  851. L. M. Heginbotham.The God of the Seasons. 1Great God! let all our tuneful powers Awake and sing thy mighty name; Thy hand rolls on our circling hours, The hand from which our being came. 2Seasons and moons revolving round In beauteous order speak thy praise; And years with smiling mercy crowned, To thee successive honors raise. 3Each changing season on our souls Its sweetest, kindest influence sheds; And every period, as it rolls, Showers countless blessings on our heads. 4Our lives, our health, our friends, we owe All to thy vast unbounded love; Ten thousand precious gifts below, And hope of nobler joys above. 852. L. M. Enfield's Sel.The Goodness of God in the Seasons. 1Great God! at whose all-powerful call At first arose this beauteous frame, By thee the seasons change, and all The changing seasons speak thy name. 2Thy bounty bids the infant year, From winter storms recovered, rise; When thousand grateful scenes appear, Fresh opening to our wondering eyes. 3O, how delightful 'tis to see The earth in vernal beauty dressed! While in each herb, and flower, and tree, Thy bright perfections shine confessed! 4Indulgent God! from every part, Thy plenteous blessings largely flow; We see,--we taste;--let every heart With grateful love and duty glow. 853. C. M. Watts.Seasons. 1With songs and honors sounding loud, Address the Lord on high; O'er all the heavens he spreads his cloud, And waters veil the sky. 2He sends his showers of blessings down, To cheer the plains below; He makes the grass the mountains crown, And corn in valleys grow. 3His steady councils change the face Of each declining year; He bids the sun cut short his race, And wintry days appear. 4On us his providence has shone, With gentle, smiling rays; O, may our lips and lives make known His goodness and his praise. 854. H. M. J. Taylor.Providence acknowledged in the Seasons. 1Rejoice! the Lord is King: Your Lord and King adore; Mortals! give thanks and sing, And triumph evermore: Lift up your hearts, lift up your voice; Rejoice, in sacred lays rejoice. 2His wintry north winds blow, Loud tempests rush amain; Yet his thick showers of snow Defend the infant grain: Lift up your hearts, lift up your voice; Rejoice, in sacred lays rejoice. 3He wakes the genial spring, Perfumes the balmy air; The vales their tribute bring, The promise of the year: Lift up your hearts, lift up your voice Rejoice, in sacred lays rejoice. 4He leads the circling year; His flocks the hills adorn; He fills the golden ear, And loads the field with corn; O happy mortals! raise your voice; Rejoice, in sacred lays rejoice. 855. 7s. M. Barbauld.The Seasons. 1Praise to God, immortal praise, For the love that crowns our days! Bounteous Source of every joy, Let thy praise our tongues employ. 2All that Spring, with bounteous hand, Scatters o'er the smiling land,-- All that liberal Autumn pours From her rich o'erflowing stores,-- 3These to that dear Source we owe Whence our sweetest comforts flow; These, through all my happy days, Claim my cheerful songs of praise. 4Lord, to thee my soul should raise Grateful, never-ending praise, And, when every blessing's flown, Love thee for thyself alone. 856. L. M. Doddridge.The Same. 1Eternal Source of every joy! Well may thy praise our lips employ, While in thy temple we appear, To hail thee Sovereign of the year. 2Wide as the wheels of nature roll, Thy hand supports and guides the whole; By thee the sun is taught to rise, And darkness when to veil the skies. 3The flowery spring, at thy command, Perfumes the air and paints the land; The summer suns with vigor shine, To raise the corn and cheer the vine. 4Thy hand, in autumn, richly pours Through all our coasts redundant stores; And winters, softened by thy care, No more the face of horror wear. 5Seasons, and months, and weeks, and days, Demand successive songs of praise; And be the grateful homage paid, With morning light and evening shade. 857. L. M. Watts.The Goodness of God in the Seasons. Ps. 65. 1At God's command, the morning ray Smiles in the east, and leads the day; He guides the sun's declining wheels Over the tops of western hills. 2Seasons and times obey his voice; The evening and the morn rejoice To see the earth made soft with showers, Laden with fruit, and dressed in flowers. 