5 Oh! hadst thou left me unchastis'd,

Thy precept I had still despis’d;
And still the snare in secret laid,

Had my unwary feet betray’d.
6 I love thee, therefore, O my God,

And breathe towards thy dear abode,
Where in thy presence fully blest,
Thy chosen saints for ever rest.

202. C.M.-Divine Mercies and Judgments compared. Isa, liv, 7, 8. 1 IN thy rebukes, all-gracious God,

What soft compassion reigns!
What gentle accents of thy voice

Assuage thy children's pains.
2 " When I correct my chosen sons,

" A father's bowels move; “ One transient moment bounds my wrath,

“ But endless is my love."
3 Our faith shall look through every tear,

And view thy smiling face,
And hope amidst our sighs shall tune

An anthem to thy grace.
4 Gather at length my weary soul

To join thy saints above;
For I would learn a song of praise
Eternal as thy love.

203.
C.M.- Afflictions moderated. Isa. xxvii. 8.
1 GREAT Ruler of all nature's frame,

We own thy power divine;
We hear thy breath in every storm,

For all the winds are thine.
2 Wide as they sweep their sounding way,

They work thy sovereign will;
And aw'd by thy majestic voice,

Confusion shall be still.

3 Thy mercy tempers every blast

to them that seek thy face, And mingles with the tempest's roar

The whispers of thy grace.
4 Those gentle whispers let me hear,

Till all the tumult cease,
And gales of Paradise shall lull
My weary soul to peace.

204. L.M.-The weeping Seed-time, and joyful Harvest. Ps. cxxvi. 5, 6. 1 THE darken'd sky how thick it lowers!

Troubled with storms and big with showers; No cheerful gleam of light appears,

But nature pours forth all her tears. 2 Yet let the sons of grace revive;

God bids the soul that seeks him, live;
And from the gloomiest shade of night

Calls forth a morning of delight. 3 The seeds of ecstasy unknown,

Are in these water'd furrows sown;
See the green blades, how thick they rise,

And with fresh verdure bless our eyes. 4 In secret foldings they contain

Unnumber'd ears of golden grain;
And heaven shall pour its beams around,

Till the ripe harvest load the ground.
5 Then shall the trembling mourner come,

And find his sheaves and bear them home; The voice long broke with sighs shall sing, Till heaven with hallelujahs ring.

205.
C.M.—Hearing the Voice of God's Rod. Micah vi. 9.
1 ATTEND, my soul, with reverend awe,

The dictates of thy God;
Silent and trembling hear the voice

Of his appointed rod.

2 Now let me search and try my ways,

And prostrate seek his face, Conscious of guilt before his throne,

In dust my soul abase.
3 Teach me, my God, what's yet unknown,

And all my crimes forgive;
Those crimes would I no more repeat,

But to thy honour live.
4 My wither'd joys too plainly shew

That all on earth is vain;
In God my wounded heart confides

True rest and bliss to gain.
5 Father, I wait thy gracious call,

To leave this mournful land,
And bathe in rivers of delight,

That flow at thy right hand,

206. C.M.-Quietness under Affliction a proper acknowledgment of God.

Ps. xlvi. 10.
1 PEACE! 'tis the Lord Jehovah's hand,

That blasts our joys in death;
Changes the visage once so dear,

And gathers back our breath, 2 'Tis he, the Potentate supreme

Of all the worlds above,
Whose steady counsels wisely rule,

Nor from their purpose move.
3 'Tis he, whose justice might demand

Our souls a sacrifice;
Yet scatters with unwearied hand

A thousand rich supplies.
4 Our Covenant-God and Father he,

In Christ our bleeding Lord;
Whose grace can heal the bursting heart
With one reviving word.

H

5 Fair garlands of immortal bliss

He weaves for every brow,
And shall tumultuous passions rise,

If he correct us now?
6 Silent I own Jehovah's name;

I kiss thy scourging hand;
And yield my comforts and my life
To thy supreme command.

207. C.M.-God's afflicted Poor trusting in his Name. Zeph. iii. 12. 1 PRAISE to the Sovereign of the sky,

Who from his lofty throne,
Looks down on all that humble lie,

And calls such souls his own. 2 The haughty sinner he disdains,

Though gems his temples crown;
And from the seat of pomp and pride

His vengeance hurls him down. 3 On his afflicted pious poor

He makes his face to shine;
He fills their cottages of clay

With lustre all divine.
4 Among the meanest of thy flock,

There let my dwelling be,
Rather than under gilded roofs,

If absent, Lord, from thee.
5 Poor and afflicted though we are,

In thy strong name we trust;
And bless the hand of sovereign love,

Which lifts us from the dust.

208.
L.M.- Affliction leading to Glory. 2 Cor. iv. 17.
1 YES, 'tis a rough and thorny road

That leads us to the saints' abode;
But when our Father's home we gain
'Twill make amends for all our pain.

2 And what is all we suffer now,

Or all we can endure below,
To that bright day when Christ shall come,
And take his weary pilgrims home?

209.
C.M.- Inconstancy in Religion. Hosea vi. 4.
1 PERPETUAL source of light and grace,

We hail thy sacred name:
Through every year's revolving round

Thy goodness is the same.
2 On us, all-worthless as we are,

Its wondrous mercy pours;
Sure as the heaven's establish'd course,

And plenteous as the showers. 3 Inconstant service we repay,

And treacherous vows renew;
False as the morning's scattering cloud,

And transient as the dew.
4 In flowing tears our guilt we mourn,

And loud implore thy grace,
To bear our feeble footsteps on

In all thy righteous ways.
5 Arm'd with this energy divine,

Our souls shall steadfast move,
And with increasing transport press

On to thy courts above.
6 So by thy power the morning sun

Pursues his radiant way,
Brightens each moment in his race,
And shines to perfect day.

210.
L.M.— The wandering Sheep. Ps. cxix. 175, 176.
1 O LET my cries approach thy seat,

My prayer, O Lord! indulgent meet,
And let thy promis'd aid dispel
The clouds of grief that o'er me dwell.