4 But, ah, how woes and fears

Those hollow joys succeed!
That cup of mirth is mixed with tears,

That hope is but a reed. 5 What have I then below,

Or what but thee on high?
Thee, thee, O Father, would I know,

And in thee live and die!

358

C. M.

COWPER

Walking with God.

1 O FOR a closer walk with God,

A calm and heavenly frame,
A light to shine upon the road

That leads me to the Lamb!

2 Where is the blessedness I knew

When first I saw the Lord ?
Where is the soul-refreshing view

Of Jesus and his word ?

3 What peaceful hours I once enjoyed !

How sweet their memory still !
But they have left an aching void

The world can never fill.

4 Return, O holy Dove, return,

Sweet messenger of rest!
I hate the sins that made thee mourn,

And drove thee from my breast.

359
S. M.

Watts.
Looking uproard.
1 THE heavens invite mine eye ;

The stars salute me round;
Father, I blush, I mourn, to lie

Thus groveling on the ground.
2 My warmer spirits move,

And make attempts to fly;
I wish aloud for wings of love

To raise me swift and high,
3 Beyond those crystal vaults,

And all their sparkling balls ; They're but the porches to thy courts,

And paintings on thy walls.
4 Vain world, farewell to you;

Heaven is my native air ;
I bid my friends a short adieu,

Impatient to be there.

360
L. M.

WATTS. A Sight of God mortifies us to the World. 1 UP to the fields where angels lie,

And living waters gently roll, Fain would my thoughts leap out and fly,

But sin hangs heavy on my soul. 2 Had I a glance of thee, my God,

Kingdoms and men would vanish soon, Vanish as though I saw them not, As a dim candle dies at noon.

3 Then they might fight, and rage, and rave;

I should perceive the noise no more Than we can hear a shaking leaf

While rattling thunders round us roar. 4 Great All in all, eternal King,

Let me but view thy lovely face, And all my powers shall bow and sing

Thine endless grandeur and thy grace.

361
L. M.

DODDRIDGE. Glorying in God alone. 1 THE righteous Lord, supremely great,

Maintains his universal state;
O'er all the earth his power extends;

All heaven before his footstool bends.
2 No more, ye wise, your wisdom boast;

No more, ye strong, your valor trust;
Nor let the rich survey his store,

Elate with heaps of shining ore. 3 Glory, my soul, in this alone,

That God, thy God, to thee is known,
That thou hast owned his sovereign sway,

That thou hast felt his cheering ray.
4 My wisdom, wealth, and power, I find

In one, Jehovah, all combined;
On him I fix my roving eyes,
Till all my soul in rapture rise.

290

362
C. M.

DODDRIDGE. Support in God's Covenant, 1 MY God, the covenant of thy love

Abides forever sure,
And in its matchless grace I feel

My happiness secure. 2 What though my house be not with thee,

As nature could desire ?
To nobler joys than nature gives,

Thy servants all aspire.
3 Since thou, the everlasting God,

My Father art become,
Jesus my Guardian and my Friend,

And heaven my final home,
4 I welcome all thy sovereign will ;

For all that will is love;
And, when I know not what thou dost,

I wait the light above.

363
S. M.

Watts. Safety in God. Ps. 61. 1 WHEN, overwhelmed with grief,

My heart within me dies,
Helpless, and far from all relief,

To Heaven I lift my eyes. 2 O, lead me to the Rock

That's high above my head,
And make the covert of thy wings

Mv shelter and my shade.

3 Within thy presence, Lord,

Forever I'll abide;
Thou art the Tower of my defence,

The Refuge where I hide.

364
C. M.

Watts. God our Portion. Ps. 73. 1 GOD! my Supporter and my Hope,

My Help forever near,
Thine arm of mercy held me up,

When sinking in despair. 2 Thy counsels, Lord, shall guide my feet

Through this dark wilderness, Thy hand conduct me near thy seat,

To dwell before thy face. 3 Were I in heaven without my God,

'Twould be no joy to me; And whilst this earth is my abode,

I long for none but thee. 4 What if the springs of life were broke,

And flesh and heart should faint ? God is my soul's eternal Rock,

The Strength of every saint. 5 Behold, the sinners that remove

Far from thy presence die ; Not all the idol gods they love

Can save them when they cry. 6 But to draw near to thee, my God,

Shall be my sweet employ; My tongue shall sound thy works abroad,

And tell the world my joy.