443.

SILENT PRAYER.

C. M.

SWEET is the prayer whose holy stream
In earnest pleading flows;
Devotion dwells upon the theme,
And warm and warmer glows.

Faith grasps the blessing she desires,
Hope points the upward gaze;
And love, untrembling love, inspires
The eloquence of praise.

But no less sweet the still, small voice,
Unheard by human ear,

When God hath made the heart rejoice,
And dried the bitter tear.

Nor accents flow, nor words ascend;
All utterance faileth there;
But listening spirits comprehend,
And God accepts the prayer.

444.

INWARD WORSHIP.

7s M.

WOULDST thou in thy lonely hour
Praises to the Eternal pour?
I will teach thy soul to be
Temple, hymn, and harmony.

Sweeter songs than poets sing
Thou shalt for thine offering bring;
Softly murmured hymns, that dwell
In devotion's deepest cell.

Know that music's holiest strain
Loves to linger, loves to reign,
In that calm of quiet thought
Which the passions trouble not.

Wouldst thou in thy lonely hour
Praises to the Eternal pour?
Thus thy soul may learn to be
Temple, hymn, and harmony.

445.

WHAT IS PRAYER?

C. M.

PRAYER is the soul's sincere desire,
Unuttered or expressed,

The motion of a hidden fire,

That trembles in the breast.

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

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

Prayer is the simplest form of speech
That infant lips can try;
Prayer, the sublimest strains that reach
The Majesty on high.

Prayer is the spirit of our God

Returning whence it came; Love is the sacred fire within, And prayer the rising flame.

446.

THE STRENGTH OF THE ERRING.

L. M.

YES, prayer is strong, and God is good;
Man is not made for endless ill;
The offending soul, in darkest mood,
Hath yet a hope, a refuge still.

Thou, God, wilt hear; these pangs are meant
To heal the spirit, not destroy;

And even remorse, for chastening sent,
When Thou commandest, works for joy.

447.

PRAYER.

C. M.

OUR praise Thou need'st not; but Thy love
Our Father and our Friend,

Would have our prayers thus soar above,
In blessings to descend.

Thy secret judgment's depths profound
Still sings the silent night;

Thy day upon His golden round,
Thy goodness infinite.

To Thee each holier thought aspires;
But ah! the chain still clings:
O, quicken Thou my faint desires,
And give my spirit wings!

448.

HEAVEN NOT AFAR OFF.

10s M.

FATHER! Thy wonders do not singly stand,
Nor far removed where feet have seldom strayed;
Around us ever lies the enchanted land,
In marvels rich to Thine own sons displayed.

In finding Thee are all things round us found;
In losing Thee are all things lost beside;
Ears have we, but in vain sweet voices sound,
And to our eyes the vision is denied.

Open our eyes that we that world may see!
Open our ears that we Thy voice may hear!
And in the spirit-land may ever be,
And feel Thy presence with us always near.

449.

THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.

C. M.

THERE is a world eye hath not seen,
That time can ne'er destroy,
Where mortal footstep hath not been,
Nor ear hath heard its joy.

There is a world, and O how blest!
Fairer than prophets told;

And never did an angel guest
One half its peace unfold.

And this pure world is ever bright
With radiance all its own;
The streams of uncreated light
Flow round it from the throne.

Look not abroad with roving minds
To seek that fair abode;
Within, within, the spirit finds
Its heaven and its God.

450.

SURSUM CORDA !

C. M.

O, EVER on our earthly path
A gleam of glory lies;

A light still breaks athwart the cloud
That hides heaven from our eyes!

Lift up the heart, lift up the mind! Until the grace be given,

That, while we travail yet on earth, Our hearts may be in heaven.

TRUST AND PEACE.

451.

HYMN OF TRUST.

L. M.

O LOVE Divine, that stoop'st to share Our sharpest pang, our bitterest tear! On Thee we cast each earth-born care, We smile at pain while Thou art near.