2 Shed down, O Lord! a heavenly ray
To guide me in the doubtful way;
And o'er me hold thy shield of power,
To guard me in the dangerous hour.

3 Teach me the flattering paths to shun,
In which the thoughtless many run,
Who for a shade the substance miss,
And grasp their ruin in their bliss.

4 May never pleasure, wealth or pride,
Allure my wandering soul aside;
But through this maze of mortal ill,
Safe lead me to thy heavenly hill.

1 ALL-SEEING God! 'tis thine to know
The springs whence wrong opinions flow;
To judge from principles within,
When frailty errs, and when we sin.

2 Who among men, great Lord of all,
Thy servant to his bar shall call ?
Judge him, for modes of faith, thy foe,
And doom him to the realms of woe?

3 Who with another's eye can read?
Or worship by another's creed?
Trusting thy grace, we form our own,
And bow to thy commands alone.

4 If wrong, correct; accept, if right;
While faithful, we improve our light,
Condemning none, but zealous still
To learn and follow all thy will.

312.

C. M.

NEEDHAM.

Moderation.

1 HAPPY the man, whose cautious steps Still keep the golden mean;

Whose life, by wisdom's rules well formed,
Declares a conscience clean.

2 What blessings bounteous Heaven bestows,
He takes with thankful heart;
With temperance he both eats and drinks,
And gives the poor a part.

3 To sect or party his large soul
Disdains to be confined;

The good he loves of every name,
And prays for all mankind.

4 His business is to keep his heart;
Each passion to control;
Nobly ambitious well to rule
The empire of his soul.

5 Not on the world his heart is set,
His treasure is above;

Nothing beneath the sovereign good
Can claim his highest love.

313.

S. M.

WATTS.

The Blessing of Peace. Ps. 133.

1 BLEST are the sons of peace,

Whose hearts and hopes are one; Whose kind designs to serve and please Through all their actions run.

2 Blest is the pious house,

Where zeal and friendship meet;
Their songs of praise, their mingled vows,
Make their communion sweet.

3 Thus, when on Aaron's head
They poured the rich perfume,
The oil through all his raiment spread,
And pleasure filled the room.

4 Thus on the heavenly hills
The saints are blest above,

Where joy, like morning dew, distils,
And all the air is love.

314.

H. M.

MONTGOMERY.

The Blessing of Peace. Ps. 133.

1 How beautiful the sight

Of brethren who agree

In friendship to unite,
And bonds of charity ;

'Tis like the precious ointment, shed
O'er all his robes, from Aaron's head.

2 'Tis like the dews that fill

The cups of Hermon's flowers;
Or Zion's fruitful hill,

Bright with the drops of showers;
When mingling odors breathe around,
And glory rests on all the ground.
3 For there the Lord commands
Blessings, a boundless store,
From his unsparing hands,
Yea, life for evermore.

Thrice happy they, who meet above,
To spend eternity in love.

315.

L. M.

WATTS.

Love to God and our Neighbor.

1 THUS saith the first, the great command,
"Let all thy inward powers unite
To love thy Maker and thy God
With utmost vigor and delight.

2 "Then shall thy neighbor next in place
Share thine affections and esteem;
And let thy kindness to thyself
Measure and rule thy love to him."

3 This is the sense that Moses spoke;
This did the prophets preach and prove;
For want of this the law is broke,
And the whole law's fulfilled by love.

4 But, oh, how base our passions are!
How cold our charity and zeal!
Lord, fill our souls with heavenly fire,
Or we shall ne'er perform thy will.

316.

S. M.

BEDDOME.

Christian Unity.

1 LET party names no more

The Chris.ian world o'erspread;
Gentile and Jew, and bond and free,
Are one in Christ their head.

2 Among the saints on earth
Let mutual love be found;
Heirs of the same inheritance,
With mutual blessings crowned.

3 Let envy and ill will
Be banished far away;

Those should in holy friendship dwell,
Who the same Lord obey.

4 Thus will the church below
Resemble that above;

Where streams of pleasure always flow,
And every heart is love.

317.

C. M.

MONTGOMERY.

Unity of the Spirit in the Bond of Peace.

1 THE glorious universe around,
The heavens with all their train,
Sun, moon and stars, are firmly bound
In one mysterious chain.

2 The earth, the ocean, and the sky
To form one world agree;
Where all that walk, or swim, or fly,
Compose one family.

3 God in creation thus displays
His wisdom and his might,

While all his works with all his
Harmoniously unite.

4 In one fraternal bond of love,
One fellowship of mind,

ways

The saints below and saints above
Their bliss and glory find.

5 Here, in their house of pilgrimage,
Thy statutes are their song;

There, through one bright, eternal age
Thy praises they prolong.'