Lord, What Shall I Do?"

Obedience, just the doing of that which it is shown to us is our duty, is all that Christ asks of us, and is the saving of the soul. The saving of the soul? No; the soul was saved when Christ came and saved it. It is the doing of the vision which He has laid out open before us when He simply says: "Obey and live. Do the thing which you know you ought to do." Now, is not there something you ought to do tonight? Is not there some vision you are not obeying? Is not there some manifestation of the Savior you are not receiving? If you can stop and be obedient to the Heavenly vision He is giving you now of Himself, glory will brighten as the daylight grows, till the noontime shall come at last. There came, by and by, another vision to Paul. There came a time when, lifted out of the world in a way which so amazed him that he could not know whether it was really he or not, he saw unspeakable things and heard unspeakable words. Would the later vision ever have come to him if he had not willingly obeyed the first vision which was shown to him? It was because he stretched out his hands upon the road to Damascus and said, “Lerd, what' shall I do?" that by and by he saw sights which he could not tell to mortal man. That is the way. Obedience sets the seal upon a revelation that the Master gives us, and then upon that sealed revelation some new light shall come, which a new obedience shall seal. So, every obedience leading to new light, and every light to new obedience, as if they were the stairways which led up to Heaven, to the throne of God, the soul goes on till it is

made perfect in the image of Him who came to seek you when you were all wretchedness and sin.-BROOKS.

"Pleased to Mind."

Sir," said the Duke of Wellington to an officer of engineers, who urged the impossibility of executing the directions he had received, "I did not ask your opinion.

gave you my orders, and I expect them to be obeyed." Such should be the obedience of every follower of Jesus. The words which He has spoken are our law, not our judgments or fancies. Even if death were in the way,

it is

'Not ours to reason why-
Ours but to dare and die "—

and, at our Master's bidding, advance through flood or flame.

"I wish I could mind God as my little dog minds me, said a little boy, looking thoughtfully on his shaggy friend. "He always looks so pleased to mind, and I don't." What a painful truth did this child speak! Shall the poor little dog thus readily obey his master, and we rebel against God, who is our Creator, our Preserver, our Father, our Savior and the bountiful Giver of everything we love ?-SPURGEON.

OPPORTUNITY.

Opportunity Passing.

Master of human destinies am I;

Fame, love and fortune on my footsteps wait.
Cities and fields I walk; I penetrate
Deserts and seas remote, and, passing by
Hovel and mart and palace, soon or late
I knock, unbidden, once on every gate.
If sleeping, wake; if feasting, rise before
I turn away.
It is the hour of fate,

And they who follow me reach every state
Mortals desire, and conquer every foe

Save death.. But those who doubt or hesitate,
Condemned to failure, penury and woe,

Seek me in vain and needlessly implore;

I answer not and I return no more.

J. J. INGALLS.

The Hour of Fate.

There is a tide in the affairs of men,

Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;

Omitted, all the voyage of their life.

Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

On such a full sea are we now afloat;

And we must take the current when it serves, Or lose our ventures.

SHAKESPEARE.

Crises.

Once to every man and nation comes the moment to de

cide,

In the strife of Truth and Falsehood, for the good or evil side

Some great cause, God's new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight,

Parts the goats upon the left hand and the sheep upon the right,

And the choice goes by for ever 'twixt that darkness and that light.

JAMES RUSSELL Lowell.

PATIENCE.

A Prayer for Patience.

Teach me Thy patience; still with Thee
In closer, dearer company;

In work that keeps faith sweet and strong;
In trust that triumphs over wrong;

In hope that sends a shining ray

Far down the future's broadening way;
In peace that only Thou canst give-
With Thee, O Master, let me live!

WASHINGTON GLADDEN.

Be Patient.

Be patient! Oh, be patient! Put your ear against the

earth!

Listen there how noiselessly the germ o' the seed has

birth

How noiselessly and gently it upheaves its little way, Till it parts the scarcely broken ground, and the blade stands up in day.

Be patient! Oh, be patient! The germs of mighty thought

Must have their silent undergrowth--must under-ground be wrought;

But as sure as there's a Power that makes the grass ap

pear,

Our land shall be green with liberty-the blade-time shall be here.

Be patient! Oh, be patient! Go and watch the wheat

ears grow

So imperceptibly that we can mark nor change nor throe Day after day, day after day, till the ear is fully grown; And then again, day after day, till the ripened field is brown.

Be patient! Oh, be patient! Though yet our hopes

are green,

The harvest-fields of freedom shall be crowned with sunny sheen.

Be ripening! Be ripening! Mature your silent way, Till the whole broad land is tongued with fire on free-R. C. TRENCH,

dom's harvest day.