We are so little, that if God should manifest his greatness without condescension, we should be trampled under his feet; but God, who must stoop to view the skies, and bow to see what angels do, turns his eye yet lower, and looks to the lowly and contrite, and makes them great.

"Your gentleness has

made me great." How marvelous has been our experience of God's gentleness! How gentle have been his corrections! How gentle his teachings! How gentle his drawings! Meditate upon this theme, O believer. Let gratitude be awakened; let humility be deepened; let love be quickened, before this day close.

Through the Spirit of God the hope of Heaven is a potent force for the production of virtue; it is the fountain of joyous effort, and the corner-stone of cheerful holiness. The man who has this hope in him goes about his work with vigor, for the joy of

the Lord is his strength. He fights against temptation with ardor, for his glorious hope like a silver shield repels the fiery darts of the adversary. He can labor without present reward, for he expects his recompense in the world to come.