Involving all, and in a perfect whole
Uniting, as the prospect wider spreads
To reason's eye refined clears up apace.
Ye vainly wise, ye blind presumptuous, now
Confounded in the dust, adore that power
And wisdom oft arraigned: see now the cause,
Why unassuming worth in secret lived
And died neglected; why the good man's share
In life was gall and bitterness of soul;
Why the lone widow and her orphans pined
In starving solitude, while luxury

In palaces lay straining her low thought
To form unreal wants; why heaven-born truth
And moderation fair wore the red marks
Of superstition's scourge. Ye good distressed,
Ye noble few, who here unbending stand
Beneath life's pressure, yet bear up awhile,
And what your bounded view, which only saw
A little part, deemed evil, is no more,
The storms of wintry time will quickly pass,
And one unbounded spring encircle all.

THOMSON.

XXXI. PRAYER.

"PRAYER is a work so easy, so honourable, and to so great purpose, that in all the instances of religion and providence (except only the incarnation of his Son) God hath not given us a greater argument of his willingness to have us saved, and of our unwillingness to accept it, his goodness and our gracelessness, his infinite condescension, and our carelessness and folly, than by rewarding so easy a duty with so great blessing."-Jeremy Taylor.

Go when the morning shineth,
Go when the moon 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.

Remember all who love thee,
All who are loved by thee,
Pray too for those who hate tlice,
If any such there be ;

Then for thyself in meekness,
A blessing humbly claim,
And link with each petition
Thy great Redeemer's name.

Or if 'tis e'er denied thee
In solitude to pray,

Should holy thoughts come o'er thee
When friends are round thy way;
E'en then the silent breathing,
The spirit raised above,
Will reach his throne of glory,
Who's mercy, truth and love.

O not a joy nor 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 love who gave thee all.

ANONYMOJS.

XXXII. CHRIST STILLING THE TEMPEST.

"AND there aroзe a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow; and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"-Mark iv. 37-40.

FEAR was within the tossing bark
When stormy winds grew loud,

And waves come rolling high and dark,
And the tall mast was bowed.

And men stood breathless in their dread,
And baffled in their skill;

But One was there, who rose and said
To the wild sea-be still!

SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL.

And the wind ceased-it ceased! that word
Fassed through the gloomy sky;

The troubled billows knew their Lord,
And fell beneath His eye.

And slumber settled on the deep,
And silence on the blast;

They sank, as flowers that fold to sleep
When sultry day is past.

Oh thou, that in its wildest hour
Didst rule the tempest's mood,
Send thy meek spirit forth in power,
Soft' on our souls to brood!

Thou that didst bow the billow's pride,
Thy mandate to fulfil!

Oh, speak to passion's raging tide,
Speak, and say, --Peace, be still!

355

MRS. HEMANS.

1. The meaning of soft, and what does it agree with ?

XXXIII. SPREAD OF THE GOSPEL.

"FAITH in a creed involves faith in its ultimate triumph."-Eothen. "If the power of reasoning be the gift of the Supreme Reason, that we be sedulous, yea, and militant in the endeavour to reason aright, is His implied command. But what is of permanent and essential interest to one man must needs be so to all, in proportion to the means and opportunities of each. Woe to him by whom these are neglected, and double woe to him by whom they are withholden, for he robs at once himself and his neighbour. That man's soul is not dear to himself, to whom the souls of his brethren are not dear. As far as they can be influenced by him, they are parts and properties of his own soul, their faith his faith, their errors his burthen, their righteousness and bliss his righteousness and reward-and of their guilt and misery his own will be the echo."- Coleridge.

From many an ancient river,
From many a palmy plain,
They call us to deliver

Their land from error's chain.

What though the spicy breezes
Blow soft on Ceylon's isle,
Though every prospect pleases,
And only man is vile?

In vain, with lavish kindness,
The gifts of God are strewn,
The heathen, in his blindness,
Bows down to wood and stone.

Shall we whose souls are lighted
With wisdom from on high:
Shall we to men benighted
The lamp of life deny?
Salvation! oh, salvation!
The joyful sound proclaim,
Till each remotest nation
Has learn'd Messiah's name.

Waft, waft, ye winds, his story,
And you, ye waters, roll,
Till, like a sea of glory,
It spreads from pole to pole;
Till o'er our ransom'd nature,
The Lamb for sinners slain,.
Redeemer, King, Creator,
In bliss returns to reign.

HEBER.

XXXIV. THE RIDDLE OF THE WORLD.

"PASSIVE Virtues, of all others the severest and the most sublime; of all others, perhaps, the most acceptable to the Deity; would, it is evident, be excluded from a constitution, in which happiness and misery regularly followed virtue and vice. Patience and composure under distress, affliction, and pain; a steadfast keeping up of our confidence in God, and of our reliance upon his final goodness, at the time when every thing present is adverse and discouraging; and (what is no less difficult to retain) a cordial desire for the happiness of others, even when we are deprived of our own; these dispositions, which constitute, perhaps, the perfection of our moral nature, would not have found their proper office and object in a state of avowed retribution, and in which, consequently, endurance of evil would be only submission to punishment."-Paley.

THE LORD'S PRAYER PARAPHRASED.

O LIFE! without thy checquered scene
Of right and wrong, of weal and woe,
Success and failure, could a ground
For magnanimity be found;

For faith, 'mid ruined hopes, serene?
Or whence could virtue flow?

Pain entered through a ghastly breach-
Nor while sin lasts must efforts cease;
Heaven upon earth's an empty boast;
But, for the bowers of Eden lost,
Mercy has placed within our reach
A portion of God's peace.

357

WORDSWORTH.

XXXV. THE LORD'S PRAYER PARAPHRASED.

"I REMEMBER, on one occasion, travelling in this country with a companion who possessed some knowledge of medicine: we arrived at a door, near which we were about to pitch our tents, when a crowd of Arabs surrounded us, cursing and swearing at the rebellers against God. My friend who spoke a little Arabic, turning to an elderly person, whose garb bespoke him a priest, said- Who taught you that we are disbelievers? Hear my daily prayer, and judge for yourselves:' he then repeated the Lord's Prayer. All stood amazed and silent, till the priest exclaimed- May God curse me, if ever I curse again those who hold such a belief; nay more, that prayer shall be my prayer till my hour be come. pray thee, O Nazarene, repeat that prayer, that it may be remembered and written among us in letters of gold.'"-Hay's Western Barbary.

"The Paternoster is not, as some fancy, the easiest, most natural, of all devout utterances. It may be committed to memory quickly, but it is slowly learned by heart. Men may repeat it over ten times in an hour, but to use it when it is most needed, to know what it means, to believe it, yea, not to contradict it in the very act of praying it, not to construct our prayers upon a model the most unlike it possible, this is hard; this is one of the highest gifts which God can bestow upon us; nor can we look to receive it without others that we may wish for less; sharp suffering, a sense of wanting a home, a despair of ourselves."-Maurice on the Lord's Prayer.

FATHER of all! we bow to thee,

Who dwell'st in heaven adored;

But present still through all thy works,
The universal Lord.

For ever hallowed be thy name,

By all beneath the skies;

And may thy kingdom still advance,
Till grace to glory rise.