3 Blest Jesus, animate my heart
With beams of heavenly love,
And teach that cold unthankful soil
The heavenly seed to' improve.
4 In copious showers thy Spirit send,
To water all the ground,
So, to the honour of thy name,
Shall lasting fruit be found.
L.M.-Christ's Service the Fruit of our Labours on Earth.
Phil. i. 22.
1 MY gracious Lord, I own thy right
To every
service I can pay;
And call it my supreme delight
To hear thy dictates and obey.
2 What is my being, but for thee,
Its sure support, its noblest end?
Thy ever-smiling face to see,
And serve the cause of such a friend. 3 I would not breathe for worldly joy, Or to increase my worldly good, Nor future days or powers employ To spread a sounding name abroad. 4 'Tis to my Saviour I would live;
To him, who for my ransom died;
Nor could untainted Eden give
Such bliss as blossoms at his side.
5 His work my hoary age shall bless,
When youthful vigour is no more;
And my last hour of life confess
His love hath animating power.
C.M. — Christ's Sheep described. John x. 27.
1 THY flock, with what a tender care,
Bless'd Jesus, dost thou keep;
Fain would my weak, my wandering soul,
Be number'd with thy sheep.
2 Gentle, and tractable, and plain,
My heart would ever be,
Averse to harm, propense to help,
And faithful still to thee.
3 The gentle accents of thy voice
My listening soul would hear;
And by the signals of thy will,
I all my course would steer.
4 I follow where my Shepherd leads,
And mark the path he drew;
My Shepherd's feet Mount Zion tread,
And I shall reach it too.
C.M.-The Nature and Necessity of Inward Religion. James i. 27. 1 RELIGION is the chief concern
Of mortals here below;
May I its great importance learn,
Its sovereign virtue know.
2 Religion should our thoughts engage,
Amidst our youthful bloom;
"Twill fit us for declining age,
Or for the awful tomb.
3 O may my heart, by grace renew'd,
Be my Redeemer's throne;
And be my stubborn will subdu'd,
His government to own.
4 Let deep repentance, faith, and love,
Be join'd with godly fear;
And all my conversation prove
My heart to be sincere.
5 Let lively hope my soul inspire;
Let warm affections rise;
And may I wait with strong desire
To mount above the skies.
1 THROUGH shades and solitudes profound, The fainting traveller wends his way; Bewildering meteors glare around,
And tempt his wandering feet astray.
2 Welcome, thrice welcome, to his eye,
The sudden moon's inspiring light,
When forth she sallies through the sky,
The guardian angel of the night.
3 Thus mortals, blind and weak, below
Pursue the phantom bliss in vain;
The world's a wilderness of wo,
And life's a pilgrimage of pain.
4 Till mild Religion from above,
Descends, a sweet engaging form,
The messenger of heavenly love,
The bow of promise in a storm.
5 Then guilty passions wing their flight,
Sorrow, remorse, affliction cease;
Religion's yoke is soft and light,
And all her paths are paths of peace.
6 Ambition, pride, revenge depart,
And folly flies her chastening rod;
She makes the humble contrite heart
A temple of the living God.
7 Beyond the narrow vale of time,
Where bright celestial ages roll,
To scenes eternal, scenes sublime,
She points the way, and leads the soul.
8 At her approach the grave appears
The gate of Paradise restor❜d:
Her voice the watching cherub hears,
And drops his double-flaming sword.
9 Baptiz'd with her renewing fire,
May we the crown of glory gain;
Rise when the hosts of heaven expire,
And reign with God, for ever reign.
P.M.-The Pleasures of Religion.
1 'TIS religion that can give
Sweetest pleasures while we live;
'Tis religion must supply
Solid comfort when we die.
2 After death its joys will be
Lasting as eternity:
Let me then make God my friend,
And on all his ways attend.
C.M.-" Good Hope through Grace." 2 Thess. ii. 16. 1 COME, humble souls; ye mourners, come; And wipe away your tears; Adieu to all your sad complaints, Your sorrows and your fears.
2 Come, shout aloud the Father's grace,
The Saviour's dying love;
Soon you shall sing the glorious theme
In loftier strains, above.
3 God, the eternal, mighty God,
To dearer names descends;
Calls you his treasure and his joy,
His children and his friends.
4 My Father, God! and may
Pronounce a name so dear?
Not thus could heaven's sweet harmony
Delight my listening ear.
5 Thanks to my God, for every gift
His bounteous hands bestow;
And thanks eternal, for that love
Whence all those comforts flow.
6 For ever let my grateful heart
His boundless grace adore,
Which gives ten thousand blessings now,
And bids me hope for more.
7 Transporting hope! still on my soul,
Let thy sweet glories shine,
Till thou thyself art lost in joys
Immortal and divine.
L.M.-Hope encouraged by a View of the Divine Perfections.
1 Sam. xxx. 6.
1 WHY sinks my weak desponding mind?
Why heaves my heart the anxious sigh?
Can sovereign goodness be unkind?
Am I not safe if God is nigh?
2 He holds all nature in his hand!
That gracious hand on which I live,
Does life, and time, and death command,
And has immortal joys to give.
3 'Tis he supports this fainting frame,
On him alone my hopes recline;
The wondrous glories of his name,
How wide they spread, how bright they shine!
4 Infinite wisdom, boundless power!
Unchanging faithfulness and love!
Here let me trust, while I adore,
Nor from my refuge e'er remove.
C.M.-Lively Hope and gracious Fear.
1 I WAS a grovelling creature once,
And basely cleav'd to earth;
I wanted spirit to renounce
The clod that gave me birth.
2 But God has breath'd upon a worm,
And sent me from above
Wings such as clothe an angel's form,
The wings of joy and love.
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