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HYMN 154. C. M.

The Ministerial office.

1 LET Zion's watchmen all awake,

And take th' alarm they give;
Now let them, from the mouth of God,
Their awful charge receive.

2 'Tis not a cause of small import
The pastor's care demands;

But what might fill an angel's heart-
It fill'd a Saviour's hands.

3 They watch for souls, for which the Lord
Did heav'nly bliss forego;-

For souls, which must forever live,
In raptures, or in wo.

4 May they that Jesus, whom they preach,
Their own Redeemer, see;
And watch thou daily o'er their souls,
That they may watch for thee.

HYMN 155. L. M.

Prayer for a sick Minister.

THOU, before whose gracious throne, We bow our suppliant spirits down; Avert thy swift descending stroke, Nor smite the shepherd of the flock. 2 Restore him, sinking to the grave; Stretch out thine arm, make haste to save; Back to our hopes and wishes give, And bid our friend and father live. 3 Bound to each soul by tend'rest ties, In every breast his image lies: Thy pitying aid, O God, impart, Nor rend him from each bleeding heart. 4 Yet, if our supplications fail,

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And pray'rs and tears cannot prevail;
Be thou his strength, be thou his stay,
And guide him safe to endless day.

HYMN 156. C. M.

Comfort under the loss of Ministers.

HAT-tho' the arm of conq'ring death,
Does God's own house invade

WH

What-tho' the Prophet and the Priest
Be number'd with the dead!

2 Tho' earthly shepherds dwell in dust,
The aged and the young;

The watchful eye in darkness clos'd,
And mute th' instructive tongue;

3 Th' Eternal Shepherd still survives,
New comforts to impart;

His eye still guides us, and his voice
Still animates our heart.

4 Then let our drooping hearts revive,
And all our tears be dry;

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Why should those eyes be drown'd in grief, Which view a Saviour nigh!

Seasons of Human Life.
HYMN 157. C. M.

Importance of the season of Youth.

In the morn of life, when youth

1O, With vital ardor glows,

And shines in all the fairest charms
That beauty can disclose,—

2 Deep in thy soul, before its pow'rs
Are yet by vice enslav'd,
Be thy Creator's glorious name
And character engrav'd :

3 Ere yet the shades of sorrow cloud
The sunshine of thy days;

And cares and toils, in endless round,
Encompass all thy ways:

4 Ere yet thy heart the woes of age,
With vain regret, deplore,
And sadly muse on former joys,
That now return no more.

5 True wisdom, early sought and gain'd,
In age will give thee rest:

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O, then improve the morn of life,
To make its ev'ning blest!

HYMN 158. S. M.

Youth the morning of Life.

WEET is the time of Spring,
Whennature'scharms appear;

The birds with ceaseless pleasure sing,

And hail the op'ning year.

2 But sweeter far the spring

Of wisdom, and of grace,

When children bless, and praise their King,

Who loves the youthfu race.

3 Sweet is the dawn of day,

When light just streaks the sky,

When shades and darkness pass away,

And morning beams are nigh.

4 But sweeter far the dawn

Of piety in youth;

When doubt and darkness are withdrawn,

Before the light of truth.

5 Sweet is the early dew,

Which gilds the mountain tops;

And decks each plant, and flow'r we view,
With pearly, glitt❜ring drops.

6 But sweeter far the scene,

On Zion's holy hill;

When there the dew of youth is seen,
Its freshness to distil.
7 Sweet is the op'ning flower,
Which just begins to bloom,
Which ev'ry day and ev'ry hour,
Fresh beauties will assume.
8 But sweeter that young heart,
Where faith, and love, and peace,
Blossom, and bloom in ev'ry part,
With sweet, and varied grace.

9 O, may life's early SPRING,

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And MORNING, ere they flee,
Youth's DEW, and its fair BLOSSOMING,
Be giv'n, my God, to thee.

HYMN 159. L. M.

Youth Warned.

Yard by the voice of heav'nly truth, Now yield to Christ your youthful prime, With all your talents and your time.

VE lovely bands of blooming youth,

2 Think on your end-nor thoughtless say, "I'll put far off the evil day;'

Ah! not a moment's in your pow'r, And death stands ready at the door. 3 Eternity!-how near it rolls!

Count the vast value of your souls! Beware! and count the awful cost, What they have gain'd whose souls are lost. 4 Pride, sinful pleasures, lusts and snares, Beset your hearts, your eyes, your earsTake the alarm-the danger fly! Lord, save me, be your earnest cry.

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HYMN 160. C. M.

Middle age.

AND have I measur'd half my days,

And half my journey run,

Nor tasted the Redeemer's grace,
Nor yet my work begun?

2 The morning of my life is past;
The noon is almost o'er:

The night of death approaches fast,
When I can work no more.

3 O Thou who seest and know'st my grief,
Thyself unseen, unknown,
In mercy help my unbelief,
And melt my heart of stone,
4 Regard me with a gracious eye,
The long sought blessing give,
And bid me, at the point to die,
Behold thy face, and live.

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HYMN 161.

Old Age.

C. M.

ETERNAL God! enthron'd on high!

Whom angel hosts adore ;

Who yet to suppliant dust art nigh,
Thy presence I implore.

2 Oh, guide me down the steep of age,
And keep my passions cool;
Teach me to scan the sacred page,
And practise ev'ry rule.

3 My flying years time urges on,
What's human must decay :

My friends, my young companions, gone,
Can I expect to stay?

4 Ah! No-then soothe the mortal hour,
On thee my hope depends;
Support me with almighty pow'r,
While dust to dust descends.

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Life and Death.

HYMN 162. C. M.

Sickness sweetened."

W This trembling house of clay,

HEN languor and disease invade

"Tis sweet to look beyond my pains,
And long to fly away.

2 Sweet to look inward, and attend
The whispers of his love:

Sweet to look upward to the place
Where Jesus pleads above.

3 Sweet to look back, and see my name
In life's fair book set down;
Sweet to look forward, and behold
Eternal joys my own.

4 Sweet to reflect, how grace divine,
My sins on Jesus laid;

Sweet to remember, that his blood,
My debt of suff'ring paid.

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5 Sweet in his righteousness to stand,
Which saves from second death;
Sweet t' experience day by day,
His Spirit's quick'ning breath."
6 Sweet on his faithfulness to rest.
Whose love can never end :
Sweet on his covenant of grace,
For all things to depend.

7 Sweet in the confidence of faith,
To trust his firm decrees;
Sweet to lie passive in his hands,
And know no will but his.

8 If such the sweetness of the streams,
What must the fountainjbe,

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Where saints and angels draw their bliss,
Immediately from thee,

HYMN 163. S. M.

Issues of Life and Death.

H, where shall rest be found,

Rest for the weary soul !

"Twere vain the ocean's depths to sound, Or pierce to either pole.

2 The world can never give

The bliss for which we sigh; "Tis not the whole of life to live, Nor all of death to die.

3 Beyond this vale of tears
There is a life above,

Unmeasur'd by the flight of years-
And all that life is love.

4 There is a death whose pang
Outlasts the fleeting breath:
Oh ! what eternal horrors hang
Around the second death.
5 Lord, God of truth and grace,

Teach us that death to shun :-
Lest we be driven from thy face,
And evermore undone.

6 Here would we end our quest—
Alone are found in tnee

The life of perfect love-the rest
Of immortality.

HYMN 164. L. M.

The living and the dead.

1 WHERE are the dead ?— In heav'n or hell

Their disembodied spirits dwell;

Their perish'd forms in bonds of clay,
Reserv'd until the judgment day.