354

The Same.

8.7.

I LORD, dismiss us with Thy blessing;
Awe us by Thy holy fear;

We are young, and oft transgressing;
Save us from each sinful snare.

355

The Same.

1 OUR Sunday school we close once more; Our teachers' toils again are o'er;

L.M.

Our thankful tongues their goodness tell, And thus our song bids them farewell. 2 May we remember every day

What we have heard our teachers say;
Their memory on our hearts shall dwell,
And now we sing a kind farewell.

3 And may we, morning, noon, and night,
Feel standing in Jehovah's sight;
His piercing eyes in darkness dwell,
And see us now we sing farewell.
4 O may we live to know His power
To save us in a dying hour!

Though now our songs of parting tell,
We hope to meet again-Farewell.

356

SPECIAL OCCASIONS.

Opening a New School.

L.M.

I GREAT God, Thy watchful care we bless,
Which gives our feeble plans success;
Long may we see Thy mighty grace
Promote Thy glory in this place!
2 These walls we to Thy honour raise
Long may they echo to Thy praise!

;

And Thou, descending, fill the place With choicest tokens of Thy grace. 3 Here let the great Redeemer reign With all the graces of His train; While power divine His word attends To conquer foes, and cheer His friends. 4 And in the great decisive day, When God the nations shall survey, May it before the world appear That crowds were born for glory here! The New Year.

357

1 WHILE with ceaseless course the sun
Hasted through the former year,
Many souls their race have run,
Never more to meet us here.

2 Fixed in an eternal state,

They have done with all below;
We a little longer wait,

But how little, none can know. 3 As the winged arrow flies,

Speedily the mark to find;
As the lightning from the skies

Darts and leaves no trace behind : 4 Swiftly thus our fleeting days

Bear us down life's rapid stream;
Upwards, Lord, our spirits raise,
All below is but a dream.

358

The New Year.

1 YE lovely tribes, in youthful bloom, A sweet and smiling joy assume;

7's.

L.M.

Come, and with cheerful voices raise To God your grateful songs of praise. 2 With humble hearts His Name adore; Thankful repeat His mercies o'er ;

Goodness divine has brought you here, To thank His Name on this New Year. 3 Kindly He makes your lives His care; Richly His favours still you share ; O may the God of grace and truth Now bless you in the prime of youth!

359

Spring.

1 SPARED to another spring, We raise our grateful songs; 'Tis pleasant, Lord, Thy praise to sing, For praise to Thee belongs.

2 Ten thousand different flowers
To Thee sweet off'rings bear;
And cheerful birds, in shady bowers,
Sing forth Thy tender care.
3 The fields on every side,
The trees on every hill,

The glorious sun, the rolling tide,
Proclaim Thy wondrous skill.
4 But trees, and fields, and skies,
Still praise a God unknown;
For gratitude and love can rise
From living hearts alone.

360

Spring-Regeneration.

1 THE ice and snow we lately saw,
Which covered all the ground,

S. M.

C. M.

Are melted soon before the thaw,
And can no more be found.
2 Could all the art of man suffice
To move away the snow,

To clear the rivers from the ice,
Or make the waters flow?

3 No; 'tis the work of God alone;
An emblem of the power

By which He melts the heart of stone,
In His appointed hour.

4 All outward means, till He appears,
Will ineffectual prove;

Though much the sinner sees and hears,
He's destitute of love.

5 But let the stoutest sinner feel

361

The soft'ning warmth of grace,
Though hard as ice, or rock, or steel,
His heart dissolves apace.

Return of Spring.

1 THE icy chains that bound the earth Are now dissolved and gone;

C. M.

Waked by the sun, the blooming spring
Puts her new garments on.

2 Where awful desolation reigned,

Now plenty rears her head;
Exulting with a smile to see
Her late destroyer fled.

3 May we in every scene admire
The wisdom and the power;
Behold the God in every plant,
In every opening flower.

362

Nature Renewed.

1 FROM winter's barren clods,
From winter's joyless waste,

The spring in sudden youth appears
With blooming beauty graced.
2 How balmy is the air!

How warm the solar beams!
And to refresh the ground, the rains
Descend in gentle streams.

3 Great God, at Thy command
Seasons in order rise;

S. M.

Thy power and love in concert reign
Through earth, and seas, and skies.
4 With grateful praise we own
Thy providential hand,

While grass for kine, and herbs and corn
For men, enrich the land.

5 But greater still the gift
Of Thine Incarnate Son;
By Him forgiveness, peace, and joy,
Through endless ages run.

1 WHEN the afflicting hand of God Seems heavily to press,

O be it always mine to see

He chastens but to bless!

2 If every earthly comfort fail, And creature good decay,

C. M.

Fix, Lord, this wandering heart on joys
That never pass away.