HYMN CXXXI.
Contentment.* Chap. iv. 11.

1 FIERCE passions discompose the mind,
As tempests vex the sea;

But calm content and peace we find,
When, Lord, we turn to thee.

2 In vain by reason and by rule
We try to bend the will;
For none but in the Saviour's school
Can learn the heavenly skill.

3 Since at his feet my soul has sat
His gracious words to hear,
Contented with my present state,
I cast on him my care.

4"Art thou a sinner, soul?" he said,

"Then how canst thou complain? How light thy troubles here, if weigh'd With everlasting pain!

5 "If thou of murm'ring wouldst be cur'd,
Compare thy griefs with mine;

Think what my love for thee endur'd,
And thou wilt not repine.

6 ""Tis I appoint thy daily lot,

And I do all things well;

Thou soon shalt leave this wretched spot,
And rise with me to dwell.

7" In life my grace shall strength supply,
Proportion'd to thy day

At death thou still shalt find me nigh
To wipe thy tears away."

3

[BOOK I.

The lamb, the dove, set forth His perfect innocence,* Whose blood of matchless worth, Should be the soul's defence; For he who can for sin atone, Must have no failings of his own. 4 The scape-goat on his headf The people's trespass bore, And to the desert led, Was to be seen no more: In him our Surety seem'd to say, 'Behold, I bear your sins away."

5

6

1

66

Dipt in his fellow's blood,
The living bird went free;t
The type, well understood,
Express'd the sinner's plea;
Describ'd a guilty soul enlarg'd,
And by a Saviour's death discharg'd.

Jesus, I love to trace,
Throughout the sacred page,
The footsteps of thy grace,
The same in ev'ry age.
O grant that I may faithful be
To clearer light vouchsaf'd to me!

HYMN CXXXIII.

The Word quick and powerful.
Chap. iv. 12, 13.

THE word of Christ, our Lord,
With whom we have to do,

Is sharper than a two-edg'd sword,
To pierce the sinner through:

Swift as the lightning's blaze,

When awful thunders roll,

It fills the conscience with amaze,

And penetrates the soul.

No heart can be conceal'd

From his all-piercing eyes;

C.

Each thought and purpose stands reveal'd, Naked, without disguise.

8 Thus I, who once my wretched days In vain repinings spent,

Taught in my Saviour's school of grace, Have learn'd to be content.

C.

He sees his people's fears,

He notes their mournful cry,

He counts their sighs and falling tears,

And helps them from on high.

Though feeble is their good,

It has its kind regard;

Yea, all they would do if they could,§

Shall find a sure reward.

6

He sees the wicked too,

And will repay them soon,

For all the evil deeds they do,

And all they would have done.||

7

* Book III. Hymn lv.

† Exodus xii. 13.

Lev. xiv. 51-53. Matth. v. 28.

HYMN CXXXIV.

Looking unto Jesus. Chap. xii. 2.
1 Br various maxims, forms, and rules,
That pass for wisdom in the schools,
I strove my passion to restrain,
But all my efforts prov'd in vain.

2 But since the Saviour I have known,
My rules are all reduc'd to one,
To keep my Lord, by faith, in view;
This strength supplies, and motives too.

3 I see him lead a suff'ring life,
Patient amidst reproach and strife;
And from his pattern courage take,
To bear and suffer for his sake.

4 Upon the cross I see him bleed,
And by the sight from guilt am freed;
This sight destroys the life of sin,
And quickens heavenly life within.
5 To look to Jesus as he rose,
Confirms my faith, disarms my foes;
Satan I shame and overcome,
By pointing to my Saviour's tomb.
6 Exalted on his glorious throne,

I see him make my cause his own;
Then all my anxious cares subside,
For Jesus lives, and will provide.
7 I see him look with pity down,

And hold in view the conq'ror's crown;
If press'd with griefs and cares before,
My soul revives, nor asks for more.
8 By faith I see the hour at hand,
When in his presence I shall stand;
Then it will be my endless bliss,
To see him where, and as he is.

HYMN CXXXV.
Love-tokens. Chap. xii. 5-11.
1 AFFLICTIONS do not come alone,
A voice attends the rod;

By both he to his saints is known,
A Father and a God!