3The desert grows a fruitful field; Abundant food the valleys yield; The valleys shout with cheerful voice, And neighboring hills repeat their joys. 4Thy works pronounce thy power divine; O'er every field thy glories shine; Through every month thy gifts appear: Great God! thy goodness crowns the year. 858. C. M. Fergus.The Promises of the Year. 1The year begins with promises Of joyful days to come, Of Sabbath bells, of times of prayer, Of thoughts on heaven, our home: 2Of seed-time, with its gentle winds, Soft dews and healthful showers, And streamlets gushing from the hills, And birds and opening flowers: 3Of summer, with its warbling choir Amid the balmy leaves; Of autumn, with its fragrant herbs And fruits and bending sheaves: 4Of countless mercies from our God, Who rules the changeful years, Both here and in the world of love, Beyond the heavenly spheres. 859. S. M. Watts.Blessings of Spring. 1Good is the heavenly King, Who makes the earth his care, Visits the pastures every spring, And bids the grass appear. 2Like rivers raised on high, The clouds, at thy command, Pour out their blessings from the sky, To cheer the thirsty land. 3The hills, on every side, Rejoice at falling showers: The meadows, dressed in all their pride, Perfume the air with flowers. 4The ridges drink their fill, And ranks of corn appear; Thy ways abound with blessings still, Thy goodness crowns the year. 860. C. M.Spring. 1When verdure clothes the fertile vale, And blossoms deck the spray, And fragrance breathes in every gale, How sweet the vernal day! 2Hark! how the feathered warblers sing! 'Tis nature's cheerful voice; Soft music hails the lovely spring, And woods and fields rejoice. 3O God of nature and of grace, Thy heavenly gifts impart; Then shall my meditation trace Spring blooming in my heart. 4Inspired to praise, I then shall join Glad nature's cheerful song, And love and gratitude divine Attune my joyful tongue. 861. C. M. Peabody.Spring. 1When brighter suns and milder skies Proclaim the opening year, What various sounds of joy arise! What prospects bright appear! 2Earth and her thousand voices give Their thousand notes of praise; And all, that by his mercy live, To God their offering raise. 3The streams, all beautiful and bright, Reflect the morning sky; And there, with music in his flight, The wild bird soars on high. 4Thus, like the morning, calm and clear, That saw the Saviour rise, The spring of heaven's eternal year Shall dawn on earth and skies. 5No winter there, no shades of night, Obscure those mansions blest, Where, in the happy fields of light, The weary are at rest. 862. L. M. Fergus.Spring-Time. 1The spring, the joyous spring is come With lovely flowers of early bloom; The warbling birds, on every tree, Fill all the air with melody. 2Once more, unsealed, the fountains run, Sparkling, beneath a brighter sun; Green leaves and tender herbs arise, Cheered by the glow of warmer skies. 3Oh Lord, the changes of the year At thy Almighty word appear; And all the seasons, as they roll, Declare thy name from pole to pole. 4Spring showers, descending from above, Bear down glad tidings of thy love, And every blossom on the tree Bespeaks our gratitude to thee. 863. S. M. Anonymous.Summer. 1Great God, at thy command, Seasons in order rise: Thy power and love in concert reign Through earth, and seas, and skies. 2How balmy is the air! How warm the sun's bright beams! While, to refresh the ground, the rains Descend in gentle streams. 3With grateful praise we own Thy providential hand, While grass, and herbs, and waving corn, Adorn and bless the land. 4But greater still the gift Of thy belovÉd Son; By him forgiveness, peace, and joy, Through endless ages run. 864. C. M. T. Richardson."The Hymn of Summer." 1How glad the tone when summer's sun Wreathes the gay world with flowers, And trees bend down with golden fruit, And birds are in the bowers! 2The moon sends silent music down Upon each earthly thing; And always, since creation's dawn, The stars together sing. 3Shall man remain in silence, then, While all beneath the skies The chorus joins? no, let us sing, And while our voices rise, 4O, let our lives, great God, breathe forth A constant melody; And every action be a tone In that sweet hymn to thee! Autumn. 1The leaves, around me falling, Are preaching of decay; The hollow winds are calling, "Come, pilgrim, come away:" The day, in night declining, Says I must, too, decline; The year its bloom resigning, Its lot foreshadows mine. 2The light my path surrounding, The loves to which I cling, The hopes within me bounding, The joys that round me wing,-- All, all, like stars at even, Just gleam and shoot away, Pass on before to heaven, And chide at my delay. 