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"Forsake me not, my God,

Thou God of my salvation ; Give me thy light to be

My sure illumination.

My soul to folly turns,

Seeking she knows not what; Oh, lead her to thyself:

My God! forsake me not.

"Forsake me not, my God,

Take not thy spirit from me,

And suffer not the might

Of sin to overcome me.

A father pitieth

The children he begot:
My Father, pity me;

My God, forsake me not.

"Forsake me not, my God,

Thou God of life and power;
Enliven, strengthen me,
In every evil hour.
And when the sinful fire

Within my heart is hot,
Be not thou far from me,-
My God, forsake me not!

"Forsake me not, my God;
Uphold me in my going,

That evermore I may

Please thee in all well doing;

And that thy will, O Lord,

May never be forgot,

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"That I can suffer when I sin, that I can sorrow for the wrong that is in me, that I can sigh and struggle to be free from it,-I am glad of that. Were it not for this moral nature, this conscience, all were wrecked; but it exists, it is strong, it works mightily in the human heart. I know not who makes it suffer and sorrow and struggle as it does, but God. It seems to me that all institutions, all preachings, all machinery of human device, are weak, compared with this all-pervading power of God that works within us."

No man is more miserable than he who hath no adversity; that man is not tried whether he be good or not; and God never crowns those virtues which are only faculties and dispositions; but every act of virtue is an ingredient into reward. God so dresses us for heaven.

[Jeremy Taylor.]

Oh help us when our spirits bleed
With contrite anguish sore;

And when our hearts are cold and dead,
Oh help us, Lord, the more!

[Milman.]

There are several virtues and graces, such as courtesy, charity, mercy, which are comprehended under the name of family kindness; and the true glory of kindness consists not so much in some signal acts of generosity or charity as in those kind offices and unpretending services of love, whose constant influence is like a healthy atmosphere, unseen, yet indispensable to our happiness. It consists in those "sweet small courtesies of life, which sweeten the cup of existence as we drink it."-[Dr. Follen.]

ENTREATIES HEAVENWARD.

Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breast-plate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.

If there be any goodliness and loveliness in the world; if there be anything dear and delightful in the excellence of good men; if heaven from its majestic heights, if earth from its lowly beauty sends one sweet or one sublime thought into your mind,—think that this is a manifestation of the ever beautiful, ever blessed perfections of God,— think for ever! that the whole universe of glory and beauty is one revelation of God.-[Dewey.]

How gentle God's commands!
How kind his precepts are!

Come, leave your burdens to the Lord,
And trust his constant care.

His bounty will provide !

Ye shall securely dwell!
The hand that bears creation up
Shall guard his children well.

Oh, why should anxious thought
Press down your weary mind?
Come, seek your Heavenly Father's face,
And peace and gladness find.

His goodness stands for all,
Unchanged from day to day :
We'll drop our burden at his feet,
And bear a song away.

[Doddridge.]

to man.

There are some griefs, some passionate moral struggles, some fatal secrets of the inner life which we cannot speak For we cannot give men that knowledge of our whole past, by which alone its secrets can be justly judged. But to our Father, who knows all, we can speak out. He has no conventional maxims by which to measure us; no half-experience; no harshness; no jealous injustice, such as among men demands to be considered love. He cannot therefore mistake us,—we are sure of justice; and it is that, and not love alone, which we ask from him, if our souls be true.-[Brooke.]

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