5 Oh! hadst thou left me unchastis'd,
Thy precept I had still despis'd;
And still the snare in secret laid,
Had my unwary feet betray'd.
6 I love thee, therefore, O my God,
And breathe towards thy dear abode,
Where in thy presence fully blest,
Thy chosen saints for ever rest.

202.

C.M.-Divine Mercies and Judgments compared. Isa. liv. 7, 8. 1 IN thy rebukes, all-gracious God, What soft compassion reigns! What gentle accents of thy voice Assuage thy children's pains.

2" When I correct my chosen sons, "A father's bowels move;

"One transient moment bounds my wrath,
"But endless is my love."

3 Our faith shall look through every tear,
And view thy smiling face,
And hope amidst our sighs shall tune
An anthem to thy grace.

4 Gather at length my weary soul
To join thy saints above;
For I would learn a song of praise
Eternal as thy love.

203.

C.M.-Afflictions moderated. Isa. xxvii. 8.

1 GREAT Ruler of all nature's frame,
We own thy power divine;
We hear thy breath in every storm,
For all the winds are thine.

2 Wide as they sweep their sounding way,
They work thy sovereign will;

And aw'd by thy majestic voice,
Confusion shall be still.

3 Thy mercy tempers every blast
To them that seek thy face,
And mingles with the tempest's roar
The whispers of thy grace.

4 Those gentle whispers let me hear,
Till all the tumult cease,

And gales of Paradise shall lull
My weary soul to peace.

204.

L.M.-The weeping Seed-time, and joyful Harvest. Ps. cxxvi. 5, 6.
1 THE darken'd sky how thick it lowers!
Troubled with storms and big with showers;
No cheerful gleam of light appears,

But nature pours forth all her tears.
2 Yet let the sons of grace revive;
God bids the soul that seeks him, live;
And from the gloomiest shade of night
Calls forth a morning of delight.

3 The seeds of ecstasy unknown,
Are in these water'd furrows sown;
See the green blades, how thick they rise,
And with fresh verdure bless our eyes.
4 In secret foldings they contain
Unnumber'd ears of golden grain;

And heaven shall pour its beams around, Till the ripe harvest load the ground. 5 Then shall the trembling mourner come, And find his sheaves and bear them home; The voice long broke with sighs shall sing, Till heaven with hallelujahs ring.

205.

C.M.-Hearing the Voice of God's Rod. Micah vi. 9. 1 ATTEND, my soul, with reverend awe, The dictates of thy God;

Silent and trembling hear the voice
Of his appointed rod.

2 Now let me search and try my ways,
And prostrate seek his face,

Conscious of guilt before his throne,
In dust my soul abase.

3 Teach me, my God, what's yet unknown,
And all my crimes forgive;
Those crimes would I no more repeat,
But to thy honour live.

4 My wither'd joys too plainly shew
That all on earth is vain;
In God my wounded heart confides
True rest and bliss to gain.

5 Father, I wait thy gracious call,
To leave this mournful land,
And bathe in rivers of delight,
That flow at thy right hand.

206.

C.M.-Quietness under Affliction a proper acknowledgment of God.
Ps. xlvi. 10.

1 PEACE! 'tis the Lord Jehovah's hand,
That blasts our joys in death;
Changes the visage once so dear,
And gathers back our breath,

2 'Tis he, the Potentate supreme
Of all the worlds above,

Whose steady counsels wisely rule,
Nor from their purpose move.

3 'Tis he, whose justice might demand
Our souls a sacrifice;

Yet scatters with unwearied hand
A thousand rich supplies.

4 Our Covenant-God and Father he,
In Christ our bleeding Lord;

Whose grace can heal the bursting heart
With one reviving word.

H

5 Fair garlands of immortal bliss
He weaves for every brow,
And shall tumultuous passions rise,
If he correct us now?

6 Silent I own Jehovah's name;
I kiss thy scourging hand;
And yield my comforts and my life
To thy supreme command.

207.

C.M.-God's afflicted Poor trusting in his Name. Zeph. iii. 12. 1 PRAISE to the Sovereign of the sky, Who from his lofty throne, Looks down on all that humble lie, And calls such souls his own. 2 The haughty sinner he disdains, Though gems his temples crown; And from the seat of pomp and pride His vengeance hurls him down. 3 On his afflicted pious poor

He makes his face to shine;
He fills their cottages of clay
With lustre all divine.
4 Among the meanest of thy flock,
There let my dwelling be,
Rather than under gilded roofs,
If absent, Lord, from thee.

5 Poor and afflicted though we are,
In thy strong name we trust;
And bless the hand of sovereign love,
Which lifts us from the dust.

208.

L.M.-Affliction leading to Glory. 2 Cor. iv. 17. 1 YES, 'tis a rough and thorny road That leads us to the saints' abode; But when our Father's home we gain "Twill make amends for all our pain.

2 And what is all we suffer now, Or all we can endure below,

To that bright day when Christ shall come, And take his weary pilgrims home?

209.

C.M.-Inconstancy in Religion. Hosea vi. 4.

1 PERPETUAL source of light and grace,
We hail thy sacred name:
Through every year's revolving round
Thy goodness is the same.

2 On us, all-worthless as we are,
Its wondrous mercy pours;
Sure as the heaven's establish'd course,
And plenteous as the showers.

3 Inconstant service we repay,

And treacherous vows renew;
False as the morning's scattering cloud,
And transient as the dew.

4 In flowing tears our guilt we mourn,
And loud implore thy grace,
To bear our feeble footsteps on
In all thy righteous ways.

5 Arm'd with this energy divine,
Our souls shall steadfast move,
And with increasing transport press
On to thy courts above.

6 So by thy power the morning sun
Pursues his radiant way,

Brightens each moment in his race,
And shines to perfect day.

210.

L.M.-The wandering Sheep. Ps. cxix. 175, 176.
1 O LET my cries approach thy seat,
My prayer, O Lord! indulgent meet,
And let thy promis'd aid dispel
The clouds of grief that o'er me dwell.