reach of this vale of misery. O God, give me to seek it there only; not without a contemptuous neglect of all those deceitful vanities which would withdraw my soul from Thee! Let me take what Thou givest me with patience and thankfulnessthankfulness for the meat, and patience with the sauce!-BISHOP HALL.

APRIL 24.

When He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.-HEBREWS i. 3.

And now, O blessed Saviour, how is my soul ravished with the meditation of Thy glorious reception into Thy heaven! Surely, if the inhabitants of those celestial mansions may be capable of any increase of joy, they then both found and showed it, when they saw and welcomed Thee entering, in Thy glorified humility, into that Thy eternal palace of blessedness; and if there could be any higher or sweeter ditty of hallelujah, it was then sung by the choir of angels and saints. And may Thy poor servants, wayfaring and wandering here upon earth, even second them in those heavenly songs of praises and gratulations; for wherein stands all our safety, hope, comfort, happiness, but in this, that Thou, our Jesus, art "received up into glory," and, having conquered all divers powers, sittest on the right hand of God the Father, crowned with honour and majesty ?-BISHOP HALL.

ST. MARK'S DAY.

APRIL 25.

He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers.-EPHESIANS iv. 11.

So when this solemn day, each year, returns,
And, tossed about with winds, the sacred ark
Seeks the Rock's shelter, and there duly learns
All that we owe th' Evangelist St. Mark;
The heavenly doctrine of that blessed word
Which he embalmed in Holy Scripture's page,
To be lisp'd out by youth, conn'd o'er by age;
Read by the learn'd, by the unlearned heard;
Then let the fervour of Thy Gospel truth
Fill every heart, O Lord, throughout the land,
Until young men and maidens, age and youth,
Swell with one voice that great prophetic band,
Which must be found amid the sons of men,
Ere Thou, O Saviour Christ, to earth return again.
MONSELL.

APRIL 26.

Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God.-1 PETER ii. 10.

How different was the religion of the Jewish nation from that of the contemporary Gentiles! "One God," the Creator and Judge of the world, and the Author of all good, was the only object of adoration; and there was nothing of that separation between religion and morality which in other nations was the road to all impurity. The will and approbation of Jehovah was the motive and support of all

holiness; faith in His Word was the power which raised men above their natural weakness. . . . The devotional Scriptures of the Jews express that heartfelt sense of infirmity and sin, that peculiar spirit of prayer, that real communion with God, with which the Christian in his best moments has the truest sympathy. . . . So that the Hebrew Psalms have passed into the devotions of the Christian Church. There is a light on all the mountains of Judæa which never shone on Olympus or Parnassus; and the "hill of Zion," in which "it pleased God to dwell," is the type of "the joy of the whole earth," while the seven hills of Rome are the symbol of tyranny and idolatry. "He shewed His Word unto Jacob, His statutes and ordinances unto Israel. He dealt not so with any nation; neither had the heathen knowledge of His laws."-CONYBEARE AND HOWSON.

APRIL 27.

My God, my Father, while I stray
Far from my home, in life's rough way,
Oh, teach me from my heart to say,
"Thy will be done."

Thou, God, knowest what is best to be given to each; and why this man hath less, and that more, is not for us, but for Thee, to understand, for unto Thee each man's deservings are fully known. Wherefore, O Lord God, I reckon it even a benefit not to have many things, whence praise and glory may appear outwardly, and after the thought of men. Thou,

Lord, hast chosen the poor and humble, and those who are poor in this world, to be Thy friends and acquaintances. So give all Thine apostles witness, whom Thou hast made princes in all lands. Nothing ought so much to rejoice him who loveth Thee, and knoweth Thy benefits, as Thy will in him, and the good pleasure of Thine eternal providence, wherewith he ought to be so contented and comforted, that he would as willingly be the least as any other would be the greatest; as peaceable and contented in the lowest as in the highest place, and willingly held of small and low account.-IMITATION OF CHRIST.

APRIL 28.

How shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

ROMANS viii. 32.

What a wretched narrowness of heart is this which I find in myself-that, when I may have all things, I take up with nothing; and, when I may be possessed of an infinite good, I please myself by grasping a little thick clay! It was a large word that the Apostle said to his Corinthians, "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours." What! shall we think they were richer than their neighbours; or is not this the condition of all those of whom he can say, in the next world, "Ye are Christ's"? There, there comes in all our right to this infinite wealth. In ourselves, we are beggars; n Him, who is Lord of all, we are feoffed in all

things. How else should all things be ours, if God were not ours, without whom all is nothing? And how should God the Father be ours, without that Son of His love, who hath said, "All things that the Father hath are Mine?" If, then, Christ be mine, all is mine; and if I have so oft received Him, and so often renewed my union with Him, how is He but mine? O Saviour, let me feel myself thoroughly possessed of Thee! Whether the world slide or sink, I am happy.-BISHOP HALL.

APRIL 29.

And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called
Emmaus.-LUKE xxiv. 13.

It happen'd on a solemn eventide,
Soon after He that was our Surety died,
Two bosom friends, each pensively inclined,
The scene of all those sorrows left behind,
Sought their own village, busied as they went
In musings worthy of the great event:

They spake of Him they loved, of Him whose life,
Though blameless, had incurred perpetual strife,
Whose deeds had left, in spite of hostile arts,
A deep memorial graven on their hearts.

The recollection, like a vein of ore,

The further traced, enriched them still the more;
They thought Him, and they justly thought Him, One
Sent to do more than He appear'd t' have done;

To exalt a people, and to place them high
Above all else, and wonder'd He should die.
Ere yet they brought their journey to an end,
A Stranger join'd them, courteous as a friend,
And asked them, with a kind, engaging air,
What their affliction was, and begged a share.