 217.\n\n  Collyer, Robert, 77, 287.\n\n  Confucius, 191.\n\n  Coolidge, Susan, 150, 157, 207, 339.\n\n  Cowper, William, 335.\n\n  Cox, Francis Augustus, 276.\n\n  Craig, Dinah Mulock, 143.\n\n  Crashaw, Richard, 151.\n\n\n  Danforth, Abbie E., 357.\n\n  Davis, Ozora Stearns, 82.\n\n  DeVere, Aubrey, 71.\n\n  Dix, William F., 261.\n\n  Dodge, Henry Nehemiah, 49, 300, 371, 372.\n\n  Donaldson, Alfred L., 244.\n\n  Dowd, Emma C., 169.\n\n  Drummond, Henry, 91, 203, 323.\n\n  Dunbar, Paul Laurence, 88, 186, 256.\n\n\n  Earle, Mabel, 278.\n\n  Eliot, George, 48, 241.\n\n  Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 19, 42, 57, 87, 108, 124, 127, 151, 158, 185,\n        210, 228, 271, 281, 344.\n\n  Epictetus, 56, 284.\n\n\n  Faunce, W. H. P., 153.\n\n  Fiske, John, 11.\n\n  Ford, Mary Hanaford, 8.\n\n  Foss, Sam Walter, 99, 341.\n\n  Fox, George, 104.\n\n  Franklin, Benjamin, 158.\n\n\n  Gannett, William C., 116, 132, 239, 302.\n\n  Garland, Hamlin A., 196.\n\n  Gilder, Richard Watson, 168, 367.\n\n  Gilman, Charlotte Perkins, 4, 146.\n\n  Goethe, 360.\n\n  Gordon, Anna A., 247.\n\n  Gotthold, 23.\n\n  Gray, John, 378.\n\n  Green, J. R., 199.\n\n  Grover, Edwin Osgood, 155.\n\n\n  Hale, Edward Everett, 65, 188, 219, 280, 281.\n\n  Harraden, Beatrice, 80.\n\n  Hart, Estelle M., 337.\n\n  Havergal, Frances Ridley, 282.\n\n  Hawkes, Clarence, 97.\n\n  Hay, John, 67.\n\n  Hoar, George F., 83.\n\n  Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 29, 55, 172, 188, 253, 286, 297, 311, 352.\n\n  Homer, 341.\n\n  Hopkins, Ellice, 265.\n\n  Hovey, Richard, 292.\n\n  Hughes, Thomas, 194.\n\n  Humboldt, Alexander von, 306.\n\n  Hunt, Leigh, 143.\n\n  Huntington, Bishop, 70.\n\n  Huxley, Thomas Henry, 202.\n\n  Hyde, William DeWitt, 118.\n\n\n  Ibsen, Henrik, 312.\n\n  Ingelow, Jean, 221, 327.\n\n\n  Jackson, J. S., 7.\n\n  James, Henry, Sr., 165.\n\n  Johnson, Samuel, 66.\n\n  Jones, T. Edgar, 224.\n\n\n  Karr, Alphonse, 264.\n\n  Keats, John, 295.\n\n  Keller, Helen, 93, 128, 145.\n\n  King, T. Starr, 275.\n\n  Kingsley, Charles, 85.\n\n  Kiser, S. E., 318.\n\n  Klingle, George, 106.\n\n\n  Larcom, Lucy, 32, 161.\n\n  Leonard, Priscilla, 60, 299, 312, 329, 336.\n\n  Livermore, Mary A., 119.\n\n  Longfellow, Henry W., 30, 52, 162, 308.\n\n  Lowell, James Russell, 54, 92, 174, 242, 291.\n\n  Luther, Martin, 43.\n\n\n  Mabie, Hamilton W., 173.\n\n  MacDonald, George, 159, 177, 179, 200, 272, 326, 374.\n\n  Maeterlinck, 170, 193.\n\n  Marius, 35.\n\n  Markham, Edwin, 14, 257.\n\n  Markwell, Mary, 126.\n\n  Martin, Theodore, 96.\n\n  Mason, Caroline Atwater, 152.\n\n  Massey, Gerald, 66.\n\n  Meredith, Owen, 89.\n\n  Merriam, George S., 112.\n\n  Miller, James Russell, 293.\n\n  Milton, John, 62, 125, 136, 262, 307.\n\n  Montaigne, 69.\n\n  Moodie, William, 44, 178, 195, 226, 237.\n\n  Moore, Henry Hoyt, 238.\n\n  Moore, Thomas, 229, 309.\n\n  Moxom, Philip S., 149.\n\n  Murray, Ada Foster, 246.\n\n\n  O'Reilly, John Boyle, 314.\n\n\n  Parker, Theodore, 34.\n\n  Partridge, William Ordway, 18.\n\n  Payne, J. Howard, 361.\n\n  Peabody, Francis G., 332, 334.\n\n  Perin, George L., 3, 12, 153, 163, 176, 215, 290, 322, 368, 379.\n\n  Perry, Carlotta, 231.\n\n  Perry, Nora, 101.\n\n  Plutarch, 298.\n\n  Procter, Adelaide A., 10.\n\n  Procter, Bryan Waller, 166.\n\n  Pullman, James M., 21, 56, 225.\n\n\n  Rankin, Isaac Ogden, 25.\n\n  Ravenscroft, James, 255.\n\n  Realf, Richard, 223.\n\n  Reimer, Edward F., 227.\n\n  Rexford, Eben E., 94.\n\n  Richter, 285.\n\n  Riley, James Whitcomb, 182, 230, 266, 283, 310.\n\n  Robertson, Frederick W., 250.\n\n  Rollins, Alice Wellington, 26.\n\n  Roosevelt, Theodore, 65, 74, 197.\n\n  Rosetti, Christina, 171.\n\n  Ruskin, John, 23, 58, 83, 139, 190, 206.\n\n  Russell, Bessie L., 259.\n\n\n  Sangster, Margaret, 117, 205.\n\n  Savage, Minot J., 47.\n\n  Schiller, 363.\n\n  Scollard, Clinton, 84.\n\n  Scott, Walter, 235.\n\n  Shafer, Sara Andrew, 184, 260.\n\n  Shakespeare, 38, 107, 113, 258, 345, 351.\n\n  Shelley, 100, 111.\n\n  Shipman, George W., 277.\n\n  Sill, Edward Rowland, 98, 274.\n\n  Smiles, Samuel, 236, 320.\n\n  Smyth, Julian K., 73.\n\n  Spofford, Harriet P., 101.\n\n  Spurgeon, 197.\n\n  Stanton, Frank L., 160, 343.\n\n  St. Bernard, 269.\n\n  Stebbins, Horatio, 280.\n\n  Stedman, Edmund Clarence, 95.\n\n  Stevenson, Robert Louis, 180, 353.\n\n  Stoddard, Richard H., 45.\n\n  Story, William Wetmore, 6, 321.\n\n  Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 230.\n\n  Swinburne, Algernon Charles, 53, 167.\n\n  Swing, David, 46.\n\n  Symonds, John Addington, 175, 346.\n\n\n  Taylor, Bayard, 240, 321.\n\n  Taylor, Jeremy E., 59.\n\n  Tennyson, Alfred, 232, 326.\n\n  Thaxter, Celia, 95.\n\n  Tholuck, 357.\n\n  Thompson, Maurice, 110.\n\n  Thoreau, Henry David, 50, 335.\n\n  Townsend, Mary Ashley, 81.\n\n  Trowbridge, Robertson, 273.\n\n\n  Urmy, Clarence, 268.\n\n\n  Van Dyke, Henry, 142, 154, 294, 313, 324, 328, 355, 365, 377.\n\n  Vinci, Leonardo da, 74.\n\n\n  Wagner, Charles, 20, 63, 114, 204, 356.\n\n  Waterman, Nixon, 173.\n\n  Whitman, Walt, 22, 40, 102, 270, 349, 358.\n\n  Whitney, Mrs. A. D. T., 31, 86, 122, 127, 147, 167, 298, 301, 303, 348.\n\n  Whittier, John Greenleaf, 15, 41, 103, 140, 289, 359, 376.\n\n  Wilcox, Ella Wheeler, 5, 13, 87, 121, 222, 231, 325.\n\n  Willard, Frances E., 105.\n\n  Wordsworth, William, 76, 131, 251, 319.\n\n  Wright, Mary Frances, 233.\n\n\n\n\nList of Authors of Prayers\n\n\n  Adams, J. Coleman, 119.\n\n  Albion, James F., 91.\n\n  Alcott, A. N., 299.\n\n  Allen, James F., 265.\n\n  Amee, E. McP., 264.\n\n  Ames, Charles Gordon, 6.\n\n  Anderson, Thomas D., 132.\n\n  Annas, J. W., 253.\n\n  Atwood, Isaac M., 34.\n\n  Atwood, John Murray, 36.\n\n  Ayers, Samuel Gilbert, 121.\n\n\n  Babcock, William G., 10.\n\n  Backus, Wilson M., 139.\n\n  Badger, George H., 271.\n\n  Barker, J. H., 107.\n\n  Barney, Edward M., 74.\n\n  Bartlett, A. Eugene, 11.\n\n  Batchelor, George, 108.\n\n  Bates, Lewis P., 226.\n\n  Beane, Samuel C., 236.\n\n  Benton, Herbert E., 272.\n\n  Berle, Adolph A., 319.\n\n  Betts, Frederick W., 70, 181, 317.\n\n  Billings, Charles T., 316.\n\n  Bisbee, Frederick A., 27.\n\n  Bissell, Flint M., 79.\n\n  Blake, Edwin Alonzo, 228.\n\n  Blanchard, Henry, 24.\n\n  Bliss, Charles B., 206.\n\n  Brandow, Melvin, 287.\n\n  Brett, Francis W., 182.\n\n  Brigham, L. Ward, 20.\n\n  Brodie, James Fairbairn, 320.\n\n  Bronson, Dillon, 9.\n\n  Brown, Howard N., 354.\n\n  Brown, William Channing, 106.\n\n  Buckshorn, Louis H., 191.\n\n  Burch, Ernest W., 312.\n\n  Burleigh, W. H., 118.\n\n  Burr, Everett D., 136.\n\n  Bush, R. Perry, 82.\n\n  Bushnell, Samuel C., 37.\n\n  Bygrave, Hilary, 212.\n\n\n  Canfield, Harry L., 39.\n\n  Carter, John Wesley, 48.\n\n  Cary, Phoebe, 274.\n\n  Chapin, Eben H., 323.\n\n  Chapman, Edward M., 30.\n\n  Charlton, J. E., 341.\n\n  Chase, J. Frank, 237.\n\n  Cheney, George H., 192.\n\n  Church, Augustus B., 99.\n\n  Clark, C. C., 144.\n\n  Clark, DeWitt S., 257.\n\n  Clark, Francis E., 38.\n\n  Clark, Hobart, 218.\n\n  Clarke, William N., 258.\n\n  Clayton, Francis Treadway, 302.\n\n  Coddington, Isaac P., 190.\n\n  Coleman, Albert J., 353.\n\n  Collier, Frank W., 174.\n\n  Conklin, Abram, 19.\n\n  Conklin, Charles, 361.\n\n  Conner, Ralph E., 211.\n\n  Coons, Leroy W., 68.\n\n  Cooper, Joseph, 84.\n\n  Cooper, J. Francis, 310.\n\n  Corby, James D., 280.\n\n  Couden, Henry N., 26.\n\n  Crandall, Lathan A., 202.\n\n  Crane, Cephas B., 60.\n\n  Crane, Frank, 337.\n\n  Crooker, Florence Kollock, 98.\n\n  Crooker, Joseph H., 23.\n\n  Crooker, Orin Edson, 163.\n\n  Cuckson, John, 123.\n\n  Curnick, E. T., 93.\n\n  Cushman, Henry Irving, 94.\n\n\n  Danforth, Abbie E., 105.\n\n  Davis, Charles Edward, 260.\n\n  Davidson, John M., 289.\n\n  Day, Edward, 62.\n\n  Day, John, 78.\n\n  Dean, George B., 267.\n\n  DeNormandie, James, 125.\n\n  Dick, Samuel M., 333.\n\n  Dight, Alexander, 290.\n\n  Dillingham, Fred A., 41.\n\n  Dodge, J. Smith, 340.\n\n  Dodson, George R., 197.\n\n  Dole, Charles F., 157.\n\n  Dole, Walter, 339.\n\n  Downey, Edward C., 365.\n\n\n  Earle, A. Gertrude, 104.\n\n  East, Charles R., 324.\n\n  Eddy, William B., 49.\n\n  Eichler, M. M., 195.\n\n\n  Faunce, W. H. P., 307.\n\n  Fish, William H., 263.\n\n  Fischer, Theodore A., 17.\n\n  Fisher, C. E., 67.\n\n  Fisk, Richmond, 159.\n\n  Fleischer, Charles, 360.\n\n  Forbes, John P., 142.\n\n  Forbes, Roger S., 161.\n\n  Fortier, George F., 77.\n\n  Foster, Augustine N., 154.\n\n  Fraser, Donald, 284.\n\n  Freeman, L. A., 255.\n\n  Frick, Philip L., 348.\n\n  Frothingham, Paul Revere, 169.\n\n  Full, William, 300.\n\n  Fulton, J. W., 282.\n\n\n  Galbraith, John, 220.\n\n  Gannett, William C, 373.\n\n  Gaskin, William E., 251.\n\n  Gerrish, George Mayo, 75.\n\n  Gibbs, William E, 168.\n\n  Gifford, O. P., 209.\n\n  Gooding, Alfred, 245.\n\n  Gould, William H., 146.\n\n  Grant, Elihu, 238.\n\n  Grant, Eugene M., 288.\n\n  Graves, Herbert H., 242.\n\n  Gray, Francis A., 111.\n\n  Greene, L. L., 131.\n\n  Greene, Ransom A., 355.\n\n  Greene, Samuel H., 328.\n\n  Grier, Albert C., 269.\n\n  Grose, Arthur W., 311.\n\n  Gunnison, Almon, 4, 47.\n\n  Guth, William W., 216.\n\n\n  Hale, Edward Everett, 55, 92, 120, 304, 345.\n\n  Hall, Frank Oliver, 278.\n\n  Hammatt, Albert, 232.\n\n  Hammond, L. H., 244.\n\n  Hamilton, Franklin, 322.\n\n  Hatch, William H. P., 318.\n\n  Hawkins, J. E., 279.\n\n  Haynes, Myron W., 58.\n\n  Healy, Walter, 100.\n\n  Helms, E. J., 343.\n\n  Henry, Carl F., 248.\n\n  Hiller, Charles C. P., 336.\n\n  Hitchcock, Albert Wellman, 64.\n\n  Hodge, Dwight M., 81.\n\n  Hodges, George, 356.\n\n  Holden, C. W., 29.\n\n  Holden, James Harry, 204.\n\n  Holmes, C. K., 281.\n\n  Holt, Frank M., 71.\n\n  Horne, Ralph Edwin, 103.\n\n  Horner, Thomas J., 329.\n\n  Horton, Edward A., 115.\n\n  Howe, George M., 346.\n\n  Hoyt, Wayland, 54.\n\n  Huntley, George E., 325.\n\n  Hyde, William DeWitt, 351.\n\n\n  Illman, Thomas W., 247.\n\n\n  Jennings, B. L., 88.\n\n  Johnson, L. P., 335.\n\n  Johonnot, Rodney F., 252.\n\n  Jones, Effie McCollum, 31.\n\n\n  Kellerman, Robert S., 194.\n\n  Kent, George W., 147.\n\n  Kidner, Reuben, 43.\n\n  Kimball, John, 42.\n\n  King, Henry M., 57.\n\n  Knickerbocker, Charles A., 5.\n\n\n  Lacount, J. Edwin, 350.\n\n  Lee, John Clarence, 175.\n\n  Leonard, Charles H., 170.\n\n  Levy, Maurice A., 155.\n\n  Locke, Calvin S., 277.\n\n  Longbrake, George Runyon, 327.\n\n  Lord, Augustus Mendon, 40.\n\n  Lund, Charles E., 178.\n\n  Lutterman, E. W., 308.\n\n\n  MacLennan, A. K., 275.\n\n  Main, William H., 14.\n\n  Martin, T. C., 160.\n\n  Martineau, James, 56, 217, 321, 334.\n\n  Marshall, Perry, 189.\n\n  Marvin, Reginold K., 114.\n\n  Masseck, Frank Lincoln, 112.\n\n  McCollester, Lee S., 221.\n\n  McCollester, S. H., 18.\n\n  McGlaughlin, William H., 332.\n\n  McKenzie, Alexander, 12.\n\n  McKinney, Luther F., 210.\n\n  Mead, I. J., 143.\n\n  Meyer, John F., 349.\n\n  Milburn, U. S., 113.\n\n  Mitchell, Stanford, 179.\n\n  Moore, Henrietta G., 110.\n\n  Morgan, William S., 25.\n\n  Morrison, William H., 117.\n\n  Mudge, James, 223.\n\n  Myers, Cortland, 344.\n\n\n  Nash, C. Ellwood, 188, 362, 371, 372, 377.\n\n  Nash, Charles P., 148.\n\n  Nash, Henry S., 21.\n\n  Northrop, Cyrus, 296.\n\n  Norton, Stephen A., 359.\n\n\n  Opdale, Nellie Mann, 243.\n\n  Osgood, Edmund Q. S., 101.\n\n  Owen, George W., 28.\n\n\n  Parker, Joseph, 59, 214, 219.\n\n  Parker, Theodore, 53, 97, 109, 135, 193, 230, 239, 249.\n\n  Parkhurst, Charles, 63.\n\n  Patterson, A. J., 364.\n\n  Pattison, Harold, 225.\n\n  Payne, Thomas B., 133.\n\n  Payson, James M., 222.\n\n  Peloubet, F. N., 331.\n\n  Pember, Elmer F., 134.\n\n  Penniman, George Wallace, 129.\n\n  Perin, Florence H., 375.\n\n  Perin, George L., 3, 22, 35, 46, 80, 90, 96, 102, 116, 124, 153,\n        153, 172, 185, 196, 215, 234, 250, 270, 286, 297, 306, 330,\n        342, 352, 366, 368, 376, 378.\n\n  Perkins, Frederick W., 229.\n\n  Perkins, O. Howard, 66.\n\n  Perkins, Warren S., 164.\n\n  Perrin, Willard T., 276.\n\n  Perry, Edward A., 61.\n\n  Petty, Charles E., 85.\n\n  Polk, Robert T., 224.\n\n  Potter, Wilburn D., 83.\n\n  Potter, William F., 150.\n\n  Potterton, Thomas Edward, 165.\n\n  Powers, LeGrand, 73.\n\n  Preble, Edgar W., 72.\n\n  Priest, Frederick C., 208.\n\n  Puffer, Charles H., 357.\n\n  Putnam, Alfred P., 162.\n\n\n  Randall, J. O., 198.\n\n  Reardon, John B., 140.\n\n  Rexford, E. L., 16, 128, 233.\n\n  Rice, Charles F., 256.\n\n  Rice, Clarence E., 173.\n\n  Rice, Frank S., 87.\n\n  Richardson, W. G., 314.\n\n  Roblin, Stephen H., 183.\n\n  Rose, Henry R., 303.\n\n  Rowley, Francis H., 13.\n\n  Rugg, Henry W., 126.\n\n\n  Safford, Oscar F., 65.\n\n  Sage, Nathaniel S., 32.\n\n  Sallaway, James, 293.\n\n  Sargent, Frank D., 347.\n\n  Scott, Alva Roy, 44, 141.\n\n  Scott, O. W., 186.\n\n  Scrivener, George S., 268.\n\n  Selleck, Willard C., 227.\n\n  Shaw, Annette J., 231.\n\n  Shaw, Avery A., 45.\n\n  Shields, Albert B., 309.\n\n  Shinn, Q. H., 149.\n\n  Snippen, Rush R., 201.\n\n  Simons, Minot O., 138.\n\n  Skene, George, 315.\n\n  Slicer, Thomas R., 166.\n\n  Small, E. E., 203.\n\n  Smiley, Edmund L., 266.\n\n  Smiley, George M., 295.\n\n  Smith, Thomas W., 283.\n\n  Stephan, J. W., 76.\n\n  Straub, Jacob, 177.\n\n  Studley, Elliott F., 261.\n\n  Sweetser, Edwin C., 151.\n\n\n  Taylor, Frederick A., 254.\n\n  Taylor, Henry B., 69.\n\n  Tenney, Charles R., 294, 313, 326, 363, 367, 379.\n\n  Thayer, George A., 199.\n\n  Thompson, J. Frank, 51.\n\n  Tillinghast, Alan R., 86.\n\n  Tillinghast, James D., 358.\n\n  Tomlinson, Charles W., 33.\n\n  Tomlinson, Vincent E., 205.\n\n  Towne, Edward C., 291.\n\n  Tupper, Kerr Boyce, 95.\n\n  Tuttle, Walter A., 213.\n\n\n  Vail, Charles H., 246.\n\n  Varney, Charles E., 292.\n\n  Vossema, Hendrick, 235.\n\n\n  Wallace, O. C. S., 50.\n\n  Ward, Merrill C., 262.\n\n  Ward, W. I., 127.\n\n  Warner, E. M., 187.\n\n  Weatherly, Arthur L., 200.\n\n  Weil, Fred Alban, 338.\n\n  Wendte, Charles W., 156.\n\n  Wentworth, Margaret, 259.\n\n  West, Julius P., 145.\n\n  Weston, Costello, 207.\n\n  Wheeler, C. H., 8.\n\n  Wheeler, F. H., 89.\n\n  Whippen, Frank W., 7.\n\n  Whitaker, George, 15.\n\n  White, Albert C., 167.\n\n  Whitney, Elbert W., 301.\n\n  Williams, Leon O., 298.\n\n  Willson, Andrew, 122.\n\n  Wilson, John M., 171.\n\n  Wilson, Lewis G., 180.\n\n  Wood, W. A., 130.\n\n  Wright, Arthur, 184.\n\n  Wright, James Edward, 176.\n\n  Wright, M. Emory, 273.\n\n\n  Yantis, Arnold S., 52.\n\n  Young, George H., 240, 285.\n\n  Young, Joshua, 158, 241, 305.\n\n\n\n\nThe Optimist's Good Morning\n\nJanuary 1\n\n     _Throughout the year, why not keep sweet? No frown ever made a\n     heart glad; no complaint ever made a dark day bright; no bitter\n     word ever lightened a burden or made a rough road smooth; no\n     grumbling ever introduced sunshine into a home. What the world\n     needs is the resolute step, the look of cheer, the smiling\n     countenance, and the kindly word. Keep sweet!_\n\n                                                   GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\nGod of the years, our Heavenly Father, whatever the message of the old\nyear may have been, whether of darkness or light, joy or sorrow,--we\nstand this morning waiting expectantly and confidently for some message\nwith glad tidings. May we therefore enter upon the New Year in the mood\nof hope and good cheer,--brushing from our faces every sign of care, let\nus go forth into the New Year with the spirit of a child who puts his\nhand into the hand of a Father to be led into a field where the flowers\nblossom and the birds sing. Not for to-day only do we pray for sweetness\nand light, but let us be glad and happy every day. Thou art with us\ntoday,--Thou wilt be with us through all the journey of the year. May\nour own daily gladness be born of the conviction that Thou art always\nnear. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nJanuary 2\n\n  _To keep my health!\n  To do my work!\n  To live!\n  To see to it I grow and gain and give!\n  Never to look behind me for an hour!\n  To wait in weakness and to walk in power\n  But always fronting forward to the light,\n  Always, and always facing toward the right.\n  Robbed, starved, defeated, fallen, wide astray--\n  On, with what strength I have!\n  Back to the way!_\n\n                           CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN.\n\nWith this new day, O God, let some new strength be mine, to walk in\npatience, the way appointed for me. Let me be strong to battle with the\nills that shall beset me, to toil with faith and honest heart, to keep\nmyself untainted and make my life helpful to my fellowmen. Help me to be\nforgetful of myself, but thoughtful to do no evil to any man. Thy hand\nis strong and mine is weak. I need Thy guidance, let Thy strength be\nmine, that though I stumble I may not fall nor fail. And when the day is\ndone, may happy memories be mine. Amen.\n\n  ALMON GUNNISON.\n\n\nJanuary 3\n\n  _Build on resolve, and not upon regret,\n  The structure of Thy future. Do not grope\n  Among the shadows of old sins, but let\n  Thine own soul's light shine on the path of hope\n  And dissipate the darkness. Waste no tears\n  Upon the blotted record of lost years,\n  But turn the leaf, and smile, oh, smile, to see\n  The fair white pages that remain to thee._\n\n                                 ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.\n\nO Thou All-persuasive God, who dost speak within the souls of men in\nlanguage which the heart interprets as its own! enlarge our trust in\nthat better self which beckons us, that we may be led out of the\nlingering darkness of regret, out of the shadow of embittered memory\ninto the brightness of a new resolve where we may see Thy face. Smile\nupon us in the smiling day; in the joy of strength renewed, and\nopportunity reborn; in the beauty of the promise each hour whispers to\nus as it passes by. So fill us with Thyself that each new day shall mean\nnew life led by the glory of those hopes which do not fade at evening.\nAmen.\n\n  CHARLES A. KNICKERBOCKER.\n\n\nJanuary 4\n\n  _We of our age are part, and every thrill that wakes\n  The tremulous air of Life its motion in us makes._\n\n  _The imitative mass mere empty echo gives\n  As walls and rocks return the sound that they receive._\n\n  _But as the bell, that high in some cathedral swings,\n  Stirred by whatever thrill, with its own music rings,_\n\n  _So finer souls give forth, to each vibrating tone\n  Impinging on their life, a music of their own._\n\n                                           W. W. STORY.\n\nO living and loving One, brighter than the morning and fairer than the\nday, from Thee we come, to Thee we turn, who art more than Father and\nMother to us all. Our times are in Thy hand. Thou, who hast set the sun\nand stars in the sky, hast appointed our place and part in this human\nworld. May Thy light lead and Thy love win us into the harmonies of law\nand grace, that we may become responsive to every touch of nature, every\nwhisper of truth, every appeal of humanity. So prepare us to serve our\ngeneration in the spirit of Him who has taught us to do Thy will on\nearth as it is done in heaven. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES G. AMES.\n\n\nJanuary 5\n\n  _All such as worked for love, not wages--some\n    Who, painting for a perfect tint did drain\n    Their hearts, or some to save their country slain,\n  Or many who for truth braved martyrdom,\n  Or more who, in what common days may come,\n    Have toiled in hope, beyond the hope of gain,\n    Of doing something well,--all such would fain\n  Speak thus: These gifts more free than flowers from\n  The earth are given. Good world, if to our need\n    Ye offer bread and shelt'ring roof unsought,\n  As guests our thanks we give, but not for greed,\n    As if our gifts were bartered for and bought;\n    And if, perchance, good world, ye offer nought,\n  Ah, well, that were of life the lesser meed._\n\n                                           J. S. JACKSON.\n\nFather in Heaven, we thank Thee, as we enter upon another day, for\nstrength with which to work. We thank Thee for our tasks; for our\nopportunities to work for Thee and for those we love, we thank Thee. May\nwe know the joy, when night shall come, of having accomplished something\nworthy. Help us to see in that satisfaction a part of our pay. Make each\nof us faithful in his place; and help the humblest worker to understand\nthat consecration and not rank is the all-important thing. Above all,\nmay we not forget that living is giving, and may our desire either for\nrest or gain keep us from no helpful act. May we follow Him who came to\nminister, and live as sons and daughters of God. Amen.\n\n  FRANK W. WHIPPEN.\n\n\nJanuary 6\n\n  _The sculptor moulds his clay with reverent hand,\n  That clay thro' which his fancy flashes free--\n  Quick with an answer to his soul's demand,\n  And pliant to his fingers' minstrelsy!\n  Could ever bronze or marble so respond\n  In wordless echo of the being's will?\n  Naught but the clay, as to a rapture fond\n  Could he with fire of genius thus infill!\n  And so the common people are the clay,\n  Swift moulded by Divine Deific hand,\n  Until transfigured, in the glorious day,\n  The statue of humanity shall stand!\n  It knows no tinsel crown, this masterpiece.\n  But all the sovereignty of God's release!_\n\n                             MARY HANAFORD FORD.\n\nHeavenly Father, we are of Thy plain common people: we feel ourselves of\nvery little worth. For what can we do of ourselves? But, if Thou wilt\ngraciously use us, shaping us to Thine ends as the potter his clay, it\nmay be that we shall serve some worthy purpose. We therefore yield\nourselves to Thee, and beg Thee to use us this day. Make us pliant to\nThy purposes, make us a help to someone who needs us today. So take us\ninto partnership with Thyself, and so may this day be a day of delight,\nand our plain common lives be made rich with the Glory of service. Amen.\n\n  C. H. WHEELER.\n\n\nJanuary 7\n\n  _And I, too, sing the song of all creation,\n  A brave sky and a glad wind blowing by,\n  A clear trail and an hour for meditation,\n  A long day and the joy to make it fly,\n  A hard task and the muscle to achieve it,\n  A fierce noon and a well-contented gloom,\n  A good strife and no great regret to leave it,\n  A still night--and the far red lights of home._\n\n                                   H. H. BASHFORD.\n\nAlmighty God, we thank Thee that Thou art our Father, and that Thou\nlovest us as though Thou hadst no other children; we adore Thee for the\nbeautiful world in which Thou hast placed us; for trees and birds and\nflowers and sky, for friends and music and books and all the ten\nthousand mercies which crown our lives. We thank Thee too, for hard\ntasks and severe disciplines, for everything that is intended to make us\nstrong and brave and true. Thou art the Lord of the day and of the night\nalso. Give us grace to trust Thee and to believe in Thy motherly\nsolicitude at all times. May Thy goodness lead us to repentance and to\njoyous unselfish living and may we so improve our opportunities for\nservice that we shall make others think of Him who went about doing good\nand trusted in His Father with a perfect trust. Amen.\n\n  DILLON BRONSON.\n\n\nJanuary 8\n\n  _Have we not all, amid life's petty strife,\n  Some pure ideal of a noble life\n  That once seemed possible? Did we not hear\n  The flutter of its wings and feel it near,\n  And just within our reach? It was. And yet\n  We lost it in this daily jar and fret.\n  But still our place is kept and it will wait,\n  Ready for us to fill it, soon or late.\n  No star is ever lost we once have seen:\n  We always may be what we might have been._\n\n                              ADELAIDE A. PROCTER.\n\nO Thou, whose goodness is new to us every morning and fresh every\nevening, we bless Thee for Thy patient and unforgetting care of all of\nus. Though we transgress Thy beneficent laws and frequently lose sight\nof our cherished ideals, our hunger and thirst for righteousness never\ndies, for we partake of Thy Divine Nature. O that we might always be\nanimated with Thy spirit of disinterested Love. We thank Thee this day\nfor the inspiration of light and joy of our gifted poets and pray that\nwe may meet the daily trials of life with a sweet and courageous spirit,\nremembering that \"no star we have ever seen will cease to shine.\" Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM G. BABCOCK.\n\n\nJanuary 9\n\n     _The future is lighted for us with the radiant colors of hope.\n     Strife and sorrow shall disappear. Peace and love shall reign\n     supreme. The dream of poets, the lesson of priest and prophet, the\n     inspiration of the great musician, is confirmed in the light of\n     modern knowledge; and, as we gird ourselves for the work of life,\n     we may look forward to the time when in the truest sense the\n     kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom of Christ, and He\n     shall reign forever and ever, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords._\n\n                                                          JOHN FISKE.\n\nAll-wise and all-loving Father, we invoke Thy aid at the opening of a\nglad, new day. For the past we thank Thee, remembering that each day\nyielded its blessings. We rejoice that the victories of yesterday are\nthe promise of larger successes today. Whenever during the day, we shall\nbe conscious of our littleness, give us at that moment the vision of our\npossible largeness. Teach us, however tumultuous be the outward\nconditions, to maintain the inward calm. Today may Thy love work its\nmiracle upon our pain and pleasure. So through faithful, hopeful work\nmay we find Thy kingdom nearer at this day's close. Amen.\n\n  A. EUGENE BARTLETT.\n\n\nJanuary 10\n\n     _Blessings on the man who smiles! I do not mean the man who smiles\n     for effect, nor the one who smiles when the world smiles. I mean\n     the man whose smile is born of an inner radiance, the man who\n     smiles when the clouds lower, when fortune frowns, when the tides\n     are adverse. Such a man not only makes a new world for himself, but\n     he multiplies himself an hundred fold in the strength and courage\n     of other men._\n\n                                                       GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\nBlessed art Thou, O Lord, our Father in heaven and on the earth! Give to\nus of Thy blessedness that all this day we may rejoice in Thee. Incline\nour hearts to see Thy goodness and wisdom. Make the gladness of our\nhearts constant that it may illumine our presence, so that those who\nwalk with us may walk in Thy light and give Thee thanks. Make Thy joy\nour strength, whether expressed in storm or sunshine, that we may\nconsent to Thy will cheerfully. We ask these and all gifts in the name\nof Him who would have His joy abide in us, that our joy may be\nfulfilled. Amen.\n\n  ALEXANDER MCKENZIE.\n\n\nJanuary 11\n\n  _Talk happiness! The world is sad enough,\n  Without your woes. No path is wholly rough;\n  Look for the places that are smooth and clear\n  And speak of those who rest the weary ear\n  Of earth, so hurt by one continuous strain\n  Of human discontent and grief and pain._\n\n  _Talk health! The dreary, never changing tale\n  Of mortal maladies is worn and stale.\n  You cannot charm or interest or please,\n  By harping on that minor chord, disease.\n  Say you are well, or all is well with you,\n  And God shall hear your words and make them true._\n\n                                 ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.\n\nHeavenly Father, by whose mercy we are permitted to greet another day,\nwe offer Thee this morning our grateful praise for all the blessings of\nthis life. We take from Thee with thankful heart the gift of health,\nconscious that we shall never know how rich the gift until we lose it.\nNow, while it is ours, may we use it with abounding joy for the good of\nthose we may meet this day. To be able to bring light where there is\ndarkness, hope where there is despair, comfort where there is sorrow,\nand so to be the children of our Father which is in Heaven, for this we\npray, with the pardon of our sins, in Jesus' name. Amen.\n\n  FRANCIS H. ROWLEY.\n\n\nJanuary 12\n\n  _The crest and crowning of all good,\n  Life's final star, is Brotherhood;\n  For it will bring again to Earth\n  Her long-lost Poesy and Mirth;\n  Will send new light on every face,\n  A kingly power upon the race,\n  And till it comes, we men are slaves,\n  And travel downward to the dust of graves.\n  Come clear the way, then, clear the way;\n  Blind creeds and kings have had their day,\n  Our hope is in the aftermath--\n  Our hope is in heroic men,\n  Star-led to build the world again.\n  To this event the ages ran;\n  Make way for Brotherhood--make way for Man._\n\n                                    EDWIN MARKHAM.\n\nO Lord, make us like Thee. There can be no greater ambition, no loftier\ndesire, no holier purpose, for Thou holdest the secret of Brotherhood.\nLike Thee, the only begotten of the Father, the essence of love, the joy\nof angels, the hope of the world,--make us like Thee, O Christ. Let Thy\nlight be our light; thy service our joy; Thy peace our inheritance.\nTouch our lips that we may say no unkind word; touch our hearts that we\nmay feel no wrong desires. May our living be for the world's good, our\nacts precious helps to Thy kingdom, our all consecrated to Thy blessed\nservice. May we be satisfied when we awake with Thy likeness. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM H. MAIN.\n\n\nJanuary 13\n\n  _If there be some weaker one,\n  Give me strength to help him on;\n  If a blinder soul there be,\n  Let me guide him nearer Thee.\n  Make my mortal dreams come true\n  With the work I fain would do;\n  Clothe with life the weak intent,\n  Let me be the thing I meant;\n  Let me find in Thine employ\n  Peace that dearer is than joy!_\n\n            JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.\n\nHeavenly Father! We humbly beseech Thee to breathe upon us Thy Holy\nSpirit, that we may be Thy true disciples, that we may be quick to see\nour brother's need, and quicker to relieve it. If he has lost his way,\nmay we be aided to show it to him clearly. May we see our brother in the\nMaster's \"prodigal,\" and find in every needy soul our sphere of service.\nForgive our weak excuses, and make the flickering embers burn to fervent\nheat, that the ideal Thou hast given in Thy Word may command every power\nof our lives. For Jesus' sake, Amen.\n\n  GEORGE WHITAKER.\n\n\nJanuary 14\n\n     _A German allegory tells of two little girls. They had been playing\n     together in a strange garden, and soon one ran in to her mother\n     full of disappointment. \"The garden's a sad place, mother.\" \"Why,\n     my child?\" \"I've been all around, and every rose-tree has cruel,\n     long thorns upon it!\" Then the second child came in breathless. \"O\n     Mother, the garden's a beautiful place!\" \"How so, my child?\" \"Why,\n     I've been all around, and every thorn-bush has lovely roses growing\n     on it!\" And the mother wondered at the difference in the two\n     children._\n\n                                                            ANONYMOUS.\n\nDivine Spirit and Soul of this day! We rejoice in its accomplished and\nits prophetic beauty and wealth which even our undisciplined hearts and\nminds may readily perceive, but may we increase the joy of its\nactivities and its whole divine meaning by a deeper appreciation of its\nministry to the disciplined life we bear. If there shall be fortunes in\nits passing which we would not choose, if there shall be encountered any\nexperiences we would shun, may we remember that our reverses only\nemphasize our successes, that our sorrows intensify our joys, that even\nthe humiliation and shame of the \"far country\" add divine meaning to the\nFather's House where wait the sandals and robes and rings for the\ncomfort and beauty that are yet to be. May we learn that the thorn\nprotects the rose, that the flaming sword turning in all directions\nprotects the Tree of Life in every Eden of the world. May we remember\nthat every great and good fortune of life is guarded by a seeming\nhostility which bears in its soul the secret of a lasting benevolence\nappointed for our own good. Amen.\n\n  E. L. REXFORD.\n\n\nJanuary 15\n\n     _We are haunted by an ideal life, and it is because we have within\n     us the beginning and the possibility of it. God is our continual\n     incitement because we are His children. So the ideal life is in our\n     blood and never will be still. We feel the thing we ought to be\n     beating beneath the thing we are. Every time we see a man who has\n     attained our ideal a little more fully than we have it wakens our\n     languid blood and fills us with new longings._\n\n                                                      PHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\nO God, we thank Thee each morning for ideals which appeal to us with\nsuch persistence that we have no peace unless we pursue them. Even in\nour seeming indifference we are ill at ease, because Thy voice calling\nto us disturbs our fancied content. We are not satisfied with ourselves\nnor with our attainments. \"We shall be satisfied only when we wake in\nThy likeness.\" Weary though we often are in our service yet we thank\nThee that Thou relentlessly pursuest us with even greater and higher\ndemands. Help us in our onward and upward plodding. Revive our failing\nspirits. Lead us ever on. Help us to realize that \"in our patience we\nshall win our souls.\" We pray as followers of Jesus Christ. Amen.\n\n  THEODORE A. FISCHER.\n\n\nJanuary 16\n\n  _O Singer of today, this glorious hour\n    Is all for you and me--what shall it give\n  To us, and ask of fate--what splendid power\n    In brain and hand, what glorious right to live\n  Among our fellows and to war with sin?\n    What quickening of the pulse as we aspire\n  To claim our right, and risk earth's joys to win,\n    To conquer self, and force it through the fire!\n  Give us this force, dear God, and evermore\n    Give us a deepening love of all our fellowmen;\n  Give us new insight--courage to explore\n    With all the tenderness of human ken\n  The lowliest heart that beats in human kind,\n    Its glory and its soul to seek and find!_\n\n                             WILLIAM ORDWAY PARTRIDGE.\n\nO Soul of all souls! Baptize us afresh this morning into the lustral\nwaters that we may devoutly thank Thee that Thou art and that Thou dost\nclearly reveal Thyself to Christian souls through Thy Son, as the Father\nof the great brotherhood of mankind. So wait upon us that we shall go\nforth to this day's duties resolved upon so living as to render the\nmorning glad, the noon redolent with merciful activity, and the evening\nfull of praise. Thus quickened and enlarged the night will afford rest\nand recuperation fitting us to welcome the morrow, still hoping, loving,\nprogressing, obedient to the sainted call, \"Up higher,\" being\nincessantly recompensed with the coveted refrain, \"Well done.\" Amen.\n\n  S. H. MCCOLLESTER.\n\n\nJanuary 17\n\n     _There is one topic peremptorily forbidden to all well-bred, to all\n     rational mortals, namely, their distempers. If you have not slept\n     or if you have slept, or if you have headache, or sciatica, or\n     leprosy or thunder stroke, I beseech you, by all angels, to hold\n     your peace, and not pollute the morning, to which all the\n     housemates bring serene and pleasant thoughts, by corruption and\n     groans._\n\n                                                   RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\nOur Father, when we remember the multitude of Thy mercies our hearts are\nfilled with peace and praise and we are ashamed to murmur and complain.\nTurn our thoughts toward the love and joy that this day holds for us;\nits opportunities, its privileges and victories. Let the morning light\ndispel the shadows on our faces and the fears in our hearts. Thou hast\nglorified us and will glorify us again. Help us to be grateful for the\nrose that smiles amidst the thorns and the light that ever shines behind\nthe clouds. Grant that the spirit of trust may prevail in us and send us\non our way with power to conquer. Amen.\n\n  ABRAM CONKLIN.\n\n\nJanuary 18\n\n     _Simplicity is a state of mind. It dwells in the main intention of\n     our lives. A man is simple when his chief care is the wish to be\n     what he ought to be, that is, honestly and naturally human. And\n     this is neither so easy nor so impossible as one might think. At\n     bottom it consists in putting our acts and aspirations in\n     accordance with the law of our being, and consequently with the\n     Eternal Intention which willed that we should be at all. Let a\n     flower be a flower, a swallow a swallow, a rock a rock, and let a\n     man be a man, and not a fox, a hare, a hog, or a bird of prey; this\n     is the sum of the whole matter._\n\n                                                        CHARLES WAGNER.\n\nDear Heavenly Father, we rejoice in the awakening of body and soul to\nnew activities. We thank Thee for the gift of divinity in the soul and\nfor opportunity to give it expression. We would be true to ourselves,\nknowing we can thus alone be true to Thee. O God, hush the voice of evil\npassion. Quicken every noble aspiration. Grant the vision of Thy holy\nlove that Thy image within us may remain clear in the turmoil of our\nlife. We pray Thee stir the heart and mind that both may grow up to the\nfull stature of man as it was in Jesus, our Saviour. Amen.\n\n  L. WARD BRIGHAM.\n\n\nJanuary 19\n\n     _God has put the keys to His kingdom into your own hands. Your\n     intelligence is a key, your affection is a key, your conscience is\n     a key. With these keys you are to unlock the great doors of life,\n     and gain access to its heavenly treasures._\n\n                                                   JAMES M. PULLMAN.\n\nMaster of life, as Thou hast opened our eyes to see the sun, open the\neyes of our hearts to see the splendor of Thy law. And even as Thou dost\nbring to birth, through the marriage of our eye and the sun, all the\nbeauty of this visible world, so through the union between our hearts\nand Thy holy will, create a world rejoicing in the beauty of truth and\njustice and peace. Lead us this day deeper into the mystery of Thy life\nand our life and make us interpreters of life to our fellows, through\nHim who by His death opened for us the book of life, Jesus Christ our\nLord. Amen.\n\n  HENRY S. NASH.\n\n\nJanuary 20\n\n  _A noiseless, patient spider,\n  I mark'd how on a little promontory it stood isolated,\n  Mark'd how to explore the vacant, vast surrounding,\n  It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,\n  Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them._\n\n  _And you, O my soul, where you stand,\n  Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,\n  Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to\n        connect them,\n  Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,\n  Till the gossamer threads you fling catch somewhere O my soul._\n\n                                                        WALT WHITMAN.\n\nThou Infinite Spirit, we are glad of all human relationships. We are\nthankful for all companionship with nature. We rejoice in the fellowship\nwith books, yet like the child who grows tired with every plaything and\nevery childish task and lonely for a mother's love, we look to Thee with\nan infinite longing. In our effort to solve the problems of life, we\nthrow our web of life hither and thither, but it will not hold. Only\nwhen at last we have thrown the thread of faith to Thee, shall the\nductile anchor hold. Our Heavenly Father, as we go forth into this day,\nmay we not leave Thee for any dream or phantom, but may we walk with\nThee all day long, and find in Thee the answer to every longing and the\nsolution of every problem. Though we may not see, we may trust and wait.\nAmen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nJanuary 21\n\n     _Do not think of your faults, still less of others' faults; in\n     every person who comes near you, look for what is good and strong;\n     honor that; rejoice in it; and as you can, try to imitate it; and\n     your faults will drop off like dead leaves when their time comes._\n\n                                                              RUSKIN.\n\n     _With a clear sky, a bright sun, and a gentle breeze, you will have\n     friends in plenty; but let fortune frown, and the firmament be\n     overcast, and then your friends will prove like the strings of the\n     lute, of which you will tighten ten before you find one that will\n     bear the stretch and keep the pitch._\n\n                                                            GOTTHOLD.\n\nDear Father, may the new day bring some fresh and inspiring thought of\nThyself. May it give some tender communion with the universe, kindling\ninto beauty as Thy smile shines through. May we make and keep a few dear\nfriends. May some good book enrich the passing hours. May love flow\nthrough all acts, and the star of hope shine in all shadows. And\ntrusting Thee supremely, may we humbly do our best that good may abound\non earth. Amen.\n\n  JOSEPH H. CROOKER.\n\n\nJanuary 22\n\n     _The power of mere activity is often overrated. It is not what the\n     best men do, but what they are, that constitutes their truest\n     benefaction to their fellowmen. The things that men do get their\n     value, after all, from the way in which they are able to show the\n     existence of character which can comfort and help mankind.... It is\n     the lives, like the stars, which simply pour down on us the calm\n     light of their bright and faithful being, up to which we look and\n     out of which we gather the deepest calm and courage._\n\n                                                      PHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\nThou knowest, dear Father, how often we wish to do many things which are\nbeyond our power. Help us to believe that Thou dost accept the wish when\nwe cannot do the deed. But we thank Thee that we can do some things,\nthough they are not large nor many. We know that as we grow in faith, in\npatience, in courage, in love, we radiate light and peace and power to\nthose who are around us. As we begin a new day, we are uplifted by the\nthought that we have been called into being because Thou desirest the\nlove of children, and because we are to co-work with Thee by loving and\nserving all whom we can reach. Always, we believe, art Thou ready to\nhelp us. Always art Thou brooding over us to draw us nearer to Thee, and\nto give us light and strength to be fellow-workers with Thee. In this\nnew day, may we speak some word and do some work which shall please Thee\nand give us joy as we shall lie down to sleep. Amen.\n\n  HENRY BLANCHARD.\n\n\nJanuary 23\n\n  _We pride ourselves, in weighing worth and merit,\n  Too much in virtues that we but inherit.\n  Some punctual grandsire makes us hate delay\n  And we are proud to keep our oath and day.\n  But our ancestral follies and abuses\n  We still indulge in, and make for them excuses.\n  Let him be proud, dared man be proud at all,\n  Who stands where all his fathers used to fall,\n  Holding their virtues fast and passing on\n  Still higher good through his own victories won._\n\n                                    ISAAC OGDEN RANKIN.\n\nThis morning, the sun shines by his own inherent worth. The clouds often\nintercept his influence but he shines back of them and finds a way\nthrough the slightest cleft to tip them with glory. He always reveals\nhimself--his inner self--and makes all purer and more beautiful. May we\nso shine! The world needs the divinity there is in us. We are a part of\nThee. Thou art our deeper self. The Nazarean prophet relied entirely\nupon his inner life and found ancient good uncouth. Whatever clouds\nintercept our influence, teach us to reveal what conscience dictates,\nwhat intuition illumines, what reason shows, to purify our time, and all\nunrighteousness, wrong thinking and useless and hurtful custom. To this\nend, give us purity, courage, and nobility. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM S. MORGAN.\n\n\nJanuary 24\n\n  _My faith begins where your religion ends,--\n  In service to mankind. This single thread\n  Is given to guide us through the maze of life.\n  You start at one end, I the other; you,\n  With eyes fixed only upon God, begin\n  With lofty faith, and, seeking but to know\n  And do His will who guides the universe,\n  You find the slender and mysterious thread\n  Leads down to earth, with God's divine command\n  To help your fellowmen; but this to me\n  Is something strangely vague. I see alone\n  The fellowmen, the suffering fellowmen.\n  Yet, with a cup of water in my hand\n  For all who thirst, who knows but I one day,\n  Following faithfully the slender thread,\n  May reach its other end, and kneel at last\n  With you in heaven at the feet of God?_\n\n                          ALICE WELLINGTON ROLLINS.\n\nOur Father in heaven, author of life and light, justice and mercy,\nliberty and love, we hail with joy and gratitude this new born day,\ntoken of Thy presence, good will and continued care. Help us with high\nideals, pure thoughts and noble endeavors to hallow Thy name, trusting\nwhere we cannot prove, proving where we cannot trust, by a willing\nservice to our fellowmen, ever advancing by faith, by works, with a\nstrong heart, a firm step, a generous hand, a sunny smile, and a\ncheering voice, until we all come into the measure of the stature of the\nfulness of Christ; and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.\nAmen.\n\n  HENRY N. COUDEN.\n\n\nJanuary 25\n\n     _If you would have sunlight in your home, see that you have work in\n     it: that you work yourself and set others to work. Nothing makes\n     moroseness and heavy-heartedness in a house so fast as idleness.\n     The very children gloom and sulk if they are left with nothing to\n     do. Every day there is the light of something conquered in the eyes\n     of those who work. In such a house, if there be also the good\n     temper of love, sunshine never ceases. For in it the great law of\n     humanity is obeyed, a law which is also God's law. For what said\n     Christ, \"My Father worketh hitherto and I work.\" Sunlight comes\n     with work._\n\n                                                   STOPFORD A. BROOKE.\n\nO Thou, who art the source of light and life, we pause in Thy presence\nat the opening of the day, that in the light of thy countenance we may\nsee ourselves as we are and as we ought to be, and receive the\ninspiration to consecrated effort and worthy achievement. We thank Thee\nthat Thou hast done so much for us and yet left so much for us to do.\nMay we think how important are these lives we are going to live today;\nthat no matter how small we are, this universe in all its majesty can\nnever be complete without our effort, and Thou, Almighty God, art\nwaiting with infinite patience for us to do our part. Thus shall our\nwork, however humble, be glorified by a Godlike temper and a Christlike\nfaith. Amen.\n\n  FREDERICK A. BISBEE.\n\n\nJanuary 26\n\n          _All that is, at all,\n          Lasts ever, past recall:\n  Earth changes, but thy soul and God stand sure;\n          What entered into thee,\n          That was, is and shall be._\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n          _He fixed thee 'mid this dance\n          Of plastic circumstance,\n  This Present, thou, forsooth, wouldst fain arrest;\n          Machinery just meant\n          To give thy soul its bent,\n  Try thee, and turn thee forth, sufficiently impressed._\n\n                                           ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nWe thank Thee, O Father, for the yet unwrought possibilities of this\nday. Show us Thy purpose; or, if it please Thee, withhold the entire\nplan, yet may our faith claim a divine sanction for each hour's work as\na part of the fulfilment of Thy purpose. We pray for strength and\npatience to have our souls rightly impressed by the cares, the joys, and\ndisappointments of life. Make the things of the body only incidental to\nus. Save us from all but the best things. Give us the happiness of\nharmony with Thee. Wilt Thou grant these things through the power of Thy\nspirit, and in the name of Thy perfect Son, the vision of whom\ntransforms our lives. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE W. OWEN.\n\n\nJanuary 27\n\n           _Beloved, let us love so well,\n     Our work shall still be better for our love\n     And still our love be sweeter for our work._\n\n                        ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.\n\n     _If your name is to live at all, it is so much more to have it live\n     in people's hearts than only in their brains! I don't know that\n     one's eyes fill with tears when he thinks of the famous inventor of\n     logarithms, but a song of Burns or a hymn of Charles Wesley goes\n     straight to your heart and you can't help loving both of them, the\n     sinner as well as the saint._\n\n                                                OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.\n\nOur Father, who art in heaven, help us to hold Thee in our hearts this\nday, that we may live for Thee, from the love of Thee. Forgive us that\nwe have not always a thankful spirit. Strengthen our wills to do good\nwork, as in Thy sight, with clean hands and heart. Help us now as we\npray, and flood the morning with the sunshine of Thy face, that we may\nbe glad all the day long, and bring other lives into the brightness of\nThy light. Save us from a partial mind, that we may love all Thy little\nones with the same love of Him who said \"Of such is the Kingdom of\nHeaven.\" Amen.\n\n  C. W. HOLDEN.\n\n\nJanuary 28\n\n  _All thoughts of ill; all evil deeds.\n  That have their root in thoughts of ill;\n  Whatever hinders or impedes\n  The noble action of the will;--\n  All these must first be trampled down\n  Beneath our feet if we would gain\n  In the bright fields of fair renown\n  The right of eminent domain.\n  We have not wings, we cannot soar;\n  But we have feet to scale and climb\n  By slow degrees, by more and more,\n  The cloudy summits of our time._\n\n                       HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.\n\nWe bless Thee, Lord, for the new day and for the new chance which it\noffers to our wayward lives. Forgive the evil in them, and make the good\nefficient. Let the tides of Thy spirit bring to us cleansing,\nrefreshment and power. In the day's business may we be brave, cheerful\nand considerate. Grant us a clear vision of the path of honor and the\nwill to choose it at whatever cost. We wait upon Thee for renewal of our\nstrength; for uplift as on eagle's wings; for unwearied running upon Thy\nlarger errands, if Thou shalt ordain us to such high employ; but most of\nall, for grace to walk life's common ways without fainting. So at\nevening wilt Thou send Thy peace. Amen.\n\n  EDWARD M. CHAPMAN.\n\n\nJanuary 29\n\n     _Don't you touch the edge of the great gladness that is in the\n     world, now and then, in spite of your own little single worries?\n     Well, that's what God means; and the worry is the interruption. He\n     never means that.... If you are glad for one minute in the day,\n     that is His minute; the minute He means, and works for._\n\n                                                MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\nDear Father, Thou hast made us fit for joy. Help us today to grasp our\nbirthright of gladness. For those things which must be borne in sorrow\ngive us submission. Let us taste the salt tonic of our tears and feel\nthe strength born of struggle and the peace wrested from trial. Make us\nglad that friendly hands meet our own; that kindness is always sweet and\nsympathy divine. Teach us to lay hold on the radiance of each hour, that\nthe morning bow of promise may become our evening glory and prophesy\nanother glad new day. As children find content and joy by looking into\ntheir father's face so we turn to Thee. Amen.\n\n  EFFIE MCCOLLUM JONES.\n\n\nJanuary 30\n\n  _Still must I climb if I would rest;\n  The bird soars upward to his nest;\n  The young leaf on the tree-top high\n  Cradles itself within the sky._\n\n  _I cannot in the valley stay:\n  The great horizons stretch away;\n  The very cliffs that wall me round\n  Are ladders unto higher ground._\n\n  _I am not glad till I have known\n  Life that can lift me from mine own;\n  A loftier level must be won.\n  A mightier strength to lean upon._\n\n                            LUCY LARCOM.\n\nHeavenly Father, as the bird that soars first looks upward, we turn our\nsouls to Thee, seeking inspiration that in the duties of today we may\nlive to the full height of the faculties Thou hast given. Help us to\nknow what is right and to follow it day by day continually. Grant that\nour toils this day may be acts of service as sacramental as our prayer.\nIn our weakness, grant us of Thy strength that we may pass from glory to\nglory till we are transformed at last into the perfect image of Thy\nspirit. And when our work on earth is ended, when the clods of the\nvalley are sweet to our weary frame, take us home to Thyself. Amen.\n\n  NATHANIEL S. SAGE.\n\n\nJanuary 31\n\n  _Only a frown! Yet it pressed a sting\n    Into the day which had been so glad;\n  The red rose turned to a scentless thing:\n    The bird-song ceased with discordant ring;\n  And a heart was heavy and sad._\n\n  _Only a smile! yet it cast a spell\n    Over the sky which had been so gray;\n  The rain made music wherever it fell;\n    The wind sang the song of the marriage-bell;\n  And a heart was light and gay._\n\n                                    ANONYMOUS.\n\nWith our tribute of praise, O Father, we would begin this day; this day,\nwhich, with all its bounties, is Thy gift. Prepare us, we beseech Thee,\nfor the experiences of the hours as they open before us. Gratefully\nremembering that we are Thy children, may our duties weigh with such\nsacredness upon our hearts that we may shun the evil way as unworthy\nthose so richly endowed and blest. Write, we pray Thee, Thy law within\nus; and may our love of Thee make it so easy and so joyous to obey that\nwe shall continually grow into the likeness of Him whose mission it is\nto fill the world with blessedness and peace. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES W. TOMLINSON.\n\n\nFebruary 1\n\n  _Father, I will not ask for wealth or fame,\n  Though once they would have joyed my carnal sense.\n  I shudder not to bear a hated name,\n  Wanting all wealth, myself my sole defence.\n  But give me, Lord, eyes to behold the truth;\n  A seeing sense that knows the eternal right;\n  A heart with pity filled, and gentlest ruth;\n  A manly faith that makes all darkness light;\n  Give me the power to labor for mankind;\n  Make me the mouth of such as cannot speak;\n  Eyes let me be to groping man and blind;\n  A conscience to the base; and to the weak\n  Let me be hands and feet; and to the foolish, mind;\n  And lead still farther on such as Thy Kingdom seek._\n\n                                        THEODORE PARKER.\n\nHeavenly Father, we speak to Thee this morning out of a sense of rest\nand trust. We would begin the day with Thee and keep in Thy company to\nits close. Whether we work or pray, wilt Thou rule our spirits?\nConscious in this moment of freedom, that we shall soon be pressed and\nabsorbed by our own cares, we pray, Father, that we may keep in mind the\nprivilege and joy of bearing each other's burdens and so fulfilling the\nlaw of Christ. Nor ever permit us to fall away from perfect faith in Thy\npurpose. Work in us and through us to usher in the morning when Truth\nshall spring out of the earth and Righteousness shall come down from\nheaven. Amen.\n\n  ISAAC M. ATWOOD.\n\n\nFebruary 2\n\n     _As when good news is come to one in grief, straightway he\n     forgetteth his former grief, and no longer attendeth to anything\n     except the good news which he hath heard, so do ye, also! having\n     received a renewal of your soul through the beholding of these good\n     things. Put on therefore gladness that hath always favor before\n     God, and is acceptable unto Him, and delight thyself in it; for\n     every man that is glad doeth the things that are good, and thinketh\n     good thoughts, despising grief._\n\n                                                 MARIUS THE EPICUREAN.\n\nO Lord, we know there are a thousand reasons why we should be glad. We\ncannot always forget our sorrows and our failures; there are manifold\nsources of temporary vexation and annoyance and harassing care, but in\nthe face of Thine overmastering Providence and Love we cannot long be\nvexed nor sad. If tears have dimmed our eyes let us brush away the\ntears. If troubles and cares have burdened our hearts let us rise\ntriumphant over them all and for this day be glad; and in our gladness\nlet us find our strength. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nFebruary 3\n\n     _Do not dare to be so absorbed in your own life, so wrapped up in\n     listening to the sound of your own hurrying wheels, that all this\n     vast pathetic music, made up of the mingled joy and sorrow of your\n     fellowmen, shall not find out your heart and claim it and make you\n     rejoice to give yourself for them.... Be sure that ambition and\n     charity will both grow mean unless they are both inspired and\n     exalted by religion. Energy, love, and faith,--these make the\n     perfect man._\n\n                                                    PHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\nO Thou who art not far from any one of us, but art the Source and\nSustainer of our life, gratefully do we acknowledge the Mercy that has\ngiven us this new day with its certain opportunity for living the glad,\ntrue life. Directed by Thee, may this be for us a day of progress. May\nits duties be performed with alacrity and cheerfulness, its lessons\nlearned with humility, its temptations met with resolute will, its\ncrosses with patient hope. We thank Thee for the life of the Master who\nhas shown us that if we would live Thy divine life, ours must be one of\ncontinual service and constant progression. If, tried by the seeming\ndrudgery of duties daily repeated, we long for the end of our labors or\ndream of an idle heaven, O forgive our weakness, and help us trustingly\nto obey Thy voice as it whispers, \"Up and on, this is not thy rest.\"\nThus let the day close on hours well spent, and Thy joy and peace fill\nour hearts. Amen.\n\n  JOHN MURRAY ATWOOD.\n\n\nFebruary 4\n\n     _Who art thou that complainest of thy life of toil? Complain not.\n     Look up, my wearied brother; see thy fellow-workmen there, in God's\n     eternity; surviving there, they alone surviving; sacred band of the\n     Immortals, celestial body-guard of the empire of mankind. To thee,\n     Heaven, though severe, is as that Spartan mother, saying while she\n     gave her son his shield, \"With it, my son, or upon it.\" Thou too\n     shalt return home in honor; to thy far distant Home, in honor;\n     doubt it not,--if in the battle thou keep thy shield! Thou, in the\n     Eternities, and deepest death-kingdoms, art not an alien; thou\n     everywhere art a denizen. Complain not._\n\n                                                     THOMAS CARLYLE.\n\nO Thou God of goodness and grace, who dost turn Thy smiling countenance\nupon the upturned faces of Thy children, help us to find in the light of\nanother day the continued proof of Thy fatherly care and tender mercy.\nSince Thou art so well disposed towards us, give us courage to attempt\nanything which the duties of this day require, remembering that Thou\ncanst not ask anything beyond our strength, or withhold from us the\nblessing of Thy Divine approval. Living under Thy smile help us to be\nstrong and calm and confident, delighting Thy heart by our faith in Thee\nand our love for our fellowmen. Amen.\n\n  SAMUEL C. BUSHNELL.\n\n\nFebruary 5\n\n     _This goodly frame, the earth, seems to me a sterile promontory;\n     this most excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave\n     o'er-hanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with golden\n     fire, why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and\n     pestilent congregation of vapors. What a piece of work is a man!\n     how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving\n     how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in\n     apprehension how like a god!_\n\n                                                        SHAKESPEARE.\n\nOur Father in Heaven, we pray Thee that this may be a bright and happy\nday in each of our lives. May there be sunshine in our hearts because\nthey are attuned to Thine. Going about our daily tasks, Thy spirit\nwithin us, may we make our little portion of the earth not a sterile\npromontory but a rich garden abounding in the fruits of the spirit, and\nmay we, by Thy grace, be enabled to dispel some of the pestilent vapors\nof wordliness and doubt. In all things, may we remember our divine\nparentage and conform our lives more and more to the pattern shown us by\nThy dear Son, Jesus Christ, in whose name we pray. Amen.\n\n  FRANCIS E. CLARK.\n\n\nFebruary 6\n\n  _There was a merchant once, who on the way\n  Meeting one fatherless and lamed, did stay\n  To draw the thorn which pricked his foot, and passed;\n  And 'twas forgot; and the man died at last.\n  But in a dream the Prince of Khojand spies\n  That man again, walking in Paradise.\n  Walking and talking in that blessed land,\n  And what he said the prince could understand;\n  For he said this, plucking the heavenly posies;\n  \"Wonderful! One thorn made me many roses!\"_\n\n                                              EDWIN ARNOLD.\n\nDear Father in Heaven, with our life refreshed and renewed by sleep, we\nwould face the duties of the day with strong hope and a ready courage.\nForbid that these shall in any degree be diminished by any difficulty or\nperplexity that may arise. We pray for wisdom and love. Grant us that\ninterest in others that shall impel us to help those who are in need.\nAnd may our desire to minister move us not only to dress the wounds of\nthose whom the thorns have injured, but to clear the paths, along which\nmen must pass, of those conditions and influences which inevitably maim\nand blight. May we serve Thee faithfully and with gladness this day!\nAmen.\n\n  HARRY L. CANFIELD.\n\n\nFebruary 7\n\n  _Quicksand years that whirl me I know not whither,\n  Your schemes, politics fail, lines give way, substances mock and\n        elude me,\n  Only the theme I sing, the great and strong-possess'd soul, eludes not,\n  One's self must never give way--that is the final substance--that out\n        of all is sure,\n  Out of politics, triumphs, battles, life, what at last finally remains?\n  When shows break up what but One's self is sure?_\n\n                                                          WALT WHITMAN.\n\nO Thou, who beholdest all the souls of men, in our vision of another new\nday, help us to see as Thou seest; to be conscious not of our own need\nand desert alone, but also of the deserts and needs of all those with\nwhom we have to do; shaping our prayer and directing the effort that\nfollows after all true prayer in accordance with this wider outlook. O\nThou, who fashionest the hearts of all, who observest all their works,\nwe would strengthen and purify our hearts that they may be fitted to be\nfashioned by Thee to noble ends, and set to some good service; and we\nwould do our daily work as in the sight of one who knows and loves all\nhonest, thorough workers, great or humble, wise or simple. Amen.