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SURDISE AND CORNICTIOR.

"The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God."-PSALM xiv. 1, & liii. 1.

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And I saw a man encumbered
With a body made of clay,
And I saw that senseless body
Given over to decay;
And I thought upon the future

Of that form beneath the clod, And, thus musing, I reflected"I think there is a God!"

I read full many a story

In a worn and ancient Book,
And I counsel found and solace
In many a precious nook;
And I gathered from its teachings
The long history of the past,
And events that yet shall happen,
E'en while time itself shall last:

And I read a strange narration
Of true HOLINESS and sin,

How when JUSTICE sternly threatened
LOVE DIVINE contrived to win;
And of all the grace of Calvary,
And of Sinai's wrath and rod,
And, thus musing, I reflected,
"I think there is a God!”

And I thought of mine own history From the moment of my birth, And of all that had befallen me

Whilst living on the earth:

Of my body with its marvels,

And my still more wondrous mind, And my soul with aspirations

The UNKNOWN GOD to find:

And I thought on all the leadings
Of that felt, but unseen, Power
That has guided all my movements
In each anxious, trying hour:
How my feet for tedious journeyings
Were with brass and iron shod,
And thus musing, I reflected,

"I KNOW THERE IS A GOD!"

O, atheist and sceptic,

Let your sins and madness cease! Down on your knees beseeching

For pardon and for peace;

Then shall ye, too, hereafter

By each ordered step ye've trod,

Know of a surety and confess

A Saviour and a God!

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GRIETE NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT.

"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."-EPHES. v. 30.

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RIEVE not the Holy Spirit: let not trifles,

Things of the earth and earthly, hold thine heart;
He who the voice of conscience madly stifles

May find, too late, that monitor depart.

"Tis thus God's Spirit with thy spirit pleadeth,
The voice unheard, unknown to all beside;
And He all those who listen to Him leadeth
To view the precious things of Christ that died.

Thy Counsellor, He intercession maketh

For thee with groans that cannot uttered be; *

Thine Advocate, thy cause He undertaketh,
That an offended Judge may pardon thee.

And pleading with thyself, He too inciteth

In softest accents, but impressive tone,

And to forsake each evil course inviteth

Thy sins acknowledge, thy transgressions own.

Is thine heart frozen that it will not soften:
Is thine ear heavy that it will not hear:
Have these monitions been repelled so often
That thou canst now repel them without fear?

Perhaps thy conscience, though in nowise tender,
May still be able to explain the cause,
But can, alas! no better reason render
Than the oft-breaking of thy Maker's laws.

Heed then, O heed, the Spirit's earnest pleading!
Fall down e'en now upon thy bended knee;
Let not this moment slip without thy turning
That from the wrath to come thou mayest flee.

'Tis but thy duty though it seem unpleasant:
He is the Potter, thou art but the clay;
What thou preferest is but evanescent,

Nor hast thou right to say thy Master nay;

"Tis but in love He bids thee to surrender

That which seems pleasing to thy earthly eyes:

Yield then to Him, thy Guide and thy Defender;

Grieve, then, no longer His unspoken cries.

* Rom. viii. 26.

TEACH US TO PRAY.

One of His disciples said unto Him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples."-LUKE xi. 1.

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TELL IT Our.

"Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: He shall julge the people righteously."

"Tell it out among the heathen that the LORD is King: etc."

PSALM XCVI. 10. Prayer Book Version.

I.

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ELL it out among the heathen that the Lord Jehovah reigneth!

Tell it out!

Tell it out among the nations where the weary earth complaineth,
Tell it out where sin's pollution all the fair creation staineth
That a sinner who repenteth ne'er the Lord of all disdaineth:
Tell it out: Tell it out!

II.

Tell it out, ye constellations, glowing in the azure heaven;

Though your praises be unspoken let them not the less be given:
And among the pagan nations, from all peace and pardon riven
Tell it out, ye Christian churches, seething like a sacred leaven:
Tell it out!

III.

Things inanimate may tell them of a King of power and glory
By their startling revelations and their grand traditions hoary;
But of Sinai and Bethlehem, Olivet and Calvary gory
Souls redeemed by matchless mercy can alone unfold the story,
And tell it out.

IV.

Then, ye ransomed, raise your voices with a loud exultant shout,

And of Him Who loved and washed you, tell ye out, tell ye out!
Far and wide through all the countries, let there be not one exemption,
But the tale of Adam's sinning and of Jesus Christ's redemption
Tell ye out! Tell ye out! Tell ye out!

V.

First, ye soulless, speechless creatures, tell ye out to every nation
Of the glorious King Jehovah, Sovereign Lord of all creation;
For as in your several places each fulfils its high vocation
By your Master's will obeying, ye set forth your adoration,
And, though lips and tongues without-

Tell it out, Tell it out.

VI.

Tell it out, thou moon of silver, tell it out thou golden sun,
Tell it out, ye swift-winged comets, as your wondrous course ye run:

Tell it out, thou midnight darkness, tell it out thou light of day,
Tell it out, ye sparkling jewels that compose the Milky Way:

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