5 Soft pity touch'd her royal heart;
She drew him from the wave:-
Christians! perform a nobler part,
The soul from ruin save.
6 Exposed to sin, and Satan's art,
We hasten to the grave ;-
O Christians! act the Christian part,
Our souls from ruin save.
"I am that I am."-Exod. iii. 14. "TELL them I AM," Jehovah said To Moses, while earth shook with dread; And, smitten to the heart, At once above, beneath, around, All nature, without voice or sound, Replied," O Lord! THOU ART.
Light shining in darkness.-Exod. x. 23. 1 WHILE Egypt lies enwrapt in night, And horror reigns in every mind, Where Israel dwells, there wondrous light Diffuses peace and joy refined.
2 So grace shall round the righteous shine, In tents of poverty and wo;
While all the powers of wrath combine,
To lay their proud oppressors low.
3 Though all the world in darkness lies,
Where'er his ransom'd sons may rest,
The Sun of Righteousness shall rise,
In all his richest glories dress'd.
4 Through every scene of suffering here,
His light and comfort still prevail;
Nor can our faith admit a fear,
Should all the springs of nature fail.
Balaam beholding Israel.-Numb. xxii. 9.
I COME, let us stand upon the rock
Where Balaam stood, and wondering look
Upon the scene below;
The tents of Jacob goodly seem,
The people happy we esteem,
Whom God has favoured so.
2 The sons of Israel stand alone,
Jehovah claims them for his own,
His cause and theirs the same:
He saved them from the tyrant's hand,
Allots to them a pleasant land,
And calls them by his name.
3 Their toils have almost reach'd a close;
They soon are destined to repose
Within the promised land;
Its rising hills e'en now are seen,
Enrich'd with everlasting green,
Where Israel soon shall stand.
4 Fair emblem of a better rest,
Of which believers are possess'd,
Beyond material space!
E'en now we see the heavenly shore,
Where sin and sorrow are no more,
And long to reach the place.
5 Sweet hope! it makes the coward brave;
It makes a freeman of the slave,
And bids the sluggard rise :
It lifts a worm of earth on high,
Provides him wings, and makes him fly
To mansions in the skies.
The Death of Moses.-Deut. xxxi. 49.
1 SWEET was the journey to the sky The holy prophet tried;
"Climb up the mount," said God, "and die," The prophet climb'd, and died.
2 Softly his fainting head he lay
Upon his Maker's breast,
His Maker sooth'd his soul away,
And laid his flesh to rest.
3 In God's own arms he left the breath
That God's own Spirit gave;
His was the noblest road to death,
And his the sweetest grave.
The Family Vow.-Josh. xxviii. 15.
1 I AND my house will serve the Lord :
But first obedient to his word
I must myself appear:
By actions, words, and temper show
That I my heavenly Master know,
And serve with heart sincere.
2 I must the fair example set:
From those that on my pleasure wait
The stumbling-block remove;
Their duty by my life explain,
And still in all my works maintain
The dignity of love.
3 Easy to be entreated, mild,
Quickly appeased and reconciled,
A follower of my God;
A saint indeed I long to be,
And lead my faithful family
In the celestial road.
4 Lord, if thou didst the wish infuse,
A vessel fitted for thy use
Into thy hands receive;
Work in me both to will and do,
And show them how believers true
And real Christians live.
Self-Examination.-Ruth ii. 19.
AT evening to myself I say,
My soul, where hast thou glean'd to-day,
Thy labours how bestow'd?
What hast thou rightly said, or done?
What grace attain'd, or knowledge won,
In following after God?
Poor Children's Appeal to Christians.-1 Sam. iii. 2, &e.
1 IN Israel's fane, by silent night,
The Lamp of God was burning bright;
And there by viewless angels kept,
Samuel, the child, securely slept.
2 A voice unknown the stillness broke,
"Samuel!" it call'd, and thrice it spoke;
He rose, he ask'd, whence came the word?
From Eli? no:-it was the Lord.
3 Thus early call'd to serve his God,
In paths of righteousness he trod;
Prophetic visions fired his breast,
And all the chosen tribes were bless'd.
4 Speak, Lord! and from our earliest days,
Incline our hearts to love thy ways;
Thy wakening voice hath reach'd our ear,
Speak, Lord, to us; thy servants hear.
5 And ye, who know the Saviour's love,
And richly all his mercies prove;
Your timely, friendly aid afford,
That we may early serve the Lord.
Birth, death, immortality.—Job i. 21,
1 NAKED into the world I came,
Naked I out of it shall go,
And soon this perishable frame
With mother earth shall rest below:
2 But O! my soul, if born again,
With glory clothed upon shall rise,
A place among the saints obtain,
And find its Father in the skies.
The vain hopes of the wicked.-Job viii. 11-22.
1 THE rush may rise where waters flow,
And flags beside the stream;
But soon their verdure fades and dies
Before the scorching beam.
2 So is the sinner's hope cut off;
Or, if it transient rise,
'Tis like the spider's airy web,
From every breath that flies.
3 Fix'd on his house, he leans;
And all its props decay:
He holds it fast; but while he holds,
The tottering frame gives way.
4 Fair in his garden to the sun
His boughs with verdure smile;
And, deeply fix'd, his spreading roots
Unshaken stand a while.
5 But forth the sentence flies from heaven,
That sweeps him from his place;
Which then denies him for its lord,
Nor owns it knew his face.
6 Lo! this the joy of wicked men,
Who heaven's high laws despise ;
They quickly fall; and in their room,
As quickly others rise.
7 But for the just, with gracious care
God will his power employ;
He'll teach their lips to sing his praise,
And fill their hearts with joy.
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