\n\n  AUGUSTUS MENDON LORD.\n\n\nFebruary 8\n\n     _Truth should be the first lesson of the child and the last\n     aspiration of Manhood; for it has been well said that the inquiry\n     of truth, which is the love-making of it, the knowledge of truth,\n     which is the presence of it, and the belief of truth, which is the\n     enjoying of it, is the sovereign good of human nature._\n\n  _We search the world for truth; we cull\n  The good, the pure, the beautiful,\n  From graven stone and written scroll,\n  From all old flower-fields of the soul._\n\n                                            JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we acknowledge Thee as the Author and Giver of all\ntruth. We bless Thee that Thou hast attuned our souls to its music, and\nthat when with conscious life we touch its strings covering the universe\nwe feel harmony with the Divine. We thank Thee for the truths of our\nsonship in Thee and for the assurances of Thy Fatherhood. We bless Thee\nfor Jesus who was the truth made life, and who is our daily guide to its\nblessings. We thank Thee for the truth of immortality, with its\nencouragement to eager life today and its assurances of endless joyful\ntomorrows. Make us seekers of truth, lovers of truth and examples of\ntruth as it is in Jesus our Savior. Amen.\n\n  FRED A. DILLINGHAM.\n\n\nFebruary 9\n\n     _All things are engaged in writing their history. The planet, the\n     pebble, goes attended by its shadow. The rolling rock leaves its\n     scratches on the mountain; the river, its channel in the soil; the\n     animal, its bones in the stratum; the fern and leaf, their modest\n     epitaph in the coal. The falling drop makes its sculpture in the\n     sand or the stone. Not a foot steps into the snow or along the\n     ground, but prints, in characters more or less lasting, a map of\n     its march. Every act of the man inscribes itself in the memory of\n     his fellows, and in his own manners and face. The air is full of\n     sounds, the sky of tokens, the ground is all memoranda and\n     signatures, and every object covered over with hints which speak to\n     the intelligent._\n\n                                                  _Ralph Waldo Emerson._\n\nOur Father, who art in Heaven and in every manifestation of living\nnature, we turn our thoughts to Thee with the rising of each new sun. We\nhear Thy voice in the singing of every summer bird. We realize Thy\npresence in the shifting shadows of the clouds. In the arching blue\nabove us we realize something of the depth and breadth of the love that\narches over the horizon of our life and stretches like the radiant bow\nof promise from the green hills of childhood to the sombre mountains of\nold age. We beseech Thee to give us thoughts so beautiful and ennobling\nthat even amid the sods and clods of life's daily drudgery we can always\nface the morning light of some new hope which comes like the old song\nsung in the new land. Amen.\n\n  JOHN KIMBALL.\n\n\nFebruary 10\n\n     _First, when I feel that I am become cold and indisposed to prayer,\n     by reason of other business and thoughts, I take my psalter and run\n     into my chamber, or, if day and season serve, into the church to\n     the multitude, and begin to repeat to myself--just as children\n     used--the ten commandments, the creed, and, according as I have\n     time, some sayings of Christ or of Paul, or some Psalms. Therefore\n     it is well to let prayer be the first employment in the early\n     morning, and the last in the evening. Avoid diligently those false\n     and deceptive thoughts which say, Wait a little, I will pray an\n     hour hence; I must first perform this or that. For with such\n     thoughts a man quits prayer for business that lays hold of and\n     entangles him, so that he comes not to pray the whole day long._\n\n                                                           MARTIN LUTHER.\n\nO Lord, our Heavenly Father, who keepest covenant and loving kindness\nwith Thy servants, who walk humbly with Thee, and who hast been\nattentive to the prayers of our fathers when they lifted up their hearts\nand their hands to Thee, teach us to pray, and to love to pray. Visit us\nin the night season and before the morning watch. Touch our spirits with\nthe flame of Thy Spirit, before the day's business lays hold upon us and\nentangles us, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.\n\n  REUBEN KIDNER.\n\n\nFebruary 11\n\n     _In one of Dean Stanley's sermons to children, preached at\n     Westminster Abbey, he told the following story: \"There was a little\n     girl living with her grandfather. She was a good child, but he was\n     not a very good man; and one day, when the little child came back\n     from school, he had put in writing over the bed, 'God is nowhere,'\n     for he did not believe in the good God, and he tried to make the\n     little child believe the same. What did the little girl do? She had\n     no eyes to see, no ears to hear, what her grandfather tried to\n     teach her. She was very small. She could only read words of one\n     syllable at a time; she rose above the bad meaning which he tried\n     to put in her mind; she rose, as we all ought to rise, above the\n     temptation of our time; she rose into a higher and better world;\n     she rose because her little mind could not do otherwise, and she\n     read the words, not 'God is nowhere,' but 'God is now here.' That\n     is what we all should strive to do. Out of words which have no\n     sense or which have bad sense, our eyes, our minds, ought to be\n     able to read a better sense.\"_\n\n                                                     WILLIAM MOODIE.\n\nO Thou, Invisible Presence, there can be no place where Thou art not.\nThou, our Father, art in heaven and on earth and everywhere. Thou art in\nthe order of the rock, the beauty of the flower, the light of the sun\nand stars, and goodness in the human soul. Teach us to be conscious of\nThy nearness to us, and so may we never be afraid. In the light of Thy\ncountenance, may we see duty and truth, and recognize more easily the\ngood in one another. Amen.\n\n  ALVA ROY SCOTT.\n\n\nFebruary 12\n\n             ABRAHAM LINCOLN BORN 1809\n\n  _Chosen for large designs, he had the art\n    Of winning with his humour, and he went\n  Straight to his mark, which was the human heart;\n    Wise, too, for what he could not break he bent._\n\n  _Upon his back a more than Atlas-load--\n    The burden of the Commonwealth was laid;\n  He stooped, and rose up to it, though the road\n    Shot suddenly downwards, not a whit dismayed._\n\n  _Hold, warriors, counsellors, kings! all now give place\n  To this dear benefactor of the race._\n\n                                    RICHARD H. STODDARD.\n\nAlmighty Father, we thank Thee today for the gracious memory of Thy\nservant who lived and died for the sake of a free and united nation. We\nthank Thee more that we have his life inwrought into the very fabric of\nthe life of the nation. We had in him \"a hiding place from the wind and\na covert from the tempest, a river of water in a dry place and the\nshadow of a great rock in a weary land.\" We gratefully join in praise\nwith the thousands who found help and cheer in the shadow of his\nstrength. And now we humbly beseech Thee, help us in some small way this\nday to be a helper to the helpless, a friend to the needy, sunshine to\nthose whose day will be gray and gloomy, the shadow of a great rock to\nthose who are buffeted by the world's storms. Thus shall we prove our\ngratitude to Thee for the gift of Thy servant whom we honor today, and\nthus shall we honor Thee. We ask and offer all in the name of Thy Son\nJesus Christ. Amen.\n\n  AVERY A. SHAW.\n\n\nFebruary 13\n\n     _Let us learn to be content with what we have. Let us get rid of\n     our false estimates, set up all the higher ideals--a quiet home;\n     vines of our own planting; a few books full of the inspiration of a\n     genius; a few friends worthy of being loved, and able to love us in\n     return; a hundred innocent pleasures that bring no pain or remorse;\n     a devotion to the right that will never swerve; a simple religion\n     empty of all bigotry, full of trust and hope and love--and to such\n     a philosophy this world will give up all the empty joy it has._\n\n                                                        DAVID SWING.\n\nThou gracious Spirit of Life, our Father, at the beginning of this new\nday we wait for a moment before Thee with uncovered heads and with\nreverent spirits; Thou knowest us through and through, whatever man may\nthink of us Thou knowest just what we are. In Thy sight we need not\npretend; we need not make believe, we need only be simple and genuine\nand brave and earnest. We need be glad in the possession of what we\nhave. Help us this day to rightly value that which is good and honest.\nLet us for this day at least, put away all vanity and give ourselves\nunreservedly to Thy service and the love of our fellow men. To this high\nend, may we have the sweet companionship of Jesus. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nFebruary 14\n\n     _We go through life as some tourists go through Europe,--so anxious\n     to see the next sight, the next cathedral, the next picture, the\n     next mountain peak, that we never stop to fill our sense with the\n     beauty of the present one. Along all our pathways sweet flowers are\n     blossoming, if we will only stop to pluck them and smell their\n     fragrance. In every meadow, birds are warbling, calling to their\n     mates, and soaring into the blue, if we will only stop our\n     grumbling long enough to hear them._\n\n                                                      MINOT J. SAVAGE.\n\nGive us, O God, the vision to see the way where duty lies and strength\nto walk in it, to ever keep the forward look and never to lose heart\ntoday because of the stumblings and fallings in the yesterdays that are\nforever gone. Let us remember that we are in Thy hands and we are\nfaithless to Thee and to ourselves if knowingly we fail to do Thy work.\nThough we cannot see Thee, we now see our fellow men and we shall best\nserve Thee if, in love and patience, we help our fellows. Amen.\n\n  ALMON GUNNISON.\n\n\nFebruary 15\n\n              _May I reach\n  That purest Heaven--be to other souls\n  The cup of strength in some great agony,\n  Enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love,\n  Beget the smiles that have no cruelty,\n  Be that sweet presence of a good diffused,\n  And in diffusion ever more intense!\n  So shall I join the choir invisible,\n  Whose music is the gladness of the world._\n\n                                    GEORGE ELIOT.\n\nOur heavenly Father, we bless Thee for the gift of another day with all\nits opportunities for service. And we pray that our hearts may respond\nin sympathy with the heartbeats of those who love and toil and suffer\naround us today. May we learn to make their joys and sorrows our own. Do\nnot let our unfeeling hands strike the heart-strings of others harshly,\nnor allow our feet to go crushing roses of love, without thought. Help\nus, we pray Thee, to walk tenderly and reverently among our fellow men.\nMay their hopes and noble endeavors ring within us the prayer bells of\nthe soul. Make us thus to grow large and tender and noble through our\nhelpful ministries. Amen.\n\n  JOHN WESLEY CARTER.\n\n\nFebruary 16\n\n  _Ah, love and love alone at last will solve\n  All the vast, threatening questions that distract\n  Mankind; that fellow-men in strife array,\n  And the whole world with fierce contentions rend.\n  Still keep your idle millions under arms--\n  Fed on the hard-earned substance of the poor--\n  Still watch each other with keen jealousy,\n  Still slaughter thousands on the field of war,\n  Or strive with statesman's craft to arbitrate;\n  Thread the sly mazes of diplomacy,\n  Try communistic cures for every ill,\n  And when all fails at last, for lack of love,\n  Try love--the mightiest of them all--and win!_\n\n                                 HENRY NEHEMIAH DODGE.\n\nGod of the light,--within, without, who hast lifted the curtain of night\nfrom our abodes, perfect now Thy blessing unto us, and take the veil\nfrom all our hearts, and make clear to us Thy holy presence. Filled with\nthe everlasting light, may we look on each other, and on our work here\nbelow, and on the strifes and conditions of humanity, with a love and\nhope that are not of this world. May Faith, Hope and Love abide with\nus--and may we realize that the greatest of these is Love. Hasten Thou\nthe time when by love alone Thy kingdom shall come, and Thy will be done\non earth as it is in heaven. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM B. EDDY.\n\n\nFebruary 17\n\n     _If the day and night are such that you greet them with joy, and\n     life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet-scented herbs, is\n     more starry, more immortal,--that is your success. All nature is\n     your congratulation and you have cause momentarily to bless\n     yourself._\n\n                                                HENRY DAVID THOREAU.\n\nFather, I have found Thy gift of life, a sweet and beautiful thing. It\nhas known cloud and rain, but these have nourished it, and the darkness\nhas sheltered it. It has felt driving storms, but these have\nstrengthened it. It has known sunshine too. And now every day is a\ntransfiguration and every night a benediction. Let thanksgiving be my\nprayer. What I need Thou wilt give. My hands Thou wilt touch with the\nsoft petals of Thy flowers; and the arms of Thy strong care shall be\nabout me. By the voices of brooks and rivers and winds and birds and\nlittle children Thou wilt speak to me, and in the deeper silences I\nshall hear Thy still small voice. Father, I thank Thee. Amen.\n\n  O. C. S. WALLACE.\n\n\nFebruary 18\n\n     _Let us not care too much for what happens: Let us not leave our\n     peace of mind at the mercy of events._\n\n                                                     CHARLES G. AMES.\n\n     _Let us lay hold of the happiness of today. Do we not go through\n     life blindly, thinking that some fair tomorrow will bring us the\n     gift we miss today?... Know thou, my heart, if thou art not happy\n     today, thou shalt never be happy._\n\n                                                 ANNA ROBERTSON BROWN.\n\nWe thank Thee, our Father, that the Satisfaction of righteousness is\npresent as well as future. Help us, we beseech Thee, to live this day so\nthat earth shall seem like heaven. In the proof of our adequacy to the\ndemands of duty may we find a delight that shall more than compensate us\nfor any pleasure or profit surrendered for its sake. May the sense of\nThine approval sanctify our joys and comfort our sorrows. May we win\nlove by deserving it, and find happiness in bestowing it. Through\nobedience to Thy will may we add strength and spiritual beauty to our\nown character and carry into the evening shadows the sweet assurance\nthat other lives have been enriched by our kind words and helpful deeds.\nWe ask it as Thy children. Amen.\n\n  J. FRANK THOMPSON.\n\n\nFebruary 19\n\n  _'Tis always morning somewhere, and above\n  The awakening continents from shore to shore.\n  Somewhere the birds are singing evermore._\n\n                                               HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.\n\n     _The inconveniences and the petty annoyances, the pains and the\n     sorrows, do we ever forget them? Indeed, no; we grumble and groan\n     continually. The blue sky and the sunshine, the everyday mercies\n     and the wonderful blessings that we accept as a matter of course,\n     do we remember to rejoice because of them? Only too seldom. On this\n     one day, do let us be sincerely and expressedly thankful._\n\n                                                         ANONYMOUS.\n\nOur Father, we rejoice to believe that Thy love is the eternal sun which\nknows no eclipse and that in its pure shining, we Thy children can go\nforward with brave hearts and radiant hopes, assured that Thy wisdom\nhath left nothing unfinished and that \"Thy goodness faileth never.\" We\ngreet this new day with newness of joy in Thy Fatherhood as our personal\nright, and with ascending ideals of a service whose gracious light shall\nkindle other souls into a larger hopefulness and a deeper tenderness. We\nwould fill this day with all sunny thoughts, with all cheering words and\nwith all generous deeds, and thus the more effectually bring the divine\nlight into the human and make clearer the outlines of a heaven on earth.\nAmen.\n\n  ARNOLD S. YANTIS.\n\n\nFebruary 20\n\n  _No blast of air or fire of sun\n  Puts out the light whereby we run\n  With girdled loins our lamplit race,\n    And each from each takes heart of grace\n  And spirit till his turn be done,\n    And light of face from each man's face\n  In whom the light of trust is one;\n    Since only souls that keep their place\n  By their own light, and watch things roll,\n  And stand, have light for any soul._\n\n                 ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE.\n\nO Thou, Who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, even the true\nlight which lighteth every man coming into the world, shine Thou in us,\nputting to flight all the powers of darkness, and guilt of sin, and\nselfishness. Shine also through us to any that live in the shadow; and\nso fill us with Thy radiant Spirit, that we may be a lamp unto a\nneighbor's feet and a light unto his path. And when this day is done may\nevery face we have met be the brighter for our meeting, and every heart\nbraver with new joy and cheer and grace and strength. For in Thee O\nLord, is life, and Thy life is the light of men. Amen.\n\nTHEODORE PARKER.\n\n\nFebruary 21\n\n  _The longer on this earth we live\n  And weigh the various qualities of men\n  The more we feel the high, stern-featured beauty\n  Of plain devotedness to duty,\n  Steadfast and still, nor paid with mortal praise,\n  But finding amplest recompense\n  For life's ungarlanded expense\n  In work done squarely and unwasted days._\n\n                                JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.\n\nOur dear Heavenly Father, we would greet Thee as this morning greets us.\nWe thank Thee for the daily duty; that, amid this wondrous world, Thou\nhast set somewhat for our doing. May we appreciate the honor. May we not\ngrudge our best, even in the humblest tasks, since Thou appointest them.\nStrengthen us, we beseech Thee, if sometimes the heart fails, and the\ntired hands get laggard. Show us how the lowliest service becomes\nloftiest if done with the glorifying motive of pleasing Thee. Make us\nthis day blithe in duty. When our heads find pillow may Thy peace enfold\nus; forgive our failures; and, for Jesus' sake, may we never cease\nendeavor. Amen.\n\n  WAYLAND HOYT.\n\n\nFebruary 22\n\nGEORGE WASHINGTON. BORN 1732.\n\n  _Welcome to the day returning,\n      Dearer still as ages flow,\n  While the torch of faith is burning,\n      Long as Freedom's altars glow!\n  See the hero whom it gave us\n      Slumbering on a mother's breast;\n  For the arm he stretched to save us,\n      Be its morn forever blest._\n\n                    OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.\n\nFather of life, we thank Thee that Thou hast been with the Fathers; that\nThou hast been with him whose birth this day we celebrate. Thou wert\nwilling to speak to them, and they were willing to hear Thee and answer\nThee, \"Lo, here am I; send me.\" We thank Thee that the memory of this\ngreat man has come down to us; of him who was first in war, first in\npeace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen; and we ask Thee that\nThou wilt be with our countrymen today; that Thou wilt teach us Thy law,\nthat we may walk in Thy ways; that this may be that happy nation whose\nGod is the Lord. In all time of our trial, if we have sought Thee we\nhave found Thee,--in all time of our success Thou hast won for us our\nvictories,--Thou hast been with our counsellors. Father, today,\ntomorrow, and in days to come, in our memories and in our hopes be with\nus still, Our Father, Who art in Heaven. Amen.\n\n  EDWARD EVERETT HALE.\n\n\nFebruary 23\n\n     _If you always remember that in all you do in soul or body God\n     stands by as a witness, in all your prayers and your actions you\n     will not err; and you shall have God dwelling with you._\n\n                                                       EPICTETUS.\n\n     _Faith acts on our souls as a moral tonic; it takes the fret and\n     fever out of our lives; it gives the appetite and desire for noble\n     living; it removes despondency; it gives energy, courage, hope,\n     patience, and persistence; and in its highest manifestations it\n     makes our lives a blending of power, sweetness, and peace._\n\n                                                 JAMES M. PULLMAN.\n\nFather of spirits! We yield ourselves to Thee. We will be afraid of\nneither sorrow nor death in a world where many saintly souls have\nsanctified them by a divine patience, and amid a Providence wherein no\nevil thing can dwell. Clinging unto Thee, we shall not perish with the\nfashion of this world that passeth away. As sparks falling on the river,\nso shall the glories of our strength go out. But the graces of the holy\nsoul shall be as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars\nforever and ever. In Thee, O Lord, is our undying trust. Amen.\n\n  JAMES MARTINEAU.\n\n\nFebruary 24\n\n     _Be of good cheer, brave spirit; steadfastly serve that low whisper\n     thou hast served; for know, God hath a select family of sons now\n     scattered wide thro' earth, and each alone, who are thy spiritual\n     kindred, and each one by constant service to that inward law, is\n     weaving the sublime proportions of a true monarch's soul. Beauty\n     and strength, the riches of a spotless memory, the eloquence of\n     truth, the wisdom got by searching of a clear and loving eye that\n     seeth as God seeth. These are their gifts, and time, who keeps\n     God's word, brings on the day to seal the marriage of these minds\n     with thine, thy everlasting lovers._\n\n                                                    RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\nO Thou, who makest the outgoings of the morning and evening to rejoice,\nhelp us to welcome this new day as Thy gift, to take up its duties with\ncourage, and to follow the light which Thou shalt give. Conscious of the\nmeaning and purpose of life, undismayed by the failures of past days,\nand ever remembering that Thy strength is made perfect in human\nweakness, may we consecrate ourselves anew to the glad service of life,\nknowing that in so doing we enter into fellowship with all who have been\nworkers together with Thee, and into increasing likeness of soul to Thy\nholy Son. May the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and may life\nbecome stronger and sweeter and richer, until at last we receive through\ngrace the \"well done!\" of the Master. Amen.\n\n  HENRY M. KING.\n\n\nFebruary 25\n\n     _There is no music in a rest, but there is the making of music in\n     it. In our whole life melody, the music is broken off here and\n     there by \"rests,\" and we foolishly think we have come to the end of\n     time. God sends a time of forced leisure--sickness, disappointed\n     plans, frustrated efforts--and makes a sudden pause in the choral\n     hymn of our lives, and we lament that our voices must be silent,\n     and our part missing in the music which ever goes up to the ear of\n     the Creator. How does the musician read the rest? See him beat time\n     with unvarying count and catch up the next note true and steady, as\n     if no breaking place had come in between. Not without design does\n     God write the music of our lives. But be it ours to learn the time,\n     and not be dismayed at the \"rests.\" They are not to be slurred\n     over, nor to be omitted, nor to destroy the melody, nor to change\n     the key-note. If we look up, God Himself will beat the time for us.\n     With the eye on Him we shall strike the next note full and clear._\n\n                                                          JOHN RUSKIN.\n\nO God, help us to trust where we cannot see, and to feel that life is\nnot necessarily a failure because we are shut out from its activities.\nGrant us in sickness such visions and such communion with Thee that\ndisease of the body shall be transformed into a healer of the soul; and,\nas the crushed rose the sweeter fragrance emits, so may our sorrows\nchasten and refine us.\n\nO Heavenly Father, grant that all our sickness and pain and\ndisappointment may so sweeten our dispositions, purify our character and\nstrengthen our souls that we shall bring heaven's sunlight into the\nlives of all whom we meet. Amen.\n\n  MYRON W. HAYNES.\n\n\nFebruary 26\n\n     _Love is the greatest thing that God can give us, for Himself is\n     love; and it is the greatest thing we can give to God, for it will\n     also give ourselves, and carry with it all that is ours._\n\n                                                         JEREMY TAYLOR.\n\n  _High thoughts and noble in all lands\n      Help me, my soul is fed by such;\n  But ah, the touch of lips and hands,\n      The human touch!\n  Warm, vital, close, life's symbols dear,\n      These need I most and now and here._\n\n                           RICHARD BURTON.\n\nOur Father in Heaven, we bless Thee this morning for all Thy care and\nlove; Thou hast made our houses homes, sweet, quiet dwelling-places. We\nthank Thee for sleep, for communion with one another in all holy and\ntender speech. We thank Thee for all our hopes; the worlds are nearer\nthan we thought, heaven's fragrance attempers the winds of earth, we\nalmost hear the upper song: may we listen for it, may our souls delight\nin sweet anticipations of immortal fellowship, and may we come out of\nthese high reveries determined to work more, suffer more patiently, to\naccept every discipline more willingly, and to do all our little day's\nwork as men whose citizenship is in heaven. Amen.\n\n  JOSEPH PARKER.\n\n\nFebruary 27\n\n  _Flame of the spirit, and dust of the earth,--\n  This is the making of man,\n  This is his problem of birth;\n  Born to all holiness, born to all crime,\n  Heir of both worlds, on the long slope of time\n  Climbing the path of God's plan;\n  Dust of the earth in his error and fear,\n  Weakness and malice and lust;\n  Yet, quivering up from the dust,\n  Flame of the spirit, unleaping and clear,\n  Yearning to God, since from God is its birth--\n  This is man's portion, to shape as he can,\n  Flame of the spirit, and dust of the earth--\n  This is the making of man._\n\n                               PRISCILLA LEONARD.\n\nO God, Thou art the Father of our spirits, but our spirits have come to\nus through ways of flesh. We are both spiritual and carnal. Our spirits\nseek Thee evermore, but our flesh turns away from Thee and strives to\ndrag us down. Between our best and our worst is bitter conflict. Help us\nto the discovery that all that lives is in like conflict, and that there\ncan be no virtue and no glory except in overcoming. Make us see that the\nspirit is stronger than the flesh because it is of God, and that in the\nobedience and inspiration of Jesus, Thy Son and our Brother, we may at\nlast be enthroned with Him. Amen.\n\n  CEPHAS B. CRANE.\n\n\nFebruary 28\n\n     _Neither let mistakes nor wrong directions, of which every man, in\n     his studies and elsewhere, falls into many, discourage you. There\n     is precious instruction to be got by finding we were wrong. Let a\n     man try faithfully, manfully, to be right; he will grow daily more\n     and more right. It is at bottom the condition on which all men have\n     to cultivate themselves._\n\n                                                        THOMAS CARLYLE.\n\nAlmighty God, our heavenly Father,--in Thine own loving way Thou dost\nbless us when we do the right; when we fall into mistakes so teach us by\nThy judgments that we become wise unto salvation. Help Thy children to\nrecognize their proneness to blunder, that they learn to walk\ncircumspectly. When we fall into the wrong, grant that we lie prone not\nlong but arise undismayed to greater effort. Bring to bear upon us the\ninfluences of the Holy Spirit, that we strive earnestly and devoutly to\nbe right at the centre of our being; that rightness be the fabric of our\nlife. To Thee be all glory evermore. Amen.\n\n  EDWARD A. PERRY.\n\n\nFebruary 29\n\n  _Henceforth I learn that to obey is best,\n  And love with fear the only God, to walk\n  As in His presence, ever to observe\n  His providence, and on Him sole depend,\n  Merciful over all His works, with good\n  Still overcoming evil, and by small\n  Accomplishing great things--by things deemed weak\n  Subverting worldly strong, and worldly wise\n  By simply meek, that suffering for Truth's sake\n  Is fortitude to highest victory,\n  And to the faithful death the gate of life--\n  Taught this by His example whom I now\n  Acknowledge my Redeemer ever blest._\n\n                                         JOHN MILTON.\n\nO Thou Eternal One before whom from day to day we walk and on whom we\never depend, help us to-day to love whatever is good and beautiful and\nto follow obediently the behests of Thy Spirit. May we overcome evil\nwith good; and may we accomplish whatever tasks the hours as they pass\ndemand of us, whether small or great, with such strength as may be\nvouchsafed us and with a wisdom begotten of meekness. If we must suffer\nfor truth's sake may we manifest such humility and fortitude as shall be\nconducive to the highest success. Open for us hourly the gates of life,\nas those who endeavor to be faithful to their high calling. These favors\nwe ask in the name of Him who redeems our lives from all evil and crowns\nus daily with His loving kindness. Amen.\n\n  EDWARD DAY.\n\n\nMarch 1\n\n     _All the strength of the world and all its beauty, all true joy,\n     everything that consoles, that feeds hope, or throws a ray of light\n     along our dark paths, everything that makes us see across our poor\n     lives a splendid goal and a boundless future, comes to us from\n     people of simplicity, those who have made another object of their\n     desires than the passing satisfaction of selfishness and vanity,\n     and have understood that the art of living is to know how to give\n     one's life._\n\n                                                      CHARLES WAGNER.\n\nHeavenly Father, help us to be like Thyself, as manifested in the person\nof Jesus Christ, Thy Son! It was His will to do the will of His Father\nby living and dying for others. Teach us so to live. Help us to learn by\npositive personal experience that supremest joy comes only \"in\nministering unto others.\" Teach us what Jesus meant when He said: \"I am\namong you as he that serveth.\" Plant deeply within us His passion for a\nlife of service. May our morning hours be gladdened and inspired by this\ndivine purpose. Let Thy holy will be done in us this day. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES PARKHURST.\n\n\n     March 2\n\n    _The year's at the spring\n    And day's at the morn;\n    Morning's at seven;\n    The hill-side's dew-pearled;\n    The lark's on the wing;\n    The snail's on the thorn;\n  God's in His heaven--\n  All's right with the world!_\n\n                ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nFather in Heaven, refreshed and heartened by the night, we begin again\nwith Thee the high adventure of our life. Add to the beauty of the world\nabout us a finer spiritual beauty in our souls. Save us from our own\nundoing. If our thoughts are dark, shine in upon them with Thy glory; if\nthey be bright, make them to light the pathway of another. Have us\nwholesomely to forget ourselves, in the joy of Thy good world, the\npromise of our imperfection and the trust in God that maketh not afraid.\nAnd when the duties of the day are done, dismiss us, Thy well-meaning\nchildren, with a quiet mind to rest. Amen.\n\n  ALBERT WELLMAN HITCHCOCK.\n\n\n     March 3\n\n       _We will do something worth doing--that is the resolution for you\n       and me._\n\n                                                  EDWARD EVERETT HALE.\n\n     _We admire the man who embodies victorious efforts, the man who\n     never wrongs his neighbor, who is prompt to help a friend, but who\n     has those virile qualities necessary to win in the stern strife of\n     actual life._\n\n                                                    THEODORE ROOSEVELT.\n\nFather of Lights in whom is no darkness at all, and in whose light we\nsee light, help us to clearly see and never forget that only right deeds\nare worthy of a child of Thine. May we in no moment forget that to yield\nto the wrong is to bring upon us Thy just condemnation and sow for us a\nsure reaping of sorrowful repentance. By doing the things we know to be\nright and worth doing, the things worthy of our true selves and of our\nFather and of our Master whose we are, may this day, through us, yield\nsome benefit to other children of Thine, and bring to us the sweet\nreward of Thine approval. Amen.\n\n  OSCAR F. SAFFORD.\n\n\nMarch 4\n\n   _It is worth a thousand pounds a year to have the habit of looking\n   on the bright side of things._\n\n                                                       SAMUEL JOHNSON.\n\n  _Not by appointment do we meet delight and joy;\n  They wait not our expectancy;\n  But round some corner in the street of life,\n  They, on a sudden, greet us with a smile._\n\n                                     GERALD MASSEY.\n\nOur Father, at the beginning of a new day, refreshed by the night's\nrest, we turn to Thee for strength for the day's task. We know not what\nthe hours hold for us, but this we do know, that come what may, Thou\nwilt go with us to bless, to cheer; we shall not walk or work alone. As\nwe faithfully and cheerfully perform our work, conscious of Thy\npresence, there will come joys and smiles unexpected and unsought. This\nis Thy way of teaching us faithfulness and endurance. May we soon learn,\nthat if we would make the day happy and worth while, we must not seek\nour own pleasure and good, but that of our brethren. May we so live that\nwhen the night shadows are again upon us, there shall be no cause for\nshame or regret. In the Master's spirit! Amen.\n\n  O. HOWARD PERKINS.\n\n\nMarch 5\n\n  _Not in dumb resignation we lift our hands on high;\n  Not like the nerveless fatalist, content to do and die.\n  Our faith springs, like the eagle's, who soars to meet the sun,\n  And cries exulting unto Thee, \"Oh, Lord, Thy will be done.\"_\n\n  _Thy will! It bids the weak be strong; it bids the strong be just;\n  No lips to fawn, no hand to beg, no brow to seek the dust,\n  Wherever man oppresses men beneath the liberal sun,\n  O Lord, be there, Thine arm made bare, Thy righteous will be done._\n\n                                                           JOHN HAY.\n\nIt is with the beautiful assurance of Thy love and kindness, our Father,\nthat we draw nigh unto Thee. It is Faith that seems to give us wings by\nwhich we rise above the darkness, into Thy Presence of light and love.\nWe feel our divine relationship to Thee, so that we lift up our hands to\nThee, as the child to the parent. We are content to do Thy will, because\nwe know then just what it is to love Thee. Our Master taught us this\ngreat lesson by His own faith in Thee. To do Thy will means strength to\nthe weak, hope to the hopeless. To the sorrowing there can be seen,\nbeyond the tear, the rainbow of Thy promise. Thus, as we realize our\nsonship will we work to make all men feel their own power, and all\nbecome one in Thy great love. May Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done,\nin Christ our Lord. Amen.\n\n  C. E. FISHER.\n\n\nMarch 6\n\n     _If you are my friend you cannot be indifferent to my faults of\n     character, any more than you can be indifferent to my sickness or\n     suffering. But, if you care to help me cure these faults, please\n     let them alone! Please make much of my good qualities if you can\n     discover any. And especially bless me with the encouraging sight of\n     a better man than myself, and cheer me with a high example. I know\n     that there are times when a sharp or gentle rebuke is in order, and\n     that \"faithful are the wounds of a friend.\" But the wiser doctors\n     have lost their faith in blood-letting; and they know that clumsy\n     surgery kills more than it cures._\n\n                                                      CHARLES G. AMES.\n\nIn our prayer, our Heavenly Father, we desire to be consciously grateful\nfor the opportunities this new day affords us of being helpful to each\nother. The inspiration so to act comes from Thee. Thou art the constant\nand never-failing Helper of Thy children. May we be mindful of the fact\nthat our noblest service to another may not be an alms, but a look of\nencouragement, a word of cheer. Enable us to be not too sensible of\nothers' faults and failings. Assist us to see and magnify the good in\nother lives. To this end may we be to others such examples in conduct\nand character as we would have them be to us. We offer and ask all in\nthe spirit of Jesus. Amen.\n\n  LEROY W. COONS.\n\n\nMarch 7\n\n     _The mariner of old said to Neptune in a great tempest, \"O God!\n     Thou mayest save me if Thou wilt, and if Thou wilt Thou mayest\n     destroy me, but whether or no, I will steer my rudder true.\"_\n\n                                                      MONTAIGNE.\n\n            _I go to prove my soul\n  I see my way as birds their trackless way.\n  I shall arrive! what time, what circuit first,\n  I ask not; but unless God send His hail\n  Or blinding fire-balls, sleet or stifling snow,\n  In some time, His good time, I shall arrive;\n  He guides me and the bird. In His good time!_\n\n                                 ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nOnce more we face the day that can be dreadful only to our poor sight\nand trembling faith. For Thou hast made flame and pain, the hurricane\nand quaking earth to be Thy ministers of grace. Shall trust depart when\nshadows fall? Thou art \"in the shadow keeping watch above Thine own.\" As\ntruly in severity as in gentleness, Thou art the All-Loving and\nAll-Wise. Shall we fear to go anywhere? Lord, Thou art everywhere!\nDefend us only from the blindness and fear of ignorance and sin. Draw us\nnearer to Thee, this day, by any means in Thy good pleasure, so that at\nlast, truly knowing Thy way, we shall rise above the worst that\ncircumstances may do into joy unspeakable and peace unbroken. In the\nname of Him made perfect through suffering. Amen.\n\n  HENRY B. TAYLOR.\n\n\nMarch 8\n\n     _We complain of the slow, dull life we are forced to lead, of our\n     humble sphere of action, of our low position in the scale of\n     society, of our having no room to make ourselves known, of our\n     wasted energies, of our years of patience. So do we say that we\n     have no Father who is directing our life, so do we say that God has\n     forgotten us, so do we boldly judge what life is best for us, and\n     so by our complaining do we lose the use and profit of the quiet\n     years._\n\n                                                    BISHOP HUNTINGTON.\n\nInfinite and Holy One, by the tender mercies of Thy great love show us\nthis day the true life that is hid in Thee. Feed us with Thy spirit that\nwe hunger not. Make us strong and merciful in Thee. Help us to be\nsimple, brave, and true. Give us to speak and live the truth. Make us\ncontent with life while ever dreaming of the more perfect day. Fix our\nlives in a great and brave integrity. Humble us in our pride, lift us\nfrom our despondency. Keep our hearts pure and our lips from speaking\nguile. Send us forth in perfect faith that here and now our lives may be\npatterned after that of Jesus without loss of influence over men. Make\nus not ashamed to be good and forgiving and gentle in all our ways.\nAmen.\n\n  FREDERICK W. BETTE.\n\n\nMarch 9\n\n  _Count each affliction, whether light or grave,\n  God's messenger sent down to thee; do thou\n  With courtesy receive him; rise and bow;\n  And, ere his shadow pass thy threshold, crave\n  Permission first his heavenly foot to lave._\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n                  _Grief should be\n  Like joy, majestic, equable, sedate,\n  Confirming, cleansing, raising, making free.\n  Strong to consume small troubles; to commend\n  Great thoughts, grave thoughts, thoughts lasting to the end._\n\n                                                 AUBREY DEVERE.\n\nOur Father, we would learn to trust Thy love, to live so that Thy grace\nshall have in us its perfect work. Not the easy thing is what we ask,\nbut strength for duty. Give us the confidence that Thou art by our side.\nLet Thy strong touch be felt, Thy blessed presence seen. In all the\nturmoil that rages within, without, grant us Thy peace. In childish\nhelplessness, grant us the Father's help. To grow like Jesus is our\nheart's desire. All things that Thy great heart permits or sends, we\nwould receive with gratitude, that so our wills and lives may be in\nharmony with Thine. And so day by day may something of the Saviour's\nglory shine through us and bless and brighten other lives in need. Amen.\n\n  FRANK M. HOLT.\n\n\nMarch 10\n\n  _Dawn and its silence draw a silver sigh\n  Far in the east where early shadows lie\n  All flocked and folded like soft peaceful sheep.\n  The spirit of the spring stirs in its sleep,\n  Breathes into life a misty floating sheen;\n  The willows dreamy drip of constant green;\n  Exultant beats a bird-heart o'er a nest,\n  Where dim, vague stirrings 'neath the tiny breast\n  Spell fresh the miracle of motherhood.\n  Ah, how the world is young! ah, how 'tis good!\n  To feel the new life flutter mystic wing;\n  Like to a lark to feel one's soul upspring,\n  Transpierce the very limit of the sky,\n  And toss its challenge to Eternity!_\n\n                                   MARY BALDWIN.\n\nO God, our heavenly Father, make our hearts exultant, as the earth in\nthe spring morning, with the radiance of Thy Presence. Fill them with\nthe joy and hopefulness of eternal youth, and cause them to be uplifted\nin gratitude and thankfulness to Thee. We have seen earthly faces so\nbeaming with the light of love that we never shall forget them. We have\nspoken names that are so endeared to us that they will linger in our\nmemory as long as we live. So, O Father, may it be with Thy face and Thy\nname. May Thy face beaming upon us as the sun of righteousness win our\nlove to holiness and virtue, making us fruitful of good works, and Thy\nname be so woven in our affections that we shall cherish and hallow it\nforever. Amen.\n\n  EDGAR W. PREBLE.\n\n\nMarch 11\n\n     _You must be serving something, some one, that needs your help in\n     order to really appreciate the Divine care. It may be the parents'\n     care of their children; the teacher and her scholars; the\n     charity-worker and the poor, the friendless, the benighted; it may\n     be friend helping friend--in some way the life of loving service\n     must be there as something out of which God can help us think of\n     and value the care which infinite love bestows upon us._\n\n                                                      JULIAN K. SMYTH.\n\nHeavenly Father, with the opening of a new day we thank Thee for father\nlove and mother love, for love of patriot and philanthropist, and for\nthe love which that has called into being in our own hearts. Through\nthis love and the service of mutual helpfulness to which we have been\nled thereby, Thou openest our eyes to behold the world pervaded and\noverruled by a spirit of infinite goodness, society resting upon mutual\nservices, and through that service mankind rising to a nobler and\ndiviner civilization. Help us to be mindful of this heavenly vision, and\nso make our feet swift to run and our hands eager to work in the service\nof righteousness and mutual helpfulness. We ask in His name, who loving\nus, has taught us the divinity of service. Amen.\n\n  LEGRAND POWERS.\n\n\nMarch 12\n\n     _Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs\n     even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor\n     spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the\n     gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat._\n\n                                                 THEODORE ROOSEVELT.\n\n  _But only he whose judgment never strays\n  Beyond the threshold of the right, learns this--\n  Not always is it good to have one's wish;\n  What seemeth sweet full oft to bitter turns;\n  Fulfilled desire hath made mine eyes to weep.\n  Therefore, O reader of these lines, if thou\n  Would'st virtuous be, and held by others dear\n  Will ever for the power to do aright._\n\n                             LEONARDO DA VINCI.\n\nGod of the morning light, with the dawn of another day we come to Thee\nwith prayer for help in the steadfastness of our manifold duties. The\ncares that oppress us, the burdens we carry, the obligations that fall\nupon us, are too much for our little strength without Thy help. That\nhelp we crave from Thee, the only source of all-availing strength. Let\nus not be dismayed by the powers of this world or busy ourselves in vain\nambitions seeking the praise of men, but may we seek that Divine\napproval which is of more worth than all the favors of earth. Make us\nbrave and strong to follow in the way of Thine appointment, and grant\nthat we may so sincerely feel and act in the busy times of this day that\nwhen the evening comes no wasted hours may be laid to our charge. Amen.\n\n  EDWARD M. BARNEY.\n\n\nMarch 13\n\n     _You are in God's world; you are God's child. Those things you\n     cannot change; the only peace and rest and happiness for you is to\n     accept them and rejoice in them. When God speaks to you, you must\n     not believe that it is the wind blowing or the torrent falling from\n     the hill. You must know that it is God. You must gather up the\n     whole power of meeting Him. You must be thankful that life is great\n     and not little. You must listen as if listening were your life. And\n     then, then only can come peace. All other sounds will be caught up\n     into the prevailing richness of that voice of God. The lost\n     proportions will be perfectly restored. Discord will cease; harmony\n     will be complete._\n\n                                                       PHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\nAlmighty God! We thank Thee for the peace and comfort of the night; for\nthe new day and all the hope and peace and promise that it brings to us.\nHelp us that with glad faces and joyous hearts we may take up its every\nprivilege and duty, doing, in the spirit of the Master every good and\nhelpful thing our hands find to do. And when the evening shall have come\nmay we look back on a day of plenty, service, and peace, retiring to our\nrest with songs in our hearts and thanksgiving on our lips because Thy\nblessings have been on this, as on all other days new every morning and\nfresh every evening. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE MAYO GERRISH.\n\n\nMarch 14\n\n  _It is the first mild day of March:\n    Each minute sweeter than before,\n  The red-breast sings from the tall larch\n    That stands beside our door._\n\n  _There is a blessing in the air,\n    Which seems a sense of joy to yield,\n  To the bare trees and mountain bare,\n    And grass in the green field._\n\n                         WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.\n\nOur Father, we wake each morning refreshed and thankful for the joy of\nliving; for the air we breathe, the things we see, the sounds of\nnature's sweetest harmonies and all the beauty which surrounds our\nearthly life. May the wonders of the earth speak to us in witness of Thy\nlove. Let springing-grass and opening flower remind us of the new life\nwhich is ours through the resurrection of our Lord. His blessing like\nthe light of the sun runs everywhere, carrying with it morning and hope,\nspringtime and gladness. The joy is in the song of the birds, the murmur\nof the waters, the children's laughter and the song of happy hearts.\nAttune our hearts to notes of praise and make us glad upon the earth\nuntil Thou bringest us to perfect and unshadowed joys where we shall see\nThee as Thou art and be like Thee. Amen.\n\n  J. W. STEPHAN.\n\n\nMarch 15\n\n     _As to equality and inequality, all the beauty and glory of life\n     come from inequalities. If we were all Beethovens or Shakespeares\n     or marvelous in any one direction, life would be unbearable. Who\n     shall tell me if an Easter lily is the equal of a rose, or if\n     either is equal to an oak or a pine? The question of equality is\n     out of the court. The one thing we need to do is to cultivate the\n     finest and sweetest things in us; and then, whether we are one of\n     the California big trees or the violet in a valley, we shall help\n     on the beauty and glory of the earth._\n\n                                                     ROBERT COLLYER.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the manifold beauties of Thy\nuniverse, the revelations of Thyself to Thy children. For those large\nwonders which stir men's minds and rouse their souls to awe, we thank\nThee, but not less for the little things of life, filling their places\nwell, and showing daily to the seeing eye that without them Thy universe\ncould not be complete. Help us to grasp the lesson that they teach. If\nThou hast given to us the great place, we thank Thee, but we thank Thee\nnot less for the homely task, the humble duty, for it is all necessary\nto Thy plan. Help us, day by day, with stronger purpose, larger\nconsecration, to fill our place, to do Thy will, in His name. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE F. FORTIER.\n\n\nMarch 16\n\n     _There must be a way of taking worry rightly, so that it shall do\n     us good and not harm. Worry, rightly taken, should train to\n     quietness, humility, patience, gentleness, sympathy. It ought not\n     to eventuate (though it naturally does) in making others suffer\n     because we are uncomfortable; in making us a source of painful\n     worry to others because we are worried ourselves._\n\n                                                    A. H. K. BOYD.\n\nFather of Love, Thy blessing it is which gives us another day. Help us\nto put before its cares the spirit that will banish care, to find in its\nbeginning the power that will make labors happy and its ending sweet,\nand so to open our hearts to Thy light that no gloom of night shall\nlinger round our way. If heaviness there be in ours or others' lives may\nevery wholesome cheer make it less sore. If remembered faults and\nfollies quench a better hope, send Thy patience and Thy will to be our\ncourage and fresh resolve. Through all the noisy world may the secret\nmusic of Thy law swell in our breasts and every step keep time with its\nglorious march. Amen.\n\n  JOHN DAY.\n\n\nMarch 17\n\n  _Therefore to whom turn I but to Thee, the ineffable Name?\n    Builder and maker, Thou, of houses not made with hands!\n  What, have fear of change from Thee who art ever the same!\n    Doubt that Thy power can fill the heart that Thy power expands!\n  There shall never be one lost good! What was, shall live as before;\n    The evil is null, is nought, is silence implying sound;\n  What was good, shall be good, with, for evil, so much good more;\n    On the earth the broken arcs; in the heaven, a perfect round._\n\n                                                   ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nWe thank Thee, O God, that each morning brings us fresh assurance of Thy\nwisdom and goodness--that the days have taught us to believe in Thee and\nto trust Thee as our perfect Friend. We are glad that we can face the\nday in the faith that Thou art sufficient to the needs of the day--to\nall the needs of all Thy children. In this trust, we beseech Thee, make\nus more and more to rejoice in life and its high privileges. Help us to\ngo on our way with gladness and peace in our hearts--to worship Thee\nhourly by honest work, by faithful service, by kind words, by helpful\ndeeds, and so, to find life good by doing something to make it good.\nAmen.\n\n  FLINT M. BISSELL.\n\n\nMarch 18\n\n     _\"If I were you,\" she said, \"I should not worry. Just make up your\n     mind to do better when you get another chance. One can't do more\n     than that. That is what I shall think of: that God will give each\n     of us another chance, and that each one of us will take it and do\n     better--I and you and everyone. So there is no need to fret over\n     failure, when one hopes one may be allowed to redeem that failure\n     later on. Besides which life is very hard. Why, we ourselves\n     recognize that. If there be a God, some intelligence greater than\n     human intelligence, He will understand better than ourselves that\n     life is very hard and difficult, and He will be astonished not\n     because we are not better, but because we are not worse. At least,\n     that would be my notion of a God. I should not worry if I were you.\n     Just make up your mind to do better if you get the chance and be\n     content with that.\"_\n\n                                                      BEATRICE HARRADEN.\n\nO Lord, how often we have failed--how weak and frail we are--we have\ngroped and stumbled along the pathway of life and have been defeated\nover and over again. Yet in the light of Thy providence and Thy love in\nspite of all defeats, we take heart and face the day with hope. In Thine\neconomy no failure is ever final--we rejoice that Thou openest before us\nanother opportunity. Let us be brave and earnest to seize the\nopportunities of these passing hours. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nMarch 19\n\n  _To every life there comes a time supreme:\n  One day, one night, one morning, or one noon,\n  One freighted hour--one moment opportune,\n  One rift through which sublime fulfilments gleam;\n  One time when fate goes tiding with the stream,\n  One Once in balance 'twixt Too Late, Too Soon--\n  And ready for the passing instant's boon\n  That shall in favor tip the wavering beam.\n  Ah! happy he who, knowing how to wait,\n  Knows also how to watch and how to stand\n  On life's broad deck alert, and at the prow,\n  To seize the happy moment big with fate\n  From Opportunity's extended hand\n  When the great clock of Destiny strikes Now!_\n\n                             MARY ASHLEY TOWNSEND.\n\nOur heavenly Father! Thou art the Author of all our days, and all our\ntimes and seasons are hid in the unfolding mystery of Thy Thought and\nPurpose. It is not given to us to know what a day or an hour may bring\nforth, but the opportune moments come, ways are opened before us to\nlarger life and usefulness and privilege and duty. May we, by\nfaithfulness, and watchfulness, and the readiness of those on duty, be\nprepared for each divinely offered opportunity. Surrounded by blessings,\nmay we live to bless. Ministered unto, may we minister. Grateful to\nThee, may we show our gratitude by service. In Thy name, Amen.\n\n  DWIGHT M. HODGE.\n\n\nMarch 20\n\n     _Put out of your thought the past whatever it may be; let go even\n     the future with its golden dream and its high ideal; and\n     concentrate your soul in this burning, present moment. For the man\n     who is true to the present is true to his best; and the soul that\n     wins the ground immediately before it, makes life a triumph._\n\n                                                  OZORA STEARNS DAVIS.\n\nAlmighty Giver of every good, we come to Thee amid the joys of a new\nmorning, with its new blessings and opportunities. We would dedicate\nthis day to Thy service. We would forget the past and waste not our time\nin idle dreaming of to-morrow, but with consecrated zeal we would apply\nourselves to the tasks Thou hast appointed us for this present hour. Thy\nhand is ever opened to let down the tokens of Thy love. May all that is\nbest within us rise up in answer, and may we be dedicated anew to our\nupbuilding in righteousness and the fulfilment of our duties to one\nanother. May we this day follow the footsteps of the Christ and prove\nourselves His faithful disciples! Amen.\n\n  R. PERRY BUSH.\n\n\nMarch 21\n\n     _I believe that today is better than yesterday, and that tomorrow\n     will be better than today._\n\n                                                     GEORGE F. HOAR.\n\n     _Make yourselves nests of pleasant thoughts, bright fancies,\n     faithful sayings; treasure-houses of precious and restful thoughts,\n     which care cannot disturb nor poverty take away from you,--houses\n     built without hands for your souls to live in._\n\n                                                         JOHN RUSKIN.\n\nDear Father in heaven, around Thy name cluster the most sacred and holy\naffections. Thy name, indeed, is above every name infinite in love, and\nawakening in each heart a sense of filial gratitude. At this morning\nhour, therefore, we are mindful of the tie that binds us to Thee, that\nprovides a nesting-place for pleasant and restful thoughts, that makes\nduty less irksome, home-love more tender, sacrifice more willing, and\ncharacter more noble. In this spirit we pray Thee, O Father, send us\nforth to the labor which awaits us, only to realize, under Thy\nProvidence, that this is the best day of our life, and full of assurance\nand rejoicing for a still better tomorrow. In the light of faith, hope\nand love do we ask and offer all. Amen.\n\n  WILBURN D. POTTER.\n\n\nMarch 22\n\n  _Scarce tangible may be the first glad sign,\n    Yet how it shakes us with a vernal thrill!\n    The voice of the south wind behind the hill;\n  Or an elusive bird-note faint and fine;\n  A flush at dawn along the wan sky-line;\n    A lyrical exuberance in the rill;\n    A something working its mysterious will\n  Both in majestic hole and tenuous vine!_\n\n  _It is the vernal spirit. In the earth\n    It throbs and pulses; quickens in the air;\n      And permeates all nature thro' and thro'.\n  In the expectant poignancy of birth\n    What raptures, what rare ecstasies we share--\n      Old,--ah, how old!--and yet forever new!_\n\n                               CLINTON SCOLLARD.\n\nO God, how good Thou art! All Thy works praise Thee. The world is filled\nwith Thy glory. This dawning Springtime brings Thee very near every\nresponsive heart. Thou art the fountain of life. We see Thee in bursting\nbud and incipient bloom. We hear Thee in the rapture of birds and in the\nnew-found gladness of sun-kissed rivulets. May we, the children of Thy\nlove, be new born into a deeper spirituality,--a richer life! May the\nbeauty of the Spirit breathing through our hearts call forth the latent\ngoodness that slumbers there! Speak through us the music of Thy love.\nPerfume us with the odors of Thy heavenly grace, and may we walk this\nday in tune with Thee! Amen.\n\n  JOSEPH COOPER.\n\n\nMarch 23\n\n     _Work is the grand cure of all the maladies and miseries that ever\n     beset mankind--honest work, which you intend getting done._\n\n                                                       THOMAS CARLYLE.\n\n     _Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to\n     do which must be done whether you like it or not. Being forced to\n     work and forced to do your best will breed in you temperance,\n     self-control, diligence, strength of will, content and a hundred\n     virtues which the idle will never know._\n\n                                                     CHARLES KINGSLEY.\n\nKind Father and Friend, Thy presence has watched over us all our days\nand has been a comfort in all our labors. We thank Thee for Thy\nunwearied watching over us. May we at the dawn of this new day, come to\nour tasks with thanks in our hearts and a song on our lips. May all\nlife's stern duties and its perplexities get grace and beauty from our\nhallowed thoughts and sanctified resolves. We would ask that Thy free\nspirit be with us this day to give us hope and joy in our several tasks.\nMay the sweet peace of mind of those who learn to labor and to wait\ncrown all our efforts. Dear Father, forgive our failures and keep us\never Thine. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES E. PETTY.\n\n\nMarch 24\n\n     _Ah, the mis-takings and the mis-leavings; and all the ignorant\n     beginning, when we can only lay up things for late wisdom to repent\n     of!_\n\n     _Nothing really bad can ever happen.... I've meant right,--and I\n     mean right now. I'll do the best I can, and the Lord will take care\n     of everybody._\n\n                                                MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\nLord, Thou comest to us with light and life, forgive us for coming to\nThee as aliens and beggars; daily Thou art our refuge and strength, and\nthis should subtract our fear and multiply our confidence, comfort and\nconsecration. Our needs are Thy opportunity; we have more sunshine than\nwe can use, more love than we can repay and more revelation than we can\ntranslate. O may this satisfy us early and strengthen us through all our\ndays. Alone we are very weak, but we are never alone; all of life is a\ncompany affair, for Thou art with us; help us to be as truly Thy\nchildren as Thou art our Father and Mother. Through our thinking,\nworking and waiting may men see Thee and glorify Thee. O teach us to\nabide ever in Thy love, and help us to work some helpful miracle by the\ngates of need, and to see the rainbow of prophecy through earth's tears\nand over its years. Amen.\n\n  ALAN R. TILLINGHAST.\n\n\nMarch 25\n\n     _'Tis the fine souls who serve us, and not what is called fine\n     society._\n\n                                               RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\n     _We find what we look for in the world. I have always been looking\n     for the nobler qualities in human beings, and I have always found\n     them. There are great souls all along the highway of life, and\n     there are great qualities even in the people who seem common and\n     weak to us ordinarily._\n\n                                                  ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.\n\nGracious Father, we thank Thee for the power Thou hast given us to labor\nfor our own and others' advancement and happiness. As we begin this new\nday we trust in Thy bounty and would draw on Thy strength to sustain us\nin our toil. We thank Thee for the brave souls in every walk of life who\nhave set us an example worthy to be followed. Many have been or are\nnotable in the world for their fortitude, honor and achievements; many\nothers have been known to us but have been unheralded by men, and from\nall these we have ourselves been made more capable and faithful. By Thy\ngrace may we be aided in emulating the good we see in others, and be\nable to make the world a little brighter because of Thy gift to us of\nthis day. Amen.\n\n  FRANK S. RICE.\n\n\nMarch 26\n\n  _An old, worn Harp that had been played\n  Till all its strings were loose and frayed,\n  Joy, Hate, and Fear, each one, assayed\n  To play. But each in turn had found\n  No sweet responsiveness of sound._\n\n  _Then Love the Master-player came\n  With heaving breast and eyes aflame;\n  The Harp he took all undismayed,\n  Smote on its strings, still strange to song,\n  And brought forth music sweet and strong._\n\n                       PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR.