19. L. M. "The good part." Luke x. 42.
HERE is a choice to mortals given,
This, to approve, or that, refuse;
Some, turn to earth, some, grasp at heaven,
A world to gain! a world to lose!
The countless generations past,
Who earth, like us, so earnest trod,
Will, in one class, be found at last,
The friends, or enemies of God!
They chose their portion,
to awake, Where joy, or woe, all thought transcends, And we must our election make,
. On which eternity depends!
Time's boasted gifts will not endure,
Its pleasures vanish with the day;
But there remains one choice secure,
One part, which none shall take away!
Th' Atoning Lamb, which once was slain,
Presents the only solid ground;
And gives the hope that will sustain,
Amid dissolving nature round!
Teach us, Great Ruler of the skies!
To triumph o'er our subtle foes;
T'hat we may, through thy grace, be wise,
And choose the "part" which Mary chose!
20. L. M. "Arise, let us go hence."
RISE, my soul! and haste away,
Prepare to quit thy house of clay :
Bright seraphs, beckoning from above,
Call thee, thy Lord to see and love.
What should detain thee here below?
What hidden charms have sin and woe?
The varying cares, and many pains,
That, as its portion, flesh sustains?
Arise, my soul! the summons hear!
Prepare for yonder glorious sphere!
Stretch thy young wing for endless day,
And shake the dust of earth away!
[Assume thine armour, bright and new,
Thy vanquish'd foes again subdue;
Soon will thy arduous race be run,
The strife be o'er! the crown be won.]
Have not thy kindred, loved of yore,
Pass'd an illustrious band before?
And now, to die, is but to go –
To friends above, from friends below.
And, Oh! to know as we are known,
To bend around Jehovah's throne;
To view the Lamb that once was slain,
And join in heaven's immortal strain!
These hopes surpass created worth!
These break the ties that bind to earth!
To dwell in heaven's effulgent day -
Arise, my soul! and haste away!
kind one to another."
Eph. iv. 32.
KINDNESS from God, its fountain, came,
To kindness rich returns are given;
Kindness, on earth, the fierce can tame,
And kindness is the law of heaven.
How lovely is the spirit kind,
The spirit which our Lord display'd;
The pulse that beats for all mankind!
The soul in tenderness arrayed!
Are we not brethren, hastening fast
To the dark mansion of the tomb,
Where rich and poor will meet at last,
And there await their final doom?
[Did we not all from dust proceed?
Does not one hope our solace form?
One gracious hand defend and feed?
One sun and shower refresh and warm ?]
Forgiveness all alike must plead,
If we escape the world of woe;
The mercy we from God shall need,
Shall not our hearts to others show?
Let us, henceforth, contention shun,
Discord is of satanic birth!
The soul that loves hath now begun
The joys above, while here on earth! God, for the sake of Christ, his Son, Forgives our sins, repairs our loss; The Lord of life, the Holy One,
Nail'd our transgressions to the cross. Through him who died our souls to save, Do we indulge the hope of heaven? Like him, who greater wrongs forgave, May we forgive, and be forgiven !
AVE mercy, Lord! Be this our cry, Both while we live, and when we die; In Christ, for pardon, we confide, Through whom thy wrath is turn'd aside. Yet would we view, with sorrow drown'd, The road in which we once were found; We would, in memory, ever keep, Our unregenerate days, and weep! Thousands, (the foes confirm'd of God!) Now tread the paths which once we trod! What tore the covering from our eyes? And taught us where our safety lies?
What secret power, by means unknown,
Soften'd, at last, our hearts of stone?
What guide benign, in whisper sweet,
To Zion turn'd our wandering feet?
T'was thou, O Saviour! good, as great!
Who sought'st us in our low estate:
If we are found in wisdom's ways,
To grace alone be all the praise!
ORD! for thy mercies, ever new,
We yield our spirits' incense true;
For all thy gifts so full and free,
The grateful heart we offer Thee.
But Oh! the richer blessing far,
Is the bright beam of Bethlehem's Star!
That hope of better things in store,
Through Christ, the ever Open Door!
How shall we half our joy express ·
That sorrow is not comfortless!
That we that sacred volume own,
Where truth and light are found alone!
[That we possess it, not like those,
No friends to man, but mortal foes!
Who, in this state of toil and strife,
Can dare to hide the Bread of Life!]
Therein we man by nature see,
And what, through grace, he still may be ;
But all must leave this world of care,
Before their spotless robe they wear.
There is the secret grand reveal'd,
So long in shadowy types conceal'd!
Now, through the blood that doth atone,
We make the joys of heaven our own.
Oh! may this book be our delight,
Still more by day, and more by night;
From this one spring, the balm of woe!
A thousand streams, refreshing, flow.
When time advances to a close,
Regrets will break on our repose;
But one will not molest our bed,
That we too much thy word have read !
“And in the morning rising up a great while before it was day.”
HILE mortals slept, the Son of Man,
Before the sun his race began,
Retired to wilds, unseen, unknown,
To pray, and meditate alone.
A work stupendous lay before!
Our griefs he carried, sorrows bore;
Our cup he drank, at death, that we
Th' inspiring star of hope might see!
He mark'd the powers, beneath, unite
With fierce assaults, his soul to fright,
And had no refuge but in him,
Worshipp'd by saint, and seraphim.
Divine Redeemer! shall we see
Thy conflicts, and thine agony;
Thy sleepless zeal, thy fervent cries,
And slumber, heedless of our prize?
We have a mighty work to do!
With numerous foes to vex us, too!
We have, beyond this world of pain,
A hell to flee! a heaven to gain !
May we, like Christ, ere morn unfold,
With God, profound communion hold;
And earnest seek his strength and grace,
To run, and win our heavenly race!
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