What thou shalt to-day provide,
Let me as a child receive;
What to-morrow may betide,
Calmly to thy wisdom leave.
'Tis enough that thou wilt care:
Why should I the burden bear ?
As a little child relies
On a care beyond his own;
Knows he's neither strong nor wise ;
Fears to stir a step alone;
Let me thus with thee abide,
As my Father, Guard, and Guide.
Thus preserved from Satan's wiles,
Safe from dangers, free from fears,
May I live upon thy smiles,
Till the promised hour appears,
When the sons of God shall prove
All their Father's boundless love.

157

(PWARD I lift my eyes;

The God who built the skies,
And earth and nature made :

God is the tower
To which I fly;
His grace is nigh

In every hour.
My feet shall never slide,
And fall in fatal snares,
Since God, my Guard and Guide,
Defends me from my fears ;

Those wakeful eyes,
Which never sleep,
My life shall keep,

When dangers rise.
Hast thou not given thy word
To save my soul from death ?
And I can trust thee, Lord,
To keep my mortal breath:

I’īl go and come;
Nor fear to die,
Till from on high

Thou call'st me home. 158

OD sendeth sun, he sendeth sho wer,

;

And joys and tears alike are sent,
To give the soul fit nourishment;
As comes to me, or cloud or sun,
Father, thy will, not mine, be done.
Can loving children e'er reprove,
With murmurs, those they trust and love?
Creator, I would ever be
A trusting, loving child to thee;
As comes to me, or cloud or sun,
Father, thy will, not mine, be done.
Oh! ne'er will I at life repine,
Enough that thou hast made it mine ;
When falls the shadow cold of death,
I yet will sing with parting breath :
As comes to me, or cloud or sun,
Father, thy will, not mine, be done.

:

159

YINCE all the downward tracks of time

God's watchful eye surveys,
O who so wise to choose our lot,

And regulate our ways?
Why should we doubt his constant love,

Immeasurably kind ?
To his unerring gracious will,

Be every wish resign'd.
Good when he gives, supremely good,

Nor less when he denies;
Even crosses from his sovereign hand

Are blessings in disguise.

TH

160

WHY way, not mine, O Lord,

However dark it be;
Lead me by thine own hand,

Choose out the path for me.
Smooth let it be or rough,

It will be still the best;
Winding or straight, it matters not,

It leads me to thy rest.
I dare not choose my lot,

I would not, if I might:
Choose thou for me, my God,

So shall I walk aright.
The kingdom that I seek
Is thine, so let the

way
That leads to it be thine,

Else I must surely stray.

Take thou my cup, and it

With joy or sorrow fill,
As best to thee may seem :

Choose thou my good and ill.
Choose thou for me my friends,

My sickness or my health ;
Choose thou my cares for me,

My poverty or wealth.
Not mine, not mine the choice,

In things or great or small;
Be thou my guide, my strength,
My wisdom and

my

all.

A

161

WAKE my soul, awake my tongue;

My God demands the grateful song ; Let all my inmost pow'rs record The wondrous mercies of the Lord. Divinely free his mercy flows, Forgives my sins, allays my woes; He bids approaching death remove, And crowns me with a Father's love. His mercy, with unchanging rays, For ever shines, while time decays; And children's children shall record The truth and goodness of the Lord. While all his works his praise proclaim, And men and angels bless his name, O let my heart, my life, my tongue Attend and join the sacred song.

162

THEN all thy mercies, O my God,

My rising soul surveys,
Transported with the view, I'm lost

In wonder, love, and praise.
O how shall words with equal warmth

The gratitude declare,
That glows within my ravish'd heart ?

But thou canst read it there. Thy providence my life sustain'd,

And all my wants redress'd, When in the silent womb I lay,

And hung upon the breast. Unnumber'd comforts on my soul

Thy tender care bestowed, Before

my

infant heart conceived
From whom those comforts flow'd.
When in the slippery paths of youth
With heedless steps I ran,

Ι
Thine arm, unseen, convey'd me safe,

And led me up to man.
When worn with sickness, oft hast thou

With health renew'd my face;
And, when in sins and sorrows sunk,

Revived my soul with grace.
Ten thousand thousand precious gifts

My daily thanks employ;
Nor is the least a cheerful heart,

That tastes those gifts with joy.
Through every period of my life

Thy goodness I'll pursue ;
And, after death, in distant worlds

The glorious theme renew.