They who now fecurely fleep,
Quickly then would wake and weep;
And too late would learn to fear,
When they faw the danger near.
You are fafe who know his love,
He will all his truth perform;
To your fouls a refuge prove
From the rage of every storm:
But we tremble for the youth;
Teach them, Lord, thy faving truth;
Join them to thy faithful few,
Be to them a refuge too.
VI. Earthly Profpe&ts deceitful.
OFT in vain the voice of Truth
Solemnly and loudly warns ;
Thoughtlefs, unexperienc'd youth,
Tho' it hears, the warning fcorns:
Youth in Fancy's glafs farveys
Life prolong'd to diftant years,
While the vaft imagin'd space
Fill'd with fweets and joys appears.
2 Awful difappointment, foon
Overclouds the profpect gay;
Some their fun goes down at noon,
Torn by Death's ftrong hand away:
Where are then their pleafing schemes?
Where the joys they hope to find?
Gone for ever, like their dreams,
Leaving not a trace behind.
3 Others, who are fpar'd a while,
Live to weep o'er Fancy's cheat;
Find diftrefs, and pain, and toil,
Bitter things instead of sweet:
Sin has spread a curfe around,
Poifon'd all things here below;
On this base polluted ground
Peace and joy can never grow.
Grace alone can cure our ills,
Sweeten life with all its cares ; /
Regulate our ftubborn wills,
Save us from furrounding fnares;
Tho' you oft have heard in vain,
Former years in folly spent ;
Grace invites you yet again,
Once more calls you to repent.
5 Call'd again, at length, beware,
Hear the Saviour's voice and live;
Left he in his wrath fhould fwear,
He no more will warning give:
Pray that you may hear and feel,
Ere the day of grace be paft;
Left your hearts grow hard as fteel,
Or this year fhould prove your last.
HYMNS before Annual Sermons to Young People, on New-Years Evenings.
VII. Prayer for a Bleffing.
NOW, gracious Lord, thine arm reveal,«.
And make thy glory known;
Now let us all thy pretence feel,
And foften hearts of stone!
2 Help us to venture near thy throne,
And plead a Saviour's name;
For all that we can call our own,
Is vanity and fhame.
3 From all the guilt of former fin
May mercy fet us free;
And let the year we now begin,
Begin and end with thee.
4 Send down thy Spirit from above,
That faints may love thee more;
And finners now may learn to love,
Who never lov'd before.
5. And when before thee we appear,
In our eternal home,
May growing numbers worship here,
And praise thee in our room.
BEftow, dear Lord, upon our youth
The gift of faving grace;
And let the feed of facred truth
Fall in a fruitful place.
2 Grace is a plant, where-e'er it grows,
Of pure and heav'nly root;
But faireft in the youngest fhews,
And yields the sweeteft fruit.
Ye careless ones, O'hear betimes
The voice of fov'reign love!
Your youth is ftain'd with many crimes,
But mercy reigns above.
4 True, you are young, but there's a ftone Within the youngest breast,
Or half the crimes which you have done,
Would rob you of your reft.
5 For you the public pray'r is made,
Oh! join the public pray'r!
For you the fecret tear is fhed,
Ofhed yourselves a tear!
6 We pray that you may carly prove
The Spirit's pow'r to teach;
You cannot be too young to love
That Jefus whom we preach.
1. Now may fervent pray'r arise,
Wing'd with faith, and pierce the skies;
Fervent pray'r fhall bring us down
Gracious anfwers from the throne.
2 Blefs, O Lord, the op'ning year
To each foul affembled here;
Clothe thy word with pow'r divine,
Make us willing to be thine.
3 Shepherd of thy blood-bought sheep!'
Teach the ftony heart to weep;
Let the blind have eyes to fee,
See themselves, and look on thee!
4 Let the minds of all our youth
Feel the force of facred truth; ·
While the gospel-call they hear,
May they learn to love and fear.
5 Shew them what their ways have been,
Shew them the defert of fin;
Then thy dying love reveal,
This fhall melt a heart of steel.
6' Where thou haft thy work begun,
Give new ftrength the race to run;
Scatter darkness, doubts, and fears,
Wipe away the mourner's tears.
7 Bless us all, both old and young;
Call forth praife from ev'ry tongue;
Let the whole affembly prove
All thy pow'r, and all thy love.
X. Cafting the Gospel Net
HEN Peter, thro' the tedious night *,
Had often caft his net in vain;
Soon as the Lord appear'd in fight,
He gladly let it down again.
2 Once more the gospel-net we caft,
Do thou, O Lord, the effort own;
We learn from difappointments paft,
To reft our hope on thee alone.
3 Upheld by thy fupporting hand,
We enter on another year;
And now we meet at thy command,
To feek thy gracious prefence here.
4 May this be a much-favour'd hour,
To fouls in Satan's bondage led;
O clothe thy word with fov'reign pow'r,
To break the rocks, and raise the dead?
5 Have mercy on our num'rous youth,
Who, young in years, are old in fin;
And by thy Spirit, and thy truth,
Shew them the ftate their fouls are in.
6 Then, by a Saviour's dying love,
To ev'ry wounded heart reveal'd,
Temptations, fears, and guilt remove,
And be their Sun, and Strength, and Shield.
7 To mourners fpeak a chearing word,
On feeking fouls vouchfafe to fhine;
Let poor backfliders be reftor'd,
And all thy faints in praises join.
8 O hear our prayer, and give us hope,
That when thy voice fhall call us home,
Thou ftill wilt raise a people up,
To love and praise thee in our room.
XI. C. Pleading for and with Youth.
has undone our wretched race, But Jefus has reftor'd,
And brought the finner face to face
With his forgiving Lord.
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