T

HE Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

I

-PSALM 23.

AM the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. -JOHN 10:11-15.

Gracious God, may each day find us nearer the ideals which we have learned from our Master, Christ. May we accomplish the difficult task of transforming the daily pathway of common duties into the road that leads to the threshold of heaven. Keep us rigidly honest, transparently pure, and joyously undisturbed in the midst of life's confusions, because of our perfect confidence in Thee. Guide and bless all parents, all children, and any strangers who share the warm hospitality of family hearthsides, and at eventide when the day is done, may we be conscious that we have so lived as not to be ashamed to leave the record in Thy hands. This we ask for Christ's sake. Amen.

-STANLEY WHITE, D. D.

FOR

OR the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody. Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people. My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. -ISA. 51:3-5.

THEREFORE the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away. I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass; and forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth; and hast feared continually every day because of the fury of the oppressor, as if he were ready to destroy? and where is the fury of the oppressor?

-ISA. 51:II-13.

God of all comfort and Father of all mercies, Thou art the fountain of everlasting life! We would obtain joy and gladness that sorrow and sighing may flee away. Remember, O Lord, all of the interests of our lives. Guard those whom we love, whether near or far, from all danger and ill. Guide them and us upon the untried pathway of this new day. Bring us to the eventide without sin and without shame. We pray for our beloved nation and for all the peoples of earth. May Thy divine love be shed abroad in all human hearts. Uphold the missionaries of the Cross at home and abroad. Overthrow all oppression and injustice and hasten, we beseech Thee, the coming of the Kingdom of Thy dear Son, our Saviour. Hear, O Father, the cries of our hearts as well as the words of our mouths; forgive all our sins and save us with an everlasting salvation for Jesus' sake. Amen.

-WILLIAM HIRAM FOULKES, D. D.

AND when they came to Marah, they could not drink of

the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them, and said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee. And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees and they encamped there by the waters. -Ex. 15:23-27.

Our Father, grant that this home may be full of light, even as all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings in the days when there was darkness in the land of Egypt. May the light of Thy truth lead us to see God in all the world of wonder and of beauty in which we live, and always to love the truth and to hate lying and deceit and dishonesty. May the light of Thy word in the Bible be a lamp unto our footsteps. May the light of Thy love be shed abroad in our hearts, making us happy and healthful and useful. We will fear no evil for Thou art with us. May the light of the Cross of Christ compel us to lives of sacrificial service. May this Christian home be a light whereby others shall be lightened in the way everlasting. Bless our church and all agencies which seek to forward the causes of God and humanity. In the name of Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. Amen.

-JOSIAH SIBLEY, D. D.

ΤΗ

HOU shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord. * * * Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord. * * * Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord. And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard, in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. Therefore shall ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: I am the Lord. -LEV. 19:18, 30, 32-37.

Our Father which art in heaven, we adore Thee and trust Thee. In mercy Thou hast made us, and in love Thou hast redeemed us from our sins. Perfect our faith so that, believing in Thee, we may rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Give us, we pray Thee, large measures of grace, and open Thou our eyes that we may behold wondrous things out of Thy law. Make our lives after the pattern of the man Christ Jesus, our Lord, and at all times may we seek those things which are pure, lovely, and of good report. And as Thou hast called us to serve Thee, help us to be faithful laborers in Thy Kingdom. Quench in us, O Thou Lord of our life, all wrong desires. Deliver us from selfishness and pride, from sloth and idleness, from narrowness of mind and hardness of heart. Cleanse our hearts from anger, malice, and envy, from covetousness and greed, and from all the lusts that war against the soul. Fill our hearts, we beseech Thee, with the grace of Thy Holy Spirit; make us kind, longsuffering, and gentle; give us grace to serve Thee faithfully, and receive us at last into Thine everlasting Kingdom. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

-From "GUIDANCE IN PRAYER."

BUT

UT God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved ;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. -EPH. 2:4-10, 19-22.

Heavenly Father, we are before Thee this morning to renew our pledges of allegiance and devotion. The more we know of Thee and of Thy life here among people the more we rejoice in being allowed to call Thee Father. We bring before Thee our family circle, those of us who bow together and those who are away from home. Time and space do not really separate us for our hearts are constantly finding one another, and Thou art our very close bond. We pray for those who are in distress of any sort and those who are filled with special rejoicing-for all of these we seek a blessing and to Thee we commend each of them. Our church is precious to us and for it also we want to pray. What we are eager for is that our hearts' cry shall include all of our fellow men everywhere. We come through the sacrificial merits and the reigning worth and the present comfort of our Lord Jesus Christ and under the direct guidance of Thy Holy Spirit to offer our prayer. Amen.

-LAPSLEY A. MCAFEE, D. D.