Thy presence makes this den of thieves
A calm delightful house of pray'r.

6 And if thou make thy temple shine,
Yet, self-abas'd will I adore;

The gold and silver are not mine,
I give thee what was thine before.

XVII.

LOVEST THOU ME?--JOHN, xxi. 16.

■ HARK, my soul! it is the LORD;
'Tis thy Saviour, hear his word;
JESUS speaks, and speaks to thee:
"Say, poor sinner, lov'st thou me?

"I deliver'd thee when bound,

And, when wounded, heal'd thy wounds;
Sought thee wand'ring, set thee right,
Turn'd thy darkness into light.

3

4

5

"Can a woman's tender care

Cease toward the child she bare?

Yes, she may forgetful be,

Yet will I remember thee.

"Mine is an unchanging love,
Higher than the heights above;
Deeper than the depths beneath,
Free and faithful, strong as death.

"Thou shalt see my glory soon,
When the work of grace is done;
Partner of my throne shall be,
Say, poor sinner, lov'st thou me ?"

6 LORD, it is my chief complaint,
That my love is weak and faint;
Yet I love thee and adore,
Oh for grace to love thee more!

XVIII.

CONTENTMENT.--PHIL. iv. II.

1 FIERCE passions discompose the mind,
As tempests vex the sea;
But calm content and peace we find,
When, LORD, we turn to thee.

2 In vain by reason and by rule,
We try to bend the will;

3

4

5

For none, but in the Saviour's school,
Can learn the heav'nly skill.

Since at his feet my soul has sat,

His gracious words to hear,
Contented with my present state,
I cast on him my care.

"Art thou a sinner, soul? (he said)

Then how can'st thou complain ?
How light thy troubles here, if weigh'd
With everlasting pain.

"If thou of murm'ring would'st be cur'd,

Compare thy griefs with mine;

Think what my love for thee endur'd,
And thou wilt not repine.

6"'Tis I appoint thy daily lot, And I do all things well;

7

Thou soon shalt leave this wretched spot,
And rise with me to dwell.

"In life my grace shall strength supply,
Proportion'd to thy day;

At death thou still shalt find me nigh,
To wipe thy tears away."

8 Thus I, who once my wretched days
In vain repinings spent,
Taught in my Saviour's school of grace,
Have learn'd to be content.

་

2

XIX.

OLD TESTAMENT GOSPEL-HEB. IV. 2.

ISRAEL in ancient day,

Not only had a view

Of Sinai in a blaze,

But learn'd the gospel too:

The types and figures were a glass,

In which they saw the Saviour's face.

The paschal sacrifice,

And blood-besprinkled door,*

Seen with enlighten'd eyes,

And once apply'd with power,

Would teach the need of other blood,
To reconcile an angry GOD.

3

4

5

The Lamb, the Dove, set forth
His perfect innocence,*

Whose blood of matchless worth
Should be the soul's defence;
For he, who can for sin atone,
Must have no failings of his own.

The scape-goat on his head+
The people's trespass bore;
And to the desert led,

Was to be seen no more:
In him our Surety seem'd to say,
"Behold I bear your sins away."

Dipt in his fellow's blood,
The living bird went free ;‡
The type well understood,
Express'd the sinner's plea ;
Describ'd a guilty soul enlarg'd,
And by a Saviour's death discharg'd.

6

JESUS, I love to trace,

Throughout the sacred page,

The footsteps of thy grace,

The same in every age!

O grant

that I faithful be
may

To clearer light vouchsaf'd to me.

Lev. xii. 6. Lev. xvi. 21. Lev. xiv. 51-53.

XX.

SARDIS.--REV. iii. 1--6.

1 "WRITE to Sardis (saith the LORD). And write what he declares ;

He, whose spirit, and whose word,
Upholds the seven stars :

All thy works and ways I search,
Find thy zeal and love decay'd;
Thou art call'd a living church,
But thou art cold and dead.

2 "Watch, remember, seek and strive, Exert thy former pains; Let thy timely care revive,

And strengthen what remains : Cleanse thine heart, thy works amend, Former times to mind recal,

Lest my sudden stroke descend,

And smite thee once for all.

3 "Yet, I number now in thee
A few that are upright;

These my Father's face shall see,
And walk with me in white :

When in judgment I appear,
They for mine shall be confest ;
Let my faithful servants hear,
And woe be to the rest."