My heart, with sacred reverence, hears
The threatenings of thy word;
My anxious mind, with trembling, fears
Thy judgments, O my Lord.
O God! resign'd, I'll hope and wait
For thy salvation still:
While thy whole law is my delight,
And I obey thy will.
Oн that thy statutes every hour
Might dwell upon my mind!
Thence should I feel a quickening power,
And daily peace should find.
To meditate thy precepts, Lord!
Shall be my sweet employ;
My soul shall ne'er forget thy word,
Thy word is all my joy.
How would I run in thy commands,
If thou my heart discharge
From sin and passion's hateful bands,
And set my feet at large !
My lips with courage shall declare
Thy statutes and thy name,
Whatever loss or scorn I bear;
Nor yield to fear or shame.
Let those depart, who wish to draw
My hands or heart to ill;
I love my God, I love his law,
And must obey his will,
Remember thy Creator in the days of thy Youth.'
In the soft season of thy youth,
In nature's smiling bloom,
Ere age arrive, and, trembling, wait
Its summons to the tomb,-
Remember thy Creator-God;
For him thy powers employ:
Make him thy fear, thy love, thy hope,
Thy confidence, thy joy.
He shall defend and guide thy course,
Through life's uncertain sea;
Till thou art landed in the realms
Of never-ending day.
Then seek the Lord betimes, and choose
The path of heavenly truth:
The Lord will graciously accept
The offering of thy youth.
Preparation in Youth for the Trials of Life.
WHILE health and strength and youth remain,
And pleasures flow, uncheck'd by pain,
May I, O Lord, my soul prepare,
By faith, by penitence, and prayer.
So, when the snares of sin are spread
Around my unsuspecting head,
Thy grace shall every sin control,
And from temptation guard my soul.
So, when the cares of life molest,
And rob my doubting mind of rest,
Thy word shall bid the tempest cease,
And calm my anxious breast to peace.
4
So, when my youth and strength decay,
And life's bright vision fleets away,
Eternal bliss my soul shall prove,
In realms of everlasting love.
FROM every thought and wish impure,
Great God! preserve my soul;
May every rebel passion bow
To thy divine control.
Sin has a thousand treacherous arts,
To lead the soul aside;
Oh teach me every art to shun,
And be my constant guide!
Ne'er let me venture to begin
The gay enchanted round,
Nor, in the thoughtless guilty maze,
The slave of sin be found.
Oh grant me thine assisting grace,
Where'er I'm call'd to go!
Upheld by thee, my cautious feet
The paths of peace shall know.
Through all the dangerous scenes of life,
My way oh deign to trace!
And after death may I behold,
With joy, thy holy face!
Faith in the Invisible God.—Heb. xi. 27.
ETERNAL and immortal King!
Thy matchless splendours none can bear; But darkness veils seraphic eyes,
When God with all his glory 's there.
Yet faith can pierce the awful gloom,
The great Invisible can see;
And with its tremblings mingle joy,
In fix'd regards, great God! on thee.
Then every tempting form of sin,
Aw'd by thy presence, disappears;
Aad all the glowing raptur'd soul,
The likeness it contemplates, wears.
This one petition would I urge-
To bear thee ever in my sight,
In life, in death, in worlds unknown,
My only portion and delight!
Fidelity in the Cause of Truth and Virtue.
SHALL I forsake that heavenly Friend,
On whom my highest hopes depend?
Forbid it, Lord! that e'er my heart
From truth and duty should depart.
First let the wheels of life stand still,
Ere I forget thy holy will;
Ere I submit to guilty shame,
And thus disgrace my Saviour's name.
Faithful to him, and to his laws,
With zeal may I maintain his cause;
Steadfast the work assign'd fulfil,
And learn, like him, to do thy will.
Till death shall end my mortal days,
Firm may I walk in duty's ways;
And reap at last the bright reward,
Which waits the servants of the Lord.
AWAKE, our souls! away, our fears!
Let every trembling thought be gone :
Awake, and run the heavenly race,
And put a cheerful courage on.
True, 'tis a strait and thorny road;
And mortal spirits tire and faint;
But they forget the mighty God,
That feeds the strength of every saint:
The mighty God, whose matchless power Is ever new and ever young,
And firm endures while endless years
Their everlasting circles run.
From thee, the ever-flowing spring,
Our souls shall draw a large supply;
While such as seek refreshing draughts
From mortal streams, shall droop and die.
Swift as an eagle cuts the air,
We'll mount aloft to thine abode ;
On wings of love our souls shall fly,
Nor tire amidst the heavenly road.
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