Born of thy Spirit, Lord,
Thy spirit may we share;

Deep in our hearts inscribe thy word,
And place thine image there.

1 MAY I resolve, with all my heart, With all my powers, to serve the Lord, Nor from his precepts e'er depart,

Whose service is a rich reward.

2 Be this the purpose of my soul,
My solemn, my determined choice,
To yield to his supreme control,
And in his kind commands rejoice.

3 O may I never faint nor tire,

Nor, wandering, leave his sacred ways!
Great God! accept my soul's desire,
And give me strength to live thy praise.

S. M.

413.

The Christian's Charge.

C. WESLEY.

1 A CHARGE to keep I have,
A God to glorify;

A never-dying soul to save,
And fit it for the sky;
To serve the present age,
My calling to fulfil :

O may it all my powers engage
To do my Master's will!

2

Arm me with jealous care,
As in thy sight to live;

And oh! thy servant, Lord, prepare

The strict account to give:
Help me to watch and pray,
And on thyself rely:

Assured, if I my trust betray,
I shall forsaken die.

S. M.

414.

COWPER.

Dependence on God.

1 To keep the lamp alive, With oil we fill the bowl;

"T is water makes the willow thrive,
And grace
that feeds the soul.

2 The Lord's unsparing hand
Supplies the living stream;
It is not at our own command,
But still derived from him.

3

4

Man's wisdom is to seek His strength in God alone; And e'en an angel would be weak, Who trusted in his own.

Retreat beneath his wings,

And in his grace confide;

This more exalts the King of kings, Than all your works beside.

5 In God is all our store;

Grace issues from his throne; Whoever says, "I want no more," Confesses he has none.

1 SWEET is the bliss of souls serene,
When they have sworn and steadfast mean,
Counting the cost, in all to espy
Their God, in all themselves deny.

2 O could we learn that sacrifice,
What lights would all around us rise!
How would our hearts with wisdom talk,
Along life's dullest, dreariest walk!

3 We need not bid, for cloistered cell,
Our neighbor and our work farewell,
Nor strive to wind ourselves too high
For sinful man beneath the sky:

The trivial round, the common task,
Would furnish all we ought to ask;
Room to deny ourselves; a road
To bring us, daily, nearer God.

The Happiness of a Christian.

1 WHEN true religion gains a place,
And lives within the mind,
The sensual life subdued by grace,
And all the soul refined,

2 The desert blooms in living green,
Where thorns and briers grew;
The barren waste is fruitful seen,
And all the prospect new.

The storms of rugged winter cease,
The frozen flowers revive;

Spring blooms without, within is peace, -
All nature seems alive.

4 O happy Christian, richly blessed!
What floods of pleasure roll!

By God and man he stands confessed,
In dignity of soul.

5 Substantial, pure, his every joy:
His Maker is his friend;
The noblest business his employ,
And happiness his end.

C. M.

417.

DODDRIDGE.

"He that hath the Son hath life."

1 O HAPPY Christian, who can trust
"The Son of God is mine!"
Happy, though humbled in the dust,
Rich in this gift divine.

2 He lives the life of heaven below,
And shall for ever live;

Eternal streams from Christ shall flow,
And endless vigor give.

a That life we ask with bended knee,
Nor will the Lord deny;
Nor will celestial mercy see
Its humble suppliants die.

That life obtained, for praise alone
We wish continued breath;
And, taught by blest experience, own
That praise can live in death.

C. M.

418.

DODDRIDGE.

Zeal and Vigor in the Christian Race.

1 AWAKE, my soul! stretch every nerve,
And press with vigor on:

A heavenly race demands thy zeal,
And an immortal crown.

2 A cloud of witnesses around
Hold thee in full survey:
Forget the steps already trod,
And onward urge thy way.

3 'T is God's all-animating voice
That calls thee from on high;
'T is his own hand presents the prize
To thine aspiring eye;—

4 That prize, with peerless glories bright,
Which shall new lustre boast,

When victors' wreaths and monarchs' gen s Shall blend in common dust.

S. M.

419.

DODDRIDGE.

Christian Activity and Watchfulness.

1

YE servants of the Lord,

Each in his office wait,

Observant of his heavenly word,
And watchful at his gate.

2 Let all your lamps be bright,
And trim the golden flame:
Gird up your loins, as in his sight,
For awful is his name.