\n\nHeavenly Father, I pray Thee that Thou wilt help me to love to-day. Thou\nart Love and if Thou shalt fill my life there will be no room for hate\nand no room for fear, for \"Perfect Love casteth out fear.\" As the Master\nstilled the waves in Galilee, so speak Thou peace to my soul, and bid\nall discord cease, that my whole life may be in tune with heaven, and\nmay be one happy song. Love alone can bring harmony out of discord, love\nout of hate, trust out of fear, and music out of a worn-out, or a long\nunused or misused life. So let Love control the whole of my life for\nJesus' sake. Amen.\n\n  B. L. JENNINGS.\n\n\nMarch 27\n\n      _No stream from its source\n  Flows seaward, how lonely soever its course,\n  But some land is gladdened. No star ever rose\n  Or set without influence somewhere. Who knows\n  What earth needs from earth's lowliest creature? No life\n  Can be pure in its purpose and strong in its strife,\n  And all life not be purer and stronger thereby._\n\n                                           OWEN MEREDITH.\n\nIf I am this day to touch other lives helpfully so that they may be\ngladdened and strengthened for truer and nobler living, I shall need, my\nFather, not only a clear perception of myself in relation to that to\nwhich Thou dost call me, but also a clear vision of the Christ who would\nbe felt through me, not only the impulse of a strong purpose but also\nthe endowment of power by Thy spirit of power. That this may be, do Thou\ntest my purpose by that of Thy son and fashion my life by His teaching,\nkeeping my heart open always toward Thee. Amen.\n\n  F. H. WHEELER.\n\n\nMarch 28\n\n  _I but open my eyes,--and perfection, no more and no less,\n  In the kind I imagined, full-fronts me, and God is seen God,\n  In the star, in the stone, in the flesh, in the soul and the clod.\n  And thus looking within and around me, I ever renew\n  (With that stoop of the soul which in bending upraises it too)\n  The submission of man's nothing-perfect to God's all-complete,\n  And by each new obeisance in spirit, I climb to His feet._\n\n                                                  ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nThou Infinite Spirit, we cannot understand Thee, yet we feel Thy\npresence within us and about us. We cannot unravel the mystery of Thy\nlife, not even of our own lives, yet we feel ourselves linked as by\nchains of steel to Thyself. We are poor and ignorant and little and\nfinite; Thou art great and strong and infinite, yet we cling to the\nthought that we are Thy children. Even in Thine infinity Thou stoopest\nto listen to us. Thou carest for us, lovest us. O Thou Father of our\nSouls, may we cling to Thee to-day and every day. We do not ask Thee to\nexplain Thyself, but we do ask that in storm and sunshine, in adversity\nand in prosperity, and in every emergency we may keep our anchorage to\nThee unbroken, and feel Thy presence with us. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nMarch 29\n\n     _I wonder why it is that we are not all kinder to each other than\n     we are. How much the world needs it! How easily it is done!_\n\n                                                       HENRY DRUMMOND.\n\n     _Let us awaken to the divine privilege of sharing the heartaches of\n     our friends; of the meaning of good fellowship; of that\n     independence of spirit that does not imitate; of courage and pride\n     that can endure adversity with dignity, and without fear._\n\n                                                            ANONYMOUS.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, help us through this new day to allow the impulses\nof our hearts to have fullest play. Help us to help each other, Lord,\nand of whatever grace or influence we have to bless and uplift our\nfellowmen to give generously and gladly. Help us scatter sunshine along\nour pathway, to speak the cheering word to discouraged hearts and to\nlend the helping hand to feeble or halting ones along the way. May we\nfind our greatest happiness following in the footsteps of our Master,\nhumbly serving our neighbor's needs, and doing good even at every\nwayside opportunity. Amen.\n\n  JAMES F. ALBION.\n\n\nMarch 30\n\n  _Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,\n  In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;\n  Some great cause, God's new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight,\n  Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right,\n  And the choice goes by forever 'twixt that darkness and that light._\n\n                                                   JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.\n\nAlmighty Father, we are before Thee, asking for strength this day, that\nfor today's duty we may have the help of Thy Infinite wisdom, as we know\nwe have Thy love, Our Father with His Children. Father, help us to look\nto Thee for strength and wisdom in every moment of doubt. We are not\nafraid, because we can come to Thee for counsel, and companionship. We\ncan come to Thee for everything, and we find everything if we seek for\nit with all our heart and soul and strength. So today, Father, be with\nus to show each one of us here, the youngest or the oldest, the weakest\nor the strongest, what is the duty next his hand today, that we may\nenter into that work and go about our Father's business. Go with us and\nbe with us as with Thine own children. Amen.\n\n  EDWARD EVERETT HALE.\n\n\nMarch 31\n\n     _I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my duty and\n     joy to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and\n     noble._\n\n                                                        HELEN KELLER.\n\n     _It is a fine notion of life to liken it to the loom. God puts on\n     the warp in those circumstances in which we find ourselves, and\n     which we cannot change. The woof is wrought by the shuttle of\n     everyday life. It is made of very homely threads sometimes, common\n     duties, unpromising and unwelcome tasks. But whoever tries to do\n     each day's work in the spirit of patient loyalty to God is weaving\n     the texture whose other side is fairer than the one he sees._\n\n                                                         ANONYMOUS.\n\nOur Father in heaven, grant that we may be \"faithful in that which is\nleast,\" leaving to Thy will whether we have the opportunity of being\n\"faithful in much.\" May we understand that the value of our service is\nnot so much in what we do as the spirit in which we do it. Help us to\nremember that no service is common in Thy sight, if it is done for Thy\nglory and the betterment of humanity; that in blessing others, we\nourselves are blessed; that life is mostly made up of little things, but\na character which is perfected by Thy grace and humble service is not a\nlittle thing, but a jewel to shine in Thy crown forever. Amen.\n\n  E. T. CURNICK.\n\n\nApril 1\n\n          _April is here!\n  There's a song in the maple, thrilling and new;\n  There's a flash of wings of heaven's own hue;\n  There's a veil of green on the nearer hills;\n  There's a burst of rapture in woodland rills;\n  There are stars in the meadow dropped here and there;\n  There's a breath of arbutus in the air;\n  There's a dash of rain, as if flung in jest;\n  There's an arch of color spanning the west;\n          April is here!_\n\n                                    EBEN E. REXFORD.\n\nO God, ever-living and ever-acting, all Thy works praise Thee, and Thy\nsaints bless Thee! We rejoice that Thou art bringing in this new\nspringtime, and art preparing to pour out Thy summer glory and bounty in\ngarden and field and wood, that Thy children may be richly blessed. As\nThou art working mightily in nature today so wilt Thou work in us, Thy\nchildren, that the blessed fruits of the Spirit may appear in all that\nwe think and do and are? And may the spontaneous spring song of the\nwoods find its counterpart in the perpetual gladness of our souls sunk\ndeep in the love of Christ! Amen.\n\n  HENRY IRVING CUSHMAN.\n\n\nApril 2\n\n  _The sweetest sound our whole year round\n    'Tis the first robin of the spring!\n  The song of the full orchard choir,\n    Is not so fine a thing._\n\n                     EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN.\n\n  _The grass comes, the flower laughs where lately lay the snow,\n  O'er the breezy hill top hoarsely calls the crow,\n    By the flowing river the alder catkins swing\n    And the sweet song sparrow cries, \"Spring, it is Spring!\"_\n\n                                               CELIA THAXTER.\n\nAccept from a heart of gratitude, O God, thanksgiving and praises for\nthe glad anticipation of the coming days of spring. May the awakening of\nnature, this living garment in which Thou hast robed Thy mysterious\nloveliness, be to each of Thy children symbol of the new life which\ncomes to those who put their trust in the risen Christ and of the higher\nlife beyond where shadows are no more and light and gladness bless an\neternity of joy. O, Thou Father of lights, make every hour of this\nopening day rich and radiant with Thy effulgent presence through Jesus\nChrist. Amen.\n\n  KERR BOYCE TUPPER.\n\n\nApril 3\n\n  _Within my earthly temple there's a crowd;\n  There's one of us that's humble, one that's proud,\n  There's one that's broken-hearted for his sins,\n  There's one that unrepentant sits and grins;\n  There's one that loves his neighbor as himself,\n  And one that cares for naught but fame and pelf.\n  From much corroding care I should be free\n  If I could once determine which is me._\n\n                                    THEODORE MARTIN.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for our multiform life. Thou hast\nmade us a little lower than the angels and hast crowned us with glory\nand honor, yet how little we know ourselves! We go astray; we fall from\nour high estate; like the moth we flutter around the blaze that burns\nus. When we would do good, evil is present with us. Yet through all\ncomplexity of thought and feeling, of passion and appetite, through all\nour wanderings and all our sins we thank Thee that there shines clearly\nthe light of our own Divinity. We are Thy children. Help us, we pray\nThee, to know ourselves at our best. May we not be betrayed in this\nday's journey by any siren voice. Let us go forth to the tasks of the\nday with the consciousness that until the evening shadows fall Thou wilt\nbe with us. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nApril 4\n\n  _If we but knew the secret of that power\n  That opes the bud in early days of spring,\n  If we but knew what makes the robin sing\n  His wondrous song just at the matin hour,\n  If we but knew the priceless boon and dower\n  Of human life when man is truly king.\n  If we but understood the little thing\n  That vexes us just at the present hour,\n  If we but knew--ah, well, 'tis vain to sigh\n  And speculate on things beyond our ken!\n  We know that earth is fair and life is sweet,\n  And something tells us that we cannot die.\n  And if we live and love the good, ah! then\n  We face to face with truth some day must meet._\n\n                               CLARENCE HAWKES.\n\nO Lord, we thank Thee for a day so sweet and fair as this, when the\ntrees lift up their hands in a psalm of gratitude to Thee, and every\nlittle flower that opens its cup and every wandering bird seem filled by\nThy spirit, and grateful to Thee. We thank Thee for all thine\nhandwritings of revelation on the walls of the world, on the heavens\nabove us and the ground beneath, and all the testimonies recorded there\nof Thy presence, Thy power, Thy justice, and Thy love. Amen.\n\n  THEODORE PARKER.\n\n\nApril 5\n\n  _Yet we must give the children leave to use\n  Our garden tools, though they spoil tool and plant\n  In learning. So the Master may not scorn\n  Our awkwardness, as with these bungling hands\n  We try to unroot the ill, and plant with good\n  Life's barren soil: the child is learning use.\n  Perhaps the angels even are forbid\n  To laugh at us, or may not care to laugh,\n  With kind eyes pitying our little hurts._\n\n                                 EDWARD ROWLAND SILL.\n\nOur Father: Thou knowest how unskilled are these hands and hearts of\nours. Thou knowest how much that we do, think, and speak often tends to\nretard the progress of that which we would promote. Give us, then, this\nday that wisdom which is from above, that no touch of our hand may mar\nthe beauty of one of Thy creations: no thought nor word wrong one of Thy\ncreatures. Help us to know that we are workers with God, and in this\nknowledge may we strive for that excellence of service that shall hasten\nthe coming of that kingdom of peace, joy and righteousness which is life\neternal. Amen.\n\n  FLORENCE KOLLOCK CROOKER.\n\n\nApril 6\n\n  _Plant flowers in the soul's front yard,\n    Set out new shade and blossom trees,\n  An' let the soul once froze an' hard,\n    Sprout crocuses of new idees._\n\n  _Yes, clean yer house, an' clean yer shed,\n    An' clean yer barn in ev'ry part;\n  But brush the cobwebs from yer head,\n    An' sweep the snow banks from yer heart._\n\n                                SAM WALTER FOSS.\n\nGracious Father, help us gratefully to begin this day with Thee. We\nexpect the day to bring its accustomed routine of cares and duties, and\nits round of petty irritations, but we confidently believe that Thou\nwilt help us in all our experiences. Let this morning's freshness, hope\nand vigor be ours through the whole day. Help us to put faith in the\nplace of fear that all our efforts may be crowned with the success of\nhelpfulness. May we go blithely about our business with kind words and\ncheerful faces that our day's work may be our day's worship. Amen.\n\n  AUGUSTUS B. CHURCH.\n\n\nApril 7\n\n  _Ye seek for happiness--alas the day!\n  Ye find it not in luxury nor in gold,\n  Not in the fame nor in the envied sway,\n  For which O willing slaves to custom old,\n  Severe taskmistress, ye your hearts have sold.\n  Ye seek for peace, and, when ye die, to dream\n  No evil dreams; all mortal things are cold\n  And senseless then; if aught survive, I deem\n  It must be love and joy, for they immortal seem._\n\n                                           SHELLEY.\n\nO Thou Eternal God who hast given us life, help us to love Thy will and\nto walk in Thy way this day. If flowers chance to grow beside our path\nwe would pluck them, but most of all would we rejoice in Thee alone,\nknowing that in Thy will is perfect peace. Fill our souls with Thy joy\nand strengthen us in the spirit of self-forgetfulness to spill it out\ninto the lives of others. Give us hearts \"roomy, radiant, and full of\nlaughter,\" learned of \"Jesus Christ, whom not having seen we love; on\nwhom though now we see Him not, yet believing, we rejoice greatly with\njoy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of our faith, even\nthe salvation of our souls.\" Amen.\n\n  WALTER HEALY.\n\n\nApril 8\n\n  _A gush of bird song, a patter of dew,\n    A cloud and a rainbow's warning,\n  Suddenly sunshine and perfect blue--\n    An April day in the morning._\n\n                   HARRIET P. SPOFFORD.\n\n  _There is something in the air\n    That's new and sweet and rare--\n  There's something too that's new,\n    In the color of the blue\n  That's in the morning sky,\n    Before the sun is high._\n\n                           NORA PERRY.\n\nInfinite and Holy One, be with us in the beauty of this new day. May the\ndewy sweetness of the dawn Thou hast given to us be regarded as a token\nof Thy love for Thy children. As an atmosphere of joy and peace may be\nthe thought of Thy consolation and Thy care. The delicate tints of Thy\nsky arching over us may we compare to the blue of a constancy that is\ndivine, and which is freely shown to even the humblest and more erring\nof Thy flock. Bless us and guide us on our pilgrim way, and inspire our\nhearts and our hands to perform well their daily task. In His name do we\nask it. Amen.\n\n  EDMUND Q. S. OSGOOD.\n\n\nApril 9\n\n  _As I have walked in Alabama my morning walk,\n  I have seen where the she-bird--the mocking-bird sat on her nest\n        in the briers hatching her brood,\n  I have seen the he-bird also,\n  I have paused to hear him near at hand inflating his throat and joyfully\n        singing,\n  And while I paused it came to me that what he really sang for was not\n        there only,\n  Nor for his mate nor for himself only, nor\n  All sent back by the echoes,\n  But subtle, clandestine, away beyond,\n  A charge transmitted and gift occult for those being born._\n\n                                                       WALT WHITMAN.\n\nThou great Spirit of Life, Our Father, in heaven, and in the earth, with\nwhat myriad voices dost Thou speak to us, sometimes with the voice of\nthunder and sometimes with the voice of bird. Even the rocks and hills\nhave their language. With every manifold voice Thou tellest us that we\ndo not live nor work for a day only. The song and the word and the work\nof today have larger relations. They pass over into other days. We pray\nthis morning that the thoughts we think, the words we speak, and the\nwork we do may be so true that they may be fit for another day. So may\nwe begin _now_ to realize the meaning of Eternal Life. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nApril 10\n\n     _If the stream had no quiet eddying place, could we so admire its\n     cascade over the rocks? Were there no clouds, could we so hail the\n     sky shining through them in its still calm purity?_\n\n  _The night is mother of the Day\n    The Winter of the Spring,\n  And ever upon old Decay\n    The greenest mosses cling.\n  Behind the cloud the starlight lurks,\n    Through showers the sunbeams fall:\n  For God, who loveth all His works,\n    Has left His Hope with all!_\n\n                JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.\n\nOur Father, with childhood's glowing morning face we would turn to Thee\nand be conscious that the brightness of life comes only to those upon\nwhom the sun of righteousness shines with clear light. Full of trust,\nfull of joy, we turn our faces towards the light and take up the labors\nof life with entire confidence in the Divine care and guidance that\nblesses the open vision, the faithful hand and the loving heart. We\nwould follow our Master, feeling that we could choose no better way, and\ncontent if we be not called to suffer more than He in His life of\nservice and sacrifice, while our hearts praise the giver of spiritual\nthings with unceasing happy songs. Amen.\n\n  RALPH EDWIN HORNE.\n\n\nApril 11\n\n  _Oh, the little birds sang east, and the little birds sang west,\n  And I smiled to think God's greatness flowed around our incompleteness,--\n  Round our restlessness, his nest._\n\n                                              ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.\n\n     _And I saw that there was an Ocean of Darkness and Death; but an\n     infinite Ocean of Light and Love flowed over the Ocean of Darkness;\n     and in that I saw the infinite Love of God._\n\n                                                            GEORGE FOX.\n\nFather of Light, in whom is no darkness at all, to Thee we lift our\nlonging eyes again. Shine away the darkness of our minds by the light of\nThy presence. Complete our incompleteness. Bring us out of our\nrestlessness into Thy rest. We thank Thee for our daily gifts,--bread to\nfeed the body, strength to sustain the soul, light to guide the feet.\nHelp us to put away the mistakes of the past, remembering them only with\nthe penitence that shall cause Thee to remember them no more. Help us\nall through this day to know ourselves surrounded by Thine Infinite\nLove. Amen.\n\n  A. GERTRUDE EARLE.\n\n\nApril 12\n\n     _Just as you now play a piece without the music and do not think\n     what notes you strike, though once you picked them out by slow and\n     patient toil, so, if you begin of set purpose, you will learn the\n     law of kindness in utterance so perfectly that it will be second\n     nature to you and make more music in your heart than all the songs\n     the sweetest voice has ever sung._\n\n                                                   FRANCIS E. WILLARD.\n\nFather, we rejoice and will be glad all the day that Thou hast made it\npossible for us and all Thy children to learn the sweet song of true\nlife and that Thou dost give us so many opportunities for its practice.\nO Lord, give us patience and kindness toward our fellowmen and trust in\nThee, so that whether the lessons be easy or hard we may take them\ncheerfully, believing that Thou dost give us only that which is best.\nGrant that we may be earnest and faithful until our souls can sing the\nhighest, purest and sweetest notes, until we are in harmony with All\nGood. Amen.\n\n  ABBIE E. DANFORTH.\n\n\nApril 13\n\n  _So many little faults we find:\n  We see them, for not blind\n    Is love--we see them; but if you and I\n    Remember them, perhaps, some by and by\n  They will not be\n  Faults then, grave faults to you and me,\n    But just odd ways, mistakes, or even less--\n    Remembrances to bless._\n\n                               GEORGE KLINGLE.\n\nOur dear Father in Heaven: for this day help us to be good. All through\nthe long night Thou hast watched over us. Under Thy wing have we been\nsheltered as the chickens under the wing of the mother. Now that light\nhas come we will help Thee to keep this world sweet and bright and\nclean. Help us to be true to this our promise; we resolve to be patient,\nsteadfast, cheerful, kindly, sturdy, and good. Our Father, we need Thee.\nWe want to walk in Thy way. Help us, for we are Thy children. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM CHANNING BROWN.\n\n\nApril 14\n\n     _The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder; a waif,\n     a nothing, no man. Have a purpose in life, if it is only to kill\n     and divide and sell oxen well, but have a purpose; and having it,\n     throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has\n     given you._\n\n                                                         THOMAS CARLYLE.\n\n  _Neither a borrower nor a lender be;\n  For loan oft loses both itself and friend,\n  And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.\n  This above all: to thine own self be true\n  And it must follow, as the night the day,\n  Thou canst not then be false to any man._\n\n                               SHAKESPEARE.\n\nAlmighty God, at the commencement of this day's work may we look on\nhigh, and measure everything we are about to do by the scale of\neternity. Keep us from all littleness; may we not be turned aside by\nthings that are insignificant and unworthy. Help us, we beseech Thee, to\nmake the glory of our life commensurate with the splendors of our\nprivileges. May we live life in a great spirit, realizing that there is\nno duty so simple, no position so humble, but that we may show forth the\ngrandeur of trust, and obedience toward Thee. May the great and holy\npurpose we cherish find its expression as we cooperate with the divine\npurpose. Amen.\n\n  J. H. BARKER.\n\n\nApril 15\n\n  _'Twas one of those charmed days\n  When the genius of God doth flow,\n  The wind may alter twenty ways,\n  A tempest cannot blow;\n  It may blow north, it still is warm;\n  Or south, it still is clear;\n  Or east, it smells like a clover farm;\n  Or west, no thunder fear._\n\n                    RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\nFather of Lights, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift, we thank\nThee for the morning and for the sunshine. We rejoice in the light, but\nwhen it is hidden from us, we are thankful that in the upper air above\nour clouded morning it still fills Thy heavens. Thou gavest us good\nthings while we slept, and now, refreshed by Thy Spirit, may we go forth\nto our appointed tasks with cheerful obedience and joyful expectation.\nIf trial and trouble await us, or if, in the heat of the day the burden\nseems too great, may we still be comforted, because we put our trust in\nThee. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE BATCHELOR.\n\n\nApril 16\n\n  _But spring-wind, like a dancing psaltress, passes\n  Over its breast, to waken it, rare verdure\n  Buds tenderly upon rough banks between\n  The withered tree-roots and the cracks of frost,\n  Like a smile striving with a wrinkled face;\n  The grass grows bright, the boughs are swol'n with blooms\n  Like chrysalids impatient for the air,\n  The shining dors are busy, beetles run\n  Along the furrows; ants make their ado;\n  Above, birds fly in merry flocks, the lark\n  Soars up and up, shivering for very joy;\n  Afar the ocean sleeps; white fishing gulls\n  Flit where the sand is purple with its tribe\n  Of nested limpits; savage creatures seek\n  Their loves in wood and plain--and God renews\n  His ancient rapture._\n\n                                             ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nO Lord, who givest to mankind liberally, and upbraidest not, we thank\nThee for the blessings Thou bestowest from day to day. We thank Thee for\nthis material world, now clad in its garment of Northern beauty, for the\ngreat sun which all day pours down his light upon the waiting and the\ngrateful world, and for the earth underneath our feet. We bless Thee for\nthe grass, bread for the cattle, its harvest of use spread everywhere,\nand for the various beauty which here and there spangles all useful\nthings which Thine eye looks down upon. May we use this world of matter\nto build up the being that we are to a nobler stature of strength and of\nbeauty. Amen.\n\n  THEODORE PARKER.\n\n\nApril 17\n\n  _O brothers all! come near\n      And hear\n      A bird's\n  Melodious dreaming set to words, and flung\n  The spring's new leaves and tender buds among,\n      For very joy of life, and hope, and love\n  In a world made broad enough\n      For all God's creatures to be merry in,\n      With joyous clash and din,\n      And yet too small\n      For any greed at all!\n      Lo! deep and sure\n  Is cut this truth in heaven's book of gold:\n  Out of one mother in the garden old\n      Were born the rich and poor._\n\n                               MAURICE THOMPSON.\n\nOur Father, may we begin this day with a song in our hearts,--a song as\nrich and full and free as the bird sings at the earliest dawning of the\nsun's light,--a song so attuned with infinite life and hope and love\nthat it must be sung. Thou giver of abundance unto the rich and poor\nalike, help our souls to mount unto the highest reaches of living\nthoughts and generous deeds, that we may give unto others as Thou\ngivest. Unfettered by unholy passions and freed from the spirit of\ngreed, may we feel the unity of the bonds of a universal brotherhood,\nand be just and true, honest, and helpful in all our dealings with all\nmen this day. Amen.\n\n  HENRIETTA G. MOORE.\n\n\nApril 18\n\n  _O spring, of hope and love and youth and gladness\n    Wing-winged emblem! Brightest, best and fairest!\n  Whence comest thou when with dark Winter's sadness\n    The tears that fade in sunny smiles thou sharest?\n    Sister of Joy! thou art the child who wearest\n  Thy mother's dying smile, tender and sweet:\n    Thy mother Autumn, for whose grave thou bearest\n  Fresh flowers, and beams like flowers,\n  Disturbing not the leaves which are her winding-sheet._\n\n                                                 SHELLEY.\n\nGod unchanging, and still the creator of the seasons, we look up to\nThee, as the springtide works out the miracle of the resurrection from\nthe sleeping forms of the past season, in confidence and in trust that\never Thou wilt bless us with a nobler, holier, sweeter, more wholesome\nlife, as the seasons come and go. The resources of trusting hearts are\nalways reinforced and reinvigorated by contact with Thy life, Thy power,\nThy goodness and Thy love. Out of the winter of our discontent, we enter\nthe springtime of love, that leads us forward in confidence through the\nglad summer of growth to the soul's fruition and the place of rest and\npeace in our Father's Home beneath Thine everlasting Love. Amen.\n\n  FRANCIS A. GRAY.\n\n\nApril 19\n\n     _One sound always comes to the ear that is open; it is the steady\n     drum-beat of Duty. No music in it, perhaps,--only a dry rub-a-dub.\n     Ah, but that steady beat marks the time for the whole orchestra of\n     earth and heaven! It says to you: \"Do your work,--do the duty\n     nearest you!\" Keep step to that drum-beat, and the dullest march is\n     taking you home._\n\n                                                       GEORGE S. MERRIAM.\n\nO Thou great impelling Spirit, whom we see manifest in all the world, as\nwe open our eyes to the light of another morning, may we be as\nresponsive to Thy influence as the sun and the flowers which brighten\nour way. May we be very sensitive to Thy promptings as we go about our\nday's work. May we be very quick to do the things Thou wouldst have us\ndo. May we give ourselves to Thy service without reserve. When again the\nnight shades draw about us, may our hearts be filled with deepest\ngratitude for all the experiences of the day, and, deep within, may our\nspirits be conscious of Thy approving benediction, \"Well done, good and\nfaithful servant; enter Thou into the joy of Thy Lord.\" Amen.\n\n  FRANK LINCOLN MASSECK.\n\n\nApril 20\n\n      _Thyself and thy belongings\n  Are not thine own so proper as to waste\n  Thyself upon thy virtues, they on thee.\n  Heaven doth with us as we with torches do\n  Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues\n      Did not go forth of us, 'twere all alike\n  As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touched\n  But to fine issues, nor Nature never lends\n  The smallest scruple of her excellence\n  But like a thrifty goddess, she determines\n  Herself the glory of a creditor,\n      Both thanks and use._\n\n                                          SHAKESPEARE.\n\nFather, with faith and confidence in Thee we begin the day's duties,\nwith a blithe song upon our lips, expressing the melody of our souls,\nthanking Thee for opportunities for work, and thought and love. We ask\nnot for more blessings but to be more worthy of those we have, using and\nnot abusing them. May our minds be open to Thy truth, and hearts to Thy\nlove, and when received may we be almoners of both to the waiting world.\nMay we keep by giving Thy love abundantly, and grow through the glory of\nself-sacrifice. Give us the heart, O God, to sanctify our work and to\nlift it above drudgery into the divinest service, and give us strength\nto perform it. Amen.\n\n  U. S. MILBURN.\n\n\nApril 21\n\n     _A man is simple where his chief care is the wish to be what he\n     ought to be; that is honestly and naturally human. We may compare\n     existence to raw material. What it is matters less than what it is\n     made of; as the value of a work of art lies in the flowering of a\n     workman's skill. True life is possible in social conditions the\n     most diverse and with natural gifts the most unequal. It is not\n     fortune or personal advantage, but our training them to account,\n     that constitutes the value of life. Fame adds no more than does\n     length of days; quality is the thing._\n\n                                                      CHARLES WAGNER.\n\nHeavenly Father, our eyes are ever toward Thee. We do not pray for the\nthings of the world. Teach us to walk in Thy truth. Though our days be\nfew, may our lives be hopeful and cheerful. Though our bodies be frail,\nmay we be invincible in spirit. All Thy children are immortal, but it is\nfor us to attain the eternal life. May we know Thee through Jesus. Then\ndays and hours and minutes will disappear in the liberty and glory and\npeace of the life eternal. Then poverty of worldly goods will be\nforgotten in the riches of the Spirit. Then the cares of the world that\nnow is will be lost in the joy of the life that is to be. Amen.\n\n  REIGNOLD K. MARVIN.\n\n\nApril 22\n\n  _A little sun, a little rain,\n    A soft wind blowing from the west--\n  And woods and fields are sweet again\n    And warmth within the mountain's breast._\n\n  _So simple is the earth we tread,\n    So quick with love and life her frame,\n  Ten thousand years have dawned and fled.\n    And still her magic is the same._\n\n                            STOPFORD A. BROOKE.\n\nGracious God, we thank Thee for the gift of sight whereby we behold the\nmarvels of the outer world. But greater is our gratitude for the inner\nsight, the power to see things as they ought to be. If we but look deep\nenough, we find Thy central laws ever at the heart of all life. With\nsuch insight, apparent confusion shall not bewilder us, life's cares\nshall not harden us, the world's show cannot dazzle us. Give us, we pray\nThee, unceasing ability to wonder and admire, which brings perpetual\nyouth; to hope, to believe, to trust; to rest content in working with\nThee, the Eternal One, Lord of the seasons, this is our heart's desire.\nAmen.\n\n  EDWARD A. HORTON.\n\n\nApril 23\n\n     _\"What is the secret of your life?\" asked Mrs. Browning of Charles\n     Kingsley; \"tell me, that I may make mine beautiful too.\" He\n     replied, \"I had a friend.\" Somewhere in her \"Middlemarch,\" George\n     Eliot puts it well: \"There are natures in which, if they love us,\n     we are conscious of having a sort of baptism and consecration; they\n     bind us over to rectitude and purity by their pure belief about us;\n     and our sins become the worst kind of sacrilege, which tears down\n     the invisible altar of trust.\"_\n\n                                                     WILLIAM C. GANNETT.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for all the sweet and sacred\ninfluences of life. Music comes with its invisible fingers to weave a\nmagic charm around our souls;--the home with its love is ours,--but we\nthank Thee to-day for the sweet and saving influence of friendship,--for\nthe counsel and fellowship of those who are wise and good and faithful\nto us. We would not walk alone--we would find strength in the strength\nof others, and faith in other's faith. Let us cherish such fellowships\nand give back to those, who love us, love again. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nApril 24\n\n  _Live in the sunshine, don't live in the gloom,\n  Carry some gladness the world to illume.\n  Live in the brightness, and take this to heart;\n  The world will seem gayer if you'll do your part.\n  Live on the housetop, not down in the cell;\n  Open air Christians live nobly and well.\n  Live where the joys are, and, scorning defeat,\n  Have a good-morrow for all whom you meet.\n  Live as a victor, and triumphing go\n  Through this queer world, beating down every foe.\n  Live in the sunshine, God meant it for you!\n  Live as the robins, and sing the day through._\n\n                                 MARGARET SANGSTER.\n\nO God, our heavenly Father, Thou who givest us the sunshine of this new\nday, Thou who art the God of life and light, we ask Thy help and Thy\nstrength as we again go out to our separate duties and cares. Help us to\nfill this day with good deeds, to give cheer and comfort to all we meet.\nMay our lips be clean. May our hearts be pure. And when the even time\ncomes, may it find us conscious that we have put no cloud upon the day,\nthat we have walked through its hours true disciples of the Master who\nwent about doing good. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM H. MORRISON.\n\n\nApril 25\n\n     _To weigh the material in the scales of the personal, and measure\n     life by the standard of love; to prize health as contagious\n     happiness, wealth as potential service, reputation as latent\n     influence, learning for the light it can shed, power for the help\n     it can give, station for the good it can do--to choose in each case\n     what is best on the whole, and accept cheerfully incidental evils\n     involved; to put my whole self into all that I do, and indulge no\n     single desire at the expense of myself as a whole; to crowd out\n     fear by devotion to duty, and see present and future as one; to\n     treat others as I would be treated, and myself as I would my best\n     friend; and to recognize God's coming kingdom in every institution\n     and person that helps men to love one another._\n\n                                                  WILLIAM DEWITT HYDE.\n\n  For the dear love that kept us through the night,\n    And gave our senses to sleep's gentle sway,\n  For the new miracle of dawning light,\n    Flushing the east with prophecies of day,\n        We thank Thee, O, our God!\n\n  For the fresh life that through our being flows,\n    With its full tide to strengthen and to bless,\n  For calm, sweet thoughts, upspringing from repose,\n    To bear to Thee their song of thankfulness,\n        We praise Thee, O, our God!\n\n  Thou knowest our needs, Thy fulness will supply\n    Our blindness--let Thy hand still lead us on,\n  Till, visited by the dayspring from on high,\n    Our prayer, one only, \"Let Thy will be done,\"\n        We breathe to Thee, O, God!\n                                Amen.\n\n                                   W. H. BURLEIGH.\n\n\nApril 26\n\n     Is it not possible, then, that the hindrances which arrest our\n     progress, and the obstacles that lie broadly in our path, are the\n     divinest agents of help which our Creator could give us? The\n     painful struggles to overcome and remove them develop in us\n     strength, courage, self-reliance, and heroism. They are the hammer\n     and chisel that release the statue from the imprisoning\n     marble,--the plow and the harrow that break up the soil, and mellow\n     it for the reception of the seed that shall yield an abundant\n     harvest. Perfection lies that way.\n\n                                                   MARY A. LIVERMORE.\n\nWe seek Thy face anew this day, O our Father, and ask Thee that Thou\nwilt help us to live our lives in constant communion with Thee. Let us\nsee Thee at every turn in the way. Let us find Thy hand in all our\nduties, all our meditations, all our intercourse with men, all our\ndoings and all our deeds. Help us to make Thee our counsellor every\nhour. Help us to undertake nought without Thy blessings, to finish\nnought without Thy benediction. Morning and evening may we turn in\nprayer to Thy throne. At every meal may we seek Thy grace and give Thee\nthanks. So may we find the blessing of them that abide in Thy house.\nAmen.\n\n  J. COLEMAN ADAMS.\n\n\nApril 27\n\n     _I think the sweetest thought, the very central idea, of the\n     revelation of the character of God to me, is this: that He does\n     everything out of His supreme will. There is no one thing that I\n     can say with more heartiness, or that has in it more echoes of joy,\n     than \"Thy will be done.\" If anything works righteousness in me or\n     in you, it is God. The nature of God is fruitful in generosity. He\n     is so good that He loves to do good, and loves to make men good,\n     and loves to make them happy by making them good. He loves to be\n     patient with them, and to wait for them, and to pour benevolence\n     upon them, because that is His nature._\n\n                                                 HENRY WARD BEECHER.\n\nFather, we thank Thee for the blessing. We know what are our privileges,\nwe know what are our duties, and we are before Thee again to consecrate\nthis day in all its glory and beauty to Thee, the Father of perfect\nLove. Thou wilt be with us as we strive to be with Thee. Thou wilt make\nus strong when we are weak. Thou wilt make us see where we are in\ndarkness. Thou wilt send us forth on Thine infinite mission to the\nworld. Boys or girls, men or women, here we are, the living children of\nthe living God, sent forward by Thee to proclaim it that all may be one\nas Christ Jesus with Thee and Thou with Him, that this world may be\nperfected into one, that men may know that Thou art Father and what the\nFather has given us to do, that each one of us may lift up what has\nfallen down, that each one may open the eyes that are blind and the ears\nthat are deaf, that each one of us may proclaim the gospel of Thy\nperfect love. This is our prayer and our hope, in Christ Jesus. Amen.\n\n  EDWARD EVERETT HALE.\n\n\nApril 28\n\n  _With every rising of the sun,\n  Think of your life as just begun._\n\n  _The past has shrived and buried deep,\n  All yesterdays; there let them sleep._\n\n  _Nor seek to summon back one ghost\n  Of that innumerable host._\n\n  _Concern yourself with but today.\n  Woo it, and teach it to obey_\n\n  _Your will and wish. Since time began\n  Today has been the friend of man;_\n\n  _But in his blindness and his sorrow,\n  He looks to yesterday and tomorrow._\n\n  _You, and today! a soul sublime,\n  And the great pregnant hour of time,_\n\n  _With God himself to bind the twain!\n  Go forth, I say, attain, attain!_\n\n                    ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.\n\nInfinitely wise and loving Father, our minds and hearts reach out to\nThee in this morning hour thankful that the rest of the night has\nprepared us for the work of the new day, and that the light brings the\ncall to service. The past cannot be recalled, but today is ours. I and\ntoday, with God and in the Spirit of Jesus! Priceless privilege! Grant\nus, O Father, to use it for Thee, for humanity and \"In His name.\" Amen.\n\n  SAMUEL GILBERT AYERS.\n\n\nApril 29\n\n     _Life is full of new beginnings. Some change may come, something is\n     sure to come, to close one chapter and begin another. Life is\n     planned just so, ... that there should be a break from former link\n     and habit, often from imperfection and mistake, and a clear, clean\n     start for the fulfilment of the best one has grown to, even in\n     desire, unhampered by the poorest one has ever happened to be, or\n     to get credit for._\n\n                                                 MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\nO, Thou who dwellest in the light, help Thy children this morning to see\nthe light of Thy truth and feel the warmth of Thy love. We thank Thee\nfor the open doors of opportunity for helpful service; for the\nexhibition of kindness and for growth in the kingdom of Heaven. May we\nclearly see the way to the Eternal life and have strength to walk\ntherein. May we so welcome Thy truth that we shall be free from error\nand sin. May Thy wisdom so guide our energies that we shall reach after\ngreater perfection. May the evening of this day find us more in harmony\nwith God than we now are. And may the evening of life find us rich in\nthe treasures of heaven. Amen.\n\n  ANDREW WILLSON.\n\n\nApril 30\n\n  _True worth is in being, not seeming;\n    In doing each day that goes by,\n  Some little good--not in the dreaming\n    Of great things to do by and by,\n  For whatever men say in blindness,\n    And spite of the fancies of youth,\n  There's nothing so kingly as kindness,\n    And nothing so royal as truth._\n\n  _We get back our mete as we measure:\n    We cannot do wrong and feel right;\n  Nor can we give pain and gain pleasure,\n    For justice avenges each slight.\n  The air for the wing of the sparrow,\n    The bush for the robin and wren,\n  But always the path that is narrow\n    And straight for the children of men._\n\n                               ALICE CARY.\n\nAlmighty Father, who with every morning dost give us a new day and with\neach day some fresh duty, mercifully equip us for every task that awaits\nus! Give us eyes to see, and hearts to love the truth and right, and the\ndisposition that makes every duty a delight, and the doing of good to\nothers a sacred privilege. Save us this day from angry passions and low\ndesires. Forgive us when we are selfish; recall us when we go astray;\nsave us from wronging ourselves by thinking ill of others, and in all\nplaces and to all people give us the mind which was in Christ Jesus.\nAmen.\n\n  JOHN CUCKSON.\n\n\nMay 1\n\n     _To the Woods:--Whoso goeth in your paths readeth the same cheerful\n     lesson, whether he be a young child or a hundred years old, comes\n     he in good fortune or in bad, ye say the same things, and from age\n     to age. Ever the needles of the pine grow and fall, the acorns on\n     the oak, the maples redden in autumn and at all times of the year\n     the ground pine and the pyrola bud and root under foot. What is\n     called fortune and what is called time by men, ye know them not.\n     Men have not language to describe one moment of your life._\n\n                                                    RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\nThou God of Nature and of the human heart, we thank Thee for our human\nrelations, but we thank Thee also for our kinship with the birds. We\nthank Thee for that instinct which makes us to sympathize with the\nmating of the bird lovers and for that music of the heart which makes us\nto love the song of the birds. We pray this morning for a life so simple\nand natural that we shall be able to enter into sympathetic relations\nwith everything that lives--the flowers of the garden, and the\nfield--the bees that sip the flowers' honey, and the bird that makes her\nnest among the trees. If Thou speakest to men in the glory of the\nheavens, Thou speakest also in the manifold voices of all Thy loving\ncreatures. May our ears be trained to hear Thee when Thou speakest thus.\nAmen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nMay 2\n\n  _Hail bounteous May, that doth inspire\n  Mirth and youth, and warm desire;\n  Woods and groves are of thy dressing,\n  Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing,\n  Thus we salute thee with our early song,\n  And welcome thee and wish thee long._\n\n                             JOHN MILTON.\n\nAlmighty and All-loving Father, who dost make all the earth to rejoice\nin the brightness of returning springtime, fill our hearts with like joy\nand renewal. Graciously awaken in us the life that the cold or care or\ntrouble or sorrow of the world often has caused to fade and go out. As\nour eyes behold all this outward beauty and glory, give unto us that\nspiritual vision by which we behold the beauty and glory of divine\nthings. Then when the springtime of our life passes with the summer and\nthe summer ripens into the autumn, and our work is done, may we bring\nunto Thee the harvest of spiritual riches. Amen.\n\n  JAMES DENORMANDIE.\n\n\nMay 3\n\n  _Success! It is won by a patient endeavor,\n    Energy's fire, and the flame-glow of Will;\n  By grasping the chance with a \"Now, now or never!\"\n    Urging on, on! while the laggard stands still._\n\n  _Success! It is facing life's trials, undaunted;\n    Fighting the present--forgetting the past:\n  By trusting to Fate, though for years she has taunted,\n    And bearing Time's scars; facing front, to the last!_\n\n  _Success! Would you win it and wear its bright token?\n    Smile and step out to the drummer's light lilt;\n  Fight on till the last inch of sword-blade is broken.\n    Then do not say die. Fight on with the hilt!_\n\n                                            MARY MARKWELL.\n\nWe thank Thee, Our Father, that Thou hast enriched our being with those\nfaculties which prompt to noble endeavor. We rejoice in our power,\nguided by Thy free Spirit, both to overcome evil and to do good. Help\nus, dear Father, to recognize the great incentives of conscience and of\nduty, assured that in cheerful conformity thereto we shall find the\nsweetest zest of life. Increase our faith in Thee, O Lord. Enable us\nmore clearly to realize that in the end truth and right will gain the\nvictory. Thus may we be inspired to live brave, true and wholesome\nlives. May we fight the good fight of faith and win the crown of life\npromised to all those who follow the conquering Christ. In His name.\nAmen.\n\n  HENRY W. RUGG.\n\n\nMay 4\n\n  _The green grass is bowing;\n  The morning wind is in it;\n  'Tis a tune worth the knowing,\n  Though it change every minute.\n  'Tis a tune of the Spring;\n  Every year plays it over._\n\n              RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\n  _God does not send strange flowers every year.\n    When the spring winds blow o'er the pleasant places\n    The same dear things lift up the same fair faces.\n  The violet is here._\n\n                                 MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\nO God, Father Almighty, who bringest light out of darkness and at whose\nword night yields to day, we offer Thee glad worship and praise. We\nthank Thee for Thy gifts which are beautiful and good; for flowers which\nrenew old friendships and awaken new affections; for songs in which\nvoices of all yesterdays sound through today's melodies; for rich\nmemories of the past; for the joy of living now; for the hope of better\ndays; for new expressions of abiding truth and fresh breathings of\neternal love; for courage to do right and for confidence in\nrighteousness. May we this day, mindful of earthly duty and of heavenly\npromise, humbly follow Him \"who went about doing good\" and \"gave Himself\na ransom for many.\" Amen.\n\n  W. I. WARD.\n\n\nMay 5\n\n     _Bishop Brooks taught me no special creed or dogma; but he\n     impressed upon my mind two great ideas--the fatherhood of God and\n     the brotherhood of man, and made me feel that these truths underlie\n     all creeds and forms of worship. God is love, God is our Father, we\n     are His children; therefore the darkest clouds will break, and\n     though right be worsted, wrong shall not triumph. He said: \"There\n     is one universal religion, Helen--the religion of love. Love your\n     Heavenly Father with your whole heart and soul, love every child of\n     God as much as ever you can, and remember that the possibilities of\n     good are greater than the possibilities of evil; and you have the\n     key to Heaven.\"_\n\n                                                      HELEN KELLER.\n\nInfinite Spirit! We shall not look upon Thee as a friend looketh upon\nthe face of his friend, but may we learn to see Thee in every form of\nlife and beauty and service here in this great world of Nature and of\nMan. May we discover Thee in the midst of common things and then they\nshall no more be common, but all things shall be sacred and divine. May\nwe see Thy face in all human faces, clasp Thy hand in all human hands,\nand when we have walked with a friend, or talked with those we love, may\nit be as a walk with Thee and a communion with Thee. May we not think of\nThee as afar off but always near, making all things holy. May we realize\nthat it is a diviner thing to serve the lowly who need our help than to\npraise the Infinite who needeth not. May the sense of Thy presence in\nall things be the inspiration and interpretation of all days for us.\nAmen.\n\n  E. L. REXFORD.\n\n\nMay 6\n\n  _The brown, brown woods of March\n    Are the green, green woods of May,\n  And they lift their arms with a freer swing\n    And shake out their pennons gay.\n  And the brown, dead world of March,\n    Is the living world of today;\n  Life throbs and flushes and flashes out\n    In the color and fragrance of May._\n\n                                     ANONYMOUS.\n\nInfinite Spirit of the winter and the summer and of the night and the\nmorning, Thou hast watched over and guarded, during its winter sleep and\nrest, this earth which Thou hast made, and which Thou hast made for a\npurpose--to be beautiful and fruitful in its season, to be a humble and\nobedient servant of Thy will of goodness. And now, as the woods of May\nare radiant in the beauty of springtime, and ready to do Thy will; so as\nwe wake to the opportunity of this new day, may we rejoice in the\nprivilege of living to Thee and doing Thy will in the glad service of\nlives lived as the Master lived. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE WALLACE PENNIMAN.\n\n\nMay 7\n\n  _One who never turned his back, but marched breast forward,\n  Never doubted clouds would break,\n  Never dreamed, though right were worsted,--wrong would triumph,\n  Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better,\n  Sleep to wake._\n\n                                               ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nOur Father, in the heaven, we thank Thee for the birth of a new day. May\nwe be full of gladness during its golden hours, may our hearts be\ntranquil with God's peace. A day is a part of Thy eternity. Thou hast\nset us in the battle, Thou art watching us in the fight; Thou art\ntraining us by well-accepted controversy. May nothing of Thy purpose be\nlost because of the blinding details of the conflict. Strengthen our\nhearts to do the work of this day. Help us to be as grateful as we are\ndependent upon God. Inspire our whole life; help us quickly to learn why\nwe are here, what we are to do while here, and the path that leads home\nwhen the work-day is over. In the name of the Christ! Amen.\n\n  W. A. WOOD.\n\n\nMay 8\n\n  _Then sing, ye birds, sing, sing a joyous song!\n    And let the young lambs bound\n  As to the tabor's sound!\n  We in thought will join your throng,\n    Ye that pipe and ye that play,\n  Ye that through your hearts today\n    Feel the gladness of the May!_\n\n                             WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.\n\nGod of the morning, Father of the Soul, we bless Thee for the light, for\nit is pleasant to behold the world made beautiful by the King of day,\nand sweet with the melody of the song of bird, and cheerful with the\npromise of hope in the swelling buds of spring. We join with Thy\nfaithful ones in ascriptions of praise to Thee for the depth of the\nriches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. Help us to look upon\nour every faculty of soul, and power of body, as gifts from Thee, to be\nused for the advancement of love, truth and beauty, in our own hearts,\nand in the world. Give us Thine own help to bear every burden\ncheerfully, to stand erect before every responsibility, and if in our\nefforts to do much good for this day we seem to fail, may we look to\nJesus and learn of Him that in a conscience void of offence there is no\nsuch thing as failure. Help us to strive with the evil of the world and\nsin not, that at the close of the day we may look back and say, we have\nkept ourselves unspotted from the world. Amen.\n\n  L. L. GREENE.\n\n\nMay 9\n\n  _Fairer grows the earth each morning\n    To the eyes that watch aright;\n  Every dew-drop sparkles warning\n    Of a miracle in sight;\n  Of some unexpected glory\n    Waiting in the old and plain;\n  Poet's dream nor traveller's story\n    Words such wonders as remain._\n\n                     WILLIAM C. GANNETT.\n\nO Thou, who makest things seen and temporal quiver and flash with Thine\nown informing spirit, so illumine our pathways that the Luz where we\nmeet our duties may become the Bethel where we meet our God. As Thou\ndost clothe the lily with beauty and inspire the bird with song help us\nto grow into the beauty of holiness, and to know the joy of Thy\nsalvation. Whatever our past, open our eyes this day to some better\nthing which Thou hast always in reserve. Teach us what hinders our\nattainment and help us burst through the barrier. Make us so conscious\nof Thy indwelling spirit that we may yield to its gracious impellings\ntoward righteousness and peace and joy. Amen.\n\n  THOMAS D. ANDERSON.\n\n\nMay 10\n\n     _Listen to the exhortation of the dawn!_\n\n        _Look to this day!\n  For it is life, the very life of life.\n  In its brief course lie all the\n  Varieties and realities of your existence;\n        The bliss of growth,\n        The glory of action,\n        The splendor of beauty:\n  For yesterday is but a dream,\n  And tomorrow is only a vision,\n  But to-day well-lived makes\n  Every yesterday a dream of happiness,\n  And every tomorrow a vision of hope.\n  Look well, therefore to this day!_\n\n     _Such is the salutation of the dawn._\n\n                           FROM THE SANSKRIT.\n\nDear God, in Thy loving kindness, Thou hast brought us to the opening of\nanother day; from darkness to light, from sleep to wakefulness, from\nrest to labor. We thank Thee for its opening glory and its coming\nopportunities; but above all, for the new strength we feel within\nourselves to do its work and live its life. As radiant dawn climbs to\nfull-orbed day and glides to setting sun, may we come to this day's\nclose with the consciousness that we have lived a little closer to the\ngreat heart of the Eternal in every thought, word and deed, that we have\nwoven into the texture of our lives, and gently as twilight enfolds the\nfruitful earth, shall \"peace that passeth understanding\" enfold our\nsouls. Amen.\n\n  THOMAS B. PAYNE.\n\n\nMay 11\n\n  _As the insect from the rock\n      Takes the color of its wing;\n  As the boulder from the shock\n      Of the ocean's rhythmic swing\n  Makes itself a perfect form,\n      Learns a calmer front to raise;\n  As the shell, enameled warm\n      With the prism's mystic rays,\n  Praises wind and wave that make\n      All its chambers fair and strong;\n  As the mighty poets take\n      Grief and pain to build their song;\n  Even so for every soul,\n      Whatsoe'er its lot may be--\n  Building, as the heavens roll,\n      Something large and strong and free--\n  Things that hurt and things that mar\n      Shape the man for perfect praise;\n  Shock and strain and ruin are\n      Friendlier than the smiling days._\n\n                      JOHN WHITE CHADWICK.\n\nDear Father, as the light of this morning follows the darkness of the\nnight, may we devoutly believe that the light of Thy love shall dispel\nall darkness and bring us into the morning of eternal peace. May we\nlearn each day that our trials and sorrows are but stepping-stones in\nThy divine economy, to bring us up into the clearer atmosphere of\nheavenly thought and life. Help us to live closer to Jesus, to\nunderstand how even He was made glorious through suffering, and ever\nlearn to conquer in His name. Amen.\n\n  ELMER F. PEMBER.\n\n\nMay 12\n\n  _I live for those that love me\n  For those that know me true,\n  For the heaven that smiles above me,\n      And waits my coming, too;\n  For the cause that lacks assistance,\n  For the wrongs that need resistance,\n  For the future in the distance,\n      For the good that I can do._\n\n                          G. L. BANKS.\n\nFather, we bless Thee for such as love us and those whom we love in the\nvarying forms of affection, thanking Thee for the sacramental cup of joy\nin which Thou givest the wine of life to all of Thy children, humble or\nhigh. We thank thee for that love which setteth the solitary in families\nat the beginning, and then reaches wide arms all around, and will not\nstay its hold till it joins all nations and kindreds and tongues and\npeople into one great family of love. We bless Thee for the noble men\nand women whose generous heart has lit the altar fire of philanthropy in\nmany a dark and else benighted place. We thank Thee for the unbidden\nfaith which springs up in our hearts, impelling us to trust Thee and\nlove Thee and keep every commandment of Thine, and that while we know\nnot what a day shall bring forth, we are sure of everlasting life. Amen.\n\n  THEODORE PARKER.\n\n\nMay 13\n\n        _Gladness of morning--\n  To hear the lark begin his flight,\n  And singing, startle the dull Night\n  From his watch-tower in the skies,\n  Till the dappled Dawn doth rise;\n  Then to come in spite of sorrow,\n  And at my window bid good-morrow\n  Through the sweetbrier, or the vine,\n  Or the twisted eglantine._\n\n                          JOHN MILTON.\n\nO Thou, in whose light we see light, who hast lifted the shadows of\nnight from our dwellings, complete now in our behalf Thy ministry of\nlight, we beseech Thee, and let the day star arise in our hearts. Make\nclear Thy face unto us. Rise with Thy morning upon our souls. May the\nlight which envelops us throughout the day be the radiance of Thy\npresence. May our eyes behold only what Thou revealest and our lives be\nwarmed with the glow of Thy love. O, that we may be new-born like the\nday and live a new life in Thy mercies which are new every morning; that\nour love may rise fresh as the dawn and our obedience be as sure as the\npath of the law. Let no shadow from the past dim the joy of Thy\npresence. Scatter the darkness of sense and self within us. As the\nmorning reveals, interprets and fulfils the beauties of a world which\nwas wrapped in night, may the mystery of our lives unfold, our latent\nforces be summoned to service, and our hearts find fulness of joy\nbecause we live in Thee. Amen.\n\n  EVERETT D. BURR.\n\n\nMay 14\n\n     _It may be truly said that no man does any work perfectly who does\n     not enjoy his work. Joy in one's work is the consummate tool\n     without which the work may be done indeed, but without its finest\n     perfectness. Men who do their work without enjoying it are like men\n     carving statues with hatchets. A man who does his work with\n     thorough enjoyment of it is like an artist who holds an exquisite\n     tool which is almost as obedient to him as his own hand, and almost\n     works intelligently with him._\n\n                                                     PHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\nO Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that Thou hast placed us where we are\nand hast given us the work we have to do. We would not seek far and wide\nfor some better place or more honourable task. We pray today for the\nspirit that shall make us glad in our common toil. We need not to fly\naway to find enjoyment; we have only to feel that in the duties of this\nday we are in partnership with Thee,--then shall we be happy that Thou\nhast called us to so divine a fellowship. Make us strong and earnest and\nbrave--that when the evening shadows fall we shall not look regretfully\nback because we have been unfaithful,--but that we may be satisfied and\nhappy in the memory that we have been serving with Thee. Amen.\n\n  ANONYMOUS.\n\n\nMay 15\n\n  _I love the flowers that come about with spring,\n    And whether they be scarlet, white or blue,\n  It mattereth to me not anything,\n    For when I see them full of sun and dew,\n  My heart doth get so full with its delight,\n    I know not blue from red, nor red from white._\n\n                                       ALICE CARY.\n\nFather Divine, we remember Thee at the beginning of another day, and the\nobedience to Thy laws of life which Thou dost require. About us is Thy\nbeautiful world, thrilling with new life. We would that our lives today\nmay be likewise beautiful, restrained from sin against body and spirit.\nAs there is now in the earth, so there is always in human souls a\nspringtide ready to burst forth into beautiful living. In our hearts\nthere is always the stirring energy of a spiritual spring that needs but\nthe warmth of Thy heavenly sunshine. Let that warmth now stream into our\nhearts that our lives today may show forth Thy praise. Amen.\n\n  MINOT O. SIMONS.\n\n\nMay 16\n\n     Violet: \"_Well, but surely at least one ought to be afraid of\n     displeasing God; and one's desire to please Him should be one's\n     first motive._\"\n\n     Lecturer: \"_He never would be pleased with us, if it were, my dear.\n     When a father sends his son out into the world--suppose as an\n     apprentice--fancy the boy's coming home at night, and saying,\n     'Father, I could have robbed the till to-day; but I didn't because\n     I thought you wouldn't like it.' Do you think the father would be\n     particularly pleased?