227. Believers kept to the Coming of Christ. (1 Cor. i. 4-8.)

MANSFIELD.

TO God, the only wise,

S. M.

Our Saviour, and our King,
Let all the saints below the skies
Their humble praises bring.
'Tis his almighty love,
"Tis his protecting care,

That brings us blessings from above,
That saves from ev'ry snare.
He doth our souls defend,
And chase our fears away;
He will confirm us to the end,
And own us at his day.
Then all the ransom'd race,
Assembled round the throne,
Shall bless the guidance of his grace,
And make his wonders known.

228. Prayer for Deliverance in the Judgment.
(Matt. xxii. 44.)

ST. MARTIN'S.

P. M.

THE last loud trumpet's wondrous sound
Shall wake the nations under ground;
Where then, my God, shall I be found!
When all shall stand before thy throne;
When thou shalt make their sentence known;
And all thy righteous judgment own!
Thou, who for me didst feel such pain,
Whose precious blood the cross did stain,
Let not thine agonies be vain!

Forget not what my ransom cost;
Nor let my dear-bought soul be lost,
In storms of guilty terror tost.
Give my exalted soul a place
Among thy chosen, faithful race,
The sons of God, and heirs of grace:
Trembling, before thy throne I bend;
My God, my Father, and my friend,
Do not forsake me in my end!

229. The noble Example of holy Martyrs

(Dan. iii. 14-18.)

ACTON. L. M.

I HOLD the sacred Book of God,
To hear, and keep, and use it, free;
But holy martyrs shed their blood
To win this word of life for me!

With steady faith in Christ alone,
The threats of impious power they spurn'd;
And, bold that holy faith to own,
They gave their bodies to be burn'd.

In heaven with palms they triumph now;
We love to speak their honor'd names;
Oh may our lips and lives avow

The truth they kept through blood and flames!
We bear, we'll hold, the christian name,
Though hell oppose, and earth deride;
We'll keep the faith through fear and shame;
That faith for which our fathers died.

230. Constant Devotion. (Dan. vi. 10.)

LYDIA.

C. M.

THRICE happy souls, who, born from heaven,
Though yet they sojourn here,
Humbly begin their days with God,
And spend them in his fear.

So may our eyes, with holy zeal,
Prevent the dawning day;
May we devoutly read thy word,
And praise thy name, and pray.
Midst hourly cares, may love present
Our incense to thy throne;

And, while the world employs our thoughts,
Our hearts be thine alone.

When tempted to forget thy law,

And when severely tried,

We'll seek from thee the needful grace,
And in thy strengtli confide.

Me 231. Christ our helper and Strength. (Matt.ix.1—8.)

HOTHAM. P. M.

JESUS, refuge of my soul,
Let me to thy shelter fly,
While the raging billows roll,
While the tempest still is high:
Hide me, O my Saviour, hide,
Till the storm of life be past;
Safe into the haven guide;
O receive my soul at last.
Other refuge have I none;
Rests my helpless soul on thee;
Leave, ah leave me not alone;
Still support and comfort me!..
Strength in thee alone I find;
Only by thy help I stand;
Yet the powers of hell combin'd
Cannot pluck me from thy hand.

232. The Triumph of the Saints. (Dan. iii. 24—27.)

LO, round the throne, a glorious band,
The saints, in countless myriads, stand,
Of ev'ry tongue redeem'd to God,
Array'd in garments wash'd in blood.

Through trials and distress they came;
They bore the cross, despis'd the shame ;
But now from all their labors rest,
In God's eternal glory blest.

They see the Saviour face to face;
They sing the triumphs of his grace;
And day and night with ceaseless praise,
To him their loud hosannas raise.

Oh may we tread the sacred road
That holy saints and martyrs trod;
Wage to the end the glorious strife,
And win, like them, a crown of life.

233. Warnings of Mortality. (Ephes v. 18

WYCKHAM. P. M.

SEE the leaves around us falling,
Dry and wither'd, to the ground;
Thus to thoughtless mortals calling
With a sad and solemn sound :-
"Sons of Adam-once in Eden,
Where, like us, he blighted fell-
Hear the lesson we are reading;
Mark the awful truth we tell.
"Ye, on length of days presuming,
Who the paths of pleasure tread,
View us, late in beauty blooming,
Number'd now among the dead:"RA
On the tree of life eternal,

Oh let all our hopes be laid:
This alone, for ever vernal,
Bears a leaf that shall not fade.

234.

Serious Preparation for Death.
Joel ii. 11-13.

KINGTON. P. M.

AND am I only born to die;
And must I suddenly comply
With nature's stern decree?
What after death for me remains?
Celestial joys, or bitter pains,
To all eternity!

How ought I then on earth to live,
While God prolongs the kind reprieve,
And spares this house of clay!
My sole concern, my single care,
To watch, and tremble, and prepare,
Against that awful day!

Jesus, vouchsafe a pitying ray ;
Be thou my guide, be thou my way,
To glorious happiness:

O write the pardon on my heart,
And, whensoever I depart,

Let me depart in

peace,

A

235, God's Invitations. (Matt. xxii. 1-14.)

SHIRLAND. S. M.

RETURN, and come to God:
Cast all your sins away;
Seek ye the Saviour's cleansing blood,
Repent, believe, obey!

Say not ye cannot come;
For Jesus bled, and died,
That none who ask in humble faith
Should ever be denied.

Say not ye will not come;

"Tis God vouchsafes to call;
And fearful will their end be found,
On whom his wrath shall fall.

Come then, whoever will;
Come, while 'tis call'd to-day;
Seek ye the Saviour's cleansing blood;
Repent, believe, obey!

236. Preparation to meet God. (Micah vi. 6-8.)

NEW COURT. L. M.

HOW shall we come before thy face,
And in thine awful presence bow?
What offerings can secure thy grace,
And calm the terrors of thy brow?
Ten thousand witnesses arise,
And all our dreadful guilt declare;
More than the stars that fill the skies,
Thy mercies, and our sins appear.
Could off'rings flow, and victims bleed,
None could thine awful justice stay:
The Saviour's blood alone we plead
To take our many sins away.
With humble faith to that we fly;
With that our souls be sprinkled o'er!
Trembling no more in dust we lie,
And dread thy judgment-seat no more.