We have such a nice little quiet, shady corner in the vineyard, down among the tender grapes, with such easy little weedings and waterings to attend to. And then the Master comes and draws us out into the thick of the work, and puts us in a part of the field where we never should have thought of going, and puts larger tools into our hands, that we may do more at a stroke. And we know we are not sufficient for these things, and the very tools seem too heavy for us, and the glare too dazzling and the vines too tall. Ah! but would we dally, go back? He would not be in the shady corner with us now; for when He put us forth He went before us, and it is only by closer following that we can abide with Him.--_Frances Ridley Havergal._ =June 26th.= _Small things. Zech. iv. 10._ It is the little words you speak, the little thoughts you think, the little things you do or leave undone, the little moments you waste or use wisely, the little temptations which you yield to or overcome--the little things of every day that are making or marring your future life.--_Selected._ =June 27th.= _Be perfect, be of good comfort. 2 Cor. xiii. 11._ A glance at the words is enough to make us feel how contradictory they are. _Be perfect_--that is a word that strikes us with despair; at once we feel how far away we are from our own poor ideal, and alas! how much further from God's ideal concerning us. _Be of good comfort_--ah, that is very different! That seems to say, "Do not fret; do not fear. If you are not what you would be, you must be thankful for what you are." Now the question is this--How can these two be reconciled? It is only the religion of Jesus Christ that reconciles them. He stands in our midst, and with the right hand of His righteousness He pointeth us upward, and saith, "Be perfect." There is no resting-place short of that. Yet with the left hand of His love He doth encompass us, as He saith, "Soul, be of good comfort; for that is what I came to do for thee."--_Mark Guy Pearse._ =June 28th.= _Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. Matt. v. 48._ Seeking the aid of the Holy Spirit, let us aim at perfection. Let every day see some sin crucified, some battle fought, some good done, some victory won; let every fall be followed by a rise, and every step gained become, not a resting-place, but a new starting-point for further and higher progress.--_Guthrie._ =June 29th.= _Sleep on now, and take your rest. Mark xiv. 41._ Never did that sacred opportunity to watch with Christ return to His disciples. Lost then, it was lost forever. And now when Jesus is still beholding the travail of His soul in the redemption of the world, if you fail to be with Him watching for souls as they that must give account, remember that the opportunity will never return. "Watch, therefore," says your Lord, "lest coming suddenly, He may find you sleeping."--_A. J. Gordon._ =June 30th.=