\" (Violet is silent). \"He would answer, would\n     he not, if he were wise and good, 'My boy, though you had no\n     father, you must not rob tills.' And nothing is ever done so as\n     really to please our Great Father, unless we would also have done\n     it, though we had had no Father to know of it._\"\n\n                                                          JOHN RUSKIN.\n\nFather of Life, Thy children raise their thoughts in prayer to Thee at\nthe dawning of each day. Their prayer asserts love, trust and conformity\nto Thy will. May the spirit of prayer abide with us the day through,\nthat we may be dutiful and worthy. The moral law is Thy way of life, may\nwe make it our way by intelligent obedience. To know Thee aright and to\nfind our joy in Thy life is to have fullness of being through purity and\nstrength. O Father, may we be as those who broaden and deepen and purify\nlife by word and deed that none may suffer loss through us, but find aid\nto reach the perfect life in Thee. Amen.\n\n  WILSON M. BACKUS.\n\n\nMay 17\n\n  _Through the harsh noises of our day\n  A low sweet prelude finds its way:\n  Through clouds of doubt and creeds of fear\n  A light is breaking, calm and clear._\n\n  _Henceforth my heart shall sigh no more\n  For olden time and holier shore:\n  God's love and blessing, then and there\n  Are now and here and everywhere._\n\n                     JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.\n\nOur Father, as we enter upon the duties of this new day, incline our\nminds and hearts unto Thee. May we feel, amid its harsh noises, the\nassurance of Thy love and care. If doubt or fear assail us may we turn\nunto Thee who art the source of life, love and light, and find calm and\npeace. We would forget the things behind and make the most of the\npresent. We rejoice that today is better than yesterday and that\ntomorrow will be better than today. Thou art here now, as Thou art\neverywhere always, to bless us with Thy love and care. Direct us through\nthe hours of this day and may its close find us better children of\nThine. Amen.\n\n  JOHN B. REARDON.\n\n\nMay 18\n\n     _The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the\n     wide world's joy. The lonely pine of the mountain top waves its\n     sombre boughs, and cries, \"Thou art my sun!\" And the little meadow\n     violet lifts its cup of blue, and whispers with its perfumed\n     breath, \"Thou art my sun!\" And the grain in a thousand fields\n     rustles in the wind, and makes answer, \"Thou art my sun!\" So God\n     sits, effulgent, in heaven, not for a favored few, but for the\n     universe of life; and there is no creature so poor or so low that\n     he may not look up with child-like confidence, and say, \"My Father,\n     Thou art mine!\"_\n\n                                                  HENRY WARD BEECHER.\n\nO God, the Eternal Source of all life, we rejoice that there are no\nbounds to Thy love. We thank Thee that Thou givest us all things richly\nto enjoy. May we learn that Thy bounties are for all human beings. Make\nthe hearts of men eager that the ignorant, the lowly, the poor, the\nwayward, may come into the full estate of knowing that they are children\nof God. Let them in no way be denied the joy of unfolding the divinity\nwithin them. Lead us all into those fields of labor where we can be our\nbest selves and develop our lives by what we do to meet the growing\ndemands of truth and love and goodness. Wherever the morning breaks and\nthe sunshine falls upon human faces, may its cheer make homes happy and\ntrue, men and women good, and little children joyous. Amen.\n\n  ALVA ROY SCOTT.\n\n\nMay 19\n\n  _Hear the Master's risen word!\n      Delving spades have set it free,\n  Wake! the world has need of thee,\n      Rise and let thy voice be heard,\n  Like a fountain disinterred,\n      Upward springing, singing, sparkling;\n      Through the doubtful shadows darkling;\n      Till the clouds of pain and rage\n      Brooding o'er the toiling age,\n  As with rifts of light are stirred\n  By the music of the Word;\n  Gospel for the heavy-laden, answer to the labourer's cry;\n  \"Raise the stone, and thou shalt find Me: cleave the wood, and there\n      am I.\"_\n\n                                                 HENRY VAN DYKE.\n\nGod of light and strength and beauty, for this day we thank Thee. The\nmorning hours come to us freighted with messages of gladness. Thou, our\nFather, art refreshing our spirits, and home seems dearer, love more\nsacred and the way of duty clearer before our waiting feet. We thank\nThee for life as it is given us, day by day. Help us to fill it with\nhonest, cheerful, fruitful service. May we realize and rejoice in the\nnobility of labor, and may we learn how it is that a child of Thine,\nstanding in his own place, giving himself to the tasks of the hour,\nimparts strength and courage to his fellow-worker, and helps the world\nforward in the path of righteousness and peace. So may Thy will be done\nin and through us. Amen.\n\n  JOHN P. FORBES.\n\n\nMay 20\n\n  _O the green things growing, the green things growing\n  The faint sweet smell of the green things growing!\n  I should like to live, whether I smile or grieve,\n  Just to watch the happy life of my green things growing._\n\n                                      DINAH MULOCK CRAIG.\n\n  _Not all these sweets, these sounds, this vernal blaze,\n  Is but one joy, express'd a thousand ways;\n  And honey from the flowers, and song of birds,\n  Are from the poet's pen, his overflowing words._\n\n                                             LEIGH HUNT.\n\nO Thou who art the Creator of life in every form in which it is\nexpressed in the earth, we thank Thee for the grass and the flowers, the\ntrees and the shrubs, the music of the streams and the melody of the\nbirds. As nature is ever vocal with Thy praise, so may our hearts be\nattuned to deepest joy that we are a part of Thy creation and made\ncapable of constant exultation in the beauty and the beneficence of Thy\npurpose therein displayed. In this spirit may we rejoice and be glad in\nthis new day which Thou hast made for us. Amen.\n\n  I. J. MEAD.\n\n\nMay 21\n\n     _As one familiar with the sonatas and the symphonies of Beethoven,\n     while passing along the street in summer, gets, from out of the\n     open window, a snatch of a song or a piece that is being played,\n     catching a strain here and another there--and says to himself, \"Ah,\n     that is Beethoven. I recognize that: it is from such and such a\n     movement of the Pastoral\" or whatever it may be;--so men in life\n     catch strains of God in the mother's disinterested and self-denying\n     love, in the lover's glow, in the little child's innocent\n     affections. Where did this thing come from? No plant ever brought\n     out such fruit as this?_\n\n                                                  HENRY WARD BEECHER.\n\nFather of all and giver of every good thing, to Thee we pray; to Thee we\nlook for light, for truth, for beauty. In the travail of thought may\nthere come only the highest and best good. Where there is division we\nask for unity; where there is confusion we ask for serenity; where there\nis discord, we ask for harmony. May divergent paths lead to the larger\nway of widening vision, distinctive service, unstinted love. Hasten the\nday when Thy purpose shall be accomplished in us, and when that which is\nnow imperfect shall become the perfected whole. Grant to us wisdom to\npursue noble ends with intelligent zeal, and patient effort, and in a\ncharitable and hopeful spirit. Amen.\n\n  C. C. CLARK.\n\n\nMay 22\n\n     _It is very interesting to watch a plant grow, it is like taking\n     part in creation. When all outside is cold and white, when the\n     little children of the woodland are gone to their nurseries in the\n     warm earth and the empty nests on the bare trees filled with snow,\n     my window-garden glows and smiles, making summer within while it is\n     winter without. It is wonderful to see flowers bloom in the midst\n     of a snow-storm! I have felt a bud \"shyly doff her green hood and\n     blossom with a silken burst of sound,\" while the icy fingers of the\n     snow beat against the window panes. What secret power, I wonder,\n     caused this blossoming miracle? What mysterious force guided the\n     seedling from the dark earth up to the light, through leaf and stem\n     and bud, to glorious fulfilment in the perfect flower? Who could\n     have dreamed that such beauty lurked in the dark earth, was latent\n     in the tiny seed we planted? Beautiful flower, you have taught me\n     to see a little way into the hidden heart of things. Now I\n     understand that the darkness everywhere may hold possibilities\n     better than even my hopes._\n\n                                                        HELEN KELLER.\n\nGrant us, O God, this day, vitality of brain and heart, to lay hold on\nthe ordinary events and experiences of life, and transmute them into\nbeautiful and permanent values for ourselves and others. May we have\ncourage, love and faithfulness, to conquer adversities and fulfil our\nduties. And should the winter of discontent and disappointment beat\nwithout against our souls, even so may Thy Kingdom come. Amen.\n\n  JULIUS P. WEST.\n\n\nMay 23\n\n  _Brother--there is no payment in the world!\n  We work and pour our labor at the feet\n  Of those who are around us and to come.\n  We live and take our living at the hands\n  Of those who are around us and have been.\n  No one is paid. No person can have more\n  Than he can hold. And none can do beyond\n  The power that's in him. To each child that's born\n  Belongs as much of all our human good\n  As he can take and use to make him strong._\n\n  _And from each man, debtor to all the world,\n  Is due the fullest fruit of all his powers,\n  His whole life's labor, proudly rendered up,\n  Not as return--can moments pay an age?\n  But as the simple duty of a man.\n  Can he do less--receiving everything?_\n\n                       CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN.\n\nO, Thou Most Bountiful Giver! We thank Thee this morning for all the\nconveniences and comforts, the stored knowledge and acquired wisdom, the\ninspirations and encouragements of our daily life. Truly others have\nlived as Thy children and labored as Thy servants, by mind and hand and\nheart, and we are wondrously permitted to enter into the fruits of their\nlabours. Grant unto us this day, O Father, so to strive and so to live\nthat some other life may be cheered and blessed by the spirit and by the\nfruit of our day's service. May our thoughts and words and deeds somehow\nexpress our gratitude for the blessings which we are constantly\nreceiving. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM H. GOULD.\n\n\nMay 24\n\n     _What a wonderful thing it is to meet a man or woman whose manners\n     are instantly open and free--opening up a direct road between him\n     or her and yourself!_\n\n                                                      EDWARD CARPENTER.\n\n     _There is a world in us that God keeps to himself, except when He\n     calls some few souls, with special errand for us, to receive a\n     glimpse. It is full of life, and growths, and wonders, that are to\n     be developed and revealed. We ourselves know not what we shall be;\n     but He knows that we shall be like Him.... It is the world of the\n     spiritual microscope._\n\n                                               MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\nOur Father and Mother God,--we have cried for Thee as little children\ncry for parental love to wait upon their wants, and, like babes that\ncry, we have looked for Thee in nothing else. We would be now Thy sons\nand daughters of a larger growth, who learn to find Thee in a more\ncomplete and blessed fellowship of service and sacrifice with Thee, of\nunited thought and will with Thine, of such living as shares in Thy\nperfect and eternal life. Help us so to be and so to live that even in\nourselves we may get glimpses of Thine infinite good will and\nfaithfulness, and show in our human lives, that God is in His world and\nall is well. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE W. KENT.\n\n\nMay 25\n\n  _What are we set on earth for? Say to toil:\n  Nor to seek to leave the tending of thy vines,\n  For all the heat of the day, till it declines,\n  And death's mild curfew shall from work assoil.\n  God did anoint thee with His odorous oil\n  To wrestle, not to reign; and he assigns\n  All thy tears over, like pure crystallines,\n  For younger fellow-workers of the soil\n  To wear for amulets. So others shall\n  Take patience, labor, to their heart and hand,\n  From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer,\n  And God's grace fructify through thee to all.\n  The least flower with a brimming cup may stand,\n  And share its dewdrop with another near._\n\n                      ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.\n\nOur Father In Heaven, we devoutly thank Thee for that ceaseless and\nrefreshing tide of blessing that, from the reservoir of Thine\nexhaustless goodness, flows into our hearts and lives. And we further\nthank Thee that among the choicest of those blessings, is the one of\nbeing, not merely the receptacles of this inflow, but also co-workers\nwith Thee, and with Thy Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, in carrying\nforward to successful issue Thy beneficent purposes of grace and\nsalvation. Grant us, we beseech Thee, day by day, such an infusion of\nThy Holy Spirit as shall fittingly equip us for the gladsome and\neffective discharge of the duties of this divine relation, and its\nexalted privileges. All of which grant for Thy mercy's sake. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES P. NASH.\n\n\nMay 26\n\n     _The deepest secret of life is love. Without love there is no\n     enthusiasm, and without ideals there is no enthusiasm. We freeze\n     our hearts by selfishness, and stifle them by sordidness. We fix\n     our eyes upon the little field circumscribed by our day's\n     activities and ends. With no wide-reaching affection and no\n     uplifting ideal, we make of our life a treadmill and of our duty an\n     unwelcome drudgery. We disclaim the highest endowment of the soul\n     and deny our sonship to God. Narrow faiths and narrow hopes put\n     fetters on the spirit, and small affections keep small the heart._\n\n                                                       PHILIP S. MOXOM.\n\nOur Father, every morning is a fresh witness of Thy loving kindness.\nWhen we sleep the vigils of Thy love are round about us. At the\nthreshold of this new day, may it please Thee to inspire us with lofty\naims, so that we may rise out of our selfish selves into conscious\nkinship with Thee. Help us to know the mystery of love, how limitless\nand all-conquering it is. Animated by its sweet law, may we go out into\nthis great, needy world with hearts to sympathize and words to cheer and\nhands to minister. Then we shall know the divine sweetness of our\nChristian faith, the joy of Christlike living; we shall know that love\nis the fulfilling of the law. Amen.\n\n  Q. H. SHINN.\n\n\nMay 27\n\n  _Every day is a fresh beginning,\n    Every morn is the world made new.\n  You who are weary of sorrow and sinning,\n    Here is a beautiful hope for you,\n    A hope for me and a hope for you._\n\n  _Every day is a fresh beginning;\n    Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain,\n  And, spite of old sorrow and older sinning,\n    And puzzles forecasted and possible pain,\n    Take heart with the day, and begin again._\n\n                                SUSAN COOLIDGE.\n\nO Thou, who makest all things new, we are glad each day is not only a\nnew day but one unlike any before it. Everything breathes freshness and\nnewness of life; a new heaven is over our heads, a new earth beneath our\nfeet. We know this day will be full of new opportunities for work, new\nscenes for pleasure, new chances to make better our lives. If yesterday\nwas not all we could wish, if there were failures in duty, or loss of\nfaith in ourselves, and Thy great love, may this be filled with larger\nfaith, greater hope, complete love. May we so take heart in this quiet\nmorning hour, that we may be brave and faithful all the day, so that in\nspite of old sorrows and older sins, the memory of which may now and\nthen shadow our way, we may find ourselves when the evening shall come,\nnearer heaven in heart and life, and more worthy to be called Thy\nchildren. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM F. POTTER.\n\n\nMay 28\n\n     _O friend, never strike sail to a fear! Come into port greatly, or\n     sail with God the seas.... He has not learned the lesson of life\n     who does not every day surmount a fear._\n\n                                                    RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\n  _There is no storm but this\n  Of your own cowardice\n        That braves you out;\n  You are the storm that mocks\n  Yourself; you are the rocks\n        Of your own doubt;\n  Besides this fear of danger there's no danger here\n  And he that here fears danger does deserve his fear._\n\n                                          RICHARD CRASHAW.\n\nThou knowest, O Lord, the weakness of our human nature, and how prone we\nare not only to shrink from the difficulties and to tremble at the\ndangers which lie in our way, but to allow imaginary difficulties and\ndangers to hinder us from living as Thy children should. Help us, we\npray Thee, to be free from all such fear today. Be Thou our refuge from\nwhatsoever may threaten us, either without or within. Deliver us from\nfaint-heartedness and enable us to stand fast in the glorious liberty of\nthose who fear nothing but to offend against Thee and to wrong their own\nimmortal souls. We ask it as disciples of Christ. Amen.\n\n  EDWIN C. SWEETSER.\n\n\nMay 29\n\n  _Whichever way the wind doth blow,\n  Some heart is glad to have it so;\n  Then blow it east or blow it west,\n  The wind that blows, that wind is best._\n\n  _My little craft sails not alone:\n  A thousand fleets from every zone\n  Are out upon a thousand seas;\n  And what for me were favoring breeze\n  Might dash another, with the shock\n  Of doom, upon some hidden rock.\n  And so I do not dare to pray\n  For winds to waft me on my way,\n  But leave it to a Higher Will\n  To stay or speed me; trusting still\n  That all is well, and sure that He\n  Who launched my bark will sail with me\n  Through storm and calm, and will not fail,\n  Whatever breezes may prevail,\n  To land me, every peril past,\n  Within His sheltering heaven at last._\n\n                     CAROLINE ATWATER MASON.\n\nO Lord let us know that we do not sail life's seas alone. Thou art the\nGod of the storms. Thou goest with us whithersoever we go. Grant us, our\nHeavenly Father, that we may not suffer shipwreck of our faith. Grant us\nthat the voyage of our lives may be prosperous, and that at last,\nwhether soon or late we shall find some harbor of rest and peace. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nMay 30\n\n    _Our Memorial Day celebrations will be but a hypocritical\n    play-acting unless they shall remind us of the cause and the country\n    for which our brave soldiers gave their lives. It is not enough for\n    us to recall their names and sing their praises. We must love the\n    country they loved and in our turn be ready to do the hero's part._\n\n                                                        GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n    _But what is it to love one's country? Is it to carry a banner in a\n    procession? Is it to shout as we see the flag? Is it to fling\n    bunting from the tops of the buildings, and send off sky-rockets in\n    the evenings? Vastly deeper than that is love of country, deeper\n    than any soldier's uniform, deeper than any pictures of battleships\n    with which we adorn our walls._\n\n                                                        W. H. P. FAUNCE.\n\nGod of the Nations, we thank Thee today for every heroic deed of every\nheroic soul. We rejoice that in every hour of real emergency there have\never been men who were ready to die for their country. O Lord, may the\nmemory of their sacrifice ever remain to us and to the children of\ncoming generations a sacred heritage. Yet, O Lord, let us not be\nsatisfied to glorify their deeds with a memory. Let us do them the\nhigher honor of consecrating our lives to the service of the country\nthey loved. So shall we, in the honor we render them find the title to\nour honor. Thus in _our_ land and in _our_ time may Thy Kingdom come and\nThy will be done. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nMay 31\n\n     _To be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to\n     work and to play and to look up at the stars; to be satisfied with\n     your possessions, but not contented with yourself until you have\n     made the best of them; to despise nothing in the world except\n     falsehood and meanness, and to fear nothing except cowardice; to be\n     governed by your admirations rather than your dislikes; to covet\n     nothing that is your neighbor's except his kindness of heart and\n     gentleness of manners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of\n     your friends, and every day of Christ; and to spend as much time as\n     you can, with body and with spirit in God's out-of-doors--these are\n     little guide-posts on the footpath to peace._\n\n                                                         HENRY VAN DYKE.\n\nO Thou God of peace and of love. How shall we come to Thee? How shall we\nshare Thy strength and know Thy life? Let us commune with Thy gracious\nspirit and so learn Thy way. How beautiful the vision which prayer\nunfolds to us when we worship in spirit and truth! We see the virtues\nwhich ennoble and sanctify other lives. Sweet and tender patience\nappears and in her light ruffled and distorted tempers are subdued and\nclothed in their right mind. Faith is seen and as irresolution and doubt\ntake their flight, confident trust and cherished conviction appear in\nmagnetic power. So, O Lord, would we read the signs which other lives\npresent. So would we strengthen our own aspirations and make real the\nvision. So, O Father, would we find Thy peace. Amen.\n\n  AUGUSTINE N. FOSTER.\n\n\nJune 1\n\n     _A season for simple living with the kindly sun and the blue sky,\n     days of keen delight in little things, of joyous questing after\n     beauty, days for the making of true friends by being a true friend\n     to others, days when we may enlarge our little lives by excursions\n     to strange places, by friendly association, by the companionship of\n     great thoughts, days that may teach us to live nobly, to work\n     joyously, to play harder, to do our labor better. So should each\n     June bring us indeed a golden summer._\n\n                                                 EDWIN OSGOOD GROVER.\n\nHeavenly Father, Thou givest all good things. We thank Thee for life and\nhope and cheer. In gratitude we consecrate this day to blessing Thy\nchildren, and so to serving Thee who hast said, \"Inasmuch as ye have\ndone it unto these, ye have done it unto Me.\" Teach us the gladness of a\nlife responsive to Thy messages through Nature. Grant us the joy of\nmaking friends by being friendly with our fellow men. Whatsoever we may\ndo, at work or at play, may it be in the spirit of the Saviour. We begin\nthis day with Thee. By its ministries may our comrades be helped and our\nlives together be made nobler, stronger, and well-pleasing in Thy sight.\nAmen.\n\n  MAURICE A. LEVY.\n\n\nJune 2\n\n  _Over the shoulders and slopes of the dune,\n    I saw the white daisies go down to the sea,\n  A host in the sunshine, an army in June,\n    The people God sends us to set our hearts free._\n\n  _The bobolinks rallied them up from the dell,\n    The orioles whistled them out of the wood,\n  And all of their singing was \"Earth, it is well,\"\n    And all of their dancing was, \"Life, Thou art good!\"_\n\n                                             BLISS CARMAN.\n\nO Thou, who art the Father of Light and Love, from whom cometh down\nevery good and perfect gift, we thank Thee for this new born day, which\nThou sendest us, for the splendor of Thy presence in the sunlit sky\nabove us and the blossoming earth beneath; for spring-time flowers that\nborder our paths with loveliness and happy bird song, lifting our hearts\nto responsive joy and praise. We thank Thee for life and health, for\nhome and friends, for opportunities and duties, for temptations and\ntrials, yea, for the very sorrows and bereavements which bring us to\nourselves in penitence, to others in sympathy, and to Thee in faith and\nadoration. Thy will be done! Thy kingdom come! Amen.\n\n  CHARLES W. WENDTE.\n\n\nJune 3\n\n  _One small life in God's great plan,\n  How futile it seems as the ages roll,\n  Do what it may, or strive how it can,\n  To alter the sweep of the infinite whole!\n  A single stitch in an endless web,\n  A drop in the ocean's flow and ebb!\n  But the pattern is rent where the stitch is lost,\n  Or marred where the tangled threads have crossed;\n  And each life that fails of its true intent\n  Mars the perfect plan that its Maker meant._\n\n                                    SUSAN COOLIDGE.\n\nO Thou, the heavenly Father, in whom we live and move, whose life-giving\nspirit is ever around us like the air we breathe,--we lift our thoughts\nto Thee in reverence and gladness at the coming of the new day. We are\nglad for the quiet hours of the night, while the stars shine over us.\nMay we be ready now, with willing and obedient hearts, for the work, the\ncares, the joys and the friendly converse of the day. We know how small\nour lives are; may we share the thoughts of Thy infinite mind, may Thy\npower and beauty, Thy justice and goodness possess us. May our feeble\nwills be strong to carry the current of the one Good Will that sways the\nuniverse. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES F. DOLE.\n\n\nJune 4\n\n     _I have lived, sir, a long time; and the longer I live, the more\n     convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the\n     affairs of men._\n\n                                                    BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.\n\n     _All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not\n     seen. Whatever it be which the great Providence prepares for us, it\n     must be something large and generous; and in the great style of His\n     works. The future must be up to the style of our faculties, of\n     memory, of hope, of imagination, of reason._\n\n                                                   RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\nO Thou, who in Thy greatness holds the planets on their way, and in Thy\nprovidence guides the sparrow's flight, and in Thy tenderness marks the\nsparrow's fall, may we not be blind to Thy foot-prints in the events of\nevery day, but see them guiding our way and feel more and more Thy love.\nFather, we ask not for great things, but we ask Thee to help us in the\nlittle needs and longings that fill our every day, to be the strength of\nour every endeavor, that in our daily walk, we may feel that the earth\nis warm with life and joy, that the air is full of strength, that there\ncomes to us from every side some message, sweet and tender, if only we\ncan be patient, trustful, believing that all things work together for\ngood to them who seek to do Thy will Amen.\n\n  JOSHUA YOUNG.\n\n\nJune 5\n\n  _And do not fear to hope. Can poet's brain\n  More than the Father's heart rich good invent?\n  Each time we smell the autumn's dying scent,\n  We know the primrose time will come again;\n  Not more we hope, nor less would soothe our pain.\n  Be bounteous in our faith, for not misspent\n  Is confidence unto the Father lent:\n  Thy need is sown and rooted for his rain,\n  His thoughts are as thine own; nor are his ways\n  Other than thine, but by their loftier sense\n  Of beauty infinite and love intense.\n  Work on! One day, beyond all thought of praise\n  A sunny joy will crown thee with its rays;\n  Nor other than thy need, thy recompense._\n\n                                  GEORGE MACDONALD.\n\nOur Father, in the gratitude of loved and loving children we thank Thee\nfor life and all the faith and hope and love Thy goodness has awakened\nin our souls. For the splendors of the world and the greater splendor of\nthe mind radiant with Thy love, we bow in rapture and adoration.\nOverwhelmed at times by the mysteries and vicissitudes of life, we will\ntrust Thy will to lead us out of darkness into the light of Thine\ninforming spirit of truth and wisdom. Conscious of our weakness and\nneeds, we rejoice that strength and supply are assured to us in the\npermanence of Thy Fatherhood. Lead us more and ever more to realize that\nin Thee we live and move and have our being. Amen.\n\n  RICHMOND FISK.\n\n\nJune 6\n\n  _When a feller goes a-huntin' for a rose\n  He shouldn't be a-thinkin' of the thorn;\n  He must woo it, he must win it--\n  Where his heart beats he must pin it\n  An' breathe the breath that's in it\n              Every morn!_\n\n  _When a feller goes a-huntin' for a rose\n  He shouldn't see the thorn beneath its breast,\n  But for all its thorny foes.\n  Red and reckless,--one poor rose\n  Is sweet enough, God knows,\n              For the best._\n\n                               FRANK L. STANTON.\n\nO Lord, our God, so great is our life we may find that for which we\nlook,--the good or the bad. Send us into this day with eyes searching for\nthe good. Beholding it may we admire it and admiring it we shall become\nlike it changed into the same image from character to character by the\nSpirit. May we be more concerned to do right than not to do wrong. Save us\nfrom a humility that is weakness and give us largeness of life without\npride. May we want nothing so much as opportunity,--opportunity to be, to\ndo, to suffer. May we not strive for bigness but for fitness and may our\nreception of the Christ be our forgiveness and our salvation for His name's\nsake. Amen.\n\n  T. C. MARTIN.\n\n\nJune 7\n\n     _The beauty of work depends upon the way we meet it,--whether we\n     arm ourselves each morning to attack it as an enemy that must be\n     vanquished before night comes, or whether we open our eyes with the\n     sunrise to welcome it as an approaching friend who will keep us\n     delightful company all day, and who will make us feel at evening,\n     that the day was well worth its fatigues._\n\n  LUCY LARCOM.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, Thou givest us light for the hours of labor and\ndarkness for the hours of slumber. We toil and then we rest. We sleep\nand then we arise, to perform the tasks which await us. Convince us, O\nGod, that the life which Thou hast given us to live is more than working\nthat we may rest, and resting that we may work. Persuade us that it is\nfor some great and good end. Help us to understand that even as we live\nin Thee so Thou dost fulfil Thine eternal purposes in and through us.\nTeach us that our smallest effort is important to Thee. So may we dread\nno duty. So may every moment of every day be precious in our sight.\nAmen.\n\n  ROGER S. FORBES.\n\n\nJune 8\n\n  _And those who heard the Singers three\n  Disputed which the best might be;\n  For still their music seemed to start\n  Discordant echoes in each heart._\n\n  _But the great Master said, \"I see\n  No best in kind, but in degree;\n  I gave a various gift to each,\n  To charm, to strengthen, and to teach._\n\n  _\"These are the three great chords of might,\n  And he whose ear is tuned aright,\n  Will hear no discord in the three,\n  But the most perfect harmony.\"_\n\n                           HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.\n\nO God, our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for all Thy mercies new every\nmorning, and fresh every evening, but especially we bless Thee that Thou\ncallest us to Thy service and kingdom by Jesus Christ, our Lord, and\nhast vouchsafed to each of us some gracious gift whereby we may\naccomplish Thy holy will concerning us. Grant that we may so improve and\nuse that pearl of price as to enhance greatly the welfare of Thy\nchildren. Help each to see the good in all, and all to see the good in\neach, that all may strive together in sinless and sweet accord for the\ncommon weal and thus for the glory of Thy name, and so hasten the happy\nday when all souls shall be one, as prayed the Saviour of the world.\nAmen.\n\n  ALFRED P. PUTNAM.\n\n\nJune 9\n\n     _Men talk sometimes as if the passage of a ship through the sea or\n     a bird through the air is a fit symbol of man's passage through\n     this world. I do not think so. A better symbol would be the passage\n     of a plough through the soil leaving a furrow behind. What does the\n     furrow include? All the memory of every beautiful picture and\n     landscape you have ever seen. It includes the memory of every\n     experience, every sweet association, every tie of love, whether of\n     father, mother, wife or children. All these, whether living or\n     dead, speak to you. They have a voice, a language that you will\n     understand._\n\n                                                      GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\nWe thank Thee, O God, for the many influences past and present which\nhave had a share in the moulding of our lives and characters toward a\nlarger usefulness and a more perfect realization of the Christian ideal.\nWe thank Thee for the mother's love which watched over us through years\nof helplessness; for the father's love which made provision for our\nwants, for the human sympathy which has everywhere blessed and\nstrengthened us and made life brighter; for the friends of youth and age\nwho have helped us to better things. Grant, O God, that a memory of\nthese blessings may abide with us so long as life may last, and that as\nwe have been helped by others to walk the way of life we may not forget\nto extend a helping hand to those who may need our comfort and our\nsympathy.\n\n  ORIN EDSON CROOKER.\n\n\nJune 10\n\n     _It is not to taste sweet things, but to do noble and true things,\n     and vindicate himself under God's heaven, as a God-made man, that\n     the poorest son of Adam dimly longs. This dim longing for what is\n     noble and true, the still small voice which calls to one\n     imperatively in moments of temptation, is the safeguard which, if\n     hearkened to, not only protects one in severe trials of manliness\n     and womanliness, but also incites to the formation of a fine\n     character, without which all acquisitions, all graces and\n     accomplishments, all talents and all learning, are but as sounding\n     brass and a tinkling cymbal._\n\n                                                      THOMAS CARLYLE.\n\nAlmighty God, our heavenly Father, in grateful recognition of Thy love\nand watchful care, we thank Thee for the repose of the night and the\npromise of the day. Our desire is to do Thy will, and we ask for the\nguidance and inspiration of Thy spirit. Enable us to perform faithfully\nall the work that Thou hast given us to do. Grant us a sufficiency of\nThy grace to treat all our fellowmen as children of Thine, and when\nnight comes may we have the blessed assurance that through the\nexperiences of this day we have become a little more like Thine own\nglorious self in love and holiness. We ask it in the name of Jesus, our\nexample, and Saviour. Amen.\n\n  WARREN S. PERKINS.\n\n\nJune 11\n\n  _Now it is June, and the secret is told;\n  Flashed from the buttercup's glory of gold;\n  Hummed in the bumblebee's gladness, and sung\n  New from each bough where a bird's nest is swung;\n  Breathed from the clover-beds, when the winds pass;\n  Chirped in small psalms, through the aisles of the grass._\n\n                                             HENRY JAMES, SR.\n\nDear Father, in the morning hour of this new day, we thank Thee for the\nglorious revelation of Thyself in the open Book of Nature. May we love\nthe beautiful and therein love Thee, with a true and abiding affection.\nGrant unto us the understanding that it is only as we have the spirit of\nthe beautiful in our lives that we can appreciate the beautiful without\nus. So may we value this life, which is from Thee, as a means of\nattaining a larger usefulness and for realizing that goodness which is\never heavenly. In simply trying to be nobler, more unselfish, like unto\nChrist, we pray, that we may learn how good is life. Amen.\n\n  THOMAS EDWARD POTTERTON.\n\n\nJune 12\n\n  _Methinks I love all common things,\n  The common air, the common flower,\n  The dear, kind, common thought that springs\n  From hearts that have no other dower,\n  No other wealth, no other power,\n  Save love; and will not that repay\n  For all else fortune tears away?_\n\n                         BRYAN WALLER PROCTER.\n\nWe thank God for the beauty of the world. We thank God that it is good\nto be alive. We thank God for the joy that joins us to Thy world in\ngladness, and makes it seem to be the open book of Thy graciousness and\ntenderness and compassion. We thank Thee also for the ministry of those\ndays that were not bright, but that were full of comfort, even in their\ndarkness, into which God came shrouded, only to reveal Himself more\nclearly as the light. We thank Thee for the intervening by the hand of\nlove and tenderness that is human, so that our best nature was called\nout for love's sake, and all the lower forces of our lives led in the\nleash of that sweet attraction. We thank God for everything for which\nour life is better, and pray Thee to help us to use Thy mercies to turn\nthem into strength, not the strength of praise alone, but the strength\nof service also. Amen.\n\n  THOMAS R. SLICER.\n\n\nJune 13\n\n      _A creed is a rod,\n      And a crown is of night;\n      But this thing is God,\n      To be man with thy might,\n  To grow straight in the strength of thy spirit, and live out thy life\n      as the light._\n\n                                          ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE.\n\n     _Life is fuller and sweeter for every fulness and sweetness that we\n     take knowledge of. And to him that hath, cannot help being given\n     from everything._\n\n                                              MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\nInfinite Love and Beauty, who stirrest in the tiniest seed that breaks\nits earthly shell to greet the light and warmth of thy beneficence and\nround its life in blade and flower and ripened fruit,--awake in us, we\npray, that we may burst the casements of our dead selves and live to\nbear the fruits of completed lives. Be love alone our creed and service\nour crown; and in the sweetness and light of these twin ministers draw\nThou us on, until having taken full knowledge of the fulness and\nsweetness of our Lord the Christ, we shall have measured in our\nspiritual stature, His perfect manliness and strength. Thus shall we\nhave indeed and to us shall be given from everything. Amen.\n\n  ALBERT C. WHITE.\n\n\nJune 14\n\n  _He fails who climbs to power and place\n  Up the pathway of disgrace.\n  He fails not who makes truth his cause,\n  Nor bends to win the crowd's applause.\n  He fails not, he who stakes his all\n  Upon the right and dares to fall.\n  What though the living bless or blame,\n  For him the long success of fame!_\n\n                     RICHARD WATSON GILDER.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, help us when we fail to see and know the truth and\nits blessed influence for good. Help us to combat bravely the evil in\nthe world and to look to Thee for encouragement and success. Help us, if\nwe fail, to regain our footing and to reach the higher because of the\neffort which Thy love prompts. We gratefully accept the power which Thy\nwisdom gives and thank Thee for the opportunity to use its strength. Be\nThou our guide and we shall fear no failure, nor overestimate the worth\nof success. So shall we \"rejoice in the Lord always,\"--in failure\nbecause of Thy help and in success because of Thine approval. In the\nname of Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM E. GIBBS.\n\n\nJune 15\n\n  _A singer sang a song of tears,\n    And the great world heard and wept\n  For the song of the sorrows of fleeting years,\n    And the hopes which the dead past kept:\n  And souls in anguish their burdens bore,\n    And the world was sadder than ever before._\n\n  _A singer sang a song of cheer,\n    And the great world listened and smiled,\n  For he sang of the love of a Father dear\n    And the trust of a little child;\n  And souls that before had forgotten to pray,\n    Looked up and went singing along the way._\n\n                                     EMMA C. DOWD.\n\nAlmighty God, our heavenly Father, our trust is evermore in Thee, and we\nwould keep that trust as a song within our hearts, which may cheer and\nbless and strengthen us. When the night is dark and the day is dreary\nmay that song be with us, and when cares oppress and sorrows meet us,\nmay our prayers still rise to Thee, for Thou art the God of our lives.\nLet not the day's discouragements depress us, nor its failures find us\nweak or helpless, nor its trials leave a stain upon our souls. But\nbecause we have Thy song of love within our hearts may we march to\nheavenly music, and ever go upon our way rejoicing. Amen.\n\n  PAUL REVERE FROTHINGHAM.\n\n\nJune 16\n\n     _It is only the sincerity of human feeling that abides. As for a\n     thought, we know not, it may be deceptive; but the love, wherewith\n     we have loved it, will surely return to our soul; nor can a single\n     drop of its clearness or strength be abstracted by error. Of that\n     perfect ideal that each of us strives to build up in himself, the\n     sum total of all our thoughts will help only to model the outline;\n     but the elements that go to construct it, and keep it alive, are\n     the purified passion, unselfishness, loyalty, wherein these\n     thoughts have had being._\n\n                                                         MAETERLINCK.\n\nO God, our Heavenly Father, help us to take up the cares of this day\nwith an unselfish heart, and in loyalty to what is right and good. Keep\nus in right relation to those with whom our lot is cast, in sympathy\nwith the unanxious joy of the world and with the deeper life which is\nits source. We desire to enter into the thought and the love of the most\nhopeful souls, that, in all the needful pauses of the day, we may find\ncheer, incentive, and the ampler rest: through Jesus Christ, our Lord.\nAmen.\n\n  CHARLES H. LEONARD.\n\n\nJune 17\n\n  _\"Does the road wind up-hill all the way?\"\n    \"Yes, to the very end!\"\n  \"Will the day's journey take the whole long day?\"\n    \"From morn to night, my friend!\"_\n\n  _\"But is there for the night a resting-place?\"\n    \"A roof for all when the dark hours begin.\"\n  \"May not the darkness hide it from my face?\"\n    \"You cannot miss that inn.\"_\n\n  _\"Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?\"\n    \"Those who have gone before.\"\n  \"Then must I knock or call when just in sight?\"\n    \"They will not keep you standing at that door.\"_\n\n  _\"Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?\"\n    \"Of labor you shall find the sum.\"\n  \"Will there be beds for me and all who seek?\"\n    \"Yea,--beds for all who come!\"_\n\n                                 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this new day. May it be an open\ndoor to faithful service. Open our eyes that we may see all vexations,\ndistresses, and toil as angels in disguise sent to strengthen and fulfil\nus, to prepare us for larger blessings at our journey's end. As the blue\nsky of Thy loving kindness is broader and more enduring than the clouds\nthat sometimes hide it, so teach us to trust Thine unfailing love that\noverarches and outlasts all weariness and pain. When life and strength\nfail us here, may we find them transformed and glorious in the city of\nGod hereafter. Be Thou our shield and our reward now and forever. Amen.\n\n  JOHN M. WILSON.\n\n\nJune 18\n\n     _Those homelier wildflowers, which we call weeds; yellow japanned\n     buttercups and star-disked dandelions, lying in the grass, like\n     sparks that have leaped from the kindling sun of summer; the\n     profuse daisy-like flower which whitens the fields, to the great\n     disgust of liberal shepherds, yet seems fair to loving eyes, with\n     its button-like mound of gold set round with milk-white rays; the\n     tall-stemmed succory, setting its pale blue flowers aflame one\n     after another; the red and white clovers; the broad, flat leaves of\n     the plantain,--\"the white man's foot,\" as the Indians called\n     it;--those common growths which fling themselves to be crushed\n     under our feet and our wheels, making themselves so cheap in this\n     perpetual martyrdom that we forget, each of them is a ray of the\n     divine beauty._\n\n                                              OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, however poor and mean and commonplace our lives may\nseem to be, in our better moments we think of ourselves as Thy children.\nWe may have failed sometimes but we shall not utterly fail. In Thy\nsight, nothing is common or worthless. No life shall be cast as rubbish\nto the void. However commonplace our tasks may seem, let us feel\nourselves in partnership with God, and go forth to the duties of the day\nwith high hope and sense of dignity. So shalt Thou make even our little\nlives of some real service to the world. We pray to Thee in the spirit\nof Him, who though the humblest of all, was yet Master of all. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nJune 19\n\n     _There's a real grace of character in forgetting the things which\n     disturb the harmony of life._\n\n                                                 HAMILTON W. MABIE.\n\n  Touch your lips with gladness and go singing on your way,\n  Smiles will strangely lighten every duty;\n  Just a little word of cheer may span a sky of gray\n    With hope's own heaven-tinted bow of beauty.\n  Wear a pleasant face wherein shall shine a joyful heart,\n  As shines the sun, the happy fields adorning;\n  To every care-beclouded life some ray of light impart,\n  And touch your lips with gladness every morning.\n\n                                                    NIXON WATERMAN.\n\nO Thou who art from everlasting to everlasting, Our God and Father, we\nflee unto Thee as the One who is able to save us from all foes within\nand without. We confess our weakness and our many grievous faults, and\nbeseech Thee to touch us by Thy Spirit, that with penitent and lowly\nhearts we may seek Thee as our everlasting Friend and Helper. Be patient\nyet a while with our shortcomings and frowardness. Suffer us yet a\nlittle that Thine infinite grace and compassion may arouse us from our\nspiritual slumber unto the glorious life of obedience and love. In this\nnew day we would be made to feel Thy presence and the light and joy and\npeace, which Thou dost promise to all who diligently seek Thee through\nJesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.\n\n  CLARENCE E. RICE.\n\n\nJune 20\n\n  _Now is the high tide of the year,\n    And whatever of life hath ebbed away\n  Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer,\n    Into every bare inlet and creek and bay;\n  Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it,\n  We are happy now because God wills it._\n\n                                JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.\n\nHoly, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! early in the morning we approach\nunto Thee. The whole round of creation is burdened with the exuberance\nof Thy life, and everywhere is hallowed ground. We come with unshod\nfeet. The sun, mighty minister of Thy great goodness, flooding the world\nwith light and piercing all things with his fiery arrows, calls back to\nlife the sleeping earth, and assures us that we are partakers of Thy\nlight and Thy love and Thy life. O most glorious God! may these Thy\nmercies, fresh every morning, be with us through the day to strengthen\nus to do Thy will, we ask in the name of Him who came that we may have\nlife and have it abundantly. Amen.\n\n  FRANK W. COLLIER.\n\n\nJune 21\n\n  _Man hath much need of courage; and need to brace\n  His spiritual nerve in solitude;\n  Self-trusting, self-sustained, and self-imbued;\n  Seeking God in his own heart's secret place.\n  To perfect self, and in that self embrace\n    The triune essence of truth, beauty, and good;\n  This is fulfilment, this beatitude\n  Throned high above base fears and hopes more base.\n  What shall it profit us, if, gaining all\n    The privilege of priest-made paradise,\n  We lose therewith our self which is the soul?\n  And wherefore should we shrink from even the fall,\n  If haply we should fail with steadfast eyes\n  Fixed only on so bright, so pure a goal?_\n\n                             JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS.\n\nHeavenly Father, we thank Thee for the gift of a new day, for the tasks\nwhich it brings, and for the strength with which we rise to its\nrequirements. Help us, through all this day, to remember Thee. Thou art\nour strength, our guide, our inspiration. Fill us with the courage born\nof faith. Let us feel that, seeking to do right, we shall be moved and\naided by an unseen Power. In all our experiences this day, help us to\nspeak the truth, to be loyal to friendship, to be steadfast in\nprinciple, to fight the good fight and to keep the faith. Bless our\nendeavors to give heart and hope to other souls; and grant them the\npresence of Thy loving spirit. Amen.\n\n  JOHN CLARENCE LEE.\n\n\nJune 22\n\n     _Let a man start out at breakneck speed in the morning, pushing and\n     driving and hurrying as if it were a matter of life and death to\n     accomplish a given task before noon, and he will generally end by\n     working himself into a fever of anxiety and harassing care before\n     night, and the man who, under any pretext whatsoever, whether for\n     the sake of wealth or learning or pleasure, has pursued this mad,\n     rushing, whirling method of life for fifteen or twenty years, will\n     find himself thoroughly disqualified for the normal enjoyment of\n     life thenceforward to the end of his days._\n\n                                                    GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\nMost gracious God! Thou who hast sustained us through the night watches,\nand who now openest to us the day, with its promise of good and\nopportunity for service, we still depend upon that heavenly faithfulness\nwhich never fails. We look to Thee for the quickening of our best\npowers. We would be laborers together with Thee to-day, not as driven to\nirksome tasks, but as honored with a welcome privilege. Whether we plant\nor water may we do it faithfully, and then trust Thee for the desired\nincrease. May it please Thee to quiet our anxieties, to lay to rest our\nunworthy fears, and to assure us of Thine over-ruling providence; and\nthus through all our toiling may we enjoy large measures of the peace\nthat passeth understanding. Amen.\n\n  JAMES EDWARD WRIGHT.\n\n\nJune 23\n\n     _I do not say you can make yourself merry and happy when you are in\n     a physical condition which is contrary to such mental condition,\n     but by practice and effort you can learn to withdraw from it,\n     refusing to allow your judgments and actions to be ruled by it.\n     \"What does that matter?\" you will learn to say. \"It is enough for\n     me to know that the sun does shine, and that this is only a weary\n     fog that is round about me for a moment. I shall come out into the\n     light beyond presently.\" This is faith,--faith in God, who is\n     Light._\n\n                                                     GEORGE MACDONALD.\n\nOur Father, residing in the light incomprehensible and who art seeing\nand providing all good for Thine immortal household, when mid investing\nclouds we shall hail Thy presence, transforming weakness into perfect\nstrength and sighs and groans into joy and swelling songs, above all the\nmany rightful subjects of Christian petition, we pray that Thou wilt\nalways press us near to Thee to feel Thy loving heart-beats and dwell in\nthe light in which is no darkness at all. We pray not to be spared any\nof our full part of the burdens needful to this day, but to be given the\nmeasure of grace to maintain unfaltering steps. Behold with compassion\nthe errors that befall us as we, too, compassionate others. Amen.\n\n  JACOB STRAUB.\n\n\nJune 24\n\n     _We are all perhaps familiar with the story of the little\n     housemaid, who, when she was asked why she thought she had become a\n     Christian, replied, after a little hesitation, \"Because I sweep\n     under the mats.\" A very poor reason at first sight, and only\n     significant from the fact of the master-motive underlying the fact\n     itself. A child's reasoning--but did not quaint old Herbert employ\n     the same fine logic when he sang:_\n\n           _\"Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws.\n           Makes that and the action fine!\"_\n\n                                                        WILLIAM MOODIE.\n\nDear Lord of Life and Light, at the dawn of another day we rise to thank\nThee for Thy watchful care, imparting strength and vitality during the\nclosed hours of the night. Thy gift of eternal life is ours by Thy\ncreatorship and love, and we would pray that in no way during this\ncoming day shall we dishonor our birthright by evil thought or action.\nHelp us to aspire to hold fast and develop Thy holy characteristics,\nnormal to us and made active by our wills. We thank Thee for the goal\nrevealed to us as our destiny, the spirit displayed by our Master, Jesus\nChrist, and like Him may we lean on Thee daily for the strengthening of\nour faith and the maturing of our plans. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES E. LUND.\n\n\nJune 25\n\n  _They are tired of what is old,\n    We will give it voices new;\n  For the half hath not been told\n    Of the beautiful and true._\n\n                           GEORGE MACDONALD.\n\n  _The common problem, yours, mine, everyone's,\n    Is not to fancy what were fair in life\n  Provided it could be--but finding first\n    What may be, than find how to make it fair\n  Up to our means, a very different thing._\n\n                            ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nThou Infinite Heart! our hearts go out after Thee, not for past, not for\nfuture, not for what was, though dear, not for what may be, though in\nvision precious,--not these the burden of our prayer. Our hearts crave\npeace, comfort with what is. May we confide in Thee so utterly that the\nold pain is eased, the anxious foreboding is dispelled, self-will merged\nin divine will, self-direction yielding to divine leading. Lo! our\nprayer is answered in the making and we are helped. Amen.\n\n  STANFORD MITCHELL.\n\n\nJune 26\n\n     _Today is your day and mine, the only day we have, the day in which\n     we play our part. What our part may signify in the great whole, we\n     may not understand, but we are here to play it, and now is our\n     time. This we know, it is a part of action, not of whining. It is a\n     part of love, not cynicism. It is for us to express love in terms\n     of human helpfulness. This we know, for we have learned from sad\n     experience that any other course of life leads toward weakness and\n     misery._\n\n                                                   DAVID STARR JORDAN.\n\nOur Father, Author alike of the morning light and Guardian through the\ndarkness and shadow of the night, grant us the right spirit as we go\nforth to the unknown experiences of this day. We would not look eagerly\nfor our own comfort and happiness, but would find them as Thy free gift\nwhile we are employed in giving comfort and happiness to others.\nIlluminate our lives with happy thoughts, cheerful words and blessed\nhopes, that we may go forth with no purpose but to do Thy will, and\nseeking no reward more glorious, than Thine approval whispered into\nloving and attentive hearts, in Thy name. Amen.\n\n  LEWIS G. WILSON.\n\n\nJune 27\n\n  _A Persian fable says: \"One day\n  A wanderer found a lump of clay,\n  So redolent of sweet perfume\n  Its odors scented all the room.\n      \"What art thou?\" was his quick demand;\n      \"Art thou some gem from Samarcand,\n  Or spikenard in this rude disguise,\n  Or other costly merchandise?\"\n      \"Nay, I am but a lump of clay.\"\n      \"Then whence this wondrous perfume--say?\"\n  \"Friend, if the secret I disclose,\n  I have been dwelling with the rose,\"\n  Sweet parable! and will not those\n  Who love to dwell with Sharon's Rose,\n  Distil sweet odors all around,\n  Though low and mean themselves are found?\n  Dear Lord, abide with us, that we\n  May draw our perfume fresh from thee._\n\n                                   ANONYMOUS.\n\nOur Father, which art in heaven,--we thank Thee for the memory of those\nwho lived in Thy spirit and labored in Thy love. The fragrance of their\nlives abides with us. We thank Thee for the prophets of great\nhopes,--for those who have seen the invisible, and have searched\npatiently for the city of their God. We bless those who by their pure\nhearts and unselfish lives have revealed unto us our greater selves.\nHelp us to learn of them the way of life. Help us to live in such\nthoughts and deeds as made them truly great. Keep our hearts so pure\nto-day, our vision of the Master life so clear, that our path, before\nand after us, shall be as the light of day. Amen.\n\n  FREDERICK W. BETTS.\n\n\nJune 28\n\n  _Tell you what I like the best;\n    'Long about knee-deep in June,\n  'Bout the time the strawberries melts\n    On the vine,--some afternoon\n  Like to jes' git out and rest,\n    And not work at nothing else._\n\n  _Orchard's where I'd ruther be--\n  Needn't fence it in for me!\n    Jes' the whole sky overhead,\n    And the whole airth underneath._\n\n                   JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.\n\nHelp us, O Thou who art the Lord of life, that we may this morning\npraise Thee for the beauty of the world and for the joyful privilege of\nwandering in the green fields and by the sparkling brooks, and of\nresting tired body and weary limb beneath the sweet orchard shade,\ngazing with gladdened eyes at the blue canopy above, all forgetful of\nthe toil and din of the far off city. O may our hearts this day be in\ntune with nature and in harmony with Thyself; and as we contemplate Thy\nworks this and every day may our hearts go out in loving and practical\nsympathy toward those whose lives are spent within the narrow confines\nof sunless courts. Hear us for the Saviour's sake. Amen.\n\n  FRANCIS W. BRETT.\n\n\nJune 29\n\n     _Give us, O give us the man who sings at his work. Be his\n     occupation what it may, he is equal to any of those who follow the\n     same pursuit in silent sullenness. He will do more in the same\n     time--he will do it better--he will persevere longer. One is\n     scarcely sensible of fatigue while he marches to music. The very\n     stars are said to make harmony as they revolve in their spheres.\n     Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, although past calculation\n     its power of endurance. Efforts to be permanently useful, must be\n     uniformly joyous--a spirit all sunshine, graceful from very\n     gladness, beautiful because bright._\n\n                                                      THOMAS CARLYLE.\n\nAlmighty God, we turn to Thee in adoration and praise as we pause upon\nthe threshold of this new day. Grant, we pray Thee, that a song be in\nour hearts as we go about the duties of the passing hours. Whatever our\nexperiences, whether of joy or sorrow, may we truly value the truthful\nspirit. If Thou callest us to bear burdens or to stand upon the mountain\ntop of exultant achievement may we not forget to sing of Thee. Yea, O\nGod, we would be ever of the company of trusting souls, for such are\nnear to Thee. And when earthly days are past and the life of the freed\nspirit is over, grant that our lives may blend in full accord with the\nmusic of love, in sunshine of joy, in the beauty of holiness. We praise\nThee now and ever. Amen.\n\n  STEPHEN H. ROBLIN.\n\n\nJune 30\n\n  _Full-leafed in pride of deepest green,\n  The earth in the sunshine basks serene,\n  Where linden blossoms crowded cling,\n  A thousand bees are murmuring.\n  As showers drift from the freshened land\n  With a seven-barred bow is the rain-cloud spanned.\n  The wild rose yields her subtlest scents\n  Where hay cocks pitch their fragrant tents.\n      The longest day's too brief for June,\n      The night too short for such a moon!_\n\n                                 SARA ANDREW SHAFER.\n\nWe thank Thee, our Father, for the wonderful world in which we live; for\nthe glory of the heavens; for the beauty of the earth; for the bright\nmorning following the star-crowned night; for the song of birds, the hum\nof bees, the fragrance of flowers, and the laughter of children, for the\nindustry of men and women, for all Thy gifts of love. As again the\nlengthening shadows creep across our pathway, may we redouble our\nenergies that no labor of love may be left undone. So fill us with Thy\npresence, so lead us by Thy Spirit this day, that in our homes we may be\npatient, in our occupations sweet, in our social relations brotherly, in\nall things Christlike, for Jesus' sake. Amen.\n\n  ARTHUR WRIGHT.\n\n\nJuly 1\n\n  _Let me go where'er I will\n  I hear a sky-born music still:\n  It sounds from all things old,\n  It sounds from all things young,\n  From all that's fair, from all that's foul,\n  Peals out a cheerful song._\n\n  _It is not only in the rose,\n  It is not only in the bird,\n  Not only where the rainbow glows,\n  Nor in the song of woman heard,\n  But in the darkest, meanest things\n  There alway, alway something sings._\n\n  _'Tis not in the high stars alone,\n  Nor in the cups of budding flowers,\n  Nor in the redbreast's mellow tone,\n  Nor in the bow that smiles in showers,\n  But in the mud and scum of things\n  There alway, alway something sings._\n\n                            RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\nDear Father in heaven, we thank Thee for all the sweet voices of the\nworld, not only for the harmonies of the great masters of song but for\nthe sweet voice of the mother as she sings her song of love, for the\nbird in the spring time. We thank Thee for the music in the prattle of\nchildren, and the kindly word spoken everywhere. The world is full of\nmusic if only we have music in our own hearts. We pray, as we set forth\nagain this morning, for spirits in tune with all that is sweet and good.\nWherever we go this day, let the world sing to us and make us glad.\nAmen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nJuly 2\n\n  _A little bird with plumage brown,\n  Beside my window flutters down,\n  A moment chirps its little strain,\n  Then taps upon my window-pane.\n  And chirps again, and hops along,\n  To call my notice to its song;\n  But I work on, nor heed its lay,\n  Till, in neglect, it flies away._\n\n  _So birds of peace and hope and love\n  Come fluttering earthward from above,\n  To settle on life's window-sills,\n  And ease our load of earthly ills;\n  But we, in traffic's rush and din\n  Too deep engaged to let them in,\n  With deadened heart and sense plod on,\n  Nor know our loss till they are gone._\n\n                        PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR.