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3 In hopes of that immortal crown,
1 now the cross sustain;
And gladly wander up and down,
And smile at toil and pain.

4 I suffer on my three-score years
Till my deliverer come,

To wipe away his servant's tears
And take his exile home.

5 Then what are all my suff'rings here,
If, Lord, thou count'st me meet
With that enraptur'd host to appear
And worship at thy feet?

6 Give joy or grief-give ease or pain,
Take life or friends away,
But let me find them all again
In that eternal day.

CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE.

486. C. M. Anon.

The Wedding Hymn. John ii, 1, 2.

INCE Jesus freely did appear

SIN

To grace a marriage feast,

We ask, O Lord, thy presence here,
To make a wedding guest.

2 Upon the bridal pair look down,

Who now have plighted hands;
Their union with thy favour crown,
And bless the nuptial bands.

3 With gifts of grace their hearts endow, Of all rich dowries best!

Their substance bless, and peace bestow,
To sweeten all the rest.

4 In purest love their souls unite,
That they, with Christian care,
May make domestic burdens light,
By taking mutual share.

5 True helpers may they prove indeed,
In prayer, and faith, and hope;
And see with joy a godly seed,
To build their household up.

6 As Isaac and Rebecca give
A pattern chaste and kind;
So may this married couple live,
And die in friendship join'd.

H

487. L. M.

The union of man and wife.
OW closely join'd are man and wife,
In union lasting as the life!

United hearts, united hands

Their int'rest one-how strong the bands!

2 Marriage the Lord's appointment is, To soothe our woes, enhance our blissTo render each the other blest,

Let Christian love pervade the breast.

3 "Tis kindred souls that form the tie;
That live in peace until they die;
"Tis love controls the life, the tongue,
Approves the right-o'erlooks the wrong.

4 Let every man esteem his wife
His better half, his dearer life;
And every wife a rev'rence feel
For all her husband's lawful will.

5 Thus shall they live in peace and love,
Thus shall they mutual helpers prove;
Thus shall the Lord their union bless,
And crown their efforts with success.

488. L. M. Steele.

The shortness of time, and frailty of man.

ALMIGHTY Maker of my frame,

Teach me the measure of my days!
Teach me to know how frail I am,
And spend the remnant to thy praise.
2 My days are shorter than a span;
A little point my life appears;
How frail, at best, is dying man,
How vain are all his hopes and fears!
3 Vain his ambition, noise, and show,
Vain are the cares that rack his mind!
He heaps up treasures mix'd with woe,
And dies, and leaves them all behind.
4 O, be a nobler portion mine,

My God! I bow before thy throne;
Earth's fleeting treasures I resign,
And fix my hopes on thee alone.

489. C. M. Watts.

The vanity of man as mortal. Psalm xxxix. 4–7.
EACH me the measure of my days,
Trhou Maker of my frame;

I would survey life's narrow space,
And learn how frail I am.

2 A span is all that we can boast,
An inch or two of time;

Man is but vanity and dust,

In all his flower and prime.

3 What should I wish, or wait for, then,
From creatures, earth and dust?
They make our expectations vain,
And disappoint our trust.

4 Now I forbid my carnal hope,
My fond desires recall;

I give my mortal interests up,
And make my God my

all,

490. Ts. Rylund.

My times are in thy hand.

Psalm xxxi. 15.

SOVEREIGN Ruler of the skies!

All

Ever gracious, ever wise!
my times are in thy hand-
All events at thy command.

2 Plagues and deaths around me fly;
Till he bids, I cannot die;
Not a single shaft can hit,
Till the God of love sees fit.

3 0 thou gracious, wise, and just,
In thy hands my life I trust;
Have I somewhat dearer still?
I resign it to thy will.

4 Thee, at all times, will I bless;
Having thee, I all possess;
I can ne'er bereaved be,
Since I cannot part with thee.

H

491. C. M Addison.

The Traveller's Psalm.

OW are thy servants blest, O Lord!
How sure is their defence!

Eternal wisdom is their guide,

Their help Omnipotence.

2 In foreign realms and lands remote,
Supported by thy care,

Through burning climes they pass unhurt,
And breathe in tainted air.

3 When by the dreadful tempest borne
High on the broken wave,

They know thou art not slow to hear,
Nor impotent to save.

4 The storm is laid, the winds retire,
Obedient to thy will;

The sea, that roars at thy command,
At thy command is still.

5 In midst of dangers, fears, and deaths,
Thy goodness we'll adore;

We'll praise thee for thy mercies past,
And humbly hope for more.

6 Our life, while thou preserv'st that life,
Thy sacrifice shall be;

And death, when death shall be our lot,
Shal join our souls to thee.

STAGES OF LIFE.

492. C. M. Relief Hymns.
The shortness of Life.

Foman, of woman born!

NEW are thy days, and full of woe,

Thy doom is written-dust thou art,
And shalt to dust return.

2 Determin'd are the days that fly
Successive o'er thy head;

The number'd hour is on the wing,
That lays thee with the dead.

3 O may the grave become to me
The bed of peaceful rest,
Whence I shall gladly rise, at length,
And mingle with the blest.

493. C. M. Anon.

Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth.

IN

the sweet season of thy youth,
In nature's smiling bloom,

Ere age arrive, and trembling wait
Its summons to the tomb,-

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