January 14

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul; he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for

thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of nine enemies; thou anointest my head with all; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

"Augustine is said to have beheld, in a dream, the one hundred and nineteenth Psalm rising before him as a tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God. This twenty-third may be compared to the fairest flowers that grew around it. The former has even been likened to the sun amidst the stars—surely this is the richest of the constellations, even the Pleiades themselves!"—John Stoughton.

"The twenty-third Psalm is the nightingale of the Psalms. It is small, of a homely feather, singing shyly out of obscurity, but, oh! it has filled the air of the whole world with melodious joy, greater than the heart can conceive. Blessed be the day on which that Psalm was born! What would you say of a pilgrim commissioned of God to travel up and down the earth singing a strange melody, which, when one heard, caused him to forget whatever sorrow he had? And so the singing angel goes on his way through all lands, singing in the language of every nation, driving away trouble by the pulses of the air which his tongue moves with divine power. Behold just such an one! This pilgrim God has sent to speak in every language on the globe."—Henry Ward Beecher.

"Some pious souls are troubled because they cannot at all times, or often, use, in its joyous import, the language of this Psalm. Such should remember that David, though he lived long, never wrote but one twenty third Psalm. Some of his odes do indeed express as lively a faith as this, and faith can walk in darkness. But where else do we find a whole Psalm expressive of personal confidence, joy, and triumph, from beginning to end? God's people have their seasons of darkness and their times of rejoicing."—William S. Plummer.

Closet Promise.—I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to profit, which leadeth thee by the way that thou shouldest go.—Isa. xlviii. 17.

"He leadeth me!" And so I need not seek my own wild way Across the desert wild; He knoweth where the soft, green pastures lie, Where the still waters glide, And how to reach the coolness of their rest, Beneath the calm hillside.

"He leadeth me!" And though it be by rugged, weary ways, Where thorns spring sharp and sore, No pathway can seem strange or desolate

When Jesus "goes before." His gentle shepherding my solace is And gladness yet in store.

"He leadeth me!" I shall not take one needless step through all, In wind, or heat, or cold; And all day long he sees the peaceful end, Through trials manifold. Up the fair hillside, like some sweet surprise, Watch the quiet fold.—Selected.

THE CHILDREN'S CORNER.

Breakfast Motto.—Give us this day our daily bread.—Matt vi. 11.

Weekly Proverb.—The morning hour has gold in its mouth.—Poor Richard.

DAILY BIBLE READING.—WANTED FOR OUR COUNTRY.

Sunday.—Matrons like the pious Shunamite.—2 Kings iv. 8-13.

Monday.—Brethren like Aaron and Hur.—Ex. xvii. 8-16.

Tuesday.—Sisters like Mary and Martha.—Luke x. 38-42.

Wednesday.—Heads of Families like Caleb and Joshua.—Num. xiv. 24; Josh. xxiv. 14-18.

Thursday.—Wives like the Model One.—Prov. xxxi. 10-31.

Friday.—Fathers like Abraham.—Gen. xxii. 1-19.

Saturday.—Mothers like Hannah.—1 Sam. i. 9-18; 24-28.

THE BEST BEAUTY.

Whose face is fair to see, But still there's nothing pleasant About that face to me; For he's rude and cross and selfish, If he cannot have his way; And he's always making trouble, I've heard his mother say. I know a little fellow Whose face is plain to see, But that we never think of So kind and brave is he He carries sunshine with him.

I know a little fellow And everybody's glad To hear the cheery whistle Of the pleasant little lad. You see it's not the features That others judge us by, But what we do, I tell you, And that you can't deny. The plainest face has beauty If the owner's kind and true; And that's the kind of beauty, My gut and boy, for you. Golden Days.

THOU GOD SEENT ME.—Gen. xvi 13

I once read of a father who wanted his son to carry a parcel to a certain place on Sunday, and being told to carry it in his pocket where it could not be seen, the little fellow replied: "God can see in my pocket." "Johnnie," said a man, winking slyly to a boy who was tending his father's store, "you must give me good measure: your master is not in." Johnnie looked solemnly into the man's face and replied: "My Master is always in." Johnnie's Master was the all-seeing God. Let every one of my little friends, when tempted, adopt his motto: "My Master is always in." It will save you from falling into many sins. "Thou God seest me," don't forget that. Do you know about Lafayette, that great man who was the friend of Washington? He tells us that he was once shut up in a little room in a gloomy prison for a great while. In the door of his cell was a very small hole cut, through which a soldier watched him day and night. All he could see was the soldier's eye; but that eye was always there. So, no matter where you are, God's eye sees you. If you sin, how dreadful is that eye; if you are good, how blessed!

THIRD WEEK.

PEARL TEXT.—And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.—Matt. 2. 42.

Wouldst thou from sorrow find a sweet relief, Or is thy heart oppressed with woe untold? Balm wouldst thou gather for corroding grief?

Pour blessings round thee, like a shower of gold. —Carlos Wilcox.

"In eternity it will amount to more to have given a cup of cold water with right motives, to an humble servant of God, than to have been flattered by a whole generation."—Dr. Cumming.

"Live for something. Do good and leave behind you a monument of virtue that the storm of time can never destroy. Write your name in kindness, love and mercy on the hearts of thousands you come in contact with year by year; you will never be forgotten. No, your name, your deeds, will be as legible on the hearts you leave behind as the stars on the brow of evening. Good deeds will shine as the stars of heaven."—Chalmers.

HELPS FOR THE DEVOTIONAL HOUR.