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I sit beside my little mill

And grind the livelong day;

The sun comes out beside the hill
And all the world looks gay;

But I must grind, and grind, and grind,
So is the manner of my kind.

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Well, I've a mind to quit my mill
And loaf about the town;
Like other folk, to have my will,

Nor bear with fortune's frown

Why should I grind for senseless clods?
Peace, fool! Perchance thy mill is God's,

F. W. MARTIN.

O patient God, wilt Thou forgive the impatience of Thy servants? We toiled all day yesterday and into the night. We are glad to toil. We want to The imperative of work is upon us.

serve.

There

is much to do little tasks and tasks immeasurable. We are satisfied to serve where Thou dost call us, whether the task be great or small; but we grow impatient of results. Like children watching expectant for the upspringing of the seed they have sown, so we long to behold the fruit of our toil. Do we look in vain, — give patience, Lord. Ours is the task alone, the results are Thine. For the task, we have but one brief day, for the results Thou hast the eternal years. Amen.

JOHN L. IVEY.

God, thou art love. I build my faith on that.

ROBERT BROWNING.

Hide thou thy grief,

But let thy joy be known;
Doubts will be brief,

If faith shall claim its own;
Pain is a gain;

Sorrow a glorious strife;

Death is a breath;

And Love is Lord of Life.

OLIVER HUCKEL.

Father in Heaven, we bring to Thee our heartfelt thanks for every evidence to us that Thou art love. Our waking thought dwells on Thy loving care. Our eager hope find its sure confidence in the thought that Thy love waits to bless us. We thank Thee that our hearts are capable of loving Thee. May we go forth to teach Thy world and ours with faith in Thee, such faith as shall give us a real consciousness of Thy presence and Thy love in all the movements of our life to-day.

If Thou, as Love, shall breathe

On all our way,

Grief, sorrow, doubt, pain, death itself,

Will trouble not our day. Amen.

LESTER MORRIS CONROW.

With faint far buglings in the noble east
I hear the herald of the struggling day,
Calling each man to victor's earnestness
To bring in truth the dream of yesterday.
WILLIAM NORTHRUP MORse.

The firefly, flickering about
In busy brightness, near and far,
Lets not his little lamp go out
Because he cannot be a star.

AMELIA JOSEPHINE BURR.

Dear Lord, take us this morning and make us all Thine own. May the light of Thy Holy Word like the dawn of the morning be a lamp to our paths this day. May no hour hear us saying "there is nothing we can do" while the world in darkness lieth and the laborers are so few. Lead us, O Lord, that we may lead the wayward and wandering feet; teach us that we in turn may teach the things Thou dost impart; and use us "just as Thou wilt and when and where" that Faith, and Comfort, and Hope may spring with Joy in many a heart.

W. ELDER ARCHIBALD.

Amen.

What to a man who loves the air
Are trinkets, gauds, and jewels rare?
And what is wealth or fame to one
Who is a brother to the sun;

Who drinks the wine that morning spills
Upon the heaven-kissing hills,
And sees a ray of hope afar
In every glimmer of a star?

What to a man whose god is truth
Are spoils and stratagems, forsooth
Who looks beyond the doors of death
For loftier life, sublimer breath;
Who can forswear the state of kings
In knowledge of diviner things,
The dreams immortal that unroll
And burst to blossom in his soul?

ROBERT LOVEMAN.

We bless Thee, our Father, that Thou hast given us again to open our eyes upon the wonder of Thy world. Thou hast ordered it in abundance that we might have every need supplied. Thou hast adorned it with beauty that our imaginations might be quickened. Thou hast hidden Thyself at its heart that our souls might follow the lines that run out to the ends of the earth, and beyond into the heavenly places. Save us this day from mean ambitions and sordid desires. May we fill the hours with honest endeavor and homely obedience to Thy will. Grant us the joy of our Lord. Amen. WILLIAM D. BEACH.

I will start anew this morning with a higher, fairer

creed;

I will cease to stand complaining of my ruthless neighbor's greed;

I will cease to sit repining while my duty's call is clear,

I will waste no moment whining and my heart shall know no fear.

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I will not be swayed by envy when my rival's strength

is shown;

I will not deny his merit, but I'll strive to prove my own; I will try to see the beauty spread before me, rain or

shine

I will cease to preach your duty and be more concerned with mine.

S. E. KISER.

Dear Father, we thank Thee that Thou dost let each morning mark a new beginning for us. In Thy mercy hast Thou blotted out the past in the night that intervenes between yesterday's failures and to-day's fresh hope. We thank Thee that Thou art not only the God of all our beginnings, but what is more loving and wonderful, the God of our beginnings over and over. Hold our hand, our Father, as we begin again to-day. We may stumble in to-day's path, O Lord, but let us not let go Thy hand; and mercifully bring us to this day's close a little farther on the way to our abiding home with Thee. Amen.

EARL CRANSTON.

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