\n\nMy voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord, in the morning will I\ndirect my prayer unto Thee, and will look up; and looking up, may we not\nfail to realize that, amid the turmoil of this outward life, Thou art\never present to give peace and rest in the inner life. Should we fail to\nrecognize that presence we shall lose the comfort which Thou art ever\nready to bestow, and must ourselves bear burdens which Thou wouldst\ngladly bear for us or take from us. Thou knowest our frame and\nrememberest that we are dust. Open our spiritual vision to behold that\nDivine resources are subject to our daily prayer. In the name of Jesus,\nthe Christ. Amen.\n\n  O. W. SCOTT.\n\n\nJuly 3\n\n     _Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of\n     Heaven.\n\n     Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are\n     the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.\n\n     Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and\n     shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake._\n\n                                               MATTHEW v. 3, 8, 11.\n\nO God, our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that Thou dost overrule our\nweakness, failure and sins to the accomplishment of Thy divine plan for\nus. We recall with pleasure our successes in the past year, and if we\nhave failed, wilt Thou show us where and when and teach us the way of\namendment. We thank Thee for our Hope and Faith which have come to us\nfrom the Bible. Here, on every page and in every biography, have we\nlearned of Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life. We thank Thee\nthat through Him our sins are forgiven, and we have learned to know\nThee, O blessed Father, which knowledge is eternal life. May we walk\nwith Him, moment by moment in a life of loving service to all mankind,\nduring all the remaining days of our life. Amen.\n\n  E. M. WARNER.\n\n\nJuly 4\n\n  _One flag, one land, one heart, one hand,\n          One nation, evermore!_\n\n                                   OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.\n\n     _And for your country, boy, and for that flag, never dream a dream\n     but of serving her, though the service carry you through a thousand\n     hells! No matter what happens to you--no matter who flatters or\n     abuses you--never look at another flag, never let a night pass but\n     you pray God to bless that flag._\n\n                                     EDWARD EVERETT HALE.\n\nThine, O God, is the kingdom. And blessed is the nation whose God is the\nLord. We believe that Thy hand has been in the founding and the fortunes\nof this land. We do homage to it for its ideals, its principles, its\nglorious company of apostles of truth, its noble army of martyrs for\nliberty and humanity; we love and cherish it as our home and our shrine;\nbut we hallow it, we stand in awe of it, as the scene of Thy special\nactivity, the instrument of Thy holy purposes. May its vision not pass;\nmay the clouds that hang over it be dispersed by the clear shining of\nthe sun of righteousness and peace; may the dream of freedom with\nfraternity be realized here, even here, upon these shores, that Thy\nsaving health may be known among all nations. Amen.\n\n  C. ELLWOOD NASH.\n\n\nJuly 5\n\n  _Far up the crag, 'twixt sea and sky,\n  Where winds tempestuous, blowing by,\n      Leave giant boulders swept and bare;\n      Where forked lightnings fitful flare,\n  And petrels sound their stormy cry._\n\n  _A dainty bluebell, sweet and shy,\n  Lifted its head complacently,\n      As guarded by the tenderest care,\n          Far up the crag._\n\n  _And now, whenever fear draws nigh,\n  In thought I stand 'twixt sea and sky,\n      And, as of old in my despair,\n      I bless the Power that set it there--\n  That tiny thing with courage high,\n          Far up the crag!_\n\n                          FLORENCE E. COATES.\n\nEternal Presence, may we now speak to Thee? or, consciously within Thy\npresence, should our lips be still? Art Thou the Infinite Mercy, and\nshall we say, be merciful? Shall we persuade the love that can not once\nwithhold itself? We would not ask, were prayer to change established\nlaw. But, we will open here our hearts, and so receive the blessedness\nthat seeks us and has sought us,--sought us as the sunlight sought us\nearly,--seeks us as the raindrops seek us in the storm. Not more canst\nThou withhold the goodness from us. We wait receptively, unbarring all\nour rust-hinged doors to welcome the true favors that now find us. In\nsweet trust, asking or unasking, we abide ever in Thee. Amen.\n\n  PERRY MARSHALL.\n\n\nJuly 6\n\n     _God is a kind Father. He sets us all in the places where he wishes\n     us to be employed, and that employment is truly \"our Father's\n     business.\" He chooses work for every creature which will be\n     delightful to them, if they do it simply and humbly. He gives us\n     always strength enough and sense enough for what He wants us to do;\n     if we either tire ourselves or puzzle ourselves, it is our own\n     fault. And we may always be sure, whatever we are doing, that we\n     cannot be pleasing Him if we are not happy ourselves._\n\n                                                        JOHN RUSKIN.\n\nFather Divine, Thou art indeed kind. Thine are the ways of kindness, of\nwisdom, and of love,--the ways of pleasantness and the paths of peace.\nIn simple and humble spirit as becometh Thy children, may we walk with\nThee accomplishing the work to which Thou dost call us. Our work is Thy\nwork, our business the Father's business; the business of justice, mercy\nand truth. When loyal and true, we are what we are, and do what we do by\nThy grace. So help us to honor Thee in all the duties of life,--\"Not\nslothful in business,--fervent in spirit,\"--pleasing Thee and therefore\nhappy ourselves. Amen.\n\n  ISAAC P. CODDINGTON.\n\n\nJuly 7\n\n        _Threefold is the form of Space:\n  Length, with ever restless motion,\n  Seeks eternity's wide ocean;\n  Breadth with boundless sway extends;\n  Depth to unknown realms descends._\n\n  _All as types to thee are given;\n  Thou must onward strive for heaven,\n  Never still or weary be,\n  Wouldst thou perfect glory see;\n  Far must thy researches go\n  Wouldst thou learn the world to know;\n  Thou must tempt the dark abyss\n  Wouldst thou prove what Being is._\n\n  _Naught but firmness gains the prize,--\n  Naught but fulness makes us wise,--\n  Buried deep, truth ever lies!_\n\n                  PROVERBS OF CONFUCIUS.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, help us this day to make good our privilege to feel\nand think of Thee as we do. Help us this day to make ourselves part of\nour brotherhood, and our brotherhood part of Thee. We know not what the\nday hath in store for us, but we pray Thee to help us have in store for\nit our better heart, our better hands. Send Thy holy spirit into our\nlife to calm and to strengthen; that we may be steadfast and true; that\nwe may give and be forgiven. Bless all Thy children this day, and may\nour labor end as it began, in Thee, with Thee, for Thee. Amen.\n\n  LOUIS H. BUCKSHORN.\n\n\nJuly 8\n\n     _O Impatient Ones! Do the leaves say nothing to you as they murmur\n     to-day? They are not fashioned this spring, but months ago; and the\n     summer just begun will fashion others for another year. At the\n     bottom of every leaf-stem is a cradle, and in it is an infant germ;\n     and the winds will rock it, and the birds will sing to it all\n     summer long, and next season it will unfold. So God is working for\n     you and carrying forward to the perfect development all the\n     processes of our lives._\n\n                                                   HENRY WARD BEECHER.\n\nO Eternal Father, giver of all spiritual grace, we thank Thee for Thy\npresence in our hearts. May we realize that Thou hast the best possible\nplan for every human life. Help us to be patient and joyful in the\nconsciousness that Thou art carrying forward Thy blessed work in us. Thy\nlove, O Lord, is equal to Thy wisdom, and Thou wilt always do what is\nbest for us. May Thy holy will be our delight, so that we may each trust\nin Thee at all times and cheerfully say, Thy will, O Lord, not mine, be\ndone. Thou who dost care for the birds and the lilies art ever mindful\nof us, Thy children. Deliver us from worry and may Thy peace guard our\nhearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE H. CHENEY.\n\n\nJuly 9\n\n     _Let us hope that one day all mankind will be happy and wise; and\n     though this day never should dawn to have hoped for it cannot be\n     wrong. And in any event, it is helpful to speak of happiness to\n     those who are sad, that thus at least they may learn what it is\n     that happiness means. They are ever inclined to regard it as\n     something beyond them, extraordinary, out of their reach. But if\n     all who may count themselves happy were to tell, very simply, what\n     it was that brought happiness to them, the others would see that\n     between sorrow and joy the difference is but as between a gladsome,\n     enlightened acceptance of life and a hostile gloomy submission;\n     between a large and harmonious conception of life, and one that is\n     stubborn and narrow._\n\n                                                            MAETERLINCK.\n\nO Lord, we thank Thee for the special providence which is over\neverything which Thou hast created, and wherein Thou residest with all\nThine infinite perfections. We thank Thee that Thou carest for us all,\nthat in our day of joy we know it is Thou who fillest our cup, by giving\nus the faculties which make it run over at the brim. We thank Thee that\nThou art with us in our days of hardship and of calamity, that when our\nown heart cries out against us, Thou art greater than our heart, and,\nunderstanding all things, blessest us in secret ways; and when we are\ncast down and go stooping and feeble, with hungering eyes and a failing\nheart, that Thou still art with us, and leadest us from strength to\nstrength and blessest us continually. Amen.\n\n  THEODORE PARKER.\n\n\nJuly 10\n\n     _Were any of us really disappointed or melancholy in a hayfield?\n     Did we ever lie fairly back on a haycock and look up into the blue\n     sky, and listen to the merry sounds, the whetting of scythes and\n     the laughing prattle of women and children, and think evil thoughts\n     of the world or our brethren? Not we! Or, if we have so done we\n     ought to be ashamed of ourselves, and deserve never again to be out\n     of town during hay-harvest._\n\n                                                         THOMAS HUGHES.\n\nDear Heavenly Father, we devoutly thank Thee for the beautiful open face\nof Nature shining upon us; for the splendor of the fields where the\nbirds wing their merry flight; for the breath of the flowers and the\ngrass beneath the scythe, like the odor of incense; and most of all, for\nthe merry shouts of women and children and men in the meadow, in the\nheyday of happiness, as they fill their souls with the freedom of the\nchildren of God, and live in the open where no evil breath can come.\nGrant that we may live spiritually forever in the fragrant hayfields of\nlife, where the birds sing and the children shout, and where no covering\nor roof can ever shut out the sunshine of life's eternal bliss. Amen.\n\n  ROBERT S. KELLERMAN.\n\n\nJuly 11\n\n     _A story is told of a king who went into his garden one morning and\n     found everything withering and dying. He asked an oak that stood\n     near the gate what the trouble was. He found that it was sick of\n     life and determined to die, because it was not tall and beautiful\n     like the pine. The pine was out of heart because it could not bear\n     grapes like the vine; the vine was going to throw its life away,\n     because it could not stand erect and have as fine fruit as the\n     pomegranate; and so on throughout the garden. Coming to the\n     heart'sease, the king found its bright face uplifted, as full of\n     cheerfulness as ever. Said the king, \"Well, heart'sease, I am glad\n     to find one brave little flower in this general discouragement and\n     dying. You don't seem one bit disheartened.\" \"No, your majesty. I\n     know I am of small account; but I concluded you wanted a\n     heart'sease when you planted me. If you had wanted an oak, or a\n     pine, or a vine, or a pomegranate, you would have set one out. So I\n     am bound to be the best heart'sease that ever I can.\"_\n\n                                                         WILLIAM MOODIE.\n\nLike the wise King of old, I pray Thee, gracious Lord, give unto me\nwisdom. May Thy Pillar of Light guide my footsteps so that I go not\nastray in the wilderness of sin and selfish ambition. Help me to acquire\na pure heart and a contented spirit. Amidst all the vicissitudes of\nfortune, let faith induce me to say, \"Whatever God doeth is well.\" Amen.\n\n  M. M. EICHLER.\n\n\nJuly 12\n\n  _What shall I do to be just?\n    What shall I do for the gain\n      Of the world--for its sadness?\n  Teach me, O seers that I trust!\n    Chart me the difficult main\n      Leading out of my sorrow and madness,\n  Preach me the purging of pain._\n\n  _Shall I wrench from my finger the ring\n    To cast to the tramp at my door?\n  Shall I tear off each luminous thing\n    To drop in the palm of the poor?\n      What shall I do to be just?\n  Teach me, O Ye in the light,\n    Whom the poor and the rich alike trust;\n  My heart is aflame to be right._\n\n                            HAMLIN A. GARLAND.\n\nInfinite Spirit, Thou seest us just as we are. In Thy sight there can be\nno make-believe; we need not seek to offer Thee as a penance for our\nsins some cheap alms to the poor, for Thy favor cannot be bought. We\npray simply that we may be just,--that we may be true. If we have\nwronged anyone, help us to right the wrong. If we have been false to\nourselves or false to our neighbors, O Lord, make us true,--we seek no\neasy admission to a far-off heaven, we seek Thy presence here and now,\ntoday, by the only pathway open, the pathway of righteousness and truth.\nThat we may enter this pathway, grant us we pray Thee the illumination\nof Thy Holy Spirit. Amen.\n\nGEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nJuly 13\n\n     _The law of worthy life is fundamentally the law of strife. It is\n     only through labor, painful effort, by grim energy and resolute\n     courage, that we move on to better things._\n\n                                                  THEODORE ROOSEVELT.\n\n     _If we would please God we must watch every stroke and touch upon\n     the canvas of our lives; we may not think we can lay it on with a\n     trowel and yet succeed. We ought to live as miniature painters\n     work, for they watch every line and tint._\n\n                                                            SPURGEON.\n\nAs we begin this new day, O our Father, may such energy and vigor, such\nstrength and courage, such faith and hope be ours that the problems and\ntasks awaiting us may be boldly and gladly met as challenges to our\npowers. May that abundant life be in us which shall make our\ndifficulties a tonic, and the struggle to achieve high aims a joy. May\nwe be resourceful, equal to life, adequate to every situation, able to\nstand this universe,--men who can. May we count it a privilege to live,\nto have a vision of life's possibilities, and to have the fellowship of\nso many good men and women by the way. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE R. DODSON.\n\n\nJuly 14\n\n  _With place, with gold, with power--oh, ask me not\n  With these my little hour of life to blot.\n  A little hour indeed! and I would fain\n  Its moments spend in what is worth its pain.\n  What traveler would faint through troublous lands\n  To gather only what must leave his hands\n  The moment that he takes his homeward ship?\n  Earth's goods and gauds give every man the slip;\n  But wealth of thought and richer wealth of love,\n  Must pass for coin in any world above.\n  The good to others done while here I strive\n  Is all at last that shall my dying shrive;\n  And, setting sail, my slight self-conquest's store\n  Is all my freight if I shall come to shore._\n\n                                            ANONYMOUS.\n\nO Father, God! The span of our influence is both near and far; may it\nalso be direct and strong. Thou hast planted mighty virtue and\nunquenchable love in our hearts. Love knows the secret of imparting\nvirtue's value to all the wretchedness in life. So, we beseech Thee,\ndirect our hearts to altitudes of holiness and set our feet in the\nhighways of helpfulness. May the charm of gentleness be in every service\nto-day, and may the tone of tenderness carry love's message over all\nbarriers to the hearts that need. Thus would we keep our confidence with\nThee and bind ourselves more profitably to our fellows. So shall Thy\ngreat name be honored among men. Amen.\n\n  J. O. RANDALL.\n\n\nJuly 15\n\n     _What seems to grow fairer to me as life goes by, is the love and\n     peace and tenderness of it. Not its wit and cleverness and grandeur\n     of knowledge, but just the laughter of little children, and the\n     friendship of friends, and the cosy talk of the fireside, and the\n     sight of flowers and the sound of music._\n\n                                                       J. R. GREEN.\n\nNow that Thou givest us the light of a new day, grant that it carry with\nit the brightness of hope and courage for whatsoever the day may offer.\nAlways behind the clouds is the shining that never fails; always beyond\nthe labor which irks us is the joy of attainment. Open our eyes that we\nmay see the best which shall be in the day; its love of friends, its\nsights of beauty, its music, its wisdom such as no day before could\npossess, its voices of the Spirit awaiting the listening ear, its tears\nof compassion and sympathy. Give us our daily bread such as shall feed\nthe heart and enrich the mind and grant us forgiveness when we are blind\nto the common treasures of this Thy world. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE A. THAYER.\n\n\nJuly 16\n\n  _Methought that in a solemn church I stood.\n  Its marble acres, worn with knees and feet,\n  Lay spread from door to door, from street to street.\n  Midway the form hung high upon the rood\n  Of Him who gave His life to be our good;\n  Beyond, priests flitted, bowed, and murmured meet\n  Among the candles shining still and sweet.\n  Men came and went, and worshipped as they could;\n  And still their dust a woman with her broom,\n  Bowed to her work, kept sweeping to the door.\n  Then saw I slow through all the pillared gloom\n  Across the church a silent figure come.\n  \"Daughter,\" it said, \"Thou sweepest well my floor!\"\n  \"It is the Lord!\" I cried, and saw no more._\n\n                                  GEORGE MACDONALD.\n\nOur Father, who art ever with us, help us this day so to reveal Thee\nthrough our common tasks, our relations with one another, in our homes\nand at our work, that men may know and love Thee better. This is Thy\nmost beautiful world. May we not mar its glory by our selfishness, but\nby the gentleness and sweetness of our lives make it more beautiful. May\nwe this day not add to another's burden of care or pain. But may we by\nour words and deeds sweeten and brighten and strengthen the lives of\nthose whom we meet. For Thy goodness and mercy to us, for the\nopportunity of service, for love and sympathy, we thank Thee and pray\nthat our devotion to Thy truth may reveal the thankfulness of our\nhearts. Amen.\n\n  ARTHUR L. WHEATHERLY.\n\n\nJuly 17\n\n  _For I, a man, with men am linked,\n  And not a brute with brutes; no gain\n  That I experience must remain\n  Unshared; but should my best endeavor\n  To share it, fail--subsisteth ever\n  God's care above, and I exult\n  That God, by God's own ways occult,\n  May--doth, I will believe--bring back\n  All wanderers to a single track._\n\n                         ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nFather of all souls in all worlds, our best friend forever, in Thy good\nkeeping we cannot wander beyond Thy loving care. We thank Thee for life,\nfor the fair world we live in, enriched by Thy countless benefits, for\nthe glad tidings of Thy fatherly love that never fails, for the\nbrotherhood that binds together all Thy children, and for the immortal\nhope that beckons us up and on. By faithful living may we make life\ndivine, and by brotherly service show Thee our gratitude and love. May\nthe gospel of Jesus prevail in all hearts, speedily bring all wanderers\nhome, draw our souls heavenward, and prepare us for higher and larger\nrealms of service, where we shall forever live to Thy glory. Amen.\n\n  RUSH R. SHIPPEN.\n\n\nJuly 18\n\n     _That man has a liberal education who has been so trained in youth\n     that his body is the ready servant of his will, and does with ease\n     and pleasure the work that it is capable of; whose intellect is a\n     clear logic engine, ready to spin the gossamer as well as forge the\n     anchors of the mind--one full of life and fire but whose passions\n     are trained to come to heel by a rigorous will; the servant of a\n     tender conscience; who has learned to love beauty, to hate vileness\n     and to respect others as himself; such a one is in harmony with\n     nature; they will get on together._\n\n                                                  THOMAS HENRY HUXLEY.\n\nOur Father, we would face this day in conscious companionship with Thee.\nGive us to know Thy will, to do Thy work. Help us to interpret aright\nThy constant revelation of love in nature and in the experiences of\nlife. Give us strength so to will and so to act that we may make this\nday rich in the joy that comes from helpful living. May divine impulse\nfind quick expression in righteous deed. In Thine unresting effort to\nmake this world Thine own may we join with glad hearts. Rejoicing in Thy\nlove, strong in the consciousness of Thy presence, may we go to our\nday's work with unwavering purpose to do Thy will. Amen.\n\n  LATHAN A. CRANDALL.\n\n\nJuly 19\n\n     _A lily grows mysteriously, pushing up its solid weight of stem and\n     leaf in the teeth of gravity. Shaped into beauty by secret and\n     invisible fingers, the flower develops we know not how. But we do\n     not wonder at it. Every day the thing is done; it is Nature, it is\n     God. We are spiritual enough at least to understand that. But when\n     the soul rises slowly above the world, pushing up its delicate\n     virtues in the teeth of sin, shaping itself mysteriously into the\n     image of Christ, we deny that the power is not of man. A strong\n     will, we say, a high ideal, the reward of virtue, Christian\n     influence--these will account for it. Spiritual character is merely\n     the product of anxious work, self-command, and self-denial. We\n     allow, that is to say, a miracle to the lily, but none to the man.\n     The lily may grow; the man must fret and toil and spin._\n\n                                                      HENRY DRUMMOND.\n\nThis morning, our God, we need Thee! Give us Thyself afresh in the holy\ninspiration of heart warmth and burning love, that today we may have\npower from above while we walk and toil with things and folks of earth.\nMay we be the vase to hold the blossoming beauty of Thy unfolding. So\nmay that beauty which Thou givest unfold in acts which we are led to\nperform, and the holiness of this day set fast character drawn from\nThee. Thus may we all who are Thy children gladden the earth with\nunfolding beauty and kindness and shut out the things that are earthy.\nAmen.\n\n  E. E. SMALL.\n\n\nJuly 20\n\n     _The more simply you live, the more secure is your future; you are\n     less at the mercy of surprises and reverses. An illness or a period\n     of idleness does not suffice to dispossess you; a change of\n     position, even considerable, does not put you to confusion. Having\n     simple needs, you find it less painful to accustom yourself to the\n     hazards of fortune. You remain a man, though you lose your office\n     or your income, because the foundation on which your life rests is\n     not your table, your cellar, your horses, your goods and chattels,\n     or your money. In adversity you will not act like a nursling\n     deprived of its bottle and rattle. Stronger, better armed for the\n     struggle, presenting like those with shaven heads, less advantage\n     to the hands of your enemy, you will also be of more profit to your\n     neighbor._\n\n                                                       CHARLES WAGNER.\n\nO Thou who art ever the same, with the growing light of a new day, we\nwould again take Thy name upon our lips; and again invite the dear\nconsciousness of Thy presence. We do not know what this day may yield\nus. It may bring disaster; perhaps cherished hopes must be surrendered;\nplans may miscarry, clouds may gather, and storms may rage, but we will\nnot be unmanned. We will not surrender our hold upon Thee. May we thus\nbe enabled to meet disaster with courage, and unlooked for joy with the\npoise of humility. Guard our goings-out and our comings-in, and lead us\ninto the beauteous paths of ripe content. Amen.\n\n  JAMES HARRY HOLDEN.\n\n\nJuly 21\n\n  _Love wore a suit of hodden gray\n  And toiled within the fields all day._\n\n  _Love wielded pick and carried pack\n  And bent to heavy loads the back._\n\n  _Though meagre fed and sorely lashed,\n  The only wage Love ever asked,_\n\n  _A child's wan face to kiss at night,\n  A woman's smile by candle light._\n\n                       MARGARET SANGSTER.\n\nOur Father in Heaven, we thank Thee for love. How rich a gift it has\nbeen to us, and how exhaustless. It has been the source of all other\ngifts. We thank Thee for the brightness and gladness with which love\ninvests the sunny day, and more for the patience and hope which it\ninspires when the sky is overcast and the way grows weary. In joy or\nsorrow we can ask nothing better than that it be our constant guest. We\nthank Thee for home life which offers us every hour its opportunity to\ngive and to receive love. May it be to us the symbol of Thy great\nhousehold which Thy love pervades. And as we thus think of it may our\nhome life grow to us more holy and divine and Thy love for all Thy\nchildren more personal and tender until Thy kingdom come and Thy will be\ndone on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.\n\n  VINCENT E. TOMLINSON.\n\n\nJuly 22\n\n     _The entire object of true education is to make people not merely\n     do the right things, but enjoy the right things--not merely\n     industrious, but to love industry--not merely learned, but to love\n     knowledge--not merely pure, but to love purity--not merely just,\n     but to hunger and thirst after justice._\n\n                                                          JOHN RUSKIN.\n\nO Father, fill us with Thy love today, with love for Thee, and love for\nthe morning light and all Thy glory. Fill us with love for the work that\nThou dost give us to do, with love for the truth that Thou dost reveal\nto us and with love for the ideals of purity and righteousness that Thou\ndost set before us. May we have love for all Thy children. Make us\nrealize that they are all our brothers and sisters. Make us strive to\nhave Thy will done in their lives. Make us eager to have them know Thee.\nAmen.\n\n  CHARLES B. BLISS.\n\n\nJuly 23\n\n  _If you were toiling up a weary hill,\n  Bearing a load beyond your strength to bear.\n  Straining each nerve untiringly and still\n  Stumbling and losing foothold here and there\n  And each one passing by would do so much\n  As give one upward lift and go his way,\n  Would not the slight reiterated touch\n  Of help and kindness lighten all the day?_\n\n  _If you were breasting a keen wind which tossed\n  And buffeted and chilled you as you strove,\n  Till baffled and bewildered quite, you lost\n  The power to see the way, and aim and move,\n  And one, if only for a moment's space,\n  Gave you a shelter from the bitter blast,\n  Would you not find it easier to face\n  The storm again when the brief rest was past?_\n\n                                 SUSAN COOLIDGE.\n\nOur Father, as we thank Thee for the friendly service and sympathy that\nbless and strengthen our daily lives, we pray that our gratitude may\nmove us to give a like service and sympathy as freely as we receive. In\nthe day to whose beginning Thou hast brought us, let our hearts and\nhands be ready to meet the needs of those with whom we come in touch. So\ninfluence our wayward wills that we shall not walk in selfish ways, nor\nforget the ties that bind us to one another, and to Thee. Keep us\nconscious of our birthright as Thy children, that our acts and aims may\nbe filial and fraternal and loyal to Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.\n\n  COSTELLO WESTON.\n\n\nJuly 24\n\n  _It matters little where I was born,\n  Whether my parents were rich or poor,\n  Whether they shrank from the cold world's scorn\n  Or walked in the pride of wealth secure;\n  But whether I live an honest man,\n  And hold my integrity firm in my clutch,\n  I tell you brother, plain as I am,\n  It matters much._\n\n                           FROM THE SWEDISH.\n\n  Dear Father in Heaven, good Giver of all,\n    For birth in a land fair and free,\n  For parents with pluck, if not the best luck,\n    Who toiled and who suffered for me.\n  Who never knew fear, though the scorners were near,\n    Whom circumstance filled not with pride,\n  I thank Thee! These gifts, more than all on the lists,\n    Have mattered with me, and abide.\n\n  While striving and struggling my manhood to build,\n    To live like Thine own perfect Son,\n  I find on Earth's face not just one single place\n    Where such work so well can be done\n  As in the fair land which from Thy gracious hand\n    Comes to me a home to enjoy,\n  Where man, who should grow, may all liberty know\n    In seeking the soul's high employ.\n\n  Amen.\n\n  FREDERICK C. PRIEST.\n\n\nJuly 25\n\n     _Don't object that your duties are so insignificant; they are to be\n     reckoned of infinite significance, and alone important to you. Were\n     it but the more perfect regulation of your apartments, the sorting\n     away of your clothes and trinkets, the arranging of your\n     papers,--\"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy\n     might,\" and all thy worth and constancy. Much more, if your duties\n     are of evidently higher, wider scope; if you have brothers,\n     sisters, a father, a mother, weigh earnestly what claim does lie\n     upon you on behalf of each, and consider it as the one thing\n     needful, to pay them more and more honestly and nobly what you owe.\n     What matter how miserable one is if one can do that? That is the\n     sure and steady disconnection and extinction of whatsoever miseries\n     one has in this world._\n\n                                                         THOMAS CARLYLE.\n\nCreator of things, Father of Spirits, standing at the dawn of a new day\nwe seek Thy blessing. We know not what awaits us, Thou knowest, grant us\nguidance! Help us to see all our duties in the light of Thy countenance.\nThou hast made the little and the large, help us to see our duties in\ntheir relation to Thy plans. Whatsoever we do, help us to do all to Thy\nglory. Help us to sweep our floors as to Thy laws, right our rooms as a\npart of Thy universe, care for our clothes as gifts from Thee. Help us\nto see Thee in the souls Thou hast sent into the world, to treat them as\nthinking-thoughts of Thine, expressions of Thy life. May we owe no man\nanything but to love, may the sun never set on an unpaid bill. For Thy\nname's sake. Amen.\n\n  O. P. GIFFORD.\n\n\nJuly 26\n\n     _Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.\n     No man has learned anything rightly until he knows that every day\n     is doomsday. Today is a king in disguise. Today always looks mean\n     to the thoughtless, in the face of an uniform experience that all\n     good and great and happy actions are made up precisely of these\n     blank todays. Let us not be so deceived, let us unmask the king as\n     he passes._\n\n                                                     RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\nOur Father, we thank Thee for this morning that ushers in the only day\nof which we have promise. Whether it proves to be a day of sunshine or\nof clouds,--of joy or of sorrow,--may we live it with thankfulness, with\nperfect confidence that Thou wilt always give us that which is for our\nown good. Help us to spend this day in doing well what our hands find to\ndo; may our souls breathe the spirit of love and helpfulness to all, and\nmay we have abundantly the influence of Thy divine spirit to keep us\npure. Amen.\n\n  LUTHER F. MCKINNEY.\n\n\nJuly 27\n\n  _I like the man who faces what he must\n  With heart triumphant and a step of cheer;\n  Who fights the daily battle without fear;\n  Sees his hopes fail, yet keeps unfaltering trust\n  That God is God; that somehow, true and just,\n  His plans work out for mortals; not a tear\n  Is shed when fortune, which the world holds dear,\n  Falls from his grasp; better, with love, a crust\n  Than living in dishonor; envies not,\n  Nor loses faith in man; but does his best,\n  Nor even murmurs at his humbler lot;\n  But with a smile and words of hope, gives zest\n  To every toiler; he alone is great\n  Who by a life heroic conquers fate._\n\n                              SARAH KNOWLES BOLTON.\n\nGracious Father, last night we laid ourselves down in peace to sleep,\nbut it was Thou who madest us to dwell in safety, and when we awoke this\nmorning we found ourselves still with Thee. Thy loving favor was keeping\nfaithful watch and ward while we slumbered. We thank Thee for Thy kindly\ncare of our lives during the darkness and danger of the night. Confident\nof Thy continued presence and armed with Thy unfailing strength, we\nwould go forth to meet the duties and delights of the new day. God with\nus, we will overcome every temptation, endure every trial, bear every\nburden, and improve every opportunity of character-building and\nservice-rendering, in the trustful and courageous spirit of Jesus Christ\nour Lord. Amen.\n\n  RALPH E. CONNER.\n\n\nJuly 28\n\n     _How large a part of our Godward life is travelled, not by clear\n     landmarks seen far off in the promised land, but as travellers\n     climb a mountain peak, by putting footstep after footstep, slowly\n     and patiently, into the prints which someone going before us, with\n     keener sight, with stronger nerves, tied to us by the cord of\n     saintly sympathy, has planted deep into the pathless snow of the\n     bleak distance that stretches up between humanity and God.... So we\n     ascend by one another. We live by one another's blessings._\n\n                                                        PHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\nOur Father, we thank Thee for the light of a new day. May a new spirit\nand new courage come to our hearts. We thank Thee for all those who by\npatient toil and self-forgetting effort have made life as sweet and\nprecious to us as it is. If we can no longer hear the voices nor see the\nfaces of those we love or have reason to revere, may we be able to see\ntheir foot-prints and to take the way they trod, though that way seem\nsteep and hard. May we be assured that the upward way leads to the\nexpanding view and brings us to the splendor of the setting sun or of\nthe still more glorious dawn. Amen.\n\n  HILARY BYGRAVE.\n\n\nJuly 29\n\n     _A prince went into the vineyard to examine it. He came to a peach\n     tree, and said, \"What are you doing for me?\" The tree said, \"In the\n     spring I give my blossoms and fill the air with fragrance, and on\n     my boughs hangs the fruit which men will gather and carry into the\n     palace for you.\" \"Well done!\" said the prince. To the chestnut he\n     said, \"What are you doing?\" \"I am making nests for the birds, and\n     shelter cattle with my leaves and spreading branches.\" And the\n     prince said, \"Well done!\" Then he went down to the meadow and asked\n     the grass what it was doing. \"We are giving our lives for others,\n     for your sheep and cattle that they may be nourished.\" And the\n     prince said, \"Well done!\" Last of all he asked the tiny daisy what\n     it was doing, and the daisy said, \"Nothing, nothing. I cannot make\n     a nesting-place for the birds, and I cannot give shelter for the\n     cattle, and I cannot send fruit into the palace, and I cannot even\n     give food for the sheep and cows,--they do not want me in the\n     meadow. All I can do is to be the best little daisy I can be.\" And\n     the prince bent down and kissed the daisy, and said, \"There is none\n     better than thou.\"_\n\n                                                           ANONYMOUS.\n\nHelp us, O Father, not to wait for the great opportunities which may\nnever come. Help us to do with faithfulness the duties which lie close\nat hand. In our homes this day and wherever we may be--at school or on\nthe street or at our work--fill our hearts with the spirit of Christ and\nlet that spirit speak in every word which passes our lips and shine from\nour faces and work with our hands. Amen.\n\n  WALTER A. TUTTLE.\n\n\nJuly 30\n\n  _I will be glad all day for this cool draught\n    And the clear drops I dash upon my brow;\n  For the fresh glint of sunlight on the tree\n    And the bird singing on the bough._\n\n  _I will be glad for that stored strength of life\n    Which lasts the day because the spirit wills;\n  For the live air that wings from far and breathes\n    The vigor of the everlasting hills._\n\n  _What scope of toil, what loss or what reward,\n    I do not know. It is enough that now\n  I pledge the day's good cheer with this cool draught\n    And the drops dashed upon my brow._\n\n                                      CHARLES P. CLEAVES.\n\nOur Father, we are nursed in Thine arms, we are rested in the heart of\nJesus, so that we know no more the emptiness of earth and the poverty of\ntime, for our citizenship is in heaven, already do we walk the streets\nof gold. Out of the highest rapture may we come to do earth's plainest\nwork, earth's hardest toil, with patient hearts and willing hands,\nknowing that death can be but for a moment, that all things are meant,\nin the sovereignty of God to give themselves up to the rule of life.\nThus may Thy children be loyal citizens, patient workers, honest\nmerchantmen, wise parents. Be with all men who trust Thee; melt the\nmountains before their coming, and open the gates of difficulty ere they\nreach them, and give them to feel that the greatness of Thy mercy is the\nproof of its divinity. Amen.\n\n  JOSEPH PARKER.\n\n\nJuly 31\n\n     _For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor\n     principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to\n     come._\n\n     _Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to\n     separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our\n     Lord._\n\n                                                  ROMANS viii. 38-39.\n\n     _These verses seem to me to express completely the remedial power\n     of God's love. In this rough and tumble world of ours, of hard\n     conditions, of disasters many, of untold misery, there are\n     temptations enough for men to lose faith in God's love. It is well\n     now and then to have an outburst of faith like this with the\n     assurance that nothing can ever separate any child of God from the\n     divine compassion and the divine care._\n\n                                                      GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, it is good for us to believe that through all\nstorms and all darkness and all sickness and all infirmity, even through\ndeath itself, Thy love abides. As we enter upon this day, we know not\nwhither we shall go, but we thank Thee for the assurance that we may not\ngo away from Thee. Thou followest us with Thy care and wrappest us\naround with Thy love, as with a garment. In all that we do today may we\nknow that Thou seest us, and if our way be steep, may we be sure that\nThou lovest us. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nAugust 1\n\n     _Begin the morning by saying to thyself, I shall meet this day with\n     the busybody, the ungrateful, the arrogant, deceitful, envious,\n     unsocial. All these things happen to them by reason of their\n     ignorance of what is good and evil. But I who have seen the nature\n     of the good that it is beautiful, and of the bad that it is ugly,\n     can neither be injured by any of them--for no one can fix on me\n     what is ugly--nor can I be angry with my neighbor, nor hate him. We\n     are made for cooperation; to act against one another, that is\n     contrary to nature; and it is acting against one another to be\n     vexed and turn away._\n\n                                                     MARCUS AURELIUS.\n\nEternal Spirit of Love, teach us the power of love. Help us to learn\nthat love is supreme, and hence envieth not, nor vaunteth itself, nor\nseeketh its own, but suffereth long and is kind. We, who in Jesus of\nNazareth have seen the glory of Thy likeness and experienced the\nsweetness of Thy love, desire like Him to reveal Thee in our lives, to\nbe loving and gentle, sincere and generous, to cooperate with friend and\nstranger in all that is good, to live so that they can work with us for\nthe advancement of everything righteous. Fill us, therefore, with Thy\nspirit, and send us forth today in Thy service. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM W. GUTH.\n\n\nAugust 2\n\n  _\"God!\" let the torrents, like a shout of nations,\n  Answer! and let the ice-plain echo, \"God!\"\n  \"God!\" sing, ye meadow streams, with gladsome voice\n  Ye pine groves, with your soft and soul-like sounds!\n  And they, too have a voice, yon piles of snow,\n  And in their perilous fall shall thunder, \"God!\"_\n\n  _Ye living flowers that skirt the eternal frost!\n  Ye wild goats sporting round the eagle's nest!\n  Ye eagles, playmates of the mountain storm!\n  Ye lightnings, the dread arrows of the clouds!\n  Ye signs and wonders of the elements!\n  Utter forth \"God!\" and fill the hills with praise!_\n\n                               SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE.\n\nHeavenly Father, how long have Thy servants thirsted after Thee--Thou\nspring of everlasting life! In this land of our home the meditations of\nages surround us, and through the treasured thoughts of the wise in many\ngenerations we are lifted into a light beyond the solitary soul.\nCountless are Thy witnesses, Eternal God! the stars without number are\nbut a little part of them; and the prayers and aspirings of every heart\nof man can never cease to speak Thee. Humbled and blind amid Thy\nmanifold glories, may we find rest in the simplicity of Christ, and be\namong the pure in heart who alone can see Thee. Amen.\n\n  JAMES MARTINEAU.\n\n\nAugust 3\n\n  _O God, my master God, look down and see\n  If I am making what Thou wouldst of me.\n  Fain might I lift my hands up in the air\n  From the defiant passion of my prayer;\n  Yet here they grope on this cold altar stone,\n  Graving the words I think I should make known.\n  Mine eyes are Thine. Yea, let me not forget,\n  Lest with unstaunched tears I leave them wet,\n  Dimming their faithful power, till they not see\n  Some small, plain task that might be done for Thee.\n  My feet, that ache for paths of flowery bloom,\n  Halt steadfast in the straitness of this room.\n  Though they may never be on errands sent,\n  Here shall they stay, and wait Thy full content.\n  And my poor heart, that doth so crave for peace,\n  Shall beat until Thou bid its beating cease.\n  So, Thou dear master God, look down and see\n  Whether I do Thy bidding heedfully._\n\n                                      ALICE BROWN.\n\nO God, our Heavenly Father, from whom cometh to us again this gift of\nlife, may we be able to use as Thou wouldst have us the fresh revelation\nand energy of each morning hour. May we be helped to see more clearly\nthat task with all its blessings, which Thou placest within our reach\ntoday. Freshen our souls anew with the coming sunlight and quicken our\nwill that we may perceive and fulfil our present duty gladly, eagerly,\nsuccessfully, however humble in the spirit of those who remember that if\ndone for Thy sake and beneath Thy laws even servile labors shine. Amen.\n\n  HOBART CLARK.\n\n\nAugust 4\n\n     _We thank Thee for all that Thou hast made, and that Thou hast\n     called it Good! We thank Thee! We enter into Thy work, and go about\n     Thy business._\n\n                                                    EDWARD EVERETT HALE.\n\n     _O, it is great, and there is no other greatness. To make some work\n     of God's creation a little fruitfuller, better, more worthy of God;\n     to make some human hearts a little wiser, manfuller, happier,--more\n     blessed, less accursed,--it is a work for God._\n\n                                                         THOMAS CARLYLE.\n\nHeavenly Father, we would begin the day with noble purpose; may we scorn\nall meanness, and lift up our heads unto the Lord as men who have a\ngreat expectation. Our hope is in a living God; Thou wilt not allow our\nlife to wander into darkness; if for a small moment we are forsaken, we\nshall be gathered with ineffable and everlasting mercies. In the\nconfidence of Thy presence, in the assurance of Thy sustaining grace, we\nlook steadfastly to heaven, and then we look hopefully to earth, and we\nknow that, having begun the day with prayer and praise and pious\nexpectancy, its hours shall all be gladdened and its even-tide shall be\na benediction. Guide us with Thine eyes; sustain us by Thy mighty power;\nkeep us this day without sin. Amen.\n\n  JOSEPH PARKER.\n\n\nAugust 5\n\n     _The scenery around your house may be monotonous, without a\n     mountain or sea or lake or hill; but an upward look at the clear\n     sky will put you in instant communication with infinite beauty and\n     majesty. No spot on earth is common or barren over which the skies\n     bend in solemn silence. No human life need be barren or common\n     which is connected by the great network of moral law with any other\n     being._\n\n                                                         J. H. CARLISLE.\n\nOur God and Father, the author of beauty, the rewarder of all them that\nseek Thee, we, Thy children, come to Thee at the opening of this new\nday. May we have hearts so pure that we shall see Thee; minds so open\nthat we shall talk with Thee; and lives so true that we shall reveal\nThee. Let toil become to us as a sacrament. Reveal to us the beauty of\nlife as well as of holiness and help us to live with upturned faces, so\nthat we may catch the glory of Thy presence, and reflect it to all\naround us. May we walk with Thee, thinking Thy thoughts, having Thy\nvisions of beauty and of life. When life's evening shall come gather us\nin Thine arms of love to be with Thee in the home which Thou hast\nprepared for us and hast beautified with earth's fairest treasures\nthrough Jesus Christ, Our Lord. Amen.\n\n  JOHN GALBRAITH.\n\n\nAugust 6\n\n  _How good is man's life, the mere living! How fit to employ\n    All the heart and the soul and the senses forever in joy!_\n\n                                              ROBERT BROWNING.\n\n        _I am glad to think\n  I am not bound to make the world go right;\n  But only to discover and to do,\n  With cheerful heart, the work that God appoints.\n        I will trust in Him,\n  That He can hold His own; and I will take\n  His will, above the work He sendeth me,\n  to be my chiefest good._\n\n                                       JEAN INGELOW.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, all Thy works prove Thy goodness; the world Thou\ngivest us is good; the powers with which Thou dost endow us are adapted\nto deeds of goodness. We know full well that we do evil as well as good.\nSome of our days close in sadness.... At the beginning of this day we\npledge ourselves to try harder than ever to do something good, to make\nsomebody happy, to keep our minds filled with pure thoughts, to set our\nambitions on worthy objects; and we pray that Thou who art \"the Power\nnot ourselves that makes for righteousness\" shalt work with us that\nthrough our effort and Thy help the day shall end in joy and peace.\nAmen.\n\n  LEE S. MCCOLLESTER.\n\n\nAugust 7\n\n  _Our lives are songs; God writes the words,\n    And we set them to music at pleasure;\n  And the song grows glad, or sweet, or sad,\n    As we choose to fashion the measure.\n  We must write the music, whatever the song,\n    Whatever its rhyme or metre;\n  And if it is sad, we can make it glad,\n    Or, if sweet, we can make it sweeter._\n\n                            ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.\n\nWe thank Thee, O God, that Thou hast made us responsive to all the\nbeauty and gladness about us, and that we may make our lives one grand,\nsweet song. We know there is much that may spoil the song. But we thank\nThee, that if we follow the great Leader, we can change all discordant\nnotes into harmony. Help us through Him to tune our lives into accord\nwith Thine. Especially may we live in peace with each other. Make us\nstrong to return good for evil, to meet irritability with patience,\nunkindness with gentleness and harsh words with quiet speech. So may our\nlives \"be filled with music, and the cares that infest the day, shall\nfold their tents like the Arabs, and as silently steal away.\" Amen.\n\n  JAMES M. PAYSON.\n\n\nAugust 8\n\n  _Back of the canvas that throbs the painter is hinted and hidden,\n    Into the statue that breathes the soul of the sculptor is bidden,\n  Under the joy that is felt lie the infinite issues of feeling;\n    Crowning the glory revealed is the glory that crowns the revealing.\n  Great are the symbols of being, but that which is symbolled is greater;\n    Vast the create and beheld, but vaster the inward creator._\n\n                                                      RICHARD REALF.\n\nThou, Lord, who hast created us surely for good and not evil, for Thou\nart good and doest good, wilt go with us through all the day. Help us to\nkeep in mind Thy presence, that we may walk before Thee and be perfect,\nthat we may walk with Thee and be pleasing to Thee, that we may walk\nafter Thee, humbly, reverently. May we prize the glories that come with\nthe hours, not suffering them to make us conceited or self-centered, or\nunduly independent, but utilize them as means to make us more fully a\npart of Thee. Give us this day complete victory over each temptation as\nit arrives, and may we feel when night falls that we have acquitted\nourselves well in the campaign, and done what we could to make, not only\nourselves, but the world around us, better. Amen.\n\n  JAMES MUDGE.\n\n\nAugust 9\n\n  _Each night is followed by its day,\n    Each storm by fairer weather,\n  While all the works of nature sing\n    Their songs of joy together.\n  Then learn, O heart, their songs of hope!\n    Cease, soul, thy thankless sorrow;\n  For though the clouds be dark today,\n    The sun will shine tomorrow._\n\n                          T. EDGAR JONES.\n\nFather of light! Who causeth light to shine out of darkness and maketh\nday to follow the night; we thank Thee for Thy loving care that has\nbrought us from the slumber and rest of night to behold the light of a\nnew day. May we rejoice in it, and cheerfully enter upon its duties and\nexperiences. May the grace of Thy presence make our sunshine, that we\nmay walk in the light of heaven, breathe its atmosphere and engage in\nits service; doing Thy will in the service of one another and in the\nservice of love, truth and goodness. May the light of faith, hope, and\nlove shining within us, dispel all darkness and sorrow from our lives,\nthat light which shines so lustrously from the life of Jesus Christ our\nLord. Amen.\n\n  ROBERT T. POLK.\n\n\nAugust 10\n\n     _Never say, \"It is nobody's business but my own what I do with my\n     life.\" It is not true. Your life is put into your bands as a trust,\n     for many others besides yourself. If you use it well, it will make\n     many others happy; if you abuse it, you will harm many others\n     besides yourself._\n\n                                                    JAMES M. PULLMAN.\n\nAlmighty Father, whom, though we have not seen, we love, we know not\nwhat this day may bring forth but we know that it shall be for good as\nour trust is in Thee. We look up and adore Thee, and we believe and love\nand obey. Throughout all the hours of this day may we be \"diligent in\nbusiness, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord.\" We believe in the\nvictory of good over evil, of light over darkness; help us to bear our\npart courageously in the battle. Be merciful to us and make us merciful\nto one another. May we be numbered with those who are pure in heart, and\nsee God in the humblest service to the humblest people. We beseech Thee\nto answer according to Thy love not only these prayers which we utter\nwith our lips but also the silent prayers of our heart. Amen.\n\n  HAROLD PATTISON.\n\n\nAugust 11\n\n     _Prince Florimel and Prince Carimel were twin brothers, the sons of\n     a king, and no one could tell which of the two ought to succeed to\n     the throne, for they were both exactly the same age. So one day\n     they went to a wise magician, and asked him which of them ought to\n     be king after their father's death. \"He who is most worthy,\" said\n     the magician. \"But how shall we find out who is most worthy?\" \"He\n     who possesses the magic flower that grows in the enchanted forest\n     shall be found most worthy,\" he answered. So the two brothers\n     travelled through the enchanted forest until they found the magic\n     flower; but it grew in such a dangerous place that Carimel would\n     not attempt to reach it. Florimel, however, clambered down the\n     rocks and plucked the flower; and when he had got it, what do you\n     think he did with it? Why, he gave it to his brother, for the name\n     of that magic flower was Unselfishness._\n\n                                                        WILLIAM MOODIE.\n\nOur Father, with thankful hearts for all Thy goodness to us in the\npast,--we seek Thy Holy Spirit's guidance for the day before us. Help us\nto live not for self alone, but for the good of all with whom we mingle.\nMay the needy, suffering, and struggling ones all about us gather\nstrength because of our devotion to Thee. So inspire us to forget\nourselves, that we may the better remember our Master, and the\nprivileges and duties of a life's service to Thy children. Wilt Thou\nnot, Infinite One, thus help us, this day, and in all the days to come,\nto live to Thy glory! Amen.\n\n  LEWIS P. BATES.\n\n\nAugust 12\n\n     _To do something for someone else; to love the unlovely; to give a\n     hand to the unattractive; to speak to the uncongenial; to make\n     friends with the poor and folks of lowly degree; to find a niche in\n     the church of the Lord, and to do something out of sheer love for\n     Him; to determine in His house to have His mind; to plan to win at\n     least one for the Master; to aim to redeem past time that is lost;\n     to will to let one's light shine; to cut off practices that are\n     sinful and costly; to add the beauty of holiness--this is to make\n     one's life a thing of beauty and this is to grow in grace, for\n     growing in grace is simply copying the beautiful life of the\n     altogether lovely One._\n\n                                                    EDWARD F. REIMER.\n\nInfinite Father, we rejoice that it is possible for us to be workers\ntogether with Thee by giving our sympathy, love and help to Thy needy\nchildren. As Thou hast honored us by appointing us to such a gracious\nministry, may we seek to honor Thee in return by trying to do Thy\nblessed will. In all lowly and gentle ways, may we do what we can to\nbind up the broken-hearted, to relieve the distressed, to strengthen the\nweak. Let none who suffer look to us in vain for some manifestation of\nthe Christ-like Spirit. May we so meet and treat the sad, the lonely,\nthe tempted, that they shall take knowledge of us that we have been with\nJesus. So may His heavenly teaching bear sweet fruit in our conduct and\ncharacters, and so may the Kingdom which He came to establish grow apace\nin the world. In His name. Amen.\n\n  WILLARD C. SELLECK.\n\n\nAugust 13\n\n     _Let me feel that I am to be a lover. I am to see to it that the\n     world is better for me, and to find my reward in the act. Love\n     would put a new face on this weary old world in which we dwell as\n     pagans and enemies too long; and it would warm the heart to see how\n     fast the vain diplomacy of statesmen, the impotence of armies and\n     navies and lines of defence, would be superseded by this unarmed\n     child. This great, overgrown, dead Christendom of ours still keeps\n     alive at least the name of a lover of mankind. But one day all men\n     will be lovers: and every calamity will be dissolved in the\n     universal sunshine._\n\n                                                     RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\nWhat manner of love hast Thou bestowed upon us, dear Lord, that we\nshould be called Thy children! As Thou hast loved us, so teach us each\nto love the world. This day someone will go forth to business on land or\nsea burdened with heavy cares: some father disheartened and discouraged\nwill take up the trials of yesterday wondering what the end will\nbe--some mother dismayed with her lot will cry \"How long?\" Help us, O\nLord to minister to them in word or look, in prayer or gift. As the sun\nshall this day bring light and life to this old earth causing it to\nyield its highest purpose, so grant that Thy love may give through us a\nnew inspiration to all mankind. Hasten the time when all shall love Thee\nas Thou hast loved the world. Then will each love the other. Then will\nthe sword and the spear be molten into the plowshare and the pruning\nhook, and the desert shall bud and blossom as the rose. Amen.\n\n  EDWIN ALONZO BLAKE.\n\n\nAugust 14\n\n  _Thou art, O God, the life and light\n    Of all this wondrous world we see;\n  Its glow by day, its smile by night,\n    Are but reflections caught from thee.\n  Where'er we turn, thy glories shine,\n  And all things fair and bright are thine._\n\n                               THOMAS MOORE.\n\nAlmighty God, our Heavenly Father, who hast safely brought us to the\nbeginning of this day, defend us in the same with Thy mighty power.\nGrant that this day we fall into no sin. Create in us a clean heart and\nrenew a right spirit within us. Open our eyes that this day may be a\nfresh disclosure of Thyself, the Unseen Presence; endow us with Thy\nstrength that, in joy and pain, it may lead us into Thy house not made\nwith hands, eternal in the heavens. Enable us so to use the things of\nthe world that while they abide we may not lose Thy presence, and when\nthey pass we may not stand alone. So shall the spirit of Christ inflame\nus. Amen.\n\n  FREDERICK W. PERKINS.\n\n\nAugust 15\n\n  _It ain't no use to grumble and complain,\n    It's just as cheap and easy to rejoice;\n  When God sorts out the weather and sends rain,\n    Why, rain's my choice._\n\n                             JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.\n\n     _When you get into a tight place, and everything goes against you,\n     till it seems as if you could not hold on a minute longer, never\n     give up then, for that's just the place and time that the tide will\n     turn._\n\n                                                 HARRIET BEECHER STOWE.\n\nFather, we pray Thee that in every emergency of our lives we may be\nfaithful to the duty which the day demands, and with reverent spirits\nacquit us like men, doing what should be done, bearing what must be\nborne, and so growing greater from our toil and our sufferings, till we\ntransfigure ourselves into noble images of humanity, which are blameless\nwithin and beautiful without, and acceptable to Thy spirit. So may Thy\nkingdom come and Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; for Thine\nis the kingdom and the power and the glory, the dominion and honor\nforever and ever. Amen.\n\n  THEODORE PARKER.\n\n\nAugust 16\n\n  _It was only a glad \"Good Morning\"\n    As she passed along the way;\n  But it spread the morning's glory\n    Over the livelong day._\n\n                            CARLOTTA PERRY.\n\n  _Smile upon the troubled pilgrims\n    Whom you pass and meet;\n  Frowns are thorns, and smiles are blossoms,\n    Oft to weary feet.\n  Do not make the way seem harder\n    By a sullen face;\n  Smile a little, smile a little,\n    Brighten up the place._\n\n                         ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.\n\nFather, in this morning hour, we would look into Thy face and feel the\nsweetness of that transforming influence which is forever baptizing Thy\nworld with light and gladness, adding beauty to beauty and glory to\nglory. Baptize us anew, with this all-pervading spirit and send us out\ninto this day's work to meet its varied experiences with trusting hearts\nand smiling faces. May we each send forth a brightening, gladdening\ninfluence to cheer and strengthen and uplift every weary, troubled\npilgrim whom we meet on this day's journey. So may it be ours to enter\ninto closer and diviner fellowship with Thee, our Father, whose greatest\njoy is to impart joy and blessing to Thy waiting children. Amen.\n\n  ANNETTE J. SHAW.\n\n\nAugust 17\n\n  _There are nettles everywhere,\n  But smooth green grasses are more common still;\n  The blue of heaven is larger than the cloud._\n\n                      ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.\n\n  _Flower in the crannied wall,\n  I pluck you out of the crannies;--\n  Hold you here, root and all, in my hand,\n  Little flower--but if I could understand\n  What you are, root and all, and all in all,\n  I should know what God and man is._\n\n                                 ALFRED TENNYSON.\n\nO Thou, Who hast gemmed the heavens with round, revolving worlds, the\nearth with beauty and the coronet of our minds with royal faculties, we\ndo not know what \"the little flower is, root and all, and all in all\"\nand yet, dear Lord, through the clear and the convincing revelation of\nThy dear Son; through the divine image which Thou hast implanted within\nus; through the mighty and the persuasive witness from experience, we do\nfeel and believe that Thou art the great creator, preserver and\nbenefactor; That Thou hast called us to do a noble, a specific work;\nthat we ought not to neglect the gift that is in us; to this end wilt\nThou help us to be pure, brave, faithful and strong, that we may fight\nthe good fight, and win the crown of righteousness. Amen.\n\n  ALBERT HAMMATT.\n\n\nAugust 18\n\n  _O ye, so far above me on the Height,\n  I cannot hear your voices as ye stand\n  Facing the vast, invisible to me.\n  But I can see your gestures of delight,\n  And something guess of that wide, glorious sea,\n  The glimmering isles of that enchanted land,\n  The winds which from that ocean freshly blow.\n  And so your Vision lifts me toward the Height,\n  Although ye have forgot me far below._\n\n  _But you, my brother, you, my near of kin,\n  Who some few steps above me on the steep\n  Look smiling back to cheer me ever on,\n  Who lend a hand as I the chasm leap,\n  And stay your haste that I the crag may win,\n  Thinking it scorn for Strength to climb alone;\n  You with your morning song when sings the lark,\n  You, with unflagging purpose at high noon,\n  And quiet-hearted trust when comes the dark,--\n  To you I owe it that I climb at all._\n\n                               MARY FRANCES WRIGHT.