HYMNS

AND OTHER RELIGIOUS POETRY.

GOD THE LIFE OF THE SOUL.

[MRS. STEELE.]

MY God, my hope! if thou art mine,

Why should my soul with sorrow pine?

On thee alone I cast my care;

O, leave me not in dark despair.

Though every comfort should depart,
And life forsake this drooping heart;
One smile from thee, one blissful ray,
Can chase the shades of death away.

My God, my life! if thou appear,
Not death itself can make me fear;
Thy presence cheers the sable gloom,
And gilds the horrors of the tomb.

Not all its horrors can affright,
If thou appear, my God, my light!
Thy love shall all my fears controul,
And glory dawn around my soul.

PRAISE THROUGH LIFE AND IN DEATH. [DR. DODDRIDGE.]

GOD of my life, through all its days

My grateful powers shall sound thy praise;
The song shall wake with opening light,
And cheer the dark and silent night.

When anxious cares would break my rest,
And griefs would tear my throbbing breast,
Thy tuneful praises raised on high,
Shall check the murmur and the sigh.

When death o'er nature shall prevail,

And all its powers of language fail,
Joy through my swimming eyes shall break,
And mean the thanks I cannot speak.

But O! when that last conflict's o'er,
And I am chain'd to earth no more,
With what glad accents shall I rise
To join the music of the skies!

Soon shall I learn th' exalted strains
Which echo through the heavenly plains,
And emulate, with joy unknown
The glowing seraphs round thy throne.

The cheerful tribute will I give
Long as a deathless soul can live :
A work so sweet, a theme so high,
Demands and crowns eternity.

THE LORD OUR SHEPHERD.

[COTTLE.]

LORD! amid this desert wide

Thou art my shepherd, thou my guide,

From day to day, from year to year,

I shall not want, for thou art near.

Thou hast ten thousand gifts bestow'd,
And strew'd with flowers my mortal road!
Through pastures fair I take my way,
Or by the peaceful waters stray.

All those who call upon thy name,
Shall find thy bounty still the same;
Goodness and mercy shall attend
The man who makes his God his friend.

And when th' appointed time shall come,
That I must seek my narrow home,
Follow, where all the prophets led,
Down to the chambers of the dead;

Close my sad eyes on every scene,
Which once my dear delight had been:
Forsake the fair abodes of men,
And dust to dust return again;

I will not dread, for thou art near,
Thy smile shall calm each rising fear;
Thy rod and staff new joy impart,

And cheer with hope my fainting heart.

Confiding in Jehovah's power,
I then will meet the trying hour;
And hail with my expiring breath,
The cold and lonely vale of death.
Our fathers pass'd that gloomy road,
Awhile, our fathers there abode :
None hath in heaven his anchor cast,
Who hath not Jordan's billows past.

When death shall summon me away,
If thou but smile, my night is day.
That dark and dreary vale once trod,
And I ascend to thee, my God!

PIOUS FRIENDSHIP.

[MRS. BARBAULD.]

HOW blest the sacred tie that binds

In union sweet according minds !

How swift the heavenly course they run,
Whose hearts, whose faith, whose hopes are one!

To each the soul of each how dear!

What jealous love, what holy fear!
How doth the generous flame within

Refine from earth and cleanse from sin!

Their streaming eyes together flow
For human guilt and mortal woe;
Their ardent prayers together rise,
Like mingling flames in sacrifice.

Together both they seek the place

Where God reveals his awful face;

How high, how strong, their raptures swell,
There's none but kindred souls can tell.

Nor shall the glowing flame expire
When nature droops her sickening fire;
Then shall they meet in realms above,
A heaven of joy, because of love.

TO THE SUPREME BEING.

[YOUNG.]

H, may I pant for thee in each desire!

And with strong faith foment the holy fire; Stretch out my soul in hope, and grasp the prize Which in Eternity's deep bosom lies! At the great day of recompense behold, Devoid of fear, the fatal book unfold! Then wafted upward to the blissful seat, From age to age, my grateful song repeat; My light, my life, my God, my Saviour see, And rival angels in the praise of thee !