ot to those whose path lies amid the flowers. There is a comforting
suggestion here for all who find peculiar hardness in their life.
Peculiar favor is pledged to them. God will provide for the ruggedness
of their way. They will have a divine blessing which would not be
theirs but for the roughness and ruggedness. The Hebrew parallelism
gives the same promise, without figure, in the remaining words of the
same verse: "As thy days so shall thy strength be." Be sure, if your
path is rougher than mine, you will get more help than I will. There
is a most delicate connection between earth's needs and heaven's grace.
Days of struggle get more grace than calm, quiet days. When night
comes stars shine out which never would have appeared had not the sun
gone down. Sorrow draws comfort that never would have come in joy.
For the rough roads there are iron shoes.

There is yet another suggestion in this old-time promise. The divine
blessing for every experience is folded up in the experience itself,
and will not be received in advance. The iron shoes would not be given
until the rough roads were reached. There was no need for them until
then, and besides, the iron to make them was treasured in the rugged
hills and could not be gotten until the hills were reached.

A great many people worry about the future. They vex themselves by
anxious questioning as to how they are going to get through certain
anticipated experiences. We had better learn once for all that there
are in the Bible no promises of provision for needs while the needs are
yet future. God does not put strength into our arms to-day for the
battles of to-morrow; but when the conflict is actually upon us, the
strength comes. "As thy days so shall thy strength be."

Some people are forever unwisely testing themselves by questions like
these: "Could I endure sore bereavement? Have I grace enough to bow in
submission to God, if he were to take away my dearest treasure? Or
could I meet death without fear?" Such questions are unwise, because
there is no promise of grace to meet trial when there is no trial to be
met. There is no assurance of strength to bear great burdens when
there are no great burdens to be borne. Help to endure temptation is
not promised when there are no temptations to be endured. Grace for
dying is nowhere promised while death is yet far off and while one's
duty is to live.

"Of all the tender guards which Jesus drew
About our