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النشر الإلكتروني

278

H. M.

DODDRIDGE.

Emblems of the salutary Effects of the Gospel. Is. lv. 10, 11, 12.

1 MARK the soft-falling snow,

And the diffusive rain:

To heaven, from whence it fell,
It turns not back again;
But waters earth

Through every pore,

And calls forth all
Its secret store.

2 Arrayed in beauteous green,
The hills and valleys shine;
And man and beast are fed
By Providence divine:

The harvest bows

Its golden ears,

The copious seed

Of future years.

3 "So," saith the God of grace,
"My gospel shall descend,
Almighty to effect

The purpose I intend;

Millions of souls

Shall feel its power,

And bear it down

To millions more."

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279

8s & 7s M.

COWPER.

The future Peace and Glory of the Church.

1 HEAR what God, the Lord, hath spoken:"O my people, faint and few, Comfortless, afflicted, broken, Fair abodes I build for you. Thorns of heart-felt tribulation

Shall no more perplex your ways;
You shall name your walls Salvation,
And your gates shall all be Praise.

2 "There, like streams that feed the garden,
Pleasures without end shall flow;
For the Lord, your faith rewarding,
All his bounty shall bestow;
Still, in undisturbed possession,
Peace and righteousness shall reign;
Never shall you feel oppression,
Hear the voice of war again.

3 "Ye no more your suns descending,
Waning moons no more shall see;
But, your griefs forever ending,
Find eternal noon in me:

God shall rise, and, shining o'er ye,
Change to day the gloom of night;
He, the Lord, shall be your glory,
God your everlasting light."

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280

H. M.

DODDRIDGE.

The Wilderness transformed. Is. xli. 18, 19.

1 AMAZING, beauteous change!
A world created new !

My thoughts with transport range,
The lovely scene to view :
In all I trace,
Savior divine,

The work is thine;
Be thine the praise.

2 See crystal fountains play
Amidst the burning sands;
The river's winding way
Shines through the thirsty lands;
New grass is seen,

And o'er the meads

Its carpet spreads

Of living green.

3 Where pointed brambles grew,
Entwined with horrid thorn,
Gay flowers, forever new,
The painted fields adorn;
The blushing rose,
And lily there,

In union fair,

Their sweets disclose.

4 Where the bleak mountain stood,
All bare and disarrayed,

See the wide-branching wood
Diffuse its grateful shade;

Tall cedars nod,

And oaks and pines,
And elms and vines,
Confess the God.

5 The tyrants of the plain
Their savage chase give o'er;
No more they rend the slain,
And thirst for blood no more;
But infant hands

Fierce tigers stroke,
And lions yoke
In flowery bands.

6 O, when, Almighty Lord,
Shall these glad scenes arise,
To verify thy word,

And bless our wondering eyes?
That earth may raise,

With all its tongues,
United songs

Of ardent praise.

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