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Ye spirits of just men made perfect, ye ransomed nations triumphant above, instruct me in the art of celestial eloquence; tell in what strains of sacred harmony you express your gratitude for this glorious redemption, while, in exalted raptures, you sing to him that loved and washed you in his own blood, and made you kings and priests to God. XXX. Aspiring after the vision of God in Heaven. "I BESEECH thee, shew me thy glory:" it was a mortal, in a state of frailty and imperfection, that made this bold, but pious request, which I repeat on different terms: since none can see thy face and live, let me die to behold it. This is the only request I have to make, and this will I seek after, that I may behold the beauty of the Lord: not as I have seen it in thy sanctuary below; but in full perfection and splendour, as thou art seen by seraphs and cherubs, by angels and archangels, and the spirits of just men made perfect.

O my God, forgive my importunity; thou hast commanded me to love thee with all my heart, my soul, my strength, and hast by thy Spirit kindled the sacred flame in my breast; from this rises my present impatience; from hence the ardour of my desires spring. Can I love thee, and be satisfied at this distance from thee? Can I love thee, and not long to behold thee in perfect excellence and beauty? Is it a crime to press forward to the end for

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which I was created? All my wishes and my hopes of happiness terminate in thee.

Does not the thirsty traveller pine for some refreshing stream? would not the weary be at rest, or the wretched captive free? and shall not my thirsty, weary, captive soul, long for refreshment, liberty, and rest? I am but a stranger, a pilgrim here, and have no abiding place; this is not my rest, my home; and yet if thou hast any employment for me, though the meanest office in thy family, I will not repine at my stay.

But, O Lord, thou hast no need of such worthless service I can pay thee; thy angels are spirits, thy ministers flames of fire; thousands of thousands stand before thee, and ten thousand times ten thousand minister unto thee: they attend thy orders, and fly at thy command. O deliver me from this burden of mortality, and I will serve thee with a zeal as pure and active as theirs.

I can speak of thy loving-kindness to the children of men in a very imperfect manner; but then I will join with the celestial quire, in prais ing thee, and rehearse to listening angels what thou hast done for my soul. Here I have a thousand interruptions from the delightful work, a thousand cold and darksome intervals, when my heart and tongue are both untuned, a thousand necessary distractions that rise from the miseries of mortality; but when these intervals of grief

and sin shall cease, my soul shall dwell at ease; and be for ever glad, and rejoice in thy salvation.

XXXI. A surrender of the soul to God.

COMMAND me what thou wilt, O Lord, give me but strength to obey thee; be thy terms never sosevere, O let us never part. I resign my will, my liberty, my choice to thee; I stand divested of the world, and ask only thy love as my inheritance. Give or deny me what thou wilt, I leave all the circumstances of my future time in thy hands let the Lord guide me continually here I am, do with me what seemeth good in thy sight, only do not say, "Thou hast no pleasure in me."

Let me not live to dishonour thee, to bring a reproach on thy name, to profane the blood of the Son of God, and grieve the Spirit of grace. take not thy loving-kindness from me, nor suffer thy faithfulness to fail. Thou hast sworn by thy holiness, and thou wilt not lie to the seed of thy servants; thou hast sworn that the generation of the righteous shall be blessed: vest me with this character, O my God, and fulfil this promise to a worthless creature.

XXXII. Trust and reliance on the divine promises. O LET not my importunity offend thee, for it is the importunity of faith; it is my stedfast belief in.

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thy word that makes me persist: thy word and thy oath, the two immutable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, give me strong consola

tion.

It is this that makes me press forward to thy throne, and with confidence lay hold on thy strength, thy wisdom, and thy faithfulness, on thy goodness and tender compassion; those glorious attributes for which the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. It is thy glory to be the confidence of the ends of the earth, and it was long since predicted, "That in "thy name the Gentiles should trust.”

Kind Guardian of the world, our heav'nly aid,
To whom the vows of all mankind are paid.

We pay thee the highest homage, and exalt thy infinite attributes by faith and confidence in thee.

I know that thou art, and believe thee a rewarder of them that diligently seek thee. I will never quit my hold of thy promises, there I fix my hopes; I will not let a tittle go, nor part with a mite of the glorious treasure. I humbly hope I have a rightful claim; thou art my God, and the God of my religious ancestors, the God of my mother, the God of my pious father; dying and breathing out his soul, he gave me to thy care, he put me into thy gracious arms, and delivered me up to thy protection: He told me thou wouldst never leave nor forsake me: he triumphed in thy

Jong experienced faithfulness and truth, and gave his testimony for thee with his latest breath.

And now, O Lord God of my fathers, whose mercy has descended from age to age, whose truth has remained unblemished and inviolable, and whose love remains without decay; O Lord, the faithful God and the true, keeping covenant and mercy to a thousand generations, let me find that protection and blessing that the prayers of my dying father engaged for me: now in the time of my distress, be a present help; and if thou wilt this once deliver me, thou alone shalt be my future trust, my counsellor, and hope; to thee I will immediately apply myself, and look on the whole force of created nature as insignificant. To thee I will devote all the blessings thou shalt give me, my time, my life, my whole of this world's goods; whatever share thou shalt graciously allot me, shall surely be the Lord's.

Oh! hearken to the vows of my distress, and for thy own honour deliver me from this perplexity which thou knowest, and reveal to me the abundance of thy mercy and truth.

It was my dependence on thy promise and fidelity that brought me into this exigence; I staggered not at thy promises through unbelief, but boldly ventured on the credit of thy word: I took it for my security, and can the Strength of Israel re