\n\nSpirit of the Infinite Life! We praise Thee that our visions of the\nDivinest rise far beyond the borders of our known and familiar fields,\nthat the resources of our unwearied life are in those mysterious regions\nthat we have not explored. And yet we rejoice that the shadows of these\nholy visions fall across our common ways, reporting thus from the\nInfinite and the unknown the possibilities of greater fortunes yet to\nbe. In this life of Thee may we dwell, seeing Thee in the life about us\nand evermore seeking to lead the life toward those high places that are\nalways waiting the coming of those who aspire toward Thee. Amen.\n\n  E. L. REXFORD.\n\n\nAugust 19\n\n     _The flowers got into a debate one morning as to which of them was\n     the flower of God: and the rose said: \"I am the flower of God, for\n     I am the fairest and the most perfect in beauty and variety of form\n     and delicacy of fragrance of all the flowers.\" And the crocus said:\n     \"No, you are not the flower of God. Why, I was blooming long before\n     you bloomed. I am the primitive flower; I am the first one.\" And\n     the lily of the valley said modestly: \"I am small, but I am white;\n     perhaps I am the flower of God.\" And the trailing arbutus said:\n     \"Before any of you came forth I was blooming under the leaves and\n     under the snow. Am I not the flower of God?\" And all the flowers\n     cried out: \"No, you are no flower at all; you are a come-outer.\"\n     And then God's wind, blowing on the garden, brought this message to\n     them: \"Little flowers, do you not know that every flower that\n     answers God's spring call, and comes out of the cold, dark earth,\n     and lifts its head above the sod and blooms forth, catching the\n     sunlight from God and flinging it back to men, taking the sweet\n     south wind from God and giving it back to others in sweet and\n     blessed fragrance--do you not know they are all God's flowers?\"_\n\n                                                         LYMAN ABBOTT.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, in Thy sight, there are no nations, there is no\nnorth and no south, no east and no west; there is no black and no white;\nJew and Gentile, bond and free,--all are Thine. O, Lord, give us so much\nbreadth of sympathy that we shall be able to understand at least dimly\nthe universality of Thy love. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nAugust 20\n\n  _Sound, sound the clarion, fill the fife!\n    To all the sensual world proclaim\n  One crowded hour of glorious life\n    Is worth an age without a name._\n\n                                 WALTER SCOTT.\n\n     _Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray\n     for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your\n     tasks. Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle. But you\n     shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the\n     richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God._\n\n                                               PHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the rest of the night and the joy\nand beauty of the morning. This day we accept as a loving tribute of Thy\nLove to Thy children. May we not mar it by unhallowed thoughts, unkind,\nhasty and regretful speech and shameful and evil deeds. May ours be the\nillumination which comes from moral and spiritual conquest. May we feel\nthe ties that bind us tenderly to Thee and to one another; and work for\nthat large human brotherhood, which holds in its strong embrace even the\nmost distant and isolated member of the human family. May we go forth to\nour work with a deep and abiding faith in the power of good over evil\nand willing to do our share in the building up of Thy kingdom of love\nand righteousness, peace and good will here upon earth. Amen.\n\n  HENDRIK VOSSEMA.\n\n\nAugust 21\n\n     _We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success, often\n     discover what will do by finding out what will not do, and probably\n     he who never made a mistake never made a discovery. Horne Tooke\n     used to say of his studies in intellectual philosophy that he had\n     become all the better acquainted with the country through having\n     had the good luck sometimes to lose his way._\n\n                                                     SAMUEL SMILES.\n\nOur Father, in the strength of our nightly rest and daily bread we go\nforth to whatever needs us or awaits us. Nothing from Thee is too\ndifficult for us to attempt; nothing too grievous for us to bear. Teach\nus how priceless is Thy gift of life, how close we are to the fountain\nof strength, how sure of success is every effort to bring good to pass.\nReverently and believingly would we hearken to Thee in our inmost souls.\nLet not our failures dishearten us, or the delay of results cause chill\nof doubt or fear. May our presence have strength and peace for others,\nand our lives proclaim that Thou livest and art good to all. In the name\nof Christ we lift our prayer. Amen.\n\n  SAMUEL C. BEANE.\n\n\nAugust 22\n\n     _At Bannockburn Lord Randolph Murray was being sorely pressed by a\n     large body of cavalry. Sir James Douglas got leave from Bruce to go\n     to his aid, but just as he came up he found the English in\n     disorder, and many horses galloping away with empty saddles.\n     \"Halt!\" he cried to his men; \"These brave men have already repulsed\n     the enemy; let us not diminish their glory by seeking to share\n     it.\"_\n\n                                                         WILLIAM MOODIE.\n\nO God of Hosts! On many a field of battle wilt Thy soldiers fight this\nday. Help them to be brave and true. Give them a glorious victory. Help\nus who watch to give them full credit for their valor. May we not\ndiminish by seeking to share their glory. May we not render their deeds\ncommonplace by insisting that \"It is so easy, so natural, for them to be\ngood,\" implying that their struggle has not been hard or that their\nvictories had not been what ours have proven to be. Help us, O Lord,\nwith valor to fight our own battles and run our own race and with\ngratitude to be glad in others' victories. Amen.\n\n  J. FRANK CHASE.\n\n\nAugust 23\n\n  _The bee that sips her sweets from flowers fair,\n  Flying on careless wing now here, now there,\n  With azure skies above, green sward below,\n  And soft south wind to bear her to and fro,\n  Might seem the soul of self-devoted ease,\n  Her life a draught of nectar without lees.\n  Not so! Her prime is full of strenuous deed\n  That shames our own in generous meed\n  Of work for other's good. Long summer days\n  She builds her golden house, with guerdons stays\n  Her Queen, uprears her young, and stores her food--\n  Then sudden shuns her wealth, her home, her brood,\n  And seeks new haven on an unknown sea,\n  Leaving her life-work to posterity._\n\n                                   HENRY HOYT MOORE.\n\nGracious Father in heaven, and all about me, Thy gentleness doth ever\ntend to make life greater and richer. Thy providence is so wholesomely\ngood, I would fain be completely at home in it. Thou art very gracious.\nHelp me to be as gracious in my way as Thou art in Thy wonderful way.\nWhen I acknowledge that Thou art good and wise, there comes a joyous\nfreedom to my spirit that makes life a sweet pleasure. I desire ever to\nwork in the fulness of this faith without grudging, without suspecting,\nan open, glad and fruitful service. Oh, help me then to love my fellows\nmore, and Thee sincerely! Amen.\n\n  ELIHU GRANT.\n\n\nAugust 24\n\n     _Drudgery is the gray angel of success.... Look at the leaders in\n     the professions, the solid men in business, the master-workmen who\n     begin as poor boys and end by building a town to house their\n     factory-hands, they are drudges of the single aim.... \"One thing I\n     do.\"... Mr. Maydole, the hammer-maker of Central New York, was an\n     artist: \"Yes,\" he said, \"I have made hammers for twenty-eight\n     years.\" \"Well, then you ought to be able to make a pretty good\n     hammer by this time.\" \"No, sir,\" was the answer, \"I never made a\n     pretty good hammer--I make the best hammer made in the United\n     States.\"_\n\n                                                  WILLIAM C. GANNETT.\n\nO Lord, we remember our daily duties before Thee, the hard toil which\nThou givest us in our manifold and various avocations, and we pray Thee\nthat there may be in us such a confidence in our nature, such earnest\nobedience to Thee, we reverencing all Thy qualities and keeping Thy\ncommands, that we shall serve Thee every day, making our life one great\nact of holiness unto Thee. May our continuous industry be so squared by\nthe golden rule that it shall nicely fit with the interests of all with\nwhom we have to do, and so by our handicraft all mankind shall be\nblessed. Amen.\n\n  THEODORE PARKER.\n\n\nAugust 25\n\n  _His larger life ye cannot miss\n    In gladly, nobly using this._\n\n                            BAYARD TAYLOR.\n\n     _There are saints enough if we only know how to find\n     them--sainthoods of the fireside and of the market place. They wear\n     no glory round their heads; they do their duties in the strength of\n     God; they have their martyrdoms and win their palms, and though\n     they get into no calendars, they leave a benediction and a force\n     behind them on the earth when they go up to heaven._\n\n                                                   PHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\nOur Father, in Whose life are our lives, help us to use all things nobly\nand so find joy in Thee. We thank Thee for faithful souls who in\nhumblest station have reflected Thy life and have worked for blessing.\nIn Thy strength they have sought to build Thy kingdom, and though they\nhave had no glory of men they yet have wrought for Thee and have won\nplace in Thy heart. Because they have aided the world and others have\nentered into their labors their good work shall remain and its quiet\ninfluence shall be a benediction. Though they have lived obscure lives\nand have filled obscure places they have been precious in Thy sight and\nare numbered with Thy saints. May we, like them, eternally serve Thee.\nAmen.\n\n  GEORGE H. YOUNG.\n\n\nAugust 26\n\n     _We can't choose happiness either for ourselves or for another; we\n     can't tell where that will lie. We can only choose whether we will\n     indulge ourselves in the present moment, or whether we will\n     renounce that for the sake of obeying the divine voice within\n     us,--for the sake of being true to all the motives that sanctify\n     our lives. I know this belief is hard; it has slipped away from me\n     again and again; but I have felt that if I let it go forever, I\n     should have no light through the darkness of this life._\n\n                                                         GEORGE ELIOT.\n\nO God, Thou knowest the hours in which we desire Thee. Thou knowest that\nThou hast made us to love truth and to walk in the light and when we are\nunjust, unkind, unloving, then we are not true to ourselves,--then we\nforget that we are living souls and that Thou art our Father. Let us not\ndraw nigh to Thee with our lips while our hearts are far from Thee, but,\nknowing how dependent and frail we are, may we feel that it is a good\nand helpful thing to draw nigh unto Thee by faith and prayer,--and to\ntake thought of that Infinite Love which holds us all in its arms of\nstrength and mercy. Lift up our minds today, warm our affections, and\ndeepen within us the feeling of reverence, of gratitude, and guide all\nthe longings of our hearts aright. Amen.\n\n  JOSHUA YOUNG.\n\n\nAugust 27\n\n    _Life may be given in many ways,\n    And loyalty to truth be sealed\n  As bravely in the closet as the field,\n    So bountiful is fate;\n    But then to stand beside her,\n    When craven churls deride her,\n  To front a lie in arms and not to yield,\n    This shows, methinks, God's plan\n    And measure of a stalwart man,\n    Limbed like the old heroic breeds,\n    Who stands self-poised on manhood's solid earth,\n    Not forced to frame excuses for his birth,\n  Fed from within with all the strength he needs._\n\n                                 JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.\n\nHeavenly Father, in this new day may we recognize a new opportunity for\nseeking Thy purpose in us; to become stronger children of Thine, and\nworthier followers of Thy Son. Whatever be our trial give us courage to\nstand without compromise, for that which we believe to be true; give us\ngrace to rise superior to praise or blame, timidity or self-interest; to\nbe loyal to the best in us, and be ever ready to protest against wrong\nand injustice. Help us to know ourselves as temples of Thine; to know\nthat the essential principal in us is not dust, but God; to rise to that\ndignity of sonship that compels one to choose the right and say: \"Here I\nstand, I cannot do otherwise.\" In His name. Amen.\n\n  HERBERT H. GRAVES.\n\n\nAugust 28\n\n  _All we have willed or hoped or dreamed of good, shall exist;\n    Not its semblance, but itself; no beauty, nor good, nor power\n  Whose voice has gone forth, but each survives for the melodist,\n    When eternity affirms the conception of an hour.\n  The high that proved too high, the heroic for earth too hard,\n    The passion that left the ground to lose itself in the sky,\n  Are music sent up to God by the lover and the bard;\n    Enough that he heard it once: we shall hear it by and by._\n\n                                                ROBERT BROWNING.\n\nO God, our heavenly Father! we come before Thee at this morning hour,\nthanking Thee for Thy loving care, that has protected us through the\nnight, and for the blessed sleep, that has brought refreshment to our\nbodies and minds. We are grateful, O Father, for this new day, rich in\nhope and promise and opportunity, and we pray that, as its hours pass,\nwe may be kept very near to Thee, that the \"Words of our mouth and the\nmeditations of our heart, may be acceptable in Thy sight,\" that when the\nday is done, and we come to Thee at its close, we need in no wise to be\nashamed. Amen.\n\n  NELLIE MANN OPDALE.\n\n\nAugust 29\n\n  _How often does the chopper of some stone,\n  While toiling at his task of heave and shock,\n  Find in the heart-space of a severed rock\n  The impress of some fern that once had grown,\n  Full of aspiring life and color-tone,\n  Deep in the forest where the shadows flock,\n  Till, caught within the adamantine block,\n  It lay for ages hidden and unknown!\n  So many a beauteous thought blooms in the mind\n  But unexpressed, droops down into the soul\n  And lies unuttered in the silence there\n  Until some opener of the soul shall find\n  The fern-like fossilled dream, complete and whole,\n  And marvel at its beauty past compare._\n\n                                ALFRED L. DONALDSON.\n\n  O mighty Potter, to whose steadfast eyes\n    A thousand years lie open as one day,\n  Thy patient hand set firm on life's great wheel\n    This heavy, shapeless clay.\n\n  Rough and imperfect, yet it owns Thy touch;\n    Spare not, nor stay, the pressure of Thine hand;\n  Make known Thy power; and soon, or late, let love\n    Perfect what love hath planned!\n                                          Amen.\n\n  L. H. HAMMOND.\n\n\nAugust 30\n\n  _The dark green summer, with its massive hues,\n  Fades into Autumn's tincture manifold;\n  A gorgeous garniture of fire and gold\n  The high slope of the ferny hill indues.\n  The mists of morn in slumbering layers diffuse\n  O'er glimmering rock, smooth lake, and spiked array\n  Of hedgerow thorns a unity of gray.\n  All things appear their tangible form to lose\n  In ghostly vastness. But anon the gloom\n  Melts, as the sun puts off his muddy veil.\n  And now the birds their twittering songs resume,\n  All summer silent in the leafy dale.\n  In spring they piped of love on every tree,\n  But now they sing the song of memory._\n\n                                  HARTLEY COLERIDGE.\n\nEver blessed Father, in Whose pleasant world we are glad to awake again,\nlooking forward to a happy and useful day, we beseech Thy loving\nguidance through these hours. May we look abroad with gratitude and love\nupon this beautiful earth, doubly beautiful in the waning summer time,\nwhen a new splendor comes across the hills, and Thou dost reveal\nThyself, as of old, in the burning bush. Grant that we may look through\nnature up to nature's God. Grant that the mists of doubt and uncertainty\nwhich often hide Thee from us may be dispersed in the sunlight of a\nhappy faith, and that the heart, so often sad and silent, may once more\nlift its cheerful song to Thee. Amen.\n\n  ALFRED GOODING.\n\n\nAugust 31\n\n  _No rare creative inspirations throng\n  My quiet spirit, silent, sad and lone;\n  No Sapphic flame hath on its altar shone;\n  No music to my nature doth belong.\n  Thou art the sunlight, I am Memnon's stone,\n  Thou art the zephyr, I give back its song;\n  The harp Aeolian can do no wrong\n  To the soft airs which wake an answering tone:\n  Upon my soul, Oh, then breathe tenderly;\n  Subdue the discord, still the jarring strain;\n  So may the harp-strings yield but melody.\n  If notes discordant give thy keen ear pain,\n  Set the fine chords again to harmony;\n  Let but sweet echoes of thyself remain._\n\n                             ADA FOSTER MURRAY.\n\nO Thou Who art the source of all that is and the giver of all that makes\nlife blessed, we thank Thee that Thy providence abides through every\nchange and that Thou dost cheer the loneliest lot with the comfort of\nThy presence. Thou hast been with us in times past and now on this last\nday of the summer months, we would thank Thee for the blessings of the\nclosing season and ask for the continuance of Thy unfailing care and the\nenrichment of our souls with the gifts of Thy Spirit. Bring us into\nharmony with all that is pure and good, and enable us to walk in the\nlight of Thy favor and in the paths of Thy commandments. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES H. VAIL.\n\n\nSeptember 1\n\n  _'Neath harvest moon the stricken summer lies\n  Still smiling bravely in her brightest bloom,\n  Her heart yet holds no hint of gloom,\n  No trace of sadness in her sunlit eyes.\n  We love thee, Summer, child of Paradise--\n  A myriad host announce thy coming doom\n  Chanting the requiem of thy wintry tomb,\n  While lovingly look down the tender skies;\n  A holy hush is in the hazy air\n  As in thy radiant beauty thou dost sleep!\n  Nature, arrayed in rainbow colors fair,\n  Is strong of heart her vigil long to keep:\n  We know the secret thou dost seek to tell,--\n  Thou art immortal, Summer, fare thee well._\n\n                                    ANNA A. GORDON.\n\nHeavenly Father, behind all changes dost Thou lurk in eternal constancy.\nNever lingering, each good of life gives place to the better Thou hast\nin store, and in glory and gladness resigns to that which comes after.\nFrom the good that is, may we learn to pass cheerfully to the better\nthat is to be,--from the cool morning and sunny noon to the purple\ngloaming and the star-lit night, from the tender spring and glowing\nsummer to the golden autumn and snow-pure winter, from the sweet life\nthat now is to that fulness of realization whose sweeter splendors eye\nhath not seen nor the heart of man conceived. We place our hands in\nThine and would walk with Thee in holiest trust and serenest peace.\nAmen.\n\n  THOMAS W. ILLMAN.\n\n\nSeptember 2\n\n        _\"I will be happy all the day\n        Let come what may.\"\n  'Twas early morning when the word was said,\n    And like a journey 'cross a weary plain\n  There stretched the hours, but I was comforted\n    As heart and voice sung o'er the sweet refrain,\n        \"I will be happy all the day\n        Let come what may.\"_\n\n        _\"I will make hope and only hope\n        My horoscope.\"\n  The sombre, brooding clouds of discontent\n    Oppress one's spirit like a throbbing pain;\n  One frets and moans in one's environment,\n    But with a look ahead I sing again,\n        \"I will make hope and only hope\n        My horoscope.\"_\n\n                               FREDERICK A. BISBEE.\n\nYea, Lord, we thank Thee that we may hope and be happy all the day for\nOmnipotence is our Father and our changeless Friend, and we have naught\nto fear. We are glad of life and thank Thee for all that makes it heroic\nor beautiful or sweet. We rejoice in our home, in our dear ones, and in\nthe precious human loves that reflect the love divine. Pardon our sins,\nwe pray Thee, and work out Thy purposes in us. May we work and hope on\nand be glad in Thee filling this day so full of useful employ that when\nthe night shall come, we shall lie down to sleep upon Thy loving\nchildren like tired but happy children, and so find rest and refreshment\nfor another day with men and Thee. Amen.\n\n  CARL F. HENRY.\n\n\nSeptember 3\n\n  _There's a dance of leaves in that aspen bower,\n    There's a titter of winds in that beechen tree,\n  There's a smile on the fruit, and a smile on the flower,\n    And a laugh from the brook that runs to the sea._\n\n                                    WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.\n\n  _O sweet September! thy first breezes bring\n    The dry leaf's rustle and the squirrel's laughter,\n  The cool, fresh air, whence health and vigor spring\n    And promise of exceeding joy hereafter._\n\n                                            GEORGE ARNOLD.\n\nO Lord, we thank Thee for the spring, which brought her handsome\npromise, for the gorgeous preparation which the summer made in his manly\nstrength, and we bless Thee for the months of autumn, whose sober beauty\nnow is cast on every hill and every tree. We thank Thee for the harvests\nwhich the toil and the thought of man have gathered already from the\nsurface of the ground, or digged from its bosom. We bless Thee for the\nother harvests still growing beneath the earth, or hanging abundant\nbeauties in the autumnal sun from many a tree, all over our blessed\nNorthern land. Amen.\n\n  THEODORE PARKER.\n\n\nSeptember 4\n\n     _Do right, and God's recompense to you will be the power to do more\n     right. Give, and God's reward to you will be the spirit of giving\n     more: blessed spirit, for it is the Spirit of God Himself, whose\n     Life is the blessedness of giving. Love, and God will pay you with\n     the capacity of more love; for love is Heaven, love is God within\n     you._\n\n                                               FREDERICK W. ROBERTSON.\n\nO Lord, we thank Thee for Thy manifold gifts unto the children of men.\nThou givest life and all the sustenance of life. Thou givest our fair\nand beautiful world. Thou givest us the power of hope and faith and\nthought. From Thine own giving may we learn that it is more blessed to\ngive than to receive. Teach us, O Lord, to give more freely and more\ngladly, and may we learn how our own life, and joy and growth are\ninvolved in the spirit in which we give and serve. In all our giving and\nall our serving may we keep before us the vision of the Master who gave\nHimself that we might live. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nSeptember 5\n\n  _Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:\n    The soul that rises with us, our life's star,\n  Hath had elsewhere its setting,\n    And cometh from afar.\n  Not in entire forgetfulness,\n  And not in utter nakedness,\n    But trailing clouds of glory, do we come\n  From God who is our home:\n    Heaven lies about us in our infancy,\n    At length the man perceives it die away\n  And fade into the light of common day._\n\n                            WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.\n\nO Eternal God, Who art without beginning of days or end of years, from\nWhom cometh all our life; pardon, we beseech Thee, the sins of Thy\nchildren, wherein we have darkened Thine own image within us. Let not\nour light die away amid the common toil and daily care, but so glorify\nour life with Thy spirit, that we may gladly present both souls and\nbodies to Thy service an acceptable sacrifice, and, learning to love\nThee above all things, may be approved in Thy sight as true disciples of\nThy Son Jesus Christ. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM E. GASKIN.\n\n\nSeptember 6\n\n  _A haze on the far horizon,\n  The infinite tender sky,\n  The ripe, rich tint of the corn-fields,\n  And the wild geese sailing high,\n  And all over upland and lowland\n  The charm of the goldenrod--\n  Some of us call it Autumn,\n  And others call it God._\n\n                      WILLIAM H. CARRUTH.\n\nOnce more, O God, Thou partest the curtains of night to bless us with a\nnew day. In its dawning Thou revealest Thyself to us anew. Fresh\nbeauties break upon our vision; new evidences of Thy goodness appear;\nnew joys rise in our hearts. We thank Thee for the harvest of corn that\nfeeds our bodies and the harvest of beauty that feeds our souls; for the\nblue of the distant hills and the wide stretch of meadow and prairie;\nfor golden flower and flying bird; for the nearness of Thy presence in\nthe brooding haze; for the thoughts unutterable that rise within us. In\nthankfulness may we go forth to our daily tasks and live in\nconsciousness of Thy eternal presence and love. Amen.\n\n  RODNEY F. JOHONNOT.\n\n\nSeptember 7\n\n     _I come under your windows, some fine morning, and play you one of\n     my adagio movements, and some of you say,--This is good, play us so\n     always. But, dear friends, if I did not change the stop sometimes,\n     the machine would wear out in one part and rust in another. How\n     easily this or that tune flows! you say, there must be no end of\n     such melodies in him. I will open the poor machine for you one\n     moment, and you shall look. Every note marks where a spur of steel\n     has been driven in. It is easy to grind out the song, but to plant\n     these bristling points which make it was the painful task of time._\n\n                                                  OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.\n\nWe thank Thee, Father, for Thy love which, like the morning light, fails\nnot to greet us at each opening day. While its radiant beams light up\nthe pathway from our hearts to Thine, we come, with eager steps, for\nmorning worship and for praise. Take Thou, we pray, the hand\noutstretched out to Thee and lead us safely through another day. Grant\nus the strength to do our very best and leave results with Thee. We do\nnot ask for ease, but victory; not for the praise of men, but for the\nblessing of our God upon our heaven-appointed task. Grant us the joy\nsupreme of knowing, when the sun has set, that we have left undone no\nduty to our God or fellowman. Amen.\n\n  J. W. ANNAS.\n\n\nSeptember 8\n\n  _Admit into thy silent breast\n    The notes of but one bird\n  And instantly thy soul will join\n    In jubilant accord._\n\n  _The perfume of a single flow'r\n    Inhale like breath of God,\n  And in the garden of thy heart\n    A thousand buds will nod._\n\n  _Toward one star in heaven's expanse\n    Direct thy spirit's fight,\n  And thou wilt have in the wide world,\n    My child, enough delight._\n\n                      JOHANNA AMBROSIUS.\n\nOur Father In Heaven, as Thou turnest the earth once more toward the\nlight to give us another day may we not forget that all things come of\nThee. Thou givest us this beautiful earth, adorned with a thousand\nvaried beauties, crowded with opportunities and possibilities, for our\nhome. Day and night, sunshine and the rain, labor and trial, joy and\nvictory, all are from Thy hand. Whatever the circumstances of our life,\nwhatever our labor and place, help us to remember that life is a school\nin which to learn, an arena where we may fight and win. May we gain\nwisdom and strength to win the victory which is life eternal, and in\nfinding that may we find peace and content in Thee. Amen.\n\n  FREDERICK A. TAYLOR.\n\n\nSeptember 9\n\n  _Give me the gospel of the fields and woods--\n  The sermons written in the book of books;\n  The sweet communion of the things of earth\n  Fresh with the warm baptism of the sun.\n  Give me the offertory of bud and bloom,\n  The perfect caroling of happy birds.\n  Give me the creed of one of God's fair days\n  Wrought in the beauty of its loveliness;\n  And then, the benediction of the stars,\n  His eloquent ministers of the night._\n\n                             JAMES RAVENSCROFT.\n\nHeavenly Father, we praise Thee for the breaking day, the singing birds,\nthe dew in the meadows, the fragrance of the flowers, ascending like\nold-time incense from Jewish altar, the sun gilding the hill-tops, the\nveiled stars, the gliding river, mirroring in its depths, sedge and tree\nand overhanging sky. Thou hast ordained that we nestle in the bosom of\nnature and feel the touch of God. Pour strength into our beings from\nbird and flower, and Thy spirit which moves in them, that our youth may\nbe renewed like the eagle's. So shall the memories of earth enrich our\nheaven. We praise and supplicate in the name of Jesus. Amen.\n\n  L. A. FREEMAN.\n\n\nSeptember 10\n\n  _Just whistle a bit if the day be dark\n    And the sky be overcast:\n  If mute be the voice of the piping lark,\n    Why, pipe your own small blast._\n\n  _And it's wonderful how o'er the gray sky-track,\n    The truant warbler comes stealing back.\n  But why need he come? for your soul's at rest,\n    And the song in the heart,--ah, that is best._\n\n                              PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the assurance that all things\nwork together for good to them that love Thee. Help us to live this day\nin joyous faith in that promise. May we realize that behind all clouds\nthe sun still shines, and that the Father's wisdom never errs, and his\nlove never fails. Give us courage for this day's conflicts, grace for\nits trials, and strength for its duties. Guide our feet in the way of\nThy commandments and fill our souls with the joy of Thy presence. May\nour lives no less than our lips praise Thee. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES F. RICE.\n\n\nSeptember 11\n\n  _For each true deed is worship; it is prayer,\n  And carries its own answer unaware.\n  Yes, they whose feet upon good errands run\n  Are friends of God, with Michael of the sun;\n  Yes, each accomplished service of the day\n  Paves for the feet of God a lordlier way.\n  The souls that love and labor through all wrong,\n  They clasp His hand and make the Circle strong;\n  They lay the deep foundation stone by stone,\n  And build into Eternity God's throne!_\n\n                                      EDWIN MARKHAM.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we, Thy children, turn to Thee in gratitude and\nhope for this new day of opportunity. May our high calling in Christ\nJesus loom large before our eyes. Deliver us, we humbly beseech Thee,\nfrom making ourselves and our concerns chief in thought and effort. May\nwe find our lives in saving those whose sky is dark, whose burdens are\nheavy, and whose faith is perishing. With zest, as do the angels, when\nwe hear Thy Spirit's voice, may we turn and obey. To let these hours of\nservice prove to us, not only that Thou art, but that Thou art the\nrewarder of them that diligently seek Thee. Through Jesus Christ, our\nLord. Amen.\n\n  DEWITT S. CLARK.\n\n\nSeptember 12\n\n  _Good name, in man or woman, dear my lord,\n  Is the immediate jewel of their souls.\n  Who steals my purse, steals trash; 'tis something, nothing;\n  'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands;\n  But he that filches from me my good name,\n  Robs me of that which not enriches him,\n  And makes me poor indeed._\n\n                                                 SHAKESPEARE.\n\nGod of all righteousness and charity, breathe upon me the spirit of\nthine own charity and righteousness, that I may deal worthily with the\ngood name of every human being with whom I have to do. Help me, that I\nmay bring no injury to the fair fame of any. May the law of kindness be\nin my lips, and the spirit of helpful justice in my heart. Inspire me to\ncome, whenever I ought, to the rescue of the slandered, that I may\ndeliver them into the liberty of human fellowship. And not to me alone,\nO God, but to all men, teach this divine lesson of fair judgment and\nsweet help, that they may live together as children in thy gracious\nfamily. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM N. CLARKE.\n\n\nSeptember 13\n\n  _I searched for love in heart of city's hum;\n  I searched for love upon the shining sand\n  Of ocean beach; and then on towering cliffs I sung\n  A pleading song that love unto my heart might come;\n            But love came not._\n\n  _I searched for love no more, but labored sore\n  To ease those hearts whom sorrow'd touched before,\n  Faint hope that in sweet work I'd surely find\n  Some compensation for a fate unkind--\n            When, lo! love came._\n\n                                  BESSIE L. RUSSELL.\n\n  For love and life and light and breath and ease,\n  For work, success and hope, for power to please,\n  For conscience clear, for faith without alloy,\n  For common share in common human joy,\n  I thank Thee, gracious God!\n\n  For loneliness and shadow, sickness, care,\n  For failure, doubt, remorse, death, and despair,\n  For sleepless nights, for aching heart and brain,\n  For common share in common human pain,\n  I thank Thee, gracious God! Amen.\n\n  MARGARET WENTWORTH.\n\n\nSeptember 14\n\n  _In fallow fields the goldenrod\n  And purple asters beck and nod.\n  The milkweed launches fairy boats;\n  In tangled silver the cobweb floats.\n  Pervasive odors of ripening vine,\n  Fill the air like a luscious wine.\n  The gentian blooms on the browning waste;\n  With coral chains is the alder laced.\n      The blackbirds gather, and wheel and fly,\n      The swallows twitter a low \"Goodbye!\"_\n\n                                SARA ANDREW SHAFER.\n\nFather in Heaven, we love Thee, we cannot help it. Thy blessings around\nus on every side tell us of Thy love. Our love leaps involuntarily from\nour hearts responsive to these numberless delights. We thank Thee for\nthe rich harvests that burden the fields, for the acres of beauty that\nreach over hill and through meadow, for the stars that make cheerful the\nnight. Help us to bless Thee when the storms come to disappoint and\ndestroy. May we realize that the tempest comes from the Good Father,\nthat He has sent it, a great blessing in disguise. Great Father, help us\nto know and feel that everything coming from Thee is good. So may Thy\nKingdom come to Thy children of earth. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES EDWARD DAVIS.\n\n\nSeptember 15\n\n  _Once, out of all the anguish and the sorrow of my heart,\n  I wrote a song, and put my pent-up passion in its art.\n  And the great world never heeded this soulful human groan,\n  For it bore a burden infinitely heavy of its own._\n\n  _Once, out of all the happiness and joy within my breast,\n  I made a little song and blithely sent it on its quest.\n  And the great world, with its infinitely many joys, divine,\n  Still had room and instant welcome for this little song of mine._\n\n                                                     WILLIAM F. DIX.\n\nO God, I thank Thee that Thou hast numbered me with the children of the\nday. O Immanuel, make Thy Presence to be a sun within me this day. May I\ndispel clouds or reveal the rainbows ever half-hidden in robes of mists.\nMay I melt snows and bring spring-time freshets of joy. May I shed light\nthat shall turn groans into songs. May I shine on till I shall stand\nbefore the Great White Throne that is encompassed with an unbroken\nrainbow, and take up the angelic music among that starry host of souls\nwho have found the true \"music of the spheres,\" and are:\n\n  \"Forever singing as they shine,\n  'The hand that made us is divine.'\"\n                       Amen.\n\n  ELLIOTT F. STUDLEY.\n\n\nSeptember 16\n\n  _All is best, though we oft doubt\n    What the unsearchable dispose\n  Of highest wisdom brings about,\n    And ever best found in the close.\n  Oft He seems to hide His face,\n    But unexpectedly returns,\n  And to his faithful champion hath in place\n    Bore witness gloriously._\n\n                                JOHN MILTON.\n\nOur Father, we have ever dwelt in Thee, though sometimes we have\nforgotten it. While our eyes slept, it may be that to our spirit's sight\na ladder was set up on the earth and the top of it reached to heaven,\nand on it Thy angels were ascending and descending to help us. Now\nagain, O Father, comes to us from Thy hand of love the food and the\ntasks of a new day. Help us then to put away the error from which we\nfled or should have fled yesterday. This morning let us set up the stone\nof our Bethel that through the day we may be reminded in all we do, that\nThou art in this place with us. Whether we see Thee or not, let us take\ncourage and make this a day nearer Thee. Fill us with Jesus' own large\nsympathies for others, with Jesus' purpose to seek and to serve the\nright, and especially grant us Jesus' complete trust in Thy perfect\ngoodness. In His name, we ask it. Amen.\n\n  MERRILL C. WARD.\n\n\nSeptember 17\n\n  _As far as earth is from the sky,\n    So Love is high.\n  Where Alpine lakes their vigils keep\n    Is Love more deep._\n\n  _In Nature there no boundaries are\n    That tell how far Love goes;\n  Love's measure, as each countless star,\n    God knows._\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n    _One only thing we know: Love comes to stay;\n  Though God's to give, it is not even His\n    To take away._\n\n                                  MARIAN ALDEN.\n\nO God, our Heavenly Father, we recognize our dependence upon Thee for\nthe bounties of Thy never-failing Providence, and as we enter upon this\nnew day to which Thou has safely brought us, we ask Thy help that we may\nreceive it as a gift from Thee and may consecrate ourselves more\nperfectly in the least things as well as in the greatest, to Thy\nservice. Help us to be faithful to all the duties and responsibilities\nof our lot. Deliver us from all useless discontent, all idle doubts and\nfoolish fears. In all our dealings may we be simple and sincere.\nStrengthen us to do at every moment that which we feel to be right and\ngood in Thy sight, and through loyal obedience to Thy will may we rise\ninto a clearer vision of the things that belong to Thy heavenly kingdom.\nAmen.\n\n  WILLIAM H. FISH.\n\n\nSeptember 18\n\n     _Some people are always grumbling because roses have thorns. I am\n     thankful that thorns have roses._\n\n                                                         ALPHONSE KARR.\n\n     _There are those who want to get away from all their past; who if\n     they could, would fain begin all over again. Their life seems one\n     long failure. But you must learn, you must let God teach you, that\n     the only way to get rid of your past is to get a future out of it._\n\n                                                       PHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, the remembrance of Thee fills life with all that is\nmost beautiful and bright. Our deepest sorrows, our most bitter\nexperiences come when we forget Thee. No life can be a failure which\nstrives to do Thy will. Sorrow may come to us, but just as an artist may\ndarken a flower, in painting, before retouching it to make its color all\nthe brighter, so we know that Thou, who givest color to the flowers, may\nfor a season permit sorrow to darken our lives; but Thou art only in the\nmidst of Thy work. At Thy retouch, life becomes the more beautiful. Help\nus to pray, not simply, \"Lord, remember me,\" for it is not possible for\nThee to forget Thy children; we pray \"assist us to be always mindful of\nThee.\" Amen.\n\n  E. MCP. AMEE.\n\n\nSeptember 19\n\n     _The sooner we read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest a little\n     Eastern apothegm of Howard Hinton's the better: Two balls were\n     together in a box, a gold and a gilt ball. The gilt ball was\n     carefully done up in tissue paper, and securely wedged into one\n     corner; but the gold ball was loose, and went rolling about with\n     every movement of the box. \"Oh, please, do take care of yourself!\"\n     said the gilt ball, peeping out apprehensively from the folds of\n     the tissue paper. \"Why, where's the harm?\" answered the gold ball,\n     as it took a fresh lurch to an opposite corner. \"Oh, how can you?\"\n     cried the other; \"you'll rub it off.\" \"Rub what off?\" asked the\n     gold ball.... The gold won't rub off.... Only the gingerbread\n     gilt._\n\n                                                      ELLICE HOPKINS.\n\nHeavenly Father, we hear the loving call of this new day and on the\nwings of the morning we would speed to the work and worship of the\nbeautiful hours Thou hast given us. We thank Thee that Thou hast made us\nfor the hurry of the market place as well as for the quiet of the home.\nMay our own lives be brightened by contact with our fellowmen. May the\npure gold of the Spirit of Christ be ours in purity of personal thought,\nin the benediction of words of strength and sweetness and in the varied\nservice we may render our neighbors in the name of Jesus our Lord and\nSaviour. Amen.\n\n  JAMES F. ALLEN.\n\n\nSeptember 20\n\n  _O heart of mine, we shouldn't worry so!\n  What we've missed of calm we couldn't have, you know!\n  What we've met of stormy pain,\n  And of sorrow's driving rain,\n  We can better meet again,\n                If it blow!_\n\n  _For we know, not every morrow can be sad;\n  So, forgetting all the sorrow\n              We have had,\n  Let us fold away our fears,\n  And put by our childish tears,\n  And through all the coming years,\n              Just be glad._\n\n                                   JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.\n\nHeavenly Father, Thy very name fills our hearts with confidence and\npeace. For we know that out of Thy Fatherly goodness all earthly\nprovidences are bestowed and administered for our good. So, for our\nunwilling submission, when Thou hast led us into hard and thorny\npathways, we ask Thy generous forgiveness; and for our ingratitude when\npleasure and prosperity have attended us, we entreat Thy tender\npatience. As Thou hast commanded us to rejoice in Thy salvation, may our\nhearts be filled with gladness to-day; and, as Thou hast counselled us\nthat when we lack wisdom, we may ask of Thee, we beseech Thee to bestow\nupon us now and evermore the wisdom of cheerfulness and joy. In the name\nof Jesus, Amen.\n\n  EDMUND L. SMILEY.\n\n\nSeptember 21\n\n     _We all shrink, like cowards, from new duties, new\n     responsibilities. We do not venture to go out of the beaten track\n     of our daily life. Close to us, on each side of the road, are those\n     whom we might help or save with one good action, one kind word. But\n     we are afraid. We say: \"I am not prepared; I am not ready; I have\n     not time; I am not qualified; find some better person; send some\n     one else.\" Perhaps we have only one talent, and, therefore, instead\n     of using it, we hide it, and when the Master comes we shall meet\n     him with the old answer: \"I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent\n     in the earth. Lo! there thou hast that is thine.\"_\n\n                                                    JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE.\n\nFrom the base sin of selfishness, O Lord, deliver us. Teach us by Thy\nlife of ministry and sacrifice for others that the more fully and\nwillingly we lose ourselves in service for our fellowmen, the more\nsurely we shall find ourselves in Thee. As we go forth this day in paths\nthat Thou hast prepared for us, help us to so forget ourselves in acts\nof kindness and words of comfort that each one whom our lives may touch,\nmay become thereby a happier, purer, stronger soul. Take Thou the care\nof these lives of ours, while, with Thee, in busy streets and crowded\nshops where greed is grasping and sin is lurking, we shall try to care\nfor souls of others, who need the help that we might give. Then, at the\neventide today or on the morrow, it will be our joy like Thine to find\nourselves again in hearts made happy, in lives inspired, in souls\nredeemed. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE B. DEAN.\n\n\nSeptember 22\n\n  _Before God's footstool to confess\n  A poor soul knelt and bowed his head,\n  \"I failed!\" he wailed. The Master said,\n  \"Thou didst thy best--that is success!\"_\n\n                                            ANONYMOUS.\n\n  _Straight from the Mighty Bow, this truth is driven:\n  \"They fail, and they alone, who have not striven.\"\n  Fly far, O shaft of light, all doubt redeeming,\n  Rouse men from dull despair and idle dreaming.\n  High Heaven's Evangel be, gospel God-given;\n  They fail, and they alone, who have not striven._\n\n                                            CLARENCE URMY.\n\nWe thank Thee, O God, for the light that reveals to us the divine\nestimate of life, that lifts the veil of mystery from struggle and\nsacrifice and enables us to interpret their meaning as elements of\nsuccessful living. We praise Thee for the truth that assures us that we\nare in this world to win, to overcome, to be more than conquerors. We\npray that we may be too busy to dream and too brave to doubt. Strengthen\nus for life's conflict, help us to carry our burdens cheerfully, fight\ncourageously, strive lawfully, that we may be worthy to be counted among\nthose who shall receive the crown of righteousness and hear at last the\n\"Well done\" of the Master. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE S. SCRIVENER.\n\n\nSeptember 23\n\n     _Be diligent and faithful, patient and hopeful, one and all of you;\n     and may we all know, at all times, that verily the Eternal rules\n     above us, and that nothing finally wrong has happened or can\n     happen._\n\n                                                         THOMAS CARLYLE.\n\n     _If you entered the workshop of a blacksmith, you would not dare to\n     find fault with his bellows, anvils and hammers. If you had not the\n     skill of a workman, but the consideration of a man, what would you\n     say? \"It is not without cause the bellows are placed there; the\n     artificer knew, though I do not know, the reason.\" You would not\n     dare to find fault with the blacksmith in his shop, and do you dare\n     to find fault with God in His world?_\n\n                                                             ST. BERNARD.\n\nWe thank Thee, O loving Father, that we are not alone in the universe\nwith longing for the higher life. There are a thousand revelations of\nThee in our fellowmen. And when we cannot find Thee, for blindness, in\nnature or in ourselves, we can see Thee revealed in the lives heroic\nthat surround us. In the abstract Thou art hard to find; in the lives of\nmen Thou art always visible. We thank Thee that there is a contagion of\nrightness and that love is a vital seed that fills the world with its\nkind. We are fearful of love sometimes, fearing to waste it on a\nloveless world. Help us to see that every atom we give becomes an ocean\nto ourselves. Amen.\n\n  ALBERT C. GRIER.\n\n\nSeptember 24\n\n  _To be at all--what is better than that?\n  I think if there were nothing more developed, the clam in its callous\n        shell in the sand were august enough\n  I am not in any callous shell;\n  I am cased with supple conductors, all over\n  They take every object by the hand, and lead it within me;\n  They are thousands, each one with his entry to himself;\n  They are always watching with their little eyes, from my head to my feet;\n  One no more than a point lets in and out of me such bliss and magnitude,\n  I think I could lift the girder of the house away if it lay between me\n        and whatever I wanted._\n\n                                                       WALT WHITMAN.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for all the delicate beauty as well\nas for the rugged strength of these bodies in which Thou hast set us to\nlive. But more wonderful than the habitation of the soul is the soul\nitself. Thou hast made us a little lower than the angels, Thou hast\ncrowned us with glory and honor, and we join reverently in the words of\nthe great poet-prophet who said of man--\"In action how like an angel, in\napprehension how like a God!\" O Lord, we thank Thee for this great\nthought of our own life. Yet let us not be vain nor proud. We pray\nrather that we may be inspired to live so earnestly and so nobly that we\nshall prove our title now to all that we have dreamed as our natural\nbirthright. So shall we feel ourselves to-day sons and daughters of God.\nAmen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nSeptember 25\n\n     _I do believe the common man's task is the hardest. The hero has\n     the hero's aspiration that lifts him to his labor. All great duties\n     are easier than the little ones, though they cost far more blood\n     and agony._\n\n                                                      PHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\n     _Thus man is made equal to every event. He can face danger for the\n     right. A poor, tender, painful body, he can run into flame or\n     bullets or pestilence, with duty for his guide.... I am not afraid\n     of accident as long as I am in my place.... Every man's task is his\n     life-preserver. The conviction that his work is dear to God and\n     cannot be spared, defends him._\n\n                                                   RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\nO Thou Who art the giver of every good and perfect gift, help us better\nto understand the measure of Thy giving; that we count not those\nblessings only which make life smooth and easy and of tame comfort but\nthe things that make life resolute and hearty, and that put to test the\nvigor of our souls, that give us chance to prove our high nobility and\nunfaltering courage; the things that build for the soul's fine substance\nof eternal worth--these are Thy blessings, too, for which we thank Thee.\nGive us entrance into Thine eternal living through strong activity and\nzest of life; that manhood have its eager challenge and womanhood its\nglowing opportunity to assert themselves as winning joy through\nbafflement and Thy strong peace that passeth not away, through steadfast\nconsecration to high service. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE H. BADGER.\n\n\nSeptember 26\n\n     _If I can put one touch of a rosy sunset into the life of any man,\n     or woman I shall feel that I have worked with God. He is in no\n     haste; and if I do what I may in earnest I need not worry if I do\n     no great work. Let God make His sunsets; I will mottle my little\n     cloud. To help the growth of a thought that struggles toward the\n     light, to brush with gentle hand the earth stain from the white of\n     one snowdrop--such be my ambition._\n\n                                                      GEORGE MACDONALD.\n\nHelp us, our Father, to know that we have here at hand all that we need\nto make this day what it ought to be; that we need not look afar, but in\nthe duty of this present moment, in the opportunity to learn, to serve\nand thus to grow, which the morning offers, is all that is necessary to\nmake this day sound and serviceable; in such a day we shall find\nenduring joy and from it Thou, the Giver of all days, wilt derive\nsatisfaction, since it will do its full share in fulfilling Thy purpose.\nAnd may we see that if we make our todays what they should be Thou wilt\ntake care of the tomorrows. Amen.\n\n  HERBERT E. BENTON.\n\n\nSeptember 27\n\n  _My neighbor hath a little field,\n  Small store of wine its presses yield,\n  And truly but a slender hoard\n  Its harvest brings for barn or board.\n  Yet tho' a hundred fields are mine,\n  Fertile with olive, corn and wine;\n  Tho' Autumn piles my garners high,\n  Still for that little field I sigh.\n  For ah! methinks no otherwhere\n  Is any field so good and fair.\n  Small tho' it be, 'tis better far\n  Than all my fruitful vineyards are,\n  Amid whose plenty sad I pine--\n  \"Ah, would the little field were mine!\"\n  Large knowledge void of peace and rest,\n  And wealth with pining care possest--\n  These by my fertile lands are meant.\n  That little field is called Content._\n\n                       ROBERTSON TROWBRIDGE.\n\nHeavenly Father, as prayed Thy servant of old, so we this morning repeat\n\"Give us neither poverty nor riches.\" Help us this day, in whatsoever\nstate we are, therewith to be content. May no complaining word proceed\nout of our mouths. Above all may no murmuring thought lodge within us.\nSo shall we rest in peace with Thee, and God, even our God, shall bless\nus. Yet, O Lord, forbid that we should remain satisfied with any\nportion, which our best effort, with Thine assistance, can improve. Then\nshall we grow in grace and more and more approach the stature of true\nmen and women, in Christ Jesus. Amen.\n\n  M. EMORY WRIGHT.\n\n\nSeptember 28\n\n  _Forenoon and afternoon and night--Forenoon\n  And afternoon and night,--Forenoon, and--what?\n  The empty song repeats itself. No more?\n  Yea, that is life. Make this forenoon sublime,\n  This afternoon a psalm, this night a prayer,\n  And time is conquered, and thy crown is won._\n\n                          EDWARD ROWLAND SILL.\n\n  Help me, O Lord, if I shall see\n    Times when I walk from hope apart,\n  Till all my days but seem to be\n    The troubled week-days of the heart.\n\n  Help me to find, in seasons past,\n    The hours that have been good or fair,\n  And bid remembrance hold them fast,\n    To keep me wholly from despair.\n\n  Help me to look behind, before,\n    To make my past and future form\n  A bow of promise, meeting o'er\n    The darkness of my day of storm.\n                              Amen.\n\n  PHOEBE CARY.\n\n\nSeptember 29\n\n     _The iris-pillar suggested the burning bush on Horeb. In Moses'\n     time, nature, in the regard of science, was a mere bush, a single\n     shrub. Now it has grown, through the researches of the intellect,\n     to a tree. The universe is a mighty tree; and the great truth for\n     us to connect with the majestic science of these days, and to keep\n     vivid by a religious imagination, is, that from the roots of its\n     mystery to the silver-leaved boughs of the firmament, it is\n     continually filled with God, and yet unconsumed._\n\n                                                         T. STARR KING.\n\nAlmighty God, our Heavenly Father, who in all ages has been revealing\nThyself to men as a God of righteousness and love, we approach Thy\nthrone of grace this morning confessing our unworthiness and pleading\nThy forgiving love. While humbling ourselves before Thee because of the\nconsciousness of our unworthiness, we yet approach Thee, our Father,\nwith filial trust and confidence, yea, with gladness of heart and holy\nboldness in the all-prevailing name of Jesus Christ our Lord. We bless\nThee for Thy watchful care over us amid all the dangers, temptations and\ndifficulties of the past. Truly Thou hast been with us, and although Thy\npeople have often been surrounded by fire, the bush has not been\nconsumed. In the future as in the past, be Thou our God and Guide and\nfinally bring us into Thine everlasting Kingdom, through Jesus Christ\nour Lord. Amen.\n\n  A. K. MACLENNAN.\n\n\nSeptember 30\n\n     _Would you like to hear what sort of questions the school-boys had\n     to answer eighteen centuries ago? Very well; you shall. A rabbi,\n     who lived nearly twenty years before Christ was born, set his\n     pupils thinking by asking them, \"What is the best thing for a man\n     to possess?\" One of them replied, \"A kind nature;\" another, \"A good\n     companion;\" another, \"A good neighbor.\" But one of them, named\n     Eleazer, said, \"A good heart.\" \"I like your answer best, Eleazer,\"\n     said the master, \"for it includes all the rest.\"_\n\n                                                  FRANCIS AUGUSTUS COX.\n\nOur Father in heaven, we are happy to believe that Thou dost wish us to\nhave the best. Thou dost teach us that the best possession we can have\nis a good heart, for out of the heart are the issues of life. Thou art\nthe searcher of hearts,--if our hearts are hard Thou canst give us\nhearts of flesh, if they are sinful Thou canst create clean hearts\nwithin us. Even if they are desperately wicked Thou canst make them new.\nGrant us, therefore, Thy Holy Spirit we humbly beseech Thee, that our\nhearts may be pure and good. Thus may we ever possess the best possible\ntreasure, and thus may we perfectly love Thee and worthily magnify Thy\nholy name. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.\n\n  WILLARD T. PERRIN.\n\n\nOctober 1\n\n  _Month of fruits and falling leaves,\n    Under thy opalescent skies\n    The vagrant summer idly lies,\n  While coming Autumn deftly weaves\n  Rare tints for tall ungarnered sheaves\n    Of goldenrod, kissing the eyes\n    Of purple asters as she dyes\n  The vine that swings beneath the eaves._\n\n  _And all the bending hedgerows seem\n    A Joseph's coat of colors. Hues\n  That shame the rainbow's royal arch\n  Set all the harvest fields a-gleam\n    With beauty, fresh with fragrant dews\n  To crown the season's onward march._\n\n                           GEORGE W. SHIPMAN.\n\nAuthor and Giver of every good and perfect gift whose infinite presence\nand power underlie all growth and life and activity, Who revealest\nThyself in the varied forms of beauty which come so rapidly in the\nrevolving year, in the green grass and blossoming roses and lilies and\nrefreshing, fast-succeeding fruits, we thank Thee that Thou art now\ncrowning the year with Thy goodness and inviting us to gather in from\ntree, garden, field, forest, mine, what will feed, clothe, protect us\nduring the wintry season given us, free from arduous labors, to find\nenjoyment in books, music and social intercourse. These blessings remind\nus to present to Thee the fruits of the spirit, love, joy, peace, long\nsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, temperance. Amen.\n\n  CALVIN S. LOCKE.\n\n\nOctober 2\n\n  _One answered, on the day when Christ went by,\n  \"Lord, I am rich; pause not for such as I.\n  My work, my home, my strength, my frugal store,\n  The sun and rain--what need have I of more?\n  Go to the sinful who have need of Thee,\n  Go to the poor, but tarry not for me.\n  What is there Thou should'st do for such as I?\"\n  And He went by._\n\n  _Long years thereafter, by a palace door,\n  The footstep of the Master paused once more\n  From whence the old voice answered piteously,--\n  \"Lord, I am poor, my house unfit for Thee;\n  Nor peace nor pleasures bless my princely board,\n  Nor love nor health; what could I give Thee, Lord?\n  Lord, I am poor, unworthy, stained with sin,--\"\n  Yet He went in._\n\n                                         MABEL EARLE.\n\nWe who are poor in spirit, turn to Thee who art the giver of every good\nand perfect gift, to hold out our empty hands and pray that Thou wilt\nmake us rich. During the past days and years we have been out in Thy\nworld striving for more things and then more things and yet more things,\nforgetful of the fact that a man's life consisteth not in the abundance\nof the things which he possesseth. Now, realizing the poverty of our\nreal lives, we ask Thee to bestow upon us those eternal riches which\npertain to the human soul and possessing which we shall have treasure in\nthat heaven within where moth and rust do not corrupt nor thieves break\nthrough and steal. So shall we be rich indeed. Amen.\n\n  FRANK OLIVER HALL.\n\n\nOctober 3\n\n                    _Be strong!\n  We are not here to play, to dream, to drift.\n  We have hard work to do, and loads to lift.\n  Shun not the struggle; face it. 'Tis God's gift._\n\n                    _Be strong!\n  Say not the days are evil,--who's to blame?\n  And fold the hands and acquiesce--O shame!\n  Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God's name._\n\n                    _Be strong!\n  It matters not how deep intrenched the wrong,\n  How hard the battle goes, the day how long,\n  Faint not, fight on! Tomorrow comes the song._\n\n                               MALTBIE DAVENPORT BABCOCK.\n\nO our Father, we thank Thee for this new morning. Truly the light is\nsweet and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes to behold the same. Lift\nThou upon us the light of Thy countenance and bid us go in peace. So\nshall we begin the day aright. With gentle skill Thou dost deal with us.\nThou art not careless with us or hasty or impatient. Help us to be\nstrong in Thee. May we be able to cast out of our lives everything that\nwould grieve Thee and harm us. With a loving spirit may we serve Thee\nthis day. May we be rooted and grounded in love. However hard the battle\nmay go give us courage and confidence to believe that through Christ,\nstrengthening us, we can do all things required of us. Lord, increase\nour faith. Amen.\n\n  J. E. HAWKINS.\n\n\nOctober 4\n\n     _Nobody proves God's being. But, suddenly, one sees God is here.\n     One speaks and God answers. Thereafter all is sure._\n\n                                                  EDWARD EVERETT HALE.\n\n     _There is nothing that so persuades us of the great realities of\n     moral and spiritual being as the man in whom God is manifest, the\n     type of our human nature at its best, and the indorsement of the\n     sublime faith that God in humanity is the supreme revelation of\n     Himself!_\n\n                                                     HORATIO STEBBINS.\n\nBlessed Father, as the morning light has triumphed in its struggle to\novercome darkness, so Thou dost gently but irresistibly call us from\nslumber to the glories and duties of the new day. May we be strong in\nthe sweet assurance that the unfolding hours are full of blessing\nbecause Thou art caring for us. Help us to do Thy will by enabling us to\nminister to those around us. May the words of our mouth and the industry\nof our hands reveal Thy guiding love. Enable us to order our ways by the\nhabit of trust that we have learned through Thy constancy. Wilt Thou\ndisappoint our fears, steady our hearts, and show us the way of\nobedience, peace and service that we may realize the good through the\nday and rejoice in it, as disciples of Christ. Amen.\n\n  JAMES D. CORBY.\n\n\nOctober 5\n\n  _Thou knowest not what argument\n  Thy life to thy neighbor's creed hath lent;\n  All are needed by each one;\n  Nothing is good or fair alone._\n\n                        RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\n     _Men will not be content to live every man for himself, nor to die\n     every man for himself. In work, in art, in study, in trade--in all\n     life, indeed, the children of God, called by a Saviour's voice,\n     will wish to live in the common cause. They will live for the\n     common wealth,--this is the modern phrase. They will bear each\n     other's burdens,--this is the phrase of Paul. They will live in the\n     life of love. And it will prove true as it was promised, that all\n     things are added to the community which thus seeks the Kingdom of\n     God and His Righteousness._\n\n                                                  EDWARD EVERETT HALE.