ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.

Gracious Father, we thank Thee for the power Thou hast given us to labor
for our own and others' advancement and happiness. As we begin this new
day we trust in Thy bounty and would draw on Thy strength to sustain us
in our toil. We thank Thee for the brave souls in every walk of life who
have set us an example worthy to be followed. Many have been or are
notable in the world for their fortitude, honor and achievements; many
others have been known to us but have been unheralded by men, and from
all these we have ourselves been made more capable and faithful. By Thy
grace may we be aided in emulating the good we see in others, and be
able to make the world a little brighter because of Thy gift to us of
this day. Amen.

  FRANK S. RICE.

March 26

  _An old, worn Harp that had been played
  Till all its strings were loose and frayed,
  Joy, Hate, and Fear, each one, assayed
  To play. But each in turn had found
  No sweet responsiveness of sound._

  _Then Love the Master-player came
  With heaving breast and eyes aflame;
  The Harp he took all undismayed,
  Smote on its strings, still strange to song,
  And brought forth music sweet and strong._

                       PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR.

Heavenly Father, I pray Thee that Thou wilt help me to love to-day. Thou
art Love and if Thou shalt fill my life there will be no room for hate
and no room for fear, for "Perfect Love casteth out fear." As the Master
stilled the waves in Galilee, so speak Thou peace to my soul, and bid
all discord cease, that my whole life may be in tune with heaven, and
may be one happy song. Love alone can bring harmony out of discord, love
out of hate, trust out of fear, and music out of a worn-out, or a long
unused or misused life. So let Love control the whole of my life for
Jesus' sake. Amen.

  B. L. JENNINGS.

March 27

      _No stream from its source
  Flows seaward, how lonely soever its course,
  But some land is gladdened. No star ever rose
  Or set without influence somewhere. Who knows
  What earth needs from earth's lowliest creature? No life
  Can be pure in its purpose and strong in its strife,
  And all life not be purer and stronger thereby._

                                           OWEN MEREDITH.

If I am this day to touch other lives helpfully so that they may be
gladdened and strengthened for truer and nobler living, I shall need, my
Father, not only a clear perception of myself in relation to that to
which Thou dost call me, but also a clear vision of the Christ who would
be felt through me, not only the impulse of a strong purpose but also
the endowment of power by Thy spirit of power. That this may be, do Thou
test my purpose by that of Thy son and fashion my life by His teaching,
keeping my heart open always toward Thee. Amen.

  F. H. WHEELER.

March 28

  _I but open my eyes,--and perfection, no more and no less,
  In the kind I imagined, full-fronts me, and God is seen God,
  In the star, in the stone, in the flesh, in the soul and the clod.
  And thus looking within and around me, I ever renew
  (With that stoop of the soul which in bending upraises it too)
  The submission of man's nothing-perfect to God's all-complete,
  And by each new obeisance in spirit, I climb to His feet._

                                                  ROBERT BROWNING.

Thou Infinite Spirit, we cannot understand Thee, yet we feel Thy
presence within us and about us. We cannot unravel the mystery of Thy
life, not even of our own lives, yet we feel ourselves linked as by
chains of steel to Thyself. We are poor and ignorant and little and
finite; Thou art great and strong and infinite, yet we cling to the
thought that we are Thy children. Even in Thine infinity Thou stoopest
to listen to us. Thou carest for us, lovest us. O Thou Father of our
Souls, may we cling to Thee to-day and every day. We do not ask Thee to
explain Thyself, but we do ask that in storm and sunshine, in adversity
and in prosperity, and in every emergency we may keep our anchorage to
Thee unbroken, and feel Thy presence with us. Amen.

  GEORGE L. PERIN.

March 29

     _I wonder why it is that we are not all kinder to each other than
     we are. How much the world needs it! How easily it is done!_

                                                       HENRY DRUMMOND.

     _Let us awaken to the divine privilege of sharing the heartaches of
     our friends; of the meaning of good fellowship; of that
     independence of spirit that does not imitate; of courage and pride
     that can endure adversity with dignity, and without fear._

                                                            ANONYMOUS.

Our Heavenly Father, help us through this new day to allow the impulses
of our hearts to have fullest play. Help us to help each other, Lord,
and of whatever grace or influence we have to bless and uplift our
fellowmen to give generously and gladly. Help us scatter sunshine along
our pathway, to speak the cheering word to discouraged hearts and to
lend the helping hand to feeble or halting ones along the way. May we
find our greatest happiness following in the footsteps of our Master,
humbly serving our neighbor's needs, and doing good even at every
wayside opportunity. Amen.

  JAMES F. ALBION.

March 30

  _Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,
  In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;
  Some great cause, God's new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight,
  Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right,
  And the choice goes by forever 'twixt that darkness and that light._

                                                   JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.

Almighty Father, we are before Thee, asking for strength this day, that
for today's duty we may have the help of Thy Infinite wisdom, as we know
we have Thy love, Our Father with His Children. Father, help us to look
to Thee for strength and wisdom in every moment of doubt. We are not
afraid, because we can come to Thee for counsel, and companionship. We
can come to Thee for everything, and we find everything if we seek for
it with all our heart and soul and strength. So today, Father, be with
us to show each one of us here, the youngest or the oldest, the weakest
or the strongest, what is the duty next his hand today, that we may
enter into that work and go about our Father's business. Go with us and
be with us as with Thine own children. Amen.

  EDWARD EVERETT HALE.

March 31

     _I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my duty and
     joy to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and
     noble._

                                                        HELEN KELLER.

     _It is a fine notion of life to liken it to the loom. God puts on
     the warp in those circumstances in which we find ourselves, and
     which we cannot change. The woof is wrought by the shuttle of
     everyday life. It is made of very homely threads sometimes, common
     duties, unpromising and unwelcome tasks. But whoever tries to do
     each day's work in the spirit of patient loyalty to God is weaving
     the texture whose other side is fairer than the one he sees._

                                                         ANONYMOUS.

Our Father in heaven, grant that we may be "faithful in that which is
least," leaving to Thy will whether we have the opportunity of being
"faithful in much." May we understand that the value of our service is
not so much in what we do as the spirit in which we do it. Help us to
remember that no service is common in Thy sight, if it is done for Thy
glory and the betterment of humanity; that in blessing others, we
ourselves are blessed; that life is mostly made up of little things, but
a character which is perfected by Thy grace and humble service is not a
little thing, but a jewel to shine in Thy crown forever. Amen.

  E. T. CURNICK.

April 1

          _April is here!
  There's a song in the maple, thrilling and new;
  There's a flash of wings of heaven's own hue;
  There's a veil of green on the nearer hills;
  There's a burst of rapture in woodland rills;
  There are stars in the meadow dropped here and there;
  There's a breath of arbutus in the air;
  There's a dash of rain, as if flung in jest;
  There's an arch of color spanning the west;
          April is here!_

                                    EBEN E. REXFORD.

O God, ever-living and ever-acting, all Thy works praise Thee, and Thy
saints bless Thee! We rejoice that Thou art bringing in this new
springtime, and art preparing to pour out Thy summer glory and bounty in
garden and field and wood, that Thy children may be richly blessed. As
Thou art working mightily in nature today so wilt Thou work in us, Thy
children, that the blessed fruits of the Spirit may appear in all that
we think and do and are? And may the spontaneous spring song of the
woods find its counterpart in the perpetual gladness of our souls sunk
deep in the love of Christ! Amen.

  HENRY IRVING CUSHMAN.

April 2

  _The sweetest sound our whole year round
    'Tis the first robin of the spring!
  The song of the full orchard choir,
    Is not so fine a thing._

                     EDMUND CLARENCE STEDMAN.

  _The grass comes, the flower laughs where lately lay the snow,
  O'er the breezy hill top hoarsely calls the crow,
    By the flowing river the alder catkins swing
    And the sweet song sparrow cries, "Spring, it is Spring!"_

                                               CELIA THAXTER.

Accept from a heart of gratitude, O God, thanksgiving and praises for
the glad anticipation of the coming days of spring. May the awakening of
nature, this living garment in which Thou hast robed Thy mysterious
loveliness, be to each of Thy children symbol of the new life which
comes to those who put their trust in the risen Christ and of the higher
life beyond where shadows are no more and light and gladness bless an
eternity of joy. O, Thou Father of lights, make every hour of this
opening day rich and radiant with Thy effulgent presence through Jesus
Christ. Amen.

  KERR BOYCE TUPPER.

April 3

  _Within my earthly temple there's a crowd;
  There's one of us that's humble, one that's proud,
  There's one that's broken-hearted for his sins,
  There's one that unrepentant sits and grins;
  There's one that loves his neighbor as himself,
  And one that cares for naught but fame and pelf.
  From much corroding care I should be free
  If I could once determine which is me._

                                    THEODORE MARTIN.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for our multiform life. Thou hast
made us a little lower than the angels and hast crowned us with glory
and honor, yet how little we know ourselves! We go astray; we fall from
our high estate; like the moth we flutter around the blaze that burns
us. When we would do good, evil is present with us. Yet through all
complexity of thought and feeling, of passion and appetite, through all
our wanderings and all our sins we thank Thee that there shines clearly
the light of our own Divinity. We are Thy children. Help us, we pray
Thee, to know ourselves at our best. May we not be betrayed in this
day's journey by any siren voice. Let us go forth to the tasks of the
day with the consciousness that until the evening shadows fall Thou wilt
be with us. Amen.

  GEORGE L. PERIN.

April 4

  _If we but knew the secret of that power
  That opes the bud in early days of spring,
  If we but knew what makes the robin sing
  His wondrous song just at the matin hour,
  If we but knew the priceless boon and dower
  Of human life when man is truly king.
  If we but understood the little thing
  That vexes us just at the present hour,
  If we but knew--ah, well, 'tis vain to sigh
  And speculate on things beyond our ken!
  We know that earth is fair and life is sweet,
  And something tells us that we cannot die.
  And if we live and love the good, ah! then
  We face to face with truth some day must meet._

                               CLARENCE HAWKES.

O Lord, we thank Thee for a day so sweet and fair as this, when the
trees lift up their hands in a psalm of gratitude to Thee, and every
little flower that opens its cup and every wandering bird seem filled by
Thy spirit, and grateful to Thee. We thank Thee for all thine
handwritings of revelation on the walls of the world, on the heavens
above us and the ground beneath, and all the testimonies recorded there
of Thy presence, Thy power, Thy justice, and Thy love. Amen.

  THEODORE PARKER.

April 5

  _Yet we must give the children leave to use
  Our garden tools, though they spoil tool and plant
  In learning. So the Master may not scorn
  Our awkwardness, as with these bungling hands
  We try to unroot the ill, and plant with good
  Life's barren soil: the child is learning use.
  Perhaps the angels even are forbid
  To laugh at us, or may not care to laugh,
  With kind eyes pitying our little hurts._

                                 EDWARD ROWLAND SILL.

Our Father: Thou knowest how unskilled are these hands and hearts of
ours. Thou knowest how much that we do, think, and speak often tends to
retard the progress of that which we would promote. Give us, then, this
day that wisdom which is from above, that no touch of our hand may mar
the beauty of one of Thy creations: no thought nor word wrong one of Thy
creatures. Help us to know that we are workers with God, and in this
knowledge may we strive for that excellence of service that shall hasten
the coming of that kingdom of peace, joy and righteousness which is life
eternal. Amen.

  FLORENCE KOLLOCK CROOKER.

April 6

  _Plant flowers in the soul's front yard,
    Set out new shade and blossom trees,
  An' let the soul once froze an' hard,
    Sprout crocuses of new idees._

  _Yes, clean yer house, an' clean yer shed,
    An' clean yer barn in ev'ry part;
  But brush the cobwebs from yer head,
    An' sweep the snow banks from yer heart._

                                SAM WALTER FOSS.

Gracious Father, help us gratefully to begin this day with Thee. We
expect the day to bring its accustomed routine of cares and duties, and
its round of petty irritations, but we confidently believe that Thou
wilt help us in all our experiences. Let this morning's freshness, hope
and vigor be ours through the whole day. Help us to put faith in the
place of fear that all our efforts may be crowned with the success of
helpfulness. May we go blithely about our business with kind words and
cheerful faces that our day's work may be our day's worship. Amen.

  AUGUSTUS B. CHURCH.

April 7

  _Ye seek for happiness--alas the day!
  Ye find it not in luxury nor in gold,
  Not in the fame nor in the envied sway,
  For which O willing slaves to custom old,
  Severe taskmistress, ye your hearts have sold.
  Ye seek for peace, and, when ye die, to dream
  No evil dreams; all mortal things are cold
  And senseless then; if aught survive, I deem
  It must be love and joy, for they immortal seem._

                                           SHELLEY.

O Thou Eternal God who hast given us life, help us to love Thy will and
to walk in Thy way this day. If flowers chance to grow beside our path
we would pluck them, but most of all would we rejoice in Thee alone,
knowing that in Thy will is perfect peace. Fill our souls with Thy joy
and strengthen us in the spirit of self-forgetfulness to spill it out
into the lives of others. Give us hearts "roomy, radiant, and full of
laughter," learned of "Jesus Christ, whom not having seen we love; on
whom though now we see Him not, yet believing, we rejoice greatly with
joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of our faith, even
the salvation of our souls." Amen.

  WALTER HEALY.

April 8

  _A gush of bird song, a patter of dew,
    A cloud and a rainbow's warning,
  Suddenly sunshine and perfect blue--
    An April day in the morning._

                   HARRIET P. SPOFFORD.

