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As some rare perfume, in a vase of clay,
Pervades it with a fragrance not its own,
So, when Thou dwellest in a mortal soul,

All heaven's own sweetness seems around it thrown.

The soul alone, like a neglected harp,

Grows out of tune, and needs that hand divine; Dwell Thou within it, tune and touch the chords, Till every note and string shall answer Thine.

Abide in me: there have been moments pure When I have seen Thy face and felt Thy

power;

Then evil lost its grasp, and passion, hushed,

Owned the divine enchantment of the hour.

These were but seasons, beautiful and rare;
Abide in me, and they shall ever be:

I

pray Thee now, fulfil my earnest prayer Come and abide in me, and I in Thee.

These hymns, though not popular with many congregations, have distinct merit. Their poetry is faultless, and their spiritual tone lofty. Of late years the musical settings of the hymns have been greatly improved, which should largely extend their usefulness in American churches.

A

JANE BORTHWICK

CONSIDERABLE number of beau

tiful hymns are translations, and some of the best come from the rich treasury of German sacred song. Miss Borthwick and her sister, Mrs. Sarah Findlater, have rendered the cause of English hymnody a priceless service in translating over one hundred German hymns, which were published in a volume entitled, "Hymns from the Land of Luther."

The most widely known of her translations is the following:

My Jesus, as Thou wilt:

Oh, may Thy will be mine!

Into Thy hand of love

I would my all resign:
Through sorrow or through joy,
Conduct me as Thine own,

And help me still to say,

My Lord, Thy will be done.

My Jesus, as Thou wilt:

If needy here and poor,
Give me Thy people's bread,

Their portion rich and sure;

The manna of Thy word
Let soul feed upon;

my

And if all else should fail,

My Lord, Thy will be done.

My Jesus, as Thou wilt:

Though seen through many a tear,

Let not my star of hope

Grow dim or disappear:
Since Thou on earth hast wept,
And sorrowed oft alone,

If I must weep with Thee,
My Lord, Thy will be done.

My Jesus, as Thou wilt:
All shall be well for me;
Each changing future scene
I gladly trust with Thee:
Straight to my home above,
I travel calmly on
And sing, in life or death,

My Lord, Thy will be done.

The spiritual use of this hymn is very great. The original was the heart-song of Benjamin Schmolck, a Lutheran minister and a noted hymnist of his time. To persons who suffer as he suffered, and bear the sorrows he patiently and trustfully

bore for many years, the hymn is indeed a consolation. It has been suggested that Schmolck's resignation to life's severe discipline made the hymn exceedingly precious to Professor Thomas Harvey Skinner, of Union Theological Seminary. It has doubtless had the same influence over many thousands of hearts in this and other lands.

Mrs. Findlater's rendering of Gerhard Tersteegen's "God Calling Yet," is given below in its usual form, the original translation having been considerably changed:

God calling yet! shall I not hear?
Earth's pleasures shall I still hold dear?
Shall life's swift passing years all fly,
And still my soul in slumber lie?

God calling yet? shall I not rise?
Can I His loving voice despise,
And basely His kind care repay
He calls me still; can I delay?

?

God calling yet! and shall He knock,
And I my heart the closer lock?

He still is waiting to receive,
And shall I dare His spirit grieve?

God calling yet! and shall I give
No heed, but still in bondage live?

I wait, but He does not forsake; He calls me still; my heart, awake! God calling yet! I cannot stay; My heart I yield without delay: Vain world, farewell! from thee I part; The voice of God hath reached my heart. Tersteegen was a pious mystic, and was born in Westphalia in 1697. It is written in his biography that at the age of twentyone he wrote a covenant between his Saviour and his soul, using his own blood for the transcription and the signature. He was a member of no sect; he belonged to no church; he was a celibate. His hymns number about one hundred, many of which have been rendered into English.

Miss Borthwick was born in Edinburgh in 1813, and died in 1897. Mrs. Findlater was born in 1823, and conjointly with her sister translated and published "Hymns from the Land of Luther," which passed through many editions. Good authority says that hardly a hymnal in America or England has appeared in late years without containing some of these translations.

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