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Like a blind spinner in the sun,
I tread my days;

I know that all the threads will run
Appointed ways;

I know each day will bring its task,
And being blind, no more, I ask.

But listen, listen, day by day,
To hear their tread

Who bear the finished web away,

And cut the thread,

And bring God's message in the sun,
Thou poor blind spinner, work is done."
HELEN HUNT JACKSON.

We thank Thee, Father, that we are all spinners and weavers, too, of the web of life, and may the daily prayer of our daily work always be " Thy will, not ours, be done." Forbid that it should ever be anything else, forbid that we should in any way seek to change Thy appointed ways of life's threads. Deliver us from all blindness. Clarify and intensify, and broaden and deepen our vision and may we see and feel and know that like the great Master's, our mission is not to destroy or in any way mar the divine web, but to fulfill it according to Thy immutable purpose. And having done all, to stand listening and hearing Thy Fatherly commendation" Well done, good and faithful spinners, enter into the joy and rest and peace of good work faithfully accomplished." Amen.

I. P. CODDINGTON.

Come to me, come to me, O my God!
Come to me everywhere!

Let the trees mean Thee, and the grassy sod,
And the water and the air!

GEORGE MACDONALD.

There is a darkness that comes of effulgence; and the most veiling of all veils is the light. That for which the eye exists is light, but through light no human eye can pierce. I find myself beyond my depth. I am ever beyond my depth, afloat in an infinite sea; but the depth of the sea knows me, for the ocean of my being is God.

GEORGE MACDONALD.

O Thou who coverest Thyself with light as with a garment, and in whom is no darkness at all, illumine us by Thy spirit, that we may walk always in the light. Thou dwellest in a light which no man can approach unto, but art not far of us. from away any In the glory of the day we have found Thee; we would find Thee also in the shadows of the night. Let the darkness never hide Thee from us. May every night shine as the day. The darkness and the light are both alike to Thee. May they be to us co-equal witnesses of Thine unfailing love, every day uttering speech and every night showing knowledge, until our souls are at last prepared for the unfading splendor of the Eternal Morning. Amen.

CHARLES E. JEFFERSON.

O Lord, Thou art my West, my peaceful, restful West! The same glad light that made my morning sky all radiant with hope and beauty, now turns to rose and gold, the sombre clouds of evening. The day is done and it was good, in spite of toil and tears, of struggles and failure, and of hope deferred; the toil is turned to rest, the tears to smiles of trust; the struggles have brought me strength, failures have shown me wisdom, and hope, deferred, unveils to me her heart of peace. I lay me down to sleep without a single fear, for morning follows night and a new and better day is on the way to me! My West! O Holy West, my bark glides softly towards Thy golden bars. The softening light enfolds me like a bath of balm; the twilight gently touches every sense. I rest, I sleep; I rest, I sleep.

MINNIE S. DAVIS.

Thou, whose love encircles the heavens, accept our prayer as an evening sacrifice. We come, changed in character by the trials and successes in another day. Through its burden and heat we have worked in Thy vineyard. Its material gains we hold as Thy stewards. Receive our account with charity. Let the shadows fall in quiet benediction upon wellused opportunities. May the sun go down upon our shortcomings to rise upon stronger efforts. Give us joy in a world so beautiful, in work so inviting, of rest so refreshing. Amen.

EDWARD B. SAUNDERS.

Ab me, but the day is so long!

And the toil is so hard, and the brain

So weary of weighing the right and the wrong,
So tired of the stress and the strain !
What dream of delight can endure

The noise and the dust of the street?
Yet if Love only wait at the end of the day
The toil and the trouble are sweet!

The heart would be roaming afar,
These sunshiny days, to the green
Delights of the grove where the singing birds are,
And the flash of the river is seen;
But here are a desk and a chair,
And a task for a poet unmeet

Yet if Love only wait at the end of the day
The toil and the trouble are sweet.

DENIS A. MCCARTHY.

O Thou, who givest power to the faint and joy to the faithful, lo, the day with its heat and burden has fallen upon us and we have grown weary under its strain of toil and its press of care. We live amid the dust of trivial duties and monotonous tasks absorb our powers. Our hearts often long for pastures green and we would sit down by the cool waters of delight. Forgive us our longing for an easier lot and nobler tasks. Consecrate unto us the drudgery of our daily life so that every path may shine and every labor seem divine. Only grant us Thy love to cheer and sustain us and, at the end of the day's toil and stress, may we find the joy of faithful service. Amen.

RODNEY F. JOHONNOT.

Through love to light! Oh, wonderful the way
That leads from darkness to the perfect day!
From darkness and from sorrow of the night
To morning that comes singing o'er the sea.
Through love to light! Through light, O God, to
Thee,

Who art the love of love, the eternal light of light!
RICHARD WATSON GILDER.

I have learned that we are not to find solace in our own strength; we must seek it in God's omnipotence. Fortitude is good; but fortitude itself must be shaken under us to teach us how weak we are.

CHARLOTTE BRONTÉ.

O Christ in whom was life and whose life was the Light of men ! when we sit in darkness be Thou a light unto us, and in Thy life may we see light. When we lie down, may our sleep be sweet unto us, through the ministry of Thy grace; and when we awake may it be to a sense of gladness and of strength in the assurance of Thy favor. Thus, whether we wake or whether we sleep, we shall live together with Thee whose favor is life and whose loving-kindness is better than life. Amen.

CHARLES M. STUART.