Let us keep to Christ, and cling to Him, and hang on Him, so that no power can remove us.

MARTIN LUTHER.

Nearer, O Christ, to Thee. Nearer to the open side; nearer to the eyes that wept in love because I was a sinner; nearer to the scarred hand that wields the sceptre of dominion.

-T. M. EDDY.

It is not by change of place that we can come nearer to Him who is in every place, but by the cultivation of pure desires and virtuous habits.

- ST. AUGUSTINE.

With Thee in shady solitudes I walk,
With Thee in busy, crowded cities talk;
In every creature own Thy forming power,
In each event Thy providence adore.

—A. L. BARBAULD.

When you have honestly and penitently sought out Christ, and confessed your sins to Him, and put yourself wholly in His hands, then stay there. Follow Him. Keep close to Him and Him alone. In your store, in your shop, in your field, in your home, or wherever you are, be ever saying, “Now, Jesus, Lead me! Teach me Thy way! Hold fast to my hand!" - T. L. CUYLER.

Blessed God, pity the soul whose extremest horror is the doom of an eternal departure from Thee. Draw my spirit into the holiest and the nearest union with Thyself that is possible while it dwells in this flesh! And let me here commence that delightful residence and converse with God, which nor death, nor judgment shall ever destroy, nor shall a long eternity ever put a period to it.

- ELIZABETH ROWE.

Thus while I journey on, my Lord to meet,
My thoughts and meditations are so sweet,
Of Him on whom I lean, my strength, my stay,
I can forget the sorrows of the way.

Negligence is the rust of the soul that corrodes through all her best resolves.

- OWEN FELTHAM.

How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?

O.

OBEDIENCE.

To be a Christian is to obey Christ no matter how you feel. - H. W. BEECHER.

True obedience to God is the obedience of faith and good works; that is, he is truly obedient to God who trusts Him, and does what He commands.

MARTIN LUTHER.

I find the doing of the will of God leaves me no time for disputing about His plans.

GEORGE MACDONALD.

The virtue of paganism was strength; the virtue of Chris tianity is obedience.

GUESSES AT TRUTH.

The history of all the great characters of the Bible is summed up in this one sentence:- they acquainted themselves with God, and acquiesced in His will in all things.

- RICHARD CECIL.

Every man obeys Christ as he prizes Christ, and no otherwise.

THOMAS BROOKS.

"Sir," said the Duke of Wellington to an officer of engineers, who urged the impossibility of executing the directions he had received, "I did not ask your opinion, I gave you my orders, and I expect them to be obeyed." Such should be the obedience of every follower of Jesus.

now.

C. H. SPURGEON.

You are on your bed

own sin. You have Every sinner is a sin

'Arise, take up thy bed and walk." You put yourself there by your kept yourself there by your own choice. ner because he chooses to be; and you are no exception. Jesus commands you to repent and trust Him and follow Him. The moment you are willing to obey, He gives you strength to obey.

T. L. CUYLER.

O that we could take that simple view of things, as to feel that the one thing which lies before us is to please God! What gain is it to please the world, to please the great, nay, even to please those whom we love, compared with this? What gain is it to be applauded, admired, courted, followed, -compared with this one aim of "not being disobedient to the heavenly vision?"

-J. H. NEWMAN.

He praiseth God best that serveth and obeyeth Him most; the life of thankfulness consists in the thankfulness of the life.

The sound convert takes a whole Christ, and takes Him for all intents and purposes, without exceptions, without limitations, without reserves. He is willing to have Christ, upon His own

terms, upon any terms.

He is willing to bear the dominion of Christ as well as have deliverance by Christ. He saith with Paul, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?"

-JOSEPH ALLEINE.

Let the ground of all thy religious actions be obedience; examine not why it is commanded, but observe it because it is commanded. True obedience neither procrastinates nor ques

tions.

- FRANCIS QUArles.

O God, the strength of all those who put their trust in Thee; mercifully accept our prayer; and because through the weakness of our mortal nature, we can do no good thing without Thee, grant us the help of Thy grace, that in keeping Thy commandments we may please Thee, both in will and deed; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

I believe that the fewer the laws in a home the better; but there is one law which should be as plainly understood as the shining of the sun is visible at noonday, and that is, implicit and instantaneous obedience from the child to the parent, not only for the peace of the home, but for the highest good of the child. - A. E. KITTREdge.

This is the secret of Christ's kingship-"He became obedient - wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him." And this is the secret of all obedience and all command. Obedience to a law above you subjugates minds to you who never would have yielded to mere will.

-F. W. ROBERTSON.

OBSTINACY.

An obstinate man does not hold opinions, but they hold him ; for when he is once possessed with an error, it is, like a devil, only cast out with great difficulty.

BISHOP BUTLER.

His still refuted quirks he still repeats,
New-raised objections with new quibbles meets ;

Till sinking in the quicksand he defends,

.

He dies disputing, and the contest ends.

- COWPER.

OCCUPATION.

One of the best maxims in determining our course in life is, to select, at the outset, that in which virtue and principle will be least likely to be put to a test, and in which, from the nature of the calling, a man may bring around him such associations and influences as will be an auxiliary in keeping him in the path of virtue.