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INVOCATION.

When the priest his last hath pray'd,
And I nod to what is said,

'Cause my speech is now decay'd,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me.

When God knows, I'm toss'd about,
Either with despair or doubt,

Yet before the glass be out,

Sweet Spirit, comfort me.

When the Tempter me pursu'th
With the sins of all my youth,

And half damns me with untruth,
Sweet Spirit, comfort me.

When the flames and hellish cries
Fright mine ears and fright mine eyes,
And all terrors me surprise,

Sweet Spirit, comfort me.

When the judgment is reveal'd,
And that open'd which was seal'd,
When to Thee I have appeal'd,

Sweet Spirit, comfort me.

Robert Herrick.

The Peace of God.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you; let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.—Sr. JOHN xiv. 27.

THUS spake the blessed Lord,

When the Last Supper's sacred hour was done;
And each reviving word

Came, like rich incense from an altar-stone:

Kind, from those holy lips, so soon to breathe
Their last forgiveness forth, and taste the cup of death.

"Peace, peace I leave with you!"

Thus to his flock the glorious Shepherd said;
And, pure as morning dew

On Hermon's mount, or marge of Jordan's shed,
A spell descended on the group around-

A charm of kindling hope-of confidence profound.

"My peace to you I give,

Won from the immortal home of bliss above,

Where the redeem'd shall live,

In many mansions of eternal love ;

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THE PEACE OF GOD.

Peace, like its radiant source, serene and calm,

Where flowers unblighted bloom, and all the air is balm.

"Not as the world bestows

Its fleeting gifts, I yield my peace to you;

No clouds of death can close

Around my

Father's house, nor dim the view

Where fadeless lustre fills the gorgeous sky,

And sinks into the soul, and lights the enraptured eye.

"Earth has no fount of peace:

Sins, sicknesses, and death begird it round;
Its hopes untimely cease;

And baseless dreams its dim dominion bound;
Here fond Affection no repose can gain,
And the gaunt miser hoards his gold in vain.

"Here sorrow comes to all

For pale Mortality his standard rears
Beside the bier and pall;

And smiles are quench'd in unavailing tears;
To Joy's light laugh succeeds the weary sigh,
And no sweet rose may blossom, but to die.

"Then, with untroubled heart, Look upward to your home to which I go; And ere I yet depart

From toil, and suffering, and death below,

Let my farewell of peace your steps attend

I go, to meet in heaven, my Father and your Friend."

THE PEACE OF GOD.

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And thus the SAVIOUR died!

Thus, to the hill of blood, he went his way,
And there was crucified,

While a world's guilt upon his bosom lay;

How should that risen Lord be praised and blest,

Who drain'd the dregs of woe, to give us peace and rest!

23

Willis Gaylord Clarke.

The Prayer of Jesus.

ST. JOHN xvii.

FATHER! thy son beholds the promised hour,
That beams thy love and glorifies thy power;
As thou hast given to him the high behest,
To call the wanderer, give the weary rest,
Eternal life, and peace, to man bestow,

To those vouchsafed, who Thee, the Father, know,
He hath fulfilled it, magnified thy name,

And earth, as heaven, attests thy great acclaim.

Now, O my Father? glorify Thou me,

With the same love my spirit knew with Thee
Ere oceans flowed, or worlds in space were hung,
Or stars of morning in their orbits sung.
Breathe on my soul, thy holy, balmy love,
And heal the stricken, from thy stores above,
On these thy children, deign a pitying eye,
Wipe Thou the tear, soothe Thou the secret sigh ;
I pray for these, yet not for these alone,

By those who, through them, shall thy Gospel own.
Now in the world shall I be found no more;

My mission ended, all my sufferings o'er,