3 There, if thy Spirit touch the soul,
And grace her mean abode,

Oh! with what peace, and joy, and love,
She communes with her God!

4[There, like the nightingale, she pours
Her solitary lays;

Nor asks a witness of her song,
Nor thirsts for human praise.]

5[Author and Guardian of my life,
Sweet Source of light divine,
And-all harmonious names in one-
My Saviour, Thou art mine!]

6 What thanks I owe Thee, and what love! A boundless, endless store

Shall echo through the realms above,
When time shall be no more.

309

Closer communion with God desired.

Gen. xxviii, 11-19. John i, 49-51.

1 NEARER, my God! to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

E'en though it be a cross

That raises me;

Still all my song shall be,
Nearer, my God! to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

P. M.

2 Though like a wanderer,

The sun gone down,

Darkness comes over me,

My rest a stone;

Yet in my dreams I'd be
Nearer, my God! to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

3 There let my way appear

Steps unto heav'n,

All that Thou sendest me

In mercy giv'n,

Angels to beckon me

Nearer, my God! to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

4 Then with my waking thoughts

Bright with thy praise,

Out of my stony griefs

Bethel I'll raise;

So by my woes to be

Nearer, my God! to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

5 And when on joyful wing

Cleaving the sky,

Sun, moon, and stars forgot,

Upward I fly;

Still all my song shall be,

Nearer, my God! to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

310

L. M.

Earth and heaven contrasted.

Matt. ix, 9. Mark x, 21, 22. 2 Cor. iv, 18.

1 WHAT sinners value I resign;
Lord! 'tis enough that Thou art mine;
I shall behold thy blissful face,
And stand complete in righteousness.

2 This life's a dream, an empty show;
But the bright world to which I go
Hath joys substantial and sincere;
When shall I wake, and find me there?

3 O glorious hour! O blest abode!
I shall be near and like my God!
And flesh and sin no more controul
The sacred pleasures of the soul.

4 My flesh shall slumber in the ground
Till the last trumpet's joyful sound;
Then burst the chains with sweet surprise,
And in my Saviour's image rise.

311

Journeying home to God.

Ps. cxlix, 2. Matt. ix, 9.

Luke xii, 32.

1 CHILDREN of the heavenly King,
As ye journey, sweetly sing;
Sing your Saviour's worthy praise,
Glorious in his works and ways.

2 Ye are travelling home to God,
In the way the fathers trod:
They are happy now, and ye
Soon their happiness shall see.

3 Shout, ye little flock, and blest,
You on Jesu's throne shall rest;
There your seat is now prepar'd;
There your kingdom and reward.

4 Fear not, brethren! joyful stand
On the borders of your land;
Jesus Christ, the Father's Son,
Bids you undismay'd go on.

5 Lord! obediently we go,
Gladly leaving all below;
Only Thou our Leader be,
And we still will follow Thee

7's.

312

1 Tim. iii, 16.

Christ seen of angels.

and all Angels.

148th.

Rev. vii, 11.

1

2

O YE immortal throng

Of angels round the throne,
Join with our feeble song

To make the Saviour known:

On earth ye knew his wondrous grace,
And now his face in heaven ye view.

Ye saw the heav'n-born Child
In human flesh array'd,

Benevolent and mild,

While in the manger laid;

And praise to God, and peace on earth,
For his blest birth, proclaim'd aloud.

3 [Ye in the wilderness

4

Beheld the tempter spoil'd,
Well-known in ev'ry dress,
In ev'ry combat foil'd;

And joy'd to crown the Victor's head,
When Satan fled before his frown.]

Around the fatal tree

Ye press'd with strong desire,

That wondrous sight to see,
The Lord of life expire;

And, could your eyes have known a tear,
Had dropt it there in sad surprise.