TRUST IN DIVINE LOVE. LET my trembling soul be still, When, mounted on thy clouded car, Thy light sweet beaming through thy frown; And, should I faint a moment, then I think of thee, and smile again. So trusting in thy love, I tread The narrow path of duty on: What though some cherished joys are fled? What though some flattering dreams are gone? Yet purer, brighter joys remain : Why should my spirit then complain? THE PROMISE OF JESUS. "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and 1 will give you rest." THOU of the heavy heart, his promise hear, Thou in whose cup earth's ills are deeply rife, Turn unto him without a dread, a fear, Turn unto him, and he will give thee life. There is but One can keep thee in the hour, The "bruised reed" in mercy he will bind, He will not crush the heart that "once knew strife”. But in his home a welcome all will find; Turn unto him, and he will give thee life! THE BELIEVER'S HOPE. How dark, how desolate Would many a moment be, Could we not spring On hope's bright wing, O God! to heaven and thee ! Life is a prison cell We are doomed to occupy, In which confined, The restless mind Pines, pants for liberty. And sometimes streaks of light Through sorrow's night, They needs must come from thee. Say, shall a morning dawn When prison-days are o'er, Whose smiling ray Shall wake a day, That night shall cloud no more? Blest hope! and sure as blest; Life's shades of misery Shall soon be past, And joy at last Waft us to heaven and thee. 17* THE USES OF AFFLICTION. THAT happiness, which is fed only by the world's smiles, by scenes of uninterrupted gayety, is delusive and false. The soul has a happiness, which need not be destroyed by the passing clouds that overshadow man's earthly pilgrimage. I would show this, and would teach, if I could, that from scenes which cause the worldly mind to mourn in hopelessness the soul may gather strength and permanent peace. I would gather unwithering garlands even from the tomb, to overspread and cheer the path of life. I would show that it is good to be afflicted, and would thus make even the sorrows of earth minister to the comfort, as they may minister to the improvement of the undying spirit. I would produce the conviction, that all is good in the purposes of an infinite Father, that all may con tribute to the soul's health, strength, peace, and immortal happiness. But are afflictions necessarily conducive to man's happiness? We answer, no. They are good in the purposes of God, but whether they shall be good to any individual depends upon himself. They are part of a moral discipline, and their efficacy depends upon the free action of the soul itself. The gifts of God's providence are good; but how many abuse them, and convert his blessings into the instruments of personal degradation and ruin! Amid the frowns of the world, in the disappointment of earthly hopes, by the struggles of poverty, some have formed characters of exalted excellence, and have shown forth the power of the soul to rise above earthly trials, to gain purity and power by the storms which beat upon it. Some have, under such circumstances, borne the nearest resemblance ever exhibited on earth to him, who had not where to lay his head. Others, again, have withered under the trials of life, |