I will say of the Lord:

He is my refuge and my fort

ress: my God: in him will I trust.

Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler and from the noisome pestilence.

He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.

A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation:

There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.

For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.

They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.

Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.

He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble: I will deliver him, and honour him.

With long life will I satisfy him, and show him my salvation.

Psalm 121.

A SONG OF DEGREES

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Psalm 19.

TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN, A PSALM OF DAVID

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handywork.

Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge.

There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun.

Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the

eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Hymns

ROCK OF AGES

Rock of ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, from Thy riven side which flowed,

Be of sin the double cure, save me from its guilt and pow'r.

Not the labor of my hands, can fulfil Thy law's demands, Could my zeal no respite know, could my tears forever flow,

All for sin could not atone; Thou must save and Thou alone.

Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling, Naked, come to Thee for dress, helpless look to Thee for grace;

Foul, I to the fountain fly, wash me, Saviour, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath, when mine eyes shall close in death,

When I soar to worlds unknown, see Thee on Thy judgment throne,

Rock of Ages, cleft for me, let me hide myself in Thee.

NEARER MY GOD TO THEE

Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee!
E'en though it be a cross, that raiseth me;
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee.

Tho' like a wanderer, the sun gone down,
Darkness be over me, my rest a stone;

Yet in my dreams I'd be, nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee.

There let the way appear, steps unto heav'n;
All that Thou sendest me, in mercy giv'n;
Angels to beckon me, nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee.

Then, with my waking thoughts, bright with Thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs Bethel I'll raise;

So by my woes to be, nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee.

Or if on joyful wing, cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon, and stars forgot, upward I fly;
Still all my song shall be, nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer, my God, to Thee, nearer to Thee.

XIX. Mood

How humiliating it is to be seated in an audience when the speaker ascends the rostrum, or the platform, and begins his discourse upon some interesting subject, hardly is your attention gained before he begins to drift into a sing-song tune. A nonchalant attitude seems to creep over you and for the moment, all thinking on your part has stopped; the speaker has ceased to think, and his pulse becomes regular because it has discontinued its Rythmical action. There are no more flighty ascents into the realm of security and trust because the speaker's imaginative car has ceased to soar; no more depressions and chokings with sobs, because the speaker is no longer moved by the sorrowful suggestion of the writer, in short, the speaker has fallen into a lamentable mood.

What is a Mood? A Mood is a stagnant, or inactive condition of the mind, something akin to a muddy pool, in which no "color" but a muddy one can enter. It is personal, and the speaker who does not live into each successive idea, is drifting in his boat of selfishness on the sea of non-thought which will soon bring disaster to him.

There are various kinds of Moods, so numerous, that it would be impossible to enumerate them. However, we have First, the Mood of Indifference, one of the most despicable that could ever pervade the human intelligence; Second, the Sad, or Self-Pitying Mood in which the individual whines his ideas, and each tune seems to say, "Nobody cares for me," or "Will somebody please pity me?"; Third, the Happy Mood where (no matter what the circumstances are, even though it may be the deepest sorrow or rushing into the presence of the Almighty) one would think that the speaker had been presented with a fortune and could not recover from its effect or that the sweetheart was expected on the next train Fourth, the Sanctimonious Mood, akin to the sad, or morose kind. With these individuals, it would make no difference whether they are speaking of God or the Devil; there would be apparently as much reverence for one as the other, and the society of either would be equally entertaining; Fifth, the Patriotic Mood where the individual fearful lest the enemy storm his battlements, seems to be armed "cap-a-pie" and tragically rushes from one idea to another even though the ideas presented may be the most delicate and refined—as though he were on the battlefield. Above all things, conquer your Moods, and in the language of the writer of old,-"Better is he that ruleth his spirit, than he that taketh a city."