5 Leaning on Jesus' breast,
May I resign my breath;
And in his kind embraces lose
The bitterness of death.

670

1st P. M. 6 lines 8s.

0

Helpless, yet happy.

THOU, whose wise, paternal love
Hath brought my active vigour down,
Thy choice I thankfully approve;

And, prostrate at thy gracious throne,
I offer up my life's remains,-
I choose the state my God ordains.

2 Cast as a broken vessel by,
Thy work I can no longer do;
Yet while a daily death I die,

Thy power I may in weakness show:
My patience may thy glory raise,—
My speechless wo proclaim thy praise.

671

IN

1st P. M. 6 lines 83.

Aged and helpless.

age and feebleness extreme,

Who shall a helpless worm redeem? Jesus, my only hope thou art,— Strength of my failing flesh and heart: O, could I catch a smile from thee, And drop into eternity!

672

THY

TH

4th P. M. 886, 886.

The aged pilgrim.

HY mercy heard my infant prayer;
Thy love, with kind, paternal care,
Sustain'd my childish days:

Thy goodness watch'd my ripening youth,
And form'd my heart to love thy truth,

And fill'd my lips with praise.

2 And now, in age and grief, thy Name
Doth still my languid heart inflame,
And bow my falt'ring knee:
O, yet this bosom feels the fire;
This trembling hand and drooping lyre
Have yet a strain for thee!

3 Yes; broken, tuneless, still, O Lord,
This voice, transported, shall record
Thy goodness, tried so long;
Till, sinking slow, with calm decay,
Its feeble murmurs melt away
Into a seraph's song.

673

F

The aged disciple's prayer.

L. M.

OREWARN'D by my Redeemer's love,
I soon shall lay this body down;
But ere my soul from earth remove,
O may I put thine image on.

2 Saviour! thy meek and lowly mind
Be to thine aged servant given;
And glad I'll drop this tent, to find
My everlasting home in heaven.

674

DEA

5th P. M. 4 lines 7s.

The dying believer.

EATHLESS spirit, now arise;
Soar, thou native of the skies—
Pearl of price by Jesus bought,
To his glorious likeness wrought :--
2 Go to shine before the throne;
Deck the Mediator's crown;
Go, his triumphs to adorn;
Made for God, to God return.
3 Angels, joyful to attend,
Hov'ring round thy pillow bend;
Wait to catch the signal given,
And convey thee quick to heaven.

4 Burst thy shackles; drop thy clay.
Sweetly breathe thyself away;
Singing, to thy crown remove,
Swift of wing, and fired with love.

5 Shudder not to pass the stream.
Venture all thy care on Him-
Him, whose dying love and power
Still'd its tossings, hush'd its roar.
6 Safe is the expanded wave,—
Gentle as a summer's eve;
Not one object of his care
Ever suffer'd shipwreck there.

7 See the haven full in view;
Love divine shall bear thee through:
Trust to that propitious gale;
Weigh thine anchor, spread thy sail.
8 Saints in glory, perfect made,
Wait thy passage through the shade;
Swiftly to their wish be given;
Kindle higher joy in heaven.

675

40th P. M.

The dying Christian to his soul.

VITAL spark of heavenly flame,

Quit, O quit this mortal frame. Trembling, hoping, ling'ring, flying, O the pain, the bliss of dying! Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife, And let me languish into life.

2 Hark! they whisper: angels say,— Sister spirit, come away!

-What is this absorbs me quite, Steals my senses, shuts my sight,Drowns my spirit, draws my breath? Tell me, my soul, can this be death?

3 The world recedes: it disappears; Heaven opens on my eyes; my ears With sounds seraphic ring.

Lend, lend your wings! I mount! I fly!
O grave, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting?

THE SCRIPTURES.

676

C. M.

Riches of God's word.

HE counsels of redeeming grace

THE

The sacred leaves unfold;

And here the Saviour's lovely face
Our raptured eyes behold.

2 Here light descending from above
Directs our doubtful feet;
Here promises of heavenly love
Our ardent wishes meet.

3 Our num'rous griefs are here redress'd,
And all our wants supplied:
Naught we can ask to make us blest
Is in this book denied.

4 For these inestimable gains,
That so enrich the mind,

O may we search with eager pains,
Assured that we shall find.

677

Excellency and sufficiency.

C. M.

FA

ATHER of mercies, in thy word
What endless glory shines;

Forever be thy Name adored.

For these celestial lines.

2 Here may the wretched sons of wan

Exhaustless riches find;

Riches above what earth can grant,
And lasting as the mind.

3 Here the fair tree of knowledge grows,

And yields a free repast;
Sublimer sweets than nature knows
Invite the longing taste.

4 Here the Redeemer's welcome voice
Spreads heavenly peace around;
And life, and everlasting joys,
Attend the blissful sound.

5 0 may these heavenly pages be
Our ever dear delight;

And still new beauties may we see,
And still increasing light.

6 Divine Instructer, gracious Lord,
Be thou forever near;

Teach us to love thy sacred word,
And view the Saviour there.

678

Light and glory of the sacred page.

C. M

W Majestic, like the sun,

HAT glory gilds the sacred page!

It gives a light to every age;
It gives, but borrows none.

2 The power that gave it still supplies
The gracious light and heat;

Its truths upon the nations rise:
They rise, but never set.

3 Lord! everlasting thanks be thine
For such a bright display,
As makes a world of darkness shine
With beams of heavenly day.

4 Our souls rejoicingly pursue
The steps of Him we love,
fill glory break upon our view
In brighter worlds above.