May 14

Abide with us.—Luke 24:29.

ABOVE all things, do I desire that God should be with me constantly? Do I pray that my heart may be made a habitation fit for the indwelling of the Holy One? Do I endeavor to avoid sin, to shun the very appearance of evil, to seek spirituality of thought and feeling, that I may not grieve him from my soul? Is the door of my heart always open for Christ? Does my desire for his presence and love surpass all other considerations?

Christ is always with his people, if by faith they keep near to him. He is with them to counsel in difficulty, to strengthen in weakness, to comfort in sorrow, to guide in duty, to deliver in danger, to crown them with everlasting life in the very article of death. Thanks be to God for a union so unspeakably blessed.

Our happiness is secured in One who was not only a Teacher in the past, and a Guide to generations that are gone, but who is for all his people, and in all ages, a living Saviour and an ever-present Friend.

Abide with me! fast falls the eventide;

The darkness thickens; Lord, with me abide!

When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, oh abide with me!

Swift to its close, ebbs out life's little day;

Earth's joys decline, its glories pass away;

Change and decay in all around I see!

O thou who changest not, abide with me!

—H. F. LYTE.