September 20 _Thou shalt hide them in the secret of Thy presence from the pride of man: Thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues_.--PS. xxxi. 20. The praying spirit breathe, The watching power impart, From all entanglements beneath Call off my anxious heart. My feeble mind sustain, By worldly thoughts oppressed; Appear, and bid me turn again To my eternal rest. C. WESLEY. As soon as we are with God in faith and in love, we are in prayer. FRANÇOIS DE LA MOTHE FÉNELON. If you could once make up your mind in the fear of God never to undertake more work of any sort than you can carry on calmly, quietly, without hurry or flurry, and the instant you feel yourself growing nervous and like one out of breath, would stop and take breath, you would find this simple common-sense rule doing for you what no prayers or tears could ever accomplish. ELIZABETH PRENTISS. September 21 _How excellent is Thy loving-kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Thy wings_.--PS. xxxvi. 7. _The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms_.--DEUT. xxxiii. 27. Within Thy circling arms we lie, O God! in Thy infinity: Our souls in quiet shall abide, Beset with love on every side. ANON. "The Everlasting Arms." I think of that whenever rest is sweet. How the whole earth and the strength of it, that is almightiness, is beneath every tired creature to give it rest; _holding_ us, always! No thought of God is closer than that. No human tenderness of patience is greater than that which gathers in its arms a little child, and holds it, heedless of weariness. And He fills the great earth, and all upon it, with this unseen force of His love, that never forgets or exhausts itself, so that everywhere we may lie down in His bosom, and be comforted. A. D. T. WHITNEY. September 22 _The word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it_.--DEUT. xxx. 14. But, above all, the victory is most sure For him, who, seeking faith by virtue, strives To yield entire obedience to the Law Of Conscience; Conscience reverenced and obeyed, As God's most intimate presence in the soul, And His most perfect image in the world. W. WORDSWORTH. What we call Conscience is the voice of Divine love in the deep of our being, desiring union with our will; and which, by attracting the affections inward, invites them to enter into the harmonious contentment, and "fulness of joy" which attends the being joined by "one spirit to the Lord." J. P. GREAVES. I rejoice that God has bestowed upon you a relish and inclination for the inner life. To be called to this precious and lofty life is a great and undeserved grace of God, to which we ought to respond with great faithfulness. God invites us to His fellowship of love, and wishes to prepare our spirit to be His own abode and temple. GERHARD TERSTEEGEN. September 23