JANUARY 20--21.

ZECHARIAH ix. 13.

When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and made thee as the sword of a mighty man.

MATTHEW iv. 18-19.

And Jesus walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

Jesus! obedient to thy call,
Behold me here resign my all,

Thy messenger to be;

Of earthly joy no more possest,
But with thy gracious presence blest,
Lord! I shall find my peace my rest,
My home, my heaven, in thee.

JANUARY 22-23.

ISAIAH lxi. 4.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me: because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.

MATTHEW iv. 23.

And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness, and all manner of disease among the people.

CAMERON.

On Christ the spirit largely pour'd,
Exerts its sacred fire,

Wisdom and might, and zeal and love,
His holy breast inspire.

He comes the prisoners to release
In Satan's bondage held :

The gates of brass before him burst,
The iron fetters yield.

He comes, the broken heart to bind,
The bleeding soul to cure,

And with the treasures of his grace
To enrich the humble poor.

JANUARY 24-26.

ISAIAH xlii. 21.

The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness sake; he will magnify the law and make it honourable.

MATTHEW v. 17, 18, 44.

For

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, and the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled, &c. But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

H. FRY.

Be this thy care!

In duty's hallowed round,

With watchful steps to tread;

Nor seek to give her sphere a wider bond,
By thoughtless impulse led-

So shall thy heart, with purposed aim and true,
Her golden paths pursue;
And patient still

Shalt thou obey the Lord's most gracious will!

JANUARY 26-27.

ISAIAH viii. 16.

Bind up the testimony, seal the law among my disciples.

MATTHEW viii. 10-11.

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

R. M. B.

Is the voice which comes from heaven
Still a dark, and secret tale?

To the poor the word is given-
Is it closed behind the vail?

To the world the truth is hidden;
Of the few, its depth is found;
They that do the thing forbidden,
Vainly hear its holy sound.

But the humble, poor in spirit,

Shall its mystic treasures see: Would'st thou heaven's rich stores inherit, Seek from this world to be free.

JANUARY 28-29.

GENESIS XXxi. 40.

Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night: and my sleep departed from mine eyes.

MATTHEW viii. 20.

Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests: but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.

C. FRY.

He was a man of sorrows-he

Who loved and saved us thus:

And shall the world that frowned on him,
Wear only smiles for us?

No! we must follow in the path
Our Lord and Saviour run;
We must not found a resting place

Where he we love had none.