through the world as if
somebody had cut off their eyelashes, and they stare away on the good and
evil alike. The devil comes along with his evil pictures and bids them
look. We cannot look upon evil without being defiled. Sometimes, in going
down the street, the sight of some of the pictures on the way will cast
their filth upon the soul so that we shall feel the need of being bathed
in Jesus' blood for hours for cleansing. There has been no consent unto
sin, but the sight of it has defiled. There is no help for it but in the
resolute, steady, inner view of Christ.

JUNE 5.

"My heart is fixed, O God" (Ps. lvii. 7).

We do not always feel joyful, but we are always to count it joy. This word
_reckon_ is one of the keywords of Scripture. It is the same word used
about our being dead. We are painfully conscious of something which would
gladly return to life. But we are to treat ourselves as dead, and neither
fear nor obey the old nature. So we are to reckon the thing that comes a
blessing; we are determined to rejoice, to say, "My heart is fixed, Lord;
I will sing and give praises." This rejoicing by faith will soon become a
habit, and will ever bring speedily the spirit of gladness and the
spontaneous overflow of praise.

Then, although the fig tree may wither and no fruit appear in the vines,
the labor of the olive fail, and the field yield no increase, the herd be
cut off from the stall, and the cattle from the field, yet will we rejoice
in the Lord and joy in the God of our salvation.

Though the everlasting mountains
And the earth itself remove,
Naught can change His loving kindness
Or His everlasting love.

JUNE 6.

"He emptied Himself" (Phil. ii. 8, R. V.).

The first step to the righteousness of the kingdom is "poor in spirit."
Then the next is a little deeper, "they that mourn." Because now you must
get plastic, you must get broken, you must get like the metal in the fire,
which the Master can mould; and so, it is not enough to see your
unrighteousness, but deeply to feel it, deeply to regret it, deeply to
mourn over it, to own it not a little thing that sin has come into your
life. And so God leads a soul unto His righteousness. He usually leads it
through some testings and trials. This generally comes after conversion. I
do not think it necessary for a soul to have deep and great suffering
before it is saved. I think He will put it into the fire when He knows it
is saved; whe