186.

O JESUS, I have promised
To serve Thee to the end;
Be Thou for ever near me,
My Master and my Friend;
I shall not fear the battle,
If Thou art by my side,
Nor wander from the pathway,
If Thou wilt be
my Guide.

O let me feel Thee near me :
The world is ever near;
I see the sights that dazzle,
The tempting sounds I hear;
My foes are ever near me,
Around me and within;
But, Jesus, draw Thou nearer,
And shield my soul from sin.

O let me hear Thee speaking,
In accents clear and still,
Above the storms of passion,
The murmurs of self-will;
O speak to re-assure me,
To hasten or control;
O speak, and make me listen,
Thou Guardian of my soul.

O Jesus, Thou hast promised
To all who follow Thee,
That where Thou art in glory
There shall Thy servant be;
And, Jesus, I have promised
To serve Thee to the end;
O give me grace to follow,
My Master and

my Friend.

JOHN E. BODE, 1869.

187.

NOT always on the mount may we
Rapt in the heavenly vision be:

The shores of thought and feeling know
The Spirit's tidal ebb and flow.

Lord, it is good abiding here,

We cry, the heavenly presence near:
The vision vanishes; our eyes
Are lifted into vacant skies.

Yet hath one such exalted hour
Upon the soul redeeming power;
And in its strength through after-days
We travel our appointed ways:

Till all the lowly vale grows bright,
Transfigured in remembered light;
And in untiring souls we bear
The freshness of the upper air.

The mount for vision; but below
The paths of daily duty go:

And nobler life therein shall own
The pattern on the mountain shown.

E. L. HOSMER, 1882.

188.

ON the resurrection morning
Soul and body meet again;
No more sorrow, no more weeping,
No more pain.

Here awhile they must be parted,
And the flesh its Sabbath keep,
Waiting in a holy stillness,

Wrapt in sleep.

For a while the tired body

To its resting-place is borne,

Till there breaks the last and brightest
Easter morn.

But the soul in contemplation
Utters earnest prayer and strong,
Breaking at the resurrection

Into song.

Soul and body re-united

Thenceforth nothing shall divide, Waking up in Christ's own likeness Satisfied.

O the beauty, O the gladness

Of that resurrection day,
Which shall not, through endless ages,
Pass away!

On that happy Easter morning
All the graves their dead restore,
Father, sister, child, and mother

Meet once more.

To that brightest of all meetings
Bring us, Jesu Christ, at last,

To Thy cross, through death and judgment,
Holding fast.

S. BARING GOULD, 1866.

189.

A VOICE is heard on earth of kinsfolk weeping
The loss of one they love;

But he is gone where the redeemed are keeping
A festival above.

The mourners throng the way, and from the steeple
The funeral bell tolls slow:

But on the golden streets the holy people
Are passing to and fro;

And saying, as they meet, Rejoice! another,
Long waited for, is come:

The Saviour's heart is glad; a younger brother
Hath reached the Father's home.

J. D. BURNS, 1858.

190.

PEACE, perfect peace, in this dark world of sin? The blood of Jesus whispers peace within.

Peace, perfect peace, by thronging duties pressed? To do the will of Jesus, this is rest.

Peace, perfect peace, with sorrows surging round? On Jesus' bosom nought but calm is found.

Peace, perfect peace, with loved ones far away?
In Jesus' keeping we are safe and they.

Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown?
Jesus we know, and He is on the throne.

Peace, perfect peace, death shadowing us and ours? Jesus has vanquish'd death and all its powers.

It is enough earth's struggles soon shall cease,
And Jesus call us to heaven's perfect peace.

BISHOP E. H. BICKERSTETH, 1875.