  _There is something in the air
    That's new and sweet and rare--
  There's something too that's new,
    In the color of the blue
  That's in the morning sky,
    Before the sun is high._

                           NORA PERRY.

Infinite and Holy One, be with us in the beauty of this new day. May the
dewy sweetness of the dawn Thou hast given to us be regarded as a token
of Thy love for Thy children. As an atmosphere of joy and peace may be
the thought of Thy consolation and Thy care. The delicate tints of Thy
sky arching over us may we compare to the blue of a constancy that is
divine, and which is freely shown to even the humblest and more erring
of Thy flock. Bless us and guide us on our pilgrim way, and inspire our
hearts and our hands to perform well their daily task. In His name do we
ask it. Amen.

  EDMUND Q. S. OSGOOD.

April 9

  _As I have walked in Alabama my morning walk,
  I have seen where the she-bird--the mocking-bird sat on her nest
        in the briers hatching her brood,
  I have seen the he-bird also,
  I have paused to hear him near at hand inflating his throat and joyfully
        singing,
  And while I paused it came to me that what he really sang for was not
        there only,
  Nor for his mate nor for himself only, nor
  All sent back by the echoes,
  But subtle, clandestine, away beyond,
  A charge transmitted and gift occult for those being born._

                                                       WALT WHITMAN.

Thou great Spirit of Life, Our Father, in heaven, and in the earth, with
what myriad voices dost Thou speak to us, sometimes with the voice of
thunder and sometimes with the voice of bird. Even the rocks and hills
have their language. With every manifold voice Thou tellest us that we
do not live nor work for a day only. The song and the word and the work
of today have larger relations. They pass over into other days. We pray
this morning that the thoughts we think, the words we speak, and the
work we do may be so true that they may be fit for another day. So may
we begin _now_ to realize the meaning of Eternal Life. Amen.

  GEORGE L. PERIN.

April 10

     _If the stream had no quiet eddying place, could we so admire its
     cascade over the rocks? Were there no clouds, could we so hail the
     sky shining through them in its still calm purity?_

  _The night is mother of the Day
    The Winter of the Spring,
  And ever upon old Decay
    The greenest mosses cling.
  Behind the cloud the starlight lurks,
    Through showers the sunbeams fall:
  For God, who loveth all His works,
    Has left His Hope with all!_

                JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.

Our Father, with childhood's glowing morning face we would turn to Thee
and be conscious that the brightness of life comes only to those upon
whom the sun of righteousness shines with clear light. Full of trust,
full of joy, we turn our faces towards the light and take up the labors
of life with entire confidence in the Divine care and guidance that
blesses the open vision, the faithful hand and the loving heart. We
would follow our Master, feeling that we could choose no better way, and
content if we be not called to suffer more than He in His life of
service and sacrifice, while our hearts praise the giver of spiritual
things with unceasing happy songs. Amen.

  RALPH EDWIN HORNE.

April 11

  _Oh, the little birds sang east, and the little birds sang west,
  And I smiled to think God's greatness flowed around our incompleteness,--
  Round our restlessness, his nest._

                                              ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.

     _And I saw that there was an Ocean of Darkness and Death; but an
     infinite Ocean of Light and Love flowed over the Ocean of Darkness;
     and in that I saw the infinite Love of God._

                                                            GEORGE FOX.

Father of Light, in whom is no darkness at all, to Thee we lift our
longing eyes again. Shine away the darkness of our minds by the light of
Thy presence. Complete our incompleteness. Bring us out of our
restlessness into Thy rest. We thank Thee for our daily gifts,--bread to
feed the body, strength to sustain the soul, light to guide the feet.
Help us to put away the mistakes of the past, remembering them only with
the penitence that shall cause Thee to remember them no more. Help us
all through this day to know ourselves surrounded by Thine Infinite
Love. Amen.

  A. GERTRUDE EARLE.

April 12

     _Just as you now play a piece without the music and do not think
     what notes you strike, though once you picked them out by slow and
     patient toil, so, if you begin of set purpose, you will learn the
     law of kindness in utterance so perfectly that it will be second
     nature to you and make more music in your heart than all the songs
     the sweetest voice has ever sung._

                                                   FRANCIS E. WILLARD.

Father, we rejoice and will be glad all the day that Thou hast made it
possible for us and all Thy children to learn the sweet song of true
life and that Thou dost give us so many opportunities for its practice.
O Lord, give us patience and kindness toward our fellowmen and trust in
Thee, so that whether the lessons be easy or hard we may take them
cheerfully, believing that Thou dost give us only that which is best.
Grant that we may be earnest and faithful until our souls can sing the
highest, purest and sweetest notes, until we are in harmony with All
Good. Amen.

  ABBIE E. DANFORTH.

April 13

  _So many little faults we find:
  We see them, for not blind
    Is love--we see them; but if you and I
    Remember them, perhaps, some by and by
  They will not be
  Faults then, grave faults to you and me,
    But just odd ways, mistakes, or even less--
    Remembrances to bless._

                               GEORGE KLINGLE.

Our dear Father in Heaven: for this day help us to be good. All through
the long night Thou hast watched over us. Under Thy wing have we been
sheltered as the chickens under the wing of the mother. Now that light
has come we will help Thee to keep this world sweet and bright and
clean. Help us to be true to this our promise; we resolve to be patient,
steadfast, cheerful, kindly, sturdy, and good. Our Father, we need Thee.
We want to walk in Thy way. Help us, for we are Thy children. Amen.

  WILLIAM CHANNING BROWN.

April 14

     _The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder; a waif,
     a nothing, no man. Have a purpose in life, if it is only to kill
     and divide and sell oxen well, but have a purpose; and having it,
     throw such strength of mind and muscle into your work as God has
     given you._

                                                         THOMAS CARLYLE.

  _Neither a borrower nor a lender be;
  For loan oft loses both itself and friend,
  And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.
  This above all: to thine own self be true
  And it must follow, as the night the day,
  Thou canst not then be false to any man._

                               SHAKESPEARE.

Almighty God, at the commencement of this day's work may we look on
high, and measure everything we are about to do by the scale of
eternity. Keep us from all littleness; may we not be turned aside by
things that are insignificant and unworthy. Help us, we beseech Thee, to
make the glory of our life commensurate with the splendors of our
privileges. May we live life in a great spirit, realizing that there is
no duty so simple, no position so humble, but that we may show forth the
grandeur of trust, and obedience toward Thee. May the great and holy
purpose we cherish find its expression as we cooperate with the divine
purpose. Amen.

  J. H. BARKER.

April 15

  _'Twas one of those charmed days
  When the genius of God doth flow,
  The wind may alter twenty ways,
  A tempest cannot blow;
  It may blow north, it still is warm;
  Or south, it still is clear;
  Or east, it smells like a clover farm;
  Or west, no thunder fear._

                    RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

Father of Lights, from whom cometh every good and perfect gift, we thank
Thee for the morning and for the sunshine. We rejoice in the light, but
when it is hidden from us, we are thankful that in the upper air above
our clouded morning it still fills Thy heavens. Thou gavest us good
things while we slept, and now, refreshed by Thy Spirit, may we go forth
to our appointed tasks with cheerful obedience and joyful expectation.
If trial and trouble await us, or if, in the heat of the day the burden
seems too great, may we still be comforted, because we put our trust in
Thee. Amen.

  GEORGE BATCHELOR.

April 16

  _But spring-wind, like a dancing psaltress, passes
  Over its breast, to waken it, rare verdure
  Buds tenderly upon rough banks between
  The withered tree-roots and the cracks of frost,
  Like a smile striving with a wrinkled face;
  The grass grows bright, the boughs are swol'n with blooms
  Like chrysalids impatient for the air,
  The shining dors are busy, beetles run
  Along the furrows; ants make their ado;
  Above, birds fly in merry flocks, the lark
  Soars up and up, shivering for very joy;
  Afar the ocean sleeps; white fishing gulls
  Flit where the sand is purple with its tribe
  Of nested limpits; savage creatures seek
  Their loves in wood and plain--and God renews
  His ancient rapture._

                                             ROBERT BROWNING.

O Lord, who givest to mankind liberally, and upbraidest not, we thank
Thee for the blessings Thou bestowest from day to day. We thank Thee for
this material world, now clad in its garment of Northern beauty, for the
great sun which all day pours down his light upon the waiting and the
grateful world, and for the earth underneath our feet. We bless Thee for
the grass, bread for the cattle, its harvest of use spread everywhere,
and for the various beauty which here and there spangles all useful
things which Thine eye looks down upon. May we use this world of matter
to build up the being that we are to a nobler stature of strength and of
beauty. Amen.

  THEODORE PARKER.

April 17

  _O brothers all! come near
      And hear
      A bird's
  Melodious dreaming set to words, and flung
  The spring's new leaves and tender buds among,
      For very joy of life, and hope, and love
  In a world made broad enough
      For all God's creatures to be merry in,
      With joyous clash and din,
      And yet too small
      For any greed at all!
      Lo! deep and sure
  Is cut this truth in heaven's book of gold:
  Out of one mother in the garden old
      Were born the rich and poor._

                               MAURICE THOMPSON.

Our Father, may we begin this day with a song in our hearts,--a song as
rich and full and free as the bird sings at the earliest dawning of the
sun's light,--a song so attuned with infinite life and hope and love
that it must be sung. Thou giver of abundance unto the rich and poor
alike, help our souls to mount unto the highest reaches of living
thoughts and generous deeds, that we may give unto others as Thou
givest. Unfettered by unholy passions and freed from the spirit of
greed, may we feel the unity of the bonds of a universal brotherhood,
and be just and true, honest, and helpful in all our dealings with all
men this day. Amen.

  HENRIETTA G. MOORE.

April 18

  _O spring, of hope and love and youth and gladness
    Wing-winged emblem! Brightest, best and fairest!
  Whence comest thou when with dark Winter's sadness
    The tears that fade in sunny smiles thou sharest?
    Sister of Joy! thou art the child who wearest
  Thy mother's dying smile, tender and sweet:
    Thy mother Autumn, for whose grave thou bearest
  Fresh flowers, and beams like flowers,
  Disturbing not the leaves which are her winding-sheet._

                                                 SHELLEY.

God unchanging, and still the creator of the seasons, we look up to
Thee, as the springtide works out the miracle of the resurrection from
the sleeping forms of the past season, in confidence and in trust that
ever Thou wilt bless us with a nobler, holier, sweeter, more wholesome
life, as the seasons come and go. The resources of trusting hearts are
always reinforced and reinvigorated by contact with Thy life, Thy power,
Thy goodness and Thy love. Out of the winter of our discontent, we enter
the springtime of love, that leads us forward in confidence through the
glad summer of growth to the soul's fruition and the place of rest and
peace in our Father's Home beneath Thine everlasting Love. Amen.

  FRANCIS A. GRAY.

April 19

     _One sound always comes to the ear that is open; it is the steady
     drum-beat of Duty. No music in it, perhaps,--only a dry rub-a-dub.
     Ah, but that steady beat marks the time for the whole orchestra of
     earth and heaven! It says to you: "Do your work,--do the duty
     nearest you!" Keep step to that drum-beat, and the dullest march is
     taking you home._

                                                       GEORGE S. MERRIAM.

O Thou great impelling Spirit, whom we see manifest in all the world, as
we open our eyes to the light of another morning, may we be as
responsive to Thy influence as the sun and the flowers which brighten
our way. May we be very sensitive to Thy promptings as we go about our
day's work. May we be very quick to do the things Thou wouldst have us
do. May we give ourselves to Thy service without reserve. When again the
night shades draw about us, may our hearts be filled with deepest
gratitude for all the experiences of the day, and, deep within, may our
spirits be conscious of Thy approving benediction, "Well done, good and
faithful servant; enter Thou into the joy of Thy Lord." Amen.

  FRANK LINCOLN MASSECK.

April 20

      _Thyself and thy belongings
  Are not thine own so proper as to waste
  Thyself upon thy virtues, they on thee.
  Heaven doth with us as we with torches do
  Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues
      Did not go forth of us, 'twere all alike
  As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touched
  But to fine issues, nor Nature never lends
  The smallest scruple of her excellence
  But like a thrifty goddess, she determines
  Herself the glory of a creditor,
      Both thanks and use._

                                          SHAKESPEARE.

Father, with faith and confidence in Thee we begin the day's duties,
with a blithe song upon our lips, expressing the melody of our souls,
thanking Thee for opportunities for work, and thought and love. We ask
not for more blessings but to be more worthy of those we have, using and
not abusing them. May our minds be open to Thy truth, and hearts to Thy
love, and when received may we be almoners of both to the waiting world.
May we keep by giving Thy love abundantly, and grow through the glory of
self-sacrifice. Give us the heart, O God, to sanctify our work and to
lift it above drudgery into the divinest service, and give us strength
to perform it. Amen.

  U. S. MILBURN.

April 21

     _A man is simple where his chief care is the wish to be what he
     ought to be; that is honestly and naturally human. We may compare
     existence to raw material. What it is matters less than what it is
     made of; as the value of a work of art lies in the flowering of a
     workman's skill. True life is possible in social conditions the
     most diverse and with natural gifts the most unequal. It is not
     fortune or personal advantage, but our training them to account,
     that constitutes the value of life. Fame adds no more than does
     length of days; quality is the thing._

                                                      CHARLES WAGNER.