3The friends gone there before me Are calling from on high, And happy angels o'er me Tempt sweetly to the sky: "Why wait," they say, "and wither, 'Mid scenes of death and sin? O, rise to glory, hither, And find true life begin." 866. C. M. Watts.Winter. 1The hoary frost, the fleecy snow, Descend, and clothe the ground; The liquid streams forbear to flow, In icy fetters bound. 2When, from his dreadful stores on high, God pours the sounding hail, The man that does his power defy Shall find his courage fail. 3God sends his word and melts the snow; The fields no longer mourn; He calls the warmer gales to blow, And bids the spring return. 4The changing wind, the flying cloud, Obey his mighty word; With songs and honors sounding loud, Praise ye the sovereign Lord. 867. H. M. Freeman.The Same. 1Lord of the worlds below! On earth thy glories shine; The changing seasons show Thy skill and power divine. The rolling years Are full of thee; In all we see A God appears. 2In winter, awful thou! With storms around thee cast; The leafless forests bow Beneath thy northern blast. While tempests lower, To thee, dread King, We homage bring, And own thy power. 868. L. M. H. Ballou.The Acceptable Fast. 1This is the fast the Lord doth choose; Each heavy burden to undo, The bands of wickedness to loose, And bid the captive freely go. 2Let every vile and sinful yoke Of servile bondage and of fear, By mercy, love and truth be broke; And from each eye wipe every tear. 3Yes, to the hungry deal thy bread; Bring to thine house the outcast poor; There let the fainting soul be fed, Nor spurn the needy from thy door. 4And when thou seest the naked, spare The raiment that his wants demand; Since all mankind thy kindred are, To all thy charity expand. 5Thus did the Saviour of our race: Himself, the Bread of Life, he gave; He clothed us with his righteousness, And broke the fetters from the slave. 869. C. M. S. Streeter.Humiliation and Prayer. 1Here in thy temple, Lord, we meet, And bow before thy throne; Abased and guilty, at thy feet We seek thy grace alone. 2Our sins rise up in dread array, And fill our hearts with fear; Our trembling spirits melt away, But find no helper near. 3O, send thy pity from on high With pardon all-divine; Bring now thy gracious spirit nigh, And make us wholly thine. 4We humbly mourn our follies past, Each guilty path deplore; Resolved, while feeble life shall last, To tread those paths no more. 870. C. M. Anonymous.The Same. 1Now let our prayers ascend to thee, Thou great and holy One; Above the world raise thou our hearts; In us, thy will be done. 2O, let us feel how frail we are, How much we need thy grace; O, strengthen, Lord, our fainting souls, While here we seek thy face. 3Our sins, alas! before thee rise; Thou knowest all our guilt; Let not our faith, our hope, our trust, On earthly things be built. 4Forgive our sins, thy spirit grant, Let love our souls refine, And heavenly peace and holy hope Assure that we are thine. 871. S. M. Drummond."Is it such a fast that I have chosen?" 1"Is this a fast for me?"-- Thus saith the Lord our God;-- "A day for man to vex his soul, And feel affliction's rod?-- 2"Like bulrush low to bow His sorrow-stricken head, With sackcloth for his inner vest, And ashes round him spread? 3"Shall day like this have power To stay th' avenging hand, Efface transgression, or avert My judgments from the land? 4"No; is not this alone The sacred fast I choose,-- Oppression's yoke be burst in twain, The bands of guilt unloose?-- 5"To nakedness and want Your food and raiment deal, To dwell your kindred race among, And all their sufferings heal? 6"Then, like the morning ray, Shall spring your health and light; Before you, righteousness shall shine, Behind, my glory bright!" 872. L. M. Dyer.Public Humiliation. 1Great Maker of unnumbered worlds, And whom unnumbered worlds adore,-- Whose goodness all thy creatures share, While nature trembles at thy power,-- 2Thine is the hand that moves the spheres, That wakes the wind, and lifts the sea; And man, who moves the lord of earth, Acts but the part assigned by thee. 3While suppliant crowds implore thine aid, To thee we raise the humble cry; Thine altar is the contrite heart, Thine incense the repentant sigh. 4O may our land, in this her hour, Confess thy hand, and bless the rod, By penitence make thee her friend, And find in thee a guardian God. 873. C. M. Rippon's Coll.Public Supplication. 