565.

I.

2. Let Thy children, by Thy grace,
Give as they abound,

Till the poor have breathing-space,
And the lost are found.

3. Wiser than the miser's hoards
Is the giver's choice;

Sweeter than the song of birds
Is the thankful voice.

4. Welcome smiles on faces sad
As the flowers of spring;
Let the tender hearts be glad
With the joy they bring.

Stewardship.

WE give Thee but Thine own,

Whate'er the gift may be :

All that we have is Thine alone,
A trust, O Lord, from Thee;

2. May we Thy bounties thus

As stewards true receive;
And gladly, as Thou blessest us,
To Thee our first-fruits give.

3. O hearts are bruised and dead,
And homes are bare and cold!

J. G. Whittier.

And lambs, for whom the Shepherd bled,
Are straying from the fold.

4. To comfort and to bless,
To find a balm for woe,
To tend the lone and fatherless,
Is angels' work below.

S.M.

566.

5. The captive to release,

To God the lost to bring,

To teach the way of life and peace,

It is a Christ-like thing.

6. And we believe Thy word,

Though dim our faith may be ;
Whate'er for Thine we do, O Lord,
We do it unto Thee.

W. W. How.

I.

God is Love, and Love is God.

ET

`TERNAL Love, increase within The love that saves the soul; Subdue each rising pulse of sin,

And make us whole.

2. These human hearts in weakness turn
To Thee, O Love most strong!
For help when passions fiercely burn,
And work our wrong.

3. Let then Thine inward aid appear,
Thy strength within our breast;
And we from ills, and pain, and fear,
Shall triumph wrest.

4. May visions of Thine unseen good
Lead where we blindly grope ; .
Reveal the world's beatitude,

And boundless hope.

5. And may we always keep the sight
Of this earth's heavenlier side;

See Love Divine maintain the right,
Howe'er defied.

8.6.8.4.

6. That God is love, and love is God,

Only love's heart can know ;

The roughest path man ever trod,
This truth may show.

James Bell.

567.

Faith, Hope, and Love.

L.M.

I. WHAT though our hopes, once fair and bright,

Have ended in a darksome night,

Faith points us to another morn,
All bright and radiant, though unborn.

2. What though in age we ne'er enjoy
The dreams of youth without alloy,
Still hope will brighten all our way
And cheer us to life's latest day.

3. Greater than faith, or hope beside,

Is love, which ever must abide.

This turns life's wastes to fountains sweet,
And lays its treasures at our feet.

4. Thus do these angels, given in life,
Help us to bear its woes and strife ;
And thereby is a foretaste given
Of the delights and bliss of heaven.

568.

I.

The Kingdom of God on Earth.

The Gain of Man.

SOMETIMES gleams upon our sight,

L.M.

Through present wrong, the Eternal Right;

And step by step since time began,

We see the steady gain of man;

2. That all of good the past hath had
Remains to make our own time glad,
Our common, daily life divine,
And every land a Palestine.

3. We lack but open eye and ear,

To find the Orient's marvels here;
The still small voice in autumn's hush,
Yon maple wood, the burning bush.

4. Through the harsh noises of our day,
A low, sweet prelude finds its way;
Through clouds of doubt, and creeds of fear,
A light is breaking calm and clear.

5. Henceforth my heart shall sigh no more
For olden time and holier shore :

God's love and blessing, then and there,
Are now and here and everywhere.

J. G. Whittier.

569.

Hope for Man.

1. THE past is dark with sin and shame,
The future dim with doubt and fear;
But, Father, yet we praise Thy name,
Whose guardian love is always near.

2. For man has striven ages long

With faltering steps to come to Thee,
And in each purpose high and strong
The influence of Thy grace could see.

3. He could not breathe an earnest prayer,
But Thou wast kinder than he dreamed,
As age by age brought hopes more fair,

And nearer still Thy kingdom seemed.

L.M.

570.

4. But never rose within his breast
A trust so calm and deep as now;
Shall not the weary find a rest?

Father, Preserver, answer Thou.

5. 'Tis dark around, 'tis dark above,

But through the shadow streams the sun;
We cannot doubt Thy certain love;
And man's true aim shall yet be won.

The Holy Land.

T. W. Higginson.

I. WE go not on a pilgrimage,

As those who went of old;

The Holy Land around us lies

Of which we have been told.

2. I see it when the morning sun
Doth rise o'er land and sea;

The moon's mild beams, the silent stars
Reveal it unto me.

3. In all that's good, in all that's fair,
I see it's glory shine;

As in the Holy Land of old,
The ancient Palestine.

4. And brighter yet, in days to come,
Shall shine its wondrous light,
Till all the earth is holy land,
With heavenly radiance bright.

5. We go not on a pilgrimage,
As those who went of old;
The Holy Land around us lies,
Of which we have been told.

C.M.

Jones Very.