1 WHEREFORE should man, frail child of clay,
Who, from the cradle to the shroud,
Lives but the insect of a day-
O! why should mortal man be proud?
2 His brightest visions just appear,
Then vanish, and no more are found;
The stateliest pile his pride can rear
A breath may level with the ground.
3 By doubt perplexed, in error lost,
With trembling step he seeks his way:
How vain of wisdom's gift the boast!
Of reason's lamp how faint the ray!
4 Follies and crimes, a countless sum,
Are crowded in life's little span:
How ill, alas! does pride become
That erring, guilty creature, man!
5 God of my life! Father divine!
Give us a meek and lowly mind:
In modest worth, O may we shine,
And peace in humble virtue find!
Love the most excellent of Christian Graces. 1 Cor. xiii. 4.
1 WHERE love with other graces reigns,
The mind is truly blessed;
For love, the noblest of the train,
Aids and exalts the rest.
2 Love suffers long with patient eye,
Nor is provoked in haste;
She lets the present injury die,
And soon forgets the past.
3 Meekness and peace her bosom fill,
From wrath and malice pure;
She hopes, believes, and thinks no ill,
And all things will endure.
4 She nor desires, nor seeks to know
The scandals men devise;
Nor looks with pride on those below,
Nor envies those who rise.
5 She, by another's good required,
Lays gain and ease aside;
So, by his fervent love inspired,
For us our Master died.
6 Love is the grace which keeps her power In all the realms above:
There hope and faith are known no more,
But saints for ever love.
A good Conscience the best Support.
1 WHILE some in folly's pleasures roll,
And court the joys which hurt the soul,
Be mine that silent, calm repast,
A peaceful conscience, to the last;
2 That tree which bears immortal fruit,
Without a canker at the root;
That friend, who never fails the just,
When other friends betray their trust.
3 With this companion in the shade,
My soul no more shall be dismayed;
But fearless meet the midnight gloom,
And the pale monarch of the tomb.
4 Though heaven afflict, shall I repine?
The noblest comforts still are mine;
Comforts, which will o'er death prevail,
And journey with me through the vale.
5 Amidst the various scene of ills,
Each stroke some kind design fulfils :
And shall I murmur at my God,
When love supreme directs the rod?
6 His hand will smooth my rugged way,
And lead me to the realms of day;
To milder skies and brighter plains,
Where everlasting pleasure reigns.
1 WHILE thee I seek, protecting Power!
Be my vain wishes stilled;
And may this consecrated hour
With better hopes be filled.
2 Thy love the powers of thought bestowed;
To thee my thoughts would soar:
Thy mercy o'er my life has flowed;
That mercy I adore!
3 In each event of life, how clear...
Thy ruling hand I see!
Each blessing to my soul more dear,
Because conferred by thee.
4 In every joy that crowns my days,
In every pain I bear,
My heart shall find delight in praise,
Or seek relief in prayer.
5 When gladness wings my favoured hour,
Thy love my thoughts shall fill :
Resigned, when storms of sorrow lower,
My soul shall meet thy will.
6 My lifted eye, without a tear,
The gathering storm shall see;
My steadfast heart shall know no fear:
That heart shall rest on thee!
1 Who can by searching find out God?
Or who can trace his bright abode?
Yet, Lord! thy glories we adore,
And wish to know and love thee more.
2 Thy hand, unseen, sustains the poles
On which the vast creation rolls;
The starry heavens proclaim thy power;
Thy pencil glows in every flower.
3 In various shapes and colours rise
Ten thousand wonders to our eyes;
And all the forms of life combine
To teach an origin divine.
4 Beneath the waves, around the sky,
There's not a place, or deep, or high,
Where the Creator has not trod,
And left the footsteps of a God.
386. L. M.
Equity of the Divine Dispensations.
1 Wно, gracious Father! shall complain
Under thy mild and equal reign?
Who does a weight of duty share,
More than his powers and aids can bear?
2 With differing climes, and differing lands,
With fertile plains, and barren sands,
Thy hand hath framed this earthly round,
And set each nation in its bound.
3 Varied alike, thy moral ray
Here sheds a full, there fainter day :
The God of all, unkind to none,
To all the path of life has shown.
4 Large is the bounty of his hand;
He will a large return demand:
Haste, then, life's arduous work pursue,
And keep the heavenly prize in view.
The one Thing needful. Luke x. 42.
1 WHY should we waste, in trifling cares,
The lives divine compassion spares,
While, in the various range of thought,
The one thing needful is forgot?.......
2 Shall God invite us from above,
Shall Jesus urge his dying love,
Shall wakened conscience give us pain,
And all these pleas unite in vain ?
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