10

15

20

Prayer is the simplest form of speech

That infant lips can try;
Prayer the sublimest strains that reach

The Majesty on high.
Prayer is the Christian's vital breath,

The Christian's native air;
His watchword at the gates of death :

He enters heaven by prayer.
Prayer is the contrite sinner's voice,

Returning from his ways;
While angels in their songs rejoice,
And
say,

“Behold he prays!”
In prayer on earth the saints are one;

They are one in word and mind, When with the Father and his Son

Sweet fellowship they find. No prayer is made on earth alone :

25 The Holy Spirit pleads; And Jesus, on the eternal throne,

For sinners intercedes. 0, Thou, by whom we come to God; The Life, the Truth, the Way;

30 The path of prayer thyself hast trod; Lord, teach us how to pray !

J. MONTGOMERY,

THE EVENING CLOUD.

A CLOUD lay cradled near the setting sun;

A gleam of crimson tinged its braided snow;
Long had I watch'd the glory moving on,
O'er the still radiance of the lake below

Tranquil its spirit seem'd, and floated slow; 5

Ev'n in its very motion there was rest;
While every breath of eve that chanced to blow,

Wafted the traveller to the beauteous west.
Emblem, methought, of the departed soul!

To whose white robe the gleam of bliss is given;

And by the breath of mercy made to roll 11 Right onward to the golden gates of heaven;

Where, to the eye of Faith, it peaceful lies,
And tells to man his glorious destinies.

WILSON.

HYMN.

5

WHEN Spring unlocks the flowers,

To paint the laughing soil;
When Summer's balmy showers

Refresh the mower's toil;
When Winter binds in frosty chains

The fallow and the flood;
In God the earth rejoiceth still,

And owns his Maker good.
The birds that wake the morning,

And those that love the shade;
The winds that

sweep the mountain,
Or lull the drowsy glade;
The sun that from his amber bower

Rejoiceth on his way;
The moon and stars, their Master's name

In silent pomp display.
Shal man, the lord of nature,

Expectant of the sky

10

15

Shall man, alone unthankful,
His little praise deny?

20 No; let the year forsake his course,

The seasons cease to be;
Thee, Master, must we always love;

And, Saviour, honour thee.
The flowers of Spring may wither,

25 The hope of Summer fade; The Autumn droop in Winter,

The birds forsake the shade;
The winds be lull’d; the sun and moon
Forget their old decree;

30 But we, in Nature's latest hour, O Lord, will cling to thee.

HEBER.

HYMN.
From Greenland's icy mountains,

From India's coral strand,
Where Afric's sunny fountains

Roll down their golden sand; From many an ancient river,

From many a palmy plain, They call us to deliver

Their land from error's chain! What though the spicy breezes

Blow soft o'er Java's isle,
Though every prospect pleases,

And only man is vile:
In vain with lavish kindness

The gifts of God are strown,

10 15

20

The heathen in his blindness,

Bows down to wood and stone! Can we, whose souls are lighted

With Wisdom from on high, Can we to men benighted

The lamp of life deny ? Salvation! O, Salvation !

The joyful sound proclaim, Till each remotest nation

Has learn'd Messiah's name! Waft, waft, ye winds, his story;

And you, ye waters, roll, Till, like a sea of glory,

It spreads from pole to pole; Till o'er our ransom'd nature,

The Lamb for sinners slain, Redeemer, King, Creator,

In bliss returns to reign!

25

30

HEBER.

ON SOLITUDE.

5

It is not that my lot is low,
That bids the silent tear to flow;
It is not grief that bids me moan;
It is that I am all alone.
In woods and glens I love to roam,
When the tired hedger hies him home;
Or by the woodland pool to rest,
When pale the star looks on its breast.
Yet when the silent evening sighs,
With hallow'd airs and symphonies,

10

250 OF THE BRIGHT THINGS IN EARTH AND AIR

15

My spirit takes another tone,
And sighs that it is all alone.
The autumn leaf is sear and dead
It floats upon the water's bed;
I would not be a leaf, to die
Without recording sorrow's sigh!
The woods and winds, with sudden wail,
Tell all the same unvaried tale;
I've none to smile when I am free;
And when I sigh, to sigh with me. 20
Yet in my dreams a form I view,
That thinks on me and loves me too;
I start; and when the vision's flown,
I weep that I am all alone.

K. WHITE.

THE BRIGHT THINGS IN EARTH AND

AIR.
OF the bright things in earth and air

How little can the heart embrace !
Soft shades and gleaming lights are there -

I know it well, but cannot trace.
Mine eye unworthy seems to read

5
One
page

of Nature's beauteous book:
It lies before me, fair outspread-

I only cast a wishful look.
I cannot paint to Memory's eye

The scene, the glance, I dearest love- 10
Unchanged themselves, in me they die,

Or faint, or false, their shadows prove.