JANUARY 23.

"They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever."-Dan. xii. 3.

It is one of the Christian's greatest joys to put even one holy thought before the soul of another; how much more then to turn the whole current of thought!-REV. STEWART.

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JANUARY 24.

Suffer the little children to come unto me."

St. Mark, x. 4.

Where is this dear one?—It is gone.

To whom?-To Christ, its Saviour true. What does He for it ?-He goes on

As He has ever done, to do ;He blesses, He embraces without end, And to all children proves the tenderest friend.

He loves to have the little ones

Upon his lap, quite close and near; And thus their glass so quickly runs,

And they so little while are here:

He gave He takes them when He thinks it best For them to come to Him, and take their rest.

C

Be therefore thanked, thou dearest Lamb,
That we this precious child have seen,
And that thy blood, and glorious name,
To it a glittering robe have been :

We thank Thee too that Thou hast brought it home,
That it so soon all dangers hath o'ercome.

Dear child, so live thou happily

In Christ, who was thy life's beginner ;
Rejoice in Him eternally,

With each redeemed and happy sinner.
We bury thee in hope,—the Lamb once slain
Will raise, and we shall see thee yet again.

Elegiac Poems.

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JANUARY 25.

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"-1 Cor. xv. 55.

Oft have I thought they err who having lost
That love-gift of our youth, a precious child,
Yield the faint heart to those emotions wild,
With which, too oft, strong memory is crost;
Shrinking with sudden gasp, as if a ghost
Frowned in their path. Not thus the precepts mild
Of Jesus teach; which never yet beguiled

Man with vain promises. God loves us true

When chastening us; and He who conquered Death,
Permits not that we still deem death a curse.
This "earth" is man's true tomb,—the grave his nurse
For Heaven, and feeder with immortal breath.

SIR AUBREY DE VERE.

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JANUARY 26.

To-day shalt thou be with me in Paradise."St. Luke, xxiii. 43.

Where'er Thou roam'st, one happy soul we know,
Seen at thy side in woe,

Waits on thy triumph,-even as all the blest,
With him and Thee shall rest.

Each on his cross, by Thee we hang awhile,
Watching thy patient smile;

Till we have learn'd to say, ""Tis justly done, Only in glory, Lord, thy sinful servant own." Christian Year.

JANUARY 27.

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will

draw all men unto me."-St. John, xii. 32.

When all else sinks away,-when everything becomes effaced,-one object remains before us,brilliant, radiant, imperishable! ever increasingly sweet, and refreshing! My friends, it is the Cross of Christ!-From the French of "Notices sur la Vie de Gonthier."

JANUARY 28.

And hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost."-Rom. v. 5.

Wake now, my soul, and humbly hear
What thy mild Lord commands;
Each word of his will charm thine ear,
Each word will guide thy hands.

Hark how his sweet and tender care,
Complies with our weak minds;
Whate'er our state and tempers are,
Still some fit work he finds.

They that are merry, let them sing,
And let the sad hearts pray;

Let those still ply their cheerful wing,
And these their sober way.

So mounts the early chirping lark,
Still upwards to the skies;
So sits the turtle in the dark,
Sighing out groans and cries.
And yet the lark, and yet the dove,
Both sing through several parts;
And so should we, howe'er we move,
With light or heavy hearts.

Or rather both, should both assay,
And their cross-notes unite;

Both grief and joy, should sing and pray,
Since both such hopes invite :-

Hopes that all present sorrow heal,
All present joy transcend;
Hopes to possess, and taste, and feel,

Delights that never end.

JANUARY 29.

"They took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.”—Acts, xviii. 26.

And what delights can equal those,

That stir the spirit's inmost depths,
When one that loves, but knows not, reaps
A truth from one that loves, and knows?
In Memoriam.