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Pour forth its humble strains. Eternal Lord!
Thy majesty might crush the embryo word
With its gigantic presence; but Thy love
Gives it a voice, and wafts its tones above.
Grant me, Eternal One! Thy light to cheer,
Thy hand to guide me, while I journey here;
Thy grace to help, Thy peace my soul to fill,
And sorrow's storm may thunder if it will.
I am supported by Thy holy arm,—

The cloud may burst, — but, O! it cannot harm.
I say not, "Shield me, Father, from distress,"
But, "Wake my heart to truth and holiness."
I ask not that my earthly course may run
Cloudless, but, humbly, "Let Thy will be done."
The peace the world can give not nor destroy,
The love which is the greatest, and the joy
That's given to angels, to perceive and own
That all Thy will is light and truth alone

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And bliss-producing; - these, and such as these,
Be mine; the vain world's fleeting vanities -
Pomps, pleasures, riches, honors, glory, pride,
(Idols by man's perverseness deified,) ·

I envy not. Do Thou my steps control,-
Erect devotion's temple in my soul;

And there, my God! my King! unrivalled sway:
So let existence, like a Sabbath day,
Glide softly by; and let that temple be

A shrine devoted all to truth and Thee.

SUNDAY EVENING.

Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, "Peace be unto you."— Luke xxiv. 36.

YES! there is, indeed, peace, when our Saviour is with us, when he awakens in our souls a sense of the presence of our Heavenly Father!

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But without him can there be peace? Even if the stores of mind open to the fascinated understanding treasures unbounded, and excite the imagination to its loftiest flights, can there be peace in the soul, if God is not there, if the spirit of our Saviour is not with us? And can the most exquisite beauty and tranquillity of Nature breathe peace into that soul which has excluded from itself, by sin, the peace of God?

Yet, if Jesus is with us, his presence alone gives peace. It bids us hope to be one with him, as he is with the Father; it warns us to drive from the temple of our hearts all impure things, which may interfere with the worship of Him who is a Spirit; when weary and heavy laden with the weight of sin, the burden of the flesh, — it teacheth us how to call upon Him who rejecteth not the

prayer of the penitent, and will save unto the uttermost those that come unto Him with true purpose of heart; it shows us how one, who was like unto us in all things, save without sin, overcame the world, by living after the power of an endless life; it places before our eyes the brightness of the Father's glory, a glory in which even we may be

sharers.

And this heavenly being calls us his brethren. We know that he was made like unto us in trials, temptations, and sorrows; we trust that we may, like him, be made perfect through suffering. We pray that he may be with us to the end of our mortal lives; and that we may begin an immortal one with him in the heavenly mansion, in the presence of his Father and our Father, of his God and our God.

On the first Christian Sabbath-eve,
When his disciples met,

O'er his lost fellowship to grieve,
Nor knew the Scriptures yet;

Lo! in their midst a form was seen,

The form in which he died,

Their Master's marred and wounded mien,

His hands, his feet, his side.

Then were they glad their Lord to know,
And hailed him, yet with fear:
Jesus! again thy presence show;
Meet thy disciples here:

Be in our midst! let faith rejoice
Our risen Lord to view,

And make our spirits hear thy voice
Say,- "Peace be unto you!"

And while with thee, in social hours,
We commune through thy word,
May our hearts burn, and all our powers
Confess, "It is the Lord!"

MONDAY MORNING.

Bay unto day uttereth speech. —Psalm xix. 2.

WITH the eye and affections of one who not only knows but feels that a God of love and wisdom is the Creator of all, what beauty and order do we not everywhere behold! How much do we not see to cherish the sentiment, that He is in all and over all, and to call for the offering of praise and prayer!

Does winter hold its triumphant reign, freezing the air, binding in its chains the springs and rivers, spreading its snows, staying the current of vegetable life, and compelling all that breathe to seek for shelter from its influence? "Summer and winter, fire and hail, snow and vapor, and stormy winds fulfil Thy word." Do we see the animals at the stream quenching their thirst, or enjoying the abundant provision which is made for their support ? They are Thy care, O God, and their sustenance is from Thy liberal hand." Does the sun rise to enlighten and warm the earth, to give a season for labor, to gladden all that live by his cheering influences, and to give a new spring to the vege

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