Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, and shall not be heard."

Prov. xxi. 13.

ALAS! I have walk'd through life,

Too heedless where I trod,

Nay, helping to trample my fellow worm,
And fill the burial sod-

Forgetting that even the sparrow falls
Not unmark'd of God!

The wounds I might have heal'd!

The human sorrow and smart!

And yet it never was in my soul
To play so ill a part:

But evil is wrought by want of thought,

As well as want of heart!

Thomas Hood.

December 18.

"Wisdom excelleth folly, as far as light excelleth

darkness.

Eccles. ii. 13.

THIS, this is wisdom, manful and serene, T'wards God all penitence and prayer and trust,

But to the troubles of this shifting scene,
Simply courageous and sublimely just.
Be then such wisdom thine, my heart within,
There is no foe, nor woe, nor grief, but-Sin.
M. F. Tupper.

..

Wisdom is better than strength."

Eccles. ix. 16, 18.

OH, happy, happy he who flies

Far from the noisy world away,
Who with the worthy and the wise,
Hath chosen the narrow way!
Be mine the holy calm of night,
Soft sleep and dreams serenely gay,
The freshness of the morning light,
The fulness of the day;

The silence of the secret road

That leads the soul to virtue and to God.
Translation from Luis de Leon.

December 20.

"Withhold not correction from the child."

Prov. xxiii. 13.

GRACIOUS Saviour, gentle Shepherd,

ones are dear to Thee;

Gather'd with Thine arms, and carried
In Thy bosom, may they be
Sweetly, fondly, safely tended;
From all want and danger free.

Cleanse their hearts from sinful folly,
In the stream Thy love supplied;
Mingled streams of blood and water,
Flowing from Thy wounded side:
And to heavenly pastures lead them,
Where Thine own still waters glide.

"

With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells

THE

of salvation."

Isa. xii. 3.

HE God of salvation is mine;
Never more will I be afraid;

But trust in His favour Divine,

And rest on His faithfulness stay'd.
The Lord is my strength and my song,
My heart shall rejoice in His love,
'Till I join the glorified throng,
And praise Him for ever above.
And therefore my daily employ

Is to draw, 'mid confusion and strife,
From wells of salvation, with joy,
The beautiful waters of life.

101

December 22.

"Woe be unto the Pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture, saith the Lord."

Jer. xxiii. 1. WOE to the Pastors, saith the Lord,

Who scatter and destroy My sheep!
Though you should now despise My word,
Your end will be to mourn and weep.
The flock you should have kept with care,
Is left to stray without a guide;
Behold the lion and the bear

An unresisting prey divide.

When you have learn'd His voice to know,
You then may show His flock the way ;
And when He comes, He will bestow

A crown that never fades away.

T. Kelly.