and held him up. In like manner, unless the Lord reach out the hand of His grace to support us, we cannot but fall. As a staff in a man's hand, so long as he holdeth it, it stands; but if he take away his hand, it falleth to the ground. So we can stand by ourselves, no longer than the Lord stayeth us. The children of God are "led by the Spirit of God." The Lord, knowing our weakness, in mercy sendeth His Holy Spirit, which leadeth us by the hand like little children.

C. Richardson, 1612.

MAY 9.

And Jesus said unto them, E am the bread of life." John vi. 35.

IT cost Him much (oh, how much!) trouble, sorrow, beating, grinding, before He became. bread for us. There may be a scarcity of other Bread, there is none of this to those who rightly seek it. It is dear in regard of the preciousness, not dear in regard of the price; we pay nothing for it but faith and love. Though thousands pray at once with the disciples, "Lord, evermore give us this bread," Jesus's storehouse can never be emptied. He only, grows not rich.

H

with receiving, neither grows poor with giving. Rejoice then, beloved, the Lord is the giver, the Lord is the gift. Let not your souls be starved with these inferior things, which are few in number, small in measure, bad in nature, "while there is bread enough, and to spare, in your Father's house."

Thomas Adams, 1623.

MAY IO.

Against Thee, Thee only, have E sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight."

Psa. li. 4.

SINS are ashamed of themselves, and Satan dare not be so open in his temptations, as to tender them to us bare-faced; but he putteth either some matter of virtue upon them to hide them out of sight; or some pretence of great pleasure or profit to sweeten them, that they may go down with us without distaste. Let us take so much leisure as to take off this disguise, and behold sin in its own proper colours; and we shall see such a loathed deformity, as will discourage us from it. We shall discern danger in the touch of it, and death in the committing of it.

Samuel Page, 1646.

MAY II.

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." Eccl. ix. 10.

WE live no more than we work, and we work no more than we labour. As idleness is the burial of ourselves, so unlaboriousness (if I may so speak) is the burial of our works. Without diligence they not only flag, but die upon our hands. There are some whose very business is idleness, and there are many who are idle in their business. "Not slothful in business." To be slow in business is ill, but to be slothful is far worse. An industrious man is often wearied with working, but he is never weary of his work. To be weary when we know not why, foreshows diseases of the body. I am sure it is an argument of a diseased soul. The heart of the sluggard is like the field of the sluggard, overgrown with weeds.

Joseph Caryl, 1642.

MAY 12.

"Lobest thou Me?...Dea, Lord; Thou knowest

that E lobe Thee."

John xxi. 16.

LOVE will enable us to hold on in the ways of God against all discouragements, by rendering

all the ways of God sweet and pleasant to the soul. Love renders those ways sweet, that men that have no love to Christ, look on as bitter ways: " every way is sweet and pleasant," saith Love, His yoke is easy. In the abstract, Love saith, "This way is a precious way, it is a heavenly way." "I find much sweetness," saith Love, and thus it encourageth the soul to hold on in the ways of well-doing. For the more sweet and lovely the ways of God are presented to the soul, the more the soul is raised, and encouraged to hold on in those ways of God, notwithstanding any affliction and trouble that the soul meets withal.

Thomas Brookes, 1649.

MAY 13.

"Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case."

John v. 6.

THERE are certain seasons in which the Lord comes nigh to men in the ordinances and duties of His worship, and we know not at what time the Lord cometh forth by His Spirit upon this design. He many times comes in an hour when we look not for Him; it is good, therefore, to be found in the way of the Spirit; had

that poor man, that lay so long at the pool of Bethesda, reasoned thus with himself: "So long have I lain here, in vain expecting a cure, it is to no purpose to wait longer ;" and so had been absent at the very time the angel came down, he had in all likelihood carried his disease to the grave with him. with him. How dost thou know but this very sermon, this prayer, which thou art tempted to neglect, may be the instrument wherein the Lord may do that for thy soul, which was never yet done to it? J. Flavel, 1699.

MAY 14.

Abstain from all appearance of ebil."
I Thess. v. 22.

How much does it concern every Christian to keep his name as he would keep his life; and this he can never do, except he keep off from the "appearance of evil." "Tis his name only that shall be kept green and flourishing, like the rod of Aaron that was laid up in the tabernacle, who keeps off from the appearance of evil. He takes the best and wisest course under heaven to preserve his good name in the world, and to maintain the peace of conscience, who is most studious and industrious to abstain from all appearance of evil. Thomas Brookes, 1650.