Heavenly Father, our eyes are ever toward Thee. We do not pray for the
things of the world. Teach us to walk in Thy truth. Though our days be
few, may our lives be hopeful and cheerful. Though our bodies be frail,
may we be invincible in spirit. All Thy children are immortal, but it is
for us to attain the eternal life. May we know Thee through Jesus. Then
days and hours and minutes will disappear in the liberty and glory and
peace of the life eternal. Then poverty of worldly goods will be
forgotten in the riches of the Spirit. Then the cares of the world that
now is will be lost in the joy of the life that is to be. Amen.

  REIGNOLD K. MARVIN.

April 22

  _A little sun, a little rain,
    A soft wind blowing from the west--
  And woods and fields are sweet again
    And warmth within the mountain's breast._

  _So simple is the earth we tread,
    So quick with love and life her frame,
  Ten thousand years have dawned and fled.
    And still her magic is the same._

                            STOPFORD A. BROOKE.

Gracious God, we thank Thee for the gift of sight whereby we behold the
marvels of the outer world. But greater is our gratitude for the inner
sight, the power to see things as they ought to be. If we but look deep
enough, we find Thy central laws ever at the heart of all life. With
such insight, apparent confusion shall not bewilder us, life's cares
shall not harden us, the world's show cannot dazzle us. Give us, we pray
Thee, unceasing ability to wonder and admire, which brings perpetual
youth; to hope, to believe, to trust; to rest content in working with
Thee, the Eternal One, Lord of the seasons, this is our heart's desire.
Amen.

  EDWARD A. HORTON.

April 23

     _"What is the secret of your life?" asked Mrs. Browning of Charles
     Kingsley; "tell me, that I may make mine beautiful too." He
     replied, "I had a friend." Somewhere in her "Middlemarch," George
     Eliot puts it well: "There are natures in which, if they love us,
     we are conscious of having a sort of baptism and consecration; they
     bind us over to rectitude and purity by their pure belief about us;
     and our sins become the worst kind of sacrilege, which tears down
     the invisible altar of trust."_

                                                     WILLIAM C. GANNETT.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for all the sweet and sacred
influences of life. Music comes with its invisible fingers to weave a
magic charm around our souls;--the home with its love is ours,--but we
thank Thee to-day for the sweet and saving influence of friendship,--for
the counsel and fellowship of those who are wise and good and faithful
to us. We would not walk alone--we would find strength in the strength
of others, and faith in other's faith. Let us cherish such fellowships
and give back to those, who love us, love again. Amen.

  GEORGE L. PERIN.

April 24

  _Live in the sunshine, don't live in the gloom,
  Carry some gladness the world to illume.
  Live in the brightness, and take this to heart;
  The world will seem gayer if you'll do your part.
  Live on the housetop, not down in the cell;
  Open air Christians live nobly and well.
  Live where the joys are, and, scorning defeat,
  Have a good-morrow for all whom you meet.
  Live as a victor, and triumphing go
  Through this queer world, beating down every foe.
  Live in the sunshine, God meant it for you!
  Live as the robins, and sing the day through._

                                 MARGARET SANGSTER.

O God, our heavenly Father, Thou who givest us the sunshine of this new
day, Thou who art the God of life and light, we ask Thy help and Thy
strength as we again go out to our separate duties and cares. Help us to
fill this day with good deeds, to give cheer and comfort to all we meet.
May our lips be clean. May our hearts be pure. And when the even time
comes, may it find us conscious that we have put no cloud upon the day,
that we have walked through its hours true disciples of the Master who
went about doing good. Amen.

  WILLIAM H. MORRISON.

April 25

     _To weigh the material in the scales of the personal, and measure
     life by the standard of love; to prize health as contagious
     happiness, wealth as potential service, reputation as latent
     influence, learning for the light it can shed, power for the help
     it can give, station for the good it can do--to choose in each case
     what is best on the whole, and accept cheerfully incidental evils
     involved; to put my whole self into all that I do, and indulge no
     single desire at the expense of myself as a whole; to crowd out
     fear by devotion to duty, and see present and future as one; to
     treat others as I would be treated, and myself as I would my best
     friend; and to recognize God's coming kingdom in every institution
     and person that helps men to love one another._

                                                  WILLIAM DEWITT HYDE.

  For the dear love that kept us through the night,
    And gave our senses to sleep's gentle sway,
  For the new miracle of dawning light,
    Flushing the east with prophecies of day,
        We thank Thee, O, our God!

  For the fresh life that through our being flows,
    With its full tide to strengthen and to bless,
  For calm, sweet thoughts, upspringing from repose,
    To bear to Thee their song of thankfulness,
        We praise Thee, O, our God!

  Thou knowest our needs, Thy fulness will supply
    Our blindness--let Thy hand still lead us on,
  Till, visited by the dayspring from on high,
    Our prayer, one only, "Let Thy will be done,"
        We breathe to Thee, O, God!
                                Amen.

                                   W. H. BURLEIGH.

April 26

     Is it not possible, then, that the hindrances which arrest our
     progress, and the obstacles that lie broadly in our path, are the
     divinest agents of help which our Creator could give us? The
     painful struggles to overcome and remove them develop in us
     strength, courage, self-reliance, and heroism. They are the hammer
     and chisel that release the statue from the imprisoning
     marble,--the plow and the harrow that break up the soil, and mellow
     it for the reception of the seed that shall yield an abundant
     harvest. Perfection lies that way.

                                                   MARY A. LIVERMORE.

We seek Thy face anew this day, O our Father, and ask Thee that Thou
wilt help us to live our lives in constant communion with Thee. Let us
see Thee at every turn in the way. Let us find Thy hand in all our
duties, all our meditations, all our intercourse with men, all our
doings and all our deeds. Help us to make Thee our counsellor every
hour. Help us to undertake nought without Thy blessings, to finish
nought without Thy benediction. Morning and evening may we turn in
prayer to Thy throne. At every meal may we seek Thy grace and give Thee
thanks. So may we find the blessing of them that abide in Thy house.
Amen.

  J. COLEMAN ADAMS.

April 27

     _I think the sweetest thought, the very central idea, of the
     revelation of the character of God to me, is this: that He does
     everything out of His supreme will. There is no one thing that I
     can say with more heartiness, or that has in it more echoes of joy,
     than "Thy will be done." If anything works righteousness in me or
     in you, it is God. The nature of God is fruitful in generosity. He
     is so good that He loves to do good, and loves to make men good,
     and loves to make them happy by making them good. He loves to be
     patient with them, and to wait for them, and to pour benevolence
     upon them, because that is His nature._

                                                 HENRY WARD BEECHER.

Father, we thank Thee for the blessing. We know what are our privileges,
we know what are our duties, and we are before Thee again to consecrate
this day in all its glory and beauty to Thee, the Father of perfect
Love. Thou wilt be with us as we strive to be with Thee. Thou wilt make
us strong when we are weak. Thou wilt make us see where we are in
darkness. Thou wilt send us forth on Thine infinite mission to the
world. Boys or girls, men or women, here we are, the living children of
the living God, sent forward by Thee to proclaim it that all may be one
as Christ Jesus with Thee and Thou with Him, that this world may be
perfected into one, that men may know that Thou art Father and what the
Father has given us to do, that each one of us may lift up what has
fallen down, that each one may open the eyes that are blind and the ears
that are deaf, that each one of us may proclaim the gospel of Thy
perfect love. This is our prayer and our hope, in Christ Jesus. Amen.

  EDWARD EVERETT HALE.

April 28

  _With every rising of the sun,
  Think of your life as just begun._

  _The past has shrived and buried deep,
  All yesterdays; there let them sleep._

  _Nor seek to summon back one ghost
  Of that innumerable host._

  _Concern yourself with but today.
  Woo it, and teach it to obey_

  _Your will and wish. Since time began
  Today has been the friend of man;_

  _But in his blindness and his sorrow,
  He looks to yesterday and tomorrow._

  _You, and today! a soul sublime,
  And the great pregnant hour of time,_

  _With God himself to bind the twain!
  Go forth, I say, attain, attain!_

                    ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.

Infinitely wise and loving Father, our minds and hearts reach out to
Thee in this morning hour thankful that the rest of the night has
prepared us for the work of the new day, and that the light brings the
call to service. The past cannot be recalled, but today is ours. I and
today, with God and in the Spirit of Jesus! Priceless privilege! Grant
us, O Father, to use it for Thee, for humanity and "In His name." Amen.

  SAMUEL GILBERT AYERS.

April 29

     _Life is full of new beginnings. Some change may come, something is
     sure to come, to close one chapter and begin another. Life is
     planned just so, ... that there should be a break from former link
     and habit, often from imperfection and mistake, and a clear, clean
     start for the fulfilment of the best one has grown to, even in
     desire, unhampered by the poorest one has ever happened to be, or
     to get credit for._

                                                 MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.

O, Thou who dwellest in the light, help Thy children this morning to see
the light of Thy truth and feel the warmth of Thy love. We thank Thee
for the open doors of opportunity for helpful service; for the
exhibition of kindness and for growth in the kingdom of Heaven. May we
clearly see the way to the Eternal life and have strength to walk
therein. May we so welcome Thy truth that we shall be free from error
and sin. May Thy wisdom so guide our energies that we shall reach after
greater perfection. May the evening of this day find us more in harmony
with God than we now are. And may the evening of life find us rich in
the treasures of heaven. Amen.

  ANDREW WILLSON.

April 30

  _True worth is in being, not seeming;
    In doing each day that goes by,
  Some little good--not in the dreaming
    Of great things to do by and by,
  For whatever men say in blindness,
    And spite of the fancies of youth,
  There's nothing so kingly as kindness,
    And nothing so royal as truth._

  _We get back our mete as we measure:
    We cannot do wrong and feel right;
  Nor can we give pain and gain pleasure,
    For justice avenges each slight.
  The air for the wing of the sparrow,
    The bush for the robin and wren,
  But always the path that is narrow
    And straight for the children of men._

                               ALICE CARY.

Almighty Father, who with every morning dost give us a new day and with
each day some fresh duty, mercifully equip us for every task that awaits
us! Give us eyes to see, and hearts to love the truth and right, and the
disposition that makes every duty a delight, and the doing of good to
others a sacred privilege. Save us this day from angry passions and low
desires. Forgive us when we are selfish; recall us when we go astray;
save us from wronging ourselves by thinking ill of others, and in all
places and to all people give us the mind which was in Christ Jesus.
Amen.

  JOHN CUCKSON.

May 1

     _To the Woods:--Whoso goeth in your paths readeth the same cheerful
     lesson, whether he be a young child or a hundred years old, comes
     he in good fortune or in bad, ye say the same things, and from age
     to age. Ever the needles of the pine grow and fall, the acorns on
     the oak, the maples redden in autumn and at all times of the year
     the ground pine and the pyrola bud and root under foot. What is
     called fortune and what is called time by men, ye know them not.
     Men have not language to describe one moment of your life._

                                                    RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

Thou God of Nature and of the human heart, we thank Thee for our human
relations, but we thank Thee also for our kinship with the birds. We
thank Thee for that instinct which makes us to sympathize with the
mating of the bird lovers and for that music of the heart which makes us
to love the song of the birds. We pray this morning for a life so simple
and natural that we shall be able to enter into sympathetic relations
with everything that lives--the flowers of the garden, and the
field--the bees that sip the flowers' honey, and the bird that makes her
nest among the trees. If Thou speakest to men in the glory of the
heavens, Thou speakest also in the manifold voices of all Thy loving
creatures. May our ears be trained to hear Thee when Thou speakest thus.
Amen.

  GEORGE L. PERIN.

May 2

  _Hail bounteous May, that doth inspire
  Mirth and youth, and warm desire;
  Woods and groves are of thy dressing,
  Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing,
  Thus we salute thee with our early song,
  And welcome thee and wish thee long._

                             JOHN MILTON.

Almighty and All-loving Father, who dost make all the earth to rejoice
in the brightness of returning springtime, fill our hearts with like joy
and renewal. Graciously awaken in us the life that the cold or care or
trouble or sorrow of the world often has caused to fade and go out. As
our eyes behold all this outward beauty and glory, give unto us that
spiritual vision by which we behold the beauty and glory of divine
things. Then when the springtime of our life passes with the summer and
the summer ripens into the autumn, and our work is done, may we bring
unto Thee the harvest of spiritual riches. Amen.

  JAMES DENORMANDIE.

May 3

  _Success! It is won by a patient endeavor,
    Energy's fire, and the flame-glow of Will;
  By grasping the chance with a "Now, now or never!"
    Urging on, on! while the laggard stands still._

  _Success! It is facing life's trials, undaunted;
    Fighting the present--forgetting the past:
  By trusting to Fate, though for years she has taunted,
    And bearing Time's scars; facing front, to the last!_

  _Success! Would you win it and wear its bright token?
    Smile and step out to the drummer's light lilt;
  Fight on till the last inch of sword-blade is broken.
    Then do not say die. Fight on with the hilt!_

                                            MARY MARKWELL.

We thank Thee, Our Father, that Thou hast enriched our being with those
faculties which prompt to noble endeavor. We rejoice in our power,
guided by Thy free Spirit, both to overcome evil and to do good. Help
us, dear Father, to recognize the great incentives of conscience and of
duty, assured that in cheerful conformity thereto we shall find the
sweetest zest of life. Increase our faith in Thee, O Lord. Enable us
more clearly to realize that in the end truth and right will gain the
victory. Thus may we be inspired to live brave, true and wholesome
lives. May we fight the good fight of faith and win the crown of life
promised to all those who follow the conquering Christ. In His name.
Amen.

