FOR A DAY OF NATIONAL HUMILIATION.
HEARKEN, ye hills; ye mountains hear;
Jehovah vindicates his laws;
Trembling in silence at his bar,
Thon earth, attend thy Maker's cause.
Israel, stand forth-present thy plea;
And charge the Almighty to his face;
Say, if his rules oppressive be;
Say, if defective be his grace.
Eternal Judge, the action cease,
Our lips are seal'd in conscious shame:
'Tis ours in sackcloth to confess,
And thine the sentence to proclaini.
Ten thousand witnesses arise,
Thy mercies, and our crimes appear,
More than the stars that deck the skies,
And all our dreadful guilt declare.
How shall we come before thy face,
And in thine awful presence bow?
What offerings can secure thy grace,
Or calm the terrors of thy brow?
Thousands of rams in vain might bleed;
Rivers of oil might blaze in vain;
Or the first-born's devoted head
With horrid gore thine altar stain.
But thy own Lamb, all-gracious God,
Whom impious sinners dared to slay,
Hath sovereign virtue in his blood,
To purge the nation's guilt away.
With humble faith to that we fly;
With that be Britain sprinkled o'er;
Trembling no more in dust we lie,
And dread thy hand and bar no more.
INCONSTANCY LAMENTED.- Hos. vi. 4.
THE wandering star, and fleeting wina,
Are emblems of the fickle mind;
The morning cloud and early dew
Bring our inconstancy to view.
But cloud and wind, and dew and star,
Only a faint resemblance bear;
Nor can there aught in nature be
So changeable and frail as we.
Our outward walk and inward frame,
Are scarcely through an hour the same;
We vow, and straight our vows forget,
And then those very vows repeat.
We sin forsake, to sin return;
Are bot, then cold, now freeze, now burn;
Now sink to hell, in dark despair,
Then soar to heaven, and triumph there.
With flowing tears, Lord, we confess
Our folly and unsteadfastness;
When shall these hearts more stable be,
Fix'd by thy grace alone on Thee!
THE SUFFERING PEOPLE OF GOD.-Zeph. iii. 12.
'POOR and afflicted,' Lord, are thine,
Among the great unfit to shine;
But though the world may think it strange
They would not with the world exchange.
'Poor and afflicted,' 'tis their lot,
They know it, and they murmur not;
"Twould ill become them to refuse
The state their Master deign'd to choose.
Poor and afflicted,' yet they sing,
For Jesus is their glorious King;
Through sufferings perfect now He reigns,
And shares in all their griefs and pains.
Poor and afflicted,' but ere long
They join the bright celestial throng;
Their sufferings then will reach a close,
And heaven afford them sweet repose.
And while they walk the thorny way,
They oft are heard to sigh and say--
Dear Saviour, come, O quickly come!
And take thy mourning pilgrims hor
RACHEL WEEPING FOR HER CHILDREN.
WEEP, weep not o'er thy children's tomb,
O Rachel weep not so:
The bud is cropt by martyrdom,
The flower in heaven shall blow.
Firstlings of faith! the murderer's knife
Hath miss'd its deadly aim;
The God, for whom they gave their life,
For them to suffer cane.
Though evil were thy days and few,
Baptized in blood and pain,
He knows them whom they never knew,
And they shall live again.
Then weep not o'er thy children's tomb,
O Rachel! weep not so:
The bud is cropt by martyrdom,
The flower in heaven shall bow.
SAVE, LORD! OR WE PERISH.-Matt. viii. 25
WHEN through the torn sail the wild tempest is streaming,
When o'er the dark wave the red lightning is gleaming
Nor hope lends a ray, the poor seaman to cherish,
We fly to our Maker! Save, Lord! or we perish.'
O Jesus! once rock'd on the breast of the billow,
Aroused by the shriek of despair from thy pillow,
Now seated in glory, the mariner cherish,
Who cries in his anguish, 'Save, Lord! or we perish.'
And, O! when the whirlwind of passion is raging,
When sin in our hearts his wild warfare is waging
Then send down thy grace, thy redeemed to cherish
Rebuke the destroyer; 'Save, Lord! or we perish.'
THE PROMISE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
John xiv. 25-28.
You now must hear my voice no more;
My Father calls me home;
But soon from heaven the Holy Ghost,
Your Comforter, shall come.
That heavenly Teacher, sent from God,
Shall your whole soul inspire;
Your minds shall fill with sacred truth,
Your hearts with sacred fire.
Peace is the gift I leave with you;
My peace to you bequeath;
Peace that shall comfort you through K,
And cheer your souls in death.
I give not as the world bestows,
With promise false and vain ;
Nor cares, nor fears, shall wound the art
In which my words remain.
ASK AND YE SHALL RECEIVE.'-John xvi. 24
WHAT shall we ask of God in prayer?
-Whatever good we want;
Whatever man may seek to share,
Or God in wisdom grant.
Father of all our mercies,-Thou,
In whom we move and live,
Hear us in heaven, thy dwelling, now,
And answer and forgive.
When bound with sins and trespasses,
From wrath we fain would flee,
Lord, cancel our unrighteousness,
And set the captives free.
When harass'd by ten thousand foes,
Our helplessness we feel,
O give the weary soul repose,
The wounded spirit heal.
When dire temptations gather round,
And threaten or allure,
By storm or calm, in Thee be found
A refuge strong and sure.
When age advances, may we grow
In faith, and hope, and love;
And walk in holiness below
To holiness above.
When earthly joys and cares depart,
Desire and envy cease,
Be Thou the portion of our heart,
In Thee may we have peace.
When flames these elements destroy,
And worlds in judgment stand,
May we lift up our heads with joy,
And meet at thy right hand.
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