Began his glorious race to run; Nor silver moon, nor stars delay To glide along th' ætherial way. 4 Teeming with life, air, earth, and sea, Obey th' Almighty's high decree; To ev'ry tribe he gives their food; Then speaks the whole divinely good. 5 But to complete the wond'rous plan, From earth and dust he fashions man; In man the last, in man the best, The Maker's image stands confest. 6 Lord, while thy glorious works I view, Form thou my heart and soul anew ; Here bid thy purest light to shine, And beauty glow with charms divine.
238. 8.8.6. Ogilvie.
- Universal Praise....Psalm cxlviii.
BEGIN, my soul, th' exalted lay;
Let each enraptur'd thought obey,
And praise th' Almighty's name ;
Lo! heav'n and earth, and seas, and skies
In one melodious concert rise,
To swell th' inspiring theme.
2 Thou heav'n of heav'ns, his vast abode,
Ye clouds, proclaim your forming God;
Ye thunders, speak his pow'r :
Lo! on the lightning's gleamy wing
In triumph walks th' eternal king;
Th' astonish'd worlds adore.
3 Ye deeps, with roaring billows rise,
To join the thunders of the skies,
Praise him who bids you roll;
His praise in softer notes declare,
Each whisp'ring breeze of yielding air,
And breathe it to the soul.
4 Wake, all ye soaring throngs, and sing, Ye cheerful warblers of the spring, Harmonious anthems raise
To him who shap'd your finer mould,
Who tipp'd your glitt'ring wings of gold,
And tun'd your voice to praise.
Let man, by noble passions sway'd,
The feeling heart, the judging head,
In heav'nly praise employ;
Spread the Creator's name around,
'Till heav'n's broad arch ring back the sound, In general bursts of joy.
239. L. M. S
Unknown World.
BY what glimm'ring light we view
That unknown world we're hast'ning to
God hath lock'd up the mystic page,
And curtain'd darkness round the stage.
2 We talk of heav'n, we talk of hell,
But what they mean, no tongue can tell!
Heav'n is the realm where angels are,
And hell the chaos of despair.
3 But what these awful words imply
None of us know before we die!
Whether we will or not-we must
Take the succeeding world on trust.
4 Swift flies the soul-perhaps 'tis gone
Ten thousand leagues beyond the sun :
Or twice ten thousand more thrice told
Ere the forsaken clay is cold.
5 But ah! no notices they give,
Nor tell us where or how they live;
Tho' conscious while with us below
How much themselves desir'd to know.
6 As if bound up by solemn fate,
To keep this secret of their state,
To tell their joys or pains to none, That man may live by faith alone. 7 Well!-let our Sov'reign, if he please, Lock up his marvellous decrees; Why should we wish him to reveal What he thinks proper to conceal ? [8 It is enough that we believe Heav'n's brighter far than we conceive: And O may God our souls prepare To meet and bless, and praise him there.]
Supposed Conversation between the Mother and the
H! little sojourner below,
O why from hence so quickly gone
Say is this world so full of woe,
That thou shouldst quit thine earthly home?
2 Vain world, how transient is its joy-
Its pleasures soon will end in pain;
But where I'm gone there's no alloy;
Who would not die this bliss to gain?
3 Here babes, like me, forever sing
The dear Redeemer's dying love;
Our songs make heav'n's high arches ring,
And rills of bliss fill all above.
4 Then cease t' indulge th' falling tear,
I now with Jesus ever dwell;
If you my praises did but hear,
You'd surely say that all is well.
5 Now let each furrow'd cheek be dry,
And the Redeemer's grace adore;
Soon shall you mount with me on high
To sing and praise, and part no more.
241. C. M. Dobell.
Death of a Child....1 Sam. iii. 18.
OD hath bereav'd me of my child;
His hand in this I've view'd;
It is the Lord, shall I complain?
"He doth what seems him good!"
2 I know the Lord does all things well;
His will has always stood;
It is the Lord, I this can tell,
He doth what seems him good!
3 'Twas God who gave my child to me,
Th' appointed time he stood;
It is the Lord, I plainly see,
He doth what seems him good!
4 Yet nature feels-but ah, he's gone➡➡
For him my tears have flow'd;
It is the Lord, his hand I own,
He doth what seems him good,
5 Support my sinking spirit up
Under this heavy load,
It is the Lord, and he is just,
He doth what seems him good.
6 It is on thee my hope is stay'd,
I know thou art my God;
It is the Lord, his hand I'll bless,
He doth what seems him good.
7 Uphold me, Lord, by grace divine,
And cleanse me with thy blood;
I now resign my all to thee,
Since all things work for good.
242. C. M. Knight.
Death of a Child....2 Sam. xii. 22, 23.
LAS! how chang'd that lovely flow'r,
Which bloom'd and cheer'd my heart!
Fair fleeting comfort of an hour,
How soon we're call'd to part!
2 And shall my bleeding heart arraign
That God, whose ways are love?
Or vainly cherish anxious pain
For her who rests above?
3 No!-let me rather humbly pay
Obedience to his will,
And with my inmost spirit say,
The Lord is right'ous still.
4 From adverse blasts, and low'ring storms,
Her favor'd soul he bore,
And with yon bright, angelic forms,
She lives, to die no more.
5 Why, should I vex my heart, or fast;
No more she'll visit me;
My soul will mount to her at last,
And I her face shall see.
6 Prepare me, blessed Lord, to share
The bliss thy people prove;
Who round thy glorious throne appear,
And dwell in perfect love.
243. C. M. Stennett.
Death of an Infant....Matt. xix. 14.
HY life I read, my dearest Lord,
With transport all divine;
Thine image trace in ev'ry word,
Thy love in ev'ry line.
2 Methinks I see a thousand charms
Spread o'er thy lovely face,
While infants in thy tender arms
Receive the smiling grace.
3 "I take these little lambs," said he,
"And lay them in my breast;
"Protection they shall find in me....
"In me be ever blest.
4"Death may the bands of life unloose,
"But can't dissolve my love;
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