What that earth boasts were not lost
cheaply rather
Than forfeit that blest name, by which I call
The Holy One, the Almighty God, my Father!
Father! in Christ we live, and Christ in Thee-
Eternal Thou, and everlasting we;
The heir of heaven, henceforth I fear not death:
In Christ I live! in Christ I draw the breath
Of the true life! Let then earth, sea, and sky
Make war against me! On my heart I show
Their mighty Master's seal. In vain they try
To end my life, that can but end its woe.
Is that a death-bed where a Christian lies?
Yes! but not his 'Tis Death itself there dies!
NO when the morning shineth-
Go when the moon is bright-
Go when the eve declineth-
Go in the hush of night—
Go with pure mind and feeling,
Fling earthly thought away,
And in thy chamber kneeling,
To God, in secret pray.
Then for thyself in meekness,
A blessing humbly claim,
And join with each petition
Thy great Redeemer's name!
Or, if 'tis here denied thee
In solitude to pray,
Let holy thoughts come o'er thee,
When friends are round thy way!
E'en then the silent breathing
Of thy spirit raised above,
Will reach His throne of glory,
Who is mercy, truth, and love!
Oh! not a joy nor blessing,
With this can we compare!
The power that He hath given us
To pour our souls in prayer!
Whene'er thou pin'st in sadness,
Before His footstool fall,
And remember in thy gladness,
His grace who gave thee all!
EAR was within the tossing bark, When stormy winds grew loud; And waves came rolling high and dark, And the tall mast was bow'd.
And men stood breathless in their dread,
And baffled in their skill;
But One was there, who rose and said
To the wild sea: "Be still!"
And the wind ceas'd-it ceas'd!-that word
Pass'd through the gloomy sky;
The troubled billows knew their Lord,
And fell beneath His eye.
And slumber settled on the deep,
And silence on the blast;
They sank, as flowers that fold to sleep
When sultry day is past.
Oh! Thou, that in its wildest hour
Didst rule the tempest's mood,
Send Thy meek spirit forth in power
Soft on our souls to brood.
Thou that didst bow the billows' pride
Thy mandate to fulfil,
Oh! speak to passion's raging tide,
Speak, and say: "Peace,-be still!"
THE Future hides in it
Gladness and sorrow;
We press till thorow,
Nought that abides in it
Daunting us,-onward.
And solemn before us,
Veiled, the dark Portal;
Goal of all mortal :-
Stars silent rest o'er us,
Graves under us silent.
While earnest thou gazest,
Comes boding of terror,
Comes phantasm and error;
Perplexes the bravest
With doubt and misgiving.
But heard are the Voices,
Heard are the Sages,
The Worlds and the Ages:
"Choose well, your choice is
Brief, and yet endless.
"Here eyes do regard you,
In Eternity's stillness;
Here is all fulness,
Ye brave, to reward you;
Work, and despair not."
Canotation by Enlighe from Gouther
A THOUGHT SUGGESTED BY THE NEW
HE more we live, more brief
Our life's succeeding stages:
A day to childhood seems a year,
And years like passing ages.
The gladsome current of our youth,
Ere passion yet disorders,
Steals, lingering like a river smooth
Along its grassy borders.
But as the care-worn cheek grows wan,
And sorrow's shafts fly thicker,
Ye stars, that measure life to man,
Why seem your courses quicker?
When joys have lost their bloom and breath,
And life itself is vapid,
Why, as we reach the Falls of death,
Feel we its tide more rapid?
It may be strange-yet who would change
Time's course to slower speeding;
When one by one our friends have gone,
And left our bosoms bleeding?
Heaven gives our years of fading strength
Indemnifying fleetness,
And those of youth a seeming length,
Proportion'd to their sweetness.
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