CHRIST'S EXHORTATION.

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.-
CHILD of man, whose seed below
Must fulfil their race of woe!
Heir of want, and doubt, and pain,
Does thy fainting heart complain?
O! in thought, one night recall;
The night of grief in Herod's hall;
There I bore the vengeance due,
Freely bore it all for you.

- Isa. 53: 4.

Child of dust, corruption's son,
By pride deceived, by pride undone,
Willing captive, yet be free,
Take my yoke, and learn of me;
I of heaven and earth the Lord,
God with God, the eternal Word;
I forsook my father's side,
Toiled and wept, and bled and died.

Child of doubt, does fear surprise,
Vexing thoughts within thee rise?
Wond'ring, murmuring dost thou gaze
On evil men and evil days?

O! if darkness round thee lower,
Darker far my dying hour,

Which bade that fearful cry awake,

My God, my God, dost thou forsake?'

Child of sin, by guilt oppressed,
Heaves at last thy throbbing breast?
Hast thou felt the mourner's part,
Fear'st thou now thy failing heart?
Bear thee on, beloved of God,
Tread the path thy Saviour trod;
He the tempter's power hath known,
He hath poured the garden groan.

Child of heaven, by me restored,
Love thy Saviour, serve the Lord;
Sealed with that mysterious name,
Bear thy cross, and scorn the shame;
Then, like me, thy conflict o'er,
Thou shalt rise to sleep no more;
Partner of my purchased throne,
One in joy, in glory one.

CHRIST OUR EXAMPLE IN SUFFERING.

That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.- - Phil.

3: 10.

Go to dark Gethsemane,

Ye that feel the tempter's power,
Your Redeemer's conflict see,

Watch with him one bitter hour;
Turn not from his griefs away,

Learn of Jesus Christ to pray!

Follow to the judgment-hall,
View the Lord of life arraigned;
O, the wormwood and the gall!

O, the pangs his soul sustained!
Shun not suffering, shame, nor loss;
Learn of him to bear the cross.

Calvary's mournful mountain climb;
There, adoring at his feet,
Mark that miracle of time,

God's own sacrifice complete!

'It is finished!'. -hear him

cry;

Learn of Jesus Christ to die.

Early hasten to the tomb,

Where they laid his breathless clay;

All is solitude and gloom;

Who hath taken him away?

Christ is risen! he meets our eyes;

Saviour, teach us so to rise.

PEACE PURCHASED BY SUFFERINGS.

But the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. - Matt. 8: 20.

BIRDS have their quiet nest,

Foxes their holes, and man his peaceful bed; All creatures have their rest,

But Jesus had not where to lay his head.

Winds have their hour of calm,

And waves, to slumber on the voiceless deep; Eve hath its breath of balm,

To hush all senses and all sounds to sleep.

The wild deer hath its lair,

The homeward flocks the shelter of their shed; All have their rest from care,

But Jesus had not where to lay his head.

And yet he came to give

The weary and the heavy-laden rest;

To bid the sinner live,

And soothe our griefs to slumber on his breast.

What then am I, my God,

Permitted thus the paths of peace to tread?
Peace, purchased by the blood

Of him who had not where to lay his head!

O why should I have peace?

Why? but for that unchanged, undying love,
Which would not, could not cease,
Until it made me heir of joys above.

Yes! but for pardoning grace, I feel I never should in glory see

The brightness of that face,

That once was pale and agonized for me!

Let the birds seek their nest,

Foxes their holes, and man his peaceful bed ; Come, Saviour, in my breast

Deign to repose thine oft-rejected head!

Come! give me rest, and take

The only rest on earth thou lov'st, — within

A heart, that for thy sake,

Lies bleeding, broken, penitent for sin.

AFFLICTION SANCTIFIED.

It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes. Psalm 119: 71.

LORD, how often have I read

Every promise of thy word;
Yet my heart, so cold and dead,
Felt not what I read or heard!

But, when thou hast sent me grief,
Clouding every sunny scene,
Languishing to find relief,

O, how sweet each word has been!

All is mercy, Lord, I own;

Promises so richly given,

Grief to make their sweetness known,

Pain from earth, and balm from heaven.