And though a bruised reed I be,
That reed thou wilt not break.

4 Then, keep me, Lord! where'er I go-
Support me on my way,

Though, worn with poverty and woe,
My widowed footsteps stray!

5 To give my weakness strength, O God!
Thy staff shall yet avail;

And though thou chasten with thy rod,
That staff shall never fail.

586.

L. M.

On the Death of a Child.

ANONYMOUS

1 As the sweet flower which scents the morn, But withers in the rising day,

Thus lovely seemed the infant's dawn!
Thus swiftly fled his life away!

2 Ere sin could blight, or sorrow fade,
Death timely came with friendly care;
The opening bud to heaven conveyed,
And bade it bloom forever there.

3 Yet the sad hour that took the boy
Perhaps has spared a heavier doom,
Snatched him from scenes of guilty joy,
Or from the pangs of ills to come.
4 He died before his infant soul
Had ever burned with wrong desire,
Had ever spurned at Heaven's control,
Or ever quenched its sacred fire.

5 He died to sin, he died to care,-
But for a moment felt the rod,
Then, rising on the viewless air,
His happy spirit soared to God.

587.

C. M.

In Affliction.

COTTON.

1 AFFLICTION is a stormy deep,
Where wave resounds to wave;
Though o'er my head the billows roll,
I know the Lord can save.

2 When darkness and when sorrows rose, And pressed on every side,

The Lord has still sustained my steps,
And still has been my guide.

3 Perhaps, before the morning dawn,
He will restore my peace;
For he who bade the tempest roar,
Can bid the tempest cease.

4 In the dark watches of the night
I'll count his mercies o'er;
I'll praise him for ten thousand past,
And humbly sue for more.

5 Here will I rest, here build my hopes, Nor murmur at his rod;

He's more than all the world to me,-
My health, my life, my God!

456

588.

MISCELLANEOUS.

C. M.

WATTS.

Power of Sin broken at Death.

1 OUR sins, alas! how strong they be!
And, like a violent sea,

They break our duty, Lord, to thee,
And hurry us away.

2 The waves of trouble, how they rise!
How loud the tempests roar!

But death shall land our weary souls
Safe on the heavenly shore.

3 There, to fulfil his sweet commands
Our speedy feet shall move;
No sin shall clog our winged zeal,
Or cool our burning love.

4 There shall we sit, and sing, and tell
The wonders of his grace;

Till heavenly raptures fire our hearts,
And smile in every face.

5 Forever his dear, sacred name
Shall dwell upon our tongue;
And Jesus and salvation be

The close of every song.

589.

L. M.

Pride lamented.

STENNETT.

1 OFT have I turned my eye within, And brought to light some latent sin; But pride, the vice I most detest, Still lurks securely in my breast. 2 Here with a thousand arts she tries To dress me in a fair disguise, To make a guilty, wretched worm Put on an angel's brightest form. 3 She hides my follies from mine eyes, And lifts my virtues to the skies; And while the specious tale she tells, Her own deformity conceals. 4 Rend, O my God, the veil away: Bring forth the monster to the day; Expose her hideous form to view, And all her restless power subdue.

5 So shall humility divine

Again possess this heart of mine;
And form a temple for my God,
Which he will make his loved abode.

Absurdity of Pride.

*ENFIELD.

1 WHEREFORE should man, frail child of clay,-
Who, from the cradle to the shroud,
Lives but the insect of a day,-
O why should mortal man be proud?
2 His brightest visions just appear,
Then vanish, and no more are found;
The stateliest pile his pride can rear,
A breath may level with the ground.

3 By doubt perplexed, in error lost,
With trembling step he seeks his way;
How vain of wisdom's gift the boast!
Of reason's lamp how faint, the ray !
4 Follies and crimes, a countless sum,
Are crowded in life's little span :
How ill, alas! does pride become
That erring, guilty creature, man!
5 God of our lives! Father divine!
Give us a meek and lowly mind
In modest worth O let us shine,
And peace in humble virtue find.

591.

L. M.

BEDDOME

Inconstancy in Religion.

1 THE wandering star, and fleeting wind,
Both represent th' unstable mind;

The morning cloud, and early dew,
Bring our inconstancy to view.

2 But cloud and wind, and dew and star,
Faint and imperfect emblems are;
Nor can there aught in nature be
So fickle and so false as we.

3 Our outward walk, and inward frame,
Scarce through a single hour the same;
We vow, and straight our vows forget,

And then these very vows repeat.

4 We sin forsake, to sin return;

Are hot, are cold, now freeze, now burn;
In deep distress, then raptures feel,
We soar to heaven, then sink to hell.