See, then, that you give the first place in your thoughts and love, to God. Determine, before all, to make the promises of his eternal kingdom yours, and then, when you thus covet earnestly the best gifts first, you may safely ask for the lower blessings of this present life. First, holiness; then, worldly good. First, the life of God in your soul, and, then, the good things of the passing hour. Salvation, immortality, the fellowship of angels, and the image of our Maker, are worth our chief concern. To desire to be happy is natural and right, but true and lasting happiness can only follow holiness. Make it your highest care to secure the welfare of your never-dying spirit, and then you I will be free to turn with a calm mind to the lesser matters of daily necessities and desires.

PRAYER.

GREAT and glorious God, who hast called Thyself the portion of Thy people, may I make Thee my portion now and for ever: may all things else be kept subordinate to Thee, that, thus, setting Thee before me here, I may stand before Thy face hereafter, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

JESU be ne'er forgot,

That the World harm us not!
False is she, proud, and cold,
False are her gifts and gold.

Jesu be ne'er forgot,

That Honour harm us not!
Brittle as glass her throne,

Worthless as straws her crown.

Jesu be ne'er forgot,

That her Pomp hurt us not!

Pomp and the praise of men
Vanish in mist again.

Jesu be ne'er forgot,

That the Flesh hurt us not!
Dust all, and merest show
What doth so fairly glow.

O Flesh, O fading grass,
Passing as bubbles pass;
Fresh to-day, and rosy red,

Sick to-morrow, pale and dead!

ANGELUS SILESIUS, 1624-1677.

XIII.

The Use of Meditation.

THERE is an hour of peaceful rest
To mourning wanderers given;
There is a joy for souls distressed,
A balm for every wounded breast-
'Tis found above-in heaven.

There is a soft, a downy bed,
"Tis fair as breath of even;
A couch for weary mortals spread,
Where they may rest the aching head,
And find repose-in heaven.

There is a home for weary souls,
By sin and sorrow driven;

When toss'd in life's tempestuous shoals,
Where storms arise and ocean rolls,
And all is drear-but heaven.

There faith lifts up her cheerful eye,
To brighter prospects given;
And views the tempest passing by,
The evening shadows quickly fly,
And all serene-in heaven.

There, fragrant flowers immortal bloom,
And joys supreme are given:
There, joys divine disperse the gloom—
Beyond the confines of the tomb

Appears the dawn of heaven.

W. B. TAPPAN.

XIII.

THE USE OF MEDITATION.

WINE is not found in the cluster as it hangs

on the vine, but flows from it when trod

den in the wine press. So, the promises yield their richness, not to him who merely looks at them, but to the pressing and force of godly meditation. It is not the bee that touches the flower that gets its sweets, but he that rests on it, and bends into its cup. A passing thought of God's gracious words is, at best, like the dew,—refreshing, but not of itself sufficient; meditation brings us the enriching rains of his blessing, that sink into the depths. Roses are sweet on the stalk, but it is only when you distil them that you get their full strength. A jewel may be bright in the casket, but it must be held up in varying lights to see it in its full glory. It is with the wide heaven of any of the promises as with the evening skies; at first we see only a single star, but as we look