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321. c. M.

The Vicissitudes of Providence.

1 THE gifts indulgent heaven bestows,
Are variously conveyed;

The human mind, like nature, knows
Alternate light and shade.

2 While changing aspects all things wear,
Can we expect to find
Unclouded sunshine all the

year,
Or constant peace of mind?

3 More gaily smiles the blooming spring,
When wintry storms are o'er;
Retreating sorrow thus may bring
Delights unknown before.

4 Then let us send our fears away,
Nor sink in gloomy care;

Though clouds o'erspread the scene to-day, To-morrow may be fair.

322. P. M.

Mrs. Steele.

"The Lord our God is one Lord." Mark xii. 29.

1 THE God who reigns alone
O'er earth, and sea, and sky,
Let man with praises own,
And sound his honours high.

2 Him all in heaven above,
Him all on earth below,

The exhaustless source of love,
The great Creator know.

3 He formed the living frame,
He gave the reasoning mind;
Then only he may claim

The worship of mankind.

4 So taught his only Son,

Bless'd messenger of grace!
The Eternal is but one,
No second holds his place.

323. L. M.

† Drummond.

The final Judgment. Dan. xii. 1, 2.

1 THE heart dejected sighs to know
Why vice triumphant reigns below;
Why saints have fallen in every age
The victims of tyrannic rage.

2 Fast roll successive years away, Fast hastens the important day,

When, to the astonished world's surprise, God's high tribunal shall arise.

3 Hark! 'tis the trumpet's piercing sound,
The rising dead assemble round;
In long procession see they come,
Each to receive his final doom.

4 Lo! there a vile, degenerate race,
Pale terror sits on every face:
Here, on the right, a joyful band,
The sons of suffering virtue stand.

5 The sentence passed, lo! these arise
To bliss and glory in the skies:

While those who once stood high in fame, Sink to contempt and endless shame.

6 Thus shall God's providence appear,
Without a shade, divinely fair;
And blushing doubt with joy confess,
The Lord's a God of righteousness.

324. c. M.

Needham.

Trust in God in Prosperity and Adversity.

1 THE Lord, how tender is his love!
His justice, how august!

Hence, all her fears my soul derives,
There, anchors all her trust.

2 He showers the manna from above,
To feed the barren waste;
Or points with death the fiery hail,
And famine waits the blast.

3 He bids distress forget to groan,
The sick from anguish cease;
In dungeons, spreads his healing wing,
And softly whispers peace.

4 His power directs the rushing wind,
Or tips the bolt with flame;
His goodness breathes in every breeze,
And warms in every beam.

5 For me, O Lord! whatever lot

The hours commissioned bring;
Do all my withering blessings die,
Or fairer clusters spring;

6.O grant, that still with grateful heart
My years resigned may run!

'Tis thine to give or to resume,
And may thy will be done!

Darwin.

325. c. M.

God's tender Care of his People. Ps. xxiii.

1 THE Lord himself, the mighty Lord,
Vouchsafes to be my guide;

The Shepherd by whose constant care
My wants are all supplied.

2 In tender grass he makes me feed,
And gently there repose;

Then leads me in cool shades, and where
Refreshing water flows.

3 He does my wandering feet reclaim,
And to his endless praise,
Instruct with humble zeal to walk
In his most righteous ways.

4 I pass the gloomy vale of death,
From fear and danger free;
For there his aiding rod and staff
Defend and comfort me.

5 Since God doth thus his wondrous love
Through all my life extend,
That life to him I will devote,
And in his service spend.

326. 61. L. M.

God our Shepherd. Ps. xxiii.

1 THE Lord my pasture shall prepare,
And feed me with a shepherd's care:
His presence shall my wants supply,
And guard me with a watchful eye:
My noon-day walks he shall attend,
And all my midnight hours defend.

Tate.

2 When in the sultry glebe I faint,
Or on the thirsty mountain pant;
To fertile vales and dewy meads,
My weary, wandering steps he leads;
Where peaceful rivers, soft and slow,
Amid the verdant landscape flow.

3 Though in a bare and rugged way,
Through devious, lonely wilds I stray,
Thy bounty shall my pains beguile :
The barren wilderness shall smile,
With sudden greens and herbage crowned,
And streams shall murmur all around.

4 Though in the paths of death I tread,
With gloomy horrors overspread,
My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,
For thou, O Lord! art with me still;
Thy friendly crook shall give me aid,
And guide me through the dreadful shade.

327. c. M.

Addison.

God's Power seen in the Elements.

1 THE Lord our God is full of might,
The winds obey his will;

He speaks, and in his heavenly height
The rolling sun stands still.

2 Rebel, ye waves! and o'er the land
With threatening aspect roar;
The Lord uplifts his awful hand
And chains you to the shore.

3 Howl, winds of night! your force combine;
Without his high behest,

Ye shall not in the mountain pine

Disturb the sparrow's nest.

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