THE MARINER'S THANKSGIVING PSALM. 291

Down as suddenly 'tis hurled

To the abysses of the grave.

To and fro they reel, they roll,
As intoxicate with wine;
Terrors paralyse their soul,

Helm they quit, and hope resign.

Then unto the Lord they cry,
He inclines a gracious ear,
Sends deliverance from on high,
Rescues them from all their fear.

Calm and smooth the surges flow,
And, where deadly lightning ran,

God's own reconciling bow

Metes the ocean with a span.

Oh! that men would praise the Lord
For His goodness to their race;
For the wonders of His Word,
And the riches of His grace!

J. MONTGOMERY.

THE BETHEL FLAG!

[Ir was in Tecember 1816 that the crews of different vessels on the Thames began to meet together for prayer. Their first signal was a lantern at the peak-end; but, as the season advanced, this signal was of no use, and hence, in July 1817, the first BETHEL FLAG was hoisted. It bears, in the middle, the word "BETHEL;" in the upper corner, next to the halyards, a STAR; and, in the corner beneath, a Dove with an olive branch. There are now about FIVE HUNDRED vessels that carry such flags. May the number daily increase !]

THE BETHEL FLAG we raise,

To draw the sailor's eye,—

To lead him to the house of praise,
And thence to bliss on high.

BETHEL, the house of God,
Here may he deign to rest ;
And, by his Spirit, shed abroad
His love in every breast.

STAR of the morning, shine,
Bright harbinger of day;
Around us pour thy light divine,
And show the narrow way.

DOVE, with thine olive leaf,

Brood o'er this house in peace;
Give hope and joy for fear and grief,
And bid our love increase.

FREE as from ocean's breast

The breeze our flag unfurls,

THE MARINER'S SONG OF DELIVERANCE. 293

The gospel offers sailors rest
From sin's engulphing whirls.

Ere they the shore forsake,
In prayer may they unite;
Hence their correct departure take,
And keep our Star in sight.

Far on the lonely deep,

May they in Thee confide;

Oh! may Thine eye, unknown to sleep,
Through every danger guide!

Returning, may they view

This signal of Thy grace,

And find, with joy, their bearings true,
And join in thanks and praise!

J. LONGMUIR.

THE MARINER'S SONG OF DELIVERANCE.

GLORY to Thee, whose powerful word

Bids the tempestuous wind arise,

Glory to Thee, the Sovereign Lord

Of air, and earth, and seas, and skies!

Let air, and earth, and skies obey,

And seas thine awful will perform;

From them we learn to own thy sway,
And shout to meet the gathering storm.

What though the floods lift up their voice?
Thou hearest, Lord, our louder cry;
They cannot damp thy children's joys,
Or shake the soul when God is nigh.

Headlong we cleave the yawning deep,
And back to highest heaven are borne,
Unmoved, though rapid whirlwinds sweep,
And all the watery world upturn.

Roar on, ye waves! our souls defy
Your roaring to disturb our rest;
In vain to impair the calm ye try,
The calm in a believer's breast.

Rage, while our faith the Saviour tries,
Thou sea, the servant of His will!

Rise, while our God permits thee, rise;
But fall when He shall say, "Be still!"

C. WESLEY.

THE SAILOR'S HOME

"O that for me some home like this would smile!"-(CAMPBELL.)

A HOME for the sailor, the fearless and brave, The child of the tempest, the sport of the wave

THE SAILOR'S HOME.

295

The spoils of the wide world he brings through

the foam,

And ask we not, what is the Mariner's Home?

We picture his vessel a bird of the sea,
Himself her companion as joyous and free;
And, while for our comfort we urge him to roam,
Still Fancy makes summer encircle his Home.

But Truth sees him drenched on the wave-covered

deck,

Or lashed by the hail as he clings to the wreck, Or pillowed on sea-weed, and shrouded in foam; But in vain she looks round for the Mariner's Home!

When the watch-call relieves his monotonous tramp, He hies to the forecastle, gloomy and damp; Benumbed he turns in from the frost and the foam, Where spare sails and cable-coils furnish his Home.

But, hark! from the mast-head the outlook cries "Land!"

And soon with his earnings he leaps on the strand;

Oh, now could the friends of the wanderer come And gladden his eye with the sight of a Home!

For quickly the "land-shark" approaches his prey, With guile on his lip, and his eye on the pay;