'Tis ftrung, and tuned, for endless years,

And form'd by power divine, To found in God the Father's ears

No other name but thine.

16. THE SOWER. Matt. xiii. 3.

E fons of earth, prepare the plough,
Break up your fallow ground;
The fower is gone
forth to fow,

And scatter bleffings round.

The feed that finds a stony foil,
Shoots forth a hasty blade;
But ill repays the fower's toil,

Soon wither'd, fcorch'd, and dead.

The thorny ground is fure to baulk
All hopes of harvest there;
We find a tall and fickly stalk,
But not the fruitful ear.

The beaten path and highway fide
Receive the trust in vain ;
The watchful birds the spoil divide,
And pick up all the grain.

But where the Lord of grace and
Has blefs'd the happy field,

How plenteous is the golden store

power

The deep-wrought furrows yield!

Father of mercies, we have need

Of thy preparing grace ;

Let the fame hand that gives the feed
Provide a fruitful place.

17. THE HOUSE OF PRAYER. Mark xi. 17.

HY manfion is the Chriftian's heart,

O Lord, thy dwelling-place fecure! Bid the unruly throng depart,

And leave the confecrated door.

Devoted as it is to thee,

A thievish swarm frequents the place;
They steal away my joys from me,
And rob my Saviour of his praise.

There, too, a sharp defigning trade
Sin, Satan, and the World maintain;
Nor cease to prefs me, and perfuade
Το part with ease, and purchase pain.

I know them, and I hate their din,

Am weary of the bustling crowd; But while their voice is heard within, I cannot ferve thee as I would.

Oh! for the joy thy prefence gives,

What peace fhall reign when thou art there!

Thy prefence makes this den of thieves

A calm delightful houfe of prayer.

And if thou make thy temple shine,

Yet, felf-abased, will I adore;
The gold and filver are not mine,
I give thee what was thine before.

18. LOVEST THOU ME? John xxi. 16.

ARK, my foul! it is the Lord : 'Tis thy Saviour, hear his word; Jefus fpeaks, and speaks to thee: Say, poor finner, lovest thou me?

"I deliver'd thee when bound,

And when bleeding, heal'd thy wound;
Sought thee wandering, set thee right,
Turn'd thy darkness into light.

"Can a woman's tender care

Ceafe towards the child fhe bare?

Yes, she may forgetful be,
Yet will I remember thee.

"Mine is an unchanging love,
Higher than the heights above;
Deeper than the depths beneath,
Free and faithful, ftrong as death.

"Thou shalt see my glory foon,
When the work of grace is done;
Partner of my throne fhalt be :-
Say, poor finner, loveft thou me ? "

Lord, it is my chief complaint,
That my love is weak and faint:
Yet I love thee and adore:
Oh! for grace to love thee more!

19. CONTENTMENT. Phil. iv. 11.

IERCE paffions difcompofe the mind,
As tempefts vex the fea:

But calm content and peace we find,

When, Lord, we turn to thee.

In vain by reafon and by rule
We try to bend the will;

For none but in the Saviour's school
Can learn the heavenly skill.

Since at his feet my foul has fate,
His gracious words to hear,
Contented with my prefent ftate,
I caft on him my care.

"Art thou a finner, foul?" he said,
"Then how canft thou complain?
How light thy troubles here, if weigh'd
With everlasting pain!

"If thou of murmuring wouldst be cured,
Compare thy griefs with mine;
Think what my love for thee endured,
And thou wilt not repine.

" "Tis I appoint thy daily lot,

And I do all things well;

Thou foon fhalt leave this wretched spot,
And rife with me to dwell.

"In life my grace fhall ftrength fupply,
Proportion'd to thy day;

At death thou ftill fhalt find me nigh,
To wipe thy tears away."

Thus I, who once my wretched days
In vain repinings spent,
Taught in my Saviour's fchool of grace,
Have learnt to be content.

20. OLD TESTAMENT GOSPEL. Heb. iv. 2.

SRAEL, in ancient days,

Not only had a view

Of Sinai in a blaze,

But learn'd the Gospel too;

The types and figures were a glass,
In which they faw a Saviour's face.

The paschal facrifice,

And blood-befprinkled door,*
Seen with enlighten'd eyes,

And once applied with power,

Would teach the need of other blood,
To reconcile an angry God.