April 4

For the joy of the Lord is your strength.—NEH. viii, 10.

Never flinched they from the flame,

From the torture never;

Vain the foeman's sharpest aim,

Satan's best endeavor.

For by faith they saw the land

Decked in all its glory,

Where triumphant now they stand

With the victor's story.

Desponding Christians win no battles. They are fitter for the hospital than the battle-field. God's heroes have been girded and inspired for heroic endeavor by this divine tonic of joy. Paul holds on his way through stripes and imprisonment, fastings and shipwrecks, never halting till he lays down his life for the Master he loved. No man can read his letters and not discover that the joy of the Lord was his strength. Military commanders know how much is dependent on the spirits of their soldiers. . . . Nothing so braces the soul for life's conflict, nothing is so sure a prophecy of victory as a heart filled with "the joy of the Lord!" How may I obtain this joy? The answer is very short, but very comprehensive—be faithful! Happiness is a road-side flower. It grows beside the highway of obedience. It is a coy blessing, and oftenest comes by indirection. You are intent on duty and, lo! you find joy.

DR. G. W. BROWN.