379.

L. M.

Inconstancy lamented.

BEDDOME.

1 THE wandering star and fleeting wind
Are emblems of the fickle mind;

The morning cloud and early dew
Bring our inconstancy to view.

2 But cloud and wind, and dew and star,
Only a faint resemblance bear;
Nor can there aught in nature be
So changeable and frail as we.

3 Our outward walk and inward frame

Are scarcely through an hour the same :
We vow, and straight our vows forget,
And then those very vows repeat.
4 With contrite hearts, Lord, we confess
Our folly and unsteadfastness :

When shall these hearts more stable be,
Fixed by thy grace alone on thee?

God's Mercy to the Penitent.

1 SWEET is the friendly voice
Which speaks of life and peace ;
Which bids the penitent rejoice,
And sin and sorrow cease.

2 No balm on earth like this

Can cheer the contrite heart ;
No flattering dreams of earthly bliss
Such pure delight impart.

3 Still merciful and kind,

Thy mercy, Lord, reveal;
The broken heart thy love can bind,
The wounded spirit heal.

4 Thy presence shall restore
Peace to my anxious breast:

JERVIS.

Lord, let my steps be drawn no more
From paths which thou hast blessed.

381.

C. M.

Praying for Divine Help.

MILMAN.

1 O, HELP us, Lord! each hour of need
Thy heavenly succour give;

Help us in thought, and word, and deed,
Each hour on earth we live.

2 O, help us, when our spirits bleed,
With contrite anguish sore;

And when our hearts are cold and dead,
O, help us, Lord, the more.

3 O, help us, through the prayer of faith,
More firmly to believe;

For still the more the servant hath,
The more shall he receive.

4 O, help us, Father, from on high ;
We know no help but thee;

O, help us so to live and die,
As thine in heaven to be.

382.

6 & 4s. M.

For Divine Guidance.

1 O GOD, thy grace impart ;
Revive my fainting heart;
My zeal inspire;

Reveal thyself to me,

And may my love to thee

Pure, warm, and changeless be,

A living fire.

2 While life's dark maze I tread,

And griefs around me spread,
Be thou my guide;

R. PALMER.

Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow's tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From thee aside.

3 When ends life's transient dream,
When death's cold, sullen stream
Shall o'er me roll,

383.

O Father, then in love
Fear and distress remove,
And bear me safe above,·
A ransomed soul.

C. M.

Aspiration after a holy Life.

ANONYMOUS.

1 ALMIGHTY Maker! Lord of all !
Of life the only spring!

Creator of unnumbered worlds!
Supreme, Eternal King!

2 Drive from the confines of my heart
Impenitence and pride;

Nor let me, in forbidden paths,
With thoughtless sinners glide.
3 Whate'er thine all-discerning eye
Sees for thy creature fit,

I'll bless the good, and to the ill
Contentedly submit.

4 With generous pleasure let me view
The prosperous and the great;
Malignant envy let me fly,

And odious self-conceit.

5 Let not despair, nor fell revenge,
Be to my bosom known;

O, give me tears for others' woes,
And patience for my own.

6 May still my days serenely pass,
Without remorse or care;

And growing holiness my soul
For life's last hour prepare.

384.

S. M.

Regeneration.

BULFINCH.

1 THROUGH thee, O Lord, we own
A new and heavenly birth,
Kindred to spirits round thy throne,
Though sojourners of earth.

2 How glorious is the hour

When first our souls awake,

And, through thy Spirit's quickening power,
Of the new life partake.

3 With richer beauty glows

The world, before so fair;
Her holy light religion throws,
Reflected everywhere.

4 Amid repentant tears

We feel sweet peace within;
We know the God of mercy hears,
And pardons every sin.

5 Born of thy Spirit, Lord,

Thy spirit may we share ;

Deep in our hearts inscribe thy word,
And place thine image there.

385.

C. M. SPIRIT OF THE PSALMS.

The Day-spring from on High.

1 GREAT God, wert thou extreme to mark

The deeds we do amiss,

Before thy presence who could stand?

Who claim thy promised bliss?

But, O, all merciful and just,

Thy love surpasseth thought;

A gracious Saviour has appeared,
And peace and pardon brought.

2 Thy servants in the temple watched
The dawning of the day,
Impatient with its earliest beams
Their holy vows to pay;
And chosen saints far off beheld
That great and glorious morn,
When the glad day-spring from on high
Auspiciously should dawn.

3 On us the Sun of Righteousness
Its brightest beams hath poured;
With grateful hearts and holy zeal,
Lord, be thy love adored;
And let us look with joyful hope
To that more glorious day,
Before whose brightness sin and death
And grief shall flee away.

Prayer for Mercy in spiritual Need.

1 LORD, have mercy when we pray
Strength to seek a better way;
When our wakening thoughts begin
First to loathe their cherished sin;
When our weary spirits fail,
And our aching brows are pale ;
When our tears bedew thy word;
Then, O, then, have mercy, Lord!

2 Lord, have mercy when we lie
On the restless bed and sigh,
Sigh for death, yet fear it still,
From the thought of former ill;
When the dim, advancing gloom
Tells us that our hour has come ;
When is loosed the silver cord;
Then, O, then, have mercy, Lord!

MILMAN.