Ye are of more value than many sparrows.

Luke xii. 7.

:

Blessed is the man whom Thou chastenest, O Lord, and teachest him in Thy law that Thou mayest give him patience in time of adversity. Ps. xciv. 12, 13.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and He delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth him with His hand.

Ps. xxxvii. 23, 24.

All things work together for good to them that love God. Rom. viii. 28.

Whatsoever is brought upon thee, take cheerfully; and be patient when thou art changed to a low estate.

For gold is tried in the fire, and acceptable men in the furnace of adversity. Ecclus. ii. 4, 5.

Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you:

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.

If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified.

1 Pet. iv. 12-14.

I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Phil. iv. 11-13.

Fret not thyself because of the ungodly: neither be thou envious against the evil doers.

Put thou thy trust in the Lord, and be doing good: dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Ps. xxxvii. 1. 3.

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your requests known unto God. Phil. iv. 6.

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee. Isa. xxvi. 3.

No man is more miserable than he that hath no adversity. Bp. Jeremy Taylor.

We must endeavour not to grieve at any thing, but to consider every thing that happens as for the best. I believe that this is our duty, and that we sin in not doing it. When God discloses His will to us in the events of life, it would be sinful not to reconcile ourselves to it. Pascal.

Trials are our greatest blessings. "I know,

O Lord, that Thy judgments are right, and that Thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me.'

"Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come." If a person be truly religious, his conscience will speak peace to him at all times, and his hopes and expectations of future happiness will enable him to bear with courage and constancy inconveniences and disappointments under which a worldly and vicious mind would sink and despond. Jortin.

God sometimes thinks fit to discipline even such as He loves, such as He designs for heaven and a glorious eternity, leading them through the vale of tears to the land of promise. For by this He serves many great purposes, both of His own glory and their happiness; it being the most sure, direct, and immediate way to possess the heart of such with a deep and quick sense of the intolerable evil of sin, and God's unspeakable detestation and abhorrence of it. South.

To do God's work is not what He requires of His will is our duty, not His work. That will be done without us. Experience of Life.

us.

Take up the cross which you have fashioned for yourself, and bear it in trusting patience after Christ. Ellison.

What Providence wills in His wisdom and mercy can never come amiss to him for whom

He wills it, however mysterious it may appear to our imperfect sight.

Could you see all that which God sees, all that happy chain of causes and motives which are to move and invite you to a right course of life, you would see something to make you like that state you are in, as fitter for you than any other.

But as you cannot see this, so it is here that Christian faith and trust in God is to exeryour cise itself, and render you as grateful and thankful for the happiness of your state, as if you saw every thing which contributes to it with your own eyes.

If you give yourself up to uneasiness, or complain of any thing in your state, you may, for aught you know, be so ungrateful to God as to murmur at that very thing which is to prove the cause of your salvation. Do not, therefore, please yourself with thinking how piously you would act and submit to God under a plague, or famine, or persecution, but be intent upon the perfection of the present day; and be assured that the best way of showing true zeal is to make little things the occasions of great piety.

Begin, therefore, in the smallest matters and most ordinary occasions, and accustom yourself to the daily exercise of this pious temper in the lowest occurrences of life. And when a contempt, an affront, a little injury, loss, or disappointment, or the smallest events of every day continually raise your mind to God in proper acts of resignation, then you may justly hope that you shall be numbered among those who are resigned and

thankful to God in the greatest trials and afflictions..

Law.

Resignation to the will of God is the whole of piety: it includes in it all that is good, and is a source of the most settled quiet and mind.

composure of

Bp. Butler.

Our resignation to the will of God may be said to be perfect, when our will is lost and resolved up into His; when we rest in His will as our end, as being in itself most just, and right, and good. 1bid.

Religion consists in submission and resignation to the Divine will. Our condition in this world is a school of exercise for this temper; and our ignorance, the shallowness of our reason, the temptations, difficulties, afflictions, which we are exposed to, all equally contribute to make it so.

1bid.

Nor is there any thing that God would have us part with, but what it is better for us to be without, better for our ease, peace, and pleasure; and more for our liberty to be freed and disentangled from. Worthington.

Am I never to endure the cross, but have all straight and smooth before me? Were it good for me to be free from hindrances and vexations? A soldier must endure hardness, and I have been forewarned of such by my Master, who at the same time has promised abundant help and com