By Mrs. Charles E. Cowman

      "This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing" (Isa. 28:12).

      Why dost thou worry thyself? What use can thy fretting serve? Thou art on board a vessel which thou couldst not steer even if the great Captain put thee at the helm, of which thou couldst not so much as reef a sail, yet thou worriest as if thou wert captain and helmsman. Oh, be quiet; God is Master!

      Dost thou think that all this din and hurly-burly that is abroad betokens that God has left His throne?

      No, man, His coursers rush furiously on, and His chariot is the storm; but there is a bit between their jaws, and He holds the reins, and guides them as He wills! Jehovah is Master yet; believe it; peace be unto thee! be not afraid. --C. H. Spurgeon

      "Tonight, my soul, be still and sleep;
      The storms are raging on God's deep--
      God's deep, not thine; be still and sleep.

      "Tonight, my soul, be still and sleep;
      God's hands shall still the tempter's sweep--
      God's hands, not thine; be still and sleep.

      "Tonight, my soul, be still and sleep;
      God's love is strong while night hours creep--
      God's love, not thine; be still and sleep.

      "Tonight, my soul, be still and sleep;
      God's heaven will comfort those who weep--
      God's heaven, not thine; be still and sleep."

      I entreat you, give no place to despondency. This is a dangerous temptation--a refined, not a gross temptation of the adversary. Melancholy contracts and withers the heart, and renders it unfit to receive the impressions of grace. It magnifies and gives a false coloring to objects, and thus renders your burdens too heavy to bear. God's designs regarding you, and His methods of bringing about these designs, are infinitely wise. --Madame Guyon