  HENRY W. RUGG.

May 4

  _The green grass is bowing;
  The morning wind is in it;
  'Tis a tune worth the knowing,
  Though it change every minute.
  'Tis a tune of the Spring;
  Every year plays it over._

              RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

  _God does not send strange flowers every year.
    When the spring winds blow o'er the pleasant places
    The same dear things lift up the same fair faces.
  The violet is here._

                                 MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.

O God, Father Almighty, who bringest light out of darkness and at whose
word night yields to day, we offer Thee glad worship and praise. We
thank Thee for Thy gifts which are beautiful and good; for flowers which
renew old friendships and awaken new affections; for songs in which
voices of all yesterdays sound through today's melodies; for rich
memories of the past; for the joy of living now; for the hope of better
days; for new expressions of abiding truth and fresh breathings of
eternal love; for courage to do right and for confidence in
righteousness. May we this day, mindful of earthly duty and of heavenly
promise, humbly follow Him "who went about doing good" and "gave Himself
a ransom for many." Amen.

  W. I. WARD.

May 5

     _Bishop Brooks taught me no special creed or dogma; but he
     impressed upon my mind two great ideas--the fatherhood of God and
     the brotherhood of man, and made me feel that these truths underlie
     all creeds and forms of worship. God is love, God is our Father, we
     are His children; therefore the darkest clouds will break, and
     though right be worsted, wrong shall not triumph. He said: "There
     is one universal religion, Helen--the religion of love. Love your
     Heavenly Father with your whole heart and soul, love every child of
     God as much as ever you can, and remember that the possibilities of
     good are greater than the possibilities of evil; and you have the
     key to Heaven."_

                                                      HELEN KELLER.

Infinite Spirit! We shall not look upon Thee as a friend looketh upon
the face of his friend, but may we learn to see Thee in every form of
life and beauty and service here in this great world of Nature and of
Man. May we discover Thee in the midst of common things and then they
shall no more be common, but all things shall be sacred and divine. May
we see Thy face in all human faces, clasp Thy hand in all human hands,
and when we have walked with a friend, or talked with those we love, may
it be as a walk with Thee and a communion with Thee. May we not think of
Thee as afar off but always near, making all things holy. May we realize
that it is a diviner thing to serve the lowly who need our help than to
praise the Infinite who needeth not. May the sense of Thy presence in
all things be the inspiration and interpretation of all days for us.
Amen.

  E. L. REXFORD.

May 6

  _The brown, brown woods of March
    Are the green, green woods of May,
  And they lift their arms with a freer swing
    And shake out their pennons gay.
  And the brown, dead world of March,
    Is the living world of today;
  Life throbs and flushes and flashes out
    In the color and fragrance of May._

                                     ANONYMOUS.

Infinite Spirit of the winter and the summer and of the night and the
morning, Thou hast watched over and guarded, during its winter sleep and
rest, this earth which Thou hast made, and which Thou hast made for a
purpose--to be beautiful and fruitful in its season, to be a humble and
obedient servant of Thy will of goodness. And now, as the woods of May
are radiant in the beauty of springtime, and ready to do Thy will; so as
we wake to the opportunity of this new day, may we rejoice in the
privilege of living to Thee and doing Thy will in the glad service of
lives lived as the Master lived. Amen.

  GEORGE WALLACE PENNIMAN.

May 7

  _One who never turned his back, but marched breast forward,
  Never doubted clouds would break,
  Never dreamed, though right were worsted,--wrong would triumph,
  Held we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better,
  Sleep to wake._

                                               ROBERT BROWNING.

Our Father, in the heaven, we thank Thee for the birth of a new day. May
we be full of gladness during its golden hours, may our hearts be
tranquil with God's peace. A day is a part of Thy eternity. Thou hast
set us in the battle, Thou art watching us in the fight; Thou art
training us by well-accepted controversy. May nothing of Thy purpose be
lost because of the blinding details of the conflict. Strengthen our
hearts to do the work of this day. Help us to be as grateful as we are
dependent upon God. Inspire our whole life; help us quickly to learn why
we are here, what we are to do while here, and the path that leads home
when the work-day is over. In the name of the Christ! Amen.

  W. A. WOOD.

May 8

  _Then sing, ye birds, sing, sing a joyous song!
    And let the young lambs bound
  As to the tabor's sound!
  We in thought will join your throng,
    Ye that pipe and ye that play,
  Ye that through your hearts today
    Feel the gladness of the May!_

                             WILLIAM WORDSWORTH.

God of the morning, Father of the Soul, we bless Thee for the light, for
it is pleasant to behold the world made beautiful by the King of day,
and sweet with the melody of the song of bird, and cheerful with the
promise of hope in the swelling buds of spring. We join with Thy
faithful ones in ascriptions of praise to Thee for the depth of the
riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God. Help us to look upon
our every faculty of soul, and power of body, as gifts from Thee, to be
used for the advancement of love, truth and beauty, in our own hearts,
and in the world. Give us Thine own help to bear every burden
cheerfully, to stand erect before every responsibility, and if in our
efforts to do much good for this day we seem to fail, may we look to
Jesus and learn of Him that in a conscience void of offence there is no
such thing as failure. Help us to strive with the evil of the world and
sin not, that at the close of the day we may look back and say, we have
kept ourselves unspotted from the world. Amen.

  L. L. GREENE.

May 9

  _Fairer grows the earth each morning
    To the eyes that watch aright;
  Every dew-drop sparkles warning
    Of a miracle in sight;
  Of some unexpected glory
    Waiting in the old and plain;
  Poet's dream nor traveller's story
    Words such wonders as remain._

                     WILLIAM C. GANNETT.

O Thou, who makest things seen and temporal quiver and flash with Thine
own informing spirit, so illumine our pathways that the Luz where we
meet our duties may become the Bethel where we meet our God. As Thou
dost clothe the lily with beauty and inspire the bird with song help us
to grow into the beauty of holiness, and to know the joy of Thy
salvation. Whatever our past, open our eyes this day to some better
thing which Thou hast always in reserve. Teach us what hinders our
attainment and help us burst through the barrier. Make us so conscious
of Thy indwelling spirit that we may yield to its gracious impellings
toward righteousness and peace and joy. Amen.

  THOMAS D. ANDERSON.

May 10

     _Listen to the exhortation of the dawn!_

        _Look to this day!
  For it is life, the very life of life.
  In its brief course lie all the
  Varieties and realities of your existence;
        The bliss of growth,
        The glory of action,
        The splendor of beauty:
  For yesterday is but a dream,
  And tomorrow is only a vision,
  But to-day well-lived makes
  Every yesterday a dream of happiness,
  And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
  Look well, therefore to this day!_

     _Such is the salutation of the dawn._

                           FROM THE SANSKRIT.

Dear God, in Thy loving kindness, Thou hast brought us to the opening of
another day; from darkness to light, from sleep to wakefulness, from
rest to labor. We thank Thee for its opening glory and its coming
opportunities; but above all, for the new strength we feel within
ourselves to do its work and live its life. As radiant dawn climbs to
full-orbed day and glides to setting sun, may we come to this day's
close with the consciousness that we have lived a little closer to the
great heart of the Eternal in every thought, word and deed, that we have
woven into the texture of our lives, and gently as twilight enfolds the
fruitful earth, shall "peace that passeth understanding" enfold our
souls. Amen.

  THOMAS B. PAYNE.

May 11

  _As the insect from the rock
      Takes the color of its wing;
  As the boulder from the shock
      Of the ocean's rhythmic swing
  Makes itself a perfect form,
      Learns a calmer front to raise;
  As the shell, enameled warm
      With the prism's mystic rays,
  Praises wind and wave that make
      All its chambers fair and strong;
  As the mighty poets take
      Grief and pain to build their song;
  Even so for every soul,
      Whatsoe'er its lot may be--
  Building, as the heavens roll,
      Something large and strong and free--
  Things that hurt and things that mar
      Shape the man for perfect praise;
  Shock and strain and ruin are
      Friendlier than the smiling days._

                      JOHN WHITE CHADWICK.

Dear Father, as the light of this morning follows the darkness of the
night, may we devoutly believe that the light of Thy love shall dispel
all darkness and bring us into the morning of eternal peace. May we
learn each day that our trials and sorrows are but stepping-stones in
Thy divine economy, to bring us up into the clearer atmosphere of
heavenly thought and life. Help us to live closer to Jesus, to
understand how even He was made glorious through suffering, and ever
learn to conquer in His name. Amen.

  ELMER F. PEMBER.

May 12

  _I live for those that love me
  For those that know me true,
  For the heaven that smiles above me,
      And waits my coming, too;
  For the cause that lacks assistance,
  For the wrongs that need resistance,
  For the future in the distance,
      For the good that I can do._

                          G. L. BANKS.

Father, we bless Thee for such as love us and those whom we love in the
varying forms of affection, thanking Thee for the sacramental cup of joy
in which Thou givest the wine of life to all of Thy children, humble or
high. We thank thee for that love which setteth the solitary in families
at the beginning, and then reaches wide arms all around, and will not
stay its hold till it joins all nations and kindreds and tongues and
people into one great family of love. We bless Thee for the noble men
and women whose generous heart has lit the altar fire of philanthropy in
many a dark and else benighted place. We thank Thee for the unbidden
faith which springs up in our hearts, impelling us to trust Thee and
love Thee and keep every commandment of Thine, and that while we know
not what a day shall bring forth, we are sure of everlasting life. Amen.

  THEODORE PARKER.

May 13

        _Gladness of morning--
  To hear the lark begin his flight,
  And singing, startle the dull Night
  From his watch-tower in the skies,
  Till the dappled Dawn doth rise;
  Then to come in spite of sorrow,
  And at my window bid good-morrow
  Through the sweetbrier, or the vine,
  Or the twisted eglantine._

                          JOHN MILTON.

O Thou, in whose light we see light, who hast lifted the shadows of
night from our dwellings, complete now in our behalf Thy ministry of
light, we beseech Thee, and let the day star arise in our hearts. Make
clear Thy face unto us. Rise with Thy morning upon our souls. May the
light which envelops us throughout the day be the radiance of Thy
presence. May our eyes behold only what Thou revealest and our lives be
warmed with the glow of Thy love. O, that we may be new-born like the
day and live a new life in Thy mercies which are new every morning; that
our love may rise fresh as the dawn and our obedience be as sure as the
path of the law. Let no shadow from the past dim the joy of Thy
presence. Scatter the darkness of sense and self within us. As the
morning reveals, interprets and fulfils the beauties of a world which
was wrapped in night, may the mystery of our lives unfold, our latent
forces be summoned to service, and our hearts find fulness of joy
because we live in Thee. Amen.

  EVERETT D. BURR.

May 14

     _It may be truly said that no man does any work perfectly who does
     not enjoy his work. Joy in one's work is the consummate tool
     without which the work may be done indeed, but without its finest
     perfectness. Men who do their work without enjoying it are like men
     carving statues with hatchets. A man who does his work with
     thorough enjoyment of it is like an artist who holds an exquisite
     tool which is almost as obedient to him as his own hand, and almost
     works intelligently with him._

                                                     PHILLIPS BROOKS.

O Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that Thou hast placed us where we are
and hast given us the work we have to do. We would not seek far and wide
for some better place or more honourable task. We pray today for the
spirit that shall make us glad in our common toil. We need not to fly
away to find enjoyment; we have only to feel that in the duties of this
day we are in partnership with Thee,--then shall we be happy that Thou
hast called us to so divine a fellowship. Make us strong and earnest and
brave--that when the evening shadows fall we shall not look regretfully
back because we have been unfaithful,--but that we may be satisfied and
happy in the memory that we have been serving with Thee. Amen.

  ANONYMOUS.

May 15

  _I love the flowers that come about with spring,
    And whether they be scarlet, white or blue,
  It mattereth to me not anything,
    For when I see them full of sun and dew,
  My heart doth get so full with its delight,
    I know not blue from red, nor red from white._

                                       ALICE CARY.

Father Divine, we remember Thee at the beginning of another day, and the
obedience to Thy laws of life which Thou dost require. About us is Thy
beautiful world, thrilling with new life. We would that our lives today
may be likewise beautiful, restrained from sin against body and spirit.
As there is now in the earth, so there is always in human souls a
springtide ready to burst forth into beautiful living. In our hearts
there is always the stirring energy of a spiritual spring that needs but
the warmth of Thy heavenly sunshine. Let that warmth now stream into our
hearts that our lives today may show forth Thy praise. Amen.

  MINOT O. SIMONS.

May 16

     Violet: "_Well, but surely at least one ought to be afraid of
     displeasing God; and one's desire to please Him should be one's
     first motive._"

     Lecturer: "_He never would be pleased with us, if it were, my dear.
     When a father sends his son out into the world--suppose as an
     apprentice--fancy the boy's coming home at night, and saying,
     'Father, I could have robbed the till to-day; but I didn't because
     I thought you wouldn't like it.' Do you think the father would be
     particularly pleased?" (Violet is silent). "He would answer, would
     he not, if he were wise and good, 'My boy, though you had no
     father, you must not rob tills.' And nothing is ever done so as
     really to please our Great Father, unless we would also have done
     it, though we had had no Father to know of it._"

                                                          JOHN RUSKIN.

