2 But deem her not a child of earth';
From heav'n she draws her sacred birth!
Beside the throne of God she stands
To execute his dread commands.
3 Oft as in pleasure's paths we stray,
Perplex'd in sin's deceitful way,
With storms she thunders o'er our heads,
And sudden ruin round us spreads:
4 The messenger of grace, she flies
To train us for our sphere, the skies ;
And onward as we move, the way
Becomes more smooth, more bright the day..
5 Her weeds to robes of glory turn,
Her looks with kindling radiance burn;
And from her lips these accents steal,
God smites to bless, he wounds to heal !"
Drummond.
The Light and Glory of God's Word.
1 A glory gilds the sacred page,
Majestic as the sun;
It gives a light to ev'ry age;
It gives, but borrows none.
2 The hand that gave it, still supplies
The gracious light and heat;
Its truths upon the nations rise,
They rise, but never set.
3 Let endless thanks, O God! be thine,
For such a bright display,
As makes a world of darkness shine
With beams of heav'nly day.
4 With steadfast zeal may we pursue
The paths of truth and love;
Till glory break upon our view
In brighter worlds above,
The vegetable Creation, an Emblem of the
Resurrection of Man.
1 ALL nature dies, and lives again:
The flow'rs that paint the field,
The trees that crown the mountain's brow,
And boughs and blossoms yield.
2 These, all resign their beauteous form,
At winter's stormy blast;
And leave the naked leafless plain
A desolated waste.
3 Yet soon reviving plants and flow'rs
Anew shall deck the plain;
The woods shall hear the voice of spring
And flourish green again.
4 So to the dreary grave consign'd,
Man sleeps in death's dark gloom,
Until th' eternal morning wake
The slumbers of the tomb.
5 0 may the grave become to us
The bed of peaceful rest;
Whence we shall gladly rise at length,
And mingle with the blest!
6 Cheer'd by this hope, with patient mind
We'll wait Heav'n's high decree;
Till the appointed period come
When death shall set us free.
19. C. M.
Creation of Man.
1 A God, a God, the wide earth shouts !
A God! the Heav'n's reply:
He moulded in his palm the world,
And hung it in the sky.
2 "Let us make man" :—with beauty clad, And health in ev'ry vein;
. With reason thron'd upon
Stepp'd forth majestic man.
3 Around he turn'd his wond'ring eyes,
All nature's works surveys;
Admires the earth, the skies, himself;
And tries his tongue in praise.
4 Ye hills, and vales! ye meads and woods!
Sun! with o'erpow'ring glare,
Fair creatures, tell me, if ye can,
From whence, and what ye are ?
5 What parent pow'r, all great and good,
Do these around me own ?
Tell me, creation, tell me how
T'adore the vast unknown!
i A joyful song to God,
Now let our voices raise;
His wondrous works and boundless love
Demand our highest praise.
2 He gives us wholesome food
And richest draughts of wine;
And life, thro' Christ's redeeming blood,
Immortal and divine.
3 So let us sing his praise
While life and being last;
Then taste those beatific joys
Which cannot be express'd.
Christ the Branch of David, and the Morning Star.
1 ALL hail, mysterious King!
Hail David's ancient root;
Thou righteous Branch, which thence did
To give the nations fruit.
2 Our weary souls shall rest
Beneath thy grateful shade;
Our thirsting lips the sweets shall taste,
By thy bless'd fruit convey'd.
3 Fair morning star, arise!
With living glories bright;
And pour on these awak'ning eyes
A flood of sacred light.
4 The horrid gloom is fled,
Pierc'd by thy heav'nly ray;
Shine, and our wand'ring footsteps lead
To everlasting day.
Pillars in the Heavenly Temple.
1 ALL hail, victorious Saviour, hail!
We bow to thy command,
And own that David's royal key
Well fits thy sov'reign hand,
2 Open the treasures of thy love,
And shed thy gifts abroad;
Unveil to our rejoicing eyes
The Temple of our God.
3 Therein as pillars let us stand,
On an eternal base;
Uprear'd by thy almighty hand,
And polish'd by thy grace.
4 There, deep engraven let us bear
The title of our God;
And mark the New Jerusalem,
As our secure abode.
5 In lasting characters inscribe
Thy own beloved name ;
That endless ages there may read
The great Immanuel's claim.
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