Like her, with hopes and fears we come,
To touch thee, if we may;
O, send us not despairing home,

Send none unhealed away!

CowPER.

CRYING TO GOD.

"O Lord God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee." -Ps lxxxviii. 1.

LORD GOD of my salvation!

To thee, to thee I cry ;
O, let my supplication

Arrest thine ear on high!

Distresses round me thicken,

My life draws nigh the grave;
Descend, O Lord, to quicken,
Descend, my soul to save!

Thy wrath lies hard upon me,
Thy billows o'er me roll;
My friends all seem to shun me,
And foes beset my soul;
Where'er on earth I turn me,

No comforter is near;

Wilt thou, my Father, spurn me ?
Wilt thou refuse to hear?

No! banished and heart-broken,
My soul still clings to thee;
The promise thou hast spoken,
Still, still my refuge be;
So present ills and terrors

May future joy increase,
And scourge me from my errors,
To duty, hope, and peace.

LYTE.

BALM IN GILEAD.

"Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there?"- Jer. viii. 22.

"GIVE me the voice of mirth, the sound of laughter,
The sparkling glance of pleasure's roving eye:
The past is past; avaunt, thou dark hereafter!
Come, eat and drink, - to-morrow we must die!"

So, in his desperate mood, the fool hath spoken,-
The fool, whose heart hath said, "There is no God”;
But for the stricken heart, the spirit broken,
There's balm in Gilead yet. The very rod,

If we but kiss it, as the stroke descendeth,
Distilleth balm to allay the inflicted smart;
And "peace, that passeth understanding," blendeth
With the deep sighing of the contrite heart.

Mine be that holy, humble tribulation, —

No longer feigned distress, - fantastic woe;
I know my griefs, but then my consolation,
My trust, and my immortal hopes, I know.

CAROLINE BOWLES.

THE GREAT PHYSICIAN.

"I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee, saith the Lord.”. Jer. xxx. 17.

TELL me of that great Physician,
Will he undertake my cure?
Will he freely grant admission
To an applicant so poor?
None but Jesus

Can to such relief insure.

I have not one plea to proffer,
Why such grace I should partake;
No inducement can I offer,

No requital can I make ;

None but Jesus

Heals for his own mercy's sake.

Yet I know that he has granted
Cures to thousands such as I;
Given them freely all they wanted,
Without money let them buy;

None but Jesus

Every want could thus supply.

Let me go and spread before him
All my symptoms, all my fears;
Deeply, gratefully adore him,

While my trembling heart he cheers:
None but Jesus

Wipes away the sufferer's tears.

CRYING TO JESUS.

"When they heard that Jesus passed by, they cried out, saying, Have meroy on us, thou Son of David!"-Matt. xx. 30.

DISEASED in body, mind, and soul,
Pass me not, my Saviour, by;

One word of thine can make me whole,
O, speak that word, and grief shall fly!

Full, rich, unmerited, and free,

Thy grace, O Lord, for ever flows;
Such only can suffice for me,

Thy peace alone can give repose.

Lord, for that peace I watch and wait;
When will the bursting morn appear?

Raise me above this gloomy state,

Give peace and praise for doubt and fear.

SAVIOUR OF THE DYING THIEF.

"And Jesus said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with me in paradise."- Luke xxiii. 43.

JESUS saved the dying thief,-
Welcome news for one like me!
Now I know there is relief,

When the world no hope can see:
Saved by grace, by sovereign grace,
By the cross I'll take my place.

Saviour of the dying thief,

Lo! a wretch as vile as he,
Filled with shame, remorse, and grief,
Draws his hope, O Lord, from thee:
In the view of so much grace,
Can despair at all have place?

Nothing but the richest grace

Could relieve a wretch like me;
This alone could reach my case,

And I see this grace in thee:
Saviour of the dying thief!
In thy love I find relief.

J