Father of Life, Thy children raise their thoughts in prayer to Thee at
the dawning of each day. Their prayer asserts love, trust and conformity
to Thy will. May the spirit of prayer abide with us the day through,
that we may be dutiful and worthy. The moral law is Thy way of life, may
we make it our way by intelligent obedience. To know Thee aright and to
find our joy in Thy life is to have fullness of being through purity and
strength. O Father, may we be as those who broaden and deepen and purify
life by word and deed that none may suffer loss through us, but find aid
to reach the perfect life in Thee. Amen.

  WILSON M. BACKUS.

May 17

  _Through the harsh noises of our day
  A low sweet prelude finds its way:
  Through clouds of doubt and creeds of fear
  A light is breaking, calm and clear._

  _Henceforth my heart shall sigh no more
  For olden time and holier shore:
  God's love and blessing, then and there
  Are now and here and everywhere._

                     JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER.

Our Father, as we enter upon the duties of this new day, incline our
minds and hearts unto Thee. May we feel, amid its harsh noises, the
assurance of Thy love and care. If doubt or fear assail us may we turn
unto Thee who art the source of life, love and light, and find calm and
peace. We would forget the things behind and make the most of the
present. We rejoice that today is better than yesterday and that
tomorrow will be better than today. Thou art here now, as Thou art
everywhere always, to bless us with Thy love and care. Direct us through
the hours of this day and may its close find us better children of
Thine. Amen.

  JOHN B. REARDON.

May 18

     _The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the
     wide world's joy. The lonely pine of the mountain top waves its
     sombre boughs, and cries, "Thou art my sun!" And the little meadow
     violet lifts its cup of blue, and whispers with its perfumed
     breath, "Thou art my sun!" And the grain in a thousand fields
     rustles in the wind, and makes answer, "Thou art my sun!" So God
     sits, effulgent, in heaven, not for a favored few, but for the
     universe of life; and there is no creature so poor or so low that
     he may not look up with child-like confidence, and say, "My Father,
     Thou art mine!"_

                                                  HENRY WARD BEECHER.

O God, the Eternal Source of all life, we rejoice that there are no
bounds to Thy love. We thank Thee that Thou givest us all things richly
to enjoy. May we learn that Thy bounties are for all human beings. Make
the hearts of men eager that the ignorant, the lowly, the poor, the
wayward, may come into the full estate of knowing that they are children
of God. Let them in no way be denied the joy of unfolding the divinity
within them. Lead us all into those fields of labor where we can be our
best selves and develop our lives by what we do to meet the growing
demands of truth and love and goodness. Wherever the morning breaks and
the sunshine falls upon human faces, may its cheer make homes happy and
true, men and women good, and little children joyous. Amen.

  ALVA ROY SCOTT.

May 19

  _Hear the Master's risen word!
      Delving spades have set it free,
  Wake! the world has need of thee,
      Rise and let thy voice be heard,
  Like a fountain disinterred,
      Upward springing, singing, sparkling;
      Through the doubtful shadows darkling;
      Till the clouds of pain and rage
      Brooding o'er the toiling age,
  As with rifts of light are stirred
  By the music of the Word;
  Gospel for the heavy-laden, answer to the labourer's cry;
  "Raise the stone, and thou shalt find Me: cleave the wood, and there
      am I."_

                                                 HENRY VAN DYKE.

God of light and strength and beauty, for this day we thank Thee. The
morning hours come to us freighted with messages of gladness. Thou, our
Father, art refreshing our spirits, and home seems dearer, love more
sacred and the way of duty clearer before our waiting feet. We thank
Thee for life as it is given us, day by day. Help us to fill it with
honest, cheerful, fruitful service. May we realize and rejoice in the
nobility of labor, and may we learn how it is that a child of Thine,
standing in his own place, giving himself to the tasks of the hour,
imparts strength and courage to his fellow-worker, and helps the world
forward in the path of righteousness and peace. So may Thy will be done
in and through us. Amen.

  JOHN P. FORBES.

May 20

  _O the green things growing, the green things growing
  The faint sweet smell of the green things growing!
  I should like to live, whether I smile or grieve,
  Just to watch the happy life of my green things growing._

                                      DINAH MULOCK CRAIG.

  _Not all these sweets, these sounds, this vernal blaze,
  Is but one joy, express'd a thousand ways;
  And honey from the flowers, and song of birds,
  Are from the poet's pen, his overflowing words._

                                             LEIGH HUNT.

O Thou who art the Creator of life in every form in which it is
expressed in the earth, we thank Thee for the grass and the flowers, the
trees and the shrubs, the music of the streams and the melody of the
birds. As nature is ever vocal with Thy praise, so may our hearts be
attuned to deepest joy that we are a part of Thy creation and made
capable of constant exultation in the beauty and the beneficence of Thy
purpose therein displayed. In this spirit may we rejoice and be glad in
this new day which Thou hast made for us. Amen.

  I. J. MEAD.

May 21

     _As one familiar with the sonatas and the symphonies of Beethoven,
     while passing along the street in summer, gets, from out of the
     open window, a snatch of a song or a piece that is being played,
     catching a strain here and another there--and says to himself, "Ah,
     that is Beethoven. I recognize that: it is from such and such a
     movement of the Pastoral" or whatever it may be;--so men in life
     catch strains of God in the mother's disinterested and self-denying
     love, in the lover's glow, in the little child's innocent
     affections. Where did this thing come from? No plant ever brought
     out such fruit as this?_

                                                  HENRY WARD BEECHER.

Father of all and giver of every good thing, to Thee we pray; to Thee we
look for light, for truth, for beauty. In the travail of thought may
there come only the highest and best good. Where there is division we
ask for unity; where there is confusion we ask for serenity; where there
is discord, we ask for harmony. May divergent paths lead to the larger
way of widening vision, distinctive service, unstinted love. Hasten the
day when Thy purpose shall be accomplished in us, and when that which is
now imperfect shall become the perfected whole. Grant to us wisdom to
pursue noble ends with intelligent zeal, and patient effort, and in a
charitable and hopeful spirit. Amen.

  C. C. CLARK.

May 22

     _It is very interesting to watch a plant grow, it is like taking
     part in creation. When all outside is cold and white, when the
     little children of the woodland are gone to their nurseries in the
     warm earth and the empty nests on the bare trees filled with snow,
     my window-garden glows and smiles, making summer within while it is
     winter without. It is wonderful to see flowers bloom in the midst
     of a snow-storm! I have felt a bud "shyly doff her green hood and
     blossom with a silken burst of sound," while the icy fingers of the
     snow beat against the window panes. What secret power, I wonder,
     caused this blossoming miracle? What mysterious force guided the
     seedling from the dark earth up to the light, through leaf and stem
     and bud, to glorious fulfilment in the perfect flower? Who could
     have dreamed that such beauty lurked in the dark earth, was latent
     in the tiny seed we planted? Beautiful flower, you have taught me
     to see a little way into the hidden heart of things. Now I
     understand that the darkness everywhere may hold possibilities
     better than even my hopes._

                                                        HELEN KELLER.

Grant us, O God, this day, vitality of brain and heart, to lay hold on
the ordinary events and experiences of life, and transmute them into
beautiful and permanent values for ourselves and others. May we have
courage, love and faithfulness, to conquer adversities and fulfil our
duties. And should the winter of discontent and disappointment beat
without against our souls, even so may Thy Kingdom come. Amen.

  JULIUS P. WEST.

May 23

  _Brother--there is no payment in the world!
  We work and pour our labor at the feet
  Of those who are around us and to come.
  We live and take our living at the hands
  Of those who are around us and have been.
  No one is paid. No person can have more
  Than he can hold. And none can do beyond
  The power that's in him. To each child that's born
  Belongs as much of all our human good
  As he can take and use to make him strong._

  _And from each man, debtor to all the world,
  Is due the fullest fruit of all his powers,
  His whole life's labor, proudly rendered up,
  Not as return--can moments pay an age?
  But as the simple duty of a man.
  Can he do less--receiving everything?_

                       CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN.

O, Thou Most Bountiful Giver! We thank Thee this morning for all the
conveniences and comforts, the stored knowledge and acquired wisdom, the
inspirations and encouragements of our daily life. Truly others have
lived as Thy children and labored as Thy servants, by mind and hand and
heart, and we are wondrously permitted to enter into the fruits of their
labours. Grant unto us this day, O Father, so to strive and so to live
that some other life may be cheered and blessed by the spirit and by the
fruit of our day's service. May our thoughts and words and deeds somehow
express our gratitude for the blessings which we are constantly
receiving. Amen.

  WILLIAM H. GOULD.

May 24

     _What a wonderful thing it is to meet a man or woman whose manners
     are instantly open and free--opening up a direct road between him
     or her and yourself!_

                                                      EDWARD CARPENTER.

     _There is a world in us that God keeps to himself, except when He
     calls some few souls, with special errand for us, to receive a
     glimpse. It is full of life, and growths, and wonders, that are to
     be developed and revealed. We ourselves know not what we shall be;
     but He knows that we shall be like Him.... It is the world of the
     spiritual microscope._

                                               MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.

Our Father and Mother God,--we have cried for Thee as little children
cry for parental love to wait upon their wants, and, like babes that
cry, we have looked for Thee in nothing else. We would be now Thy sons
and daughters of a larger growth, who learn to find Thee in a more
complete and blessed fellowship of service and sacrifice with Thee, of
united thought and will with Thine, of such living as shares in Thy
perfect and eternal life. Help us so to be and so to live that even in
ourselves we may get glimpses of Thine infinite good will and
faithfulness, and show in our human lives, that God is in His world and
all is well. Amen.

  GEORGE W. KENT.

May 25

  _What are we set on earth for? Say to toil:
  Nor to seek to leave the tending of thy vines,
  For all the heat of the day, till it declines,
  And death's mild curfew shall from work assoil.
  God did anoint thee with His odorous oil
  To wrestle, not to reign; and he assigns
  All thy tears over, like pure crystallines,
  For younger fellow-workers of the soil
  To wear for amulets. So others shall
  Take patience, labor, to their heart and hand,
  From thy hand, and thy heart, and thy brave cheer,
  And God's grace fructify through thee to all.
  The least flower with a brimming cup may stand,
  And share its dewdrop with another near._

                      ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING.

Our Father In Heaven, we devoutly thank Thee for that ceaseless and
refreshing tide of blessing that, from the reservoir of Thine
exhaustless goodness, flows into our hearts and lives. And we further
thank Thee that among the choicest of those blessings, is the one of
being, not merely the receptacles of this inflow, but also co-workers
with Thee, and with Thy Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ, in carrying
forward to successful issue Thy beneficent purposes of grace and
salvation. Grant us, we beseech Thee, day by day, such an infusion of
Thy Holy Spirit as shall fittingly equip us for the gladsome and
effective discharge of the duties of this divine relation, and its
exalted privileges. All of which grant for Thy mercy's sake. Amen.

  CHARLES P. NASH.

May 26

     _The deepest secret of life is love. Without love there is no
     enthusiasm, and without ideals there is no enthusiasm. We freeze
     our hearts by selfishness, and stifle them by sordidness. We fix
     our eyes upon the little field circumscribed by our day's
     activities and ends. With no wide-reaching affection and no
     uplifting ideal, we make of our life a treadmill and of our duty an
     unwelcome drudgery. We disclaim the highest endowment of the soul
     and deny our sonship to God. Narrow faiths and narrow hopes put
     fetters on the spirit, and small affections keep small the heart._

                                                       PHILIP S. MOXOM.

Our Father, every morning is a fresh witness of Thy loving kindness.
When we sleep the vigils of Thy love are round about us. At the
threshold of this new day, may it please Thee to inspire us with lofty
aims, so that we may rise out of our selfish selves into conscious
kinship with Thee. Help us to know the mystery of love, how limitless
and all-conquering it is. Animated by its sweet law, may we go out into
this great, needy world with hearts to sympathize and words to cheer and
hands to minister. Then we shall know the divine sweetness of our
Christian faith, the joy of Christlike living; we shall know that love
is the fulfilling of the law. Amen.

  Q. H. SHINN.

May 27

  _Every day is a fresh beginning,
    Every morn is the world made new.
  You who are weary of sorrow and sinning,
    Here is a beautiful hope for you,
    A hope for me and a hope for you._

  _Every day is a fresh beginning;
    Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain,
  And, spite of old sorrow and older sinning,
    And puzzles forecasted and possible pain,
    Take heart with the day, and begin again._

                                SUSAN COOLIDGE.

O Thou, who makest all things new, we are glad each day is not only a
new day but one unlike any before it. Everything breathes freshness and
newness of life; a new heaven is over our heads, a new earth beneath our
feet. We know this day will be full of new opportunities for work, new
scenes for pleasure, new chances to make better our lives. If yesterday
was not all we could wish, if there were failures in duty, or loss of
faith in ourselves, and Thy great love, may this be filled with larger
faith, greater hope, complete love. May we so take heart in this quiet
morning hour, that we may be brave and faithful all the day, so that in
spite of old sorrows and older sins, the memory of which may now and
then shadow our way, we may find ourselves when the evening shall come,
nearer heaven in heart and life, and more worthy to be called Thy
children. Amen.

  WILLIAM F. POTTER.

May 28

     _O friend, never strike sail to a fear! Come into port greatly, or
     sail with God the seas.... He has not learned the lesson of life
     who does not every day surmount a fear._

                                                    RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

  _There is no storm but this
  Of your own cowardice
        That braves you out;
  You are the storm that mocks
  Yourself; you are the rocks
        Of your own doubt;
  Besides this fear of danger there's no danger here
  And he that here fears danger does deserve his fear._

                                          RICHARD CRASHAW.

