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CHRIST THE HEAD OF SAINTS AND ANGELS.

DODDRIDGE.

HAIL! great Immanuel, ever honour'd name! Spread it, ye angels, through heavens sacred frame: Ye sceptred cherubim before his throne,

And flaming seraphim, bow humbly down:

He is your Head; with prostrate awe adore him,
And lay, with joy, your radiant crowns before him.

Array'd in his refulgent beams ye shine,
And draw existence from his source divine;
Grateful, ye wait the signal of his hand,
Pleas'd to obey your Sov'reign's high command;
In Him the indwelling Deity admiring,

To bear his brighter image, still aspiring.

Mortals with you in cheerful homage join,—

Their sweetest songs of praise with yours combine:
Mean as we are, with griefs and sins beset,
We glory that in him we stand complete :

He is our Head, and we with you adore him,

And pour our wants, our joys, our hearts before him.

CHRIST A SHEPHERD.

CRASHAW.

HAPPY me! O happy sheep!
Whom my Shepherd deigns to keep;
Even my God, even he it is

That points me to these paths of bliss;
On whose pastares, cheerful spring
All the year doth sit and sing,
And rejoicing smiles to see
Their green backs wear his livery:
Pleasure sings my soul to rest,
Plenty wears me at her breast,
At my feet the murm'ring stream
Makes high noon forget his beam.
When my foolish weakness strays,
Tangled in forbidden ways,
He, my Shepherd is my guide,
He's before me, on my side,
And behind me; he beguiles
Craft in all her knotty wiles;
Spreads beneath my steps a way
Clear as summer's brightest day;
While my spirit tunes new lays
To my faithful Shepherd's praise.

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Come now all ye terrors, sally,
Muster forth into the valley,
Where triumphant darkness hovers
With a sable wing that covers
Brooding horror. Come thou death
Let the damps of thy dull breath
Overshadow even the shade,

And make darkness' self afraid.
There my feet, even there, shall find
Way for a resolved mind!
Still my Shepherd, still my God
Thou art with me, still thy rod,
And thy staff, whose influence
Gives direction, gives defence.
At the whisper of thy word,
Crown'd abundance spreads my board:
While I feast, my foes do feed
Their rank malice not their need,
So that with the self-same bread
They are starv'd and I am fed.
How my head in ointment swims!
How my cup o'erlooks her brims!
So, even so still may I move
By the line of thy dear love;
Still may thy sweet mercy spread
A shady arm above my head,

About my paths, so shall I find
The fair centre of my mind

Thy temple, and those lovely walls
Bright ever with a beam that falls
Fresh from the pure glance of thine eye,
Lighting to eternity;

There I'll dwell, for ever there
Will I find a parer air

To feed my life with, there I'll sup
Balm, and nectar in my cup,

And thence my ripe soul will I breathe
Warm into the arms of death.

ADDISON.

THE Lord my pasture shall prepare.
And feed me with a shepherd's care;
His presence shall my wants supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye :
My noon-day walks he shall attend,
And all my midnight hours defend.

When in the sultry glebe I faint,
Or on the thirsty mountains pant;
To fertile vales and dewy meads,
My weary, wand'ring steps he leads,
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.

Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious, lonely wilds I stray;
Thy presence shall my pains beguile,
The barren wilderness shall smile,
With sudden greens and herbage crown'd,
And streams shall murmur all around.

Though in the vale of death I tread, With gloomy horrors overspread,

My steadfast heart shall fear no ill;
For thou, O Lord, art with me still;
Thy friendly crook shall give me aid,
And guide me through the dreadful shade.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IMPLORED.

DRYDEN.

CREATOR, Spirit! by whose aid

The world's foundations first were laid,
Come, visit every pious mind,
Come, pour thy joys on all mankind:
From sin and sorrow set us free,
And make us temples worthy Thee.

Thou Strength of his Almighty hand, Whose power does heaven and earth command!

Thrice! Holy Fount! Thrice Holy Fire!
Our hearts with heavenly love inspire:
Come, and thy sacred unction bring,
To sanctify us while we sing.

Plenteous of grace, descend from high,
Rich in thy seven-fold energy;
Give us Thyself, that we may see
The Father and the Son by Thee;
Make us eternal truths receive
And practise all that we believe.

Immortal honour, endless fame,
Attend th' Almighty Father's name!
Let God the Son be glorified,
Who for lost man's redemption died!
And equal adoration be,

Eternal Spirit! paid to Thee.

THE HOLY SPIRIT DESIRED.

CUNNINGHAM.

OH! come, with thy olive-branch, Spirit of love!
With all thy sweet graces, descend from above:
Bring with thee the purity, concord, repose,
Thy peaceful and permanent presence bestows.

As days of "clear shining" that follow the rain,
Thy heart-soothing presence can cheer me again:
In tenderness visit this sorrowing breast,
And make it for ever the seat of thy rest.

RELIGION.

TO RELIGION.

CLARE.

THOU sacred light, that right from wrong discerns;
Thou safeguard of the soul, thou heaven on earth;
Thou undervaluer of the world's concerns,

Thou disregarder of its joys and mirth;

Thou only home the houseless wanderers have;
Thou prop by which the pilgrim's woes are borne;

Thou solace of the lonely hermit's cave,

That beds him down to rest on fate's sharp thorn;

Thou only hope to sorrow's bosom given,

Thou voice of mercy when the weary call;
Thou faith extending to thy home in heaven;
Thou peace, thou rest, thou comfort, all in all:
O sov❜reign good! on thee all hopes depend,
Till thy grand source unfolds its realizing end.

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TRUE AND FALSE GAIETY.

COWPER.

I question'd FRIENDSHIP: FRIENDSHIP

sigh'd,

And thus her answer gave

WHOM call we gay? That honour has long The few whom fortune never turn'd

been

The boast of mere pretenders to the name.
The innocent are gay-the lark is gay,
That dries his feathers, saturate with dew,
Beneath the rosy cloud, while yet the beams
Of dayspring overshoot his humble nest.
The peasant too, a witness of his song,
Himself a songster, is as gay as he.
But save me from the gaiety of those
Whose headachs nail them to a noonday bed;
And save me too from theirs, whose hag-
gard eyes

Flash desperation, and betray their pangs,
For property stripp'd off by cruel chance;
From gaiety, that fills the bones with pain,
The mouth with blasphemy, the heart with

Wo.

HAPPINESS NOT EARTHLY.

HEBER.

ONE morning in the month of May
I wander'd o'er the hill;

Tho' nature all around was gay,
My heart was heavy still.

Can God, I thought, the just, the great,
These meaner creatures bless,
And yet deny to man's estate
The boon of happiness?

Tell me, ye woods, ye smiling plains,
Ye blessed birds around,

In which of nature's wide domains
Can bliss for man be found!

The birds wild caroll'd over head, The breeze around me blew, And nature's awful chorus saidNo bliss for man she knew.

I question'd LOVE, whose early ray
So rosy bright appears,
And heard the timid genius say
His light was dimm'd by tears.

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How long, ye miserably blind, Shall idle dreams engage your mind; How long the passions make their flight At empty shadows of delight, No more in paths of error stray, The Lord, thy Jesus is the way, The spring of happiness, and where Should men seek happiness but there? Then run to meet him at your need, Run with boldness, run with speed, For he forsook his own abode To meet thee more than half the road. He laid aside his radiant crown, And love for mankind brought him down To thirst and hunger, pain and wo, To wounds, to death itself below; And he that suffered these alone For all the world, despises none. To bid the soul that's sick, be clean, To bring the lost to life again;

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