October 23

But without faith it is impossible to please Him.— HEB. xi, 6.

By works was faith made perfect.—JAMES ii, 22.

To minister to all nor seek return; Freely to give, with never thought to get; To do the service others coldly spurn, When, too, no answering gratitude is met;

To serve when Duty calls unquestioning, Whether the call be one of loss or gain; To deem and do the tasks each day doth bring, As sent of God, give they or joy or pain;

To tread where Right conducts with steadfast soul, That in its consciousness of truth doth rest; To walk by faith, ne'er doubting Heaven's control; Who doeth this shall be supremely blest. PHILLIP BURROUGHS STRONG.

Faith is the link that binds me to my Saviour; good works the link that binds me to my fellow-men. Faith is the light of the soul, love is the mirror in which it is reflected. The mind is the prism of faith; the heavenly ray falls on it, and we call the refraction by the names of joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, meekness, and temperance. Faith without works is a vine without grapes; faith without love is the faith of devils. Faith is a fruit tree, and neither oaks nor elms, however full of leaf, are accounted such. Without faith it is impossible to please God; without works it is impossible to attest its reality be- fore men. Faith is the channel by which all that is pure and angelic is received into the soul; love is the overflowing of that fountain, which gushes out into benevolence and good-will to all. Faith sees with the eyes, feels with the heart, and works with the hands of love.

HUGH NICHOLAS PEARSON.