1When Abrah'm, full of sacred awe, Before Jehovah stood, And, with an humble, fervent prayer, For guilty Sodom sued,-- 2With what success, what wondrous grace, Was his petition crowned! The Lord would spare, if in this place Ten righteous men were found. 3And could a single pious soul So rich a boon obtain? Great God, and shall a nation cry, And plead with thee in vain? 4Are not the righteous dear to thee Now, as in ancient times? Or does this sinful land exceed Gomorrah in her crimes? 5Still we are thine; we bear thy name; Here yet is thine abode: Long has thy presence blessed our land: Forsake us not, O God. 874. C. M. Rippon's Coll.Judgments for National Sins Deprecated. 1Almighty Lord, before thy throne Thy mourning people bend; 'Tis on thy pardoning grace alone Our dying hopes depend. 2Dark judgments, from thy heavy hand, Thy dreadful power display; Yet mercy spares our guilty land, And still we live to pray. 3How changed, alas! are truths divine, For error, guilt, and shame! What impious numbers, bold in sin, Disgrace the Christian name! 4O, turn us, turn us, mighty Lord; Convert us by thy grace; Then shall our hearts obey thy word, And see again thy face. 5Then, should oppressing foes invade, We will not yield to fear, Secure of all-sufficient aid, When thou, O God, art near. 875. L. M. Aikin.In time of War. 1While sounds of war are heard around, And death and ruin strow the ground, To thee we look, on thee we call, The Parent and the Lord of all. 2Thou, who hast stamped on human kind The image of a heaven-born mind, And in a Father's wide embrace Hast cherished all the kindred race,-- 3Great God, whose powerful hand can bind The raging waves, the furious wind, O, bid the human tempest cease, And hush the maddening world to peace. 4With reverence may each hostile land Hear and obey that high command, Thy Son's blest errand from above,-- "My creatures, live in mutual love!" 876. 6s. & 4s. M. Montgomery.Thanksgiving Hymn. 1The God of harvest praise; In loud thanksgivings raise Hand, heart, and voice; The valleys smile and sing, Forests and mountains ring, The plains their tribute bring, The streams rejoice. 2Yea, bless his holy name, And purest thanks proclaim Through all the earth; To glory in your lot Is duty,--but be not God's benefits forgot, Amidst your mirth. 3The God of harvest praise; Hands, hearts, and voices raise, With sweet accord; From field to garner throng, Bearing your sheaves along, And in your harvest song Bless ye the Lord. 877. C. M. Christian Psalmist.The Same. 1Fountain of mercy, God of love, How rich thy bounties are! The rolling seasons, as they move, Proclaim thy constant care. 2When in the bosom of the earth The sower hid the grain, Thy goodness marked its secret birth, And sent the early rain. 3The spring's sweet influence, Lord, was thine The plants in beauty grew; Thou gav'st refulgent suns to shine, And mild, refreshing dew. 4These various mercies from above Matured the swelling grain; A kindly harvest crowns thy love, And plenty fills the plain. 5We own and bless thy gracious sway; Thy hand all nature hails; Seed-time nor harvest, night nor day, Summer nor winter, fails. 878. L. M. Anonymous.The Same. 1Great God! as seasons disappear, And changes mark the rolling year, Thy favor still has crowned our days, And we would celebrate thy praise. 2The harvest song we would repeat; "Thou givest us the finest wheat;" "The joy of harvest" we have known; The praise, O Lord! is all thine own. 3Our tables spread, our garners stored, O give us hearts to bless thee, Lord! Forbid it, Source of light and love, That hearts and lives should barren prove. 4Another harvest comes apace; Ripen our spirits by thy grace, That we may calmly meet the blow The sickle gives to lay us low. 5That so, when angel reapers come To gather sheaves to thy blest home, Our spirits may be borne on high To thy safe garner in the sky. 879. L. M. Brettell.Harvest Home. 1The last full wain has come,--has come! And brought the golden harvest home: The labors of the year are done: Accept our thanks, all-bounteous One! 2For the green spring, her herbs and flowers, For the warm summer's blooming bowers, For all the fruits that flush the boughs, When russet autumn decks her brows; 3For the bright sun, whose fervid ray Ripens the corn, and cheers the day; For the round moon, whose yellow light Gilds the long labors of the night; 4For the rich sea of shining grain, That spreads its waves o'er hill and plain, For the cool breeze, whose light wings fan The weary, sun-burnt husbandman; 5For the soft herbage of the soil, For ruddy health, the child of toil; For all the good the year displays, Accept, O God, our grateful praise. 