We were coming down a mountain in Switzerland one evening, when a black thunder-storm blotted out the day, and all things were suddenly plunged into darkness. We could only dimly see the narrow, dusty footpaths, and the gloomy sides that were swallowed up in deeper gloom. What, then, of the majesty all about us, heights, and depths, and wonders? All was darkness. Then came the lightning--not flashes, but the blazing of the whole sky, incessant, and on every side. What recesses of glory we gazed into! What marvels of splendor shone out of the darkness! Think how with us, in us, is One who comes to make the common, dusty ways of life resplendent, illuminating our dull thoughts by the light of the glory of God; clearing the vision of the soul, and then revealing the greatness of the salvation that is ours in Christ.--_Mark Guy Pearse._ [Illustration: November] =November 1st.= _Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. John viii. 9._ Alone with Jesus! What a sweet and holy spot! What a blessed refuge to which the soul may betake itself from the charges of Satan, the accusations of the world, and the sorrows of life! Sweet spot for the heart to unfold itself, to tell its hidden tale in the ear of Infinite love, tenderness, and compassion! Alone with Jesus! How different a front would Christianity present to the world if the Lord's people were oftener there! What humility, and gentleness, and love, would characterize all their dealings! What holiness stamped on the very brow, that all might read! What few judgments passed on others, how many more on ourselves! What calmness and resignation and joyful submission to all the Lord's dealings! Be much "alone with Jesus!" Then will the passage to glory be one of sunshine, whether it be through the portals of the grave or through the clouds of heaven.--_F. Whitfield._ =November 2nd.= _Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fullness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psa. xvi. 11._ The man who walks along the path of life lives in the presence of the joy-giving God. Just in so far as he is true to that path of life, and wanders neither to the right hand nor to the left, his joy becomes deeper, nay! he becomes partaker of that very fullness of joy in which God Himself lives, and moves, and has His being. And while such is his experience in the midst of all the trials of life, he has also the privilege of looking forward to grander things yet in store for him, when that higher world shall be reached, and the shadows of time have passed away forever. "At Thy right hand," exclaims the psalmist, "there are pleasures for evermore."--_W. Hay Aitken._ =November 3rd.= _Be clothed with humility. 1 Pet. v. 5._