A timely Improvement of Life. Jer. xiii. 16. & James iv. 13.
1 THE swift-declining day-How fast its moments fly!
While evening's broad and gloomy shade
Gains on the western sky.
Ye mortals! mark its pace;
Improve the hours of light;
And know, your Maker can command
An instantaneous night.
His word blots out the sun
In its meridian blaze;
And cuts from smiling vigorous youth
The remnant of its days.
On the dark mountain's brow
Your feet shall quickly slide,
And from its airy summit dash
Your momentary pride
Give glory to the Lord,
Who rules the rolling sphere;
Submissive at his footstool bow,
And seek salvation there.
Then shall new lustre break,
Through horror's darkest gloom,
And lead you to unchanging light
In a celestial home.
The Account to be required for our Talents.
1 THE time draws near, when thou, my soul!
Thy last account must give;
When thy whole life shall be surveyed
By him who bade thee live.
2 How many talents, O my God!
Hast thou bestowed on me!
But yet how few can there be found
Devoted, Lord! to thee!
3 My health, my time, my worldly store,
And thy more precious word,
Thy talents are, for which I must
Account to thee, my Lord!
4 Much of my time, alas! I've lost,
And much have I mispent ;
How careless of my grand concern!
On trifles how intent!
5 O may the slothful servant's doom,
My holy care excite;
Each talent may I well improve,
And in thy work delight!
334. s. M.
Light and Deliverance.
THE traveller, lost in night,
Breathes many a longing sigh,
And marks the welcome dawn of light,
With rapture in his eye.
Thus sweet, the dawn of day
Which weary sinners find,
When mercy with reviving ray
Beams o'er the fainting mind.
3 To slaves oppressed with chains,
How kind, how dear the friend,
Whose generous hand relieves their pains,
And bids their sorrows end!
4 Thus dear that Friend divine,
Who rescues captive souls;
Unbinds the galling chains of sin,
And all its power controls.
My God! to gospel light
My dawn of hope I owe;
Once, wandering in the shades of night,
And sunk in hopeless wo.
Thy hand redeemed the slave,
And set the prisoner free:
Be all I am, and all I have,
Devoted, Lord! to thee!
Heaven the Reward of Virtuous Exertions. Dan. xii. 3
1 THERE is a glorious world on high,
Resplendent with eternal day;
Faith views the blissful prospect nigh,
While God's own word reveals the way.
2 There shall the servants of the Lord
With never-fading lustre shine;
Surprising honour, vast reward,
Conferred on man by love divine!
3 How happy they, how truly wise,
Who learn and keep the sacred road;
Whom love, with holy zeal, employs,
To bring the wandering soul to God!
4 The shining firmament shall fade,
And sparkling stars resign their light;
But these shall know nor change, nor shade,
For ever fair, for ever bright.
5 On wings of faith and strong desire,
O may our spirits daily rise;
And reach at last the shining choir,
In the bright mansions of the skies!
336. c. M.
Prospect of Heaven.
1 THERE is a land of pure delight,
Where saints immortal reign;
Infinite day excludes the night,
And pleasures banish pain.
2 There, everlasting spring abides,
And never-withering flowers;
Death, like a narrow sea, divides
This heavenly land from ours.
3 Sweet fields, beyond the swelling flood,
Stand dressed in living green:
So, to the Jews, old Canaan stood,
While Jordan rolled between.
4 But timorous mortals start and shrink,
To cross this narrow sea;
And linger shivering on the brink,
And fear to launch away.
5 O could we make our doubts remove,-
Those gloomy doubts that rise,
And see the Canaan that we love,
With clear, unclouded eyes;-
6 Could we but stand, as Moses stood,
And view the prospect o'er,
Not Jordan's streams, nor death's cold flood,
Should fright us from the shore!
337. L. M.
Divine Mercy. Ps. cxxx.
1 THERE is forgiveness, Lord! with thee,
The humble penitent to cheer;
That all, who thy rich mercy see,
May hope and love, as well as fear.
2 More welcome than the morning's face
To those who long for breaking day,
Great God! is that abundant grace
Which thy kind promises display.
3 Our trust is fixed upon thy word,
Nor shall we trust thy word in vain :
Let contrite souls address the Lord,
And find relief from all their pain.
Earthly and Heavenly Treasures compared. Luke xii. 33.
1 THESE mortal joys-how soon they fade How swift they pass away!
The dying flower reclines its head,
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