Creator, yes! Thy wisdom and Thy word
Created me! Thou Source of life and good!
Thou Spirit of my Spirit, and my Lord!
Thy light, Thy love, in their bright plenitude
Filled me with an immortal soul, to spring
Over the abyss of death, and bade it wear
The garments of eternal day, and wing
Its heavenly flight beyond this little sphere,
Even to its source-to Thee-its Author there.

O thoughts ineffable! O visions blest!
Tho worthless our conceptions all of Thee,
Yet shall Thy shadowed image fill our breast,
And waft its homage to Thy Deity.

God! thus alone my lonely thoughts can soar;
Thus seek Thy presence, Being wise and good!
Midst Thy vast works admire, obey, adore;
And when the tongue is eloquent no more,
The soul shall speak in tears of gratitude.

PRAYER

BY CHARLES FRANCIS RICHARDSON

If, when I kneel to pray,

With eager lips I say:

"Lord give me all the things that I desire;

Health, wealth, fame, friends, brave heart, religious fire, The power to sway my fellow men at will,

And strength for might works to banish ill";

In such a prayer as this
The blessing I must miss.

Or if I only dare

To raise this fainting prayer:

"Thou seest, Lord, that I am poor and weak,
And can not tell what things I ought to seek;
I therefore do not ask at all, but still
I trust Thy bounty all my wants to fill";
My lips shall thus grow dumb,

The blessings shall not come.

But if I lowly fall,

And thus in faith I call:

"Through Christ, O Lord, I pray Thee give to me
Not what I would, but what seems best to Thee,
Of life, of health, of service, and of strength,
Until to Thy full joy I come at length";
My prayer shall then avail,
The blessing shall not fail.

NEARER TO THEE

BY SARAH FULLER FLOWER

Nearer, my God, to Thee

Nearer to Thee!

E'en tho it be a cross

That raiseth me;

Still all my song shall be,

Nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

Tho like the wanderer,

The sun gone down, Darkness be over me, My rest a stone;

Yet in my dreams I'd be

Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!

There let the way appear
Steps unto heaven;

All that Thou send'st to me

In mercy given;

Angels to beckon me

Nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

Then, with my waking thoughts

Bright with Thy praise, Out of my stormy griefs

Bethel I'll raise;

So by my woes to be

Nearer, my God, to Thee,
Nearer to Thee!

Or if on joyful wing

Cleaving the sky,

Sun, moon, and stars forgot,

Upward I fly,

Still all my song shall be,

Nearer, my God, to Thee,

Nearer to Thee!

Lesson talk. The reading aloud of sacred poetry and hymns is of great value to the student of elocution. These selections usually require a spirit of reverence and devotion, and an elevated style in which feeling and imagination play a conspicuous part. The easy grace and rhythm of the lines should be maintained without falling into sing-song or uniformity.

Poetry should not be read like prose, nor is rime, when it occurs, to be obscured, but rather slightly marked. The voice does not necessarily rise or fall at the end of each line, but is governed by a just sense of the meaning of the words. Poetry demands tone-color for its proper expression, a judicious painting of the thought with feeling, by which appeal is made to the heart rather than to the intellect of the hearer. In the reading of hymns to a congregation the minister should carefully avoid the common faults of jerkiness, intoning, lifelessness, and overemphasis. Hymns should be analyzed and practised aloud in advance of the church service, and their vocal interpretation regarded as an important part of public worship.

THE CHRISTIAN PILGRIM'S HYMN

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,
Pilgrim through this barren land:
I am weak, but Thou art mighty;
Hold me with Thy powerful hand!
Bread of heaven! bread of heaven!
Feed me now and evermore.

Open now the crystal fountain
Whence the healing streams do flow;
Let the fiery, cloudy pillar

Lead me all my journey through:
Strong Deliverer! strong Deliverer!
Be Thou still my strength and shield.

When I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid my anxious fears subside;
Death of deaths, and hell's destruction,
Land me safe on Canaan's side.
Songs of praises, songs of praises,
I will ever give to Thee.

Musing on my habitation,

Musing on my heavenly home, Fills my soul with holy longing; Come, my Jesus, quickly come. Vanity is all I see;

Lord, I long to be with Thee!

LIGHT SHINING OUT OF DARKNESS

BY WILLIAM COWPER

God moves in a mysterious way
His wonders to perform;

He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.