Dear Lord and Father of mankinds
      Forgive our feverish ways;
    Reclothe us in our rightful mind;
    In purer lives thy service find,
      In deeper reverence praise.

    —­John G. Whittier.

    In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.

    —­Isaiah 30. 15.

Lord God, I beseech thee to give me the strength which endures.  Grant that I may have the ceaseless content which is secured by choosing and continuing in the right way.  From the wealth of each day renew my hope, and quiet my soul with the calm of thy peace.  Amen.

MARCH THIRTIETH

Sir Henry Wotton born 1568.

Archbishop Somner born 1606.

John Fiske born 1842.

John Constable died 1837.

    I said, “Let us walk in the field.” 
      He said, “Nay walk in the town.” 
    I said, “There are no flowers there.” 
      He said, “No flowers but a crown.”

    I said, “But the air is thick,
      And the fogs are veiling the sun.” 
    He answered, “Yet souls are sick
      And souls in the dark undone.”

    I cast one look at the field,
      Then set my face to the town. 
    He said:  “My child, do you yield? 
      Will ye leave the flowers for the crown?”

    Then into his hand went mine
      And into my heart came He,
    And I walked in a light divine
      The path I had feared to see.

    —­George Macdonald.

    Now therefore amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of
    Jehovah your God.

    —­Jeremiah 26. 13.

Eternal God, teach me the way of a complete and unbroken trust.  In my disappointments, and in my devotions, may my faith and hope be as immortal as my soul.  May I listen for thy voice and answer thy call.  Amen.

MARCH THIRTY-FIRST

Ludwig von Beethoven died 1827.

Joseph Francis Haydn born 1732.

Andrew Lang born 1844.

Charlotte Bronte died 1855.

The Great Being unseen, but all-present, who in his beneficence desires only our welfare, watches the struggle between good and evil in our hearts, and waits to see whether we obey his voice, heard in the whispers of conscience, or lend an ear to the Spirit Evil, which seeks to lead us astray.  Rough and steep is the path indicated by divine suggestion; mossy and declining the green way along which temptation strews flowers.  Then conscience whispers, “Do what you feel is right, obey me, and I will plant for you firm footing.”

    —­Charlotte Bronte.

    God help us do our duty, and not shrink,
    And trust in heaven humbly for the rest.

    —­Owen Meredith.

    I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have
    set before thee life and death, the blessing and the curse: 
    therefore choose life.