GEM XXVII.

To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.-Revelations ii, 7.

GEM XXVIII.

YOUTH AND AGE.

ECCLESIASTES XII.

1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy

youth,

While the evil days come not,
Nor the years draw nigh,

When thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; 2 While the sun, or the light, or the moon, or the stars be not darkened,

Nor the clouds return after the rain:

3 In the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble,

And the strong men shall bow themselves,

And the grinders cease because they are few,
And those that look out of the windows be dark-

ened,

4 And the doors shall be shut in the streets,
When the sound of the grinding is low,

And he shall rise up at the voice of the bird,
And all the daughters of music shall be brought

low;

5 Also when they shall be afraid of that which is

And the almond tree shall flourish,

And the grasshopper shall be a burden,
And desire shall fail;

Because man goeth to his long home, And the mourners go about the streets; 6 Or ever the silver cord be loosed,

Or the golden bowl be broken,

Or the pitcher be broken at the fountain,

Or the wheel broken at the cistern.

7 Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: And the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.

13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: For this is the whole duty of man.

14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, With every secret thing,

Whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

GEM XXX.

Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground and worshipped, and said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.—Job i, 20-21.

GEM XXX.

LOVE.

I CORINTHIANS XIII.

If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am become sound2 ing brass, or a clanging cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have 3 not love, I am nothing. And if I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it prof 4 iteth me nothing. Love suffereth long, and

is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not 5 itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself

unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not pro6 voked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with 7 the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 8 Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in 10 part: but when that which is perfect is come,

that which is in part shall be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I felt as a child, I thought as a child: now that I am become a man, I have put away child12 ish things. For now we see in a mirror, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also 13 I have been known. But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

GEM XXXI.

He that loveth not knoweth not God: for God is love.-I John iv, 8.

GEM XXXII.

THE GRACIOUS CALL.

ISAIAH LV.

1 Ho! every one that thirsteth,

2

Come ye to the waters,

And he that hath no money;

Come ye, buy, and eat;

Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.

Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?

And your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good,

3

And let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Incline your ear and come unto me:
Hear, and your soul shall live;

And I will make an everlasting covenant with

you,

Even the sure mercies of David.

4 Behold I have given him for a witness to the people, A leader and commander to the people.

5

Behold thou shalt call a nation that thou

knowest not,

And nations that knew not thee shall run unto
thee, because of the Lord thy God,

And for the Holy One of Israel;

For he hath glorified thee.

6 Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, Call ye upon him while he is near:

7

8

Let the wicked forsake his way,

And the unrighteous man his thoughts:
And let him return unto the Lord,
And he will have mercy upon him;

And to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are my ways higher than your ways,
And my thoughts than your thoughts.

10

For as the rain cometh down,

And the snow from heaven,
And returneth not thither,
But watereth the earth,

And maketh it bring forth and bud,