_Be strong, and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid ... for the Lord thy God, He it is that doth go with thee; He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee_.--DEUT. xxxi. 6. The timid it concerns to ask their way, And fear what foe in caves and swamps can stray, To make no step until the event is known, And ills to come as evils past bemoan. Not so the wise; no coward watch he keeps To spy what danger on his pathway creeps; Go where he will, the wise man is at home, His hearth the earth,--his hall the azure dome; Where his clear spirit leads him, there's his road, By God's own light illumined and foreshowed. R. W. EMERSON. Though I sympathize, I do not share in the least the feeling of being disheartened and cast down. It is not things of this sort that depress me, or ever will. The contrary things, praise, openings, the feeling of the greatness of my work, and my inability in relation to it, these things oppress and cast me down; but little hindrances, and closing up of accustomed or expected avenues, and the presence of difficulties to be overcome,--I'm not going to be cast down by trifles such as these. JAMES HINTON. July 13 _And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought_.--ISA. lviii. 11. Wherever He may guide me, No want shall turn me back; My Shepherd is beside me, And nothing can I lack. His wisdom ever waketh, His sight is never dim,-- He knows the way He taketh, And I will walk with Him. A. L. WARING. Abandon yourself to His care and guidance, as a sheep in the care of a shepherd, and trust Him utterly. No matter though you may seem to yourself to be in the very midst of a desert, with nothing green about you, inwardly or outwardly, and may think you will have to make a long journey before you can get into the green pastures. Our Shepherd will turn that very place where you are into green pastures, for He has power to make the desert rejoice and blossom as a rose. H. W. SMITH. July 14 _Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind_.--ROM. xii. 2. Father, let our faithful mind Rest, on Thee alone inclined; Every anxious thought repress, Keep our souls in perfect peace. C. WESLEY. Retirement from anxieties of every kind; entering into no disputes; avoiding all frivolous talk; and simplifying everything we engage in, whether in a way of doing or suffering; denying the, imagination its false activities, and the intellect its false searchings after what it cannot obtain,--these seem to be some of the steps that lead to obedience to the holy precept in our text. JAMES P. GREAVES. Retire inwardly; wait to feel somewhat of God's Spirit, discovering and drawing away from that which is contrary to His holy nature, and leading into that which is acceptable to Him. As the mind is joined to this, some true light and life is received. I. PENINGTON.