880. 8s. & 7s. M. Crosse.The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving. 1Lord of heaven, and earth, and ocean, Hear us from thy bright abode, While our hearts, with true devotion, Own their great and gracious God. 2Health and every needful blessing Are thy bounteous gifts alone; Comforts undeserved possessing, Here we bend before thy throne. 3Thee, with humble adoration, Lord, we praise for mercies past; Still to this most favored nation May those mercies ever last. 881. 7s. M. Sacred Lyrics.Thanksgiving. 1Swell the anthem, raise the song; Praises to our God belong; Saints and angels, join to sing Praises to the Heavenly King. 2Blessings from his liberal hand Flow around this happy land: Kept by him, no foes annoy; Peace and freedom we enjoy. 3Here, beneath a virtuous sway, May we cheerfully obey,-- Never feel oppression's rod,-- Ever own and worship God. 4Hark! the voice of nature sings Praises to the King of kings; Let us join the choral song, And the grateful notes prolong. 882. 7s. M. Ev. Magazine."Thou crownest the year with goodness." 1Praise on thee, in Zion's gates, Daily, O Jehovah! waits; Unto thee, O God! belong Grateful words and holy song. 2Thou the hope and refuge art Of remotest lands apart, Distant isles and tribes unknown, 'Mid the ocean-waste, and lone. 3Thou dost visit earth, and rain Blessings on the thirsty plain, From the copious founts on high, From the rivers of the sky. 4Thus the clouds thy power confess, And thy paths drop fruitfulness: And the voice of song and mirth Rises from the tribes of earth. 883. L. M. Presbyterian Coll.Goodness of God Celebrated. 1Join, every tongue, to praise the Lord; All nature rests upon his word; Mercy and truth his courts maintain, And own his universal reign. 2Seasons and times obey his voice; The evening and the morn rejoice To see the earth made soft with showers, Enriched with fruit, and dressed in flowers. 3Thy works pronounce thy power divine; In all the earth thy glories shine; Through every month thy gifts appear; Great God, thy goodness crowns the year. 884. L. M. L. H. Sigourney.Harvest. 1God of the year! with songs of praise And hearts of love, we come to bless Thy bounteous hand, for thou hast shed Thy manna o'er our wilderness. 2In early spring-time thou didst fling O'er earth its robe of blossoming; And its sweet treasures, day by day, Rose quickening in thy blessed ray. 3God of the seasons! thou hast blest The land with sunlight and with showers, And plenty o'er its bosom smiles To crown the sweet autumnal hours. 4Praise,--praise to thee! Our hearts expand To view these blessings of thy hand, And on the incense-breath of love Ascend to their bright home above. 885. L. P. M. Kippis.Thanksgiving for National Prosperity. 1How rich thy gifts, Almighty King! From thee our public blessings spring; Th' extended trade, the fruitful skies, The treasures liberty bestows, Th' eternal joys the gospel shows,-- All from thy boundless goodness rise. 2Here commerce spreads the wealthy store, Which pours from every foreign shore; Science and art their charms display; Religion teaches us to raise Our voices to our Maker's praise, As truth and conscience point the way. 3With grateful hearts, with joyful tongues, To God we raise united songs; His power and mercy we proclaim; This land through every age shall own, Jehovah here has fixed his throne, And triumph in his mighty name. 4Long as the moon her course shall run, Or man behold the circling sun, O, still may God amidst us reign; Crown our just counsels with success, With peace and joy our borders bless, And all our sacred rights maintain. 886. L. M. Doddridge.New Year's Day. 1Great God, we sing that mighty hand, By which, supported still, we stand: The opening year thy mercy shows; Let mercy crown it till it close. 2By day, by night, at home, abroad, Still we are guarded by our God; By his incessant bounty fed, By his unerring counsel led. 3With grateful hearts the past we own: The future, all to us unknown, We to thy guardian care commit, And peaceful leave before thy feet, 4In scenes exalted or depressed, Be thou our joy, and thou our rest: Thy goodness all our hopes shall raise, Adored through all our changing days. 5When death shall interrupt these songs, And seal in silence mortal tongues, Our Helper, God, in whom we trust, In better worlds our souls shall boast. 