1 GOD of my life, look gently down;
Behold the pains I feel;

But I am dumb before thy throne,
Nor dare dispute thy will.

2 Diseases are thy servants, Lord;
They come at thy command;
I'll not attempt a murmuring word
Against thy chastening hand.

3 I'm but a sojourner below,
As all my fathers were;
May I be well prepared to go,
When I the summons hear.

4 But if my life be spared awhile,
Before my last remove,

Thy praise shall be my business still,
And I'll declare thy love.

581. P. M.

ANONYMOUS.

Devotion and Virtue.

1 SAVE me from my foes,

Shield me, Lord, from harm,

Let me safe repose

On thy mighty arm.

Thou art God alone;

Those who seek thy heavenly face, Thou wilt bless, and they shall own Thy matchless grace.

2 Pleasant is the land

Where Jehovah's known, Where a pious band

Bow before his throne, Who, with loud acclaim,

Sing his great and wondrous love, Who ere long shall praise his name With saints above.

3 Let my faith and love

With my years increase;
Let me never rove

From the paths of peace;
But through life display

Holy deeds and actions pure,
That, when life has passed away,
May bliss be sure.

Man's Mortality and God's Eternity. Ps. 102. 1 Ir is the Lord our Father's hand Weakens our strength amidst the race: Disease and death, at his command, Arrest us and cut short our days.

2 Spare us, O Lord, aloud we pray,
Nor let our sun go down at noon;
Thy years are one eternal day,
And must thy children die so soon?

3 Yet, in the midst of death and grief, This thought our sorrow shall assuage: "Our Father and our Saviour live; God is the same through every age."

4 'T was he this earth's foundation laid; Heaven is the building of his hand;

This earth grows old, these heavens shall fade,
And all be changed at his command.

5 The starry curtains of the sky,
Like garments, shall be laid aside;
But still thy throne stands firm and high;
Thy church forever must abide.

6 Before thy face thy church shall live,
And on thy throne thy children reign;
This dying world shall they survive,
And the dead saints be raised again.

583.

C. M.

WATTS.

Prayer of the Prisoner.

Ps. 102.

1 HEAR me, O God, nor hide thy face,
But answer lest I die;

Hast thou not built a throne of grace,
To hear when sinners cry?

2 As on some lonely building's top,
The sparrow tells her moan,
Far from the tents of joy and hope,
I sit and grieve alone.

3 My locks like withered leaves appear;
And life's declining light

Grows faint, as evening shadows are,
That vanish into night.

4 But thou forever art the same,

Ο

O my eternal God:

Ages to come shall know thy name,
And spread thy works abroad.

5 Thou wilt arise, and show thy face;
Nor will my Lord delay,

Beyond th' appointed hour of grace,
That long-expected day.

6 He hears his saints, he knows their cry, And, by mysterious ways,

Redeems the prisoners doomed to die,
And fills their tongues with praise.

584.

C. M.

WATTS.

The Hope of the Aged. Ps. 71.

1 MY GOD, my everlasting hope,

I live upon thy truth;

Thine hands have held my childhood up,
And strengthened all my youth.

2 Still has my life new wonders seen,
Repeated every year:
Behold, my days that yet remain,
I trust them to thy care.

3 Cast me not off when strength declines,
When hoary hairs arise;
And round me let thy glory shine,
Whene'er thy servant dies.

The Dying Christian to his Soul.

1 VITAL spark of heavenly flame,
Quit, O quit this mortal frame!
Trembling, hoping, lingering, flying,
O the pain, the bliss of dying!
Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife,
And let me languish into life.

2 Hark! they whisper! angels say,
"Sister spirit, come away."
What is this absorbs me quite,
Steals my senses, shuts my sight,
Drowns my spirit, draws my breath?
Tell me, my soul, can this be death?
3 The world recedes; it disappears;
Heaven opens on my eyes; my ears
With sounds seraphic ring.

Lend, lend your wings! I mount, I fly!
O grave, where is thy victory?
O death, where is thy sting?

586. P. M. ANONYMOUS.

Morning.

1 FATHER of mercies! when the day is dawning, Then will I pay my vows to thee;

Like incense wafted on the breath of morning,
My heart-felt praise to Heaven shall be.

2 Yes, thou art near me; sleeping or waking,
Still doth thy care unchanged remain;
If ever I wander, thy ways forsaking,
O lead me gently back again.

Night, on the Sea-side, or at Sea.

1 WHEN restless on my bed I lie,

Still courting sleep, which still will fly,
Then shall reflection's brighter power
Illume the lone and midnight hour.