Never give up; it is wiser and better
Always to hope than once to despair;
Fling off the load of doubt's cankering fetter
And break the dark spell of tyrannical care.
Never give up, or the burden may sink you
Providence kindly has mingled the cup;
And in all troubles and trials bethink you,
The watchword of life must be: "Never give up.”

Never give up; there are chances and changes
Helping the hopeful, a hundred to one,
And through the chaos, High Wisdom arranges
Ever success, if you'll only hold on.
Never give up; for the wisest is boldest,
Knowing that Providence mingles the cup.
And of all maxims, the best, as the oldest,
Is the stern watchword of "Never give up."
ANONYMOUS.

O Lord, our God, we pause in Thy presence this hour and look into Thy face for inspiration. An abundance of hopes fills our hearts when we remember the mighty faith Thou hast in us. Inasmuch as Thou hast faith in us, help us to have faith in ourselves and in the work of this day. This morning the clouds of despair hang low; the darkness of uncertainty is nigh; our burdens are heavy and we are weak. But in creation's morning, Thou didst say "Let there be light and there was Light." So speak, O God, this hour and may Thy light be ours to-day. Amen.

T. HOWARD JONES.

It is not growing, like a tree

In bulk, doth make man better be;
Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,
To fall a log at last, dry, bald and sear;
A lily of a day

Is fairer far in May

Although it fall and die that night: —
It was the plant and flower of light.
In small proportions we just beauties see;
And in short measures life may perfect be.
BEN JONSON.

O Thou Who dost lead us from thistle-bedded fields of affliction to fragrant flower gardens of victory, hear our prayer. Thou dost scatter our false notions of life, as the sun scatters darkness. We dream of greatness in gold of Ophir and cedars of Lebanon. We dream of wisdom that would startle queens from afar, but quickly doth Jesus halt us, points to the lily near by and exclaims, Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." O God, Thou Who didst give to the lily this beauty, clothe us with a similar charm, then our lives will be spent in fragrant service and we will be truly great however brief the measure. We ask it for Jesus' sake. Amen.

66

DUDLEY O. OSTERHEED.

Fear thou not, for I am with thee: be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Isaiah 41: 10:

The narrow ways trodden of men are miserable; they have high walls on each side, and but an occasional glimpse of the sky above.. The true way, though narrow, is not unlovely; most footpaths are lovelier than high-roads. It may be full of toil, but it cannot be miserable. It has not walls, but fields and forests and gardens around it, and limitless sky overhead. It has its sorrows, but many of them lie only on its borders, and they that leave the path gather them. GEORGE MACDONALD.

Heavenly Father, we come to Thee for deliverance from all that makes us apprehensive. Fear is not of Thee: it is earth-born. "Perfect love casteth out fear." We implore that gift of Thy love that shall emancipate us from earth's shackles. Heaven's voice bids us look up and be courageous. Thou dost not give Thy children "The spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." Scatter this day all clouds of fear and grant that we may walk with Thee in the power of Thy Holy Spirit. Amen.

GEORGE E. HEATH.

King Hassan, well beloved, was wont to say,
When aught went wrong or any project failed:
"To-morrow, friends, will be another day!"
And in that faith he slept and so prevailed.

Long live this proverb! While the world shall roll
To-morrows, fresh, shall rise from out the night,
And new baptize the indomitable soul

With courage for its never-ending fight.

No one, I say, is conquered till he yields;

And yield he need not, while, like mist from glass, God wipes the stain of life-old battlefields From every morning that he brings to pass.

New day, new hope, new courage! Let this be,
O soul, thy cheerful creed! What's yesterday,
With all its shards and wrack and grief, to thee,
Forget it, then
here lies the victor's way.

JAMES BUCKHAM.

Our hopes,

There we

Almighty God, Lord of the past, the present and the future, we cannot change the past we can only repent of the evil. The present we hold in our hands but for a moment and it is gone. aspirations and desires are in the future. can plan and we can change before the future is eternally fixed in the past. We thank Thee that thou hast made every to-morrow bright with hope and boundless possibilities and that in it we can see a better self reaching up to Thee. Amen.

HENRY T. SELL.

Packing up the bubbles and the blossoms, and the dew, To keep them over winter till the April buds come true.

Don't you know it's autumn

And the folks have been so smart They've packed away a thousand Dreams of summer in the heart

-

The magic of bright mornings with the robins singing

sweet,

And the marigolds and clover and the roses in the wheat.

Don't

you know it's autumn,

And everywhere in town

They're wrapping up the memories

That the summer showered down

Nights of silver moonlight, with a ripple on the stream, And lovers in the lilacs, and the old, old dream.

FOLGER MCKINSEY.

Heavenly Father, even when it is winter, may we keep alive the scent of roses and the glad anticipation of another spring. May we wait for every spring with the same faith that makes us wait for the blessing of the good God and which makes our rejoicing so abundant when it comes. Amen. GEORGE L. PERIN.