472.

P.M.-The dying Christian to his Soul.

1 VITAL spark of heavenly flame!
Quit, O quit this mortal frame;
Trembling, hoping, lingering, flying,
O the pain, the bliss of dying!
Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife,
And let me languish into life!

2 Hark! they whisper-angels say,
"Sister spirit, come away!"
What is this absorbs me quite?
Steals my senses, shuts my sight,
Drowns my spirits, draws my breath?
Tell me, my soul, can this be death?
3 The world recedes, it disappears;—
Heaven opens on my eyes!-my ears
With sounds seraphic ring:

Lend, lend your wings! I mount! I fly!
O grave! where is thy victory?
O death! where is thy sting?

473.

P.M.-For a Believer departing.

1 HAPPY soul, thy days are ended,
All thy mourning days below;
Go, by angel guards attended,
To the sight of Jesus go!
Waiting to receive thy spirit,

Lo! the Saviour stands above,
Shews the purchase of his merit,
Reaches out the crown of love.

2 Struggle through thy latest passion
To thy dear Redeemer's breast:
To his uttermost salvation,
To his everlasting rest:

For the joy he sets before thee,
Bear a momentary pain,
Die to live a life of glory,
Suffer, with thy Lord to reign.

474.

L.M.-The Righteous blessed in Death.

1 HOW blest the righteous when he dies! When sinks a weary soul to rest, How mildly beam the closing eyes, How gently heaves the' expiring breast! 2 So fades a summer cloud away,

So sinks the gale when storms are o'er, So gently shuts the eye of day, So dies a wave along the shore. 3 A holy quiet reigns around,

A calm which life nor death destroys; Nothing disturbs that peace profound, Which his unfetter'd soul enjoys. 4 Farewell, conflicting hopes and fears, Where lights and shades alternate dwell! How bright the' unchanging morn appears; Farewell! inconstant world, farewell!

5 Life's duty done, as sinks the clay, Light from its load the spirit flies; While heaven and earth combine to say, “How blest the righteous when he dies."

475.

C.M.—On the Death of a Believer.

1 IN vain my fancy strives to paint
The moment after death;

The glories that surround the saints,
When yielding up their breath.
2 One gentle sigh their fetters breaks,
We scarce can say "They're gone!"
Before the willing spirit takes
Her mansion near the throne.

3 Faith strives, but all its efforts fail,
To trace her in her flight;
No eye can pierce within the veil
Which hides the world of light.

4 Thus much (and this is all) we know,
They are completely blest;

Have done with sin, and care, and wo,
And with their Saviour rest.

5 On harps of gold they praise his name,
His face they always view;
Then let us followers be of them,
That we may praise him too.

6 Their faith and patience, love and zeal,
Should make their memory dear;
And, Lord, do thou the

prayers fulfil

They offer'd for us here.

7 While they have gain'd, we losers are,
We miss them day by day;

But thou canst every breach repair,
And wipe our tears away.

8 We pray, as in Elisha's case,
When great Elijah went;
May double portions of thy grace,
To us, who stay, be sent.

476.

P.M.-The Antepast of Heaven.

1 WHAT must it be to dwell above,

At God's right hand, where Jesus reigns, Since the sweet earnest of his love

O'erwhelms us on these dreary plains! No heart can think, no tongue explain, What bliss it is with Christ to reign! 2 When sin no more obstructs our sight,

When sorrow pains our hearts no more, How shall we view the Prince of Light, And all his works of grace explore!

What heights and depths of love divine Will there, through endless ages shine! 3 This is the heaven I long to know;

For this, with patience, I would wait, Till, wean'd from earth, and all below, I mount to my celestial seat,

And wave my palm, and wear my crown, And, with the elders, cast them down.

477.

C.M.-The promised Land. Isa. xxxiii. 17. 1 FAR from these narrow scenes of night Unbounded glories rise,

And realms of infinite delight,
Unknown to mortal eyes.

2 Fair distant land!-could mortal eyes
But half its charms explore,
How would our spirits long to rise,
And dwell on earth no more!

3 There pain and sickness never come,
And grief no more complains;
Health triumphs in immortal bloom,
And endless pleasure reigns!

4 No cloud those blissful regions know,
For ever bright and fair!

For sin, the source of mortal wo,
Can never enter there.

5 There no alternate night is known,
Nor sun's faint sickly ray;

But glory from the sacred throne,
Spreads everlasting day.

60 may the heavenly prospect fire
Our hearts with ardent love,
Till wings of faith and strong desire
Bear every thought above.

7 Prepare us, Lord, by grace divine,
For thy bright courts on high;
Then bid our spirits rise and join
The chorus of the sky.

478.

C.M.-A Prospect of the Resurrection.

1 HOW long shall death, the tyrant, reign,
And triumph o'er the just;
While the rich blood of martyrs slain,
Lies mingled with the dust?

2 I see the Lord of glory come,
And flaming guards around;
The skies divide to make him room,
The trumpet shakes the ground.
3 I hear the voice, "Ye dead, arise!"
And lo! the graves obey,

And waking saints, with joyful eyes,
Salute the' expected day.

4 They leave the dust, and on the wing
Rise to the midway air,

In shining garments meet their King,
And low adore him there.

5 O may my humble spirit stand
Among them cloth'd in white!
The meanest place at his right hand
Is infinite delight.

479.

P.M.-The Redeemed in Heaven. Rev. vii. 9-17.

1 WHAT are these in bright array,
This innumerable throng,
Round the altar night and day,
Hymning one triumphant song:
Worthy is the Lamb once slain,
"Blessing, honour, glory, power,
"Wisdom, riches, to obtain,
"New dominion every hour."