August 1

Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.—1 Samuel 7:12.

WHEN I have prayed earnestly for the divine guidance and blessing, and prayer has been manifestly answered, am I equally earnest to acknowledge God's goodness, and to return the sacrifice of grateful praise to him? Am I on the watch to raise my Ebenezers? Do I, from the past, take fresh encouragement for the future? More and more do I feel my dependence, and rejoice to be led, in all things, by the divine Hand?

Real faith is as satisfied, and rests as firmly on the abiding promises of Jehovah, as if it had all the blessings of grace and glory in hand.—TOPLADY.

They who make the glory of God their end, and the word of God their rule; the Spirit of God the guide of their affections, and the providence of God the guide of their affairs, may be confident that the Lord goes before them, as truly as he went before Israel in the wilderness, though not as sensibly.—MATTHEW HENRY.

Come, rouse thee, faint one, 'tis not well Thus darkly on life's cares to dwell, As brooks and torrents, rivers, all Increase the gulf in which they fall, Such thoughts, by gathering up the rills Of lesser griefs, spread real ills; And with their gloomy shades conceal, The landmarks hope would else reveal.

—DINNIE.