oth and his rust can never destroy the ministries of Divine
love. Abraham died and was laid to rest, but the river of life flowed on,
and the bounties of the Lord never failed. The village well quenches the
thirst of many generations: and so is it through the generations with the
wells of grace and salvation. The villagers have not to dig a new well
when the patriarch dies: "the river of God is full of water."

And thus I am privileged to share the spiritual resources of Abraham, and
the still richer resources of the Apostle Paul. Nothing was given to him
that is withheld from me. He is like a great mountaineer, and he has
climbed to lofty heights; but I need not be dismayed. All the strength
that was given to him, in which he reached those lofty places, is mine
also. I may share his elevation and his triumph. "For the promise is
unto you and your children, and to all that are afar off."

JANUARY The Fifth

_THE FLOWERS THAT NEVER FADE_

1 PETER i. 1-9.

"An inheritance incorruptible." I am writing these words in the Island
of Arran. To-morrow I shall leave the land behind, but I shall take the
landscape with me! It will be with me in the coming winter, and I shall
gaze upon Goat Fell in the streets of New York. The land is a temporary
possession, the landscape abides!

The praise of men often dies with the shout that proclaims it. Another
idol appears and the feverish worship is transferred to him. The world's
garland begins to fade as soon as it is laid upon the brow. The morning
after the coronation I possess a handful of withering leaves. But the
garland of God's praise acquires new grace and beauty with the years. It
is never so fresh and flourishing as just when everything else is fading
away. It is glorious in the hour of death! The soul goes, wearing her
garland, into the presence of the gracious Lord who gave it.

We can begin even now to wear the flowers of Paradise. We can begin even
now to furnish our minds with lovely thoughts and memories. We can have
"the mind of Christ."

JANUARY The Sixth

"_COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS_"

PSALM cv. 1-15.

"Count your blessings!" Yes, but over what area shall I look for them?
There is my personal life. Let me search in every corner. I have found
forget-me-nots on many a rutty road. I have found wild-roses behind a
barricade of nettles. Professor Miall has a lecture on "The Botany of a
Railway Station." He found something graceful and exquisite in th