HYMN 522. C. M. [#]

The Christian's secret Resolutions.

1 Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own his cause,
Or blush to speak his name?

2 Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,

Whilst others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?

3 Sure I must fight, if I would reign;
Increase my courage, Lord :
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
Supported by thy word.

4 Thy saints, in all this glorious war,
Shall conquer though they die;
They view the triumph from afar,
And seize it with their eye.

5 When that illustrious day shall rise,
And all thy armies shine
In robes of victory through the skies,
The glory shall be thine.

HYMN 523. L. M. [# or b ]

Constant Reliance on God.

1 FATHER, I thank thee; may no thought E'er deem thy chastisements severe; But may this heart, by sorrow taught, Calm each wild wish, each idle fear.

2 Thy mercy bids all nature bloom;
Thy sun shines bright, and man is gay;
Thine equal mercy spreads the gloom,
That darkens o'er his little day.

3 How many throbs of grief and pain

Is earth's pale wanderer doomed to know!
Yet not one prayer is breathed in vain,
Nor does one tear unheeded flow.

4 Thy various messengers employ ;
Thy purposes of love fulfil;
Aud, 'mid the wreck of human joy,
Let kneeling faith adore thy will.

HYMN 524. C. M. [b]
Religious Retirement.

1 FAR from the world, O Lord, I flee;
From strife and tumult far
;

From scenes where sin is waging still
Its most successful war.

2 The calm retreat, the silent shade,
With prayer and praise agree,
And scem by thy sweet bounty made
For those who follow thee.

3 There, if thy presence cheer the soul,
And grace her mean abode,

O with what peace, and joy, and love,
Does she commune with God!

4 Author and Guardian of my life,
Sweet Source of light divine,

And all harmonious names in one,
My Father, thou art mine.

HYMN 525. 8 & 7s. M. [#]
God's Habitation our Security.

1 CALL Jehovah thy salvation;
Rest, my soul, beneath his shade;
In his secret habitation

Dwell, nor ever be dismayed:
There no tumult can alarm thee;
Thou shalt dread no hidden snare;
Guile nor violence can harm thee,
In eternal safeguard there.

2 Since, with pure and firm affection,
Thou on God hast set thy love,
With the wings of his protection,
He will shield thee from above:
Thou shalt call on him in trouble;
He will hearken, he will save;
Here for grief reward thee double,
Crown with life beyond the grave.

MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS.

HYMN 526. 7s. M. [b]

Shortness of Life.

1 WHILE, with ceaseless course, the sun
Hasted through the closing year,
Many souls their race have run,
Never more to meet us here.
Gone to their eternal state,

They have done with all below;

We a little longer wait,

But how little none can know.

2 As the rapid arrow flies,

Quick the destined mark to find ;

As the lightning from the skies

Darts, and leaves no trace behind ;—
So our brief and transient days
To their end speed swiftly on;
Soon we pass life's little space,
Here to-day, to-morrow gone.

3 Thanks, for mercies past, receive;
Pardon of our sins renew;

Teach us, Lord, by faith to live
With eternity in view.

Bless thy word to young and old;

Fill our hearts with filial love;
And, when life's short tale is told,
Take us to thyself above.

HYMN 527. C. M. [b]

Retrospections at the Close of the Year.

1 MARK how the swift-winged minutes fly, And hours still hasten on!

How swift the circling months run round! How soon the year is gone!

2 Let us indulge a serious thought; 'The year that's past review;

What good, what evil, have we wrought?
What work have we to do?

3 How is our debt of love increased
To that sustaining Power,
Who hath upheld our feeble frame,
And blest each rolling hour.

4 For all thy favours, O our God,
Thy goodness we adore;

Thou hast our cup with blessings filled,
And made that cup run o'er.

5 What shall befall in future life

We would not, Lord, inquire:
To be prepared for all thy will,
Be this our chief desire.

HYMN 528. C. M. [b]
Beginning or Close of the Year.

1 TEACH me the measure of my days,
Thou Maker of my frame;

I would survey life's narrow space,
And learn how frail I am.