887. C. M. Doddridge.Reflections for a New Year. 1Remark, my soul, the narrow bounds Of the revolving year; How swift the weeks complete their rounds! How short the months appear! 2Yet like an idle tale we pass The swift advancing year; And study artful ways t' increase The speed of its career. 3Waken, O God, my trifling heart, Its great concerns to see; That I may act the Christian part, And give the year to thee. 4Thus shall their course more grateful roll, If future years arise; Or this shall bear my peaceful soul To joy that never dies. 888. 7s. M. Newton.New Year's Day. 1While, with ceaseless course, the sun Hasted through the former year, Many souls their race have run, Never more to meet us here: Fixed in an eternal state, They have done with all below: We a little longer wait, But how little none can know. 2As the wingÉd arrow flies, Speedily the mark to find; As the lightning from the skies Darts and leaves no trace behind;-- Swiftly thus our fleeting days Bear us down life's rapid stream: Upward, Lord, our spirits raise; All below is but a dream. 3Thanks for mercies past receive; Pardon of our sins renew; Teach us, henceforth, how to live, With eternity in view; Bless thy word to old and young; Fill us with a Saviour's love; When our life's short race is run, May we dwell with thee above. 889. L. M. Doddridge.The Same. 1My helper, God, I bless his name; The same his power, his grace the same; The tokens of his friendly care Open, and crown, and close, the year. 2I 'midst ten thousand dangers stand, Supported by his guardian hand, And see, when I survey my ways, Ten thousand monuments of praise. 3Thus far his arm hath led me on; Thus far I make his mercy known; And, while I tread this mortal land, New mercies shall new songs demand. 890. C. M. Heginbotham.New Year. Providential Goodness. 1God of our lives, thy various praise Our voices shall resound: Thy hand directs our fleeting days, And brings the seasons round. 2To thee shall grateful songs arise, Our Father and our Friend, Whose constant mercies from the skies In genial streams descend. 3In every scene of life, thy care, In every age, we see; And constant as thy favors are, So let our praises be. 4Still may thy love, in every scene, In every age, appear; And let the same compassion deign To bless the opening year. 5If mercy smile, let mercy bring Our wandering souls to God: In our affliction we shall sing, If thou wilt bless the rod. 891. L. M. John Fawcett."He holdeth our soul in life." 1O God, my helper, ever near! Crown with thy smile the present year; Preserve me by thy favor still, And fit me for thy sacred will. 2My safety, each succeeding hour, Depends on thy supporting power: Accept my thanks for mercies past, And be my guard, while life shall last. 3My moments move with wingÉd haste, Nor know I which shall be the last: Danger and death are ever nigh, And I this year perhaps may die. 4Prepare me for the trying day; Then call my willing soul away: I'll quit the world at thy command, And trust my spirit to thy hand. 892. C. M. Newton.New Year. Prayer for a Blessing. 1Now, gracious Lord, thine arm reveal, And make thy glory known; Now let us all thy presence feel, And soften hearts of stone. 2From all the guilt of former sin May mercy set us free; And let the year we now begin, Begin and end with thee. 3Send down thy spirit from above, That saints may love thee more, And sinners now may learn to love, Who never loved before. 4And when before thee we appear, In our eternal home, May growing numbers worship here, And praise thee in our room. 893. C. M. Bp. Middleton.Self-Examination. New Year. 1As o'er the past my memory strays, Why heaves the secret sigh? 'Tis that I mourn departed days, Still unprepared to die. 2The world, and worldly things beloved, My anxious thoughts employed; And time unhallowed, unimproved, Presents a fearful void. 3Yet, Holy Father! wild despair Chase from my laboring breast; Thy grace it is which prompts the prayer. That grace can do the rest. 4My life's brief remnant all be thine; And when thy sure decree Bids me this fleeting breath resign, O speed my soul to thee! 894. 7s. M. Newton.Invocation. New Year. 1Bless, O Lord, each opening year To the souls assembling here: Clothe thy word with power divine, Make us willing to be thine. 