2 "Let not my children slight the stroke I for chastisement send,

Nor faint beneath my kind rebuke,
For still I am their friend.

3 "The wicked I perhaps may leave

A while, and not reprove;
But all the children I receive,
I scourge, because I love.

4 "If, therefore, you are left without
This needful discipline,

You might with cause admit a doubt,
If you, indeed, were mine.

5 "Shall earthly parents then expect
Their children to submit?

And will not you, when I correct,
Be humbled at my feet?

6 "To please themselves they oft chastise, And put their sons to pain;

HYMN CXXXVI.
Ephesus. Chap. ii. 1-7.

1 Thus saith the Lord to Ephesus,
And thus he speaks to some of us :-
"Amidst my churches, lo, I stand,
And hold the pastors in my hand:

2 "Thy works to me are fully known,
Thy patience and thy toil I own;
Thy views of gospel-truth are clear,
Nor canst thou other doctrine bear.
3 "Yet I must blame while I approve;
Where is thy first, thy fervent love?
Dost thou forget my love to thee?
That thine is grown so faint to me!
4 "Recall to mind the happy days,
When thou wast fill'd with joy and praise,
Repent, thy former works renew,
Then I'll restore thy comforts too.
5 "Return at once, when I reprove,
Lest I thy candlestick remove;
And thou, too late, thy loss lament,
I warn before I strike,-Repent."
6 Hearken to what the Spirit saith,
To him that overcomes by faith,
"The fruit of life's unfading tree,
In paradise his food shall be."

HYMN CXXXVIII.

Sardis. Chap. iii. 1-6.

1 "WRITE to Sardis," saith the Lord, And write what he declares, He whose Spirit, and whose Word, Uphold the seven stars: "All thy works and ways I search, Find thy zeal and love decayed; Thou art call'd a living church,

But thou art cold and dead.

2 "Watch, remember, seek, and strive, Exert thy former pains;

Let thy timely care revive

And strengthen what remains;
Cleanse thine heart, thy works amend,
Former times to mind recall,
Lest my sudden stroke descend,
And smite thee once for all.

3 "Yet I number now in thee

A few that are upright;

These my Father's face shall see,
And walk with me in white:
When in judgment I appear,
They for mine shall be confess'd:
Let my faithful servants hear,
And woe be to the rest!"

HYMN CXXXIX. Philadelphia. Chap. iii, 7-13. 1 THUS saith the holy One and true, To his beloved faithful few,

C.

"Of heaven and hell I hold the keys, To shut, or open, as I please. 2 "I know thy works, and I approve; Though small thy strength, sincere thy love, Go on, my word and name to own, For none shall rob thee of thy crown. 3"Before thee see my mercy's door Stands open wide, to shut no more; Fear not temptation's fiery day,' For I will be thy strength and stay. 4 "Thou hast my promise, hold it fast, The trying hour will soon be past; Rejoice, for, lo! I quickly come, To take thee to my heavenly home. 5 "A pillar there, no more to move, Inscrib'd with all my names of love A monument of mighty grace, Thou shalt for ever have a place."

6 Such is the conqueror's reward, Prepar'd and promis'd by the Lord! Let him that hath the ear of faith, Attend to what the Spirit saith.

HYMN CXL.

Laodicea. Chap. iii. 14-20.

1 HEAR what the Lord, the great Amen,
The true and faithful witness says!
He form'd the vast creation's plan,
And searches all our hearts and ways.
2 To some he speaks, as once of old,
"I know thee, thy profession's vain:
Since thou art neither hot nor cold,
I'll spit thee from me with disdain.
3 "Thou boasted, 'I am wise and rich,
Increas'd in goods, and nothing need;
And dost not know thou art a wretch,
Naked, and poor, and blind, and dead.
4 "Yet while I thus rebuke, I love,
My message is in mercy sent;
That thou may'st my compassion prove
I can forgive if thou repent.

