Than worldly smiles, which cannot be
Lit up, my God, with smiles from thee.

Then give me any lot,

I'll bless thy just decree,
So thou art not forgot,
And I may ne'er dependent be
On any friend, my God, but thee!

As needle to the pole,

There fixed, but tremblingly, -
Such be my trusting soul,

Whate'er life's variations be,

For ever pointing, Lord, to thee!

MONSELL.

GRATEFUL FOR CHASTISEMENT.

"Therefore I take pleasure in distresses, for Christ's sake."-2 Cor. xii. 10.

MUCH have I borne, but not as I should bear;
The proud will unsubdued, the formal prayer,
Tell me thou yet wilt chide, thou canst not spare,

O Lord, thy chastening rod.

O, help me, Father! for my sinful heart
Back from this discipline of grief would start,
Unmindful of his sorer, deeper smart,

Who died for me, my God!

Yet, if each wish denied, each woe and pain,
Break but some link of that oppressive chain
Which binds me still to earth, and leaves a stain
Thou only canst remove,

Then am I blest, - O bliss from man concealed!
If here to Christ, the weak one's tower and shield,
My heart, through sorrow, be set free to yield
A service of deep love.

THE SUFFERER LOOKING TO CHRIST.

"Forasmuch, then, as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind."-1 Peter iv. 1.

WHEN human hopes all wither,
And friends no aid supply,
Then whither, Lord, ah! whither
Can turn my straining eye?
'Mid storms of grief still rougher,
'Midst darker, deadlier shade,

That cross, where thou didst suffer,
On Calvary was displayed.

On that my gaze I fasten,
My refuge that I make ;
Though sorely thou mayst chasten,
Thou never canst forsake.

Thou on that cross didst languish,
Ere glory crowned thy head;
And I, through death and anguish,
Must be to glory led.

THE SAVIOUR'S SYMPATHY.

"For we have not an high-priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Heb. iv. 15.

As oft, with worn and weary feet,

We tread earth's rugged valley o'er,

The thought, how comforting and sweet!

Christ trod this very path before;
Our wants and weaknesses he knows,
From life's first dawning to its close.

Do sickness, feebleness, or pain,
Or sorrow in our path appear,
The recollection will remain,

More deeply did he suffer here.
His life, how truly sad and brief,
Filled up with suffering and with grief!

If Satan tempt our hearts to stray,

And whisper evil things within,

So did he, in the desert way,

Assail our Lord with thoughts of sin:

When worn, and in a feeble hour, The tempter came with all his power.

Just such as I, this earth he trod,
With every human ill but sin;
And though indeed the very God,
As I am now, so he has been.
My God, my Saviour, look on me,
With pity, love, and sympathy.

CHRIST ALL-SUFFICIENT.

"All my springs are in thee."- Ps. lxxxvii. 7.

FOUNTAIN of grace, rich, full, and free,
What need I, that is not in thee?
Full pardon, strength to meet the day,
And peace which none can take away.

Doth sickness fill the heart with fear? "T is sweet to know that thou art near; Am I with dread of justice tried? "T is sweet to feel that Christ hath died.

In life, thy promises of aid

Forbid my heart to be afraid;

In death, peace gently veils the eyes; Christ rose, and I shall surely rise.

O all-sufficient Saviour! be

This all-sufficiency to me;

Nor pain, nor sin, nor death can harm The weakest shielded by thine arm.

SUFFICIENT GRACE.

"O bring me out of my distresses!"- Ps. xxv. 17.

AND wilt thou hear the fevered heart
To thee in silence cry?

And as th' inconstant wildfires dart
Out of the restless eye,
Wilt thou forgive the wayward thought,
By kindly woes yet half untaught,
A Saviour's right so dearly bought,

That hope should never die?

Thou, who didst sit on Jacob's well,

The

weary

hour of noon,

The languid pulses thou canst tell,

The nerveless spirit tune.

Thou, from whose cross in anguish burst
The cry that owned thy dying thirst,

To thee we turn, our last and first,
Our Sun and soothing Moon.

From darkness here, and dreariness,
We ask not full repose,