_Certainly there never was a busier life than that of Jesus,--His whole great mission bounded by three hurried years. Yet in the morning He says to His friends: "Let us come apart and rest awhile;" and again when the evening is come He is in the mountain apart, alone. That is the place of worship in a world of work. It is not a refuge from duty, or a shirking of it; it is the renewal of power to meet one's duty and do it. The work of life is not to be well done with a hot, feverish, overwhelmed, and burdened mind; it is to be well done with a mind calmed and fortified by moments of withdrawal; and it is to be best done by one who from time to time pulls himself up in his eager life and permits God to speak to his soul._ FRANCIS G. PEABODY. O Spirit of grace, who withholdest Thy blessing from none, take from us the tediousness and anxiety of a selfish mind, the unfruitfulness of cold affections, the weakness of an inconstant will. With the simplicity of a great purpose, the quiet of a meek temper, and the power of a well-ordered soul, may we pass through the toils and watches of our pilgrimage; grateful for all that may render the burden of duty light; and even in strong trouble rejoicing to be deemed worthy of the severer service of Thy will. Amen. JAMES MARTINEAU. November 28 _God gives to every man The virtue, temper, understanding, taste, That lifts him into life, and lets him fall Just in the niche he was ordain'd to fill._ WILLIAM COWPER. _Did you ever hear of a man who had striven all his life faithfully and singly toward an object, and in no measure obtained it? If a man constantly aspires, is he not elevated? Did ever a man try heroism, magnanimity, truth, sincerity, and find that there was no advantage in them--that it was a vain endeavor?_ HENRY DAVID THOREAU. Holy Father, help us to be thankful that no life is beneath Thy notice. If a sparrow cannot fall without Thee, how much more is Thine eye fixed upon Thy child. Teach us, O Lord, that there is a divine purpose in each life. But may we not try to choose this without Thee. Show us how to wait upon Thee in holy silence till Thou dost make it known to us. O Master, say to us: "As the Father hath sent me into the world even so have I sent you." When we have found at the Cross our little mission, O sustain us and help us to keep it steadily in view--let us share Thy holy enthusiasm when Thou didst say: "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me and to finish His work." O Father, when we are depressed whisper to us: "Your labor is not in vain in the Lord." May our mission transform us into the likeness of Jesus, and may we say with Him at evening: "I have glorified Thee on the earth; I have finished the work Thou gavest me to do." Amen.