\n\nEternal God, who dost still create the light, and make the morning and\nthe evening of our days, by Thy light we look to Thee. In Thy light we\nworship Thee. Gird us with strength to work with Thee to bring Thy\nKingdom in. May we lose and find ourselves again in the larger whole of\nlife by ministering to others' needs; by bearing others' burdens; by\nsharing their joys and tears and the common fruits of toil, thus making\nour life and faith in Thee become their own. Let Thy work appear unto\nThy servants, and establish Thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the\nwork of our hands establish Thou it; and let Thy beauty and Thy glory be\nupon us forever and ever. Amen.\n\n  C. E. HOLMES.\n\n\nOctober 6\n\n  _Master, to do great work for Thee, my hand\n    Is far too weak! Thou givest what may suit,\n    Some little chips to cut with care minute,\n  Or tint, or grave, or polish. Others stand\n  Before their quarried marble, fair and grand,\n    And make a life-work of the grand design\n    Which Thou hast traced; or, many-skilled, combine\n  To build vast temples, gloriously planned.\n  Yet take the tiny stones which I have wrought\n    Just one by one, as they were given by Thee,\n  Not knowing what came next in Thy wise thought.\n  Let each stone by Thy master-hand of grace\n    Form the mosaic as Thou wilt for me\n  And in Thy temple-pavement give it place._\n\n                              FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL.\n\nFather, we are shortsighted and weak, and hence cannot do our best work\nwithout Thine aid. We rejoice in the privileges and opportunities of\nthis day. Thou hast counted us worthy to work for Thee. Thou canst use\nour loaves and fishes, but dost require us to bring thus our little all\nfor Thy blessing. We are inspired with hope to make our consecration to\nThee. Make this a day of glorious service. Guide us in our thoughts and\nwork. Glorify Thyself in our life. And wherever the close of this day\nmay find us may it be with the feeling that we have done our best by Thy\nblessing and help. Amen.\n\n  J. W. FULTON.\n\n\nOctober 7\n\n  _\"Whatever the weather may be,\" says he--\n          \"Whatever the weather may be,\n  It's the songs ye sing, an' the smiles ye wear,\n  That's a-making the sun shine everywhere;\n  An' the world of gloom is a world of glee,\n  Wid the bird in the bush, an' the bud in the tree\n  An' the fruit on the stim o' the bough,\" says he,\n  \"Whatever the weather may be,\" says he--\n          \"Whatever the weather may be!\"_\n\n                                    JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.\n\nO Father of Lights, with whom can be no variation, neither shadow that\nis cast by turning, help us today so to trust Thee that our joy may be\nunclouded. Thy love is unchanging in its radiance and warmth. Therefore\nlet it glow in me and through me light someone who may be in darkness. O\nstrong Son of God, who art the same, yesterday, today, yea, and forever,\nenable us, we beseech Thee, to be brave and cheery as though Thyself\nwast in the darkest hours as in the brightest. Teach us that the storm\nand trial is just our opportunity to shine. Cleanse us of all\ndisobedience and darkness. Be our constant Comforter. Let others see\nthat it is Christ within us. Amen.\n\n  THOMAS W. SMITH.\n\n\nOctober 8\n\n     _Look up to God, and say, \"Make use of me for the future as Thou\n     wilt. I am of the same mind; I am equal with Thee. I refuse nothing\n     which seems good to Thee. Lead me whither Thou wilt. Clothe me in\n     whatever dress Thou wilt. Is it Thy will that I should be in a\n     public or private condition; dwell here, or be banished; be poor or\n     rich? Under all these circumstances I will make Thy defence to men.\n     I will show what the nature of everything is.\"_\n\n                                                             EPICTETUS.\n\nMerciful Father, we begin this day, knowing not what the end may be,\nwith thoughts of Thee and Thy loving kindness. May this be to us a day\nof joy, a day upon which we can look back and say we have been blessed\nby Thee. We pray for that spirit that enabled others to labor in the\ncause of love and righteousness, and while we may not be able to\naccomplish all the good we have set our hearts upon, may the thought\nthat our lives and our labors have not been in vain, inspire us and\nothers with courage to continue the work of helping and blessing our\nfellowmen. Amen.\n\n  DONALD FRASER.\n\n\nOctober 9\n\n     _Men deny the Divine Existence with as little feeling as the most\n     assert it. Even in our true systems we go on collecting mere words,\n     playmarks and medals, as the misers do coins; and not till late do\n     we transmute the words into feelings, the coins into enjoyments. A\n     man may for twenty years believe the immortality of the soul; in\n     the one-and-twentieth, in some great moment, he for the first time\n     discovers with amazement the rich meaning of this belief, and the\n     warmth of this naphtha-well._\n\n                                                              RICHTER.\n\nO Thou Who slumberest not, nor sleepest, in the dawn of this new day we\nlook trustingly to Thee. While the night has been enfolding us, Thy\nloving care has held us in the everlasting arms. May this day be for us\na fresh consecration. May we be ennobled in Thee. May we share Thy life\nin things small or great. However humble our lives--however emptied our\nexperience of that which wins the plaudits of men, may we manifest Thee.\nBy us may Thy Kingdom come and Thy will be done. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE H. YOUNG.\n\n\nOctober 10\n\n  _Thou wilt not hold in scorn the child who dares\n  Look up to Thee, the Father,--dares to ask\n  More than Thy wisdom answers. From Thy hand\n  The worlds were cast; yet every leaflet claims\n  From that same hand its little shining sphere\n  Of star-lit dew; thine image, the great sun,\n  Girt with his mantle of tempestuous flame,\n  Glares in mid-heaven; but to his noontide blaze\n  The slender violet lifts its lidless eye,\n  And from his splendor steals its fairest hue,\n  Its sweetest perfume from the scorching fire._\n\n                                 OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.\n\nThou great Spirit of life and power, we do not shrink in terror before\nThee, but come to Thee in trust and love. Though we cannot fathom the\nmystery of Thy life nor measure the might of Thy power, yet we have\nlearned to call Thee Father; and even as the violet lifts its face to\nthe noonday sun to find the secret of its life, so we lift our faces to\nThee, to find the secret of our lives. Thou answerest us with\ntenderness. Thou speakest to us in love. Fresh from sleep, we put our\nhands in Thine to be led forth to the duties of the day. May we go forth\nwith that confidence and hope, which are born of trust in Thee, our\nFather. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nOctober 11\n\n     _Now believe me, God hides some ideal in every human soul. Some\n     time in our life we feel a trembling, fearful longing to do some\n     good thing. Life finds its noblest spring of excellence in this\n     hidden impulse to do our best. There is a time when we are not\n     content to be such merchants or doctors or lawyers as we see on the\n     dead level or below it. The woman longs to glorify her womanhood as\n     sister, wife or mother. Here is God,--God standing silently at the\n     door all day long,--God whispering to the soul that to be pure and\n     true is to succeed in life and that whatever we get short of that\n     will burn up like stubble, though the whole world try to save it._\n\n                                                        ROBERT COLLYER.\n\nGod of all power and might, come into our lives with Thy might and Thy\npower. Awaken us from that slumber of death-in-life which easily and\nsweetly steals through the door, and, like some new Delilah, binds the\nstrong will within. Come, come as the fresh morning sun, to drive away\nthe mist of our sloth and indecision. Come, enter; and bring with Thee\nthe upstirring power and the wide radiance of the life divine. Come,\nenter, and abide! When Thou art absent, though life be easy, it doth not\nsatisfy us; but when Thou art present, though life be hard, it doth also\ncontent us. O God of all power and might, come Thou into our lives with\nThy might and Thy power. Amen.\n\n  MELVIN BRANDOW.\n\n\nOctober 12\n\n     _If you really want to help your fellowmen, you must not merely\n     have in you what would do them good if they should take it from\n     you, but you must be such a man that they can take it from you. The\n     snow must melt upon the mountain and come down in a spring torrent,\n     before its richness can make the valley rich. And yet in every age\n     there are cold, hard, unsympathetic wise men standing up aloof,\n     like snow banks on the hill tops, conscious of the locked up\n     fertility in them and wondering that their wisdom does not save the\n     world._\n\n                                                       PHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\nO Thou, who hast kept us safely during the unconsciousness of our\nslumbering hours and brought us refreshed to this morning light, prepare\nus for the duties of this day by filling us with the assurance that we\nare Thine, and that Thou lovest us. Help us to be more like Thee, to\nlove Thee more and serve Thee better. May we manifest our love to Thee\nby our willingness to be of service to our fellowmen. Make us\nwarm-hearted and true, helpful and kind, reflecting Thy love and doing\nThy will. We are glad to live in this beautiful world. And we pray that\nwe may be faithful co-laborers with Jesus Christ, in bringing light,\nlove and joy to all lives. Amen.\n\n  EUGENE M. GRANT.\n\n\nOctober 13\n\n     _A few more smiles of silent sympathy, a few more tender words, a\n     little more restraint in temper, may make all the difference\n     between happiness and half-happiness to those I live with._\n\n                                                 STOPFORD A. BROOKE.\n\n  _Others shall sing the song,\n  Others shall right the wrong,\n  Finish what I begin,\n  And all I fail to win,\n  What matter, I or they,\n  Mine or another's day,\n  So the right word be said,\n  And life the sweeter made?_\n\n               JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.\n\nFather, so little of the world in which we live is Thy world, so much\nour world, the petty, dwarfed world of our own small vision, that we\nlose heart and fail to do our share. Help us to see that, as in the\ndensest swamps the sweetest flowers grow, so, even in our darkest hours,\nwe still may be sweet at heart, saying the word, doing the deed, giving\nthe sympathy, that will make the world sing and blossom. If there are\ntimes when pain and darkness obscure our vision of Thee, help us to look\non to the sunset of our day, when the black pall is transfigured at the\ntouch of Thy glory,--when sorrow and failure transcended by gentleness\nare our beauty and salvation. Amen.\n\n  JOHN M. DAVIDSON.\n\n\nOctober 14\n\n     _There is not a man in the world who is not saved by hope every day\n     of his life. Rob one of hope and you have robbed him of his power.\n     Nothing may so quickly unnerve a man and render him helpless as to\n     take hope out of his heart. What is poverty? What is sickness? What\n     is disaster? What are daily burdens? What signifies the desertion\n     of friends, what of death itself so long as a man can hope? The man\n     who hopes will brush every difficulty out of the way. He will put\n     aside every suggestion of failure. Take hope out of a man's heart\n     and you have taken all. Put hope into a man's heart and you have\n     given all._\n\n                                                   GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\nWe thank Thee, O God, for the light of another morning, for the\nprivilege of entering upon another day. We shall meet with those who do\nnot understand life nor the world in which we live. It is to them only a\nplace to bear burdens, to toil, to endure. Give us, O Father,\nunderstanding minds and hearts. Teach us to know that life is a great\nopportunity, that Thy plans for each one are very broad, that the world\nis full of open doors; and inspired by this knowledge may no despondent\nsoul cross our path without being helped and made to feel that every\nlife through the love of God and the guidance of God may be made\nsublime. Amen.\n\n  ALEXANDER DIGHT.\n\n\nOctober 15\n\n  _Ho! for the bending sheaves,\n  Ho! for the crimson leaves\n      Flaming in splendor!\n  Season of ripened gold,\n  Plenty in crib and fold,\n  Skies with a depth untold\n      Liquid and tender._\n\n              JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.\n\nSource Infinite and Eternal of Light and Life; Creator of being flowing\non forever; Minister far and wide of unspeakable bounty; Through whose\npower rise the riches of Nature; From whose abundance descend all gifts\nto man; Soul of our souls and safeguard of the world; To whom all\nIntelligence looks through every dawn; And by whose support the heart of\nman is stayed; Let there be to our steps paths of brightness; to our\nlives laws of justice, kindness, and trust, that we may abound in doing\ngood and by grace, mercy, and truth duly shown, may obtain grateful\nremembrance evermore. Amen.\n\n  EDWARD C. TOWNE.\n\n\nOctober 16\n\n  _There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood\n  Touch of manner, hint of mood;\n    And my heart is like a rhyme,\n    With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time._\n\n  _The scarlet of the maples can shake me like a cry\n  Of bugles going by.\n    And my lonely spirit thrills\n    To see the frosty asters like a smoke upon the hills._\n\n                                                       RICHARD HOVEY.\n\nO Father, my heart is lonely till I feel Thy spirit near, and then the\nglory of the season brings a message to my soul. Help me now to see Thy\nmaster hand in the great beauty of the world. May my soul that feels the\nglad riot of color know that he who gives such beauty and bounty has for\nme far richer blessings in the great fields of the future. May this day,\nbegun with Nature's rhythm be set with the music of holy purpose and\nnoble service. And may the music sound not alone for me, but for others\nthat we together may march forward in the spirit of Him who loved the\nlilies of the field and the fowls of the air. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES E. VARNEY.\n\n\nOctober 17\n\n     _Thousands of years ago a leaf fell on the soft clay, and seemed to\n     be lost. But last summer a geologist in his ramblings broke off a\n     piece of rock with his hammer, and there lay the image of the leaf,\n     with every line and every vein and all the delicate tracery\n     preserved in the stone through those centuries. So the words we\n     speak and the things we do today may seem to be lost, but in the\n     great final revealing the smallest of them will appear._\n\n                                                JAMES RUSSELL MILLER.\n\nOur Father we thank Thee for the light of this new day. Tenderly Thou\nhast withdrawn the curtain of the night and shown us the beauties and\nglories of Nature, reminding us of Thine own blessed verdict in the dawn\nof creation, \"Behold they are very good.\" Good indeed, is it to live in\nsuch a world, and we thank Thee for our being. We ask this morning, dear\nLord, not for the perishing things of earth, but for continued power and\ndisposition to enjoy Thee and Thy works, for a faith that never wavers\nand a hope that never grows dim, for such a portion of this world's\ngoods as the wise may enjoy without harm and the righteous hold without\nwrong. Amen.\n\n  JAMES SALLAWAY.\n\n\nOctober 18\n\n  _Nay, I wrong you, little flower,\n  Reading mournful mood of mine\n  In your looks, that give no sign\n  Of a spirit dark and cheerless:\n  You possess the heavenly power\n  That rejoices in the hour,\n  Glad, contented, free and fearless,--\n  Lifts a sunny face to heaven\n  When a sunny day is given;\n  Makes a summer of its own,\n  Blooming late and all alone._\n\n                           HENRY VAN DYKE.\n\nWe thank Thee, O Father, that, to those who obey the command of Jesus to\nconsider them, the flowers become prophets of God and preachers of\nrighteousness. We thank Thee for the worship which They render Thee, so\npure, so brave, so glad, and so acceptable. They may not hinder Thee and\nThou dost work Thy perfect will in them; O give us the wisdom and the\ngrace to make Thee welcome to our hearts until in us also Thou shalt\nwork Thy perfect will. So may we find our true use and felicity, and\nrender unto Thee the praise that is Thy due. And this we ask through\nJesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES R. TENNEY.\n\n\nOctober 19\n\n  _Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!\n    Close bosom friend of the maturing sun;\n  Conspiring with Him how to load and bless\n    With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;\n  To bend with apples the moss'd cottage trees,\n    And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;\n  To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel-shells\n    With a sweet kernel; to set to budding more\n  And still more later flowers for the bees,\n    Until they think warm days will never cease,\n  For summer has o'er brimmed their clammy cells._\n\n                                             JOHN KEATS.\n\nOur dear Heavenly Father, Thou hast ever been wooing us by a thousand\ninfluences and voices to Thyself and our souls are ever restless till\nthey rest in Thy love. The voices of nature everywhere speak to us of\nThy goodness and Thy power and all verdure and blossom and fruitage is\nbut the answer of the inanimate world to Thy call of life. Shall we do\nless than these, O God, when upon us Thou hast stamped Thine own image\nand made our being the house beautiful for Thine indwelling! We are Thy\ndisciples indeed if we bear much fruit and have love one for the other.\nMould us, fashion us, mature us, dear Lord, till the angels, watching at\nthe gates and on the towers, say we look like Thee. And this we ask in\nJesus' name. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE M. SMILEY.\n\n\nOctober 20\n\n     _I pluck an acorn from the greensward, and hold it to my ear and\n     this is what it says to me: \"By and by the birds will come and nest\n     in me. By and by I will furnish shade for the cattle. By and by I\n     will provide warmth for the home in the pleasant fire. By and by I\n     will be shelter from the storm to those who have gone under the\n     roof. By and by I will be the strong ribs of the great vessel, and\n     the tempest will beat against me in vain, while I carry men across\n     the Atlantic.\" \"O foolish little acorn, wilt thou be all this?\" I\n     ask. And the acorn answers, \"Yes, God and I.\"_\n\n                                                          LYMAN ABBOTT.\n\nAlmighty God, we believe that Thou art present and controlling in all\nthe operations of Nature. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without Thy\nnotice. All life is of Thy giving. Plants, animals, and worlds alike are\ngoverned by Thy laws. We realize in some measure Thy Omnipotence. We\nshould fear to draw near to Thee if Thou hadst not revealed Thyself to\nus in Jesus Christ as a God of love. Thou, O God, art love. We believe\nthat Thou wilt give to all Thy children eternal life. As from the acorn\ncomes the oak, clothed in royal beauty, seemingly life from death, so\nfrom what seems death shall our immortal spirits rise to dwell forever\nwith Thee. We adore Thee, O God. We love Thee for Thy goodness and Thy\nlove shown to us. Be gracious unto us and bless us for our Saviour's\nsake. Amen.\n\n  CYRUS NORTHROP.\n\n\nOctober 21\n\n     _I suppose every day of earth, with its hundred thousand deaths and\n     something more of births,--with its loves and hates, its triumphs\n     and defeats, its pangs and blisses, has more of humanity in it than\n     all the books that were ever written, put together. I believe the\n     flowers growing at this moment send up more fragrance to heaven\n     than was ever exhaled from all the essences ever distilled._\n\n                                                  OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, Thou art in all nature and in all human history. If\nwe really know our world and our fellowmen and ourselves, we shall know\nThee. As we enter upon the work of this new day, we pray that we may\nfeel Thy presence with us. Thou art never far away from us; we cannot\nget away from our world, and we cannot fly from ourselves. Thou art with\nThy world and Thou art with Thy children. We ask not so much for Thy\npresence, as for the consciousness of Thy presence. May we learn to know\nThee in the world about us and in the secret places of our own hearts.\nThen shall all life be fragrant and beautiful and this day somewhat\ndivine. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nOctober 22\n\n     _The best thing to take people out of their own worries, is to go\n     to work and find out how other folk's worries are getting on._\n\n                                               MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\n     _Socrates thought that if all our misfortunes were laid in one\n     common heap, whence every one must take an equal portion, most\n     persons would be content to take their own and depart._\n\n                                                           PLUTARCH.\n\nOur Father in Heaven, the light of this new day is the light of Thy\ncountenance, therefore we rejoice. In Thy sunshine our souls find\nstrength for the burdens Thou dost give, and even through Thy shadows we\nreach the peace which passeth understanding. Yet Thou art comfort to us\nthat we may comfort the troubled and the distressed with the comfort\nwherewith we ourselves are comforted. Set Thou our feet in the paths of\nservice. Make us, we pray Thee, glad ministers of Thy mercy, and in\nbinding up the wounds of others may we have balm for our own. By this\nday, may we grow in patience and power, and in the knowledge of Thy\nlove. Amen.\n\n  LEON O. WILLIAMS.\n\n\nOctober 23\n\n  _Life has a thousand pages--love and scorn,\n    Hope and adventure, poverty and sin,\n  Despair and glory, loneliness forlorn,\n    Age, sorrow, exile, all are writ therein--;\n  And on each page, however stern or sad,\n    Are words which gleam upon the crabbed scroll,\n  Revealing words, that make our spirits glad,\n    And well are worth the study of the soul.\n  We may not lightly shrink from any leaf,\n    For on it may be writ the word we need.\n  God turns the page--whatever joy or grief\n    He opens for us, let us wisely read._\n\n                                PRISCILLA LEONARD.\n\nFill our souls with Thy light, O God, that we may ever hope. Give us the\npoise of endless progress. Make our souls free and joyous as the bird's\nwing. Give us the courage of our convictions in all places, under all\nconditions. Make us brave. Take away all forms of fear, whether of man,\nof nature, or of Thee, and make us feel that each is our mighty friend,\nbut Thou supreme over all, faithful each moment to our being, in ten\nthousand sweet, true, tender, life-giving, life-sustaining ministries.\nTeach us to look for Thee everywhere, and to see Thy order, and Thy\nbeauty, facing all things Heavenward. May our ideals be perfect\nholiness, perfect strength, perfect love, perfect service. Make our\nfaith great in the higher estate, where our faculties, only dawning\nhere, shall rise in a glorious morning of the soul. Amen.\n\n  A. N. ALCOTT.\n\n\nOctober 24\n\n  _Suppose a kindly word of mine\n  Could lift the clouds and bring sunshine;\n      Am I my brother's keeper?_\n\n  _Suppose the weary worker toils,\n  For scanty pittance delves and moils;\n      Am I my brother's keeper?_\n\n  _Suppose in penury and fear\n  My neighbor see the wolf draw near;\n      Am I my brother's keeper?_\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  _Perhaps--who knows?--perhaps I'm not!\n  Self-centred soul! hast thou forgot\n  The marvel of our common lot,\n    The mystic tie that binds us all\n    Who dwell on this terrestrial ball,\n      Stupendous hope of time and song,\n      The bourne for which the ages long?\n  How hard our hearts must seem to Thee,\n  Exhaustless Fount of Charity!_\n\n                         HENRY NEHEMIAH DODGE.\n\nWe thank Thee, our Father, for the light of a new day and for its\nopportunities of service for Thee and Thy great Cause. We rejoice that\nThou dost not only set duty clearly before us, but also dost grant power\nto perform it. May we realize not only that we are \"our brother's\nkeeper,\" and that our lives are helpful or harmful every day, but may we\nbe increasingly grateful that we may every day by Thy grace be\nfellow-helpers and workers together with God. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM FULL.\n\n\nOctober 25\n\n     _It is of no use to dispute about the Indian Summer. I never found\n     two people who could agree as to the time when it ought to be here,\n     or upon a month and day when it should be decidedly too late to\n     look for it. It keeps coming. For my part, I think we get it now\n     and then, little by little, as \"the Kingdom\" comes. That every\n     soft, warm, mellow, hazy, golden day, like each fair, fragrant\n     life, is a part and out-crop of it; though weeks of gale and frost,\n     or ages of cruel worldliness and miserable sin may lie between._\n\n                                                   MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\nVouchsafe Thy blessing, O Heavenly Father, upon this morning service of\nthanksgiving and prayer. We thank Thee that each year Thou sendest\nseed-time and harvest, to us Thy children. For the beauty and bounty of\nthe Autumn, for all Thy material gifts, for friends and home, and for\nour precious Christian faith, we are deeply grateful to Thee. Give us\nthe attentive mind, the receptive heart, that we may see Thy providence\nand love in every event of life. Banish fear and doubt from our minds.\nGuard us from all temptations. May the Spirit of Christ abide in our\nhearts, and enable us to glorify Thee in all our works and lives. In its\npower and glory may Thy Kingdom come, and remain upon the earth forever.\nAmen.\n\n  ELBERT W. WHITNEY.\n\n\nOctober 26\n\n     _Pleasant smiles, gentle tones, cheery greetings, tempers sweet\n     under a headache or a business care or the children's noise; the\n     ready bubbling over of thoughtfulness for one another, and the\n     habits of smiling, greeting, forbearing, thinking in these ways; it\n     is these above all else which makes one's home \"a building of God;\n     a house not made with hands,\" these that we hear in the song of\n     \"Home, Sweet Home.\"_\n\n                                                 WILLIAM C. GANNETT.\n\nAlmighty Father, the light of another day breaks in upon our lives, to\nreveal to us unfinished tasks and unsought duties. The sorrows and joys\nof the coming day are hidden from our sight, enswathed in the folded\nhours of toil. But Thou knowest all our heedless ways and tempers that\nchafe from impatience; Thou seest the measure of our needs and dost\nconsider our desires. Give unto us the consciousness of Thine\neverlasting arms about us. And then when the shadows lengthen and the\ntwilight hushes the hum of toil, our spirits shall know no weariness and\nbear no stain. Give ear unto this our morning prayer, O Thou Light of\nLight. Amen.\n\n  FRANCIS TREADWAY CLAYTON.\n\n\nOctober 27\n\n     _How can people help loving things, when they are full of life\n     magnetism, that even a finger touch gets the thrill of?_\n\n     _It is not the sunshine, or any other tangible why, that accounts\n     for the pleasantness of old house corners. It is the pureness and\n     the pleasantness that have clustered there; the very walls have\n     drunk these in._\n\n                                              MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, wilt Thou keep our home life bright and sweet?\nGuard our lips from harsh words, our lives from shame. If quarrels\narise, help us to be the first to forgive and forget. In the hour of\ntemptation may we say no, because of a father's splendid honor, and a\nmother's pure face! In the time of trial or seeming defeat may we be\nbrave and of good cheer! Teach us that home is made dear, not by its\nfurnishings, but by the memories and inspirations of the hours we spent\nunder its roof with those who loved us and were always tender and true!\nBind us together in the bonds of love and peace, and keep us always\nunited and a happy family. Amen.\n\n  HENRY R. ROSE.\n\n\nOctober 28\n\n  _There are loyal hearts, there are spirits brave,\n    There are souls that are pure and true;\n  Then give to the world the best you have,\n    And the best shall come back to you._\n\n  _Give love, and love to your heart will flow,\n    A strength in your utmost need;\n  Have faith, and a score of hearts will show\n    Their faith in your word and deed._\n\n  _For life is the mirror of king and slave,\n    'Tis just what you are and do;\n  Then give to the world the best you have,\n    And the best will come back to you._\n\n                                 MADELINE S. BRIDGES.\n\nAlmighty Father, we come to Thee for a Father's blessing, that this day\nwe may go about Thy work and enter into Thy business, alive in Thy\nspirit and strong in Thy strength. We ask this for ourselves, each of\nus, that we may be knit to each other as brothers with brothers, to bear\neach other's burdens. We ask it most of all for home, that in home-life\nthere always may be joy and peace and love, each seeking another's good,\nbrothers and sisters with sisters and brothers, fathers and mothers with\ntheir children, that home may be the place of Thy holy spirit and the\nhome of joy. Today we would come and go as Thy messengers, in our own\nlives welcoming the Father, who is with us seeking Thy strength and\nasking for Thy good will. Bless us today with Thy blessing. Amen.\n\n  _Edward Everett Hale._\n\n\nOctober 29\n\n     _We are never more discontented with others than when we are\n     discontented with ourselves. The consciousness of wrongdoing makes\n     us irritable, and our heart in its cunning quarrels with what is\n     outside it, in order that it may deafen the clamor within._\n\n     _In the conduct of life, habits count for more than maxims, because\n     habit is a living maxim, become flesh and instinct. To reform one's\n     maxims is nothing; it is but to change the title of the book. To\n     learn new habits is everything, for it is to reach the substance of\n     life. Life is but a tissue of habits._\n\n                                                   HENRI-FREDERIC AMIEL.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we pray that our daily life may take on that\ndignity and calmness and tranquillity which are the possession of those\nwho truly and inwardly trust and confide in the eternal Goodness, who\nbelieve that our days are ordered by a Higher Power, and that through\nall there runs a thread,--a chain of Infinite Love, binding us all to\nThee and to one common universal good and blessedness. In this faith,\nkeep us, O Holy Father, and, filled with love to Thee and to our\nneighbor, may we pursue our way and do our work, anxious only to have\nThee in all our thoughts. In Thy name, Amen.\n\n  JOSHUA YOUNG.\n\n\nOctober 30\n\n     _Thus pass away the generations of men!--thus perish the records of\n     the glory of nations! Yet, when every emanation of the human mind\n     has faded, when in the storms of time the monuments of man's\n     creative art are scattered to the dust, an ever new life springs\n     from the bosom of the earth. Unceasingly prolific Nature unfolds\n     her germs, regardless though sinful man, ever at war with himself,\n     tramples beneath his foot the ripening fruit!_\n\n                                                 ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT.\n\nInfinite Spirit, Thou buildest the monuments of Thy power in the rocks\nof the mountains, but Thou buildest the monuments of Thy love in the\nhearts of men. When the bodies and the works of men have perished the\nrocks will abide and the trees will bear their fruit. But when the rocks\nhave crumbled the souls of men will abide. If that which is seen is\ntemporal, we thank Thee O Lord, that the unseen is eternal. We are awed\nby the majesty of the seas and the mountains. But we are inspired by the\nimmortality of the soul. Heavenly Father, may we live today as if made\nfor eternity. So may our lives be dignified and glorified. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nOctober 31\n\n                _God doth not need\n  Either man's work, or His own gifts, who best\n  Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best; His state\n  Is kingly; thousands at His bidding speed\n  And post o'er land and ocean without rest:--\n  They also serve who only stand and wait._\n\n                                           JOHN MILTON.\n\nO God, who didst give to Thy servant light in his blindness and music in\nthe heart, grant that I may this day be swift to run on all errands of\nmercy and truth, or patient to wait Thy will, if so Thou commandest.\nMake me as unswerving as are the stars above me, as trustful as the\nbirds who sing at dawn, and fear not what the day may bring. May I be\nstrong to resist all evil, and cleave to that which is good. May I be\nconscious that in the loneliest hour Thou art near, and in the most\nsolitary place there is the communion of saints. May Thy power flow\nthrough human weakness, and may all the trials and testings of life lead\nme constantly to the Rock that is higher than I. So may Thy will be done\nin my life as it is in heaven. Amen.\n\n  W. H. P. FAUNCE.\n\n\nNovember 1\n\n  _I saw the long line of the vacant shore\n  The sea-weed and the shells upon the sand,\n  And the brown rocks left bare on every hand,\n  As if the ebbing tide would flow no more,\n  Then heard I, more distinctly than before,\n  The ocean breathe and its great breast expand,\n  And hurrying came on the defenceless land\n  The insurgent waters with tumultuous roar.\n  All thought and feeling and desire, I said,\n  Love, laughter, and the exultant joy of song\n  Have ebbed from me forever! Suddenly o'er me\n  They swept again from their deep ocean bed\n  And in a tumult of delight, and strong\n  As youth, and beautiful as youth, upbore me._\n\n  HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.\n\nWe give Thee hearty thanks, most Holy Father that Thou hast not\ndelivered up our souls to the emptiness and longing of despair. In Thy\nmercy and wisdom hast Thou ordained that we may taste ever afresh the\ndeepest joys of life and ever anew feel the thrill of its loftiest\ninspirations. Like the sea is our life for its largeness; like the sea\nin its ebbs and flows. O Father of Life, flood our souls this day with a\ntide from the ocean of Thine own love lifting our lives to highest\nservice and bliss. And Thine shall be all the honor and praise. Amen.\n\n  E. W. LUTTERMAN.\n\n\nNovember 2\n\n  _The bird, let loose in Eastern skies,\n    When hastening fondly home,\n  Ne'er stoops to earth her wing, nor flies\n    Where idle warblers roam.\n  But high she shoots through air and light\n    Above all low delay,\n  Where nothing earthly bounds her flight,\n    Nor shadow dims her way._\n\n  _So grant me, God, from every care,\n    And stain of passion free,\n  Aloft, through Virtue's purer air,\n    To hold my course to Thee!\n  No sin to cloud--no lure to stay\n    My soul, as home she springs;--\n  Thy sunshine on her joyful way,\n    Thy freedom in her wings!_\n\n                               THOMAS MOORE.\n\nO God, who art both life and truth, the Author of our being and the\nlight which lighteneth all, the source of our soul's life, and the goal\ntowards which we strive, as cleaves the lark at dawn the heavenly blue,\nso may our souls be freed from sense, whose music siren-like would seek\nto draw us from our flight to Thee. As that same bird rejoices in the\nmorning light, and sounds its note of praise, so may our souls be tuned\nto heavenly symphonies, and may the sunshine of Thy love, resplendent in\nsecure omnipotence, give glad assurance to our hearts, nor cease to\nguide our way, until we reach that central orb, our soul's true home,\nand find eternal rest in Thee. Amen.\n\n  ALBERT B. SHIELDS.\n\n\nNovember 3\n\n  _There is ever a song somewhere, my dear;\n    There is ever a something sings alway:\n  There's the song of the lark when the skies are clear\n    And the song of the thrush when the skies are gray,\n  The sunshine showers across the grain,\n    And the bluebird trills in the orchard tree;\n  And in and out, when the eaves drip rain,\n    The swallows art twittering ceaselessly._\n\n  _There is ever a song somewhere, my dear,\n    Be the skies above or dark or fair,\n  There is ever a song that our hearts may hear--\n  There is ever a song somewhere, my dear--\n    There is ever a song somewhere!_\n\n                                     JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.\n\nO God, the Giver of all harmony and joy, before whom the morning stars\nsang together, by Whom the voice of the sparrow is heard, we thank Thee\nthat we may serve Thee with gladness and come before Thy presence with\nsinging. Put Thy new song into our mouths and help us to render the\nacceptable praises of the upright and pure in heart. Help us to love all\nThy creatures and to delight in the songs Thou hast taught them.\nEspecially enable us to bless our brother men, to hush their sighing and\nswell their singing, to strengthen the chorus of joy and praise with\nwhich Thou hast ordained the world shall be filled. We ask with\nconfidence because we know Thy love. Amen.\n\n  J. FRANCIS COOPER.\n\n\nNovember 4\n\n  _The snow has capped yon distant hill,\n    At morn the running brook was still,\n  From driven herds the clouds that rise\n    Are like the smoke of sacrifice;\n  Ere long the frozen sod shall mark\n    The ploughshare, changed to stubborn rock.\n  The brawling stream shall soon be done--\n    Sing, little bird! the frosts have come._\n\n                           OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.\n\nAlmighty God, our Heavenly Father, Thou art the giver of all good gifts,\nand all that comes from Thy hand is good. May we accept Thy providences.\nIn the dreary days of winter as in the pleasant summer season, Thy\nmercies are new every morning and fresh every evening. Even when our\nhearts are chilled with grief and disappointment and failure, we would\nstill put our trust in the eternal goodness. Help us, O God, to be truly\ngrateful for everything that comes to us. In the winter of the soul may\nwe learn the lessons of patience and resignation. Thus, with faith\ntriumphant and with hearts full of gladness may we sing our songs of\npraise to Thy holy name forever and forever. Amen.\n\n  ARTHUR W. GROSE.\n\n\nNovember 5\n\n  _It is will alone that matters!\n  Will alone that mars or makes,\n  Will, that no distraction scatters,\n  And that no resistance breaks._\n\n                         HENRIK IBSEN.\n\n  _No man can choose what coming hours may bring\n  To him of need, of joy, of suffering;\n  But what his soul shall bring unto each hour\n  To meet its challenge--this is in his power._\n\n                                 PRISCILLA LEONARD.\n\nInfinite God, Who perceivest the destinies of worlds and of men; Who\nbringest to pass all that we enjoy, and Who permittest all that we\nsuffer; may I this day be enabled to recognize Thy Fatherly goodness, in\nthe morning mists, even as in the noonday brightness! Should sorrow\nbecloud my pathway, should disappointment make its keen thrusts, should\ntemptation lay its attractive coils, may my soul be made aware of Thy\nconsoling presence, enjoy the compensations of Thy grace, assert the\npotency of the wisdom from above! And mayest Thou reveal Thyself! So may\nbe fanned to a flame the divine spark in my heart, whereby all are made\npartakers of the victory with and through our Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.\n\n  ERNEST W. BURCH.\n\n\nNovember 6\n\n     _\"Yes,\" she answered, lifting her eyes to his face; \"I, too, have\n     felt it, Hermas, this burden, this need, this unsatisfied longing.\n     I think I know what it means. It is gratitude;--the language of the\n     heart, the music of happiness. There is no perfect joy without\n     gratitude. But we have never learned it, and the want of it\n     troubles us. It is like being dumb with a heart full of love. We\n     must find the word for it, and say it together. Then we shall be\n     perfectly joined in perfect joy.\"_\n\n                                                        HENRY VAN DYKE.\n\nAlmighty God, forbid that we shall ever be satisfied with the rich gifts\nof Thy land, or until the gifts have brought us, appreciative, humble,\ngrateful, to Thee, the giver of them all. Help us to see that this is\ntheir high office, disregarding which the noblest of them becomes a\nstumbling block, accepting which the humblest of them becomes a means of\ngrace and of surpassing gladness. Move us, then, to such acceptance of\nThy favors as shall bring us to Thee rejoicing, that we may need less\nthe experiences which shall bring us to Thee weeping. And hallow all our\nhuman loves by lifting us to a common sense and acknowledgment of Thy\ntranscendent love, as shown especially in Jesus Christ. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES R. TENNEY.\n\n\nNovember 7\n\n  _\"What is the real good?\"\n  I asked, in musing mood.\n  \"Order,\" said the court;\n  \"Knowledge,\" said the school,\n  \"Truth,\" said the wise man,\n  \"Pleasure,\" said the fool,\n  \"Love,\" said the maiden,\n  \"Beauty,\" said the page,\n  \"Freedom,\" said the dreamer,\n  \"Home,\" said the sage;\n  \"Fame,\" said the soldier,\n  \"Equity,\" said the seer.\n  Spake my heart full sadly--\n  \"The answer is not here.\"\n  Then within my bosom\n  Softly this I heard:\n  \"Each heart holds the secret;\n  Kindness is the word.\"_\n\n                  JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY.\n\nOh, Father, we are in a world of wonder and of bountiful promise. We\nscarcely know which to choose. Of all life's quests we would seek the\nhighest and best. Thou art a Lord gracious and kind. Grace is but\nanother name for kindness. It is this which is pronounced as a\nbenediction Sabbath after Sabbath, and for which we lift up our faces\nmorning after morning, to receive. Crown us with Thy loving kindness and\ntender mercies. But not for ourselves alone! As we meet the weary and\nheavy burdened in life, inspire us to show them the kindness of our God.\nAs freely as we have received, so freely may we impart. Amen.\n\n                                                         W. G. RICHARDSON.\n\n\nNovember 8\n\n     _What a blessed thing it is that we can forget! Today's troubles\n     look large, but a week hence they will be forgotten and buried out\n     of sight. Says one writer, \"If you should keep a book and daily put\n     down the things that worry you, and see what becomes of them, it\n     would be a benefit to you.\" The art of forgetting is a blessed art,\n     but the art of overlooking is quite as important._\n\n                                                               AUGHEY.\n\nLord, we know not the path our feet must walk today; yet we are not\nanxious. \"Thy word will be a lamp to our feet,\" and what we need to know\nThou wilt reveal just when we need to know it. Help us not to forget\nthat we are under our Father's care; that He knoweth our frame, that He\nwill not unduly burden us; that He will not \"suffer us to be tempted\nbeyond that which we are able to bear;\" that He will make \"all things\nwork together for good to them that love Him.\" So may this day be one of\npeace to us, and through us may some troubled heart find rest. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE SKENE\n\n\nNovember 9\n\n     _Learn to laugh. A good laugh is better than medicine. Learn to\n     tell a story. A well told story is as welcome as a sunbeam in a\n     sick room. Learn to keep your own troubles to yourself. The world\n     is too busy to care for your ills and sorrows. Learn to do\n     something for others. Even if you are a bedridden invalid there is\n     always something that you can do to make others happier, and that\n     is the surest way to attain happiness for yourself._\n\n                                                          THE BEACON.\n\nFather of all mankind, may the spirit of cheer mark this new day. May\nthe smile of Thy benediction rest upon us, and give courage to meet the\nduty and bear the burden. Help us each moment to know something of the\nhighest joy of serving Thee. May that joy never be absent from our pain.\nMay it consecrate every pleasure. May it lift us nearer the stature of\nthe Christ, that the light of our life may shed its beams on the pathway\nof other lives,--a light in their darkness, an assurance of sympathy in\naffliction, an inspiration to do and endure. So may all gladly go to\ntheir appointed duty, one with Thee, even as Christ, whose followers we\naim to be. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES T. BILLINGS.\n\n\nNovember 10\n\n     _Take whatever is good in man, and argue that God is not only that,\n     but infinitely better than that. In fashioning your conception of\n     God, make it as resplendent in justice, as august in truth, as\n     noble and pure in love, as radiant and wondrous in pity, as\n     enduring as you please. Never be afraid that you will overdraw the\n     divine character. God is never better in your thought or\n     imagination than He is in Himself._\n\n                                                 HENRY WARD BEECHER.\n\nAlmighty God, we thank Thee for the great thoughts and high hopes which\nlie deep in human hearts. We thank Thee for the visions of the perfect\nlife which lead us ever toward the light. We long to follow those who\nlead the way to Thee. By faith and love may we be bound to them. As\nvoices of Thy spirit may they be to us. Bless us this day with hunger\nfor righteousness. Feed us with the bread of life. Endow us with high\nhopes and determined wills, that we may be faithful. Amen.\n\n  FREDERICK W. BETTS.\n\n\nNovember 11\n\n  _There was a man who smiled\n  Because the day was bright;\n  Because he slept at night;\n  Because God gave him sight\n  To gaze upon his child!\n  Because his little one\n  Could leap and laugh and run;\n  Because the distant sun\n  Smiled on the earth, he smiled._\n\n  _He toiled and still was glad\n  Because the air was free;\n  Because he loved, and she\n  That claimed his love and he\n  Shared all the joys they had!\n  Because the grasses grew;\n  Because the sweet wind blew;\n  Because that he could hew\n  And hammer he was glad._\n\n                      S. E. KISER.\n\nO Lord, who dost bountifully provide for us the necessities and comforts\nof life, and makest us glad in the enjoyment of the same; grant, we\nbeseech Thee, that we may so use these, Thy gifts, that in all our\nblessings we find Thee to be the source and author of all our\nhappiness--of our health and prosperity, of our joys and hopes, and of\nthe holy relations of friends and family; lest, resting content in that\nwhich is less, we fail to attain to that which is greatest--truly to\nknow Thee and to love Thee, which is the very end of our being and the\nconsummation of all bliss; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM H. P. HATCH.\n\n\nNovember 12\n\n            _I have seen\n  A curious child, who dwelt upon a tract\n  Of inland ground, applying to his ear\n  The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell;\n  To which, in silence hushed, his very soul\n  Listened intensely; and his countenance soon\n  Brightened with joy; for from within were heard\n  Murmurings, whereby the monitor expressed\n  Mysterious union with its native sea:\n  Even such a shell the universe itself\n  Is to the ear of Faith; and there are times,\n  I doubt not, when to you it doth impart\n  Authentic tidings of invisible things;\n  Of ebb and flow, and ever-during power;\n  And central peace, subsisting at the heart\n  Of endless agitation._\n\n                                    WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.\n\nFather of Lights, with whom can be no variation or shadow that is cast\nby turning, give to me the joy of the love that endures as seeing Him\nwho is invisible; that where Thy speaking voice is, there may be my\nlistening ear; that above the waste and clamor of the tasks that exhaust\nme in bodily strength, there may be supplied a power of will to do the\nright and a fellowship with all righteous men everywhere. Help me to\nremember that Life consists not in the abundance of the things I\npossess. Let my faith see through doubt, endure through temptation and\nprivation, and cleave steadfastly to God, remembering that Love\nbelieving is Love triumphing. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.\n\n  ADOLPH A. BERLE.\n\n\nNovember 13\n\n     _When Jeremy Taylor had lost all--when his house had been plundered\n     and his family driven out of doors, and all his worldly estate had\n     been sequestered--he could still write thus: \"I am fallen into the\n     hands of publicans and sequesterers, and they have taken all from\n     me. What now? Let me look about me. They have left me the sun and\n     moon, a loving wife and many friends to pity me, and some to\n     relieve me; and I can still discourse, and, unless I list, they\n     have not taken away my merry countenance and my cheerful spirit and\n     a good conscience; they have still left me the providence of God,\n     and all the promises of the Gospel, and my religion, and my hopes\n     of heaven, and my charity to them, too; and still I sleep and\n     digest, I eat and drink, I read and meditate--and he that hath so\n     many causes of joy and so great, is very much in love with sorrow\n     and peevishness, who leaves all these pleasures, and chooses to sit\n     down upon his little handful of thorns.\"_\n\n                                                            SAMUEL SMILES.\n\nFather of all mercies, Who Thyself art more to us than the utmost of Thy\ngifts; we thank Thee for those blessings of our life which come like the\nmanna fresh every morning and pass with the passing day. Still more we\nthank Thee for the blessings which abide, like a pillar of cloud by day\nand fire by night, witness of Thine own presence ever continuing with\nus. Give us grace and wisdom so to receive the ministries of this new\nday, that by means of them we may enter more fully into the Divine\nfriendship and the everlasting habitations. Whatever may fail us, grant\nus such hold upon Thyself as shall be the having of all things, through\nJesus Christ our Lord. Amen.\n\n  JAMES FAIRBAIRN BRODIE.\n\n\nNovember 14\n\n  _Native goodness is unconscious, asks not to be recognized;\n  But its baser affectation is a thing to be despised.\n  Only when the man is loyal to himself shall he be prized._\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n  _If I live the life He gave me, God will turn it to His use._\n\n                                                BAYARD TAYLOR.\n\n  _Live not without a friend! the Alpine rock must own\n  Its mossy grace or else be nothing but a stone._\n\n  _Live not without a God! however low or high,\n  In every house should be a window to the sky._\n\n                                            WILLIAM WETMORE STORY.\n\nEternal God, who hast neither dawn nor evening, yet sendest us alternate\nmercies of the darkness and the day; there is no light but Thine,\nwithout, within. As Thou liftest the curtain of night from our abodes,\ntake also the veil from our hearts. Rise with Thy morning upon our\nsouls: quicken all our labor and our prayer: and though all else\ndeclines, let the noontide of Thy grace and peace remain. May we walk,\nwhile it is yet day, in the steps of Him who, with fewest hours,\nfinished Thy divinest work. Amen.\n\n  JAMES MARTINEAU.\n\n\nNovember 15\n\n     _I found it difficult the other night to cross a muddy street\n     because of the deep shadow cast by my own body which stood between\n     the electric light and the walk over which I was crossing. Not a\n     little of the time, I fear, do we stand in our own spiritual light,\n     making our own pathway black with ugly shadows cast by our own\n     personality, while the light flashes all around us. If you would\n     avoid the shadows walk toward the electric light in the heavens and\n     let its beams fall in your face._\n\n                                                       GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\nOur pathway, Heavenly Father, is dark and lone. Sad and sinister\nsuggestions born in our own hearts blind our souls and stay our steps.\nBut with Thee there is no night. Light is Thy shadow. Unto Thee,\ntherefore, we would turn in the sweet surrender of the spirit. In our\ndarkness which leadeth unto death show us the way. Walking by Thy\nguidance, intent upon Thy will, may we rest with unforgetting memory\nupon Thy sevenfold promise of life. Give us the gift of the morning\nstar. With Thee by our side may this new day bring us a new vision of\nduty, a larger girding for life, the nobler hope, the truth that makes\nmen free. And unto Thee be thanks, praise and glory.\n\n  Amen.\n\n  FRANKLIN HAMILTON.\n\n\nNovember 16\n\n     _The first principle of Christianity is to forget one's self. When\n     Wilberforce was straining every energy to get his bill for the\n     emancipation of slaves passed, a lady once said to him, \"Mr.\n     Wilberforce, I'm afraid you are so busy about those slaves that you\n     are neglecting your own soul.\" \"True, madam,\" he said; \"I had quite\n     forgotten that I have one.\" That remark contains one of the deepest\n     truths of Christianity._\n\n                                                        HENRY DRUMMOND.\n\nO Lord, give us the mind of the Master! We would look on our fellow\ncreatures as he looked on them. We would be free from all taint of envy,\njealousy, and sin. We would have his single eye and his hearing ear. We\nknow that Thou art in man, for it is Thy spirit which quickens within\nhim every pure thought and moves to every unselfish deed. Give us a due\nsense of humility and appreciation that we may enter into the secret\nthought and understand the sincere purpose of all the toilers of this\npresent world! Thus would we abide forever with the saints, the seers,\nand the singers, of all climes and ages!\n                                                            Amen.\n\n  EBEN H. CHAPIN.\n\n\nNovember 17\n\n     _Do we not know that more than half our trouble is borrowed? Just\n     suppose that we could get rid of all unnecessary and previous\n     terror; just suppose that we could be sure of final victory in\n     every conflict, and final emergence out of every shadow into\n     brighter day; how our hearts would be lightened! How much more\n     bravely we should work and fight and march forward! This is the\n     courage to which we are entitled and which we may find in the\n     thought that God is with us everywhere._\n\n                                                       HENRY VAN DYKE.\n\nO Gracious and Infinite Presence, Thou art the peace that dwells in the\nshade of night and the brightness and hope of this new day. We are\ngratefully conscious of the loving strength that stands ever ready to\nhelp. The call of the day's work is in our ears and the courage manfully\nto labor is in our hearts. Strengthen us, Father, when weariness of toil\ndissolves our noble resolutions; calm us when petty vexations distract\nfrom our holy purposes. May midday find us refreshed by Thy grace and\neventide solaced by Thy benediction. And now as we go forth to duty let\nour hearts know no terror but the fear of wrong-doing and our minds no\nanxiety but the earnest desire to toil fruitfully. Grant that we may see\nbeneath life's busy activities the great good Thou art working out among\nmen and to this end learn to labor and to wait. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES R. EAST.\n\n\nNovember 18\n\n  _There is no thing we cannot overcome.\n  Say not thy evil instinct is inherited,\n  Or that some trait inborn makes thy whole life forlorn,\n  And calls down punishment that is not merited.\n  Back of thy parents and grandparents lies\n  The Great Eternal Will. That, too, is thine\n  Inheritance, strong, beautiful, divine,\n  Sure lever of success, for him who tries.\n  Pry up thy faults with this great lever, Will,\n  However deeply bedded in propensity,\n  However firmly set, I tell thee firmer yet\n  Is that strange power that comes from truth's immensity!_\n\n                                           ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.\n\nO Eternal Goodness, help us now, as another morning dawns, to readjust\nourselves to Thy purpose of blessing. We believe that the most certain,\nsignificant and permanent fact of the universe is that Thou art our\nFather. Thus we are the heirs of Thy sufficient grace. There is no curse\nof ancestry for him who knows Thee as His parent. There is no weakness\nof the flesh for him who, through touch with Thee, becomes strong in the\nspirit. Help us all through this day to deny the chain of every earthly\nfolly and sin, to stand erect and free as becometh children of the\nInfinite. So, finding and using the wisdom of our Master, who, most of\nall men, gained success, may we overcome the world. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE E. HUNTLEY.\n\n\nNovember 19\n\n  _All things seem rushing straight into the dark--\n                But the dark still is God._\n\n                             GEORGE MACDONALD.\n\n  _Love is and was my king and lord,\n    And will be, tho' as yet I keep\n    Within the court on earth, and sleep\n  Encompass'd by his faithful guard,_\n\n  _And here at times a sentinel\n    Who moves about from place to place,\n    And whispers to the worlds of space,\n  In the deep night, that all is well._\n\n                           ALFRED TENNYSON.\n\nO God, our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that Thou hast led us into\nthis new day. We thank Thee also, that, though its experiences are\nuntried and its issues involved in uncertainty, we are unafraid, full\nindeed of glad expectation, because we know Thee as our King and Lord.\nHelp us in obedience and love to keep close to Thee, so that, if ever\nquick darkness shall come upon us, we may still be undisturbed because\nof Thy presence, to whom the darkness and the light are both alike. This\nwe ask in the name of Him who loved us and gave Himself for us. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES R. TENNEY.\n\n\nNovember 20\n\n  _Let thy day be to thy night\n  A letter of good tidings. Let thy praise\n  Go up as birds go up, that when they wake\n  Shake off the dew and soar; so take joy home\n  And make a place in thy heart for her,\n  And give her time to grow and cherish her;\n  Then will she come and oft will sing to thee\n  When thou art working in the furrows; ay,\n  Or weeding in the sacred hour of dawn.\n  It is a comely fashion to be glad--\n  Joy is the grace we say to God._\n\n                               JEAN INGELOW.\n\nOur Father, we thank Thee for the blessings of night. In this new\nmorning hour, we pray for stout hearts and strong to meet the day's\nwork. May we go forth with a song on our lips and the joy of renewed\nyouth in our souls. Amid the tumults of the day enable us to hear Thy\nbecalming voice. Then, though in dreariest labor, we shall have glad\nhearts, though pressed by dullest cares, we shall keep uncrushed hopes,\nthough distracted by earth's din, we shall hear heaven's music. Abide\nwith us, Benign Spirit. Inspire us to do our duty, and to learn that\ntherein, alone, may true joy be found. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE RUNYON LONGBRAKE.\n\n\nNovember 21\n\n     _The weather-prophet tells us of an approaching storm. It comes\n     according to the programme. We admire the accuracy of the\n     prediction, and congratulate ourselves that we have such a good\n     meteorological service. But when, perchance, a bright crystalline\n     piece of weather arrives instead of the foretold tempest, do we not\n     feel a secret sense of pleasure which goes beyond our mere comfort\n     in the sunshine? The whole affair is not as easy as a sum in simple\n     addition, after all,--at least not with our present knowledge. It\n     is a good joke on the Weather Bureau. \"Aha, Old Probabilities!\" we\n     say, \"You don't know it all yet; there are still some chances to be\n     taken!\"_\n\n                                                        HENRY VAN DYKE.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, Thou hast covered us with the darkness and we have\nslept under the shadow of Thy care. Thou hast opened for us again the\ngates of the morning, and refreshed, we rise to praise Thee. The memory\nof mercies past inspires our hope for today. Reveal Thyself to us by Thy\nspirit and through Thy word; make nature to minister to us in the\nheavens above and the fields below; let every experience lead us toward\nThyself. Help us to see Thy face in those about us, and honor Thee in\nloving, helpful ministry to them. Bring to us today a fresh and larger\nsense of Thy presence, forgiveness, and care, and so the assurance that\nall things are working together for our good. In the name of Jesus\nChrist our Saviour. Amen.\n\n  SAMUEL H. GREENE.\n\n\nNovember 22\n\n  \"_I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills._\"\n\n  PSALM cxxi. 1.\n\n  _Peace is the message of the hills,\n  A peace that broods\n  Upon their mighty heads, and fills\n  Their forest solitudes;\n  The leaping mountain waterfalls,\n  As each unto the other calls,\n  Blend in a murmuring noise\n  Whose silver rushing music stills\n  The pretty play of human moods,\n  And bids the calmed soul rejoice\n  In the deep secrets of the woods,\n  The majesty of Nature's voice._\n\n                    PRISCILLA LEONARD.\n\nDear God and Father of us all, Who maketh Thy sun to rise out of the sea\nand tintest the hills with the rosy promise of the day, we look up when\nwe awake and seeing the light upon the mountains know that the day is\ncoming to fill the world with beauty and glory. With thankful hearts we\npraise Thee, and pray that to us may be granted that loftiness of\nnature, that stability of character, that repose of mind and heart and\nlife that is prefigured to us in the natural world. Grant that we may\neach become mediums of Thy love and hope to all who may chance to look\nup to us for guidance along the shores of life's tempestuous ocean. May\nthe spirit of the Eternal find such expression in us and through us,\nthis day, that all who come within the radiance of our joy may come into\nthe consciousness of the joy of the Eternal. Amen.\n\n  THOMAS J. HORNER.\n\n\nNovember 23\n\n     _And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand\n     the words that I speak unto thee, and stand upright: for unto thee\n     am I now sent, and when he had spoken this word unto me, I stood\n     trembling. Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the\n     first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand and to\n     chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come\n     for thy words.... Then there came again and touched me one like the\n     appearance of a man and he strengthened me and said, O man, greatly\n     beloved, fear not: peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong._\n\n                                                       BOOK OF DANIEL.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that Thou art not far from us at any\ntime. We have only to look up reverently and to our imagination Thou art\nstanding near. We have only to wait in the darkness of the night to feel\nThy presence with us. We have only to listen at any time to hear Thy\nvoice. Thou deignest to stop and speak to us when we are in trouble, to\nguide our footsteps when we have lost our way, to renew our courage when\nwe have become disheartened. O Lord, speak to us this day, saying to us,\nas unto him of old, \"Peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong.\"\nAmen.\n\n  George L. Perin.\n\n\nNovember 24\n\n  _Let star-wheels and angel-wings, with their holy winnowings,\n    Keep beside you all the way:\n  Lest in passion you should dash, with a blind and heavy crash.\n    Up against the thick-bossed shield of God's judgment in the field._\n\n                                             ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.\n\n     _Be diligent and faithful, patient and hopeful, one and all of you;\n     and may we all know, at all times, that verily the Eternal rules\n     above us, and that nothing finally wrong has happened or can\n     happen._\n\n                                                         THOMAS CARLYLE.\n\nAlmighty God, our Father in heaven, the giver of every good and perfect\ngift, teach us, we pray Thee, how to do Thy will on earth as it is done\nin heaven, as the goal of our lives. Send down exceeding, abundantly\nabove all that we can ask or think, the blessed influences of Thy Holy\nSpirit, to transform each heart and all the world into the kingdom of\nheaven. Give us the Morning Star of Hope. Feed us from the Tree of Life.\nTeach us Thy redeeming love. Grant that we may have some part with Thee\nin the redemption of the world, and be permitted to join with the whole\nglad earth in the chorus, \"Blessing and honor and glory and power be\nunto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and\never.\" Amen.\n\n  F. N. PELOUBET.\n\n\nNovember 25\n\n     _What is the crown of the whole of life lived faithfully here? It\n     is not a crown of gold or gems in another life; it is simply more\n     life; a broader use of power, a healthier capacity, a larger\n     usefulness. You are faithful unto death, through the\n     misapprehensions and imperfections and absence of appreciation or\n     gratitude in this preparatory world, and then there is offered to\n     you inevitably and legitimately the crown of a larger, more\n     serviceable, more effective life._\n\n                                                FRANCIS G. PEABODY.\n\nTo Thee, O Author of our lives, we speak thanksgiving and gratitude for\nThy gifts of love and trust. Help us to bring them into full exercise\nthis day. By them may we know the experience of burdens made light and\nyokes made easy. With them, let us realize that we are effective workers\nwith Thee. Because of them, show us how all our tasks are transformed to\ndivine endeavors. Through them, set free all other of our highest\nimpulses. So, O God, shall we know the fulness of life, we and all our\nloved ones. So shall we see doubt change to faith and blindness to\nvision. So shall our influence through word and work be the ministry of\nhope and of joy to any disconsolate, and to any who are a weak guide to\nthe source of strength. For newness of life, for all the fruits of the\nspirit, whereby the heart is ever young and in joyous companionship with\nthe Christ, for all this we pray now and ever. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM H. MCGLAUCHLIN.\n\n\nNovember 26\n\n     _The child frightened in his play runs to seek his mother. She\n     takes him upon her lap and presses his head to her bosom; and with\n     tenderest words of love, she looks down upon him and smooths his\n     hair and kisses his cheek, and wipes away his tears. Then, in a low\n     and gentle voice, she sings some sweet descant, some lullaby of\n     love; and the fear fades out from his face, and a smile of\n     satisfaction plays over it, and at length his eyes close, and he\n     sleeps in the deep depths and delights of peace. God Almighty is\n     the mother and the soul is the tired child; and He folds it in His\n     arms and dispels its fears, and lulls it to repose, saying \"Sleep,\n     my darling, sleep! It is I who watch thee.\"_\n\n                                                  HENRY WARD BEECHER.\n\nBlessed Master! we thank Thee that every tired and weary child may find\nrest in the bosom of the Father. Each morning brings with it new cares,\nnew duties, new privileges, new responsibilities; for all these, we need\nThy protecting care, and pray for Thy divine guidance. When wearied and\nburdened with the cares of daily life, wilt Thou help us to flee to Thee\nas the frightened child flees to the loving mother; and wilt Thou\nencircle us with Thine arms of love, and whisper in our ears words of\ncomfort and cheer and of forgiveness. Teach us to trust Thee in the\nmorning, to walk with Thee through the day, and to commit our ways to\nThee at all times. Amen.\n\n  SAMUEL M. DICK.\n\n\nNovember 27\n\n     _Certainly there never was a busier life than that of Jesus,--His\n     whole great mission bounded by three hurried years. Yet in the\n     morning He says to His friends: \"Let us come apart and rest\n     awhile;\" and again when the evening is come He is in the mountain\n     apart, alone. That is the place of worship in a world of work. It\n     is not a refuge from duty, or a shirking of it; it is the renewal\n     of power to meet one's duty and do it. The work of life is not to\n     be well done with a hot, feverish, overwhelmed, and burdened mind;\n     it is to be well done with a mind calmed and fortified by moments\n     of withdrawal; and it is to be best done by one who from time to\n     time pulls himself up in his eager life and permits God to speak to\n     his soul._\n\n                                                    FRANCIS G. PEABODY.\n\nO Spirit of grace, who withholdest Thy blessing from none, take from us\nthe tediousness and anxiety of a selfish mind, the unfruitfulness of\ncold affections, the weakness of an inconstant will. With the simplicity\nof a great purpose, the quiet of a meek temper, and the power of a\nwell-ordered soul, may we pass through the toils and watches of our\npilgrimage; grateful for all that may render the burden of duty light;\nand even in strong trouble rejoicing to be deemed worthy of the severer\nservice of Thy will. Amen.\n\n  JAMES MARTINEAU.\n\n\nNovember 28\n\n        _God gives to every man\n  The virtue, temper, understanding, taste,\n  That lifts him into life, and lets him fall\n  Just in the niche he was ordain'd to fill._\n\n                                    WILLIAM COWPER.\n\n     _Did you ever hear of a man who had striven all his life faithfully\n     and singly toward an object, and in no measure obtained it? If a\n     man constantly aspires, is he not elevated? Did ever a man try\n     heroism, magnanimity, truth, sincerity, and find that there was no\n     advantage in them--that it was a vain endeavor?_\n\n                                                 HENRY DAVID THOREAU.\n\nHoly Father, help us to be thankful that no life is beneath Thy notice.\nIf a sparrow cannot fall without Thee, how much more is Thine eye fixed\nupon Thy child. Teach us, O Lord, that there is a divine purpose in each\nlife. But may we not try to choose this without Thee. Show us how to\nwait upon Thee in holy silence till Thou dost make it known to us. O\nMaster, say to us: \"As the Father hath sent me into the world even so\nhave I sent you.\" When we have found at the Cross our little mission, O\nsustain us and help us to keep it steadily in view--let us share Thy\nholy enthusiasm when Thou didst say: \"My meat is to do the will of Him\nthat sent me and to finish His work.\" O Father, when we are depressed\nwhisper to us: \"Your labor is not in vain in the Lord.\" May our mission\ntransform us into the likeness of Jesus, and may we say with Him at\nevening: \"I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work\nThou gavest me to do.\" Amen.\n\n  L. P. JOHNSON.\n\n\nNovember 29\n\n  _Though wrong may win, its victory is brief,\n    The tides of good at first no passage find;\n  Each surge breaks, shattered, on the sullen reef,--\n    Yet still the infinite ocean comes behind._\n\n  _The road of Right has neither turn nor bend,\n      It stretches straight unto the highest goal;\n      Hard, long, and lonely?--yes, yet never soul\n  Can lose its way thereon, nor miss the end._\n\n                                   PRISCILLA LEONARD.\n\nWe thank Thee, Heavenly Father, that awaking, we are conscious that Thou\nart near. Walk with us, through the untried path of this day's duty and\nservice. We rejoice that Thou art in Thy world. Within its striving is\nThy calm. Around its restlessness is Thy rest. Thy purpose fashions its\nachievements; Thy love shapes its future. Help us to see it with clearer\nvision, to hold it fast with firmer faith. When wrong seems to triumph,\nmay we know that it is already perishing, and hold hard by truth and\nlove and faith. Give us grace to spend this day as becometh children of\nGod in honor, in courtesy, in sympathy, in confident trust. When the way\nseems long and lonely, straight and steep, help us to sing as we march\nforward, since Thou art with us, Who hast said, \"I will never leave thee\nnor forsake thee.\" Amen.\n\n  CHARLES C. P. HILLER.\n\n\nNovember 30\n\n     _She was a droll little figure of a girl with a quaint old face,\n     that showed too early the lines of care and work, and her clothing\n     betokened a poverty-stricken home. Evidently not much of brightness\n     had touched her life, but her face always lightened up when she\n     mentioned her school or her teacher. \"Why is it that you love your\n     teacher so well?\" she was asked one day. Her eyes shone and her\n     lips smiled happily as she replied, \"Because she's glad to me!\"\n     What a tribute was that! What an evidence was that of a happy heart\n     that radiated its gladness! If we cannot bring other offerings of\n     much value to the children and the poor among us, how blessed are\n     we if we can bring gladness!_\n\n                                                      ESTELLE M. HART.\n\nAlmighty God, teach us how to be glad. Put some gladness into our\nhearts. Show us where gladness is hidden in our little world about us,\nso that we may find it and use it. Give us the wisdom of Jesus, who,\nalthough a Man of Sorrows, yet spake ever of His joy and His peace. We\nfeel that the secret of things must be gladness, that somehow there is a\ncovered joy even in what we call our sufferings. Let us find that. Keep\nour hearts pure of the soiling of evil desire, for we know that no\ngladness can come from the muddy fountains of sin. Let our hands be busy\nat some good part of the world's work, for we know that idleness never\nwent hand in hand with joy. Let our minds be open to acknowledge, love\nand obey the truth, for we feel that truth alone can satisfy our hearts.\nAnd let us feel to-day the duty of gladness we owe to our\nfellow-creatures. Let us give to them what we would receive from Thee.\nAmen.\n\n  FRANK CRANE.\n\n\nDecember 1\n\n  _But winter has yet brighter scenes--he boasts\n  Splendors beyond what gorgeous Summer knows;\n  Or Autumn with his many fruits, and woods\n  All flushed with many hues, come when the rains\n  Have glazed the snow and clothed the trees with ice,\n  The incrusted surface shall upbear thy steps,\n  And the broad arching portals of the grove\n  Welcome thy entering._\n\n                                WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.\n\nOur Father, we know that Thou wilt commune with us if only we truly seek\nThee; Thou art the Infinite Consciousness and Thou dost include within\nThyself our finite consciousness. We have our life in Thy life. This\nmorning we would be mindful of Thy presence. The northern groves with\nsnow-laden, bended branches bid us enter and worship. Thou dost send\nforth the rays of Thy sun and touch them aglow with the reflected beauty\nof the snow-flake. Thou hast also created us. The flake reflects the\nsun, and may we reflect Thee, through living righteously. Help us to do\nthe right and to forego the wrong. Amen.\n\n  FRED ALBAN WEIL.\n\n\nDecember 2\n\n  _\"A commonplace life,\" we say, and we sigh;\n  But why should we sigh as we say?\n  The commonplace sun in the commonplace sky\n  Makes up the commonplace day.\n  The moon and the stars are commonplace things,\n  And the flower that blooms and the bird that sings,\n  But dark were the world and sad our lot\n  If the flowers failed and the sun shone not;\n  And God, who studies each separate soul\n  Out of commonplace lives makes His beautiful whole._\n\n                                       SUSAN COOLIDGE.\n\nOur Infinite Father, we open our hearts to Thee, for where Thou art\nheaven is. As the morning sun gives light and life to Earth, so Thou\ngivest light and life and joy to us. We say Good-morning to Thee, and as\nwe listen Thy Good-morning comes to us. As it comes we glow and expand\nlike the opening flower. May this glowing spirit of love be in all we\nsay and do and think this day, and still continue through all days to\ncome. When we are vexed and weary with trials and labor, make us to\nremember this morning glow of Thy Love that it may renew rest and peace\nwithin us. Help us, O our Father, to enter the beauty of this day and\nthis life by claiming our heritage as \"children of light\" and going\nforth to fulfil the common duties of the day as \"children of God.\" Amen.\n\n  WALTER DOLE.\n\n\nDecember 3\n\n     _No matter! so long as the world is the work of eternal goodness,\n     and so long as conscience has not deceived us. To give happiness\n     and to do good, there is our only law, our anchor of salvation, our\n     beacon light, our reason for existing. All religions may crumble\n     away; so long as this survives we have still an ideal, and life is\n     worth living. Nothing can lessen the dignity and value of humanity\n     so long as the religion of love, of unselfishness and devotion\n     endures; and none can destroy the altars of this faith for us so\n     long as we feel ourselves still capable of love._\n\n                                                HENRI-FREDERIC AMIEL.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for a night of peaceful rest, and we\nare glad to begin a new day with full assurance of Thy loving care. We\nhope for pleasant ways and large success, but Thy wisdom is better than\nour wishes and if it is appointed us to meet difficulties or\ntemptations, we pray for strength to sustain a manly warfare. We have\nfaith that whatever our condition Thou wilt still provide a way by which\nlofty purpose and resolute endeavor may use the circumstances of our\nlife for a nearer approach to Thee and for service to our fellowmen. To\nthis end be then the light of our way and the strength of our life,\nthrough Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.\n\n  J. SMITH DODGE.\n\n\nDecember 4\n\n     _He was a friend to man, and lived in a house by the side of the\n     road._\n\n                                                            HOMER.\n\n  _There are hermit souls that live withdrawn\n    In the peace of their self-content;\n  There are souls, like stars, that dwell apart,\n    In a fellow-less firmament;\n  There are pioneer souls that blaze their paths\n    Where highways never ran:--\n  But let me live by the side of the road\n    And be a friend to man._\n\n  _Let me live in a house by the side of the road.\n    Where the race of men go by--\n  The men who are good and the men who are bad,\n    As good and as bad as I.\n  I would not sit in the scorner's seat,\n    Or hurl the cynic's ban:--\n  Let me live in a house by the side of the road\n    And be a friend to man._\n\n                                     SAM WALTER FOSS.\n\nOur Father in Heaven, we come with thanksgiving for the light of another\nday and all the blessings which it brings from Thee. May the precious\nmoments before us be filled with activity. Forgive us if we have been\nremiss in seizing our opportunities and so lead us this day that if we\nshall be called to Thee, the sweet voice of the Master may greet us\nwith, \"Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my\nbrethren, ye have done it unto Me.\" In Jesus' name. Amen.\n\n  J. E. CHARLTON.\n\n\nDecember 5\n\n  _One old lady kept a sighing;\n    Said she wasn't young,\n  Didn't look as sweet's she used to,\n    Times were all unstrung;\n  Troubles doubled aches, and favors\n    Went a flying past,\n  Wrinkles stung like thorns, and eyesight\n    Kept a failing fast._\n\n  _One old lady kept a saying\n    Life was like the spring,\n  Brighter blossoms always coming,\n    Birds around to sing;\n  Troubles came--and went; she let 'em,\n    Didn't count the throng.\n  Thanked the Lord 'most every morning\n    She'd been young so long!_\n\n                            JESSIE M. SHAW.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, wilt Thou forgive us for the sighs and tears and\nfrowns and doubts of yesterday? Especially wilt Thou forgive us for all\nthat was little and petty and mean? May we begin again today with larger\nvision, higher hope and nobler ambition. May there be no sighs for lost\nbeauty, no grief over faded youth and no lamentation over lost fortune.\nThankful and glad for what we have, may we find our joy in using it for\nsome high end. So may we conserve the youth of the heart and the light\nof the soul. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nDecember 6\n\n  _There is never a sky of winter\n    To the heart that sings alway;\n  Never a night but hath stars to light,\n    And dreams of a rosy day._\n\n  _The world is ever a garden\n    Red with the bloom of May;\n  And never a stormy morning\n    To the heart that sings alway!_\n\n                        FRANK L. STANTON.\n\nO Thou who art the Love, the Light, and the Life in whom is no discord,\nno darkness, no disease nor death; but who art ever radiating sympathy,\nvision and health; we give Thee hearty thanks for the consciousness of\nThy abiding presence when we possess a humble and contrite spirit. May\nwe ever remember that nothing but our own selfishness, pride, and\nforgetfulness can break this constant communion with Thee. Open our\nhearts just now for the inflow of the divine Love in order that we may\npass it on to others today. Open our eyes today that we may see Thee\neverywhere striving against selfishness in the lives of all men. Fill us\nwith Thy Life today in order that there may go out to others a heavenly\nharmony, a song, a symphony, that will dispel discord, darkness and\ndisease; that will overcome evil with good. Amen.\n\n  E. J. HELMS.\n\n\nDecember 7\n\n  _As the bird trims her to the gale,\n    I trim myself to the storm of time,\n  I man the rudder, reef the sail,\n    Obey the voice at eve obeyed at prime;\n  \"Lowly faithful, banish fear,\n    Right onward drive unharmed;\n  The port, well worth the cruise, is near,\n    And every wave is charmed.\"_\n\n                          RALPH WALDO EMERSON.\n\nHeavenly Father, keep our faces in the light and upward. Make us\ncourageous in the storm. Help us to consecrate all our powers against\nthe contrary winds and listen for the loving voice of Him who walks the\nrough waves and comes toward our frail barks. May we never be afraid;\nmay we know peace and rest and trust. O Saviour, help us to know the\nreality of Thy love and friendship, and hear Thee say in the darkest\nhour, \"All is well.\" May no storm be too severe, no burden too heavy, no\ntask too hard. So let us believe and live. Amen.\n\n  CORTLAND MYERS.\n\n\nDecember 8\n\n  _Love thyself last: cherish those hearts that hate thee,\n  Corruption wins not more than honesty.\n  Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,\n  To silence envious tongues. Be just, and fear not:\n  Let all the ends thou aim'st at be thy country's,\n  Thy God's, and truth's; then if thou fall'st, O Cromwell,\n  Thou fall'st a blessed martyr!_\n\n                                                   SHAKESPEARE.\n\nFather Almighty, we do trust in Thee, and we ask Thee for everything.\nThou art pleased to give us everything. Thou dost give us the light by\nwhich we see. Thou dost give us this air which we breathe and with which\nwe speak. Best of all, Thou hast shown us that we are one family of Thy\nchildren, alive in Thy life and strong in Thy strength. Thou dost give\nus the water that we drink and the food that we eat. Everything is Thine\nwhile it is ours. Now, Father, we are here to consecrate these gifts to\nThy service, to come and go indeed as Thy children; when we speak, to\nspeak the word that Thou shalt teach; when we act, to do the thing that\nThou wouldst. Moreover, inspire us with Thine holy spirit, that we may\nso come and go in our Father's service, and for the coming of Thy\nkingdom in this world, that all men may be one, and may bear one\nanother's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Amen.\n\n  EDWARD EVERETT HALE.\n\n\nDecember 9\n\n  _Each soul, alone unto herself, must bear\n  The heartache out of which man wins despair\n  Or hope according to his faculty.\n  Nathless one thing is certain; who hath known\n  Truth, beauty, goodness, shining in their sphere,\n  Shall not be lost through any lesser lure.\n  On black tempestuous waves he may be thrown;\n  Yet to the right port shall he surely steer,\n  And God Himself shall make his doing pure._\n\n                             JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS.\n\nO God, with the dawn we would lift our grateful hearts to Thee! We know\nnot what Thou hast in store for us this new day, but we rejoice that we\nare in Thy thought, and that we cannot pass beyond the reach of Thy\nlove. Helpless and weak, we pray for courage to be undaunted by the\nuncertainties of life, and that we may meet all its duties with a firm\nand tranquil mind. Grant that we may be helpful to all with whom we come\nin contact and forbid that we should judge others hastily or\nuncharitably. May our minds and hearts be open to the truth, that we may\nknow and do Thy gracious will. Guided and guarded by Thee, may the day\nbe full of peace, purity and power. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE M. HOWE.\n\n\nDecember 10\n\n  _There was never a song that was sung by thee,\n  But a sweeter one was meant to be.\n  There was never a deed that was grandly done,\n  But a greater was meant by some earnest one.\n  For the sweetest voice can never impart\n  The song that trembles within the heart._\n\n  _And the brain and the hand can never quite do\n  The thing that the soul has fondly in view.\n  And hence are the tears and the burdens of pain,\n  For the shining goals are never to gain\n  But enough that a God can hear and see\n  The song and the deed that were meant to be._\n\n                               BENJAMIN R. BULKELEY.\n\nAlmighty God, our Heavenly Father, who hast illumined the morning with\nthe brightness of Thy life, we rejoice in the potency of the influence\nthat brings us into communion with Thee. For the blessed revelation of\nThyself, for life and all things that nourish it, for the earth and the\nfulness thereof, for daily comforts and mercies and for the Light that\nlighteth every man who cometh into the world, we give Thee thanks. We\nthank Thee too for the songs that we have sung and for the better songs\nthat are in our hearts. We thank Thee for every noble deed and also for\nthe dreams of nobler deeds that men have cherished. O Lord, bless our\nwork and fill us with aspiration for nobler service. Bless the poor, the\nsick, and those that mourn. Hear this our prayer and answer our petition\nthrough Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.\n\n  FRANK D. SARGENT.\n\n\nDecember 11\n\n     _Love the spot where you are, and the friends God has given you and\n     be sure to expect everything good of them._\n\n                                                            JOHN ALBEE.\n\n     _When do we lift each other up? Must we gain a height first or can\n     we reach up our feebleness together to the Hands that do offer us a\n     mighty help from on high? Near doing, and near living, and near\n     loving; these life-particles make the great heaven, as the little\n     polarized atoms of light, all magnetized one way, make the great\n     blue in which the stars burn forever._\n\n                                                    MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.\n\nNo discontent could harass us if we had a deeper faith in Thee and a\nbroader love for those about us. We praise Thee, therefore, that we may\nbe rooted and grounded in Christ. And that our little lives may glorify\nHim by bringing forth abundant fruit. Thou dost give us the holy\nprivilege of being co-laborers with Thee in the salvation of needy\nhumanity. Around us are the countless opportunities for ennobling and\ngladdening the lives of those whose courage burns low, or who have never\nknown the transforming companionship of Christ. We would not forget that\nwe are debtors to Thee and to that great Host whose love and service has\ninspired us. May we be not selfish takers only, but generous givers. May\nthere be less gloom, fewer shackles, less guilt in the world because we\nare mastered by the spirit of Christ. Amen.\n\n  PHILIP L. FRICK.\n\n\nDecember 12\n\n     _Have you learned lessons only of those who admired you, and were\n     tender with you, and stood aside for you?_\n\n     _Have you not learned great lessons from those who reject you, and\n     brace themselves against you? or who treat you with contempt, or\n     dispute the passage with you?_\n\n                                                         WALT WHITMAN.\n\nHelp us, O God, always to be hopeful; teach us what it means to hope in\nThee, and may we experience the truth of the promise which says: \"He\nwill strengthen your heart that hopes in Him;\" but help us not to\nindulge in too fond hopes nor to be too easily elated by future dreams.\nMay we see life clearly as it is and be ready to accept courageously\nwhatsoever Thou sendest us. Help us to accept all our joys as Thy\nblessings; all our duties as Thy commands, and our sorrows as of Thine\nappointment, and help us to believe that Thou wilt turn even that which\nseems to harm us, into everlasting good and everlasting joy. Amen.\n\n  JOHN F. MEYER.\n\n\nDecember 13\n\n     _Life should be a giving birth to the soul, the development of a\n     higher mode of reality. The animal must be humanized: flesh must be\n     made spirit; physiological activity must be transmuted into\n     intellect and conscience, into reason, justice, and generosity, as\n     the torch is transmuted into light and warmth. The blind, greedy,\n     selfish nature of man must put on beauty and nobleness. This\n     heavenly alchemy is what justifies our presence on the earth; it is\n     our mission and our glory._\n\n                                                   HENRI-FREDERIC AMIEL.\n\nOur Father, this world is Thy world, and this day is Thy renewed gift of\nopportunity to learn life's lesson more perfectly. We need clearer\ninsight into Thy designs, that we may loathe every form of selfishness,\nand love devotion. Give us to know the Christ more intimately, and in\nthe strength of His apprehended presence help us to employ this day in\npractising the holy principles He taught. Assist us this morning to\nhave, and throughout this day to keep, such an attitude of glad\nco-operation with Him, that work shall be shot through and through with\njoy in anticipation of its glorious result. So may this day be to us a\ntime of real soul expansion; a wooing and a winning of that which is\nhighest, even a purer, noble character. Amen.\n\n  J. EDWIN LACOUNT.\n\n\nDecember 14\n\n  _'Tis the mind that makes the body rich,\n  And as the sun breaks through the darkest clouds,\n  So honor peereth in the meanest habit.\n  What, is the jay more precious than the lark,\n  Because his feathers are more beautiful?\n  Or is the adder better than the eel,\n  Because his painted skin contents the eye?_\n\n                                     SHAKESPEARE.\n\nIn this world of mingled good and evil, amid the ceaseless struggle of\nthe better with the worse, grant unto us our Father, the cheerful\nassurance that we are enlisted in the service of the good, bound for the\nbetter, and destined for the best. Reveal to us each day some task that\nwe can do for Thee, some chance to bear with Christ the burden of\nanother, some call to take the side of the right against the wrong. Help\nus to conquer hardship by patience, despair by hope, fear by courage,\nand hate by love; and may we find the peace, the power, the glory of Thy\nperfect will and Thy great kingdom reflected and reproduced in our\nhearts and lives. Amen.\n\n  WILLIAM DEWITT HYDE.\n\n\nDecember 15\n\n  _Call him not old, whose visionary brain\n  Holds o'er the past its undivided reign,\n  For him in vain the envious seasons roll\n  Who bears eternal summer in his soul.\n  If yet the minstrel's song, the poet's lay,\n  Spring with her birds, or children at their play,\n  Or maiden's smile, or heavenly dream of art,\n  Stir the few life-drops creeping round his heart,\n  Turn to the record where his years are told,--\n  Count his gray hairs,--they cannot make him old!_\n\n                                   OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.\n\nThou infinite Spirit of Life, in Thy sight, there is no old age. The\nstep may grow feeble, the hair may whiten, the eye may grow dim, but\neach human soul is still Thy child. We gather about the tables of earth,\nfamilies of children, some older, some younger, but all young in Thy\nsight. We pause for a moment this morning to pray for the spirit of\nyouth. Let us cherish the power of hoping and of believing. Let us have\nthat fine quality of the child life which keeps it facing the future\nwith glad expectancy. Let us not give over our toils till we must. Let\nus not relinquish our interest in life till the evening shadows fall,\nand even at the last, let us lie down like the child who sleeps with his\nhand in the hand of his mother. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nDecember 16\n\n     _O toiling bands of mortals! O unwearied feet, travelling we know\n     not whither! Soon, soon, it seems to you, you must come forth on\n     some conspicuous hilltop, and but a little way further, against the\n     setting sun, descry the spires of El Dorado. Little do ye know your\n     own blessedness; for to travel hopefully is a better thing than to\n     arrive, and the true success is to labor._\n\n                                                ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON.\n\nOur Father, we thank Thee for the work that Thou givest us to do; for\nits joy, for its zest, even for its very task and weariness. We would\ninterpret our labor by the highest good it brings us; through our brave\nand cheerful doing Thy heaven of peace is found. We thank Thee for our\ndiviner hopes, and for the Spirit that would complete them. They light\nour days with gladness, and set our feet in large places, and though the\nhigher hill-tops seem far away, yet meeting our duties faithfully, we do\nsee them, and looking back we find the places of our departure lying far\nbelow. O blessed tasks! O blessed hopes! That lead us ever to our\nFather's love. Amen.\n\n  ALBERT J. COLEMAN.\n\n\nDecember 17\n\n  _God speaks to hearts of men in many ways:\n  Some the red banner of the rising sun,\n  Spread o'er the snow-clad hills, has taught his praise.\n  Some the sweet silence when the day is done;\n  Some, after loveless lives, at length have won\n  His word in children's hearts and children's gaze;\n  And some have found him where low rafters ring\n  To greet the hand that helps, the heart that cheers;\n  And some in prayer, and some in perfecting\n  Of watchful toil through unrewarding years;\n  And some not less are his, who vainly sought\n  His voice, and with his silence have been taught,--\n  Who bore his chains who bade them to be bound,\n  And at the end in finding not have found._\n\n                                               ANONYMOUS.\n\nO God, all voices of the earth are Thine, even when there is no speech\nor language, Thy messages have many ways to reach the listening heart.\nGive us this day to hear at least some whisper of Thy grace. If it may\nbe, open our minds and attune our spirits to receive more than we could\nhitherto interpret of the assurances sent to us by elevated goodness and\nlove. So let us be defended this day against wrong, and do our work in\njoy and peace through the knowledge that Thou art with us, our friend\nand helper even unto the end. Amen.\n\n  HOWARD N. BROWN.\n\n\nDecember 18\n\n     _Did you ever see a schoolboy tumble on the ice without stooping\n     immediately to re-buckle the strap of his skates? And would not\n     Ignotus have painted a masterpiece if he could have found good\n     brushes and a proper canvas? Life's shortcomings would be bitter\n     indeed if we could not find excuses for them outside of ourselves.\n     And as for life's successes--well, it is certainly wholesome to\n     remember how many of them are due to a fortunate position and the\n     proper tools._\n\n                                                       HENRY VAN DYKE.\n\nOur Father, God, help us to begin this new day with the right spirit in\nour hearts,--the spirit of love toward Thee and our fellowmen. Help us\nto begin the day if possible without mistake. If, in our human weakness\nwe find that we have not succeeded, that we have erred or gone astray,\nhelp us not to despair, not to be discouraged; help us to know and to\nseek and to love the right. Help us never to forget what we owe to Thee,\nto our friends, and the beautiful world Thou hast given us. Daily bread\nwe have, opportunities open, like books on every hand. Greater than all\nlife's bitter is its sweet. Ever ready is the Master to bless; ever\nready is the spirit to comfort Thy children look up and praise the\nFather eternal. Amen.\n\n  RANSOM A. GREENE.\n\n\nDecember 19\n\n     _I love Thee, O Son of Man! for Thy strength and Thy sweetness, for\n     Thy simplicity, Thy courage, Thine infinite tenderness, for Thy\n     glance which strengthens and pardons us, quickens us and lifts us\n     up; for all that Thou hast brought us of consolation, of peace and\n     of warmth of heart. Abide Thou with us! Teach us to see the divine\n     spark imprisoned in every stone of the highway._\n\n                                                        CHARLES WAGNER.\n\nO Lord, our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for all Thy manifold mercies\nto us, for all Thy constant care and watchfulness over us from the\nbeginning of our lives to this day, for the revelations of Thy presence\nin the world about us, in the shining sky, in the earth beneath our\nfeet, and in the faces of our friends. Bless us, O Lord, this day, with\nhealth and strength and a good courage, and grant that we may show our\ngratitude for all Thy goodness not only with our lips but in our lives,\nthrough Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE HODGES.\n\n\nDecember 20\n\n  _In every \"Oh my Father!\"\n  Slumbers deep a \"Here, my child.\"_\n\n                               THOLUCK.\n\n     _This world, with its wonderful creations, its beauties, and\n     mysteries may lead a child up to the father's throne, if his heart\n     and mind are open to it. Fill the heart with goodness and there is\n     no place for badness. Fill the soul with heaven, and there is no\n     hell. And this delightful time will come when \"God is all and in\n     all.\"_\n\n                                                     ABBIE E. DANFORTH.\n\nOur Father, who art in heaven; we know that Thou hast been good to us.\nWe thank Thee for the daily witnesses of Thy love. And we would walk\nworthily before Thee. But we are weak. Help us, O Father to see clearly\nwhat Thou would'st have us do! Give us strength. Fill us with Thy\nspirit, that all the way we may be pure and patient. Help us to walk\naright. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES H. PUFFER.\n\n\nDecember 21\n\n  _Grand is the seen, the light, to me--grand are the sky and stars,\n  Grand is the earth, and grand are lasting time and space,\n  And grand their laws, so multiform, puzzling, evolutionary;\n  But grander far the unseen soul of me, comprehending, endowing all those,\n  Lighting the light, the sky and stars, delving the earth, sailing\n        the sea,\n  (What were all those, indeed, without thee, unseen soul? of what amount\n        without Thee?)\n  More evolutionary, vast, puzzling, O my soul!\n  More multiform far--more lasting Thou than they._\n\n                                                         WALT WHITMAN.\n\nO Thou, our Heavenly Father, in spirit we reach out to Thy great spirit.\nQuicken within us visions of what things we may do this day, with Thee\nat hand, Thy love abounding. Give us vision that we may rise to the\nopportunities of our daily task. Let Thy holy spirit bear witness to the\nreality of our dreams and aspirations, that we may look not idly upon\nour opportunities, but rather that each new opportunity shall challenge\nus to nobler effort. O keep us this day full of faith in ourselves and\nThee, each obedient to our vision, until full purposed, winning Thine\napproval, we shall accomplish the thing for which Thou sendest us, and\nThine be the glory. Amen.\n\n  JAMES D. TILLINGHAST.\n\n\nDecember 22\n\n  _I see the wrong that round me lies,\n    I feel the guilt within,\n  With groan and travail cries\n    I hear the world confess its sin._\n\n  _Within the maddening maze of things,\n    And tossed by storm and flood,\n  To one fixed stake my spirit clings:\n    I know that God is good._\n\n  _I know not where his islands lift\n    Their fronded palms in air;\n  I only know I cannot drift\n    Beyond His love and care._\n\n                    JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.\n\nO Thou, without whose care a sparrow does not fall, who through the\npathless sky dost guide the bird seeking its distant nest, Thy trusting\nchildren are safe in Thy dear love. We know not the way before us, but\nThou dost know; our feet may stumble in rough paths, but Thou wilt hold\nus up. Glad in this confidence, may we begin the day with song and\nfinish it, whatever may befall us, in the calm assurance that all things\nwork for good. Give us patience in perplexity, hope amid our fears, and\nfaith to trust Thy holy will as best. Thus walking in Thy love may we\nreach home at last to see our Saviour's face. Amen.\n\n  STEPHEN A. NORTON.\n\n\nDecember 23\n\n  _Wouldst make thy life go fair and square?\n  Thou must not for the past feel care;\n  Whatever thy loss, thou must not mourn;\n  Must ever act as if new-born.\n  What each day wants of thee, that ask;\n  What each day tells thee, that make thy task;\n  With pride thine own performance viewing,\n  With heart to admire another's doing;\n  Above all, hate no human being,\n  And all the future leave to the All-Seeing._\n\n                                        GOETHE.\n\nDear Father, grateful for another new-born day, myself new-born, I greet\nThee! Yesterday and all other yesterdays are in Thy keeping. _This day\nis mine!_ For the failures of the past I care not, nor do I mourn the\nlosses of the days gone by. _Today I am new-born!_ Indeed, aspiring to\nThy comprehensive wisdom, I may see my past and my present as one, and\nout of that past I may select--even from failures and losses--such\nexperiences and lessons as will help me live the present--at least this\none day which is mine!--more nobly, more fully, more usefully, more\nbeautifully. May I, knowing myself to be Thy Child, respect myself as a\ncreative spirit able to look upon its own work and to say: \"Behold, it\nis good!\" And above all, I pray: that, to-day and always, I may grow in\ngrace and loving-kindness,--hating no one, but feeling, thinking,\nspeaking, acting with good will towards all Thy creatures! _This day is\nmine!_ The future I leave to Thee, All-Seeing Father! but feel myself\nThy open-eyed and confident child. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES FLEISCHER.\n\n\nDecember 24\n\n  _'Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,\n  Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;\n  A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,\n  Which sought through the world is ne'er met with elsewhere._\n\n  _An exile from home splendor dazzles in vain,\n  Oh give me my lowly thatched cottage again;\n  The birds singing gaily, that came at my call,\n  Give me them, and that peace of mind dearer than all._\n\n                                          J. HOWARD PAYNE.\n\nO God, our Heavenly Father, we thank thee for the blessings of home; for\nthe shelter, safety, and hallowed associations of our domestic\nhabitation; for the sympathy and helpfulness of family relationship.\nHelp us we pray thee to make ours an ideal household, bright with\ncheerfulness, an exemplification of Christian faith and hope. May the\nhappiness of all be the object of each. To that end help us to be\npatient toward one another, kind and forgiving. May we realize by many\nbeatific experiences that it is better to give than to receive, better\nto serve than to be served. May we be disposed, as occasion may arise,\nto share, for a season, the comfort and inspiration of our home with\nthose who are homeless. We thank Thee for the bright assurance that\nbeyond the fading scenes and transitory experiences of this life, there\nis, awaiting us, an eternal abiding place in \"a continuing city\" whose\nmaker and builder is God, where there shall be no more parting, and\nwhere the shadows of our present life shall forever flee away. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES CONKLIN.\n\n\nDecember 25\n\n     _That ever-vivid scene of Bethlehem.... A father, a mother, and a\n     child are there. No religion which began like that could ever lose\n     its character. The first unit of human life, the soul, is there, in\n     the new-born personality of the childhood. But the second unit of\n     human life, the family, is just as truly there in the familiar\n     relation of husband and wife and the sacred, eternal mystery of\n     motherhood._\n\n                                                        PHILLIPS BROOKS.\n\n\"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth Peace.\" We take up the angel\nsymphony and give it new breath, this gladsome day of days. Thou who\ndidst send Thy Son in the likeness of a little child, that by His life\nof increase in love and beauty and wisdom and power He might give us\ncourage to begin as children the obedience that alone leads at last to\nthe measure of the stature of His fulness, accept our unutterable\ngratitude for all that gift. And oh, may He be born in us and formed in\nus, the hope of glory, that so we may share His peace, His victory, His\nexaltation, His union with Thee. Amen.\n\n  C. ELLWOOD NASH.\n\n\nDecember 26\n\n  Two are the pathways by which mankind can to virtue mount upward;\n    If thou shouldst find the one barr'd, open the other will lie.\n  'Tis by exertion the Happy obtain her, the Suffering by patience,\n    Blest is the man whose kind fate guides him along upon both!\n\n                                                           SCHILLER.\n\nO Thou who hast kept us safely during the unconsciousness of our\nslumbering hours, and brought us refreshed to this morning light,\nprepare us for the duties of this day by filling us with the assurance\nthat we are Thine, and that Thou lovest us. Help us to be more like\nThee, to love Thee more and serve Thee better. May we manifest our love\nto Thee by our willingness to be of service to our fellowmen. Make us\nwarm-hearted and true, helpful and kind, reflecting Thy love and doing\nThy will. We are glad to live in this beautiful world. And we pray that\nwe may be faithful co-laborers with Jesus Christ, in being light, love\nand joy to all lives. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES R. TENNEY.\n\n\nDecember 27\n\n     _Stronger, and more frequently, comes the temptation to stop\n     singing, and let discord do its own wild work. But blessed are they\n     that endure to the end,--singing patiently and sweetly, till all\n     join in with loving acquiescence, and universal harmony prevails,\n     without forcing into submission the free discord of a single\n     voice._\n\n     _This is the hardest and the bravest task which a true soul has to\n     perform amid the clashing elements of time. But once has it been\n     done perfectly unto the end; and that voice--so clear in its\n     meekness--is heard above all the din of a tumultuous world: one\n     after another chimes in with its patient sweetness; and, through\n     infinite discords, the listening soul can perceive that the great\n     tune is slowly coming into harmony._\n\n                                                     LYDIA MARIA CHILD.\n\nOur Father, who art in heaven! We thank Thee that we are permitted to\nsee the light, engage in the duties and enter into the experiences of\nthis new day. We thank Thee for the order and harmony of this wonderful\nuniverse; that every force and law and being supports and balances every\nother force, law and being; that every life contributes to or may\ncontribute to the welfare of every other life, and we pray, that each\none of us may come into such relations with Thee, the great harmonizing\nsoul of things, as to add our little note to the full anthem of\nperpetual and adorable praise. In Christ's dear name, we ask and offer\nall. Amen.\n\n  A. J. PATTERSON.\n\n\nDecember 28\n\n     _It is said that a friend once asked the great composer, Haydn, why\n     his church music was always so full of gladness. He answered, \"I\n     cannot make it otherwise; I write according to the thoughts I feel;\n     when I think upon my God, my heart is so full of joy that the notes\n     dance and leap from my pen; and since God has given me a cheerful\n     heart, it will be pardoned me that I serve Him with a cheerful\n     spirit.\"_\n\n     _Pardoned? Nay, it will be praised and rewarded. For God looks with\n     approval and man turns with gratitude to everyone who shows by a\n     cheerful life that religion is a blessing for this world and the\n     next._\n\n                                                        HENRY VAN DYKE.\n\nOur Father in Heaven, we awake this morning with a sense of thankfulness\nfor the beauty and glory of Thy creation. We praise Thee that as Thy\nchildren we can be conscious of the kingdom of heaven always about us.\nSo we pray for that attitude of mind and spirit of soul that will unlock\nfor us the divine life. Help us to be conscious of Thee in all the\nvaried experiences of this day. If it shall be a day of burdens, give us\nstrength to play our part uncomplainingly, if a day of joy to accept it\nwith true gratitude; and when the shades of night shall call us to our\nrest, may our memory of the day bring us peace. Amen.\n\n  EDWARD C. DOWNEY.\n\n\nDecember 29\n\n  _Ah, don't be sorrowful, darling,\n  And don't be sorrowful, pray;\n  Taking the year together, my dear,\n  There isn't more night than day._\n\n  _'Tis rainy weather, my darling;\n  Time's waves they heavily run;\n  But taking the year together, my dear,\n  There isn't more cloud than sun._\n\n                                 ALICE CARY.\n\nWe thank Thee, heavenly Father, for the days just as they come. Nor\nwould we measure the sunshine against the storm as if to test Thy\ngoodness by some petty form of bookkeeping. Thou presidest over all our\ndays, and whatever may be the face of nature we trust Thy love. Let us\ngo forth today, not in critical mood nor despondent mood but in the mood\nof high Christian faith, anxious, not to test Thy providence, but ready\nto do our own part, taking care to hold our cup of blessing open-side\nup; so shall it catch the manna when it falls. Then shall each passing\nday be full of blessing. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nDecember 30\n\n  _Fades the rose; the year grows old;\n  The tale is told;\n  Youth doth depart--\n  Only stays the heart._\n\n  _Ah, no! if stays the heart,\n  Youth can ne'er depart,\n  Nor the sweet tale be told--\n  Never the rose fade, nor the year grow old._\n\n                          RICHARD WATSON GILDER.\n\nDear Father, we thank Thee for the year now coming to its close, and for\nall that has blessed us in it. Help us to keep the good wherewith it has\ndone us good in lasting memory. By the flight of time which its passing\nemphasizes move us to earnestness in the labors committed to our hands.\nBeyond this help us that we may be undisturbed, remembering that Thou\nart our dwelling place, and that we are the children of Thy love and the\nsharers of Thy everlastingness. So may we keep the vision of youth, the\nvision to which endings are but beginnings, the good leading to the\nbetter, and the best forever more. May Thy blessing be upon all whom we\nlove and should pray for in this and every day, in Jesus' name. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES R. TENNEY.\n\n\nDecember 31\n\n     _Be not afraid, dear friend. What of sickness! What of sorrow! What\n     of failure! What of misfortune! What of death! Is not this God's\n     world? Are not you God's child? Go forth into the New Year with\n     brave heart. When fortune smiles, smile with her. When fortune\n     frowns, smile the more, and trust in God._\n\n                                                     GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\nOur Heavenly Father, we stand upon the utmost verge of the old year.\nForgetting the things that are behind, we stand with our faces looking\nearnestly into the future. We do not despise the past, we do not forget\nits manifold blessings. We do not forget that Thou hast been with us in\nthe old year; for all this we would be grateful. With clear vision and\nearnestness of purpose, we would stand looking into the future\nexpectantly, ready for its duties and its responsibilities; yet not\nostentatiously nor with over-confidence, for we know our own\ninfirmities, our own weaknesses. We would enter upon the New Year with\nconfidence, not because of our own strength, but because of Thy living\npresence. Thou art always with us, Thou art pouring out Thy spirit upon\nus. O Lord, let us believe in Thee, and believing, let us have a heart\nfor any fate. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nServices for Special Days\n\n  _Good Friday_\n  _Easter_\n  _Thanksgiving Day_\n  _Birth of a Baby_\n  _Child's Birthday_\n  _Father's Birthday_\n  _Mother's Birthday_\n  _General Birthday_\n\n\nGood Friday\n\n  _Why dost thou glare so fierce\n      O Death, as thou wouldst pierce,\n  With thine uplifted dart,\n      My sinking heart?_\n\n  _Yet though men fear thee so\n      Wherever thou dost go,\n  And tremble at thy feet,\n      Thou art a cheat!_\n\n  _Though men thy pity crave,\n      Though naught from thee can save,\n  Thy Master rules above,\n      Thou servest Love._\n\n                       HENRY NEHEMIAH DODGE.\n\nO Thou, who didst not spare Thine own Son, but didst deliver Him up for\nus all, we cannot ask Thee to withhold us from our Gethsemane nor even\nfrom our Calvary. But when Thou callest us to go down into the gloom or\nup to the cross, remember, O God, that we are dust. Might we so dwell\nwith Thee in Thy secret place, as to abide under Thy shadow! There,\nsheltered and unafraid, we should sustain the rod as eager for its\nchastening stroke, praying only for wisdom to learn its lesson and\nacquire its discipline. With the picture of the crucified Savior before\nus, we only cry this day as He taught us, Thy will be done. Amen.\n\n  C. ELLWOOD NASH.\n\n\nEaster\n\n  _See, in that rock-hewn garden sepulchre,\n  The Holy One of God, despised and slain,\n  With nail-torn hands and feet, and spear-pierced side,\n  His gentle brow by mocking thorns defaced;\n  See where He lies, obedient unto death.\n  Into that pallid face the glow of life\n  Begins to steal, while silent and in awe\n  The heavenly watchers stand. Now they with haste\n  Unwind the scented wrappings from His form\n  That fill the place with rich aromas rare,\n  Perfume of spicery and sweet spikenard's breath\n  Lingering since Love her alabastron broke,\n  And with her tresses wiped these tear-bathed feet.\n  And then, their joyful faces all aglow\n  Like flashing sunbeams, quickly by a touch\n  They roll away the stone with jarring shock,\n  As if an earthquake passed, and sitting there\n  Behold their Lord go forth, Death's Conqueror!_\n\n                                 HENRY NEHEMIAH DODGE.\n\nO Thou Eternal One, who gatherest our fleeting moments into Thy\npermanence, when we draw close to Thee the terrors of change and\nvicissitude pass away, and a sense of the stability and security of all\nthat is good brings us peace. We rejoice to know through Thy gospel that\n\"life is ever lord of death.\" \"Thou didst not suffer Thy Holy One to see\ncorruption,\" and we trust that because He lives we shall live also. O\ngrant that, believing in Him, we may not see death save as a door to\nmore abounding life, and so realize our privilege daily to be risen with\nHim in the newness and power of an endless life. Amen.\n\n  C. ELLWOOD NASH.\n\n\nThanksgiving\n\n     _Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands._\n\n     _Serve the Lord with gladness: come before His presence with\n     singing._\n\n     _Know ye that the Lord He is God; it is He that hath made us, and\n     not we ourselves; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture._\n\n     _Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with\n     praise: be thankful unto Him, and bless His name._\n\n     _For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth\n     endureth to all generations._\n\n                                                         PSALM 100.\n\nFor days of health, for nights of quiet sleep; for seasons of bounty and\nof beauty, for all earth's contributions to our need through this past\nyear: Good Lord, we thank Thee. For our country's shelter; for our\nhomes; for the joy of faces, and the joy of hearts that love: for the\npower of great examples; for holy ones who lead us in the ways of life\nand love: for our powers of growth; for longings to be better and do\nmore; for Ideals that ever rise above our real: for opportunities well\nused; for opportunities unused, and even those misused: Good Lord, we\nhumbly thank Thee! For our temptations, and for any victory over sins\nthat close beset us; for the gladness that abides with loyalty and the\npeace of the return: for the blessedness of service and the power to fit\nourselves to others' needs: for our necessities to work; for burdens,\npain, and disappointments, means of growth; for sorrow; for death: for\nall that brings us nearer to each other, nearer to ourselves, near to\nThee; for Life: We thank Thee, O our Father!\n\n  WILLIAM C. GANNETT.\n\n\nBirth of a Baby\n\n  _Where did you come from, baby dear?\n  Out of the everywhere into the here._\n\n  _Where did you get your eyes so blue?\n  Out of the sky as I came through._\n\n  _What makes the light in them sparkle and spin?\n  Some of the starry spikes left in._\n\n  _Where did you get that little tear?\n  I found it waiting when I got here._\n\n  _What makes your forehead so smooth and high?\n  A soft hand stroked it as I went by._\n\n  _What makes your cheek like a warm white rose?\n  Something better than anyone knows._\n\n  _Whence that three-cornered smile of bliss?\n  Three angels gave me at once a kiss._\n\n  _Where did you get those arms and hands?\n  Love made itself into hooks and bands._\n\n  _Feet, whence did you come, you darling things?\n  From the same box as the cherub's wings._\n\n  _How did they all just come to be you?\n  God thought about me, and so I grew._\n\n  _But how did you come to us, you dear?\n  God thought of You, and so I am here._\n\n                            GEORGE MACDONALD\n\nFresh from the Gates of Heaven, our Father, this dear child has come,\nopening in our hearts springs of new and deeper affection. We thank Thee\nfor this life whose coming has filled our lives with sunshine. Teach us\nhow to live that we may guide it aright, so that as the years pass more\nand more sunlight shall be radiated. Even as Thine angels kissed the\nsweet rosebud lips and left a smile thereon, so may we kiss away the\ntears of life. Heavenly Father, we consecrate this child to Thy service.\nWe pray that the ears may learn to listen for Thy voice, speaking in\ntruth and purity. May the tiny hands be ever ready to do a service of\nlove and may the feet be swift to do Thy bidding. Tenderly guide this\nprecious child, for it needs Thy guidance, and safely guard it through\nall the years, lest it go astray. This we ask in the name of Him who\ntook little children in His arms and blessed them, saying--\"Suffer\nlittle children to come unto me, and forbid them not, for of such is the\nkingdom of Heaven.\" Amen.\n\n  FLORENCE H. PERIN.\n\n\nA Child's Birthday\n\n  _A dreary place would be this earth,\n    Were there no little people in it:\n  The song of life would lose its mirth,\n    Were there no children to begin it:_\n\n  _No little forms, like buds to grow,\n    And make the admiring heart surrender:\n  No little hands on breast and brow,\n    To keep the thrilling love-chords tender._\n\n  _The sterner souls would grow more stern,\n    Unfeeling nature more inhuman,\n  And man to stoic coldness turn,\n    And woman would be less than woman._\n\n  _Life's song, indeed, would lose its charm,\n    Were there no babies to begin it;\n  A doleful place this world would be,\n    Were there no little people in it._\n\n                           JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.\n\nOur dear Heavenly Father, Thou lookest upon us all as Thy\nchildren,--whether our hair be flaxen or brown or white with age. We\nthank Thee today for the children of our own household, for our\nchildren, and all the children, and especially do we thank Thee for the\none whose birthday we celebrate here to-day. May Thy blessing be upon\nhim (her), may the skies be bright over his (her) head,--may the birds\nsing to him (her). May the flowers blossom around his (her) pathway.\nThro' all the journey of this life let him (her) have the guidance of\nThy Father hand. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nA Father's Birthday\n\n     _The boy enjoyed this kind of a father at the time, and later he\n     came to understand, with a grateful heart, that there is no richer\n     inheritance in all the treasury of unearned blessings. For, after\n     all, the love, the patience, the kindly wisdom of a grown man who\n     can enter into the perplexities and turbulent impulses of a boy's\n     heart, and give him cheerful companionship, and lead him on by free\n     and joyful ways to know and choose the things that are pure and\n     lovely and of good report, make as fair an image as we can find of\n     that loving, patient Wisdom which must be above us all if any good\n     is to come out of our childish race._\n\n                                                       HENRY VAN DYKE.\n\nBy Thy very name, our Father, Thou hast ennobled and sanctified the\noffice of parenthood and attracted to it our respect and love. Thou hast\ncommanded us to honor father and mother, that our days may be\nlengthened. Assured thus of Thy approval, O God, we call upon Thee to\nhallow our joy and gratitude on this anniversary day. We thank Thee for\nhim whom we honor as \"Father in the flesh\" and pray Thee to grant him\nyet many days with health and strength to minister and to be ministered\nunto, to grow in grace and in favor with God and man, and to taste the\nsweet tributes of love and the rewards of good deeds finely done. Amen.\n\n  C. ELLWOOD NASH.\n\n\nA Mother's Birthday\n\n  _Blessings on the hand of woman!\n    Angels guard her strength and grace;\n  In the cottage, palace, hovel,--\n    O! no matter where the place.\n  Would that never storms assailed it,\n    Rainbows ever gently curled;\n  For the hand that rocks the cradle\n    Is the hand that rules the world._\n\n  _Blessings on the hand of woman!\n    Fathers, sons and daughters cry;\n  And the sacred song is mingled\n    With the worship in the sky,--\n  Mingles where no tempest darkens,\n    Rainbows evermore are curled;\n  For the hand that rocks the cradle\n    Is the hand that rules the world._\n\n                                JOHN GRAY.\n\nHeavenly Father, Thou plantest anew Thine own love in the hearts of Thy\nchildren and so multipliest Thyself on the earth. We thank Thee today\nfor the manifold incarnation of Thyself in the hearts of all true\nmothers. We have known the magic charm of mother love and it relates us\nanew to Thee. Here we celebrate the birthday of one who has honored us\nand blessed us by a sacred ministry. We thank Thee, our Father, for all\nthe sweet memories of the past, for all the joy of the present relation\nwith her, and for the hope that these sacred associations may long\ncontinue. Wilt Thou bless her whose birthday we honor here. Crown her\nwith long life and happy days and the sweet consciousness of having\nministered in love. Amen.\n\n  GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\n\nGeneral Birthday\n\n     _Birthdays, what are they? One will say they are mileposts on the\n     highway of life, marking the distance already traveled and\n     suggesting what yet remains of the journey. Another looking into\n     the deeper meaning of the years will suggest that they are memorial\n     tablets recording the service of a passing life. But no matter\n     under what figure you think of them, the coming into this world of\n     a human life with all the magic powers of thought and love and\n     faith and service is a thing of such transcendent moment, as to\n     make it well worth while to mark the passing of the years._\n\n                                                     GEORGE L. PERIN.\n\nFather of all, it is Thou who hast made us and given us all things\nrichly to enjoy; we thank Thee, therefore, for the birthday to which we\nhave come. We thank Thee for the physical life, and all that makes it\nglad; for the power of intellect, and all the wealth it feeds upon; for\nlove, and all the forms of love which answer to it; for faith which\nlooks on Thee and heaven; for service, the exercise and opportunity of\nevery gift and grace. Help us to be faithful that our felicity may be\nsecure in Thee, and that we may ever recall the day of our birth with\nrejoicing. This we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.\n\n  CHARLES R. TENNEY.\n\n\n\n\n         *       *       *       *       *\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's note:\n\nMinor typographical errors and inconsistencies have been corrected\nwithout comment. Unmatched quotation marks were left as they were\nin the original.\n\npage 76, March 14: \"And grass in the green fields\" changed to \"field\".","title":"The Optimist's Good Morning","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":86116}