With silent awe I hail the sacred morn,
That slowly wakes while all the fields are still :
A soothing calm on every breeze is borne,
A graver murmur gurgles from the rill,
And echo answers softer from the hill,
And softer sings the linnet from the thorn;
The sky-lark warbles in a tone less shrill.
Hail, light serene ! hail, sacred Sabbath morn!
The rooks float silently in airy drove ;
The sun a placid yellow lustre throws;
The gales, that lately sighed along the grove,
Have hushed their downy wings in dead repose;
The hovering racks of clouds forget to move :
So smiled the day when the first morn arose.

LEYDEN.

Sweet is the light of Sabbath eve,

And soft the sunbeams lingering there ;
Those sacred hours the low earth leave,

Wafted on wings of praise and prayer.

This time, how lovely and how still !

Peace shines, and smiles on all below;
The plain, the stream, the wood, the hill,

All fair with evening's setting glow.

Season of rest! the tranquil soul

Feels thy sweet calm, and melts in love ; And while these sacred moments roll,

Faith sees a smiling heaven above.

Our journey here will not be long,

Our pilgrimage will soon be trod ; Then we shall join the ceaseless song, The endless Sabbath of our God!

EDMESTON.

Lord, when we bend before Thy throne,

And our confessions pour, Teach us to feel the sins we own,

And shun what we deplore.

Our contrite spirits pitying see,

And penitence impart;
And let a healing ray from Thee

Beam hope upon the heart.

When our responsive tongues essay

Their grateful songs to raise ; Grant that our souls may join the lay,

And rise to Thee in praise.

When we disclose our wants in prayer,

May we our wills resign ;
And not a thought our bosom share,

Which is not wholly Thine.

Let faith each meek petition fill,

And waft it to the skies,
And teach our hearts 'tis goodness still

That grants it or denies.

ANON.

Lord of the Sabbath and its light!

I hail Thy hallow'd day of rest ; It is my weary soul's delight,

The solace of my care-worn breast.

Its dewy morn—its glowing noon

Its tranquil eve_its solemn nightPass sweetly; but they pass too soon,

And leave me sadden'd at their flight.

Yet sweetly as they glide along,

And hallow'd tho' the calm they yield; Transporting tho’ their rapt'rous song,

And heav'nly visions seem reveald :

My soul is desolate and drear,

My silent harp untun'd remains ; Unless, my Saviour, Thou art near,

To heal my wounds and soothe my pains.

O ever, ever let me hail

Thy presence with that day of rest !
Then will Thy servant never fail
To deem Thy Sabbaths doubly blest.

East.

Spirit of peace ! descend, and rest
A constant inmate in my breast ;
Calm the rough passions of my soul,
Constrained beneath Thy mild control.

Still hover here, Celestial Dove !
Infusing faith, and hope, and love :
Nor let an earth-born care intrude
Upon my Sabbath solitude.

East.

And have the ocean-waves no voice
To bid the sacred hours rejoice ?
Have they, who on the dangerous deep
For life an anxious vigil keep,
No tribute for the Almighty One,
Who rules them from His viewless throne ?
Hark! o'er the wide and bellowing main
Soft music comes, a choral strain.
And, kneeling on the barrier frail,
(How vain their strength if that should fail !)

That lifts them from the yawning sea,
Bold rugged men are grouped in prayer,

In childlike pure simplicity,
And, lo! their God is with them there.

GODWIN.

REV. 1. 10.
Thus, in Thy Spirit, on Thy day,
Thy waiting servant, Lord, would be ;
And read, and meditate, and pray,
And sweet communion hold with Thee ;
Till wrapt in ecstacy sublime,
The exulting Spirit mount and rise
Eager to leave this earthly clime,
And spend the Sabbath of the skies !

ANON.

L. THE CARE OF MINISTERS FOR THEIR FLOCKS.

JESUS saith unto him, Feed my sheep.--JOHN xxi. 17.

Now therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.--2 Cor. v. 20.

Who is God's chosen priest ?
He who on Christ stands waiting day and night,

Who hath learned lowliness From his Lord's cradle, patience from his cross, Whom poor men's hearts and eyes consent to bless, To whom, for Christ, the world is loss ;