THE DEPARTING CHRISTIAN.

I.

On earth when the journey allotted us closes,
And spirit and body are hasting away,
If a gleam, on our parting, of mercy reposes,

Oh, who in this lone world would wish to delay ? Oh, who would not flee from the ties that endear us,

And bind us most close to the things here below, To the land, where pollution can never come near us, And bliss is disturbed by no moments of woe?

II.

Then joy to the soul, that is ripe for ascending,
If hope is the star, that enlightens death's vale;
For why should we keep it from joys never ending,
To tenant this mansion of weeping and wail?
Its stains, washed away by the full, crimson gushes
From the wounded Redeemer, no longer remain ;
On the wings of an angel to heaven it rushes,
To be happy forever and ever to reign.

OMNIPRESENCE OF THE DEITY.

WHO bids the billow heave its breast,
Then soothes its troubled throb to rest?
Who bids the coral greenly bloom
Around the sea-boy's ocean tomb?
Oh Lord! The sky, the earth, the sea,
And all things else are full of Thee!

At whose command, when eve doth fall
With mantle dim, o'ershadowing all,
Do trooping stars come twinkling through,
And decking bright heaven's arch of blue?
Father! The sky, the sea, the earth,
Proclaim the author of their birth.

Thine are the mountains, thine the caves;
Thou ridest on the winds and waves;
Thine is the bright o'er-arching bow,
The thunder's voice, the lightning's glow;
The earth, the sea, the sky are thine;
In all Thou art, in all divine.

OH, COULD I BEHOLD!

I.

Он, could I behold but the light of thy face,

And renew all the raptures that once so enchanted, When my footsteps first trod in the heavenly race,

And the road, I had entered, with roses was planted; Not the song from the traveler, faint and astray,

When his tribute of praise and of gladness is blending, For the fountains and palm-groves he found on his way, Should match with the strain from my bosom ascending.

II.

Thou Star of the Christian! Thou Guide of the lost! Oh, withhold not the beams that can lead and can gladden Frail man, on the ocean of life when he 's tost,

When the billows float high, and the wild tempests

madden.

Blest Saviour! Once more be the light of my soul;
And amid all the dangers and griefs that oppress me,
This heart shall submit to thy faultless control,
The song of these lips shall unceasingly bless thee.

DOUBTS AND FEARS.

IN the day of visitation,

When the clouds have o'er thee passed,
And thou thinkest that salvation

May not bless thee at the last;

In the hour of doubts and fearing,
When the Saviour seems afar,
And thy spirit, without cheering,
Is the night without a star;

Know, that it is all to try thee,
And that Jesus loves thee still,

Nor will ever He deny thee,

If thou walkest in his will.

He hath set the great example,
Follow on, as he hath trod;
Doubts and sin beneath thee trample,
Live and act and hope in God.

Then, though light or dark attend thee,
In the end 't will be the same;

If the Saviour doth befriend thee,
Thou shalt ne'er be put to shame.

HYMN AT SEA.

'Tis not in yonder starry host,
Oh, God of might! I see Thee most,
Although Thy skill and power divine
In sun and moon and planets shine;
When tossed upon the raging sea,

I view and feel the most of Thee.

The sea-birds stretch their wings on high,
And shriek beneath the warring sky;
In mountain piles the billows flow,
And laboring ships toss to and fro,
And from Thy red, right arm doth roll
The thundering bolt from pole to pole.

Oh, then I know Jehovah's form,
Careering in the bellowing storm,
Oh, then I see his wond'rous way,
Where o'er the deep the lightnings play;
-I hear-I bow my soul,

I see

And yield it to his high control.

THE PILGRIM'S RETURN.

WHEN the PILGRIMS of earth seek their parents' embrace, After long years of absence their residence greeting, And meet the dear objects of love face to face,

Their rapture how high! Oh, how happy their meeting! More happy are they, who arrive at the shore,

Where friends, when they mingle, shall part never more.

On the blest hills of heaven behold them appear,

Their hands to their harps, wreathed with roses, ad

dressing;

They raise to the Saviour, who wipes every tear,

Ascriptions of honor, and glory, and blessing. His arm through their perils hath led to the shore, Where friends, when they mingle, shall part never more.

The homes of this world become dim and decay,

And friends, when they meet, are too soon called to

sever;

But the mansions prepared in the regions of day,

Stand beaming and beautiful ever and ever;
And those, whom the Saviour shall lead to that shore,
Shall stray from its mansions, and part never more.

A VOICE FROM THE DYING.

THE world misdeem it. Oh, 't is not,
As some assert, a hapless lot

To stand with wings unfurled,
Just starting for that heavenly world,
Where woe 's forgot.

'T is true, I leave my friends behind,
And I have ever known them kind,

In past, departed hours;

But shall I not in heaven's bowers

True friendship find?