4. Look at the lambs in the field, how innocent they are; how they skip about and play : they do not quarrel and hurt one another, like the foolish dogs; Sweet lambs! how prettily do they play together; and so do good boys and girls.
5. So do the little kittens play together; they jump and run about the floor, and try a thousand merry tricks, but they do not quarrel: and how shameful is it for boys to quarrel!
Let dogs delight to bark and bite,
For God hath made them so;
Let bears and lions growl and fight,
For 'tis their nature too.
But children! you should never let
Such angry passions rise;
Your little hands were never made
To tear each other's eyes.
Chapter XLVIII. Forty-eight.
A MORNING HYMN.
LORD! in the morning Thou shalt hear
My voice ascending high :
To Thee will I direct my prayer,
To Thee lift up mine eye.
Thou art a God before whose sight
The wicked shall not stand;
Sinners shall ne'er be thy delight,
Nor dwell at thy right hand.
But to thy house will I resort,
To taste thy mercies there,
I will frequent thine holy court,
And worship in thy fear.
O may thy spirit guide my feet,
In ways of righteousness!
Make every path of duty straight,
And plain before my face.
AN EVENING HYMN.
LORD! thou wilt hear me when I pray
I am for ever thine;
1 fear before thee all the day,
Nor would I dare to sin.
And while I rest my weary head
From care and bus'ness free,
'Tis sweet conversing on my bed
With my own heart and Thee. :
I pay this evening sacrifice,
And when my work is done,
Great God, my faith and hope relies
Upon thy grace alone.
Thus with my thoughts compose
I give mine eyes to sleep:
Thy hand in safety keeps my days,
And will my slumbers keep,
ADVICE TO CHILDREN.
CHILDREN! to your Creator, God,
➤ Your early honours pay:
While vanity and youthful blood
Would tempt your feet astray.
The memory of his mighty name,
Demands your first regard :
Nor dare indulge a meaner flame;
'Till you have lov'd the Lord.
Be wise, and make his favour sure,
Before the mournful days,
When youth and mirth are known no more,
And life and strength decays.
No more the blessings of a feast,
Shall relish on your tongue;
The heavy ear forgets the taste,
And pleasure of a song.
Old age, with all her dismal train,
Invades your golden years
With sighs, and groans, and raging pain,
And death, that never spares.
What will you do when life departs,
And leaves your withering eyes
Without one beam to cheer your hearts,
From the superior skies?
The bands of nature soon will burst,
And let the building fall;
Your flesh must mingle with the dust,
Its vile original.
Laden with guilt, a heavy load,
Uncleans'd and unforgiven,
The soul would fain ascend to God,
But is shut out of heaven.
Chapter XLIX. Forty-ninth.
ODE TO CHILDHOOD.
CHILDHOOD! happiest stage of life,
Free from care, and free from strife:
Free from mem'ry's ruthless reign,
Fraught with scenes of former pain;
Free from fancy's cruel skill,
Fabricating future ill:
Time, when all that meets the view,
All can charm, for all is new:
How thy long lost hours I mourn,
Never, never, to return!
Then to toss the circling ball,
Caught rebounding from the wall:
Then the mimic ship to guide
Down the kennel's dirty tide:
Then the hoop's revolving pace
Through the dusty streets to chase;
Oh, what joy! it once was mine;
Childhood! matchiess boon of thine;
How thy long lost hears I mourn,
Never, never, to return!
I AM not concern'd to know,
What to-morrow's fate will do:
'Tis enough that I can say,
I possess myself to-day-
Glitt'ring stones, and golden things,
Wealth and honour, that have wings,
Ever flutt'ring to be gone,
I could never call my own.
Riches that the world bestows,
She can take, and I can lose;
But the treasures that are mine,
Lie afar beyond her line:
When I view my spacious soul,
And survey myself a whole;
And enjoy myself alone,
I'm a kingdom of my own.
THE DYING CHRISTIAN TO HIS SOUL
VITAL spark of heavenly flame,
Quit, Oh quit this mortal frame;
Trembling, hoping, ling'ring, flying;
Oh, the pain, the bliss of dying!
Cease, fond nature, cease thy strife,
And let me languish into life.-
Hark! They whisper; angels say,
"Sister spirit, come away."
What is this absorbs me quite !
Steals my senses, shuts my sight:
Drowns my spirits, draws my breath:
Tell me, my soul, can this be death?
The world recedes, it disappears;
Heaven opens on my eyes, my ears,
With sounds seraphic ring;
Lend, lend your wings, I mount, I fly,
O grave, where is thy victory!
O Death, where is thy sting !.
Now in the heat of youthful blood,
Remember your Creator, God;
Behold the months come hast'ning on,
When you shall say, "My joys are gone."
Behold the aged sinner goes,
Laden with guilt and heavy woes,
Down to the regions of the dead,
With endless curses on his head.
Eternal King, I fear thy name,
Teach me to know how frail I am;
And when my soul must hence remove,
Give me a mansion in thy love.
ON THE SHORTNESS OF HUMAN LIFE.
LIKE as a damask rose you see,
Or like the blossom on the tree:
Or like the dainty flower of May,
Or like the morning to the day;
Or like the Sun, or like the Shade;
Or like the Gourd which Jonas had:
Even such is Man! whose thread is spun,
Drawn out, aud cut; and so 'tis done.
Withers the rose, the blossom blasts;
The flower fades, the morning hastes;
The sun is set, the shadows fly;
The gourd consumes-so mortals die.
The voice of my beloved sounds,
While o'er the mountain top he bounds:
He flies exulting o'er the hills,
And all my soul with transport fills.
Gently doth he chide my stay,
Rise up my Love, and come away.
|