We rise by things that are beneath our feet,
      By what we have mastered by good and gain,
      By the pride deposed and passion slain,
    And the vanquished ills that we hourly meet.

    —­J.G.  Holland.

    He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with, me in my
    throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with my Father in his
    throne.

    —­Revelation 3. 21.

My Father, I pray that I may not be given to contradicting and doubting, nor take for granted that which needs to be considered.  Grant that I may have the faith and strength of heart to fulfill the longings of my soul.  Amen.

DECEMBER ELEVENTH

Sir Roger L’Estrange died 1704.

Dr. William Cullen born 1712.

Colley Cibber died 1757.

    Lord, subdue our selfish will;
      Each to each our tempers suit,
    By thy modulating skill,
      Heart to heart, as lute to lute.

    —­Charles Wesley.

One of the last, slowly murmured sayings of Whittier, was this:  “Give—­my—­love—­to—­the—­world.”  And this is the world’s supreme need to-day; more than our eloquence, or our knowledge, or our wealth, or all else besides, it needs our love.  True, even love may sometimes err; but the cure for love’s mistakes is just more love; we often blunder because we do not love enough.  God help us all that, like Whittier, we may live and die, giving our love to the world.

    —­George Jackson.

    Love never faileth.

    —­1 Corinthians 13. 8.

Lord God, help me to see the beauty of the world, and through my duty may I find the love in the world.  May I not spend my life in discontent, but may I remember that thou hast said, “The meek shall inherit the earth.”  Fill my heart with compassion, that I may love my fellow man as I love myself.  Amen.

DECEMBER TWELFTH

Chief Justice John Jay born 1745.

Gustav Flaubert born 1821.

Robert Browning died 1889.

    A people is but the attempt of many
    To rise to the completer life of one. 
    And those who live for models for the mass
    Are singly of more value than they all.

    —­Robert Browning.

    Give me the power to labor for mankind;
      Make me the mouth of such as cannot speak;
    Eyes let me be to groping men and blind;
      A conscience to the base; and to the weak
    Let me be hands and feet, and to the foolish, mind;
      And lead still further on such as thy kingdom seek.

    —­Theodore Parker.

    I was eyes to the blind,
    And feet was I to the lame.

    —­Job 29. 15.

Almighty God, wilt thou guide me in the direction where I may choose a useful life; open wide my heart as well as my eyes, that I may early see my work and be diligent in its prosecution.  Reveal to me, when I may have failed, that I may do better to-morrow.  Amen.