405
C. M.

COWPER.
The contrite Heart.
1 THE Lord will happiness divine

On contrite hearts bestow;
Then tell me, gracious God, is mine

A contrite heart, or no ?
2 My best desires are faint and few;

I fain would strive for more ;
But when I cry, "My strength renew!”

Seem weaker than before.
3 O, make this heart rejoice or ache;

Decide this doubt for me;
And if it be not broken, break, —

And heal it if it be!

406
C. M.

WATTS.
Complaining of spiritual Sloth.
1 MY drowsy powers, why sleep ye so?

Awake, my sluggish soul! Nothing has half thy work to do,

Yet nothing's half so dull.
2 The little ants, for one poor grain,

Labor, and tug, and strive ;
Yet we, who have a heaven to obtain,

How negligent we live!
3 We, - for whose sake all nature stands,

And stars their counsels move;
We, — for whose guard the angel bands

Come flying from above!

4 Lord, shall we lie so sluggish still,

And never act our parts?
Come, holy Dove, from th' heavenly hill,

And sit and warm our hearts.
5 Then shall our active spirits move;

Upwards our souls shall rise;
With hands of faith, and wings of love,

We'll fly, and take the prize.

407

S. M.

STERNHOLD.

Penitential. Ps. 25.

1 I LIFT my heart to thee,

My God and Guide most just;
Now suffer me to take no shame,

For in thee do I trust. 2 Remember not the faults

And frailty of my youth;
Remember not how ignorant

I have been of thy truth.
3 Nor after my deserts

Let me thy mercy find ;
But of thine own benignity,

Lord, have me in thy mind.
4 His mercy is full sweet,

His truth a perfect guide ;
Therefore the Lord will sinners teach,

And such as go aside.
5 For all the ways of God

Are truth and mercy both
To them that keep his testament,

The witness of his troth.

408
C. M.

WATTS. Regrets for a Neglect of Privileges. 1 LONG have I sat beneath the sound

Of thy salvation, Lord ;
But still how weak my faith is found,

And knowledge of thy word! 2 How cold and feeble is

my

love!
How negligent my fear!
How low my hope of joys above!

How few affections there! 3 Great God, thy sovereign power impart,

To give thy word success;
Write thy salvation in my heart,

And make me learn thy grace. 4 Show my forgetful feet the way

That leads to joys on high;
There knowledge grows without decay,

And love shall never die.

409
L. M.

DODDRIDGE. The wandering Sheep recovered. 1 LORD, we have wandered from thy way,

Like foolish sheep have gone astray ;
Our pleasant pastures we have left,

And of their guard our souls bereft ; 2 Exposed to want, exposed to harm;

Far from our gentle Shepherd's arm;
Nor will these fatal wanderings cease,
Till thou reveal the paths of peace.

3 0, seek thy thoughtless servants, Lord,

Nor let us quite forget thy word;
Our erring souls do thou restore,
And keep us, that we stray no more.

410
C. M.

DODDRIDGE. Inconstancy in Religion. 1 PERPETUAL Source of light and grace,

We hail thy sacred name;
Through every year's revolving round

Thy goodness is the same.
2 On us, all worthless as we are,

Its wondrous mercy pours;
Sure as the heaven's established course,

And plenteous as the showers. 3 Inconstant service we repay,

And treacherous vows renew;
False as the morning's scattering cloud,

And transient as the dew.
4 In flowing tears our guilt we mourn,

And loud implore thy grace
To bear our feeble footsteps on

In all thy righteous ways.
5 Armed with this energy divine,

Our souls shall steadfast move,
And with increasing transport press

On to thy courts above.
6 So, by thy power, the morning sun

Pursues his radiant way,
Brightens each moment in his race,

And shines to perfect day.

411
S. M.

Watts. Waiting for Pardon and Direction. Ps. 25. 1 I LIFT my soul to God;

My trust is in his name;
Let not my foes, that seek my blood,

Still triumph in my shame. 2 From the first dawning light

Till the dark evening rise,
For thy salvation, Lord, I wait

With ever-longing eyes. 3 Remember all thy grace,

And lead me in thy truth;
Forgive the sins of riper days,

And follies of my youth. 4 The Lord is just and kind;

The meek shall learn his ways,
And every humble sinner find

The methods of his grace. 5 For his own goodness' sake

He saves my soul from shame;
He pardons, though my guilt be great,

Through my Redeemer's name.

412
7 M.

J. TAYLOR. Sins confessed and mourned. 1 GOD of mercy, God of love,

Hear our sad, repentant song ;
Sorrow dwells on every face,

Penitence on every tongue.