THR

HROUGH all this life's eventful road,
Fain would I walk with Thee, my God,
And find Thy presence light around,
And every step on holy ground.

Each blessing would I trace to Thee,
In every grief Thy mercy see;
And through the paths of duty move,
Conscious of Thine encircling love.

And when the angel Death stands by,
Be this my strength that Thou art nigh;
And this my joy, that I shall be

With those who dwell in light with Thee.

WILLIAM GASKELL.

'N Thee my trust abideth,

IN

On Thee my hope relies,
O Thou whose love provideth

For all beneath the skies:
O for a heart to love Thee
More truly as I ought,
And nothing place above Thee
In deed, or word, or thought.

My grief is in the dulness

With which this sluggish heart
Doth open to the fulness

Of all Thou wouldst impart;

WE

My joy is in Thy beauty
Of holiness divine,
My comfort in the duty

That binds my life to Thine.

O for that choicest blessing
Of living in Thy love,
And thus on earth possessing
The peace of heaven above;
O for the bliss that by it

The soul securely knows;

The holy calm and quiet

Of faith's serene repose.

J. S. B. Monsell.

E kneel how weak, we rise how full of power. Why therefore should we do ourselves this wrong,

Or others that we are not always strong,

That we are ever overborne with care,

That we should ever weak or heartless be,
Anxious or troubled, when with us is prayer,

And joy and strength and courage are with Thee?

RICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH.

A

AGAINST THE SKY.

GAINST the sky the elm has laid

Her graceful branches unafraid.

Against the sky the maples rest,
And hold their red buds to be blessed.

Against the sky! That is the test.
Hold up thy soul and stand confessed
Against the sky! And all of earth
Will show at once its lowly birth.

Against the sky! And what is fair
Will join eternal beauty there.

Have fellowship with Heaven, and try
To judge thy life against the sky.

JAMES FREEMAN Clarke.

THE BLESSED LIFE.

BLESSED life! the heart at rest,

When all without tumultuous seems,
That trusts a higher will, and deems
That higher will, made ours, the best.

O blessed life! the mind that sees
Whatever change the years may bring —
Some good still hid in everything,
And shining through all mysteries.

O blessed life! the soul that soars,
When sense of mortal sight is dim,
Beyond the sense, — beyond, to Him
Whose love unlocks the heavenly doors.

O blessed life! heart, mind, and soul,
From selfish aims and wishes free,
In all at one with Deity,

And loyal to the Lord's control.

WILLIAM TIDD MATSON.

THAT ye may be filled unto all the fulness of God.

EPHESIANS iii. 19.

THE PERFECT TRUST.