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2

There shall that piercing eye survey
My humble worship paid,
With every morning's dawning ray,
And every evening's shade.

3

I'll leave behind each earthly care;
To thee my soul shall soar;

While grateful praise, and fervent prayer,
Employ the silent hour.

4

So shall the sun in smiles arise,
The day shall close in peace;
So wilt thou train me for the skies,
Where joy shall never cease.

284.

Prayer.

1

PRAYER is the soul's sincere desire,
Utter'd, or unexpress'd;
The motion of a hidden fire,
That trembles in the breast.

2

Prayer is the burden of a sigh,
The falling of a tear,

The upward glancing of an eye,
When none but God is near.

3

Prayer is the simplest form of speech,
That infant lips can try ;

Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high.

4

Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice,
Returning from his ways;

While angels in their songs rejoice,
And 'Behold he prays.'
cry,

5

Prayer is the christian's vital breath,
The christian's native air;

His watchword at the gates of death:
He enters heaven with prayer.

285.

Religious Retirement.

1

My God! permit me not to be
A stranger to myself and thee:
Amidst a thousand thoughts I rove,
Forgetful of my highest love.

2

Call me away from flesh and sense;
Thy sovereign word can draw me thence;
I would obey thy voice divine,

And all inferior joys resign.

Be earth, with all her scenes, withdrawn ; Let noise and vanity be gone;

In secret silence of the mind,

My heaven, and there my God, I find.

286.

Religious Retirement.

1

FAR from the world, O Lord, I flee;
From strife and tumult far,
From scenes where sin is waging still
Its most successful war.

2

The calm retreat, the silent shade,
With prayer and praise agree;
And seem by thy sweet bounty made
For those who follow thee.

3

There, if thy spirit touch the soul,
And grace her mean abode,

Oh with what peace, and joy, and love,
She communes with her God!

4

Author and Guardian of my life,
Thou Source of light divine,
And all harmonious names in one,
My Father-thou art mine!

5

What thanks I owe thee! and what love!
A vast and boundless store
Shall echo through the realms above,
When time shall be no more!

287.

Communing with the Heart.

1

RETURN, my roving heart, return, .
And chase earth's fleeting joys no more;
Seek out some solitude, to mourn,
And thy forsaken God implore.

2

Wisdom and pleasure dwell at home,
Retir'd and silent; seek them there:
True conquest, is ourselves to o'ercome;
True strength, to break the tempter's snare.

3

And thou, my God, whose piercing eye
Distinct surveys each dark recess !
In these abstracted hours draw nigh,
And with thy presence fill the place.

4

Through all the mazes of my heart,
My search let heavenly wisdom guide;
And still its radiant beams impart,
"Till all be search'd and purified,

5

Then with the visits of thy love
Vouchsafe my inmost soul to cheer ;
"Till every grace shall join to prove
That God hath fix'd his dwelling there.

288.

Worldly Anxiety reprehended.

1

OH! why should I perplex

My life with fruitless care;
With fears and hopes, which idly vex,
And oft the heart ensnare?

2

Can anxious thoughts increase
My days' appointed sum?

Why waste I then my health and peace,
To hoard for years to come?

3

To him, these low desires, This sordid gain, I leave, Who to no higher good aspires

Than what this world can give.

4

Then let to-morrow's cares

Until to-morrow stay;

The trouble which to-day prepares,
Suffices for to-day.

289.

Professions of Sincerity, Repentance, and Obedience.

1

THOU art my portion, O my God!
Soon as I know thy way,

My heart makes haste to obey thy word,
And suffers no delay.

2

I choose the path of heavenly truth,
And glory in my choice;
Not all the riches of the earth
Could make me so rejoice.

3

The testimonies of thy grace
I set before mine eyes;
Thence I derive my daily strength,
And there my comfort lies.

4

Whene'er I've wander'd from thy path, I think upon my ways;

Then turn my feet to thy commands, And trust thy pardoning grace.

5

Now I am thine, for ever thine;
Oh save thy servant, Lord!
Thou art my shield, my hiding-place;
My hope is in thy word.

6

Thou hast inclin'd this heart of mine
Thy statutes to fulfil;

And thus, till mortal life shall end,
Would I perform thy will.

290.

Religious Reverence and Obedience,

1

WITH ardour I'll thy favour seek;
Oh let me never stray

From thy commands, Ŏ God of love!
Nor tread the sinner's way.

2

Thy word I'll store within my heart,
To keep my mind serene,

And be an everlasting guard
From every rising sin.

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