SAFETY IN GOD'S PROTECTION.
E who hath made his refuge God
Shall find a most secure abode,
Shall walk all day beneath His shade,
And there at night shall rest his head.
Then will I say, "My God, Thy power
Shall be my fortress and my tower;
I, who am formed of feeble dust,
Make Thine almighty arm my trust."
Thrice happy man! Thy Maker's care
Shall keep thee from the fowler's snare;
Satan the fowler, who betrays
Unguarded souls a thousand ways.
Just as a hen protects her brood
From birds of prey that seek their blood,
Under her feathers, so the Lord
Makes His own life His people's guard.
If burning beams of noon conspire
To dart a pestilential fire,
God is their life, His wings are spread
To shield them with a healthful shade.
If vapours with malignant breath
Rise thick, and scatter midnight death,
Israel is safe; the poisoned air
Grows pure, if Israel's God be there.
But if the fire, or plague, or sword
Receive commission from the Lord
To strike His saints among the rest,
Their very pains and deaths are blest.
The sword, the pestilence, or fire
Shall but fulfil their best desire;
From sins and sorrows set them free,
And bring Thy children, Lord, to Thee.
SAFETY IN GOD'S PROTECTION.
10 heaven I lift my waiting eyes,
There all my hopes are laid:
The Lord, who built the earth and skies,
Is my perpetual aid.
Their feet shall never slide to fall
Whom He designs to keep;
His ear attends the softest call ;
His eyes can never sleep.
He will sustain our weakest powers
With His almighty arm,
And watch our most unguarded hours
Against surprising harm.
Israel, rejoice and rest secure,
Thy keeper is the Lord;
His wakeful eyes employ His power
For thine eternal guard.
Nor scorching sun, nor sickly moon,
Shall have His leave to smite:
He shields thy head from burning noon,
From blasting damps at night.
He guards thy soul, He keeps thy breath,
Where thickest dangers come:
Go, and return secure from death,
Till God commands thee home.
Christ in the Temple.
MAGNIFICAT. SONG OF THE VIRGIN MARY.
UR souls shall magnify the Lord,
In God our Saviour we rejoice:
While we repeat the virgin's song,
May the same Spirit tune our voice!
The Highest saw her low estate,
And mighty things His hand hath done:
His overshadowing power and grace
Makes her the mother of His Son.
Let every nation call her bless'd,
And endless years prolong her fame :
From that fair pattern let us learn
To trust in God and praise His name.
To those that fear and trust the Lord,
His mercy stands for ever sure:
From age to age His promise lives,
And the performance is secure.
He spake to Abram and his seed,
"In thee shall all the earth be bless'd:"
The memory of that ancient word
Lay long in His eternal breast.
But now no more shall Israel wait,
No more the Gentiles lie forlorn :
Lo, the desire of nations comes;
Behold the promised seed is born!
NUNC DIMITTIS; OR, THE SONG OF SIMEON.
LORD, we
ORD, at Thy temple we appear,
As happy Simeon came,
And hope to meet our Saviour here;
O make our joys the same!
With what divine and vast delight
The aged saint was filled,
When fondly in his withered arms
He clasped the holy Child!
"Now I can leave this world," he cried,
"Behold Thy servant dies;
I've seen Thy great salvation, Lord,
And close my peaceful eyes.
"This is the Light prepared to shine
Upon the Gentile lands,
Thine Israel's glory, and their hope
To break their slavish bands."
Jesus! the vision of Thy face
Hath overpowering charms;
Scarce shall I feel death's cold embrace
If Christ be in my arms.
Then when the cords of life shall break,
How sweet my minutes roll;
A mortal paleness on my cheek,
And glory in my soul.
60 THE CREATION AND DESOLATION OF THE WORLD.
NING to the Lord who built the skies,
The Lord who reared this stately frame;
Let all the nations sound His praise,
And lands unknown repeat His name.
He formed the seas, and formed the hills,
Made every drop, and every dust,
Nature and time, with all their wheels,
And pushed them into motion first.
Now from His high imperial throne
He looks far down upon the spheres ;
He bids the shining orbs roll on,
And round He turns the hasty years.
Thus shall this moving engine last
Till all His saints are gathered in,
Then for the trumpet's dreadful blast,
To shake it all to dust again!
Yet, when the sound shall tear the skies,
And lightning burn the globe below,
Saints, you may lift your joyful eyes,
There's a new heaven and earth for you.
The Graces of the Spirit.
FAITH THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN.
AITH is the brightest evidence
things beyond our sight,
Breaks through the clouds of flesh and sense,
And dwells in heavenly light.
It sets times past in present view,
Brings distant prospects home,
Of things a thousand years ago,
Or thousand years to come.
By faith we know the worlds were made
By God's almighty word:
Abram, to unknown countries led,
By faith obeyed the Lord.
He sought a city fair and high,
Built by the eternal hands,
And faith assures us, though we die,
That heavenly building stands.
ISTAKEN souls! that dream of heaven,
And make their empty boast
Of inward joys, and sins forgiven,
While they are slaves to lust.
Vain are our fancies, airy flights,
If faith be cold and dead:
None but a living power unites
To Christ the living Head.
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