594.

THE TRIAL OF FAITH WORKETH PATIENCE.

C. M.

HAPPY are they who learn in Thee,
Though patient suffering teach,
The secret of enduring strength,
And praise too deep for speech;
Peace that no pressure from without,
Nor strife within, can reach.

Safe in Thy sanctifying grace
Almighty to restore,

Borne onward-sin and death behind

And love and life before

O let my soul abound in hope,
And praise Thee evermore!

595.

WEEPING SEED-TIME; JOYFUL HARVEST.

L. M.

THE darkened sky, how thick it lowers! Troubled with storms, and black with showers, No cheerful gleam of light appears,

But nature pours forth all her tears.

Yet let the sons of God revive;
He bids the soul that seeks Him live,
And from the gloomiest shade of night
Calls forth a morning of delight.

The seeds of ecstasy unknown
Are in these watered furrows sown;
See the green blades, how thick they rise,
And with fresh verdure bless our eyes!

In secret foldings they contain
Unnumbered ears of golden grain;
And heaven shall pour its beams around,
Till the ripe harvest load the ground.

Then shall the trembling mourner come,
And bind his sheaves, and bear them home;
The voice long broke with sighs shall sing,
Till heaven with hallelujahs ring.

596.

IN AFFLICTION.

10s M.

THOU that art strong to comfort, look on me! I sit in darkness and behold no light;

Over soul the waves of agony

my

Have gone, and left me in a rayless night.

A bruised and broken reed sustain, sustain !
Divinest Comforter, to Thee I fly,

To whom no soul hath ever fled in vain ;
Support me with Thy love, or else I die.

Father, whate'er I had, it all was Thine;
A God of mercy Thou hast ever been;
What I most loved, O, help me to resign,
And if I murmur, count it not for sin!

My soul is strengthened now, and it shall bear
All that remains, whatever it may be ;
And from the very depths of my despair
I will look up, O God and trust in Thee.

597.

IN AFFLICTION.

H. M.

THOU, infinite in love!
Guide this bewildered mind,
Which, like the trembling dove,
No resting-place can find;

On the wild waters, God of light,

Through the thick darkness, lead me right!

Fain would earth's true and dear

Save me in this dark hour;

And art not Thou more near?
Art Thou not love and power?
Vain is the help of man; but Thou
Canst send deliverance even now.

Though through the future's shade
Pale phantoms I descry,

Let me not shrink dismayed,
But ever feel Thee nigh;

There may be grief, and pain, and care;
But, O my Father! Thou art there.

598.

IN THE DAY OF DISTRESS.

C. M.

O GOD, that mad'st the earth and sky,
The darkness and the day!

O, listen to Thy children's cry,
And help us when we pray!

For wide the waves of bitterness
Around our vessel roar,

And heavy grows the pilot's heart,
To view the rocky shore.

The cross that Jesus bore for man,
Like him we fain would bear;
But mortal strength to weakness turns,
And courage to despair.

Have mercy on our failings, Lord!
Our sinking faith renew;
And when his sorrows visit us,
O send his patience too!

OUT of the depths of woe, To Thee, O Lord! I cry; Darkness surrounds Thee, but I know That Thou art ever nigh.

Like them I watch and pray,

Who for the morning long;

Catch the first gleam of welcome day, Then burst into a song.

Glory to God above!

The waters soon will cease;
For lo, the swift returning dove
Brings home the sign of peace!

Though storms Thy face obscure,
And dangers threaten loud,
Thy holy covenant is sure;
Thy bow is in the cloud!

600.

CONSOLATION.

C. M.

O THOU who driest the mourner's tear!
How dark this world would be,
If, when deceived and wounded here,
We could not fly to Thee!

When joy no longer soothes or cheers,
And e'en the hope that threw
A moment's sunshine o'er our tears
Is dimmed and vanished too;

O, who would bear life's stormy doom,
Did not Thy wing of love

Come, brightly wafting through the gloom
Our peace-branch from above!

Then sorrow, touched by Thee, grows bright
With more than rapture's ray;

The darkness shows us worlds of light
We never saw by day.

601.

GOD'S WAY IS ON THE DEEP.

C. M.

THY way is on the deep, O Lord!
E'en there we 'll go with Thee;
We'll meet the tempest at Thy word,
And walk upon the sea.

Poor tremblers at His rougher wind,
Why do we doubt Him so ?

Who gives the storms a path will find
The
way our feet shall go.