July 20

Unto thee, O Jehovah, do I lift up my soul. — Ps 25:1

Let thy day be to the night
A letter of good tidings! Let thy praise
Go up as birds go up—that when they awake,
Shake off the dew and soar.
— Jean Ingelow.

I, and the bird,
And the wind together,
Sang a supplication
In the winter weather.

The bird sang for sunshine,
And the trees for winter fruit,
And for love in the spring time
When the thickets shoot.

And I sang for patience
When the teardrops start;
Clean hands and clear eyes,
And a faithful heart.
— Arthur C. Benson.

Prayer

Lord God, if I am discouraged this morning, may I pause for thine encouragement. Grant that the fear of the night may make no decline in my morn, but that "into the future I may fuse the past," and use what is clearest for to-day. Amen.