definite
unselfish work in your family or out of it, which may help others, as
it certainly must help yourself.

4. In all things try to live more towards God, seeking His approval of
your inner and outer life. The less you talk about yourself or your
doings before men, the better for yourself and for them.

5. Aim this year at being a peacemaker between professing Christians;
to allay disputes, and to heal breaches among friends and relations;
and to make men respect and esteem each other more.

6. Do not leave behind you in the old year guilt unpardoned, but
believe in Jesus for the remission of sins; nor enter a new year with
sin loved and cherished, but accept of and rely upon His Spirit to
sanctify you. Begin the year without enmity to any man on earth,
"forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as
Christ forgave you, even so do ye."

7. If you are the head of the house, resolve to read a portion of
God's Word once a-day at least to the family; and either read or offer
up, always with them, a short but hearty prayer.

8. Endeavour to keep an account of your income and expenditure, that
you may be able to live justly and generously. Give what you can to
assist poor relatives, and poor Christians, and the Church of Christ.
Try this one year to tax yourself ten per cent, on your free income
for such purposes.

Learn to do these things, and many more will the Lord teach thee to
know and do; and may the God of love and peace be with thee!

THE CLOSE OF A YEAR.

"Remember all the way the Lord hath led thee" during the past year.

REMEMBER HIS MERCIES.--Calmly review, as far as you can, what God has
given you these bygone months.

Have you been blessed with _bodily_ health? If so, consider what
a gift it is to be spared the tortures some endure: the restless,
feverish nights; the long weary days; the unceasing pain; the no-hope
of relief in this world.

Have you been blessed with _mental_ health? If so, think of the mercy
of not having been visited with insanity, or of having been freed from
the suffering of even mental depression, so touchingly described by
the poet as

"A grief without a sigh, void, dark, and drear,
A stifled, drowsy, unimpassion'd grief,
That finds no natural outlet, no relief,
To word, or sigh, or tear;"

Think of the mercy of having been able to _enjoy_ God's beautiful
world, and to feel the life in its scenery, its music, and its blue
sky,