2Where thou hast thy work begun, Give new strength the race to run; Scatter darkness, doubts, and fears, Wipe away the mourners' tears. 3Bless us all, both old and young; Call forth praise from every tongue: Let our whole assembly prove All thy power and all thy love! 895. C. M. Browne.The Closing Year. 1And now, my soul, another year Of my short life is past: I cannot long continue here; And this may be my last. 2Part of my doubtful life is gone, Nor will return again; And swift my fleeting moments run-- The few which yet remain! 3Awake, my soul! with all thy care Thy true condition learn; What are thy hopes--how sure, how fair, And what thy great concern? 4Now a new space of life begins, Set out afresh for heaven; Seek pardon for thy former sins, Through Christ, so freely given. 5Devoutly yield thyself to God, And on his grace depend; With zeal pursue the heavenly road, Nor doubt a happy end. 896. 7s. M. Anonymous.The Same. 1Time by moments steals away, First the hour and then the day; Small the daily loss appears, Yet it soon amounts to years. 2Thus another year is flown; Now it is no more our own, If it brought or promised good, Than the years before the flood. 3But may none of us forget It has left us much in debt; Who can tell the vast amount Placed to every one's account! 4Favors, from the Lord received, Sins, that have his spirit grieved, Marked by an unerring hand, In his book recorded stand. 5If we see another year, May thy blessing meet us here: Sun of righteousness, arise, Warm our hearts and bless our eyes. 897. C. M. Watts.The Same. 1Time! what an empty vapor 'tis! And days, how swift they are! Swift as an Indian arrow flies, Or like a shooting star. 2The present moments just appear, Then slide away in haste; That we can never say, they're here; But only say, they're past. 3Our life is ever on the wing, And death is ever nigh; The moment when our lives begin We all begin to die. 4Yet, mighty God! our fleeting days Thy lasting favors share; Yet, with the bounties of thy grace, Thou load'st the rolling year. 5'Tis sovereign mercy finds us food, And we are clothed with love; While grace stands pointing out the road Which leads our souls above. 898. L. M. Watts.God eternal, and Man mortal. Ps. 90. 1Through every age, eternal God, Thou art our rest, our safe abode! High was thy throne ere heaven was made, Or earth thy humble footstool laid. 2Long hadst thou reigned ere time began, Or dust was fashioned into man; And long thy kingdom shall endure, When earth and time shall be no more. 3A thousand of our years amount Scarce to a day in thine account; Like yesterday's departed light, Or the last watch of ending night. 4Death, like an overflowing stream, Sweeps us away; our life's a dream, An empty tale, a morning flower Cut down and withered in an hour. 899. L. M. Doddridge.The Closing Year. 1God of our life! thy constant care With blessings crowns each opening year: These lives so frail thy love prolongs; Be this the burden of our songs. 2How many precious souls are fled To the vast regions of the dead, Since, from this day, the changing sun Through his last yearly course has run! 3We yet survive, but who can say, Or through the year, or month, or day, We shall retain this vital breath, Secure from all the shafts of death? 4We hold our lives from thee alone, On earth, or in the worlds unknown; To thee our spirits we resign, Make them and own them all as thine. 5Great Source of wisdom, teach my heart To know the price of every hour, That time may bear me on to joys Beyond its measure and its power. 900. C. M.The Same. 1Mark how the swift-winged minutes fly, And hours still hasten on! How swift the circling months run round! How soon the year is gone! 2How is our debt of love increased To that sustaining Power, Who hath upheld our feeble frame, And blest each rolling hour. 3For all thy favors, O our God, Thy goodness we adore; Thou hast our cup with blessings filled, And made that cup run o'er. 4What shall befall in future life, We would not, Lord, inquire: To be prepared for all thy will. Be this our chief desire. 901. 8s. & 7s. M. Estlin.Reliance for the Future. 1Gracious Source of every blessing! Guard our breasts from anxious fears; May we still thy love possessing, Sink into the vale of years. 2All our hopes on thee reclining, Peace companion of our way; May our sun, in smiles declining, Rise in everlasting day. |
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