I hasten : as my eye grows dim,

And darkens on this fading sphere,
I see the smiling seraphim

Wax more and more resplendent there;
And as my ear grows deaf and dull

To the vain sounds of earthly art,
The music, soft and beautiful,

Of heaven, absorbs my raptur'd heart.

XXIII.

I HEAR the voices of the sons of light,
Blending and circling) round from sphere to

sphere;
Each star a chord of music a wave's flow
In the majestic sea of song that rolls
In ceaseless tides of harmony, which know
No rest

no discord. There departed souls
Join the eternal chorus. Thence they speak
To us poor pilgrims wandering still on earth.
They bid us soar above earth’s vale, and seek
The country, where our holier parts had birth,
And whither they are tending. Father! thither
My eager heart aspires - and when this scene
Fades round me, and its passing flow'rets wither,
There let me rest, rewarded and serene.

XXIV.

Oh, deem not they are blest alone

Whose lives a peaceful tenor keep; The Power who pities man has shown

A blessing for the eyes that weep.

The light of smiles shall beam again

From lids that now o'erflow with tears, And weary

hours of wo and pain Are earnests of serener years.

There is a day of sunny

rest
For
every

dark and troubled night ; And grief may bide our evening guest,

But joy shall come with early light.

For God hath marked each sorrowing day,

And numbered every secret tear, And heaven's long age of bliss shall pay

For all His children suffer here.

XXV.

O Thou whose wise paternal love

Hath brought my active vigor down, Thy choice I thankfully approve,

And, prostrate at Thy gracious thone, I offer up my life's remains, I choose the state my God ordains.

Cast as a broken vessel by,

Thy will 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.

XXVI.

NEARER, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!
E'en though it be a cross

That raiseth me;
Still all my song shall be, -
Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

Though, like the wanderer,

The sun gone down,
Darkness be over me,

My rest a stone;
Yet in my dreams I'd be
Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

There let the way appear

Steps unto heaven; All that thou sendest me

In mercy given; Angels, to beckon me Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee !

Then with my waking thoughts

Bright with thy praise,
Out of my stony griefs

Bethel I'll raise ;
So by my woes to be
Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee !

15

Or if on joyful wing,

Cleaving the sky,
Sun, moon and stars forgot,

Upwards I fly;
Still all my song shall be
Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee !

XXVII.

COMMIT thou all thy griefs

And ways into His hands,
To His sure trust and tender care,

Who earth and heaven commands:
Who points the clouds their course,

Whom winds and seas obey,
He shall direct thy wandering feet,

He shall prepare thy way.

Thou on the Lord rely,

So safe thou shalt go on ;
Fix on His work thy steadfast eye,

So shall thy work be done.
No profit canst thou gain

By self-consuming care ;
To Him commend thy cause, His ea

Attends the softest prayer.