Abba! Father! give us grace, In thy courts to seek thy face. 3 While thy glorious praise is sung, Touch our lips, unloose our tongue, That our joyful souls may bless Thee, the Lord our righteousness. 4 While the prayers of saints ascend, God of love, to our's attend; Hear us, for thy Spirit pleads, Hear, for Jesus intercedes.

EARLY, O God, without delay,

We haste to seek thy face;

Our thirsty spirits faint away
Without thy cheering grace.

2 So pilgrims on the scorching sand, Beneath a burning sky,

Long for a cooling stream at hand,
And they must drink, or die.

3 We've seen thy glory and thy power
Through all thy temple shine:
O God, repeat that heavenly hour,
That vision so divine.

4 Not life itself, with all its joys,
Can our best passions move,
Or raise so high our cheerful voice,
As thy forgiving love.

5 Thus, till our last expiring day,
We'll bless our God and King;
Thus will we lift our hands to pray,
And tune our lips to sing.

JESUS, where'er thy people meet, There they behold thy mercy-seat; Where'er they seek thee, thou art found; And every place is hallow'd ground. 2 Dear Shepherd of thy chosen few, Thy former mercies here renew; Here to our waiting hearts proclaim The sweetness of thy saving name.

3 Here may we prove the power of prayer, To strengthen faith and banish care; To teach our faint desires to rise

To things unseen, beyond the skies.

4 Lord, we are weak, but thou art near; Nor short thine arm, nor deaf thine ear; O, rend the heavens this favour'd hour, Let thousands feel thy saving pow'r.

DEAR Father! to thy mercy-seat

Our souls for shelter flies;

'Tis here we find a safe retreat,
When storms and tempest rise.

2 Our cheerful hopes can never die,
If thou, O God, art near;

Thy grace can raise our comforts high,
And banish every fear.

3 Thou great Protector, mighty Lord,
Thy constant aid impart;

And let thy kind, thy gracious word
Sustain each trembling heart.

4 O never let our souls remove
From this divine retreat;

Still let us trust thy power and love,
And dwell before thy feet.

HOW honoured, how dear,

That sacred abode,

Where Christians draw near
Their Father and God!
"Mid worldly commotion,
Our wearied soul faints
For the house of devotion-
The house of thy saints.

2 Thou Hearer of prayer!
Still grant us a place,
Where Christians repair

To the courts of thy grace:
More blest, beyond measure
One day so employed,
Than years of vain pleasure
By worldlings enjoyed.

3 The Lord is a sun:

The Lord is a shield:
What grace has begun,
With glory is sealed:
He hears the distressed,
He succours the just;

And they shall be blessed,

Who make him their trust.

85

THE SCRIPTURES.

'TWA

L. M.

TWAS by thy Spirit gracious Lord, The ancient prophets spoke thy word;

Thy Spirit did their tongues inspire, And warmed their hearts with heavenly fire.

2 The works and wonders which they wrought,

Confirmed the messages they brought;
The prophet's pen succeeds his breath,
To save the holy words from death.

3 Great God! our eyes with pleasure look
On the dear volume of thy book;
There we behold our Saviour's face,
And learn his name, and feel his grace.
4 Let the false raptures of the mind
Be lost, and vanish in the wind;
Here we can fix our hope secure;
This is thy word, and must endure.

ETERNAL Spirit! 'twas thy breath
The oracles of truth inspired,

r

And kings, and holy seers of old,
With strong prophetic impulse fired."

2 Filled with thy great Almighty power,
Their lips with heavenly wisdom flowed;
Their hands a thousand wonders wrought,
Which bore the signature of God.

3 The powers of earth and hell, in vain Against the sacred word combine; Thy providence through every age, Securely guards the book divine.

4 Thee, its great Author, source of light,
Thee, its preserver, we adore;
And humbly ask a ray from thee,
Its hidden wonders to explore.

87

FA

C. M.

ATHER of mercies, in thy word
What endless glory shines;

For ever be thy name adored
For these celestial lines.

2 Here may the wretched sons of want
Exhaustless riches find;
Riches above what earth can grant,
And lasting as the mind.

3 Here the Redeemer's welcome voice
Spreads heavenly peace around;
And life, and everlasting joys,

Attend the blissful sound.

4 O may these heavenly pages be
Our ever dear delight;

And still new beauties may we see,
And still increasing light,

5. Divine Instructor, gracious Lord,
Be thou for ever near;

Teach us to love thy sacred word,
And view the Saviour there.