Be with us this night, and leave us not on the morrow. Take up thine abode in our hearts, and drive thence every evil thought, in Christ's name we pray. Amen.

LXVI.

SIMPLICITY AND GODLY SINCERITY.

Lord, that I may learn of thee,

Give me true simplicity;

Wean my soul, and keep it low,
Willing thee alone to know.

METHODIST COL.

By two wings a man is lifted up from things earthly, — by Simplicity and Purity.-À Kempis.

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Let this be thy whole endeavor, this thy prayer, this thy desire: that thou mayest be stript of all selfishness, and with entire simplicity follow Jesus only. À Kempis.

No man can serve two masters.

I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

Will it not please God, that we should surrender our souls to him, without fear or reserve? This deliverance of the soul from all useless and selfish and unquiet cares brings to it a peace and freedom that are unspeakable; this is true simplicity. - Fénelon.

For our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our conversation in the world.

If there be a joy in the world, surely a man of a pure heart possesseth it.À Kempis.

It is a blessed simplicity when a man leaves the difficult ways of questions and disputings, and goes on forward in the plain and firm path of God's commandments. À Kempis.

God walketh with the simple, revealeth himself to the humble, giveth understanding to the little ones, openeth the sense to pure minds. —À Kempis.

The meek shall inherit the earth, and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

Christ teaches that only those who become again, as it were, little children, and by the simplicity of that age cut off the inordinate affections of vice, can enter the kingdom of heaven. St. Hilary.

BEING

MORNING.

EING of infinite purity and truth, thou who dwellest in the heaven of heavens, yet deignest also to make thy home in every humble and trusting heart, we come to thee in the dawning of this new day, to ask that thou wilt lift up the light of thy countenance upon our hearts, to guide us into the way of peace. As the day returns to gladden the world, which it wakes to beauty and joy, so, we pray, let thy Sun of Righteousness shine upon our souls, that we may be awakened to a profound

consciousness of thy presence with us, and to a fresh consecration of ourselves to thy simple and sincere service. Let the remembrance of thy mercies, which every morning are renewed to us, sink deeply into our grateful hearts, and move us to give up our entire selves to that single-minded obedience of thee and devotion to thy will, in which alone we can find rest unto our souls.

Thou knowest our every need. The words in which we frame our petitions unto thee, and the unspoken prayers which breathe from our hearts, the crying of our natures unto thee for help, the voice of longing and need which we can utter to no human being, thou hearest and knowest all, and thou canst answer our prayers. We implore thee to shed abroad in our hearts the influences of thy holy spirit, to calm every troubled and unquiet thought. Lead us to love thee with an entire love. Draw us away from a too engrossing devotion to this world, and make us to estimate it at its true value, by showing us the unspeakable glory of those things which thou hast prepared for those who love thee. When the world attracts us strongly, and pleasure excludes thee from our thoughts, and our minds are set on things which perish, then, we pray, by whatever discipline thou wilt, purify us and recall us to thyself, and enlighten our souls, that we may look beyond what concerns only this mortal life, and humbly and devoutly may seek for the

help which cometh from thee. And by this inward preparation fit us to set forth in our outward walk among men the Gospel of Christ which we profess. Enable us to live consistent Christian lives, that we may be known to have been with Jesus and to have infused something of his spirit into our own hearts. Give us the grace to be faithful followers of him amid whatever trials and temptations may befall us, that none of such things may move us from a firm and abiding trust in thee; so that finally we may be received to that heaven of purity and truth and love, for which this world is the preparation, revealed to us by thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

EVENING.

UR Father in heaven, who knowest how frail

we are, and how great is the power of earthly allurements to captivate our thoughts and turn us away from our highest good, forgive our sins, and so endow us with thy spirit and thy grace, that in simplicity and godly sincerity we may have our conversation in the world. Help us to give ourselves entirely to thee, that we may seek no other rule of life but thy truth, that we may have no other ambition but to do thy will, and ask no higher pleasure than the joy of loving and serving thee. Let not the fear or the favor of man, or any inferior interest or passion, stand between our souls and

thee. Forgive us if we have failed to live thus in accordance with thy will, and impress upon us, in all time to come, a sense of our perpetual obligation to thee. In thee, O God, is our trust. In thee is our life. Let us not be drawn away from thee, nor from the singleness of purpose and steadfastness of faith which become thy children. May He who is the Resurrection and the Life dwell in our hearts, and may we, rooted and grounded in love, be able to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, and be filled with all the fulness of God. Through thy great mercy in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

LXVII.

LOVE TO MAN.

God's law demands one living faith,
Not a gaunt crowd of lifeless creeds :
Its warrant is a firm "God saith,” -

Its claim, not words, but loving deeds.

C. A. BRIGGS.

Love one another with a pure heart fervently.

Let love be without dissimulation. Be kindly affectioned to one another with brotherly love, in honor preferring one another.

Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse of impossibility;