5 "Wouldst thou be truly rich and wise!
Come, buy my gold in fire well tried,
My ointment to anoint thine eyes,
My robe thy nakedness to hide.
6"See at thy door I stand and knock!
Poor sinner, shall I wait in vain?
Quickly thy stubborn heart unlock,
That I may enter with my train.
7 "Thou canst not entertain a king,
Unworthy thou of such a guest,
But I my own provisions bring,
To make thy soul a heavenly feast."

HYMN CXLI.

The Little Book.* Chap. x.

1 WHEN the belov'd disciple took
The angel's little open book,
Which, by the Lord's command, he ate,
It tasted bitter after sweet.

2 Thus when the gospel is embrac'd,
At first 'tis sweeter to the taste
Than honey, or the honey-comb,
But there's a bitterness to come.
3 What sweetness does the promise yield,
When by the Spirit's power seal'd!
The longing soul is fill'd with good,
Nor feels a wish for other food.

4 By these inviting tastes allur'd
We pass to what must be endur'd;
For soon we find it is decreed,
That bitter must to sweet succeed.

5 When sin revives, and shows its power,
When Satan threatens to devour,
When God afflicts, and men revile,
We draw our steps with pain and toil.

Book III. Hymn xxvii.

6 When thus deserted, tempest-toss'd, The sense of former sweetness lost, We tremble lest we were deceiv'd, In thinking that we once believ'd.

7 The Lord first makes the sweetness known,
To win and fix us for his own;
And though we now some bitter meet,
We hope for everlasting sweet.

BOOK II.

ON OCCASIONAL SUBJECTS.

I. SEASONS. NEW-YEAR HYMNS.

HYMN I.

Time how swift.

1 WHILE with ceaseless course the sun

Hasted through the former year,
Many souls their race have run,
Never more to meet us here:
Fix'd in an eternal state,
They have done with all below;
We a little longer wait,

But how little none can know.
2 As the winged arrow flies,
Speedily the mark to find;
As the lightning from the skies
Darts, and leaves no trace behind:
Swiftly thus our fleeting days
Bear us down life's rapid stream;
Upwards, Lord, our spirits raise,
All below is but a dream.

3 Thanks for mercies past receive,
Pardon of our sins renew;
Teach us henceforth how to live,
With eternity in view:

Bless thy word to young and old,
Fill us with a Saviour's love;
And when life's short tale is told,
May we dwell with thee above.

HYMN II.

Time how short.

1 TIME, with an unwearied hand,
Pushes round the seasons past:
And in life's frail glass the sand
Sinks apace, not long to last;
Many as well as you or I,
Who last year assembled thus,
In their silent graves now lie;
Graves will open soon for us.
2 Daily sin, and care, and strife,
While the Lord prolongs our breath,
Make it but a dying life,

Or a kind of living death:
Wretched they, and most forlorn,
Who no better portion know;

VOL. II.

U

Better ne'er to have been born
Than to have our all below.
3 When constrain'd to go alone,
Leaving all you love behind,
Ent'ring on a world unknown,
What will then support your mind?
When the Lord his summons sends,*
Earthly comforts lose their power;
Honour, riches, kindred, friends,
Cannot cheer a dying hour.

4 Happy souls, who fear the Lord;
Time is not too swift for you;
When your Saviour gives the word.
Glad you'll bid the world adieu:
Then he'll wipe away your tears,
Near himself appoint your place;
Swifter fly, ye rolling years,
Lord, we long to see thy face.

HYMN III.
Uncertainty of Life.

1 SEE, another year is gone!
Quickly have the seasons pass'd!
This we enter now upon
May to many prove their last:
Mercy hitherto has spar'd,
But have mercies been improv'd?
Let us ask, Am I prepar'd,
Should I be this year remov'd?

2 Some we now no longer see,

Who their mortal race have run,
Seem'd as fair for life as we,
When the former year begun:
Some, but who God only knows,
Who are here assembled now,
Ere the present year shall close,
To the stroke of death must bow.
3 Life a field of battle is,

Thousands fall within our view,
And the next death-bolt that flies,
May be sent to me or you.
While we preach and while we hear,
Help us, Lord, each one to think,
Vast eternity is near,

I am standing on the brink.

4 If, from guilt and sin set free,
By the knowledge of thy grace,
Welcome, then, the call will be,
To depart and see thy face.
To thy saints, while here below,
With new years, new mercies come;
But the happiest year they know,
Is their last, which leads them home.

HYMN IV.

A New-Year's Thought and Prayer. 1 TIME by moments steals away, First the hour, and then the day; Small the daily loss appears, Yet it soon amounts to years:

Isaiah x. 3.

Thus another year is flown, Now it is no more our own, If it brought or promis'd good, Than the years before the flood. 2 But (may none of us forget) It has left us much in debt; Favours from the Lord receiv'd, Sins that have his Spirit griev'd, Mark'd by an unerring hand, In his book recorded stand: Who can tell the vast amount Plac'd to each of our account? 3 Happy the believing soul,

Christ for you has paid the whole:
While you own the debt is large,
You may plead a full discharge;
But, poor careless sinner, say,
What can you to justice pay y?
Tremble, lest when life is past,
Into prison you be cast.

4 Will you still increase the score?
Still be careless as before?
O forbid it, gracious Lord!
Touch their spirits by thy word!
Now in mercy to them show
What a mighty debt they owe!
All their unbelief subdue,
Let them find forgiveness too.
5 Spar'd to see another year,

Let thy blessing meet us here:
Come, thy dying work revive,
Bid thy drooping garden thrive.
Sun of righteousness, arise!

Warm our hearts, and bless our eyes;
Let our prayer thy bowels move,
Make this year a time of love.

1 HARK, how time's wide-sounding bell
Strikes on each attentive ear!
Tolling loud the solemn knell
Of the late departed year;
Years, like mortals, wear away,
Have their birth and dying day,
Youthful spring, and wintry age,
Then to others quit the stage.
2 Sad experience may relate
What a year the last has been!
Crops of sorrow have been great,
From the fruitful seeds of sin;
Oh! what numbers gay and blythe,
Fell by death's unsparing scythe!
While they thought the world their own,
Suddenly he mow'd them down.

3 See, how war, with dreadful stride,
Marches at the Lord's command,
Spreading desolation wide,
Through a once much favour'd land:
War, with heart and arms of steel,
Preys on thousands at a meal;

Daily drinking human gore,
Still he thirsts and calls for more.
4 If the God whom we provoke,
Hither should his way direct,
What a sin-avenging stroke
May a land like this expect!
They who now securely sleep,
Quickly then would wake and weep;
And too late would learn to fear,
When they saw the danger near.

5 You are safe who know his love,
He will all his truth perform;
To your souls a refuge prove,
From the rage of every storm:
But we tremble for the youth;
Teach them, Lord, thy saving truth;
Join them to thy faithful few,
Be to them a refuge too.

HYMN VI.

Earthly Prospects deceitful.

1 OFT in vain the voice of truth
Solemnly and loudly warns;
Thoughtless, unexperienc'd youth,
Though it hears, the warning scorns.
Youth in fancy's glass surveys
Life prolong'd to distant years,
While the vast imagin'd space
Fill'd with sweets and joys appears.

2 Awful disappointment soon
Overclouds the prospect gay;
Some their sun goes down at noon,
Torn by death's strong hand away:
Where are then their pleasing schemes?
Where the joys they hope to find?
Gone for ever, like their dreams,
Leaving not a trace behind.

3 Others, who are spar'd a while,
Live to weep o'er fancy's cheat;
Find distress, and pain, and toil,
Bitter things instead of sweet:
Sin has spread a curse around,
Poison'd all things here below;
On this base polluted ground,
Peace and joy can never grow.
4 Grace alone can cure our ills,
Sweeten life with all its cares;
Regulate our stubborn wills,
Save us from surrounding snares.
Though you oft have heard in vain,
Former years in folly spent,
Grace invites you yet again,
Once more calls you to repent.
5 Call'd again, at length, beware,
Hear the Saviour's voice, and live;
Lest he in his wrath should swear,
He no more will warning give.
Pray that you may hear and feel,
Ere the day of grace be past;
Lest your hearts grow hard as steel,
Or this year should prove your last.