2 And wilt thou lend a listening ear

To praises low as ours?
Thou wilt; for thou dost love to hear

The song which meekness pours. 3 0, let thy grace perform its part,

And let contention cease ;
And shed abroad in every heart

Thine everlasting peace.
4 Thus chastened, cleansed, entirely thine,

A flock by Jesus led,
The Sun of holiness shall shine

In glory on our head.
5 And thou wilt turn our wandering feet,

And thou wilt bless our way,
Till worlds shall fade, and faith shall greet

The dawn of lasting day.

691

L. M.

J. Q. ADAMS.

In Sickness.

1 LORD of all worlds, let thanks and praise

To thee forever fill my soul ;
With blessings thou hast crowned my days,

My heart, my head, my hand control :
O, let no vain presumption rise,

No impious murmur in my heart, To crave the boon thy will denies,

Or shrink from ill thy hands impart. 2 Thy child am I, and not an hour,

Revolving in the orbs above,
But brings some token of thy power,

But brings some token of thy love:

And shall this bosom dare repine,

In darkness dare deny the dawn, Or spurn the treasures of the mine,

Because one diamond is withdrawn? 3 The fool denies, the fool alone,

Thy being, Lord, and boundless might, Denies the firmament, thy throne,

Denies the sun's meridian light; Denies the fashion of his frame,

The voice he hears, the breath he draws ; O idiot atheist! to proclaim

Effects unnumbered without cause ! 4 Matter and mind, mysterious one,

Are man's for threescore years and ten; Where, ere the thread of life was spun ?

Where, when reduced to dust again? All-seeing God, the doubt suppress;

The doubt thou only canst relieve; My soul thy Savior-Son shall bless,

Fly to thy gospel, and believe.

692
C. M.

DODDRIDGE.
Praise for Recovery from Sickness. Ps. cxviii. 18, 19.
1 SOVEREIGN of life, I own thy hand

In every chastening stroke;
And, while I smart beneath thy rod,

Thy presence I invoke.
2 To thee in my distress I cried,

And thou hast bowed thine ear ;
Thy powerful word my life prolonged,

And brought salvation near.

3 Unfold, ye gates of righteousness,

That, with the pious throng, I may record my solemn vows,

And tune my grateful song. 4 Praise to the Lord, whose gentle hand

Renews our laboring breath ; Praise to the Lord, who makes his saints

Triumphant e'en in death.

693
C. M.

Watts. A Morning Song. For a Child. 1 MY God! who makes the sun to know

His proper hour to rise,
And, to give light to all below,

Doth send him round the skies.

2 When, from the chambers of the east,

His morning race begins,
He never tires, nor stops to rest,

But round the world he shines.

3 So, like the sun, would I fulfil

The business of the day,
Begin my work betimes, and still

March on my heavenly way.
4 Give me, O Lord, thy early grace,

Nor let my soul complain
That the young morning of my days

Has all been spent in vain.

540

694
C. M.

WATTS. An Evening Song. For a Child. 1 AND now another day is gone,

I'll sing my Maker's praise ;
My comforts every hour make known

His providence and grace.
2 But how my childhood runs to waste !

My sins, how great their sum !
Lord, give me pardon for the past,

And strength for days to come. 3 I lay my body down to sleep;

Let angels guard my head,
And through the hours of darkness keep

Their watch around my bed.
4 With cheerful heart I close my eyes,

Since thou wilt not remove,
And in the morning let me rise

Rejoicing in thy love.

695
L. M.

PIERPONT Morning Hymn. For a Child. 1 O GOD, I thank thee that the night

In peace and rest hath passed away, And that I see, in this fair light,

My Father's smile, that makes it day. 2 Be thou my Guide and let me live

As under thine all-seeing eye ; Supply my wants, my sins forgive, And make me happy when I die.

696
L. M.

PIERPONT. Evening Hymn. For a Child. 1 ANOTHER day its course hath run,

And still, O God, thy child is blest ; For thou hast been by day my Sun,

And thou wilt be by night my Rest. 2 Sweet sleep descends, my eyes to close ;

And now, when all the world is still, I give my body to repose,

My spirit to my Father's will.

697
C. M.

Watts, The aged Christian's Prayer. Ps. 71. 1 GOD of my childhood and my youth,

The Guide of all my days,
I have declared thy heavenly truth,

And told thy wondrous ways.
2 Wilt thou forsake my hoary hairs,

And leave my fainting heart? Who shall sustain my sinking years,

If God, my Strength, depart ?
3 Let me thy power and truth proclaim

To the surviving age,
And leave a savor of thy name

When I shall quit the stage.
4 The land of silence and of death

Attends my next remove; 0, may these poor remains of breath

Teach the wide world thy love.