Thou knowest, O Lord, the weakness of our human nature, and how prone we
are not only to shrink from the difficulties and to tremble at the
dangers which lie in our way, but to allow imaginary difficulties and
dangers to hinder us from living as Thy children should. Help us, we
pray Thee, to be free from all such fear today. Be Thou our refuge from
whatsoever may threaten us, either without or within. Deliver us from
faint-heartedness and enable us to stand fast in the glorious liberty of
those who fear nothing but to offend against Thee and to wrong their own
immortal souls. We ask it as disciples of Christ. Amen.

  EDWIN C. SWEETSER.

May 29

  _Whichever way the wind doth blow,
  Some heart is glad to have it so;
  Then blow it east or blow it west,
  The wind that blows, that wind is best._

  _My little craft sails not alone:
  A thousand fleets from every zone
  Are out upon a thousand seas;
  And what for me were favoring breeze
  Might dash another, with the shock
  Of doom, upon some hidden rock.
  And so I do not dare to pray
  For winds to waft me on my way,
  But leave it to a Higher Will
  To stay or speed me; trusting still
  That all is well, and sure that He
  Who launched my bark will sail with me
  Through storm and calm, and will not fail,
  Whatever breezes may prevail,
  To land me, every peril past,
  Within His sheltering heaven at last._

                     CAROLINE ATWATER MASON.

O Lord let us know that we do not sail life's seas alone. Thou art the
God of the storms. Thou goest with us whithersoever we go. Grant us, our
Heavenly Father, that we may not suffer shipwreck of our faith. Grant us
that the voyage of our lives may be prosperous, and that at last,
whether soon or late we shall find some harbor of rest and peace. Amen.

  GEORGE L. PERIN.

May 30

    _Our Memorial Day celebrations will be but a hypocritical
    play-acting unless they shall remind us of the cause and the country
    for which our brave soldiers gave their lives. It is not enough for
    us to recall their names and sing their praises. We must love the
    country they loved and in our turn be ready to do the hero's part._

                                                        GEORGE L. PERIN.

    _But what is it to love one's country? Is it to carry a banner in a
    procession? Is it to shout as we see the flag? Is it to fling
    bunting from the tops of the buildings, and send off sky-rockets in
    the evenings? Vastly deeper than that is love of country, deeper
    than any soldier's uniform, deeper than any pictures of battleships
    with which we adorn our walls._

                                                        W. H. P. FAUNCE.

God of the Nations, we thank Thee today for every heroic deed of every
heroic soul. We rejoice that in every hour of real emergency there have
ever been men who were ready to die for their country. O Lord, may the
memory of their sacrifice ever remain to us and to the children of
coming generations a sacred heritage. Yet, O Lord, let us not be
satisfied to glorify their deeds with a memory. Let us do them the
higher honor of consecrating our lives to the service of the country
they loved. So shall we, in the honor we render them find the title to
our honor. Thus in _our_ land and in _our_ time may Thy Kingdom come and
Thy will be done. Amen.

  GEORGE L. PERIN.

May 31

     _To be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love and to
     work and to play and to look up at the stars; to be satisfied with
     your possessions, but not contented with yourself until you have
     made the best of them; to despise nothing in the world except
     falsehood and meanness, and to fear nothing except cowardice; to be
     governed by your admirations rather than your dislikes; to covet
     nothing that is your neighbor's except his kindness of heart and
     gentleness of manners; to think seldom of your enemies, often of
     your friends, and every day of Christ; and to spend as much time as
     you can, with body and with spirit in God's out-of-doors--these are
     little guide-posts on the footpath to peace._

                                                         HENRY VAN DYKE.

O Thou God of peace and of love. How shall we come to Thee? How shall we
share Thy strength and know Thy life? Let us commune with Thy gracious
spirit and so learn Thy way. How beautiful the vision which prayer
unfolds to us when we worship in spirit and truth! We see the virtues
which ennoble and sanctify other lives. Sweet and tender patience
appears and in her light ruffled and distorted tempers are subdued and
clothed in their right mind. Faith is seen and as irresolution and doubt
take their flight, confident trust and cherished conviction appear in
magnetic power. So, O Lord, would we read the signs which other lives
present. So would we strengthen our own aspirations and make real the
vision. So, O Father, would we find Thy peace. Amen.

  AUGUSTINE N. FOSTER.

June 1

     _A season for simple living with the kindly sun and the blue sky,
     days of keen delight in little things, of joyous questing after
     beauty, days for the making of true friends by being a true friend
     to others, days when we may enlarge our little lives by excursions
     to strange places, by friendly association, by the companionship of
     great thoughts, days that may teach us to live nobly, to work
     joyously, to play harder, to do our labor better. So should each
     June bring us indeed a golden summer._

                                                 EDWIN OSGOOD GROVER.

Heavenly Father, Thou givest all good things. We thank Thee for life and
hope and cheer. In gratitude we consecrate this day to blessing Thy
children, and so to serving Thee who hast said, "Inasmuch as ye have
done it unto these, ye have done it unto Me." Teach us the gladness of a
life responsive to Thy messages through Nature. Grant us the joy of
making friends by being friendly with our fellow men. Whatsoever we may
do, at work or at play, may it be in the spirit of the Saviour. We begin
this day with Thee. By its ministries may our comrades be helped and our
lives together be made nobler, stronger, and well-pleasing in Thy sight.
Amen.

  MAURICE A. LEVY.

June 2

  _Over the shoulders and slopes of the dune,
    I saw the white daisies go down to the sea,
  A host in the sunshine, an army in June,
    The people God sends us to set our hearts free._

  _The bobolinks rallied them up from the dell,
    The orioles whistled them out of the wood,
  And all of their singing was "Earth, it is well,"
    And all of their dancing was, "Life, Thou art good!"_

                                             BLISS CARMAN.

O Thou, who art the Father of Light and Love, from whom cometh down
every good and perfect gift, we thank Thee for this new born day, which
Thou sendest us, for the splendor of Thy presence in the sunlit sky
above us and the blossoming earth beneath; for spring-time flowers that
border our paths with loveliness and happy bird song, lifting our hearts
to responsive joy and praise. We thank Thee for life and health, for
home and friends, for opportunities and duties, for temptations and
trials, yea, for the very sorrows and bereavements which bring us to
ourselves in penitence, to others in sympathy, and to Thee in faith and
adoration. Thy will be done! Thy kingdom come! Amen.

  CHARLES W. WENDTE.

June 3

  _One small life in God's great plan,
  How futile it seems as the ages roll,
  Do what it may, or strive how it can,
  To alter the sweep of the infinite whole!
  A single stitch in an endless web,
  A drop in the ocean's flow and ebb!
  But the pattern is rent where the stitch is lost,
  Or marred where the tangled threads have crossed;
  And each life that fails of its true intent
  Mars the perfect plan that its Maker meant._

                                    SUSAN COOLIDGE.

O Thou, the heavenly Father, in whom we live and move, whose life-giving
spirit is ever around us like the air we breathe,--we lift our thoughts
to Thee in reverence and gladness at the coming of the new day. We are
glad for the quiet hours of the night, while the stars shine over us.
May we be ready now, with willing and obedient hearts, for the work, the
cares, the joys and the friendly converse of the day. We know how small
our lives are; may we share the thoughts of Thy infinite mind, may Thy
power and beauty, Thy justice and goodness possess us. May our feeble
wills be strong to carry the current of the one Good Will that sways the
universe. Amen.

  CHARLES F. DOLE.

June 4

     _I have lived, sir, a long time; and the longer I live, the more
     convincing proofs I see of this truth, that God governs in the
     affairs of men._

                                                    BENJAMIN FRANKLIN.

     _All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not
     seen. Whatever it be which the great Providence prepares for us, it
     must be something large and generous; and in the great style of His
     works. The future must be up to the style of our faculties, of
     memory, of hope, of imagination, of reason._

                                                   RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

O Thou, who in Thy greatness holds the planets on their way, and in Thy
providence guides the sparrow's flight, and in Thy tenderness marks the
sparrow's fall, may we not be blind to Thy foot-prints in the events of
every day, but see them guiding our way and feel more and more Thy love.
Father, we ask not for great things, but we ask Thee to help us in the
little needs and longings that fill our every day, to be the strength of
our every endeavor, that in our daily walk, we may feel that the earth
is warm with life and joy, that the air is full of strength, that there
comes to us from every side some message, sweet and tender, if only we
can be patient, trustful, believing that all things work together for
good to them who seek to do Thy will Amen.

  JOSHUA YOUNG.

June 5

  _And do not fear to hope. Can poet's brain
  More than the Father's heart rich good invent?
  Each time we smell the autumn's dying scent,
  We know the primrose time will come again;
  Not more we hope, nor less would soothe our pain.
  Be bounteous in our faith, for not misspent
  Is confidence unto the Father lent:
  Thy need is sown and rooted for his rain,
  His thoughts are as thine own; nor are his ways
  Other than thine, but by their loftier sense
  Of beauty infinite and love intense.
  Work on! One day, beyond all thought of praise
  A sunny joy will crown thee with its rays;
  Nor other than thy need, thy recompense._

                                  GEORGE MACDONALD.

Our Father, in the gratitude of loved and loving children we thank Thee
for life and all the faith and hope and love Thy goodness has awakened
in our souls. For the splendors of the world and the greater splendor of
the mind radiant with Thy love, we bow in rapture and adoration.
Overwhelmed at times by the mysteries and vicissitudes of life, we will
trust Thy will to lead us out of darkness into the light of Thine
informing spirit of truth and wisdom. Conscious of our weakness and
needs, we rejoice that strength and supply are assured to us in the
permanence of Thy Fatherhood. Lead us more and ever more to realize that
in Thee we live and move and have our being. Amen.

  RICHMOND FISK.

June 6

  _When a feller goes a-huntin' for a rose
  He shouldn't be a-thinkin' of the thorn;
  He must woo it, he must win it--
  Where his heart beats he must pin it
  An' breathe the breath that's in it
              Every morn!_

  _When a feller goes a-huntin' for a rose
  He shouldn't see the thorn beneath its breast,
  But for all its thorny foes.
  Red and reckless,--one poor rose
  Is sweet enough, God knows,
              For the best._

                               FRANK L. STANTON.

O Lord, our God, so great is our life we may find that for which we
look,--the good or the bad. Send us into this day with eyes searching for
the good. Beholding it may we admire it and admiring it we shall become
like it changed into the same image from character to character by the
Spirit. May we be more concerned to do right than not to do wrong. Save us
from a humility that is weakness and give us largeness of life without
pride. May we want nothing so much as opportunity,--opportunity to be, to
do, to suffer. May we not strive for bigness but for fitness and may our
reception of the Christ be our forgiveness and our salvation for His name's
sake. Amen.

  T. C. MARTIN.

June 7

     _The beauty of work depends upon the way we meet it,--whether we
     arm ourselves each morning to attack it as an enemy that must be
     vanquished before night comes, or whether we open our eyes with the
     sunrise to welcome it as an approaching friend who will keep us
     delightful company all day, and who will make us feel at evening,
     that the day was well worth its fatigues._

  LUCY LARCOM.

Our Heavenly Father, Thou givest us light for the hours of labor and
darkness for the hours of slumber. We toil and then we rest. We sleep
and then we arise, to perform the tasks which await us. Convince us, O
God, that the life which Thou hast given us to live is more than working
that we may rest, and resting that we may work. Persuade us that it is
for some great and good end. Help us to understand that even as we live
in Thee so Thou dost fulfil Thine eternal purposes in and through us.
Teach us that our smallest effort is important to Thee. So may we dread
no duty. So may every moment of every day be precious in our sight.
Amen.

  ROGER S. FORBES.

June 8

  _And those who heard the Singers three
  Disputed which the best might be;
  For still their music seemed to start
  Discordant echoes in each heart._

  _But the great Master said, "I see
  No best in kind, but in degree;
  I gave a various gift to each,
  To charm, to strengthen, and to teach._

  _"These are the three great chords of might,
  And he whose ear is tuned aright,
  Will hear no discord in the three,
  But the most perfect harmony."_

                           HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.

O God, our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for all Thy mercies new every
morning, and fresh every evening, but especially we bless Thee that Thou
callest us to Thy service and kingdom by Jesus Christ, our Lord, and
hast vouchsafed to each of us some gracious gift whereby we may
accomplish Thy holy will concerning us. Grant that we may so improve and
use that pearl of price as to enhance greatly the welfare of Thy
children. Help each to see the good in all, and all to see the good in
each, that all may strive together in sinless and sweet accord for the
common weal and thus for the glory of Thy name, and so hasten the happy
day when all souls shall be one, as prayed the Saviour of the world.
Amen.

  ALFRED P. PUTNAM.

June 9

     _Men talk sometimes as if the passage of a ship through the sea or
     a bird through the air is a fit symbol of man's passage through
     this world. I do not think so. A better symbol would be the passage
     of a plough through the soil leaving a furrow behind. What does the
     furrow include? All the memory of every beautiful picture and
     landscape you have ever seen. It includes the memory of every
     experience, every sweet association, every tie of love, whether of
     father, mother, wife or children. All these, whether living or
     dead, speak to you. They have a voice, a language that you will
     understand._

                                                      GEORGE L. PERIN.

