Behind a frowning providence,
He hides a smiling face.
5 His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.
6 Blind unbelief is sure to err
And scan his work in vain;
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain.
Mysteries to be explained hereafter. John xiii. 7.
REAT God of providence! thy ways
Are hid from mortal sight;
Wrapt in impenetrable shades,
Or cloth'd with dazzling light.
2 The wondrous methods of thy grace
Evade the human eye;
The nearer we attempt t' approach,
The farther off they fly.
3 But in the world of bliss above,
Where thou dost ever reign,
These myst'ries shall be all unveil'd,
And not a doubt remain.
4 The Son of Righteousness shall there
His brightest beams display,
And not a hovering cloud obscure
That never-ending day.
XI. C. M. Addison.
The Traveller's Psalm.
OW are thy servants bless'd, O Lord,
H How sure is their defence!
Eternal Wisdom is their guide,
Their help Omnipotence.
2 In foreign realms and lands remote,
Supported by thy care,
Through burning climes they pass unhurt,
And breathe in tainted air..
3 When by the dreadful tempest borne,
High on the broken wave,
They know thou art not slow to hear,
Nor impotent to save.
4 The storm is laid, the winds retire,
Obedient to thy will:
The sea, that roars at thy command,
At thy command is still.
5 In 'midst of dangers, fears, and death,
Thy goodness we'll adore;
We'll praise thee for thy mercies past,
And humbly hope for more.
6 Our life, while thou preserv'st that life,
Thy sacrifice shall be;.
And death, when death shall be our lot,
Shall join our souls to thee.
XII. C. M. Fawcett.
Knowledge at present imperfect. 1 Cor. xiii. 9.
HY way, O God, is in the sea,
Thy paths I cannot trace;
Nor comprehend the mystery
Of thy abounding grace.
2 Here the dark veils of flesh and sense,
My captive soul surround;
Mysterious deeps of providence,
My wand'ring thoughts confound.
3 When I behold thy awful hand
My earthly hopes destroy;
In deep astonishment I stand,
And ask the reason, why?
4 As through a glass I dimly see
The wonders of thy love,
How little do I know of thee,
Or of the joys above!
5 "Tis but in part I know thy will,
I bless thee for the sight;
When will thy love the rest reveal
In glory's clearer light?
6 With rapture shall I then survey
Thy providence and grace;
And spend an everlasting day,
In wonder, love and praise.
XIII. L. M. New Selec.
Mysteries.
ORD, how mysterious are thy ways;
Thy steps no mortal can explore;
"Tis ours to wonder and adore!
2 Thy deep decrees from creature sight,
Are hid in shades of awful night;
Amid the lines, with curious eye,
Not angel minds presume to pry
3 Great God, I would not ask to see What in futurity shall be ;
If light and bliss attend my days, Then let my future hours be praise. 4 Is darkness and distress my share, Then let me trust thy guardian eare, Assur'd I am that love divine,
At length through every cloud will shine: 5 Yet this my soul desires to know,
Be this my only wish below.
"That Christ is mine !"-This great request Grant, bounteous God-and I am blest!
XIV. 1. M. Eben-ezer.
The darkness of Providence. Psalm 1xxvii. 19.
LORD, we adore thy vast designs,
Th' obscure abyss of Providence,
Too deep to sound with mortal lines,
Too dark to view with feeble sense.
2 Through seas and storms of deep distress,
We sail by faith and not by sight;
Faith guides us in the wilderness,
Through all the briars and the night,
3 Dear Father, thongh thy lifted rod
In love doth scourge us here below,
Still do we lean upon our God;
Thine arm shall bear us safely through.
THE FALL OF MAN.
XV. L. M. Watts's Lyric Poems, Original Sin ; or, The first and second Adam.
ADAM, our father and our head,
Transgress'd, and justice doom'd us dead : The fiery law speaks all despair,
There's no reprieve nor pardon there.
2 Call a bright council in the skies;
Seraphs, the mighty and the wise,
Speak; are you strong to bear the load,
The weighty vengeance of a God?
3 In vain we ask for all around
Stand silent through the heavenly ground;
There's not a glorious mind above
Has half the strength or half the love,
4 But O! anmeasurable grace!
The eternal Son takes Adam's place;
Down to our world the Saviour flies,
Stretches his arms and bleerls and dies.
5 Amazing work! look down ye skies,
Wonder and gaze with all your eyes ;
Ye saints below and saints above,
All bow to this mysterious love.
XVI. L. M. Doddridge.
The effects of the fall lamented. Psalm exix. 136,
ARISE my tenderest thoughts, arise;
To torrents melt my streaming eyes;
And thou, my heart, with anguish feel
Those evils which thou canst not heal.
2 See human nature sunk in shame ;
See scandals pour'd on Jesus' name;
The Father wounded through the Son,
The world abus'd, the soul undone.
3 See the short course of vain delight
Closing in everlasting night;-
In flames that no abatement know,
Though briny tears for ever flow.
4 My God, I feel the mournful scene;
My bowels yearn o'er dying men ;
And fain my pity would reclaim,
And snatch the fire brands from the flame.
5 But feeble my compassion proves,
And can but weep where most it loves;
Thy own all-saving arm employ,
And turn these drops of grief to joy.
SCRIPTURE,
PROPERTIES.
XVII. C. M. Rippon's Seles.
The inspired word a system of knowledge and joy.
Psalm cxix. 105.
Ow precious is the book divine,
By inspiration given!
Bright as a lamp its doctrines shine.
To guide our souls to heaven.
It sweetly cheers our drooping hearts
In this dark vale of tears;
Life, light, and joy it still imparts,
And quef's our rising fearn
3 This lamp through all the tedious night
Of life shall guide our way,
Till we behold the clearer light
Of an eternal day.
XVIII. Beddome.
The usefulness of the Scriptures, es
HEN Israel through the desert pass'd,
A fiery pillar went before,
To guide them through the dreary waste,
And lessen the fatigues they bore,
2 Such is thy glorious word, O God,
'Tis for our light and guidance given;
It sheds a lustre all abroad,
And points the path to bliss and heaven.
3 It fills the soul with sweet delight,
And quickens its inactive powers.
It sets our wandering footsteps right,
Displays thy love and kindles ours.
4 Its promises rejoice our hearts,
Its doctrines are divinely true;
Knowledge and pleasure it imparts,
It comforts and instructs us too.
5 Ye favour'd lands who have this word,
Ye saints who feel its saving power
Unite your tongues to praise the Lord,
And his distinguished grace adore.
XIX. C. M. S. Stennett.
The riches of God's word.
ET avarice from shore to shore
Her fav'rite god pursue;
Thy word, O Lord, we value more
Than, India or Peru.
2 Here mines of knowledge, love and joy
Are open'd to our sight:
The purest gold without alloy,
And gems divinely bright.
3 The counsels of redeeming grace
'These sacred leaves unfold:
And here the Saviour's lovely face
Our raptur'd eyes behold.
4 Here light descending from above
Directs our doubtful feet:
Here promises of heavenly love
Our ardent wishes meet.
5 Our num'rous griefs are here redrest,
And all our wants supplied;
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