437. C. M. MRS STEELE.
The same subject.

1 MY GOD! to thee my soul aspires;
Dispel the shades of night;
Enlarge and fill my vast desires
With infinite delight.

2 Immortal joy thy smiles impart,
Heav'n dawns in ev'ry ray;
One glimpse of thee will cheer my heart,
And turn my night to day.

3 Not all the good which earth bestows,
Can fill the craving mind;
Its highest joys have mingled woes,
And leave a sting behind.

4 Should boundless wealth increase my store, Can wealth my cares beguile?

I should be wretched still, and poor,
Without thy blissful smile.

438. L. M. MRS STEELE.

GOD our portion in the loss of earthly comforts. 1 SHOULD famine o'er the mourning field Extend her desolating reign,

Nor spring her blooming beauties yield,
Nor autumn swell the fruitful grain :

2 Should lowing herds, and bleating sheep,
Around their famish'd master die;
And hope itself despairing weep,
While life deplores its last supply:

3 Amid the dark, the deathful scene,
If I can say, the LORD is mine!
The joy shall triumph o'er the pain,
And glory dawn, tho' life decline.
4 The GoD of my salvation lives;
My nobler life he will sustain ;
His word immortal vigour gives,
Nor shall my glorious hopes be vain.

LORD! can cheer my

5 Thy presence,
Though ev'ry earthly comfort die;
Thy smile can bid my pains depart,
And raise my sacred pleasures high.
6 O let me hear thy blissful voice,
Inspiring life and joys divine!
The barren desert shall rejoice;
"Tis paradise if thou art mine.

439. L. M.

DODDRIDGE.

heart,

The weeping seed-time and joyful harvest. 1 THE darken'd sky-how thick it low'rs! Troubled with storms, and big with show'rs; No cheerful gleam of light appears, But nature pours forth all her tears. 2 Yet let the sons of grace revive; GOD bids the soul that seeks him, live; And, from the gloomiest shade of night, Calls forth a morning of delight. 3 The seeds of ecstacy unknown, Are in these water'd furrows sown,

See the green blades! how quick they rise! And with fresh verdure bless our eyes. 4 In secret foldings they contain Unnumber'd ears of golden grain; And heav'n shall pour its beams around, Till the ripe harvest load the ground. 5 Then shall the trembling mourner come, And find his sheaves, and bring them home; The voice, long broke with sighs, shall sing, Till heav'n with hallelujahs ring.

2 E 2

PART XIV.

Life, Death, Judgment, and a Future State.

440. C. M. WATTS.

The shortness of life and the goodness of GOD.

1 TIME! what an empty vapour
Our days, how swift they are!
Swift as an Indian arrow flies,
Or like a shooting star.

2 Successive moments just appear,
Then slide away in haste ;
Nor can we ever say
But only "they are past."

66 -

'tis!

they're here,"

3 Our life is ever on the wing,
And death is ever nigh;
To live, no sooner we begin,
Than we begin to die.

4 Yet, mighty God! our fleeting days
Thy constant favours share;
Thy bounties, in ten thousand ways,
Still crown the rolling year.

5 His goodness runs an endless round;
All glory to the LORD!

His mercy never knows a bound,

And be his name ador'd.

6 Thus we begin the lasting song;
And when in dust we lie,

Let age to age thy praise prolong,
Till time and nature die.

Man mortal, and God eternal.

1 OUR GOD! our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come,
Our shelter from the stormy blast,
And our eternal home!

2 Before the hills in order stood,
Or earth receiv'd her frame,
From everlasting thou art GoD,
To endless years the same.

3 Thy word commands our flesh to dust, Return, ye sons of men :"

All nations rose from earth at first,
And turn to earth again.

4 The busy tribes of flesh and blood,
With all their hopes and fears,
Are carried downwards by the flood,
And lost in foll'wing years.

5 Like flow'ry fields the nations stand,
Pleas'd with the morning light:
The flow'rs, beneath the mower's hand,
Lie with'ring ere 'tis night.

6 Our God! our help in ages past,
Our hope for years to come!