We thank Thee, O God, for the many influences past and present which
have had a share in the moulding of our lives and characters toward a
larger usefulness and a more perfect realization of the Christian ideal.
We thank Thee for the mother's love which watched over us through years
of helplessness; for the father's love which made provision for our
wants, for the human sympathy which has everywhere blessed and
strengthened us and made life brighter; for the friends of youth and age
who have helped us to better things. Grant, O God, that a memory of
these blessings may abide with us so long as life may last, and that as
we have been helped by others to walk the way of life we may not forget
to extend a helping hand to those who may need our comfort and our
sympathy.

  ORIN EDSON CROOKER.

June 10

     _It is not to taste sweet things, but to do noble and true things,
     and vindicate himself under God's heaven, as a God-made man, that
     the poorest son of Adam dimly longs. This dim longing for what is
     noble and true, the still small voice which calls to one
     imperatively in moments of temptation, is the safeguard which, if
     hearkened to, not only protects one in severe trials of manliness
     and womanliness, but also incites to the formation of a fine
     character, without which all acquisitions, all graces and
     accomplishments, all talents and all learning, are but as sounding
     brass and a tinkling cymbal._

                                                      THOMAS CARLYLE.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, in grateful recognition of Thy love
and watchful care, we thank Thee for the repose of the night and the
promise of the day. Our desire is to do Thy will, and we ask for the
guidance and inspiration of Thy spirit. Enable us to perform faithfully
all the work that Thou hast given us to do. Grant us a sufficiency of
Thy grace to treat all our fellowmen as children of Thine, and when
night comes may we have the blessed assurance that through the
experiences of this day we have become a little more like Thine own
glorious self in love and holiness. We ask it in the name of Jesus, our
example, and Saviour. Amen.

  WARREN S. PERKINS.

June 11

  _Now it is June, and the secret is told;
  Flashed from the buttercup's glory of gold;
  Hummed in the bumblebee's gladness, and sung
  New from each bough where a bird's nest is swung;
  Breathed from the clover-beds, when the winds pass;
  Chirped in small psalms, through the aisles of the grass._

                                             HENRY JAMES, SR.

Dear Father, in the morning hour of this new day, we thank Thee for the
glorious revelation of Thyself in the open Book of Nature. May we love
the beautiful and therein love Thee, with a true and abiding affection.
Grant unto us the understanding that it is only as we have the spirit of
the beautiful in our lives that we can appreciate the beautiful without
us. So may we value this life, which is from Thee, as a means of
attaining a larger usefulness and for realizing that goodness which is
ever heavenly. In simply trying to be nobler, more unselfish, like unto
Christ, we pray, that we may learn how good is life. Amen.

  THOMAS EDWARD POTTERTON.

June 12

  _Methinks I love all common things,
  The common air, the common flower,
  The dear, kind, common thought that springs
  From hearts that have no other dower,
  No other wealth, no other power,
  Save love; and will not that repay
  For all else fortune tears away?_

                         BRYAN WALLER PROCTER.

We thank God for the beauty of the world. We thank God that it is good
to be alive. We thank God for the joy that joins us to Thy world in
gladness, and makes it seem to be the open book of Thy graciousness and
tenderness and compassion. We thank Thee also for the ministry of those
days that were not bright, but that were full of comfort, even in their
darkness, into which God came shrouded, only to reveal Himself more
clearly as the light. We thank Thee for the intervening by the hand of
love and tenderness that is human, so that our best nature was called
out for love's sake, and all the lower forces of our lives led in the
leash of that sweet attraction. We thank God for everything for which
our life is better, and pray Thee to help us to use Thy mercies to turn
them into strength, not the strength of praise alone, but the strength
of service also. Amen.

  THOMAS R. SLICER.

June 13

      _A creed is a rod,
      And a crown is of night;
      But this thing is God,
      To be man with thy might,
  To grow straight in the strength of thy spirit, and live out thy life
      as the light._

                                          ALGERNON CHARLES SWINBURNE.

     _Life is fuller and sweeter for every fulness and sweetness that we
     take knowledge of. And to him that hath, cannot help being given
     from everything._

                                              MRS. A. D. T. WHITNEY.

Infinite Love and Beauty, who stirrest in the tiniest seed that breaks
its earthly shell to greet the light and warmth of thy beneficence and
round its life in blade and flower and ripened fruit,--awake in us, we
pray, that we may burst the casements of our dead selves and live to
bear the fruits of completed lives. Be love alone our creed and service
our crown; and in the sweetness and light of these twin ministers draw
Thou us on, until having taken full knowledge of the fulness and
sweetness of our Lord the Christ, we shall have measured in our
spiritual stature, His perfect manliness and strength. Thus shall we
have indeed and to us shall be given from everything. Amen.

  ALBERT C. WHITE.

June 14

  _He fails who climbs to power and place
  Up the pathway of disgrace.
  He fails not who makes truth his cause,
  Nor bends to win the crowd's applause.
  He fails not, he who stakes his all
  Upon the right and dares to fall.
  What though the living bless or blame,
  For him the long success of fame!_

                     RICHARD WATSON GILDER.

Our Heavenly Father, help us when we fail to see and know the truth and
its blessed influence for good. Help us to combat bravely the evil in
the world and to look to Thee for encouragement and success. Help us, if
we fail, to regain our footing and to reach the higher because of the
effort which Thy love prompts. We gratefully accept the power which Thy
wisdom gives and thank Thee for the opportunity to use its strength. Be
Thou our guide and we shall fear no failure, nor overestimate the worth
of success. So shall we "rejoice in the Lord always,"--in failure
because of Thy help and in success because of Thine approval. In the
name of Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer. Amen.

  WILLIAM E. GIBBS.

June 15

  _A singer sang a song of tears,
    And the great world heard and wept
  For the song of the sorrows of fleeting years,
    And the hopes which the dead past kept:
  And souls in anguish their burdens bore,
    And the world was sadder than ever before._

  _A singer sang a song of cheer,
    And the great world listened and smiled,
  For he sang of the love of a Father dear
    And the trust of a little child;
  And souls that before had forgotten to pray,
    Looked up and went singing along the way._

                                     EMMA C. DOWD.

Almighty God, our heavenly Father, our trust is evermore in Thee, and we
would keep that trust as a song within our hearts, which may cheer and
bless and strengthen us. When the night is dark and the day is dreary
may that song be with us, and when cares oppress and sorrows meet us,
may our prayers still rise to Thee, for Thou art the God of our lives.
Let not the day's discouragements depress us, nor its failures find us
weak or helpless, nor its trials leave a stain upon our souls. But
because we have Thy song of love within our hearts may we march to
heavenly music, and ever go upon our way rejoicing. Amen.

  PAUL REVERE FROTHINGHAM.

June 16

     _It is only the sincerity of human feeling that abides. As for a
     thought, we know not, it may be deceptive; but the love, wherewith
     we have loved it, will surely return to our soul; nor can a single
     drop of its clearness or strength be abstracted by error. Of that
     perfect ideal that each of us strives to build up in himself, the
     sum total of all our thoughts will help only to model the outline;
     but the elements that go to construct it, and keep it alive, are
     the purified passion, unselfishness, loyalty, wherein these
     thoughts have had being._

                                                         MAETERLINCK.

O God, our Heavenly Father, help us to take up the cares of this day
with an unselfish heart, and in loyalty to what is right and good. Keep
us in right relation to those with whom our lot is cast, in sympathy
with the unanxious joy of the world and with the deeper life which is
its source. We desire to enter into the thought and the love of the most
hopeful souls, that, in all the needful pauses of the day, we may find
cheer, incentive, and the ampler rest: through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.

  CHARLES H. LEONARD.

June 17

  _"Does the road wind up-hill all the way?"
    "Yes, to the very end!"
  "Will the day's journey take the whole long day?"
    "From morn to night, my friend!"_

  _"But is there for the night a resting-place?"
    "A roof for all when the dark hours begin."
  "May not the darkness hide it from my face?"
    "You cannot miss that inn."_

  _"Shall I meet other wayfarers at night?"
    "Those who have gone before."
  "Then must I knock or call when just in sight?"
    "They will not keep you standing at that door."_

  _"Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?"
    "Of labor you shall find the sum."
  "Will there be beds for me and all who seek?"
    "Yea,--beds for all who come!"_

                                 CHRISTINA ROSSETTI.

Our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for this new day. May it be an open
door to faithful service. Open our eyes that we may see all vexations,
distresses, and toil as angels in disguise sent to strengthen and fulfil
us, to prepare us for larger blessings at our journey's end. As the blue
sky of Thy loving kindness is broader and more enduring than the clouds
that sometimes hide it, so teach us to trust Thine unfailing love that
overarches and outlasts all weariness and pain. When life and strength
fail us here, may we find them transformed and glorious in the city of
God hereafter. Be Thou our shield and our reward now and forever. Amen.

  JOHN M. WILSON.

June 18

     _Those homelier wildflowers, which we call weeds; yellow japanned
     buttercups and star-disked dandelions, lying in the grass, like
     sparks that have leaped from the kindling sun of summer; the
     profuse daisy-like flower which whitens the fields, to the great
     disgust of liberal shepherds, yet seems fair to loving eyes, with
     its button-like mound of gold set round with milk-white rays; the
     tall-stemmed succory, setting its pale blue flowers aflame one
     after another; the red and white clovers; the broad, flat leaves of
     the plantain,--"the white man's foot," as the Indians called
     it;--those common growths which fling themselves to be crushed
     under our feet and our wheels, making themselves so cheap in this
     perpetual martyrdom that we forget, each of them is a ray of the
     divine beauty._

                                              OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.

Our Heavenly Father, however poor and mean and commonplace our lives may
seem to be, in our better moments we think of ourselves as Thy children.
We may have failed sometimes but we shall not utterly fail. In Thy
sight, nothing is common or worthless. No life shall be cast as rubbish
to the void. However commonplace our tasks may seem, let us feel
ourselves in partnership with God, and go forth to the duties of the day
with high hope and sense of dignity. So shalt Thou make even our little
lives of some real service to the world. We pray to Thee in the spirit
of Him, who though the humblest of all, was yet Master of all. Amen.

  GEORGE L. PERIN.

June 19

     _There's a real grace of character in forgetting the things which
     disturb the harmony of life._

                                                 HAMILTON W. MABIE.

  Touch your lips with gladness and go singing on your way,
  Smiles will strangely lighten every duty;
  Just a little word of cheer may span a sky of gray
    With hope's own heaven-tinted bow of beauty.
  Wear a pleasant face wherein shall shine a joyful heart,
  As shines the sun, the happy fields adorning;
  To every care-beclouded life some ray of light impart,
  And touch your lips with gladness every morning.

                                                    NIXON WATERMAN.

O Thou who art from everlasting to everlasting, Our God and Father, we
flee unto Thee as the One who is able to save us from all foes within
and without. We confess our weakness and our many grievous faults, and
beseech Thee to touch us by Thy Spirit, that with penitent and lowly
hearts we may seek Thee as our everlasting Friend and Helper. Be patient
yet a while with our shortcomings and frowardness. Suffer us yet a
little that Thine infinite grace and compassion may arouse us from our
spiritual slumber unto the glorious life of obedience and love. In this
new day we would be made to feel Thy presence and the light and joy and
peace, which Thou dost promise to all who diligently seek Thee through
Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

  CLARENCE E. RICE.

June 20

  _Now is the high tide of the year,
    And whatever of life hath ebbed away
  Comes flooding back with a ripply cheer,
    Into every bare inlet and creek and bay;
  Now the heart is so full that a drop overfills it,
  We are happy now because God wills it._

                                JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty! early in the morning we approach
unto Thee. The whole round of creation is burdened with the exuberance
of Thy life, and everywhere is hallowed ground. We come with unshod
feet. The sun, mighty minister of Thy great goodness, flooding the world
with light and piercing all things with his fiery arrows, calls back to
life the sleeping earth, and assures us that we are partakers of Thy
light and Thy love and Thy life. O most glorious God! may these Thy
mercies, fresh every morning, be with us through the day to strengthen
us to do Thy will, we ask in the name of Him who came that we may have
life and have it abundantly. Amen.

  FRANK W. COLLIER.

June 21

  _Man hath much need of courage; and need to brace
  His spiritual nerve in solitude;
  Self-trusting, self-sustained, and self-imbued;
  Seeking God in his own heart's secret place.
  To perfect self, and in that self embrace
    The triune essence of truth, beauty, and good;
  This is fulfilment, this beatitude
  Throned high above base fears and hopes more base.
  What shall it profit us, if, gaining all
    The privilege of priest-made paradise,
  We lose therewith our self which is the soul?
  And wherefore should we shrink from even the fall,
  If haply we should fail with steadfast eyes
  Fixed only on so bright, so pure a goal?_

                             JOHN ADDINGTON SYMONDS.

Heavenly Father, we thank Thee for the gift of a new day, for the tasks
which it brings, and for the strength with which we rise to its
requirements. Help us, through all this day, to remember Thee. Thou art
our strength, our guide, our inspiration. Fill us with the courage born
of faith. Let us feel that, seeking to do right, we shall be moved and
aided by an unseen Power. In all our experiences this day, help us to
speak the truth, to be loyal to friendship, to be steadfast in
principle, to fight the good fight and to keep the faith. Bless our
endeavors to give heart and hope to other souls; and grant them the
presence of Thy loving spirit. Amen.

  JOHN CLARENCE LEE.

