;

Remove far from me vanity and lies:
Give me neither poverty nor riches
Feed me with food convenient for me:
Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who
is the Lord?

Or lest I be poor, and steal,

And take the name of my God in vain.
Prov. xxx. 7.

(S. M.)

266.

Be ye Thankful.

O LORD, on me bestow,
And not on me alone,
The blessing of a grateful heart,
For every kindness shown.

First unto Thee, my God,
Our never-failing friend,
Would I give thanks with lip and life,
For mercies without end.

Even Thou dost not forget
What we do for thy sake,-
Were it a cup of water given

The needy's thirst to slake.
How can my ways be thine,
If I ungrateful be,

Or thankless for a kindness shown,
However small, to me?

267. Be ye Kind and Tender-hearted.
THOU shalt not curse the deaf,
Nor put a stumbling-block before the blind :
But shall fear thy God. I am the Lord.

Cursed be he that maketh

The blind to wander out of his way.
And all the people shall say, Amen.

Levit. xix. 14; Deut. xxvii. 18.

268. Use Hospitality without grudging.

LET brotherly love continue.
Be not forgetful to entertain strangers :
For thereby some have entertained angels

unawares.

Let your conversation be without covetous

ness;

And be content with such things as ye have: For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

God,

I am the Lord
your
If a stranger sojourn with thee in
Ye shall not vex him.

your land,

But the stranger that dwelleth with you Shall be unto you as one born among you, And thou shalt love him as thyself.

Heb. xiii. 1-5; Lev. xix. 33.

269. Do as you would be done by.

THOU shalt not see thy brother's ox or his sheep go astray,

And hide thyself from them :

And if thy brother be not nigh unto thee,
Or if thou know him not,

Thou shalt bring it unto thine own house,

And it shall be with thee until thy brother seek after it,

And thou shalt restore it to him again. So shalt thou do with all lost thing of thy brother's,

Which he hath lost, and thou hast found. Thou mayest not hide thyself.

Deut. xxii. 1-4.

270. Overcome Evil with Good.

IF thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray,

Thou shalt surely bring it back to him

again.

If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee
Lying under his burden,

And wouldst forbear to help him,
Thou shalt surely help with him.

Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, And let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth :

Lest the Lord see it, and it displease him,
And he turn away his wrath from him.
If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread

to eat;

And if he be thirsty, give him water to drink. Ex. xxiii. 4; Prov. xxiv. 17; xxv. 21. 271. Pity the Poor, and lend to God. (7's.)

·

LORD, how many pine around,
Hungry, needy, and distressed;

Whilst with comforts I abound,
Though I have so oft transgressed.
All we have belongs to Thee,
For thou gav'st it to our charge:
Though our store may scanty be,
Make our hearts both kind and large.
Who hath pity on the poor,
Lendeth unto thee, O Lord;
Our repayment shall be sure,
When we give with full accord.

Thou didst die that we might live;
'Tis thy grace our souls hath freed:
For thy sake we'll freely give
To our brother in his need.

272. Kindness doth kind Acts.

IF a brother or sister be naked,
And destitute of daily food,

And one of you say unto them,
Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled;
Notwithstanding ye give them not those
things

Which are needful to the body;

What doth it profit ?

So faith without works is dead also.

When ye reap the harvest of your land, Thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field,

Neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest.

Neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard;

Thou shalt leave them for the poor and the stranger:

I am the Lord your God.

James ii. 15-26; Levit. xix. 9.

273. With the Merciful God is Merciful.(7's.)

GOD our Comforter above,—
Slow to punish, grieved at woe,-
Full of pity, full of love,-
Mercy sheds on all below.

From his tender mercy mild,
All our hopes of heaven begin;
Can a cruel, heartless child,
Hope a place in heaven to win?

Let compassion rule your mind,—
Never, never, hurt in vain!
Let the poor dumb creatures find
That you shrink from giving pain.
Though they may be slain for food,
Or, if hurtful, be destroyed,
Never kill, except for good;
Every needless pang avoid.

274. A golden Chain of Texts.

THE earth is full of the mercy of the Lord. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed.