Persecution and Intolerance, absurd.
1 ABSURD and vain attempt, to bind
With iron chains, the freeborn mind;
To force conviction, and reclaim
The wandering, by destructive flame!
2 Bold arrogance, to snatch from heaven
Dominion not to mortals given;
O'er conscience to usurp the throne,
Accountable to God alone!
3 Our blessed Master's law of love
Does no such cruelties approve;
Mild as himself, his doctrine wields
No arms but those persuasion yields.
4 By proofs divine, and reasons strong,
It draws the willing soul along;
And conquests to his church acquires
By eloquence, which heaven inspires.
"Affliction cometh not forth of the Dust." Job, v. 6.
1 AFFLICTION's faded form draws nigh,
With wrinkled brow and tearful eye;
With sackcloth on her bosom spread;
And ashes scattered o'er her head.
2 But deem her not a child of earth;
From heaven she draws her sacred birth:
Beside the throne of God she stands
To execute his dread commands.
3 Oft as in pleasure's paths we stray,
Perplexed in sin's deceitful way,
With storms she thunders o'er our heads,
And sudden ruin round us spreads:
4 The messenger of grace, she flies
To train us for our sphere, the skies;
And onward as we move, the way
Becomes more smooth, more bright the day:
5 Her weeds to robes of glory turn,
Her looks with kindling radiance burn;
And from her lips these accents steal,
"God smites to bless, he wounds to heal!"
The Light and Glory of God's Word.
1 A GLORY gilds the sacred page,
Majestic as the sun;
It gives a light to every age;
It gives, but borrows none.
2 The hand that gave it, still supplies
The gracious light and heat;
Its truths upon the nations rise,
They rise, but never set.
3 Let endless thanks, O God! be thine,
For such a bright display,
As makes a world of darkness shine
With beams of heavenly day.
4 With steadfast zeal may we pursue
The paths of truth and love;
Till glory break upon our view
In brighter worlds above,
1 АH, wretched souls, who still remain Slaves to the world, and slaves to sin! A nobler toil may I sustain,
A nobler satisfaction win.
2 I would resolve with all my heart,
With all my powers to serve the Lord;
Nor from his precepts e'er depart,
Whose service is a rich reward.
3 O be his service all my joy!
Around let my example shine,
Till others love the blessed employ,
And join in labours so divine.
4 Be this the purpose of my soul,
My solemn, my determined choice,
To yield to his supreme control,
And in his kind commands rejoice.
5 O may I never faint nor tire,
Nor wander from thy sacred ways;
Great God, accept my soul's desire,
And give me strength to live thy praise!
The vegetable Creation, an Emblem of the Resurrection of Man.
1 ALL nature dies, and lives again:
The flowers that paint the field,
The trees that crown the mountain's brow,
And boughs and blossoms yield;
2 Resign the honours of their form
At winter's stormy blast;
And leave the naked leafless plain
A desolated waste.
3 Yet soon reviving plants and flowers
Anew shall deck the plain;
The woods shall hear the voice of spring,
And flourish green again.
4 So to the dreary grave consigned,
Man sleeps in death's dark gloom,
Until the eternal morning wake
The slumbers of the tomb.
may the grave become to me
The bed of peaceful rest;
Whence I shall gladly rise at length,
And mingle with the blessed!
6 Cheered by this hope, with patient mind
I'll wait heaven's high decree;
Till the appointed period come
When death shall set me free.
1 ALL nature feels attractive power,
A strong embracing force;
The drops that sparkle in the shower,
The planets in their course.
2 Thus, in the universe of mind,
Is felt the law of love;
The charity, both strong and kind,
For all that live and move.
3 More perfect bond, the christian plan Attaches soul to soul;
Our neighbour is the suffering man,
Though at the farthest pole.
4 To earth below, from heaven above,
The faith in Christ professed,
More clear reveals that God is love,
And whom he loves is blessed.
God eternal and unchangeable.
1 ALL-POWERFUL, self-existent God,
Who all creation dost sustain !
Thou wast, and art, and art to come,
And everlasting is thy reign.
2 Fixed and eternal as thy days,
Each glorious attribute divine,
Through ages infinite, shall still
With undiminished lustre shine.
|