7

Where thou appointest my abode,
There would I choose to be;
For in thy presence death is life,
And earth is heaven with thee.

436.

Benefit of Afflictions and Support of them.

1

LORD! I have found 'tis good for me
To bear a Father's rod;
Afflictions make me learn thy law,
And live upon my God.

2

This is the comfort I enjoy,

When new distress begins;
I read thy word, I run thy way,
And hate my former sins.

3

Had not thy word been my delight
When earthly joys were fled,

My soul, oppress'd with sorrow's weight,
Had sunk among the dead.

4

I know thy judgments, Lord, are right,
'Though they may seem severe;
The sharpest sufferings I endure
Flow from thy faithful care.

5

Before I knew thy chastening rod,
My feet were apt to stray;
But now I learn to keep thy word,
Nor wander from thy way.

437.

In a Time of Sickness.

1

GOD of my life! look gently down;
Behold the pains I feel;

But I am dumb before thy throne,
Nor dare dispute thy will.

2

Diseases are thy servants, Lord!
They come at thy command:
I'll not attempt a murmuring word
Against thy chastening hand.

3

Crush'd as a moth beneath thy hand,
We moulder to the dust;

Our feeble powers can ne'er withstand;
And all our beauty's lost.

I'm but a sojourner below,
As all my fathers were;
May I be well prepar'd to go,
When I thy summons hear!

5

But if my life be spar'd awhile,
Before my last remove,

Thy praise shall be my business still,
And I'll declare thy love.

438.

The Hope of Heaven our Support under Trials

on Earth.

1

WHEN I can read my title clear

To mansions in the skies,

I bid farewel to every fear,

And wipe my weeping eyes.

Should earth against my peace engage,
And all its darts be hurl'd;
Still might I fearless see its rage,

And face a frowning world.

Though cares like a wild deluge come,
And storms of sorrow fall;

May 1 but safely reach my home,
My God, my heaven, my all!

4

In those bright realms, thou, O my soul,
Shalt find eternal rest;
Nor shall a wave of trouble roll
Across my peaceful breast.

439.

The Wisdom of redeeming Time.

1

GOD of eternity! from thee

Did infant time its being draw:

Moments, and days, and months, and years, Revolve by thine unvaried law.

2

Silent but fleet they glide away;

Steady and strong the current flows;

Lost in eternity's wide sea,

The boundless gulf from which it rose.

3

With it the thoughtless sons of men,
Before the rapid stream, are borne
On to that everlasting home,

That country whence there's no return.

4

Yet while the shore on either side
Presents a gaudy flattering show,
We gaze, in fond amazement lost,
Nor think to what a world we go.

5

Great Source of wisdom! teach my heart
To know the worth of every hour;
That time may bear me on to joys

Beyond its measure and its power.

440.

The Vanity of Long Life.

1

LIKE shadows gliding o'er the plain,
Or clouds that roll successive on,
Man's busy generations pass,

And while we gaze their forms are gone.

2

Vain is the boast of lengthen'd years;
A patriarch's full maturity;
'Tis but a larger drop, to swell
The ocean of eternity.

3

O Father! in whose mighty hand,
The boundless years and ages lie;
Teach us thy boon of life to prize,
And use the moments as they fly;

4

To crowd the narrow span of life,
With wise designs and virtuous deeds :
So shall we wake from death's dark night,
To share the glory that succeeds.

441.

Improvement of the Shortness of Life.

1

THE short-liv'd day declines in haste,
The night of death approaches fast;
With rapid speed the moments run,
In which the work of life is done.

2

As flies the shuttle o'er the loom,
So mortals hasten to the tomb;
As ships that skim along the sea,
Or eagles darting on their prey.

3

As vanishes the fleeting shade;
As flowers before the evening fade ;—

Such is the life of feeble man;
His days are measur'd by a span.

4

With willing heart, and active hands,
Lord! I would practise thy commands;
Improve the moments as they fly,
And live as I would wish to die.

442.

On the Death of a Young Person.

1

WHEN blooming youth is snatch'd away
By death's resistless hand,
Our hearts the mournful tribute pay
Which pity must demand.

2

While pity prompts the rising sigh,
Oh may this truth, imprest
With awful power, I too must die,'
Sink deep in every breast.

Let this vain world delude no more;
Behold the opening tomb!
It bids us seize the present hour;
To-morrow, death may come.

4

The voice of this alarming scene
May every heart obey;

Nor be the heavenly warning vain,
Which calls to watch and pray.

443.

The Great Journey.

1

BEHOLD the path that mortals tread
Down to the regions of the dead!
Nor will the fleeting moments stay,
Nor can we measure back our way.

P