June 22

     _Let a man start out at breakneck speed in the morning, pushing and
     driving and hurrying as if it were a matter of life and death to
     accomplish a given task before noon, and he will generally end by
     working himself into a fever of anxiety and harassing care before
     night, and the man who, under any pretext whatsoever, whether for
     the sake of wealth or learning or pleasure, has pursued this mad,
     rushing, whirling method of life for fifteen or twenty years, will
     find himself thoroughly disqualified for the normal enjoyment of
     life thenceforward to the end of his days._

                                                    GEORGE L. PERIN.

Most gracious God! Thou who hast sustained us through the night watches,
and who now openest to us the day, with its promise of good and
opportunity for service, we still depend upon that heavenly faithfulness
which never fails. We look to Thee for the quickening of our best
powers. We would be laborers together with Thee to-day, not as driven to
irksome tasks, but as honored with a welcome privilege. Whether we plant
or water may we do it faithfully, and then trust Thee for the desired
increase. May it please Thee to quiet our anxieties, to lay to rest our
unworthy fears, and to assure us of Thine over-ruling providence; and
thus through all our toiling may we enjoy large measures of the peace
that passeth understanding. Amen.

  JAMES EDWARD WRIGHT.

June 23

     _I do not say you can make yourself merry and happy when you are in
     a physical condition which is contrary to such mental condition,
     but by practice and effort you can learn to withdraw from it,
     refusing to allow your judgments and actions to be ruled by it.
     "What does that matter?" you will learn to say. "It is enough for
     me to know that the sun does shine, and that this is only a weary
     fog that is round about me for a moment. I shall come out into the
     light beyond presently." This is faith,--faith in God, who is
     Light._

                                                     GEORGE MACDONALD.

Our Father, residing in the light incomprehensible and who art seeing
and providing all good for Thine immortal household, when mid investing
clouds we shall hail Thy presence, transforming weakness into perfect
strength and sighs and groans into joy and swelling songs, above all the
many rightful subjects of Christian petition, we pray that Thou wilt
always press us near to Thee to feel Thy loving heart-beats and dwell in
the light in which is no darkness at all. We pray not to be spared any
of our full part of the burdens needful to this day, but to be given the
measure of grace to maintain unfaltering steps. Behold with compassion
the errors that befall us as we, too, compassionate others. Amen.

  JACOB STRAUB.

June 24

     _We are all perhaps familiar with the story of the little
     housemaid, who, when she was asked why she thought she had become a
     Christian, replied, after a little hesitation, "Because I sweep
     under the mats." A very poor reason at first sight, and only
     significant from the fact of the master-motive underlying the fact
     itself. A child's reasoning--but did not quaint old Herbert employ
     the same fine logic when he sang:_

           _"Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws.
           Makes that and the action fine!"_

                                                        WILLIAM MOODIE.

Dear Lord of Life and Light, at the dawn of another day we rise to thank
Thee for Thy watchful care, imparting strength and vitality during the
closed hours of the night. Thy gift of eternal life is ours by Thy
creatorship and love, and we would pray that in no way during this
coming day shall we dishonor our birthright by evil thought or action.
Help us to aspire to hold fast and develop Thy holy characteristics,
normal to us and made active by our wills. We thank Thee for the goal
revealed to us as our destiny, the spirit displayed by our Master, Jesus
Christ, and like Him may we lean on Thee daily for the strengthening of
our faith and the maturing of our plans. Amen.

  CHARLES E. LUND.

June 25

  _They are tired of what is old,
    We will give it voices new;
  For the half hath not been told
    Of the beautiful and true._

                           GEORGE MACDONALD.

  _The common problem, yours, mine, everyone's,
    Is not to fancy what were fair in life
  Provided it could be--but finding first
    What may be, than find how to make it fair
  Up to our means, a very different thing._

                            ROBERT BROWNING.

Thou Infinite Heart! our hearts go out after Thee, not for past, not for
future, not for what was, though dear, not for what may be, though in
vision precious,--not these the burden of our prayer. Our hearts crave
peace, comfort with what is. May we confide in Thee so utterly that the
old pain is eased, the anxious foreboding is dispelled, self-will merged
in divine will, self-direction yielding to divine leading. Lo! our
prayer is answered in the making and we are helped. Amen.

  STANFORD MITCHELL.

June 26

     _Today is your day and mine, the only day we have, the day in which
     we play our part. What our part may signify in the great whole, we
     may not understand, but we are here to play it, and now is our
     time. This we know, it is a part of action, not of whining. It is a
     part of love, not cynicism. It is for us to express love in terms
     of human helpfulness. This we know, for we have learned from sad
     experience that any other course of life leads toward weakness and
     misery._

                                                   DAVID STARR JORDAN.

Our Father, Author alike of the morning light and Guardian through the
darkness and shadow of the night, grant us the right spirit as we go
forth to the unknown experiences of this day. We would not look eagerly
for our own comfort and happiness, but would find them as Thy free gift
while we are employed in giving comfort and happiness to others.
Illuminate our lives with happy thoughts, cheerful words and blessed
hopes, that we may go forth with no purpose but to do Thy will, and
seeking no reward more glorious, than Thine approval whispered into
loving and attentive hearts, in Thy name. Amen.

  LEWIS G. WILSON.

June 27

  _A Persian fable says: "One day
  A wanderer found a lump of clay,
  So redolent of sweet perfume
  Its odors scented all the room.
      "What art thou?" was his quick demand;
      "Art thou some gem from Samarcand,
  Or spikenard in this rude disguise,
  Or other costly merchandise?"
      "Nay, I am but a lump of clay."
      "Then whence this wondrous perfume--say?"
  "Friend, if the secret I disclose,
  I have been dwelling with the rose,"
  Sweet parable! and will not those
  Who love to dwell with Sharon's Rose,
  Distil sweet odors all around,
  Though low and mean themselves are found?
  Dear Lord, abide with us, that we
  May draw our perfume fresh from thee._

                                   ANONYMOUS.

Our Father, which art in heaven,--we thank Thee for the memory of those
who lived in Thy spirit and labored in Thy love. The fragrance of their
lives abides with us. We thank Thee for the prophets of great
hopes,--for those who have seen the invisible, and have searched
patiently for the city of their God. We bless those who by their pure
hearts and unselfish lives have revealed unto us our greater selves.
Help us to learn of them the way of life. Help us to live in such
thoughts and deeds as made them truly great. Keep our hearts so pure
to-day, our vision of the Master life so clear, that our path, before
and after us, shall be as the light of day. Amen.

  FREDERICK W. BETTS.

June 28

  _Tell you what I like the best;
    'Long about knee-deep in June,
  'Bout the time the strawberries melts
    On the vine,--some afternoon
  Like to jes' git out and rest,
    And not work at nothing else._

  _Orchard's where I'd ruther be--
  Needn't fence it in for me!
    Jes' the whole sky overhead,
    And the whole airth underneath._

                   JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY.

Help us, O Thou who art the Lord of life, that we may this morning
praise Thee for the beauty of the world and for the joyful privilege of
wandering in the green fields and by the sparkling brooks, and of
resting tired body and weary limb beneath the sweet orchard shade,
gazing with gladdened eyes at the blue canopy above, all forgetful of
the toil and din of the far off city. O may our hearts this day be in
tune with nature and in harmony with Thyself; and as we contemplate Thy
works this and every day may our hearts go out in loving and practical
sympathy toward those whose lives are spent within the narrow confines
of sunless courts. Hear us for the Saviour's sake. Amen.

  FRANCIS W. BRETT.

June 29

     _Give us, O give us the man who sings at his work. Be his
     occupation what it may, he is equal to any of those who follow the
     same pursuit in silent sullenness. He will do more in the same
     time--he will do it better--he will persevere longer. One is
     scarcely sensible of fatigue while he marches to music. The very
     stars are said to make harmony as they revolve in their spheres.
     Wondrous is the strength of cheerfulness, although past calculation
     its power of endurance. Efforts to be permanently useful, must be
     uniformly joyous--a spirit all sunshine, graceful from very
     gladness, beautiful because bright._

                                                      THOMAS CARLYLE.

Almighty God, we turn to Thee in adoration and praise as we pause upon
the threshold of this new day. Grant, we pray Thee, that a song be in
our hearts as we go about the duties of the passing hours. Whatever our
experiences, whether of joy or sorrow, may we truly value the truthful
spirit. If Thou callest us to bear burdens or to stand upon the mountain
top of exultant achievement may we not forget to sing of Thee. Yea, O
God, we would be ever of the company of trusting souls, for such are
near to Thee. And when earthly days are past and the life of the freed
spirit is over, grant that our lives may blend in full accord with the
music of love, in sunshine of joy, in the beauty of holiness. We praise
Thee now and ever. Amen.

  STEPHEN H. ROBLIN.

June 30

  _Full-leafed in pride of deepest green,
  The earth in the sunshine basks serene,
  Where linden blossoms crowded cling,
  A thousand bees are murmuring.
  As showers drift from the freshened land
  With a seven-barred bow is the rain-cloud spanned.
  The wild rose yields her subtlest scents
  Where hay cocks pitch their fragrant tents.
      The longest day's too brief for June,
      The night too short for such a moon!_

                                 SARA ANDREW SHAFER.

We thank Thee, our Father, for the wonderful world in which we live; for
the glory of the heavens; for the beauty of the earth; for the bright
morning following the star-crowned night; for the song of birds, the hum
of bees, the fragrance of flowers, and the laughter of children, for the
industry of men and women, for all Thy gifts of love. As again the
lengthening shadows creep across our pathway, may we redouble our
energies that no labor of love may be left undone. So fill us with Thy
presence, so lead us by Thy Spirit this day, that in our homes we may be
patient, in our occupations sweet, in our social relations brotherly, in
all things Christlike, for Jesus' sake. Amen.

  ARTHUR WRIGHT.

July 1

  _Let me go where'er I will
  I hear a sky-born music still:
  It sounds from all things old,
  It sounds from all things young,
  From all that's fair, from all that's foul,
  Peals out a cheerful song._

  _It is not only in the rose,
  It is not only in the bird,
  Not only where the rainbow glows,
  Nor in the song of woman heard,
  But in the darkest, meanest things
  There alway, alway something sings._

  _'Tis not in the high stars alone,
  Nor in the cups of budding flowers,
  Nor in the redbreast's mellow tone,
  Nor in the bow that smiles in showers,
  But in the mud and scum of things
  There alway, alway something sings._

                            RALPH WALDO EMERSON.

Dear Father in heaven, we thank Thee for all the sweet voices of the
world, not only for the harmonies of the great masters of song but for
the sweet voice of the mother as she sings her song of love, for the
bird in the spring time. We thank Thee for the music in the prattle of
children, and the kindly word spoken everywhere. The world is full of
music if only we have music in our own hearts. We pray, as we set forth
again this morning, for spirits in tune with all that is sweet and good.
Wherever we go this day, let the world sing to us and make us glad.
Amen.

  GEORGE L. PERIN.

July 2

  _A little bird with plumage brown,
  Beside my window flutters down,
  A moment chirps its little strain,
  Then taps upon my window-pane.
  And chirps again, and hops along,
  To call my notice to its song;
  But I work on, nor heed its lay,
  Till, in neglect, it flies away._

  _So birds of peace and hope and love
  Come fluttering earthward from above,
  To settle on life's window-sills,
  And ease our load of earthly ills;
  But we, in traffic's rush and din
  Too deep engaged to let them in,
  With deadened heart and sense plod on,
  Nor know our loss till they are gone._

                        PAUL LAURENCE DUNBAR.

My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord, in the morning will I
direct my prayer unto Thee, and will look up; and looking up, may we not
fail to realize that, amid the turmoil of this outward life, Thou art
ever present to give peace and rest in the inner life. Should we fail to
recognize that presence we shall lose the comfort which Thou art ever
ready to bestow, and must ourselves bear burdens which Thou wouldst
gladly bear for us or take from us. Thou knowest our frame and
rememberest that we are dust. Open our spiritual vision to behold that
Divine resources are subject to our daily prayer. In the name of Jesus,
the Christ. Amen.

  O. W. SCOTT.

July 3

     _Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
     Heaven.

     Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are
     the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.

     Blessed are ye when men shall revile you and persecute you, and
     shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake._

                                               MATTHEW v. 3, 8, 11.

O God, our Heavenly Father, we thank Thee that Thou dost overrule our
weakness, failure and sins to the accomplishment of Thy divine plan for
us. We recall with pleasure our successes in the past year, and if we
have failed, wilt Thou show us where and when and teach us the way of
amendment. We thank Thee for our Hope and Faith which have come to us
from the Bible. Here, on every page and in every biography, have we
learned of Christ Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life. We thank Thee
that through Him our sins are forgiven, and we have learned to know
Thee, O blessed Father, which knowledge is eternal life. May we walk
with Him, moment by moment in a life of loving service to all mankind,
during all the remaining days of our life. Amen.

  E. M. WARNER.

July 4

  _One flag, one land, one heart, one hand,
          One nation, evermore!_

                                   OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES.

     _And for your country, boy, and for that flag, never dream a dream
     but of serving her, though the service carry you through a thousand
     hells! No matter what happens to you--no matter who flatters or
     abuses you--never look at another flag, never let a night pass but
     you pray God to bless that flag._

                                     EDWARD EVERETT HALE.

Thine, O God, is the kingdom. And blessed is the nation whose God is the
Lord. We believe that Thy hand has been in the founding and the fortunes