Not yet, my gracious Lord, Each care on Thee I cast, Nor live on Thy life-giving word, Nor hold each promise fast.

Not yet is all Thy will

Sweet to this heart of mine; Not yet I hasten to fulfil

Each dear command of Thine.

Not yet Thy wondrous ways
I know as I desire,

Nor yet upon those glories gaze
To which mine eyes aspire.

Not yet I yearn for Thee

As Thou for me dost yearn, Nor yet Thy wondrous love of me, Even as I might, return.

But shall I not one day, My God, be all Thine own, Rejoicing, all Thy will obey, And do Thy works alone?

Will not my joy and love Be endless and complete, And all my blessedness above Flow from Thy presence sweet?

T. H. GILL.

274.-Love Divine.

A

EPHESIANS iii. 19.

HYMN like this, pre-eminently, should be printed as originally written. It is not too much to say that the alterations introduced have blurred, if they have not effaced, the author's design. His theme is the power of the life of love within the soul to overcome sin, and lead to perfect rest. The line: "Take away our power of sinning,"

has been felt as overbold. Yet what is it but an expression of the Apostle's words: "He cannot sin, because he is born of God" (1 John iii. 9)? Why, again, is "perfect love," at the end of verse 3, so frequently altered to "precious love"? In the last verse the words "perfectly restored in Thee" (applying to "us," not to great salvation"), is the key to Wesley's meaning throughout. So in verse 3, line 2, "life" is Wesley's reading, not grace," as most editors have it. As it stands, the Hymn is one of the noblest in the language.

"

The sorrows of the mind Be banished from the place, Religion never was designed

To make our pleasures less.

Let those refuse to sing

That never knew our God,

But favourites of the heavenly King May speak their joys abroad.

The God that rules on high, And thunders when He please, That rides upon the stormy sky, And manages the seas,

This awful God is ours,

Our Father and our love;

He shall send down His heavenly powers To carry us above.

There shall we see His face,
And never, never sin ;

There from the rivers of His grace
Drink endless pleasures in.

Yes, and before we rise
To that immortal state,

The thoughts of such amazing bliss.
Should constant joys create.

The men of grace have found Glory begun below; Celestial fruits on earthly ground From faith and hope may grow.

The hill of Zion yields

A thousand sacred sweets, Before we reach the heavenly fields, Or walk the golden streets.

Then let our songs abound,
And every tear be dry,

We're marching through Emmanuel's

ground

To fairer worlds on high.

DR. WATTS.

RE

Who makes your cause His own; The hope that's built upon His word

Can ne'er be overthrown.

Though many foes beset your road,
And feeble is your arm,
Your life is hid with Christ in God
Beyond the reach of harm.

Weak as you are, you shall not faint,
Or fainting, shall not die ;
Jesus, the strength of every saint,
Will aid you from on high.

Though sometimes unperceived by sense,
Faith sees Him always near;
A Guide, a Glory, a Defence,
Then what have you to fear?

As surely as He overcame

And triumphed once for you, So surely you that love His name Shall triumph in Him too.

JOHN NEWTON.

278.-Resting in God.

LAMENTATIONS iii. 24.

C.M.

My heart is resting, O my God!

I will give thanks and sing,

My heart is at the secret source
Of every precious thing.

280.-Despondency Corrected.

ISAIAH lxv. 14.

N unequal Hymn; yet highly characteristic of the author. In the original it contains eight double verses. The

first two are the best; the remainder of the Hymn was probably intended to set forth the doctrine of "Final Perseverance," as the ground of hope. It contains, however, the deeper truth, that our relation to God does not depend upon our sense of it:

"The people of His choice

He will not cast away;
Yet do not always here expect
On Tabor's mount to stay."

S.M.

YOUR harps, ye trembling saints,
Down from the willows take;
Loud to the praise of Love divine
Bid every string awake!
Though in a foreign land,
We are not far from home;
And nearer to our house above
We every moment come.

Fastened within the vail,
Hope be your anchor strong;
His loving Spirit the sweet gale
That wafts you smooth along.
Or should the surges rise,
And peace delay to come,
Blest is the sorrow, kind the storm,
That drives us nearer home.

When we in darkness walk,
Nor feel the heavenly flame,

Then is the time to trust our God,
And rest upon His name.

Soon shall our doubts and fears
Subside at His control;

His loving-kindness shall break through.
The midnight of the soul.

Tarry His leisure then,
Although He seem to stay;

A moment's intercourse with Him

Thy grief will over pay!
Blessed is the man, O God!
That stays himself on Thee;
Who wait for Thy salvation, Lord!
Shall Thy salvation see.

A. M. TOPLADY.

281.-The Daily Christian Life.

2 CORINTHIANS ix. 8.

C.M. irregular.

FATHER, I know that all my life

Is portioned out for me,

And the changes that will surely come I do not fear to see;

But I ask Thee for a present mind,

Intent on pleasing Thee.

I ask Thee for a thoughtful love,

Through constant watching wise,
To meet the glad with joyful smiles,
And wipe the weeping eyes;
And a heart at leisure from itself,
To soothe and sympathize.

I would not have the restless will
That hurries to and fro,
Seeking for some great thing to do,
Or secret thing to know;

I would be treated as a child,
And guided where I go.

Wherever in the world I am,
In whatsoe'er estate,

I have a fellowship with hearts
To keep and cultivate;
And a work of lowly love to do
For Him on whom I wait.

So I ask Thee for the daily strength,
To none that ask denied,

And a mind to blend with outward life,
While keeping at Thy side;
Content to fill a little space,

If Thou be glorified.

And if some things I do not ask,

In my cup of blessing be,

I would have my spirit filled the more
With grateful love to Thee;
More careful not to serve Thee much,
But to please Thee perfectly.

There are briars besetting every path,

Which call for patient care; There is a cross in every lot,

And an earnest need for prayer;

But a lowly heart that leans on Thee Is happy anywhere.