Why shouldn't a song
Be cheery and bright,
If you love it along

All the day and the night?
If you cuddle it close
Ere it taketh its flight
And joyously goes

On the wings of delight.

Why shouldn't a life
Be free as a song,
Unembittered by strife

And unclouded by wrong?

O my heart, be thou pure,

O my soul, be thou strong

As the hills that endure,

As the mountains that throng!

ROBERT LOVEMAN.

Our Father in heaven, we rejoice in Thee, the God of our salvation. When the nights are wearisome to us, full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of the day, Thou dost open the morning with the joy of Thy presence and Thou art unto us as a very

lovely song. We pray Thee that morning by

morning Thou wilt satisfy us with Thy loving kindness that we may be glad all our days. Grant unto us strength in Thy sanctuary that our whole spirit and soul and body may be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. JOHN W. HAMILTON.

There are many to sing us the doleful song
Of the heart that is heavy with tears;
But who will sing us the dauntless song
A marching measure that swings along
Of the heart that has no fears?

The joy of life is the forward road
To the heart that is ready to go;

--

There's a laugh and a jest at the end of day,
And a sweet voice calling from far away
Whenever the wild winds blow.

Though what we shall see at the turn of the road
Is hidden from you and from me,

Yet with heart that is free of a vain disguise,
And face to the front, and fearless eyes,

We will dare whatever we see.

TERTIUS VAN Dyke.

O Lord, Thou art to us the Light of life. When Thou art near we are upon the daybreak side of the darkness, yet even in the night Thou givest songs. Grant us the mind which cannot be affrighted, even by the call to suffer. Vouchsafe to us Hope's vision and make us to know that the outcome of devotion is to be the everlasting glory. So may we go on our journey, unfaltering, unafraid, and may the open confidence and courage of our living make easier for those about us the burden and the way. Amen.

LUTHER B. WILSON.

Within every healing shadow is God himself; and so, though it seem to be a shadow of the sorest sorrow and pain, yet it will lift me upward and lead me into the light. Indeed it cannot be a hurting shadow if God is in it. I care not how painful, perplexing, and dark the very darkness will be light about me. If He is with me, I will fear no evil. All the shadows of God are

divine!

ROBERT COLLYER.

O Thou Light Divine, unto Thee we open wide the windows of our souls, our hearts, our brains; greeting Thee with the smile of the morning dawn. Flood our souls, and make them vibrant with the brilliance of Thine ineffable Glory! (Warm our hearts so that we will sensitively respond to the call of human need!) May the good cheer and refreshment that cometh from the brightness of Thy Presence inspire our voices with the symphonies of Thy Heavenly Grace! In the Light of Thy Presence may heart throbs be softened; may the shadows veil their faces in retirement, and surely the darksome clouds of sorrow and disappointment will break and disappear. Thus Light leaps out to Light as we sing Thy Praise, O God! Amen.

H. ELMER GILCHRIST.

A house is built of bricks and stone,
Of tiles and posts and piers;
But a home is built of loving deeds
That stand a thousand years.
VICTOR HUGO.

A man's life in his family, with his wife, with his children, with his mother, with his neighbors, is not made up of grandstand plays and defiance of the elements and all that sort of thing. It is made up of a series of little acts, and these little acts and little selfrestraints are what go to make up the man's character. WILLIAM H. TAFT.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for all the gifts with which Thou hast enriched and gladdened human lives, but chiefly do we thank Thee for the home. For its maintenance we gladly go forth in the morning to our daily toil, and at evening return to enjoy its shelter and love. Giving and receiving is here attended with peculiar joy. Here may we gain strength of character, by restraint of criticism and faultfinding and by kind forbearance and expressions of appreciation. Help us to make our home a part of the Kingdom of Heaven where prevails righteousness, peace and joy. Amen.

JULIUS P. WEST.

Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.

SHAKESPEARE.

The harder it is the

Away, then, with all complaints, all meager ana mean anxieties! Take your duty and be strong in it, as God will make you strong. stronger, in fact, you will be. Understand, also,(that the great question here is not what you will get, but what you will become.) The greatest wealth you can ever get will be in yourself. Take your burdens and troubles and losses and wrongs, if come they must and will, as your opportunities, knowing that God has girded you for greater things than these.

HORACE BUshnell.

Let us

O Thou who tasted the bitter cup of life's disappointments and failures, we come to Thee with our shattered hopes, sore disappointments and failures as Thou only knowest best what they are. have the strength that comes from Thy precious fellowship and comradeship. Weaken us, we pray Thee, where we trust our strength. Strengthen us where we feel our weakness. May we learn day by day the peace and security that is to be always found in dwelling in the secret places of the most high. So we find success in failures, satisfaction and peace in disappointments, consolation under Thy rod. Amen.

GREGARY A. SHERADAN.