Was not the Bow of Promise
Still seen amidst the gloom?
Shedding its hallowed lustre
Even round the silent tomb?
3 Rejoice! Rejoice for ever!
Though earthly friends be gone!
For silently, yet swiftly,
The wheels of time roll on !
And still they bear thee forward,
Nearer that happy shore,
Where the triumphant song is
Rejoice for evermore!
Let the heaven and earth praise Him.
Psalm lxix. 34.
ONGS of praise the angels sang,
Heaven with hallelujahs rang,
When Jehovah's work begun;
When He spake, and it was done.
2 Songs of praise awoke the morn,
When the Prince of Peace was born.
Songs of praise arose, when He
Captive led captivity.
3 Heaven and earth must pass away:
Songs of praise shall crown that day.
God will make new heavens and earth :
Songs of praise shall hail their birth.
4 And shall man alone be dumb,
Till that glorious kingdom come?
No! the church delights to raise
Psalms, and hymns, and songs of praise.
5 Saints below, with heart and voice
Still in songs of praise rejoice:
Learning here, by faith and love,
Songs of praise to sing above.
6 Borne upon their latest breath,
Songs of praise shall conquer death:
Then, amidst eternal joy,
Songs of praise their powers employ.
773 Pray without ceasing.-1 Thess. v. 17.
O when the morning shineth,
Go when the noon is bright,
Go when the eve declineth,
Go in the hush of night,
Go with pure mind and feeling,
Fling earthly thoughts away,
And in thy chamber kneeling,
Do thou in secret pray!
2 Remember all who love thee,
All who are loved by thee,
Pray, too, for those who hate thee,
If any such there be !
Then for thyself, in meekness
A blessing humbly claim,
And join with each petition
Thy great Redeemer's name!
3 Or if 'tis ere denied thee
In solitude to pray,
If holy thoughts come o'er thee,
When friends are round thy way,
E'en then the silent breathing,
The spirit raised above,
Will reach the throne of glory,
Of Mercy, Truth, and Love.
4 O! not a joy or blessing,
With this can we compare !
The power that He hath given us
To pour our souls in prayer!
Whene'er thou pin'st in sadness,
Before His footstool fall,
Remember in thy gladness
His grace who gave thee all.
EXHORTATIONS TO CHRISTIAN WORK.
774 The love of Christ constraineth us—2 Cor. v.14.
POSTLES of the risen Christ, go forth!
A Let love compel.
Go, and in risen power proclaim His worth;
O'er every region of the dead, cold earth,
His glory tell!
2 Tell how He lived, and toiled, and wept below; Tell all His love;
Tell the dread wonders of His awful woe;
Tell how He fought our fight, and smote our foe,
Then rose above!
3 Tell how in weakness He was crucified,
But rose in power;
Went up on high, accepted, glorified;
News of His victory spread far and wide,
From hour to hour.
4 Tell how He sits at the right hand of God,
In glory bright,
Making the heaven of heavens His glad abode; Tell how He cometh with the iron rod
5 Tell how His kingdom shall through ages stan 1.
Spreading like sunshine over every land,
All nations bowing to His high command,
Great Prince of Peace.
Let us not be weary in well doing.—Gal. vi. y.
Who dares stand idle on the harvest plain?
While all around him waves the golden grain,
And to each servant does the Master say-
Go work to-day!
Claim the high calling angels cannot share ;
To young and old the Gospel-gladness bear;
Redeem the time; its hours too swiftly fly,
The night draws nigh.
The labourers are few, the field is wide,
New stations must be filled and blanks supplied;
From voices distant far, or near at home,
The call is-Come!
The enemy is watching, night and day,
To sow the tares, to snatch the seed away.
While we in sleep our duty have forgot,
He slumbered not.
Away with gloomy doubts and faithless fear!
No arm so weak but may do service here;
By feeblest agents can our God fulfil
No time for rest, till glows the western sky, While the long shadows o'er our pathway lie, And a glad sound comes with the setting sun, Servants, well done!
The toil is pleasant, the reward is sure;
Blessed are those who to the end endure;
How full their joy, how deep their rest shall be,
O Lord, with Thee!
776 In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening
withhold not thy hand.—Eccl. xi. 6.
OW in the morn thy seed,
At eve hold not thine hand;
To doubt and fear give thou no heed,
Broad-cast it o'er the land.
2 Beside all waters sow,
The highway furrows stock,
Drop it where thorns and thistles grow,
Scatter it on the rock.
3 The good, the fruitful ground,
Expect not here nor there,
O'er hill and dale, by plots 'tis found;
Go forth, then, everywhere.
4 Thou know'st not which may thrive,
The late or early sown ;
Grace keeps the precious germs alive,
When and wherever strown.
5 And duly shall appear,
In verdure, beauty, strength,
The tender blade, the stalk, the ear,
And the full corn at length.
|